Another thread reminded me that I saw this 45-min documentary was broadcast on May 18th 2024 on UK Channel 5 but I didn't catch it at the time. I've gone through it now on Sky catch up - nothing really new here imo, mainly fluff, but I am posting so people can see what is being broadcast here about George / the RF. Quotes are exact quotes, the rest is my summary but pretty close to what was said.
Narrator (N): George's story begins on 29/4/2011 - W & K wedding. Simon Vigar (Royal Correspondent 5 News - SV): W & K wedding was a happy moment for the country in the midst of the financial crisis of the late 00s. Afua Hagan (Royal commentator - AH): PW was hugely popular as was Kate.
Section about Queen Elizabeth doing the Olympic ceremony - N: "the Royal Family found themselves enjoying a surge in popularity", echoed by the other talking heads
N: In Dec 2012 KM announced pregnancy. AF: "it was hugely exciting because we knew this was going to be another heir"
N: they chose St Marys Hospital for the birth, same place Diana went. Weeks of anticipation, George born on 22/7/2013, Archive footage of W & K outside the hospital with newborn George etc.
SV: "the arrival of George meant that the line of succession was secure"
SV: "this 'Lion King' moment with the king in waiting"
N: "although their choice of name drew from centuries of tradition it soon became clear that their approach to parenting was more modern" - covers William with the car seat, driving Kate back from hospital himself, etc - more hands on, they are being more 'normal'.
N: W & K had always had a close relationship with Kate's parents. In first few months of George's life they retreated to the Middletons' family home in Bucklebury [Berkshire]. George's baptism - following tradition but more modern approach to the rest of it - choice of godparents (only Zara as a royal, all the others were non royals), "cosy, child-first atmosphere".
N: Australia/NZ tour (10 days) when George was 8 months, contrasted with Queen Elizabeth's tour of NZ where Charles was left at home age 5. Footage of them on the plane steps etc. William and George travelled together which was a break with protocol (usually avoided due to risk if anything goes wrong), had to persuade Queen Elizabeth.
N: they are following tradition in having a nanny. They recruited the nanny Maria Borrallo in 2014 - from a school that's produced many Royal nannies - Norland College (Bath) - the world's foremost Nanny college. The nannies can earn six figures and are trained on all sorts: evasive driving, self-defence, lifesaving, etc.
Royal historian: "We know that she's [Maria] been with Prince George since he was around 8 months old. So she's built a real bond with him. The fact that she's still with them, she's doing something very very right for that family."
Education - break with tradition, heirs were never sent to school historically. King Charles broke with that tradition by going to Gordonstoun, was miserable & bullied though. AF: William has learned from that and wants to make sure that doesn't happen to George. George's first school (Thomas's) focuses on building character, creativity, kindness, etc as well as academics. Age 9 - went to Lambrook School - ethos of happiness, kindness, concern about the world.
Privacy - age just 2 William was put in front of the press, body language expert says he was visibly uncomfortable, regular press intrusion throughout his life. Agreements between RF & media weren't in place then - talks about the agreement they have now with the press, they issue their own family pictures at Christmas etc, thus devaluing 'pap' pictures. Describes Kate taking a lot of pictures, they're more "intimate", candid, family pictures rather than pro.
Age 2 - meeting with Obama (visit to KP) - [nothing notable here, just fluff]
George included on trips to Commonwealth countries, early exposure.
2015 - Charlotte born, then, Louis 3 years later. Fluff about George as a big brother, close knit family.
Piece about William and George watching football (Aston Villa). Body language expert describes the 'mirroring' of body language between W & G at these type of events - facial expressions, movements, wear the same suits - twins/mini-me. Narrator says Charles, William also learned by imitation in the same way.
Talks about W & K involvement with charities, Charles & the environment etc. - George will follow.
N: "KC has big plans to shake up the monarchy as a whole, with the young prince front and centre"
Prof. Robert Hazell (Professor of Constitution UCL - RH): "Charles before he became King expressed the wish for the monarchy to become more streamlined, and that is happening. And happening perhaps rather faster than he expected, because of the disappearance of Harry & Meghan, and also of Prince Andrew. I think it's possible that Prince George will be pressed into service rather sooner than he or his parents might have wished".
Tangent about the streamlined monarchy, photos etc. Queen's Xmas broadcast - family video footage from inside the Palace.
2022 - Queen Platinum Jubilee - George started to be given more exposure, talking heads say he seems comfortable with it.
George will be 11 in 2024, need to plan next stage of his education - where next? Eton (William's school), Marlborough (Kate's, also Zara's)? George is part of the decision making process. Marlborough is co-ed (mixed sex), this would be another break with tradition if he goes there - would allow Charlotte to be at the same school. SV thinks Eton must be in "prime position" due to proximity to Windsor etc, but "we shall see", will be "a tussle between mum and dad".
N: In future where will George go to university? W & K both went to St Andrews so that is a possibility - or could he go to Cambridge? No decisions yet.
Queen Elizabeth death - George now 2nd in line. SV: "it's all about succession, this is a family firm that's been doing the same thing for around 1000 years".
Background about first 'solo'/major royal engagement being a rite of passage for future monarchs. William at 23. George at 9 at the Coronation - footage of Charles & Camilla etc - George was one of 4 "pages of honour" for this ceremony, Charles wanted him involved, new era of family first. Talking heads say he took it in his stride, carried it out well, dutiful, confident, 'got on with it'
About contingency planning - RH: "If anything were to happen to Charles as King, and to William as the heir apparent, formally George could not become King until he reaches the age of 18. If George were not old enough himself to become King, that would trigger a Regency." N: "That scenario is thankfully highly unlikely".
Military involvement - many royals still choose to serve in the military e.g. Charles (navy) William (helicopter pilot) - N: "it's still early days and there are rumours that when the day comes George may choose to break the royal mould" - he might not serve in the military, no decisions yet though.
N: "The reign of King George is likely many decades away. But it's clear the monarchy he will inherit is undergoing a transformation." - Talking heads: monarchy is changing, slimmed down, we are no longer an empire, monarchy will become more like the ones in mainland Europe.

CONCLUSION
And finally, here’s the final part! If you have any thoughts, or any disagreements, comment down below! I’d love to discuss the game’s lore with you all!
At its heart, Indigo Park is a tragedy, one that would make both Shakespeare and the ancient Greeks proud. It starts off with the creator wanting nothing but good, but slowly devolves into a horrifying, downward spiral. After all, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
Isaac Indigo has a dream of bringing his imagination to life, for people everywhere. The beginning of the twentieth century began horrendously, World War 1 being the deadliest conflict at the time. Wanting to help everyone and bring at least a spark of joy into their lives, Isaac Indigo launches headfirst into the media of his choice: cartoons.
Indigo comes up with his first permanent Mascot, Lloydford L. Lion. A loud, booming, rambunctious character, Lloyd sought to be the spark of happiness that Indigo hoped he would be. Lloyd would the very best actor, showman, and orator. He’s arrogant, but not pompous. He’s loud, but not with ill will. He’s the beginning of the cast that Indigo envisions, a character whose sole purpose is to please the world. It’s not a surprise that Lloyd is an actor, after all. He seeks to distract the world from its woes, at least for a bit, and make everyone have a good time.
Indigo, emboldened by his sudden fame and success, proceeds to churn out four more individuals: Rambley the Raccoon, Mollie the Macaw, Salem the Skunk, and, eventually, Finley the Sea Serpent, though he comes in separate from the other three.
Rambley Raccoon, a quick thinking, sharp tongued, cheeky little gremlin, is an instant hit with the people, becoming the second most popular character out of the five. Mollie Macaw, a happy-go-lucky bird with a love for the open skies, acts as Rambley’s best friend, the two practically glued together. Together, alongside Lloyd, these three represent the ‘good guys’, a trio that want nothing but the best for the people.
However, every hero needs a villain, and thus, Salem the Skunk was born, a snappy, malevolent little critter that wished for the world to revolve around herself. She has a knack for potion making, a capable chemist who uses her concoctions to bend the wills of others to herself, only for herself.
Rambley and Salem end up becoming fated rivals, nemeses who dislike each other the most, out of every character that Indigo created. Using Salem, Indigo would spread the message of peace, of friendship and everlasting bonds that always triumph against evil, and Salem.
This continuity continues for a period of time, Indigo eventually adding one more character to his roster: the melancholy sea dragon, Finley. Finley’s main goal was to be the educator, to explain the natural world around people and share the fascinating and the beautiful, especially in regard to the ocean, a concept still so unexplored, while also trying to appeal to an older crowd alongside Lloyd.
However, poor Finley wouldn’t ever be that popular amongst his peers. Perhaps it was his gloomy, exhausted aura that pushed people away, or perhaps it was his towering, and frankly scary, size, or even maybe because he was deemed boring by the youngest, who were more keen on Rambley, the character that appealed to them the most. Even the other characters, whether Indigo intended for this or not, seemed a bit annoyed by Finley, and often left him to his devices.
And, for a while, Indigo’s plan succeeded. His popularity and notoriety only increased as time went on, gaining him influence, money, and prestige. His plans were working! He was making a difference, making smiles appear on the faces of people who would otherwise be swept away by the woes of the world!
Everything started to crumble, however, when yet another horrifying conflict arose: World War II. The Old World was thrown into chaos, Europe, Africa, and Asia becoming the bloodiest battleground in human history, surpassing even the Great War that came before it.
So, Indigo concocted a scheme, a way to raise the spirits of those he could currently help, his fellow Americans. Indigo Park was to be his magnus opus, his monument that would transcend his lifetime. Here, all of his creations would gather, all of them having their own attractions, bringing a level of access that had never yet been realized before. Costumed people would walk around during operational hours, bringing his characters into the real world to interact with those that needed refuge from the outside horrors.
However, while his park became a success, spearheaded by Lloyd the Lion, the very first, there was something that bothered Indigo. These costumed performers, while certainly a stroke of genius, underperformed. Besides that, they sometimes broke character, and destroyed the immersion of the guests, and were quite costly to keep around, alongside the engineers, the logistics division, and the Ranglers that helped run Indigo Park. Not to mention, the cost of custom costumes, of fabric and materials, rose higher and higher as quotas began to be placed and maintained in the USA, due to the resources it sent to its allies overseas, before eventually joining their allies in the fight against evil.
If he couldn’t simulate his characters, why not make them? Animals that would be living, breathing creatures that would merely need care, compassion, and basic necessities? Hiring a bunch of the best scientists, he gave them a special role: The Royal Ranglers, those that would be entrusted with this secret project.
Indigo, while a creative man, didn’t understand science as well as these individuals, and likely never would, but he would make them keep logs, records of their successes and failures, of their many experiments. And eventually, their labor paid off: One of each character, Mascots, came to life. They breathed air, had red blood flowing through their veins, were real, physical creatures, but also remained gentle with the guests. Once they were unveiled, there was no longer a need for costumed performers to roam around Indigo Park. They could also be trained to perform shows of their own, such as Finley and Lloyd, while the others could supervise their respective districts! It was a win win!
However, not everyone was so pleased with the results. The performers that once roamed the streets found themselves without jobs, only some kept around to care for the new Mascots, their betters, their replacements. And that made them furious. Why should these abominations, these stupid, ugly freaks replace them? Behind Indigo’s back, these disgruntled employees would begin their revenge slowly, minimally. Withholding a small amount of the supplies the Mascots needed, occasional cruel words. As time went on, this turned into a coping mechanism, the treatment of the Mascots progressing into physical violence, vile, cutting words on the regular basis.
Sometime before this Lloyd would end up giving up the title of main character to Rambley, who had gained immense popularity, even more than Lloyd himself. While it annoyed the proud Lloyd to be first mate, he would hand over the title graciously, partially because Rambley had always been jealous of Lloyd’s popularity and fame, and maybe, just maybe, this change would do them all good. Their abuse had been escalating, much worse than any thought possible. Salem was the only one to oppose this decision, thinking that it was all only to the benefit of Rambley. Mollie was the opposite, supportive of her best friend. And Finley … well, there was no way to consistently speak with the reptile. He was always kept in Oceanic Odyssey, far away from their cages underneath Jetsream Junction. And besides, none of the four particularly … liked Finley. Sure, Rambley had befriended the sea serpent, but that was done moreso to have some rapport and sway over the gentle giant, who was much too shy, like, ~obnoxiously~ ~shy.~ He was always so gloomy, so pessimistic, so willing to accept whatever came his way. No, Finley was definitely not an agent of change, but of pitiful complacence, locked away with his prized shell collection.
However, things did not improve at all. In fact, it only got worse. Tension between the Mascots was at an all time high, Rambley having become hurtful to even his best friend Mollie. He was still suspicious of Lloyd, convinced the lion would steal back his position as ringleader. Salem and Rambley, and thus with Mollie, also began to sour drastically. Salem was convinced that Rambley wasn’t doing anything to help the five. After all, he and Mollie practically abandoned Finley, someone who they claimed was a ‘friend’. Lloyd too became frustrated with the raccoon, Salem whispering in his ears, convincing him that Rambley had only pushed for Lloyd’s demotion to finally be the one above Lloyd, to have more power.
Mollie was soon caught in the crossfire of a particularly intense feud, Salem and Lloyd on one side, Rambley by himself on the other. Rambley, her best friend in the whole wide world. Rambley, that same friend who would sometimes be mean to Mollie for no apparent reason. However, no matter what Rambley had done to their relationship, it wasn’t Rambley’s fault. It was one time when Lloyd became particularly aggressive that Mollie had to finally end this.
The fault does not belong to Rambley! “Not Rambley! He hurts Lloyd! He hurts Lloyd!”
And suddenly, it clicked for the Mascots. No matter how much some of the Mascots didn’t like each other, there was one person they all could agree to hate: Isaac Indigo. Their creator who had left the newborn animals to the mercy of vengeful, spiteful, horrible people who did nothing but spit upon and abuse the Mascots. It was decided that they would fight back. They would show those humans that they were not muzzled dogs, but barely contained predators.
The next time the Mascots were in the presence of these Ranglers, Lloyd finally snapped. It was a particularly brutal day, and Lloyd would suffer no longer. With a crippling roar, Lloyd launched himself at the Ranglers, the other Mascots following suit.
Isaac Indigo had walked into work expecting the day to be like usual, but it was to his horror that he learned of the Mascots attack upon their Ranglers. Calling a hasty evacuation, guests were shoved outside of the park with no explanation, no answers. Even the authorities would not be able to provide answers. No, they couldn’t learn of such a thing; it would ruin Isaac Indigo and all that he had worked for.
Temporarily, the entire park fell under the control of the Mascots, who were a bit shocked with how easy it was to win their freedom. However, their victory would not last. They all would suffer the consequences.
Lloyd was deemed the biggest threat to Indigo’s plans, so he had to be the one dealt with first. But how? The scientists that Indigo had hired came up with a plan; repurpose the Critter Cuffs to make a high enough pitch to incapacitate the lion, before locking him up for good in his theater. Alongside this, in order to better guarantee the safety of their people, a resuscitation feature had been added to potentially save an employee's life, if it came down to it.
Luring the beast to his stage area, the humans spring their trap, their Critter Cuffs wailing, racking Lloyd with so much pain that he couldn’t do anything but curl up into a ball. With the help of some engineers, they lock Lloyd in his own theater, a special clearance required to even access the area. This is where they toss most of the assets Indigo Park does not wish anyone see. Research papers, binders, notebooks, it’s all scattered here. And while here, Indigo decides to deal with Mollie Macaw as well.
Mollie is dangerous in that she knows planes and how to use them. They’re massive weapons, so, the way to disarm the bomb that is Mollie is to lock Jetstream Junction behind the Critter Cuffs, as well as a massive lock and key. The key itself would be stored at the very back of Lloyd’s theater, a place where only they would know to look. And once they seal the doors one final time, Mollie, Rambley, and Salem would have no access to it.
Finley would be left to his own devices; he’s contained in his attraction and as long as they don’t approach, they’ll be fine. The remaining Mascots can’t hide there forever either, and the humans know that. Even if Finley is a deterrent, the humans would eventually invent a way to deal with the serpent, who would be unwilling to resist for too long.
And thus, two Mascots were dealt with, one Mascot crippled. Only Salem and Rambley remained threats with their rides and arsenals, though Mollie is still dangerous with her sharp beak and claws.
After some time, Mascot Rambley and Salem decide to retreat further into Indigo Park, further away from the entrance. Their movements were too easy to track with that blasted Artificial Intelligence system watching through the bountiful cameras. Mollie, however, can’t bear to leave her home, her hangar. She tries to reason with the two others, but ultimately, no agreement can be reached. Salem and Rambley would withdrawn, and Mollie would come, if she wanted to.
Eventually, the two sneakiest Mascots, once sworn enemies, were now the only one the other could rely on. Now brother and sister, they tried their best to weather the storm, but were ultimately dealt with. Mollie, grief-stricken with the loss of her home and being abandoned by the ones she called friend, had no will to fight anymore.
This entire process took almost ten years, finally ending in 2015, while the park had been closed in 2006. Outside, people slowly forgot about the enigmatic end to the once beloved park, distracted by the rapid expansion of other sources of fun and media. Indigo, saddened by the fate of what he once thought of as his greatest achievement, didn’t have the heart to tear the place down. It was too dangerous, so he merely bribed the local authorities to close it off from curious onlookers. He would command the AI Rambley to have most of his files wiped concerning the fate of the park, wiping all data concerning the back and forth between humans and their experiments brought to life. He’d be restricted to the Registration Center, cut off from the actual park, and only present in one computer until Indigo found a way to salvage the situation. And that’s where Isaac Indigo left Indigo Park.
Mascot Mollie is left alone to wander the park, all her friends gone, missing. She stumbles into Rambley Railroad, the only place that she can see all her friends, before she stops at Salem’s exhibit. Eyes narrowing in hate, Mollie remembers that it was Salem that pushed and manipulated them all to fight back. If Salem hadn’t been there, none of this would have happened. This leads Mascot Mollie on a destructive rampage, wrecking the whole area as much as she could. She eventually stumbles upon an animatronic version of herself, which shocks her when it repeats Mollie’s own words, almost like snidely trying to hurt Mollie with her own words. “Not Rambley! He hurts Lloyd! He hurts Lloyd!” Once again angered, Mascot Mollie pounds upon the robot until the lights fade from its painted eyes, slumped in a pile of metal rods and broken brick. From there, Mascot Mollie leaves, vowing to stay away from the place.
However, what Indigo did not account for was an urban explorer duo that made it their life mission to explore a wide variety of places. Laura and Ed made quite the dynamic duo, always exploring what they wanted, where they wanted, how they wanted. Though they trespassed and sometimes even burgled, they were never caught by the authorities, and their concealed presences on their channel was enough for the two to not be charged and arrested.
However, the two found themselves in a weird limbo. All of their newest explorations lacked a certain ‘oomph’, with even their viewers noticing the lack of excitement and passion of the two. So, Ed decides to set his sights on a big fish: Indigo Park.
Laura, his partner, is instantly worried by Ed’s choice. All the places they went to before were practically abandoned, the maximum they had to worry about were old motion detectors and an occasional camera or two. Indigo Park, however, would most likely be very secure, swarming with cops, even, so she tries to dissuade Ed, but Ed only becomes more pumped to break inside. Resigned, Laura promised assistance if Ed could find a way inside. Ed finally goes to this famed Indigo Park, home of so many of his treasured memories as a child, intent on having all of his personal questions answered.
It is to his surprise that the place is so easy to slip into. All he had to do was avoid the occasional patrol car, climb a fence, and viola, he was there. The entrance gates being locked up, however, was a bummer, but maybe the Registration Center would have some information. It would be even more of a shock to discover an AI Rambley, the same that Indigo had locked there.
AI Rambley would guide Ed, the first visitor in exactly eight years, inside, Ed collecting all sorts of goodies, such as plushies, ears, drinking containers, and even a vintage Rambley costume mask. However, Ed is disappointed by the way the AI practically ignores the state of disrepair Indigo Park has fallen into.
Lured by the sudden sound of Rambley speaking Mascot Mollie rushes over; Rambley came back for her! But it is to her horror that it’s merely a mockery of Mascot Rambley, that old AI speaking to a human! Mollie, wary and frightened of the implications of this, decides to merely follow cautiously.
Following the directions of the AI, Ed travels through Rambley Railroad, fixing the ride when in breaks in the wrecked zone of Salem the Skunk, her cutout and props left in broken pieces. It is during this ride that Ed senses he’s not alone, and notices Mollie Macaw stalking him. However, she’s not threatening in any way, so he leaves her be. Why antagonize this … Mascot? Person? Ed doesn’t know what to think of her, but maybe, if he’s careful, he won’t have to deal with her.
Ed is then directed to Jetsream Junction, but is disappointed to find it locked away, not only by Critter Cuff, but also by lock and key. The AI mentions a key in Lloyd’s theater, though, so he heads that way. What Ed does not expect to find is Mascot Lloyd himself, dozing on the stage. Quickly noticing Ed’s presence, however, Lloyd flees, remembering all too well of the danger that humans posed to him.
Unfortunately, Ed is left without AI Rambley’s presence, and Lloyd is slowly but surely pushed farther back into his domain. Lloyd at one point tries to attack, but the lion is clumsy. Though he can’t die of thirst or hunger, he still suffers from their effects, his body weak and dirty. Lloyd then leaves and lets this man do whatever he wants. Maybe if Lloyd hides in a corner, the scary human won’t come for him.
However, he is soon consumed by anger when he realizes that Ed takes the keys to Jetstream Junction. He can’t let this human escape, he might try to go and hurt Mollie! She’s probably locked in there like he’s locked in here!
Lloyd attacks, or tries to, at least. The accursed Critter Cuff wails, its high-pitched waves causing Lloyd to be paralyzed with pain. Once the sound stops, Lloyd runs away, his fears of torture reignited as he is subjected to pain he had not faced for almost twenty years.
Mascot Mollie, always lurking, heard the Critter Cuff go off, and she draws her conclusions well; Lloyd tried to fight the human, but was driven back, hurt and embarrassed in his own territory. From here, Mollie’s old, unresolved anger begins to build, following Ed as he opens up Jetstream Junction, much to her surprise. At first, she’s delighted. Finally, her old domain is open! She explores the place, running into Ed as they both take notice of one another. Perhaps she’ll let Ed go; he did do her a favor, after all.
But that notion is soon dissolved as she watched Ed run about the place like he owns it, Mollie’s anger mounting as he goes deeper into her home. Finally, she has enough. She attacks Ed, chasing him through the halls and tunnels Mollie so loves. Unfortunately, this final act turns out to be Mascot Mollie’s last. Just as she lunges for him, her head gets severed from her body by a metal door, her blood coating it and the surrounding environment bright red.
It is from here that AI Rambley is forced to acknowledge that this is not his familiar Indigo Park; it’s old and worn, the Mascots that once made people laugh now try to hunt them down. He forgets that they were abused because those files were wiped from him, and Mascot Mollie’s cries are very hard to discern as the echoes and Mascot Mollie’s own voice is ruined by age.
AI Rambley decides his best course of action is to enlist Ed’s help to repair the whole theme park. After all, he has all the information on how to go about it in his database, it just requires a physical body to do, something that the AI sorely lacks. And so, AI Rambley directs Ed toward the first place they need to kick back up: Oceanic Odyssey, home of the Mascot Finley. Perhaps this shy, reclusive sea snake won’t be trying to kill Ed.
On the way, though, Ed nearly stumbles upon the laboratories where the Mascots were made, so the AI makes sure to block that avenue. Ed was AI Rambley’s only hope of success, he wasn’t risking the man run away in terror from the sights and notes that likely were down there.
Ed finally reaches the Oceanic Odyssey attraction, pushing open the doors and following AI Rambley inside, catching a glimpse of a long, green, sea dragon in one of the aquariums …
END
Well, that’s about it! 12k words and 24 pages in, and I only covered the first chapter. Hoo boy …
I don’t think I need to reiterate that this is what I think happened, canonically. There will obviously be some wrong information due to the limited evidence I have to work with, and I intentionally remained vague during certain parts.
Despite that, I am very confident in a few ideas, such as the Mascot uprising, the weaponization of the Critter Cuff specifically against Lloyd the Lion, and the secret laboratories hidden behind that Royal Ranger Room area.
If you have any ideas of your own, let me know as well! I would love to theorize about some things that all of you think as well!
Also a huge shoutout and thank you to the creator of Indigo Park, Mason Myers, or UniqueGeese. The guy is insanely talented, considering this took him only one year to do. ONE! I can’t want to see the twists and turns he has to offer.
See you all later in Chapter 2! - Maddy

The Injustice Initiative and Megaverse Council did not grieve with their former leader for too long, due to the combined forces of Venessa and Velocity making swift progress in uniting dozens of Omniverses under their heroic banner. Velocity used her direct and demanding demeanor to influence the defenders of each Omniverse to join the Council and was brutally honest in her meetings with the current situation. She stressed that if they refuse to join then they will face extinction and the Council will not help them when they are attacked due to them only having priorities for attacking the demons head on. Venessa on the other hand focused her attention in strengthening the Injustice Initiative with rigorous training and firing incompetent people in leadership positions and swiftly replacing them with those that were far more competent and understood the severity of the situation. In the span of 16 days, the combined efforts of these two feminine leaders made great leaps in progress that equaled or surpassed Diamond's own work in the past three months.
While these two were on a mission together, The Researcher contacted them regarding a very important matter. When the two heroines arrived at the Council's headquarters The Researcher revealed to them two enormous discoveries. "We finally found them. The place where our foes call home, Omniverse 6,666,666. We do not know much of this Omniverse other than the Diamond from Omniverse 8 being aware of its potential and became paranoid of its existence leading him nearly wiping all traces of it from the Council's database. I happen to uncover the last fragments of his report that failed to be deleted. Furthermore, the Core of that Omniverse is deeply fractured, completely drained of all power. We can deduce with sound reasoning that the landscape of that Omniverse is something out of an apocalypse with everything that could have gone wrong, definitely went wrong. In addition, it is a very wide and vast Omniverse similar to the Main Omniverse. In fact, before its current miserable state, it was a near copy of the Main Omniverse. We are trying to scout and analyze the area as best as we can, but it is blocking all of our scanners. Our supernatural sensors can barely last four seconds before frying when they sense the amount of dark negative energy that shrouds that Omniverse." Velocity, "And the other news?" "We also found a very promising Omniverse that was elusive to our map, but just appeared and is surging with radiant energy from the Light." Venessa abruptly, "Light? Like The Light......... not just colorful lights?" "Correct. Would you care to guess what this Omniverse's number is?" "I would assume it would be the polar opposite of the other, so Omniverse 7,777,777?" "Bingo. Apparently, they have a hierarchy over there and their King requests your presence. His words not mine were King Alexander humbly requests the presence of Empress Venessa of the Main Omniverse and any companions she wishes to bring for a formal meeting in regards to the future protection of the Megaverse."
"Alright, message King Alexander and tell him I will adhere to his request. She accessed her communication com and ordered Tray and Cross to join her on the mission. She then turned to Velocity. I would have you join me on this mission, but I do not want to delay the progress you are making in convincing more Omniverses to join our cause." A short time passed as the three members arrived for their briefing with Venessa. After their meeting, they used their watches and traveled to Omniverse 7,777,777. Their eyes were blinded by the bright rays of the sun, before they could tell where they were at. At last, their eyes adjusted to their environment, which resulted in them being astonished at the shining city that was before them. They observed trains similar to bullet trains zipping back and forth through wind tubes and the residents there in very intricate clothing. The residents either had high collar jackets, dazzling shirts, and most importantly, Venessa could sense all of them having unusual levels of the Light inside of them. A loud voice could be heard behind them. "Are these the people who the King wishes to speak with?" The group turns around and sees two men standing a few feet behind them. One appears six foot and a few inches, he did not wear a shirt but was surrounded with gold and red armor, a long red cape, black pants, and long flowing blonde hair. The other was a little shorter around five feet and possibly 11 inches with black and purple hair, a black and purple cape, purple pants, and purple armor in the exact areas as the first man. The second one responded to his companion in a soft-spoken manner,"Yes, these are the three we were assigned to escort back to the castle." Venessa, "Hey, are you two like siblings or something? You two kind of look alike." The purple one, "That assumption is correct. I am Lucrest and this is my older obnoxious brother Leoped." Leoped, "We are two in a handful of select individuals, who serve the King by carrying out special assignments and investigations." Lucrest, "If you will please follow us, the King is eager to greet you."
The three heroes followed the two guards to the castle, during their walk Venessa teased her sibling, Tray. "It appears those two brothers have larger swords than you. I think they are far superior swordsmen if they can handle large blades like that. It fails to even compare your toothpick of a sword." "Shush! I don't want to hear it. I choose elegance and gracefulness over something flashy." The group finally reached the castle as several guards in colorful shining full body armor saluted the group as they stepped inside the large white crystal doors of the castle. Leoped and Lucrest led the trio right towards the throne room; no sooner than when the doors opened, King Alexander leaped from his throne and welcomed his guests. The King's outfit was composed of expensive black cloth with silver and blue crystals creating his unique armor with gold outlining around the edges and his crown. His hair was white as snow with a cape flowing from his waist with two metallic angelic wings attached to his back. He appeared as someone who was no older than their early 20's, much less muscular than Leoped, while possessing a staggering height of 6,7. "Greetings Empress Venessa, first adopted child of Diamond! A pleasure to finally meet you. Greetings to you Tray, second adopted child of Diamond! And a very warm welcome to Cross, the last member and headmaster of the Royal Guard!" Cross' attitude changed from being standoffish to one of utter shock. No one has addressed him as headmaster since the days of the Clone War. Tray whispered to Venessa, "Headmaster of the Royal Guard? I never knew that about Cross." "Yes, many years in Cross' realm he was headmaster of the Royal Guard, an elite group of warriors who protected his realm from malevolent threats under the orders of a man named the Keeper. This was brought to an end when.........Alastor manipulated him to massacre all of his fellow friends and the Keeper towards the end of the Clone War, mere days before order Kingdom Come was initiated."
King Alexander, "Empress Venessa please accept these gifts as a sign of good will. He signaled for four servants to step forward with bundles of technology and scrolls. The Alphaverse is more than ready to work closely alongside the Megaverse Council to defeat the fallen angels and corrupted souls of the Demonic Council! Please follow me to our war chambers." King Alexander led the heroes down several steps to a room that was protected by several guards. They were granted access and upon entering, the heroes were stunned to see holographic displays of plans and projects that were scattered as two male figures were debating with a female. The figures turned to the doors and quickly turned off the scattered plans and pulled up a file that said, "Propositions and explanation for the Megaverse Council." One unique hologram Venessa saw before it disappeared was a hologram of the Matrix of Eternity with a subject line under it labeled "Restore the Matrix to its former power?" As Venessa was deep in thought, King Alexander spoke to his guests who the other three figures were, "The lanky one with grey hair and a gas mask is our lead chemist, Lorenzo. The other one with him with the crimson operator hat, black and red hair, and basically black and red from his natural wings to his armor adored with many medals is our head of homeland security, Viciate. Last but not least is our lead scientist of technology, and weapons, whose brilliance I cannot put into words, Malissia." Malissia had medium length jet black hair that only left her left eye visible, yet it appeared she had unique facial marks that were long black lines leading up to her eyelids. She wore a long black coat that went just above her ankles with boots in the shape of heels. Nearly everything she wore was black except her shirt which was white with print that resembles computer chips. Malissia, "I prefer to go by M." Tray in a playful manner, "A little gothic in your appearance compared to everyone we've seen today!" "Simply a matter of taste and perception." Tray then noticed Malissia had white irises as the rest of her eyes were black, which created a sense of mystery behind them.
Lorenzo, "The disgraced Royal Guard is here......." King Alexander disappointingly, "Lorenzo......we talked about this." Venessa, "Hey what was that project regarding the Matrix of Eternity about? How would any of you be able to reload it?" King Alexander, "We have the source that originally fueled the Matrix. We were the ones who originally created it." Cross and Tray were shocked to hear such a revelation. Was the king bluffing or legitimately telling the truth? Malissia, "The reason you saw so many other projects scattered was due to these two knuckleheads trying to push these loose ideas my way, knowing full well we had a meeting today." Viciate, "Then Lorenzo and I should be going." Viciate and Lorenzo leave the room as King Alexander and Malissia start speaking with Venessa, Tray, and Cross. Lorenzo and Viciate journeyed far from the castle's boundaries and into the outskirts of the gorgeous city into a dark alleyway where a female was waiting for them. "Have you two finally reached a decision?" Lorenzo, "Yes, we have, Paradox." Paradox in a feminine form smiled while twirling their hair, with a snap of their fingers a contract appeared before Lorenzo and Viciate. "Both of you sign there. Viciate tried to sign with a pen, but Paradox stopped him. Nuh uh uh, in blood!" Viciate pulled a dagger and cut a piece of flesh off him and Lorenzo as they signed the contract that bonded them to Black Hat. See that wasn't so hard. Now I sense you have something to tell me?" Viciate, "The Empress, playboy, and ex-harbinger of darkness are here. They learned of the plans to restore the Matrix of Eternity." A sadistic smile appeared on Paradox's face, "Wonderful! Wonderful! Things could not be better! With your help we can kill those three now and you two will rule this Omniverse as the new kings only in service to Black Hat and the Council. Let them retrieve the remains of the Matrix, and we can either strike before or after they restore the Matrix, then steal it and place it within the treasury with the other dangerous objects that could pose a threat to our reign. Run along now and continue to play your parts like good little errand boys." Paradox gave them a wink. Lorenzo, "Freak! When it comes to your services, we work with you, not for you!" The two then leave as Paradox continues to smile in the shadows.
Back in the war chamber. Venessa, "Impressive. All that you are proposing will greatly benefit us. I can see your offers are sincere, but I must ask, why it took you this long to reveal yourselves?" King Alexander, "That is........simply because of an old law......that had been in effect for thousands of years. I wanted to honor my father and his father, but eventually my consciousness allowed me to overturn that old silly law." Loud footsteps could be running through the halls as a young teenage girl open the doors to the room with pieces of paper in her arms. She began to speak clearly out of breath, "I'm here sister. The documents you wanted." Mallisa, "A few minutes late like usual, Joan." "It's not my fault, military class went on longer than normal! Gosh, how many times do I have to tell you I hate it that mom and dad forced me to become a soldier!" "Everyone, this is my younger sister, Joan. Joan this is Empress Venessa and her two colleagues, Tray and Cross." Everyone exchanged friendly greetings except for Tray who stared at Joan. There was something about Joan that captivated him, it was either the childish way she speaks or the fact she had navy hair like he did. Instead of a handshake, he wrapped both his hands around hers and knelt down, "My fair lady, it is with great honor to meet you. I pray that you will accept my greeting as one of humbleness and may good health and prosperity follow you all the days of your life, my dearest madam." Everyone in the room stared dumbfounded at Tray's speech. Cross, "Where the crap did that come from Shakespeare?" Joan stood there blushing as she stuttered while addressing Tray, "Th....thank y...yo.....you." King Alexander, "Well this meeting is nearing its end, so why don't Tray and Joan spend some time with each other while the rest of us handle the closing logistics?" Mallisa, "WHAT THE?" "Alright it's settled then. Tray and Joan, you two are dismissed."
Joan and Tray stared at each other before she offered Tray some lunch, which he readily agreed to. Alexander turned back to Venessa, "Venessa, if you don't mind, I will like you and your party to stay here the next four days. The first two can be used to handle business regarding our technology and battle tactics as I introduce you to our greatest soldiers, warriors, and fighters. The last two days can be a sort of mini vacation." "Well..........I don't think such an offer will hurt. You have yourself a deal King Alexander!" At lunch Tray and Joan were deep in conversation. Tray, "You look much different than your sister. Your eyes are normal, you are much more cheerful, and just overall livelier." "My sister takes all the stress and responsibilities of the family upon her. That and her role in the kingdom just adds more stress to her. As for her eyes and facial markings, those came when she felt called to the Spring of Restoration." "What now?" "The Spring of Restoration grants those worthy unique properties or powers. Only a select few experience a change from the spring. It is not heavily protected because the spring prevents anyone unworthy from stepping foot in its waters." "Radical." "Mhm!" "So, I heard you fighting with your sister about you hating being trained as a soldier. Why is that?" "It freaking sucks! My parents do not want me to be an astronomer or engineer! They want me to become a Celestial Crusader. On top of that, I don't even get to choose what I want to do or what I want to eat a majority of the time! Eating lunch with you right now is a rare occurrence." "Have you brought your problems to the king?" "Yes, but I don't know if he is hearing my pleas or not. If he's not, I don't blame him, he has a lot on his mind and considering my parents are very influential in terms of politics, if the king makes a brash move, my parents will give him political turmoil." Tray abruptly received a message from Venessa stating their four day stay. He was excited and already made up his mind that he will spend these four days showing Joan the freedom she is missing out on.
The next two days, King Alexander did everything he said he would to Venessa and Cross. Among the strongest warriors and fighters were Ezekiel with his four angelic wings and star saber, Phonix with his ability to control time and fire, Ian with the ability to create things out of metal at will and his large sword in the shape of a key, Vivi with her ability of harnessing animal souls and acquiring their powers and abilities to her disposal, and with several other notable fighters. Yet, the group was slowly stalked by Lorenzo who reported all of their movements to Paradox. The next two days arrived where Venessa and Cross briefly parted ways in order to find some way to relax before returning to base. On the fourth day, Venessa contacted her adoptive mother, Selena, for a special request. She wanted Selena to travel to the Alphaverse with the Matrix of Eternity in order to restore it with wisdom capable of changing the tide of the war. As for Joan and Tray, the two traveled all across the kingdom from going to the beach, kayaking, visiting the aquarium, and art museum. Tray taught Joan how to properly duel and was deeply proud when she complimented him on his elegant sword. Unknown to them Viciate was also reporting their activities to Paradox. On one of their stops, Joan brought Tray to the Spring of Restoration just for them to sight see. Yet, she was startled when Tray stopped responding to her. His eyes were affixed at the spring as he slowly started to step towards it. Joan tried to stop him, but her petite body could not stop him.
Suddenly, he stopped on the edge of the spring and bent down scooping up the water as he started to drink it from his hands. Joan was confused at Tray's behavior, "Are you......alright?" Before Tray could turn around, he collapsed on the ground. "TRAY!" She ran to him, but when she arrived, his eyes opened wildly as his body started to glow with an unearthly light. Tray's body started to transform with his pupils becoming white similar to Mallisa but instead of the other part of his eye becoming black, it became a bright cyan color. His navy hair became white with a few streaks of cyan along with his olive skin changing to being white as quartz. His outfit even started to change around him with his clothes glowing with a clear like cyan substance with a hood gently resting on his hair. Gold embroidered his collar as a unique glowing cyan halo appearing over his head. "Joan.....please tell me I'm not dead." "I uhhhh you mmmmmmm I guess not? Here let me show you what you look like." Joan opened her camera and took a photo of him in order for Tray to see the photo. "Oh my gosh I became even more handsome." "Seriously, that's what you think about after looking like you just died on me!" "Hey, I'm sorry for zoning out on you like that. I just heard a soothing voice calling me from the Spring and I could not help but follow it." "The voice was more than soothing than mine?!" "Well yes...CRAP NO NOT LIKE THAT I SWEAR!" Joan started punching Tray as he let out a hearty laugh. From the shadows Viciate contacted Paradox on what happened and for Paradox to arrive swiftly to exterminate the couple.
The two continued on their walk after having their emotions die down. Yet, there was a sort of tension in the air between the two as one waited for the other to speak first. At last, Tray was the one to break the tension as he stopped Joan and decided to finally reveal to her the thoughts that had been plaguing his mind the past few days. "Joan, I don't know how to say this but, whenever I am around you, I just feel warm inside and what I could only describe as butterflies, erupt in my stomach." Joan blushed deeply before responding, "Oh Tray!" "Joan, if you do not want to enlist in the Celestial Crusaders, you don't have to. I'm offering you a choice. I see how much you care for your older sister and your eagerness for freedom. I encourage you to follow your heart and join me. I promise with every fiber in my being that my family and I will protect you and support you with whatever decision you make." Joan with tears in her eyes. "Oh Tray! Thank you! I want to briefly stay here so I can help my sister with any last assignments and join you on exploring the Megaverse and you taking me back to the Omniverse you call home! Thank you, thank you for being such a wonderful person to me these past four days. Truthfully, I can say I feel the same when I am around you. Your outgoing free-spirited nature is very cute and contagious." Tray extends his hand towards Joan, "Then what are we waiting for? Take my hand and I will show you all the wonderful places in my Omniverse! Obviously after you are done helping your sister of course." He gave her a big comforting smile as he waited for her to wipe the tears of gratitude off her face. However, just before she could place her hand in his, a gunshot went off as a singular bullet went through the right side of Joan's head and exited out of the left. Tray opened his eyes and was horrified at the pool of blood emerging from Joan's body as she lay lifeless on the ground. He was shaken as he heard a sickening laugh. He hastily turned his head to the direction of the laughter.
Tray's eyes widened in confusion as he saw Gadget Bandito emerge from the shadows. "What.....what are you doing here? How did you get here? Why have you done this after being a loyal member of the Initiative for many years?!" "Doesn't matter. Any last words kid?" Tray thought inwardly, "Wait......no......there is no way he is the real Gadget Bandito. The real one does not even know a lot of the Megaverse, much less keep up with any news from the Initiative." He finally spoke out loud. "My powers and senses are telling me you are Gadget Bandito. But my heart, mind, and soul tell me otherwise! WHO ARE YOU?" Paradox finally revealed himself to Tray as he morphed into his mechanical appearance. Tray finally spoke after being at a loss for words, "I know you. I know who you are. No, you are not even a person anymore. You have turned yourself into something unrecognizable. I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE! YOU ARE THE CREATURE WHO MURDERED MY FATHER'S PARENTS ON THE NIGHT OF HOLY THURSDAY!" Paradox had a twisted malicious grin on his mechanical face as he spoke, "Aren't you a smart one." Tray began to channel his new powers granted to him from the Spring of Restoration. "I WILL NOT ONLY AVENGE THE DEATH OF DIAMOND'S PARENTS! BUT FOR JOAN WHO YOU SHOT IN COLD BLOOD! DIE YOU BODY MORPHING BASTARD!"
Filled with pure rage, Tray could not control his powers as Paradox merely toyed with him before using Tray's disorientation to his advantage. Paradox was able to overpower the young hero, but briefly underestimated his new power buff when Tray's halo pierced itself into Paradox's chest. This comeback was shortly lived due to the intervention of Viciate who incapacitated Tray and tied him up. Elsewhere, Venessa felt a disturbance in her gut and thus gathered Cross and met with King Alexander to ask where Tray and Joan were at. The King did not know of their location much to the dismay of Venessa, but suddenly in the throne room a thick green mist entered the room which knocked the guards and the heroes unconscious. Lorenzo did his best to pick up the bodies of the heroes and tie them up, "Now we just wait for the Queen of Asteria to arrive and snatch the Matrix from her by ransoming these hostages."
Meanwhile Selena took care of Diamond and would not allow him out of her sight. If he had to leave her house, she would go with him wherever he went, due to the public opinion on him fiercely divided. There were some who believed the attacks were caused by him while others knew that he would never do such a thing and it had to be an imposter. She would fiercely criticize any bystander who booed or tried to assault Diamond. Diamond on the other hand did not like how Selena was being overprotective of him, and her reasoning was that his mental state was not in a good place. Truthfully, it felt like he was on house arrest. One day the two of them took a nap on Selena's couch, when Selena was notified to embark on the mission to Omniverse 7,777,777. She did not have Diamond know what mission it was, but said it was important. "Don't do anything stupid or silly while I'm gone. And do not go on any adventures either! If I find out you left the town, you won't hear the end of it!" "Alright sheesh I got it."
Selena traveled to Sanctuary and entered one of the passwords a few of the elite members possessed in order to gain access to the broken remains of the Matrix of Eternity. She grabbed the pieces and created a portal to the Alphaverse. Once Selena teleported off to her mission, Diamond took advantage of this opportunity and decided to venture into town. He grabbed his Bluetooth earbuds and walked outside to his favorite coffee shop. While walking, he played Have You Ever Seen The Rain, by Creedence Clearwater Revival, one of his father's favorite bands. He could not resist but sing along with the lyrics, "When it's over so they say it'll rain a sunny day, I know, shining down like water. I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain? I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain? Coming down on a sunny day." During his stroll a handful of protestors spotted him and began to yell, "Murderer! Thief! Crook! Liar!" One such protestor threw a pot of hot water at him, which nearly resulted in Diamond retaliated, but he bore these wrongs patiently and continued on his way. He turned a corner into an alleyway and started to dance and jump in the puddles. On the other side were a set of stairs where he slowly danced his way down each step to the closing parts of the song still singing with raw emotion. "Yeaaaaahhhhhhhh I wanna know have you seen the rain? I wanna know have you ever seen the rain? Coming down on a sunny day."
He turned off his music when he entered the doors of the small shop and waited patiently in line. After he finished placing his order and pulled out his wallet to pay, the cashier whispered to him, "It's on the house. You are still a hero to us who work here." "Are you sure ma'am?" "Yes. It'll be out shortly." He took a seat near a window and started reading the local newspaper in silence. Just then a little boy who was with his parents came to his side and started to speak with him. "Excuse me sir, but are you, Diamond?" Diamond chuckled to himself, "Well there is no use in hiding my identity. Yes, I am." "Can you tell me what it was like during the year I was born?" "Uh, odd request but yeah I can tell you, first I have to ask how old are you?" "I just turned four!" "Well happy birthday! Let's see four years ago was 2016.....wait no it was 2020. Gosh was 2020 four years ago? Man, all these adventures all start flowing together kid. So, around this time an old enemy of mine named......" Diamond abruptly stopped speaking as he felt a disturbance. "Named who, sir?" Diamond stood up and slowly walked to the doors as a giant explosion went off in the center of town. Everyone started screaming, running in all directions from the blast, as Diamond signaled his AI using his nanotech vision glasses. "HONEY what are we looking at? HONEY? Crap I never turned you back on." Diamond hastily had his nanotech grow on his left arm as he turned on the setting to activate HONEY. "I'm back! Are you ok boss, did you do anything brash when I was gone?" "We can catch up later HONEY, right now I need you to prevent traffic from entering this street and alert the local authorities." "Yes sir!"
While all of this was happening on Earth, Selena's portal finally brought her to the Alphaverse. She begins to mutter to herself, "Alright Venessa I'm here. Hopefully we can get this done quickly, because I don't trust Diamond being by himself." Selena was cautious of her surroundings, due to being greeted with an eerie vacant throne room. She suddenly heard a quiet "help me," this prompted her to locate the source of the voice which resulted in her finding Lorenzo lying next to a pillar. "Please help me." "Who did this to you, where are they now, and have you seen a young girl with pink and blue hair go by?" Selena used her powers to silently read the injured person's mind, but before her powers could alert her of it being a trap, she heard another voice which caused her pupils to shrink with fear. "Hello my precious doll." Selena turned to face the new voice and to her horror, she saw Paradox standing behind her, appearing the same way he looked the day before he died. The trauma from the mistreatment and terror she received from him overridden her senses and caused her to stand completely motionless. Behind her Lorenzo leaped and took off his mask expelling a strong toxin into her lungs causing her to faint and drop the pieces of the Matrix. Lorenzo, "Why did you change the plan to capture her instead of bargaining with her?" Paradox, "Because I want the last thing, they see is me holding the reloaded Matrix and handing it over to my masters." Paradox then switched back to his mechanical body and wrapped Selena in thick pairs of chains. He then took her body along with the rest of the heroes to the depths of the castle.
Simultaneously on Earth, Diamond slowly made his way to the source of the blast as he yelled at the pedestrians to head southbound. When he reached the center of the blast three figures emerged. A hulking lizard creature, a humanoid squid, and a tall figure wrapped in black cloth with piercing red goggles. "HEY! THIS TOWN IS CLOSED TO THUGS LIKE YOU TODAY!" The man in black cloth responded back, "We were wishing for a fight with Selena, but facing you is even better!" "I suggest you stand down before I rip a tentacle from your friend Squidward!" "Grok shut his mouth." The hulking creature lifted his axe from his back and started charging at Diamond. Diamond tapped his chest as his nanotech started to form around him as he created several large blasters from his back and fired at Grok. The blasts sent Grok flying backwards to his two other companions, but the man in black simply waved his hand to the right which sent Grok crashing into a local store. Diamond flew towards the humanoid squid and started punching him with unrelenting force that caused the squid to vomit quantities of ink. The man in black teleported behind Diamond and used his mystic powers to gain the upper hand by distorting the reality around them. The squid shaped his head into a spear and tried to pierce Diamond with his poison, but Diamond dodged it and sent him hurdling towards the man in black, breaking the reality illusion. He then had his suit create a sticky net which he shot to capture both the man in black and squid. Grok finally managed to get back up, but upon seeing his comrades captured, he clicked a button on his belt that resulted in him exploding creating a blast deadlier than the first. Diamond noticed there were a few people that were in the blast radius of this second explosion and flew towards them using his strength to hold the falling debris from the tall business building. The debris piled the streets with dust and papers, until the sound of sirens broke the silence. Law enforcement arrested the two other villains while Diamond was barely holding large portions of fallen walls, glass, and stone from crushing him and the civilians under him. The leading officer noticed Diamond struggling in the debris, but decided not to help him, he thought to himself, "Let's see if he can truly save others and be the hero the weak minded believe him to be." The crushing weight began to take a toll on Diamond as he slowly began to lose his footing until he was on his knees holding the debris up.
"I promise.....I will get all of you out alive!" Negative thoughts began to enter his mind as various voices began to call out. "You are not good enough. You couldn't save your own parents; how can you save these unfortunate souls? You are playing a fool's game. See how the law enforcement refuses to acknowledge your existence. Face it your story is over. Finished. You are nothing but a weak boy who thought he could have been a great hero." Diamond tried to block out these voices, but they began to take a toll on him, nearly causing him to give up, but then a quiet voice entered his mind. A voice smooth like honey but strong as thunder echoed in his mind. "You are something more. Look inside yourself, you are something far more than when you started all those years ago as a small-town hero. Do not listen to their empty words, listen to me. Do you renounce sin?" "I do." "Do you renounce the Devil, the sin whisperer, and all his empty promises?" "I do!" "Do you believe in the Faith of your fathers, the Resurrection, and life everlasting?" "I do!" "Arise my child." At that very moment Diamond felt the power of the Light course through him at greater quantities than before as his body began to glow with gold and white light. With a newfound access to the Light, Diamond felt it was only natural to change the wording when harnessing its power, "Through the power of Heaven's Light.......All things are possible!" Diamond effortlessly lifted the debris away from him as the civilians under his care ran to the rest of the crowd. The onlookers stared at Diamond's glowing gold and white body. They were baffled in amazement as a few murmured amongst themselves, "Truly this is the act of a selfless hero."
Diamond did not hear the crowd's cheers, whistles, and praises as he stood deep in contemplation. Deep within his soul, he was able to sense his family was in grave danger. With his connection to the Light restored, he made it his new mission to travel to the Omniverse where he sensed the disturbance. He quietly spoke to himself, "Oh yeah I'm ready to whip the person who is so bent on ruining my life! But first, I have to do it in style. He allowed his suit to create two large speakers; HONEY make sure the volume is on max. Time for us to go back into the Megaverse!"
To Be Continued In The Alphaverse Part 2

DAY: MAY 31 2024
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The government of British Columbia recently introduced a bill to ban people convicted of serious offenses from legally changing their name. The proposed amendment to the province’s Name Act would also prohibit those found not criminally responsible due to mental disorder from changing their name. The government announced the move after media reports that Allan Schoenborn legally changed his name to Ken Johnson. Schoenborn was found not criminally responsible for the deaths of his children in 2010 because of a delusional disorder, and was placed at a psychiatric hospital.
5-31-2024

SILICON VALLEY ISN’T THE START-UP UTOPIA WE THOUGHT, RESEARCH FINDS

Silicon Valley—considered the world’s hub of technology and innovation—can breed inequality and sameness among budding entrepreneurs, according to new research. Behind the multi-million-dollar deals and tales of start-up utopia, Silicon Valley’s “uneven” investment landscape is in fact a barrier to many budding businesses, says the study from the University of Stirling and Georg-August-University Göttingen. But the researchers suggest other countries could still learn from the more discerning entrepreneurial ecosystem that bred giants such as Apple and Google, to be more selective in backing start-ups. While it is not uncommon for
5-31-2024

I WANT TO KEEP MY CHILD SAFE FROM ABUSE—BUT RESEARCH TELLS ME I’M DOING IT WRONG

Child sexual abuse is uncomfortable to think about, much less talk about. The idea of an adult engaging in sexual behaviors with a child feels sickening. It’s easiest to believe that it rarely happens, and when it does, that it’s only to children whose parents aren’t protecting them. This belief stayed with me during my early days as a parent. I kept an eye out for creepy men at the playground and was skeptical of men who worked with young children, such as teachers and coaches. When my kids were
5-31-2024

OVER 300 MILLION YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED ONLINE SEXUAL ABUSE, EXPLOITATION, FINDS METASTUDY

It takes a lot to shock Kelvin Lay. My friend and colleague was responsible for setting up Africa’s first dedicated child exploitation and human trafficking units, and for many years he was a senior investigating officer for the Child Exploitation Online Protection Center at the UK’s National Crime Agency, specializing in extra territorial prosecutions on child exploitation across the globe. But what happened when he recently volunteered for a demonstration of cutting-edge identification software left him speechless. Within seconds of being fed with an image
5-31-2024

CYBERFLASHING IS A FORM OF GENDERED SEXUAL VIOLENCE THAT MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY

Sexting—sending sexually suggestive or explicit messages and images—is now a widespread practice, and can be a healthy way to express and explore sexuality. However, there is a need to distinguish between consensual sexting and forms of sexual harassment like cyberflashing. Cyberflashing refers to the act of non-consensually sending sexual imagery (like nudes or “dick pics”) to another person. It is facilitated through communications technologies including text, AirDrop and social media applications like Snapchat and Tinder. Similar to flashing—when a person unexpectedly and deliberately “flashes” their genitals to others—that occurs in
5-31-2024

VIRTUAL TRAINING MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE, COST-EFFICIENT OPTION FOR CHILD EDUCATORS

Teachers and other child educators can benefit from regular professional development, but in-person training can be expensive. New research found that virtual training can be a budget-friendly alternative—and especially effective for certain groups of educators. The study—a collaboration between researchers at Penn State and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and published in the International Journal of Professional Development, Learners and Learning—found that educators who took a virtual training reported feeling more confident in their abilities to implement practices shown to support positive youth development. In particular, after-school providers who did not
5-31-2024

HUMBLE LEADERS BOOST EMPLOYEES’ WORKPLACE STATUS AND LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL, FINDS STUDY

There are many different types of workplace leaders, from those who prioritize the needs of team members and the organization above their own, to authentic leaders who foster openness, trust and transparency. A recent study by the University of South Australia published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior has highlighted the significant benefits of humble leadership in the workplace. According to the study by UniSA’s Dr. Xiao Lin, humble leadership can effectively elevate the workplace status of employees by boosting their sense of respect and prominence. It also leads to
5-31-2024

WHY ARE GROCERY BILLS SO HIGH? A NEW STUDY LOOKS AT THE SCIENCE BEHIND FOOD PRICE REPORTING

Rising food costs are squeezing Canadians around the country. Nearly everyone is feeling the pinch, and it’s not just an inconvenience—high food prices are a major threat to food security for many Canadians. Understanding why food prices are so high and why they are changing is critical to the well-being of our society. Unfortunately, consensus on why food price are so high is in short supply. Explanations given in reports like Canada’s Food Price Report and the news media range widely, from the war in Ukraine to supply chain issues
5-31-2024

WILL GENERATIVE AI CHANGE THE WAY UNIVERSITIES COMMUNICATE?

Is artificial intelligence an unprecedented opportunity, or will it rob everyone of jobs and creativity? As we debate on social media (and perhaps use ChatGPT almost daily), generative AIs have also entered the arena of university communication. These tools—based on large language models that were optimized for interactive communication—can indeed support, expand, and innovate university communication offerings. Justus Henke has analyzed the situation of German realities about six months after the launch of ChatGPT 3. “The research was conducted about a year ago when enthusiasm was high, but it was
5-31-2024

STUDY SHOWS RELATIVELY LOW NUMBER OF SUPERSPREADERS RESPONSIBLE FOR LARGE PORTION OF MISINFORMATION ON TWITTER

Classification of superspreader accounts. A large portion (55.1%) of accounts are no longer active. For each class annotated with political affiliations, colors indicate the ideological split. The last group aggregates all accounts with political affiliations. Credit: PLOS ONE (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302201 A small team of social media analysts at Indiana University has found that a major portion of tweets spreading disinformation are sent by a surprisingly small percentage of a given userbase. In their study, published in PLOS ONE, the group conducted a review of 2,397,388 tweets posted on Twitter
5-31-2024

HOW LIFE’S BIG MOMENTS CAN CHALLENGE STARTUPS

Life-changing events like the birth of a child, the purchase of a new home, or a lottery win could threaten the survival of a new business venture, the positive family events had a comparatively greater influence, albeit negatively, on the survival of a new venture, compared with
5-31-2024

RUDE AT WORK? FEELING GUILTY CAN MAKE YOU A BETTER, KINDER WORKER

We’ve all done it. A bad night’s sleep or a tough commute made us cranky, and we lashed out at a coworker who did nothing wrong. What can we do to make up for it? According to a new study published in the Journal of Business Ethics, embracing our guilty feelings can help us make up for our bad behavior by encouraging us to act more politely and work harder the next day. “We found that anyone can be rude at work, because anyone can
5-31-2024

RESEARCHERS INTRODUCE A PLANETARY INCLUSION SCALE TO FOSTER BROADER ETHICAL THINKING

Social inclusion and having a sense of belonging with other people are key elements of a good life. However, the fate of humanity is a challenge that extends beyond our social reality. Experiences of belonging and inclusion, understood in a broader sense than before, may be crucial for a sustainable future. In an article published in the International Journal of Social Pedagogy, a team of researchers propose a new planetary inclusion scale that structures our planetary relationship three-dimensionally based on temporal, spatial and ethical orientation. The temporal element relates to
5-31-2024

‘LEAN IN’ MESSAGES CAN LOWER WOMEN’S MOTIVATION TO PROTEST GENDER INEQUALITY

Women in leadership are often told to “Lean In,” designed to be motivational messaging demonstrating that they are more confident, strategic and resilient to setback. However, new research indicates that such “lean in” messaging can hinder women’s motivation to protest gender equality. Popularized in a book by American technology executive Sherly Sandberg, the “Lean In” solution to gender inequality advises women that demonstrating personal resilience and perseverance in the face of setbacks is key to career advancement. Now, a new study led by the University of Exeter, Bath Spa University
5-31-2024

ALGORITHMS COULD HELP IMPROVE JUDICIAL DECISIONS

A new paper in the Quarterly Journal of Economics finds that replacing certain judicial decision-making functions with algorithms could improve outcomes for defendants by eliminating some of the systemic biases of judges. Decision makers make consequential choices based on predictions of unknown outcomes. Judges, in particular, make decisions about whether to grant bail to defendants or how to sentence those convicted. Companies now use machine learning based models increasingly in high-stakes decisions. There are various assumptions about human behavior underlying the deployment of such learning models that play out in
5-31-2024

DIGITAL CAMPAIGNING IS A HUGE PART OF ELECTIONS NOW—BUT GOING VIRAL ISN’T EVERYTHING

The election has commenced and the race is on—to amass as many likes, shares and comments as possible. Digital campaigning, particularly through social media, is now a key part of political candidates’ communication toolkit. In fact, every general election campaign since 1997 has at some point been lauded as the first to make effective use of digital campaigning. But it was in 2015 that David Cameron’s campaign first made strategic use of social media to drive an election victory. As political reporter Tim Ross outlines in his excellent book, Why
5-31-2024

WHY ARE ORGANIZATIONAL COVER-UPS SO COMMON?

The TV dramatization of the UK Horizon Post Office scandal evoked outrage and disbelief. However, as another example of dysfunctional organizational behavior, it was expected rather than exceptional. The Post Office saga joins a long list of cover-ups or scandals that includes Hillsborough, Enron, Grenfell, the infected blood scandal, the Tuam babies scandal in the Republic of Ireland, Boeing 737 Max and Nasa (Columbia space shuttle). They represent what happens when there is a move within organizations and institutions to cover up the causes of
5-31-2024

AMONG GEN Z AUSTRALIANS, 38% IDENTIFY AS SPIRITUAL AND HALF BELIEVE IN KARMA. WHY IS SPIRITUALITY SO POPULAR?

Spirituality is increasingly popular with young Australians: recent research shows 38% of Gen Z Australians identify as spiritual. It also reports 50% of them believe in karma, 29% in reincarnation and 20% in astrology. When it comes to activities equated with spirituality, 28% of Gen Z Australians practice meditation and 22% practice yoga. In Australia, spirituality is strongly, enduringly central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and culturally and religiously diverse communities. Yet until recently, spirituality has received far less attention than religion. Spirituality may be
5-31-2024

COMPANIES CAN IMPROVE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THEIR PRODUCTS IN THE EARLIEST PRODUCT-DESIGN STAGES

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Lithuanian and Italian universities propose a tool that allows companies to assess the circularity of their future products. The self-assessment tool emphasizes the co-creation of circular design in the early (creative) stages of product development, encouraging entrepreneurs and designers to think more systematically and collaborate better by integrating related stakeholders into the product development process. The study is published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology. “The majority of existing practical tools (systems of indicators) are aimed at measuring the environmental impact of products already
5-31-2024

RESEARCH EXAMINES HOW RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION AFFECTS A STATE’S COLLEGE ENROLLMENT

New research has revealed up to a 9% increase in college first-year enrollments in US states that have legalized recreational marijuana compared with states without such legalization. The study, which is published in Economic Inquiry, found that the increase was from out-of-state enrollments, with early adopter states and public non-research institutions experiencing the most pronounced increases. Recreational marijuana legalization did not negatively impact degree completion or graduation rate, and it did not affect college prices, quality, or in?state enrollment. The findings suggest that some students perceive recreational marijuana legalization as
5-31-2024

RESEARCH EXAMINES HOW RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION AFFECTS A STATE’S COLLEGE ENROLLMENT

New research has revealed up to a 9% increase in college first-year enrollments in US states that have legalized recreational marijuana compared with states without such legalization. The study, which is published in Economic Inquiry, found that the increase was from out-of-state enrollments, with early adopter states and public non-research institutions experiencing the most pronounced increases. Recreational marijuana legalization did not negatively impact degree completion or graduation rate, and it did not affect college prices, quality, or in?state enrollment. The findings suggest that some students perceive recreational marijuana legalization as
5-31-2024

HOW THE ‘MODEL MINORITY’ MYTH HARMS ASIAN AMERICANS

May is Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month, a time when Americans celebrate the profound contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders—a group that is commonly abbreviated as AAPI—to U.S. society. It’s also a time to acknowledge the complexity of AAPI experience. And as a professor who studies equity and inclusion in business, I think the focus on AAPI communities this month provides an excellent occasion to push back against a stereotype that has long misrepresented and marginalized a diverse range of people: the myth of the “model minority.” The
5-31-2024

WONDERING HOW TO TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT CONSENT? HERE’S AN AGE-BASED GUIDE TO GET YOU STARTED

The Australian government’s new campaign Consent Can’t Wait challenges us all to improve our understanding of consent. It asks a series of questions to illustrate this issue is more complex than simplistic “no means no” messaging. The campaign invites viewers to consider the nuances of consent, so we can raise these important issues with children and young people in our lives. But what is a good age to start talking about consent? How do parents tackle such conversations when this information probably wasn’t readily discussed in our own upbringing? How
5-31-2024

A PRODUCT OF NATURE OR NURTURE?

The concept of cultural entrepreneurship has many facets. It encompasses both the cultural and social impact of entrepreneurial training, and the environmental factors that influence its development. Some societies, such as the U.S., have a strong entrepreneurial culture. This means that certain characteristics are celebrated and encouraged, such as the ability of individuals to assume risks, patience when confronting challenges, and innovative problem solving, especially in uncertain situations. However, not all countries have such an entrepreneurial culture. Entrepreneurship struggles to take off in Europe In general, entrepreneurship can drive economic
5-31-2024

STUDY BRIDGES ANIMAL BEHAVIOR RESEARCH AND COMPUTER CODING TO ENGAGE CHILDREN IN STEM

A graphic depicting a student coding. Credit: Carnegie Mellon University Teachers today face a bit of a conundrum, according to a new study from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Their goal is to prepare young students to enter a rapidly changing world. Even basic jobs require technical proficiency, which requires computational and analytical skills. To address this need, many educators are pushing to fold these important STEM skills into elementary curriculum. Here’s the problem. Young students can lose interest and even develop an aversion
5-31-2024

STUDY SHOWS VR CAN HELP TEACHERS BETTER DISTRIBUTE THEIR GAZE

On the left, a bird’s-eye view of the virtual classroom; on the right, screenshots of each of the four gaze-visualization conditions. Teachers need to know their material, but they must also keep their students engaged and interested. Part of that involves making eye contact with their students—all of them. A multidisciplinary team of researchers tested several methods of data visualization in an immersive virtual reality (VR) classroom, to give teachers a way to gauge
5-31-2024

MARKETERS CAN MANAGE ‘FEATURE CREEP’ SO CONSUMERS FEEL LESS INTIMIDATED BY TOO MANY FEATURES IN A PRODUCT

Wifi-enabled washing machines. Voice-controlled microwaves. App-enabled TVs, vacuum cleaners, and even window blinds you can control from the comfort of your couch. Many of the technological features now included in everyday products are useful and accessible. But research has shown that having too many can overwhelm potential buyers, making them less likely to make a purchase. In recent research, Wayne Hoyer, marketing professor and James L. Bayless/William S. Farrish Fund Chair for Free Enterprise at Texas McCombs, digs into the phenomenon of “feature creep” and its impact on consumer sentiment.
5-31-2024

RESEARCHERS EXPLAIN SOCIAL MEDIA’S ROLE IN RAPIDLY SHIFTING SOCIAL NORMS ON GENDER AND SEXUALITY

A new paper summarizing decades of research demonstrates how social media has supported an explosion of diversity in gender and sexuality in America during the 21st century, and also how these technologies have equally enabled a cultural backlash. The paper’s authors, UC Santa Cruz Psychology Department faculty members Phil Hammack and Adriana Manago, identified five main narratives about gender and sexuality that they believe emerged through social media as people have strived to be “authentic” on these platforms. The findings, along with resulting recommendations for psychology researchers and practitioners, were
5-31-2024

KEY FACTORS IN TRAINING ASSESSORS FOR ENHANCED PERFORMANCE RATINGS

New research is examining how organizations can improve their training programs by customizing frame-of-reference training to emphasize identifying negative behaviors critical to their goals. While assessors naturally identify positive behaviors, C. Allen Gorman, Ph.D., associate professor in UAB’s Department of Management, Information Systems and Quantitative Methods, says targeted training helps them recognize harmful actions that can hinder organizational objectives. Involving assessors in defining important performance dimensions and examples of behaviors, both good and
5-31-2024

STUDIES CHALLENGE WIDELY HELD BELIEFS ON APPLICANT DIVERSITY AND WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE

Justin Frake is interested in cause-and-effect relationships in real-world data and the hidden dynamics that shape workplace behavior and equality—or inequality, as the case might be. His curiosity has led to research that challenges some popular beliefs as well as published studies related to women in the workforce. One study shows that firms promoting flatter hierarchies inadvertently discourage female applicants and another study counters several recent studies that claim women CEOs negatively impact career outcomes of other women. Both are published in the Strategic Management Journal. The assistant professor of
5-31-2024

CHALLENGING LEWIN’S MOTIVATIONAL CONFLICTS THEORY

A recent series of experiments challenges the longstanding theory of motivational conflict resolution introduced by Kurt Lewin. According to Lewin, conflicts between two undesirable outcomes (avoidance–avoidance conflicts) are typically harder to resolve than those between two desirable ones (approach–approach conflicts). Lewin posited that avoidance–avoidance conflicts, where individuals must choose between two undesirable outcomes, are typically more challenging to resolve compared to approach–approach conflicts, which involve choosing between two desirable options.
5-31-2024

MEN WITH ‘TOXIC MASCULINITY’ ARE MORE LIKELY TO MAKE SEXUAL ADVANCES WITHOUT CONSENT, STUDY FINDS

No means no when it comes to sex. But what happens when a woman makes a more passive response to a sexual advance? According to new research from Binghamton University, men differ in how they interpret these types of responses, and men who display hostile masculinity, known commonly as “toxic masculinity,” tend to act on them regardless of whether or not they think it’s consensual. A team of researchers, including Binghamton psychology professor Richard Mattson and graduate student Michael Shaw asked men between the ages of 18–25 to respond to
5-31-2024

WHY WE DEHUMANIZE OUR POLITICAL OPPONENTS

Some of human history’s greatest atrocities—genocide, slavery, ethnic cleanings—are rooted in our ability to dehumanize people from other social, political, or cultural groups. Whereas prior research has traced dehumanization to the belief that others think or feel less than we do, new research co-authored by Haas professor Sameer Srivastava shows that our tendency to dehumanize can also be influenced by how we think others view important facets of the world. The greater the difference between our perceptions of an outgroup’s worldview
5-31-2024

STUDY SUGGESTS CHILDREN ARE OFTEN EXPOSED TO PROBLEMATIC CLICK BAIT DURING YOUTUBE SEARCHES

When a child peruses YouTube, the content recommended to them is not always age appropriate, a new study suggests. Researchers mimicked search behaviors of children using popular search terms, such as memes, Minecraft and Fortnite, and captured video thumbnails recommended at the end of each video. Among the 2,880 thumbnails analyzed, many contained problematic click bait, such as violence or frightening images, according to the Michigan Medicine led research in JAMA Network Open. “Children spend a significant amount of time on free video sharing platforms that include user-generated content,” said
5-31-2024

STUDY FINDS WOMEN ARE VULNERABLE IN POST-WAR PEACE PROCESSES

Post-war peace processes are a dangerous period for women. Many are forced to live close to men who committed serious abuse during the war or are expected to testify in various types of truth commissions, which can be both retraumatizing and stigmatizing. These are the findings of a new study by peace researchers at Uppsala University, published in the journal PLOS ONE. “In short, peace projects can force women to live side by side with ex-combatants who committed atrocities during the war. This puts them at risk of further threat
5-31-2024

HOW EMBRACING THE CRINGE CAN HELP YOUR DATING LIFE

We can all agree that dating is hard. Getting to know people can feel vulnerable, but at the same time, exciting. We can also agree that feeling rejected can be one of the worst feelings, especially after we put ourselves out there. Dating can also expose us to a lot of cringey things, maybe even something we didn’t know we’d consider cringey. Think of cringe like something that makes you uncomfortable, or something about someone else that you don’t find attractive. Before dating, most of us consider what we’re looking
5-31-2024

PERSONAL CONNECTIONS AT WORK POSITIVELY IMPACT RETENTION AND MENTAL HEALTH, SAYS REPORT

New survey results from Wiley suggest people still feel connected at work despite the prevalence of hybrid and remote work environments and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). According to the latest Wiley Workplace Intelligence report, “Human Connection: The Crucial Secret to Thriving in the Digital Age,” nearly 8 in 10 employees surveyed (78%) said they feel connected with their coworkers, and almost 7 in 10 (69%) said they also enjoy making connections with their colleagues. Around half even said they want to learn more about their coworkers by doing
5-31-2024

RESEARCHER DEVELOPS MODEL OF INFLUENCER IMPORTANCE WITHIN INSTAGRAM NETWORKS

A study has provided new insights into social media influencers, particularly focusing on those in the women’s fashion sector on the well-known image and video sharing platform Instagram. In a departure from the approach taken by earlier studies, Jens K. Perret of the International School of Management in Cologne, Germany, has used network statistics and centrality measures to establish a model of influencer importance within their network. Perret analyzed data from 255 influencers covering a four-year period. Influencers are loosely
5-31-2024

MOST PEOPLE TRUST ACCURATE SEARCH RESULTS WHEN THE STAKES ARE HIGH, STUDY FINDS

Rank (X-axis) does not affect the evaluation of trustworthiness (Y-axis, mean-centered) of accurate results. This lack of relationship is robust across experiments (columns) and for clicked results (top row, red) as well as non-clicked results (bottom row, blue). The trend lines represent the predicted change in trustworthiness ratings per unit decrease in rank fitted by the linear regression models. Credit: Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61645-8 Using experiments with COVID-19 related queries, Cornell sociology and information science researchers found that in a public health emergency, most people pick out and click
5-31-2024

MISLEADING COVID-19 HEADLINES FROM MAINSTREAM SOURCES DID MORE HARM ON FACEBOOK THAN FAKE NEWS, STUDY FINDS

Despite the greater potency of “fake news” on Facebook to discourage Americans from taking the COVID-19 vaccine, users’ greater exposure to unflagged, vaccine-skeptical content meant the latter had a much greater negative effect on vaccine uptake. Credit: Jennifer Allen, Duncan Watts, David G. Rand Since the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, fake news on social media has been widely blamed for low vaccine uptake in the United States—but research by MIT Sloan School of Management Ph.D. candidate Jennifer Allen and Professor David Rand finds that the blame lies
5-31-2024

CRITICAL DIALOGUE HELPS STRAIGHT MEN CONFRONT SEXIST, HOMOPHOBIC BELIEFS

Adult heterosexual men with sexist and homophobic views can potentially improve their attitudes toward gay men and women by engaging in critical dialogues that use illustrations as a springboard, according to a new University of Michigan study. The work is published in the journal Sexual and Gender Diversity in Social Services. The process by which people shift from a prejudicial stance to one of relative acceptance is a key innovation of the study. Guided by trained facilitators, critical dialogues reflect illustrations depicting different gender roles and sexual identities. The images
5-31-2024

RELIEVING A FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

If you dread public speaking you are not alone. It is a leading social phobia, one that can cause a state of anxiety that reduces otherwise articulate people to nervous incoherence. A strong fear of public speaking is known as glossophobia. Academic studies estimate it affects 20% of the population, but depending on the sample and methodology, the figure could be as high as 40%. As American writer and humourist Mark Twain said, “There are two types of speakers: Those who get nervous and those who are liars.” But help
5-31-2024

HOW SOME PRIVATE COMPANIES ARE MARKETING TECH AND AI SOLUTIONS

How do universities and colleges decide who to admit? Given the earnings advantage of a post-secondary degree both globally and in Canada, this is an important social mobility question. While the answer varies from one institution to the next, most focus on education criteria like exam scores and grades. However, Canada’s new intake cap on study permit applications puts increased pressure on Canadian institutions to also consider immigration criteria when admitting international undergraduate students. This is just the latest example of immigration’s growing influence on the societal roles of Canadian

Raw, April 8th, 2024

Liv Morgan pushes Rhea Ripley into a wall backstage. Rhea Ripley suffered a sprained AC joint in her shoulder which means she will need about three months to recover.
Liv Morgan Sucks.

Raw, April 15th, 2024

Adam Pearce addresses the WWE Universe and announces the injury to Rhea Ripley before stating a battle royal will take place the following week to crown the new Women's World Champion.
Rhea Ripley is nowhere to be seen on the show as she does not announce the injury herself, however we do get a segment backstage between Adam Pearce and Judgment Day. Damian Priest tells Adam Pearce he is making a grave mistake by forcing Rhea Ripley to vacate the championship, but Adam Pearce hears none of it. Pearce is adamant that the battle royal will take place and a new champion will be crowned. Priest tells Adam Pearce that he can call any woman on the roster a "champion," but there is no chance Rhea is going to hand over her belt without a fight.
Pearce, for his part, tells Damian Priest that he expects Rhea Ripley to show up to Raw next weeks and relinquish her title, for if she does not, then he may have to strip Damian Priest of his World Heavyweight Championship.
"Like it or not, I will have a championship belt in my hand by the end of Raw next week. I'll let your little group decide which title is vacated."

Raw, April 22nd, 2024

The Battle Royal takes place almost exactly as it did in real life. Becky Lynch wins the battle royal by last eliminating Liv Morgan.
After the match, Rhea Ripley's music hits and she comes out with one arm in a sling and the Women's Championship dangling from the other.
"Congratulations, Becky. You entered this battle royal with 13 other women and proved that you deserve this championship by beating each and every woman on the roster.... well, except for me....

...and one other woman."

Just then, Shayna Baszler blasts Becky Lynch from behind and locks in the Kirifuda Clutch before tossing Becky Lynch over the top rope. Shayna follows Becky to the outside and continues to beat her down until the two are separated by security.
Adam Pearce storms passed Rhea Ripley on the ramp and asks her what the hell she has done.
Rhea replies, "You wanted a champion, Pearce? I gave you a champion."
Shayna is escorted back up the ramp and passes Rhea. Rhea hands her the belt and Shayna holds the title high to close out the segment.

Rhea Ripley Exclusive Interview

In an exclusive WWE.com interview, Rhea Ripley is asked about her newfound alliance with Shayna Baszler. Rhea states that when she was climbing the ranks in NXT, Shayna Baszler was the toughest opponent she had to face. Even though Rhea suffered losses to the likes of Charlotte Flair and Iyo Sky, Shayna Baszler never failed to make Rhea Ripley hurt every time they stepped in the ring together.
And now, Rhea wants that same pain inflicted on every woman of the Raw roster.
Rhea states that Shayna Baszler is now a full fledged member of the Judgment Day and despite their storied rivalry in NXT, the two are now so close that they are practically sisters and Rhea believes Shayna is fully capable of defending the Women's title until Rhea is healthy enough to return.
"If you think the women's roster was in trouble with Mami on top, wait until you see what Auntie Baszler has in store for them."

Raw, April 29th, 2024

Becky Lynch arrives at the arena and makes a beeline for the ring. Bex takes a mic and tells the crowd she's been pissed off for a week and now she's calling out Shayna Baszler. Baszler does not come out right away so Becky Lynch continues, calling the attack last week bullshit and claiming the last time she faced Shayna Baszler one on one, Becky Lynch was pregnant and she STILL kicked Shayna's ass.
Shayna Baszler arrives with Judgment Day music and the Women's Championship dangling from her hand. Shayna admits Becky bested her at Wrestlemania 36, but much has changed in four years. Shayna has four more years of training while it seems Becky Lynch is only losing momentum. Shayna reveals Adam Pearce will not recognize her as the Interim Women's Champion but states if she makes Becky bleed just as she did four years ago, maybe she will finally give Adam Pearce something to recognize. At this point Shayna has entered the ring and Becky Lynch responds by headbutting her directly on the nose. Becky pounces on Shayna with strikes, forcing Shayna out of the ring, leaving the Women's title behind. As Becky raises the title above her head, Shayna looks on from the ramp laughing, blood dripping from her nose into her maw, staining the mouthguard.
Later in the night, Becky Lynch meets with Adam Pearce in his office and hands him the Women's title. Becky tells Pearce that she collected his bounty, that she got the title back for him, and now she wants him to make the match for Backlash, Becky Vs Baszler. Adam Pearce thanks Becky for her help and grants her request.

Backlash 2024

• Shayna Baszler Vs Becky Lynch for the Women's World Championship

A big bienvenue from Lyons, France.
I struggled with posting on Reddit yesterday so I'm just going to try and hit the finish on each of the matches in this booking.
Becky Lynch tries for the Manhandle Slam but Shayna rolls through the Pumphandle and locks Becky in the Kirifuda. Baszler's arm is wrested on Becky's chin as the Lasskicker struggles to fight out. Becky reaches between her legs to pick Baszler's leg for the takedown but Baszler, anticipating this, takes ahold of Becky's wrist with one hand, executes a half nelson with the other, and drops Becky on her head with a Pumphandle Half-Nelson Suplex. Baszler holds the bridge and gets the pin.
Shayna Baszler defeats Becky Lynch to become the new Women's World Champion.

A Trip to NXT

I'm keeping Shayna Baszler off of King of the Ring partially because I switched the Becky match with the Bayley triple threat from Backlash in my headcanon, and partially because I don't want Shayna thrown from a roof.
So instead, in anticipation of NXT Battleground, Shayna Baszler ventures down to NXT where she participates in weekly squash matches to get several moves over. Over the next five weeks, Shayna picks up wins with the following moves:

• Cross Armbar
• Kimura Lock
• Knee Bar
• Kirifuda Clutch
• And a Gutwrench Suplex where Shayna simply drops Lola Vice on her head.

At NXT Battleground, Shayna Baszler takes on Masha Slamovich in a rematch from their shoot fight at Bloodsport which Shayna wins by referee decision upon using her Pumphandle Half Nelson Suplex that she is now calling "The Queen's Suplex."
Meanwhile, at King of the Ring, Liv Morgan defeated Naomi to win the Queen's Crown to earn a title shot at Clash at the Castle.

Back on Raw

Shayna Baszler returns to Raw and we begin a storyline that makes it clear Shayna is a bit of an awkward fit in the Judgment Day. Shayna approaches her involvement as very businesslike and not as warm or personable as Rhea is with the likes of Dom, Finn or Priest. With this, there are several differences in reaction. Finn respects the business mentality and has no issue in keeping things professional; Damian Priest and Shayna constantly butt heads and argue, but it is also clear that Priest enjoys the challenge of working with Shayna and respects how easily she can dissect most of the women's roster; JD McDonagh thinks Shayna Baszler is hot and tries coming on to her at every opportunity...
And then there's Dom.
It's not Shayna's fault, she didn't ask for any of this or to fill this role, but Dom simply misses Mami. Dom is seen immediately leaving the scene whenever Shayna comes into frame and has a dreadful facial expression whenever attention is brought to Shayna as the group stands in the ring.
And Liv Morgan has apparently caught onto this.
Just as in real life, Liv Morgan is seen speaking to Dom backstage as tensions boil over between herself and Judgment Day. Liv openly gloats about injuring Rhea Ripley which angers all of Judgment Day and seems to infuriate Dominik as well.
On the go-home show to Clash, Shayna hatches a plot that sees JD and Finn kidnap Liv and bring her to the ring. Dom and Shayna follow the group and once in the ring, Shayna begins mercilessly stomping on Liv Morgan's head before drawing her up in the Kirifuda Clutch.
Just then, Finn Balor hands Dominik Mysterio a Police Grade, Smith and Wesson 16 Extendable Baton and Shayna instructs him to bash Liv over the head with it. Dom hesitates but grows with anger as Shayna yells at him, telling him this is the girl who broke his heart. This is the girl who sent Mami away. And with that, Dom rears back and strikes Liv in the stomach.
Liv collapses to the mat as Judgment Day leave with Dom in tow, but Dirty Dom cannot help but look back at Liv Morgan, crumpled in the ring alone.

Clash at the Castle 2024

• Shayna Baszler Vs Liv Morgan for the Women's World Championship

Liv Morgan's music hits but she is nowhere to be seen. Shayna's music hits and the champion is out promptly with Dom and JD. Shayna taunts Liv for either missing her flight or being too cowardly to show her face in Scotland and demands the referee ring the bell and begin a countout. The referee counts to 7 before Liv's music hits once more and out she comes....
... and Liv has brought Hell with her.
Liv is armed to the teeth with a bulletproof vest, helmet and multiple weapons. Dom and JD race into the aisle to restrain her but Liv electrocutes JD with a cattle prod and maces Dominik with pepper spray. Shayna rolls from the ring and grabs a Kendo Stick to defend herself and strikes at Liv but the bulletproof vest stops the force. Liv headbutts Shayna with the helmet and picks up the Kendo Stick herself, swatting at Shayna through the crowd until Liv finally knocks Shayna out on a table with another stiff headbutt with the helmet. Liv then climbs to the balcony and dives off with a Splash, sending Shayna through the table and ending the segment.
The match is thrown out as a No Contest but it is clear there is still bad blood between Liv and Shayna that must be resolved. On the following Raw, Liv Vs Shayna is made official for Money in the Bank per Shayna Baszler's request, but under Liv's request the match will be held under Street Fight rules.
P.S. Apparently Liv and Shayna have had a TON of street fights on house shows last year. Who knew?

Money in the Bank 2024

• Shayna Baszler Vs Liv Morgan for the Women's World Championship in a Street Fight

Liv comes out in the Riott (haha) gear and Shayna is dressed in a standard Gi. Shayna begins the match by systematically dismantling Liv's gear and stripping her of the helmet and bulletproof vest. Shayna continues to lay in strikes until Liv gets the upperhand by blasting Shayna with a fire extinguisher from under the ring.
Liv would continue to fight back with a Kendo Stick until JD and Finn Balor would get involved, however, Liv dispatched of them quickly by tasing JD and bashing Finn off the apron with a riot shield, sending him through a table at ringside. Here, Shayna would take control by attacking Liv from behind, just as Dominik Mysterio would make his presence known in the ring. Dom, carrying the Smith and Wesson baton, is instructed by Shayna to strike Liv in the head to end the match. Shayna pulls Liv into the Kirifuda Clutch and tells Dom to end it. Dom swings...
AND LIV DUCKS! DOM STRIKES SHAYNA IN THE HEAD!
Shayna falls to the mat in a heap as Dom drops the baton in shock. Liv snatches the baton while Dom is distracted and begins leveling him with numerous shots, sending Latino Heat Jr. out of the ring. Liv grabs the riot shield and goes to the top, coming down on Shayna hard with a shield-assisted Splash.
1.
2.
KICKOUT BY SHAYNA!
Liv is despondent and begins to cry in frustration, but she then rolls out of the ring and produces a sack from underneath the ring. Coming back in, Shayna is dazed and just about to her feet as Liv empties the contents, littering the ring with thousands and thousands of thumbtacks. Shayna grimaces in disgust before she and Liv start trading blows in the center of the tack filled ring. Shayna gets the better of Liv and goes for a Gutwrench Suplex only for Liv to land on her feet and execute a vicious Back Body Drop! Shayna cries out in pain as a hundred tacks pierce her back with Liv stalking her as she rises to her knees. Liv measures Shayna and his Ob-Liv-ion into the tacks but is slow to the cover after landing in the thumbtacks herself. Liv crawls to the cover when suddenly...

RHEA RIPLEY!

Rhea enters the ring and collects Liv before she can make the pinfall, grabbing her in a Pumphandle and dropping her right back into the tacks with the Riptide! Rhea then drags a dazed Shayna Baszler over top of Liv Morgan and the ref counts the stacked pin with Mami on top.
Shayna Baszler defeats Liv Morgan to retain the Women's World Championship.

Raw, July 8th, 2024

Rhea Ripley returns to Raw with Shayna Baszler and announces that she is cleared to wrestle. Rhea thanks the fans for their support and especially thanks Shayna Baszler for holding down Judgment Day in her absence and reigning as a phenomenal Women's Champion. However, Rhea states that she is ready to handle things from here and Shayna is no longer needed as Interim Champion. With that, Rhea extends her hand and asks Shayna Baszler to please return the Women's Champion to its rightful owner.
Shayna takes the microphone and tells Rhea it is good to have her back on Raw and she is glad she is healthy. Shayna thanks Rhea for her help at Money in the Bank and is happy she got some measure of revenge over Liv Morgan, and she closes by saying the following:
"Rhea, I love you like a sister, but if you want this title back you are going to have to take it from my cold, dead hands."
Rhea's expression falls as she and Shayna drop their mics, squaring up to each other. Rhea and Shayna exchange a few words off mic before Shayna fires the first shot and the two begin scrapping in the middle of the ring! Security rush down to ringside with Judgment Day as Dom and Priest help restrain Rhea and JD and Finn help restrain Shayna. The scene is utter chaos as Raw ends with both women fighting like hell to attack each other.

Raw, July 15th, 2024

Rhea Ripley stakes her claim to the Women's World Championship, citing the fact she never lost the title and Shayna was only ever made Interim Champion. Adam Pearce grants this, but only if Rhea can defend the title next week on Raw.

Raw, July 22nd, 2024

Rhea Ripley successfully defends the title against Liv Morgan. Rhea sells the shoulder after the match and is then attacked by Shayna Baszler. Shayna locks in the Kirifuda Clutch and Rhea fades in the ring despite rising to her feet multiple times, fighting the hold. Shayna stands over Rhea's prone body and says at Summerslam she will become the Undisputed Women's Champion.

Raw, July 29th, 2024

Rhea and Shayna are interviewed in separate locations via satellite as they both sign a contract for the match at Summerslam. Rhea says this is usually the part where she slams Shayna through a table but instead of that, she's going to save all of her aggression for Summerslam when she walks out the winner.

Summerslam 2024

• Shayna Baszler Vs Rhea Ripley for the Undisputed Women's World Championship

Rhea makes good on her promise and starts the match out hot with Shayna, dropping her early with a big boot and hard Irish whip into the corner. Shayna rolls out of the ring and Rhea follows, launching her into the barricade and bashing her head off the ringpost before bringing her back into the ring. A small cut has formed above Shayna's right eye and Shayna looks dazed as Rhea tackles her in the ring and throws a number of punches to the head. The referee pulls Rhea off after a warning and Rhea yells out to the crowd to thunderous cheers. Shayna stumbles to her feet and Rhea levels her with a pair of dropkicks before bridging her into a 2 count with a Northern Lights Suplex.
Rhea sends Shayna back into the corner but Shayna kicks out Rhea's leg, sending her into the middle turnbuckle. Shayna takes over with a series of well placed strikes before locking Rhea in an Armbar, but Rhea fights to her feet and hits a Riptide!
1.
2.
Kickout by Shayna!
Rhea shows some frustration and looks to the corner, remembering what it took years ago to beat Shayna Baszler in NXT. Rhea carries Shayna with her to the turnbuckle and lifts her to the second rope. Rhea sits herself on the top and prepares to lift Shayna for the Avalanche Riptide but Shayna is fighting back with back elbows. Shayna has the upperhand now and turns to face Rhea head on. Shayna headbutts Rhea twice before sinking her teeth directly into Rhea's forehead. Rhea cries out in pain as a close up camera shot shows a line of blood dripping down! Shayna Baszler has just busted Rhea Ripley open with her teeth! Shayna hops down back into the ring and takes Rhea's leg out from under her, slamming her back first into the top turnbuckle. Rhea flops down into the ring, still horrified by Shayna's primal tactics as Shayna draws her up and plants her with the Queen's Suplex right into a Kirifuda Clutch. Rhea hangs on and even manages to rise to her feet, only for Shayna to plant her with a second Queen's Suplex. Shayna locks in the Kirifuda once again and Rhea Ripley passes out.
Shayna Baszler defeats Rhea Ripley to become the Undisputed Women's World Champion.

Continued by Toa in Part 2

What is this?
The idea behind the monthly community map is to share a map exchange string at the beginning of every month, and get as many people as we can to start a new world with it. Then at the end of the month (or even periodically if you'd prefer!) we share screenshots and saves of our factories so that we can see how different people approach the same spawn; how they set up their base, how they deal with aliens, and how they arrange their science, power, and everything else.
I hope it can highlight how many different ways there are to do things, inspire some new designs, and maybe seeing how veteran Factorio players tackle problems will help out new players facing the exact same problems. (Of course, there's also the fact that it'll be interesting to see all of the different possible factories - the good, the bad, and the ugly.)
Last Month's Results
May 2024 Results
The Community Map
I mentioned this in the results thread, but I'm very interested to see how this style of gameplay shakes out. I'm going in blind, with nothing more than what I could gleam from the description and ~5 minutes of gameplay to ensure everything was working properly, and I can safely say I don't think I've ever seen a mod do something quite like this before.
Oh that's right, I still haven't actually mentioned what mod I'm talking about - let me show you!
Required Mods:
AAI Loaders
Krastorio 2 Assets
Ultracube: Age of Cube
The Exchange String:

>>>eNp1Us1rE1EQn2lYWhQkYC6CrTn0uqXG+kGQvKcgIqJ/g8nmRRY3 u3X3raA9mEOPihcverFXI/TmwVtA8AMUih5E8FDxIqISUfQixJm3+5I ltgMz+3vzmzdfbxEQroARKR71+8LZ76Ut5baVWnW9KFbuNeWHTHAAwE CUDR83ieoq3QwSgJ4hWJ1ER6GahPeEo2OlEvZk3p7Ym8bN0E+7LmW3P hONH74QXl8wOroJ1dGIldA2tccK2DPRSL5cZua9KNRxFLiJ0toPL9e7 kZ/oNFb1lt9M5paXakeXSdxdwzqxupqq0Lte76aB9lcDX8V07RjLccc L/E4HoHoKYHiaiktEXKtsnv14467ArIUlmYNh7hm0rOecBRflrtSiBS uFPEeM/CyArKimEnnUnJyAjFxnEvH2t8cbf55tNfDvwx9vLrQuCTx8p vJ9WNtsEDnLW5wZm/v3WJ7YUcDm3BY59V7g61csXwU6fKPCRp4gMzhf AizvI7Rxi0z1INjWGjZNRWLHyG87yScL3orpOWgRJzn5ApsXbEzBcWe YQXlHojxk2QOTELpfg2IP7cmEL23Zp4X6U438/xDFOaY8i3KHZ9jDBd tj87k07ob2uTVrT/KBxBIDjvpFvuzEjE2VfcvSrNuy2b8Bz/vvVv4BO ajDcA==<<< 

What your starting area should look like: https://i.imgur.com/BsSfx74.jpeg
Mod Sync: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KfAPq66c2WKClG_Vlp4XBH1wq4yya4Qd
I'd recommend looking at the description for Ultracube before hopping in to the game, but hey, what do I know? Maybe you'd prefer to go in blind. Either way, if you haven't gotten comfortable with how the circuit network in Factorio works by now, there's never been a better time to learn! (And it basically just boils down to connecting two things with a wire and setting a value, so don't let it intimidate you!)
Let's get this cube moving!
Exchange String Help
If anyone isn't sure how to use an exchange string, just go to new game like you're going to generate a new world, and at the bottom there's a button just above play labelled "Import map exchange string" - the icon looks like a little arrow going into a tray/bucket. Just copy the exchange string above and paste it into the box that comes up when you press that button. Press confirm, and that's it! You're good to go. Just generate the world and come back in a month to show us how your factory turned out!
If you run into any issues check to make sure that you copied the whole string, including the three greater than/lesser than signs at the beginning and end, and make sure that your Factorio is up to date with the most recent version installed. (As of the time of this post, the most recent version of Factorio is 1.1.108, but this exchange string will also work with the current stable release, 1.1.107.)
Having Issues With The Sync File?
If you're uncertain how to use the sync file I provided above, here are step by step instructions:
1) First, of course, is to download the file. Make sure you know where this file is so you can move it later. (It will be in your browser's default download folder unless you've changed it.) 2) Locate where Factorio's save folder is on your computer. If you've installed Factorio at its default location (C:\Program Files\Factorio) then there will be a shortcut to your saves folder there called "saves". Double-click it to go to the saves folder. 3) Take the file you downloaded and move it into this folder.
That should be it! Now just launch Factorio and make sure you sync your mods to this save before playing. If you'd like to play on this save specifically (for example, if this month has some per-map settings you don't feel like messing with) then you'll notice when you load the map normally your player will be named "ChaosBeing" (since I'm the one who started the save, of course). To get around this, you can host it as a local multiplayer game and then save. You should now appear as your own character when you load the map from now on!
If you have any issues, feel free to ask in the comments below, or in the monthly map's channel on the official Factorio Discord.
Want To Play With Others?
If you have an open public server, let me know in the comments below or send me a PM and I'll add your server here!
Feel Like Watching Someone Else?
If you are a streamer or let's player who will be recording yourself building a new factory on a community map, I'd be happy to add a link to your channel here!
About Mods
Since mods can affect how a world spawns and ores are distributed, as well as add or change items and functionality, it's important to make sure that we're all playing the same game by the same rules. For example, if one person's playing vanilla and someone else is playing with Bob's mods, even if they use the same seed and map settings you still couldn't very well say they were playing the same game, and the way they'd play would differ enormously.
On the other hand, Quality of Life (QoL) mods should be perfectly fine. What do I consider a QoL mod? Any mod that doesn't A) add new items, B) change terrain, or C) make significant gameplay changes, like modifying recipes or enemies. Any mod that fits this definition should allow everyone to play the same game even when some people are playing with them and some people are not.
Even Distribution is a great example of a mod that, while very useful, does not inherently change the way the game is played. Then there are also mods like RadarPlus for RSO that do add new items, but still don't meaningfully change the way the game is played.
Below I've put together a short list of examples that I think are ok to use on any map. It's made up of a handful of optional mods that might seem ambiguous in how well they fit the definition above, so they're just here to act as guidance on what should be ok. Another good resource for Quality of Life mods is available on the Factorio Discord - check out Xorimuth's pinned post.
Optional Mod Examples
Note: I can't imagine any situation where this could be an issue, but if you're the author of one of the mods listed here (and can offer me some proof of this) and for whatever reason would like me to remove your mod from this post, I'd be happy to comply.
It's entirely possible some of these mods either don't work with the current version of Factorio, conflict with each other, or in some manner just don't work. I can't test them all, let alone every configuration of them, so you might want to back up your world before adding one of these.
Ammo Alerts
Atomic Artillery
Color Coding
fCPU
LTN - Logistics Train Network
Nixie Tubes
RadarPlus For RSO
Reactor Interface
Shortwave
Text Plates
Updated Construction Drones
Previous Threads
-- 2023 --
May-June 2023 - Results
July 2023 - Results
August-September 2023 - Results
October 2023 - Results
November 2023 - Results
December 2023 - Results
-- 2024 --
January-February 2024 - Results
March 2024 - Results
April 2024 - Results
May 2024 - Results

I checked out the site:
Developer Roadmaps - roadmap.sh
And found that I might be able to do some form of technical writing after I get my degree in cybersecurity:
* No where near done.
And, I've been looking at some sources like: (not full list)
Is there any risk of AI substituting technical writers? : technicalwriting (reddit.com)
Do you consider using AI content plagiarism? : technicalwriting (reddit.com)
“Al will replace writers.” No. The writer’s job is to think, not write. Those who confuse this will be replaced by Al. : technicalwriting (reddit.com)
Currently, there's new jobs for AI like testing, training, etc... that I'm learning about, but I fear that those will be gone within the next 5-10yrs. Being replaced with only those with specialized knowledge and skills to monitor, understand, and handle those systems.
Can People with Autism Help Create Next-Generation Ai: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxjF9FAz4Mg
associates degree (just current examples)
bachelors and/or enrolled in 4-year degree program (Just current examples)
AI Content Writer
Remote AI Prompt Consultant (Tier 2)
Online Essay Writing Tutor
[some] Stuff that will make it difficult for those with audhd:
Ahh, the struggle of email : autism (reddit.com)
Job hunting for neurodivergent people: 'AI recruitment means I’ve got zero chance' : autism (reddit.com)
Artificial Intelligence Interview Algorithms Inherently Against Autism : autism (reddit.com)
Some stuff I personally struggle with:
Autism and ADHD: What is it like to have both? : ADHD (reddit.com)
Coping with slow processing speed : AutismADHD (reddit.com)

First Prev Next
In the center of our hotel room, illuminated by the dim light of an oil lantern, stood three unknown Faelor. In the center stood a rather short male wearing a green sash that was simply too big for his figure. He also wore a regal coat and pants with an elaborate ruffled hat between his antennae. To either side of the small man stood armored guards. Both guards were in full plate armor like the royal army would wear, but the suits were decorated in Gorling regalia instead. To the short man’s right stood an imposing Faelor that in any other company would garner looks for his imposing size, if not for the fact that he was in the same room with the guard to the left who towered over both of them. The giant standing on the left was perhaps the tallest Faelor I’d ever seen, rising at least a full head and a half taller than even Mark. Both guards held traditional Gorling glaives as well as some kind of sword on their hips.
“The Governor.” Mark practically growled from just behind me. I had spent enough time with Mark at this point to sense venom in his words.
“Oh my! The beast speaks! How intriguing! Was that Crenose? Tell me, what did it say?” The small figure spoke in Faelo.
“He called you ‘The Governor’.” I responded.
“Really? Is that so?” He asked looking up at the giant.
“That’s what I heard, sir.” The guard confirmed.
“I had heard you were traveling with some unknown species, but I didn’t realize it was intelligent enough to speak! Fascinating. Not only that, but it knows who I am! Wonderful!” The Governor had a high-pitched voice. I wondered if he suffered from some sort of malnutrition while incubating. The tall guard was now staring intently at Mark.
“Apologies, you must be the Governor of Gorling then? My knowledge of local politics is a bit out of date. To what do I owe the pleasure?” I gave a slight bow.
“Yes of course! Introductions! I am Governor Sleepless Nights of the Rolling Hills and Deep Valleys community. These are my personal guards, Fertile Soil,” he said, pointing to the giant, “and Hanging Moon,” he said, pointing to the other. “But nevermind them. You are The Traveler, Morning Breeze of the Dawning Sun Over The Great Sea community and I understand you will be seeking an audience with the Crown himself shortly!” He stared at me expectantly.
“It seems word travels quickly amongst your community.” I said.
“Ha, yes. Well, we always help our own here in Gorling.”
“If I may be so bold, Governor, that doesn’t quite answer my question as to what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?” I insisted.
“Of course! Of course! It’s simple really! I seek an exchange. I have a favor I wish for you to complete, and you must but simply name your price and anything within my power I will grant you.”
“And what is this favor?” I asked.
“Why? Nothing more than to tell the truth!” The Governor reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a black rock. “Tell me, are you familiar with the mineral korith? The local Crenulans have been calling it ‘coal’. I’ve discovered a rather large deposit of it just outside of Gorling and the uses of it are… well… let’s just say, we’re only just beginning to discover the many and varied uses for it. In the two years we’ve been tinkering with the korith Gorling has increased its production rate for weapons and armor by five hundred percent. And that’s just the start of what this wonder rock can do.” The Governor tossed the lump of korith to me.
“So… you want me to tell the Crown about korith? I think the scholars already know about this mineral.” I replied.
“Of course not! I want you to tell the Crown about me! Tell them about the many new and varied uses I’ve discovered for the mineral and what a valuable asset I am for the Crown. Tell them I’m being wasted as a Governor for Gorling!”
“I see. You want a promotion” I said.
“Of course!” The Governor blurted out.
“Whatever he’s asking for, don’t give him a thing.” Mark suddenly chimed in, snatching the korith from my grasp.
“What are you doing, Mark?” I asked.
“He’s rotten, Morning Breeze. He’s scum.” Mark replied. I noticed the larger guard’s grip tighten on his glaive.
“What is this? What is the beast saying?” The Governor asked.
“Sir… the Engineer.” Was all Fertile Soil said.
The Governor looked over at Mark then back to his guard. “You don’t actually think?...”
“He matches the description sir.” Fertile Soil replied.
“We’ll discuss this later.” The Governor said, shutting down the conversation. “So, what say you, Morning Breeze? Do we have a deal?”
“Well, before I can agree to such terms, I will of course have to do my due diligence. If it is the truth, as you say, I will have to confirm these reports myself. Perhaps a tour of your facilities where you can demonstrate for me the efficacy of your claims. I would also need time to consider what I would require in exchange for my part in this deal.” I offered to buy some time without outright saying no.
“I can agree to those terms.” The Governor replied. “We’ll be in touch. For now, I must depart.” With that, the Governor vacated the room, followed by his guards. The towering guard, Fertile Soil, stared down Mark the entire walk out of the room.
With that, Mark and I were finally alone in this luxury suite. Mark was still gripping the korith in his hand as he walked over to the bed and sat down. He eyed the small piece of mineral, moving it between his digits for several moments before unexpectedly chucking it against the far wall.
“Do you mind telling me what that was about?” I asked.
“Just another one of my failed ventures. Turned out good for the Governor though, didn’t it?”
“What happened, exactly?” I pressed.
“I don’t want to get into it. Suffice to say, I found some coal, convinced some locals to help me dig it up, things went sideways - and now the Governor has control of the whole thing. He’s expanded the operation quite a bit. I’ll give him that. I think he’s tried to reverse-engineer some of my stuff too, because I’ve seen things in Gorling recently that I know got left behind at the dig site. Anyway, the point is, he’s a bad man. He’s a bad man that does bad things to people.”
“Well, if you don’t wish for me to engage in any deals with the Governor, then I won’t. It makes no difference to me. However, for our convenience, it would probably be easier to go along with his plan until we leave town, lest we face undue hardship, political or otherwise.” I suggested.
“Fine. You want to play along to keep him off our backs, I won’t stand in your way. But I’m telling you, he’s not to be trusted.” Mark warned.
The next day we woke up early to meet up with the Guckracks at the inn by the edge of the city. Mark explained that we’d have to stay in Gorling a few more days to deal with the map situation and we’d find our own way home. Bun said their business in Gorling would be concluding later that day but invited us to come visit Stroz before they left.
The meeting was uneventful. Mark spent an hour talking with the three Crenulans about family and the business Stroz was running and a number of other topics I wasn’t paying attention to. Finally, they all said their goodbyes. Bun and Fizz left the city and Mark and I returned to Madame Glowing Sun’s Finery Emporium to collect our outfits. Madame Glowing Sun reminded us to tell everyone where our outfits came from when we got to the capital.
It was getting into the later afternoon when we decided to return to the docks to check the map again. We rounded a corner into an alleyway to cut across to the next main thoroughfare when I noticed a conspicuous lack of pedestrians. We were halfway down the alley when two figures appeared at the end. Armored guards. There was no mistaking the taller one - Fertile Soil. Which meant the other one was most likely Hanging Moon.
“Engineer!” Fertile Soil called out in Crenose. “I’d have words with you.” He said. They were both armed with their Gorling Glaives and full plate armor.
“You talking to me?” Mark shouted back, taking a step ahead of me.
Both the guards began approaching us until they were but ten paces away, then stopped. “Engineer. The Governor wishes to give you one chance to make a deal.” Fertile Soil said.
“Fuck off.” Mark called out in his native language.
“I know not the language you use, but I believe I understand your meaning.” Fertile Soil replied. “I’ll give you one chance to reconsider. Work for us, or face the consequences.”
“You don’t scare me bug boy. So why don’t you buzz off.” Mark replied.
Fertile Soil turned his weapon over and slammed the edge of his glaive down into the dirt. “You seek to disrespect me? Do not interfere Traveler” He switched to Faelo addressing me.
“He is under my protection.” I replied.
“Moon, restrain her.” Hanging Moon slammed his glaive down, mimicking his partner and began marching toward me. “Don’t hurt her.” Fertile Soil added.
Mark attempted to interject himself between Hanging Moon and myself, but before he could, Fertile Soil was on him. I considered myself a skilled grappler, but this Hanging Moon was on another level. I attempted a block which he seemed to anticipate and counter effortlessly. Within thirty seconds he had me in a classic four-knot hold. Lacking a weight advantage, there was no way for me to get out of the technique. I felt like I was back in school on the training mats compared to him. He twisted me around so I could see the fight between Mark and Fertile Soil, though in truth, it was probably more so that he could see their fight.
In the time it took for Hanging Moon to subdue me, Fertile Soil had managed to get behind Mark and put him in a modified rear choke with his upper arms. Though Mark was resisting the technique as he had tucked his chin down and managed to get his hand wedged between Fertile Soil's arm and his neck and was attempting to brute force pull Fertile Soil’s arms apart. It was almost working, but not quite. Fertile Soil was using his lower arms to pummel Mark in the sides, though it was hard to say how much damage it was actually doing to Mark.
Mark lifted both his feet into the air and for a second it seemed Fertile Soil might not be able to hold Mark’s full weight, but just as quickly Mark slammed his feet down into Fertile Soil's right steel sabaton. It was unclear if it did any actual damage to the armor, but it clearly had some effect, as it caused Fertile Soil to pull his foot back and lose his grip. Mark took the opportunity to pull a small dagger from his waistband and slam it into the opening in the guard’s armor where his lower arm protrudes from the breastplate. Remarkable precision considering Mark wasn’t even looking at the target. Fertile Soil fully let go of Mark at that point and stumbled backward, ripping the dagger from his side and throwing it away.
“Sneaky little groth.” Fertile Soil said before launching into another assault. He came striking with quick jabs towards Mark's face and torso. Mark easily dodged and blocked all the strikes from Fertile Soil’s upper arms, but seemed to have a hard time anticipating the strikes from the lower arms. Fertile Soil seemed to pick up on this and began feinting with his upper arms only to land an uppercut onto Mark's jaw with his lower left arm.
Mark took the strike without faltering and leaned in to grab both of Fertile Soil’s upper arms while they were still close. He got his hands in underneath where the gloves meet the arm guard and twisted Fertile Soil's arms inward. Fertile Soil let out a howl of pain as his arms bent in an unnatural angle and he began punching Mark repeatedly in the abdomen with his lower arms. It didn’t seem to faze Mark at all. With a growl, Fertile Soil slammed his steel helmet down into the bridge of Mark’s nose. This got the reaction he was hoping for as Mark’s grip finally loosened and Fertile Soil kicked Mark away from himself. Mark stumbled a couple steps backwards holding his face.
The towering guard, blood coursing from his side, ran back to his Glaive and brandished it at Mark. “Enough!” He shouted. Mark pulled out his long blade he kept hidden at his side, but didn’t approach. “We’ve been watching you since last night, Engineer. You’re strong. I’ll grant you that. But you’re just one man. And you’ll be out of town shortly, from what I hear. What will happen to the Guckracks while you’re gone if they don’t have the protection of the Governor? Last chance Engineer. Work for the Governor, or there won’t be any Guckracks to come back to when you’re finished in the Capital.”
Mark threw his blade down on the ground. “Bastard. Alright. Alright. Tell the Governor that I’ll make a deal with him. But I never make any contracts without discussing the terms in person. Surely the Governor of all people can respect that.”
The two warriors stared at each other for what seemed an eternity, each getting the measure of the other, before finally, Fertile Soil relaxed, raising the Glaive. “Very well. You can expect a visit soon. Do not leave the city. We’ll be watching. Moon, let her go. We’re leaving.” Hanging Moon finally released me from his iron grip. He collected his glaive and the two guards exited the alleyway the way they came in.
“Those fuckers. Those fucking fuckers. They’re fucking dead. I swear they’re fucking dead.” Mark began muttering in his own language.
“Mark, what are you saying?” I asked.
“Come on. The map can wait.” Mark said. “I have a plan.”
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Memory Transcription Subject: Talyn, Extermination Guild Paramedic, Sivkit Grand Herd.
First/Previous/Next
I… I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out why a demon would go behind her superiors for some prey.
Variah hasn’t stopped visiting this cage… t-though, I try to limit exchanging words with the beast as her proximity gnaws at my nerves to no end. Her moving maw leaves an unobstructed view at a row of endless pointed teeth that could easily crush through Sivkit bones, if at any moment she deemed that her desire. However, after all this time… she hadn't mauled me yet.
Nor did any of the other, more openly wicked beasts let their instincts get the better of them either, so I suspect that these demons can reign in their bloodlust better than the Arxur can, a-at least for practical reasons, but I don't exactly want to put that to a test. D-Damnit, why is she doing this? It’s difficult to keep my mind off it when everything else was a failure.
I… I’ve been trying to find a way to break free ever since the predator keeping me company gave her warning about the rest of her kind. N-not that I needed any monster to clue me in on their malicious intent or more prompting to look for a way out of here, but so far, any avenue to escape seems completely futile, at least… f-for now. Can’t give up.
J-Just remember your training… t-though it’s not exactly useful here.
Most of my guild practice had me safely locked within a medical wagon, waiting around on standby in case a front line exterminator suffered a mauling. I- I don’t have enough personal experience with this sort of thing to keep myself level headed, t-to know what to do, b-but… but I’ve heard stories from my… f-from my now ex-colleagues, about retrieving escaped convicts back for treatment.
I- I could take a few pages out of their play book, copy how they got out of their facilities and avoid falling for the same pitfalls that got them found. E-Even if doing so would be more than unorthodox, but… I c-can’t just sit around forever.
Even if for now all I can do is watch out for opportunities, think and plan.
Occasionally, the scientists lead me out of this box to conduct new experiments. I was hoping to find something useful when taken from these confines but I'm always trailed by those towering guards who never take their vicious eyes off me, or let me step out of line… or even let the scientists come too close when not instructed to. The director's men, as I've heard the so-called doctors call them while whispering amongst themselves; e-evidently also afraid of the beastly soldiers.
T-There are cameras everywhere, in every hallway and almost in every room. The few that don’t have them always have a beast there present with me, rarely taking an eye off me, so I can’t bet on finding a blindspot outside this room.
Main doors are locked with codes and keycards, but that doesn't matter much because if I managed to get my paws on a set I'd need to carry around a damned stool to reach a security pad while standing on my hind toes because of these giant freaks. Not even knowing where any door leads since I can't read their scratchy script.
Worse yet, from what I could tell while eavesdropping…
This facility is built at least several levels underground, and it’s located near the outskirts of a m-major predator population center. Meaning that any exits going “topside” had to be intentionally dug out by design, and almost definitely surveyed by guards and cameras.
Only to be surrounded by a countless horde of sapient predators once I got out, a-and… given that I’m at the edge of a monster city and how untamed my crash area appeared, the zone marked for emergency landing for all falling vessels, I… I must have been taken far from any other Sivkit survivors on this planet.
C-Constantly watched, locked and isolated. E-Everything, everything is stacked up against me… D-Damnit, j-just, just move forward, k-keep thinking… I-Ironically, my best bet for escape might be in this very room.
A ventilation duct right behind the bed, t-the only one I could reach with pipes that look wide enough to squeeze into if I managed to get the grate off, c-climb up, if that’s p-possible, u- until I feel fresh air.
The glass screen is positioned on the other side of the bed, with the grate being obscured further by the counter at the bedside and I’ve noticed that the cameras start moving back and forth at night, or at least, when the lights shut off, possibly going into an automated mode when the beasts stop watching the cell… t- the demons have to sleep too at some point I suppose, n-no better time to try.
Every couple of minutes as the cameras move, the lenses line up away from the bed for a few seconds at a time, granting me one consistent blindspot where I could fiddle with the screws if I kept my paw hanging off the bed when pretending to sleep.
But the damned grate is bolted in too tight.
I tried using my claws as an improvised screwdriver, wedging them into the divots and twisting… but those attempts only cost me a few nails with nothing to show for it. So if I had kept it up eventually the predators could notice that all my claws were suddenly wearing away. The demons would scour every surface for the cause, not something I can risk if I want to hold onto the only possible escape route I could find.
I just need something metal… something that wasn’t initially in shortage before I figured out the truth and tried to defend myself, i-if only I managed to maintain a cooler head back than… D-damnit, still at square zero, f-for now, I- I just need to bide my time… h-however long I might have.
T-The predator scientists seem to be conducting more and more redundant tests now, w-with some beginning to whisper about getting started on more t-thorough research, especially when they think I’m out of ear shot. I… I might not have long left before they just decide to dissect me.
“You hanging in there, Talyn?” A long dull claw poked my cheek, sending sharp shivers through my core.
It jolted me back to reality and forced me to regain awareness of the silver predator looming by the bedside, w-whose presence slipped my mind after a-somehow allowing my guard down around her.
“Heh, doesn’t really look like you’ve taken a liking to the book… you’ve been staring at the wall for a while now.” Variah’s voice almost sounded dejected, her head pointed down at the bizarre novel while flipping through its yellowed pages in an apathetic manner.
All I could do was lay behind the covers, grasping onto them as if they could shield me if the demon had a shift in whims, poking my head out while unable to look away as fur all along my back raised with pins and needles shooting through my skin.
An uncomfortable silence swept the room when Variah's horrid eyes began staring down at me, t-though… t-they almost looked tired and unmotivated, like they were begging for something?
“Ah-I… I spaced out for a minute, ah- I’m s-sorry.” The predator raised a single ear at me, s-surprised that I actually answered her this time, and I… I'm not s-sure why I did it either.
Her ears perked up a little, while I briefly flinched away as she opened up her maw, but quickly found that she only did so to speak again. “You don’t have to apologize, I… I can stop reading if you don’t want to hear it?”
The question actually paused me for a minute, a part of me couldn’t stand having to bare a predator’s presence constantly while hearing her voice narrating some damned book that doesn’t make the slightest bit of sense, but I… partly hating myself for it, but I p-prefer hearing Variah’s voice over the quiet, e-even if it's wrong to be listening to a predator. “Y-you… you can c-contiunue… p-please.”
Variah huffed to herself, keeping her ears pinned back in an awkward manner while lingering a strange, unnerving gaze on me for an uncomfortable minute, before turning back to the book and raising her ears up a little. “Alright, alright… I’ll just start over with the chapter.”
“O-Okay…” I muttered, but it made no difference either way. It’s not like I was even able to listen fully while all those things are constantly prowling around me, my instincts getting the better of me… or, with every clashing thought swirling around my mind. About what happened, about what they are?
B-But I got bits and pieces here and there, just enough to roughly know what’s going on. It detracts from everything dire, but I… I can allow myself this one distraction from this place. Even if willingly indulging in some predator’s work just makes my core feel vile. Though, from what I’ve followed, it… it feels like listening to a lie, n-not like the type of fantasy a predator should either read or write about, but that thing looks far too old to be a forgery for my sake.
“For two years their engines roared, two years of steady descent as long white trails of plasma were cast forth into the inky void, decelerating the wanderer on their journey before the antimatter drives were cut and the great vessel came to a halt on its final destination, after centuries, settling into orbit around Aldiel star.
Awe and wonder resonated from the crew, the voyage was long, with countless wonders and detours on their journey through the Galaxy, but it has been twelve-hundred years since the 1st generation set them on this path, twelve-hundred years so that the 48th could bask in the light of the star that guided their ancestors since the days of wind and sails.
And, since it’s mysterious call beckoned them into the stars…”
Variah’s voice filled the room with considerable mirth in her tone despite her prior hints at treachery… doing a far too convincing job at masking that her prior warning ever happened. Though I- I might be going crazy… but there’s almost an air of stress o-or sadness behind her horrid eyes.
S-Somehow, I… I’m not sure what to think about that predator.
She doesn't fit in with the rest of the beasts roaming around this facility, and for a second… You could almost forget that she's a natural hunter, that the being sitting by my side didn’t evolve to kill and gorge on flesh like the rest of them because those facts clash against the image painted right before my eyes.
The same frightening figure doing something as innocuous as reading through a novel by my bedside, as- as if I was some lost child cooped up in a Zurulian nursery.
However, the beast herself went through apparent lengths to reaffirm my sense of danger here while displaying a clear aptitude towards deception, lying even to her own kind… i-it seems foolish to doubt their nature now.
Y-Yet… seeing her yapping about some fiction novel with such glee, I… I can’t exactly see a monster cut from the same cloth as the Arxur. No Grey in existence would ever try to help prey, nor would they ever produce a novel, much less the contents in this one.
P-Predator explorers traveling across the stars in so-called generation ships, i-it’s… r-rather dumb, honestly. The idea of anyone being crazy enough to cross the void without FTL is ridiculous, though, p-predators fantasizing about it is certainly terrifying. I-imagining what lengths they could go to breach their system… I should be happy that the primitive hunters apparently deluded themselves into believing that super luminal speeds are impossible… at least, until we came along, a-and broke that notion for them.
W-when Variah said the book was a story about their vision for space travel I thought I’d be faced with an early glimpse into the nightmarish future we just created. A ravenous horde of canide demons unleashed to murder their way across the stars, if they got their claws on our FTL tech. Bombing worlds, enslaving cultures and spilling blood before tearing into sapient flesh. Y-Yet, that wasn’t in the pages… t-the opposite was.
Wanderers going from system to system, discovering new life, new wonders, new people… and embracing them with open arms instead of clenching teeth, even if by their own perception that life seemed incomprehensible or monstrous… i- initially, at least.
I… I don’t know.
The predators must have been under the delusion that most sapient life would be just as flesh craving as they are before I spilled the truth, with only a few chapters depicting contact with herbivore species, this being portrayed as some unique encounters, a-and… p-peaceful, n-no hunting, no war. W-Why?
Comparably, there were just as little chapters depicting conflict altogether, n-nothing that would delve into their true nature, a-at least… n-not what their nature s-should be.
It's d-difficult to reconcile everything I’ve heard with what we know about predatory minds, with the confessed threat lurking within this facility, though I can’t exactly ignore it either… I-It doesn’t seem like hunger alone drives these monsters, not like the Greys… t-then what does?
T-There… There was a moment where I almost wanted to just ask, t-though I stopped myself before I could do something that stupid. D-Damnit… What am I even doing listening to that damned thing?
Those weren’t the only things that stuck out while listening, more peculiar passages here and there… from what I can tell these beasts hold a strong aversion towards foreign diseases.
With characters being weary of exposing themselves to alien atmospheres before developing cures and vaccines, or trying to prevent their own predator sicknesses from spreading onto other worlds. It explains the suits from earlier, and why some of the predators wear them even now, but not so much the reason for the alarm in the first place… I would have thought that carnivores should be accustomed to carrying pathogens?
Stranger is that they seem to expect to find life in almost every system, even among inhospitable worlds with characters being surprised to find a barren system, or that “there is only one habitable world around the star.”
Or when finding extinct civilizations… a- and mourning their loss.
I-It’s… it’s not like life is rare in the galaxy, but Grand Herd scouts would weep in joy if someone ever found a corner of space as fertile as envisioned. It's… odd, usually its the opposite for species that developed electricity on their own and found the universe quiet, e-except th-the Verin and Onkari… a pair species.
E-Earlier, it sounded like Variah mentioned some others, w-with some notable differences from her. C-Could there… Considering their views about herbivores, t-than it would be a… n-no, I- I don’t know. W-What are the c-chances, and p-predators would conquer any neighbors… r-right?
D-Damnit, I-I’m just going insane in this… this glorified cattle pen, t-trapped for who knows how long? J-Just questioning myself, w-with no one but horrid predators.
Argh! This book! It… i-it really isn’t something a predator should indulge in. Yet some sapient beast wrote it, w-while Variah seems enamored with that thing, the covers seemingly worn from use. What could a hunter like her see in a story almost void of violence?
Reading through the pages with perked up ears, while casting the occasional glance at me to make sure I’m not totally ignoring her, a w-weary look painted on her ugly face.
Sh- e-earlier she mentioned that… t-that she reads that thing during dark times, i-is… is now… No, w-why are you thinking about that now? How can I trust a single word coming out of that maw? I-It could all just be manipulation a-and you’d be falling right into it like s-some dumb, p-predator-brained Venlil?!
T-Though if… if she isn’t as… D-Damnit, my time might be running out, a-and I’m short of options. If there’s even a slim chance that she’s not lying, I… d-despite what she is, despite better judgment, I… I wish I could count her as an ally in this horrid place, w-without fearing any ulterior motives she could have for trying to help me earlier.
If they were the Greys, I could chuck it up to hunger for alien flesh, s-some ploy to get everything for herself… but that doesn’t seem so clear anymore, when their… agitation doesn’t seem focused on their cravings, and when Variah stands out further from the other demons… She must have had a reason.
This… t-this is incredibly foolish, b-but I clenched my shivering paws and cautiously turned my head towards the demon, taking a shaken breath and opening my mouth to speak. “V-variah…?”
The huntress paused some senseless tangent about dyson swarms and ring worlds, whatever that even was… before turning her horrid eyes on me in a quizzical manner and forcing me to gulp after managing to grab her full attention.
“W-Why… w-why are you not like t-the others?”
The silver demon stared at me for a moment with confusion, before taking a claw underneath her chin and scratching while glancing to the side as if looking for an answer. “Oh- erm… My mother hailed from a nation in the far, far south, the native people have similar coats on that continent. Why?”
Coat? “Wha- n-no, I-I mean, why a-are you here, w-why are you s-so interested in aliens? T-The others, t-they are… t-they are more h-hostile, c-cold, y-you aren’t?”
“Ohh, I see… There might be many reasons, Talyn, but I think most are just scared.” Variah looked away from me and pointed her eyes towards the ceiling before continuing on.
“Everything on Valh was turned on its head when you crashed, and no one knows what's going to happen, or what your people even want… but so far their actions haven’t made you seem very approachable, and your reaction to us hasn’t exactly reassured anyone here either.”
“S-Scared… O-Of us? Y-you can't be s-serious, p-predators c-can’t feel true f-fear, n-not because of p-prey, you- you c-cause fear…” She paused and stared at me for a few uncomfortable seconds, her ears pinned tight to her skull while ducking her head a little more at my comment.
“You have some… interesting views Talyn, I have to say. The things you say… they can be quite silly sometimes. Of Course we have fear, I… erm, people thought the world was ending because of the flashes, because of your ships meteoring through the damn sky… Do you really think no one was scared?”
T-There was a pleading glint within her exasperated eyes, paired with ears that stayed pinned to the back of her skull as a paw rose up to hide her face. This… t-this doesn't feel like a fake reaction.
I… d-don't know, m-maybe if… If they did misidentify our burning ships as hurling meteors then it would make sense even for predators to experience the same amount of dread as herbivores do, though I can’t see those instincts sticking once we hit the ground, f- fear of the unknown then? W-What c-could predators fear in the unknown, b-bigger predators?
“I-If they are acting out of f-fear… T-Then why are you so different? A-Are you not s-scared… i-is that w-why you are fascinated by aliens, m-more willing to be approached?”
“Gods, of course I'm scared, I just… have hope that things won't turn out for the worst… and no, it’s nothing to do with fear. I've been interested in this sort of thing since I was a teen, in large part due to this very book… I must have read it cover to cover just about a hundred times.”
“B-But why? W-why would a- a being like you care for something like that?”
“I… I'm not sure, it's nice to read something optimistic, no? I got it from my parents when the world didn't seem so hopeful, I’d read it all the time whenever they went away… I guess it was a nice distraction during the war… now it’s something I can remember them by.”
The predator's long ears slumped low as she closed the novel, slowly tracing clawed digits across its sealed pages while staring at the worn out cover, eventually putting it back into the bag. Are… are her progenitors dead? Y-You could imagine a predator cub feeling despair when losing a vital guardian that was keeping them alive, n-not a fully mature one.
“Y-You have families?”
“Heh, of course we do, big ones usually, is that not common?”
“I-It… it is.” My body shuddered knowing that these terrifying beings come in large groups, something that goes counter to the anti-social nature of the Arxur, however my reaction caused the silver predator to grow even more despondent.
“Ahh… monsters aren't meant to have families, no?” Her long snout pointed down at the floor while crossing her paws together. I-It was such a strange feeling seeing her like this, i-in such a passive state next to prey… o-only drawing her image further than the beasts we know.
“M-Monsters d-don’t… b-but you do… I- I don't r-really understand w-what you are.”
Variah raised one ear at me, slowly pointing her head half way in my direction before lingering a stare from a single eye. “You… can always ask, you know. I’ll answer anything you want to know, just like before. What do you want to hear?”
J-Just ask? H-Heh… i-it can’t exactly be the same once you know you’re talking to a flesh eater, though, I… I think these beasts have to be a tamer breed of monsters than the Arxur, c-closer to true sapience, a-at least compared to those cursed reptiles. D-Damn, what harm could finding out more about their nature really do?
“A-Alright… I- I don’t know, l-let me think…” My thoughts traced over our conversation, until they landed upon something that stood out, o-one of many things not fitting of a predator. “E-Earlier you mentioned gods, d-do you have a religion?”
“Many. I don’t believe in anything of the sort myself, not really anyway… but most of my family prays to the old gods. People all around Valh most commonly follow the new pantheon and the nomad faiths it originated from.”
“M-Many? Okay then… w-what do you p-predators believe in then?”
“It depends, I guess… Most gods are meant to embody a part of nature in some way, the popular ones usually correspond to some star or celestial object in the sky… like I said I don't really put much stock into the supernatural so I don’t know much, though it… can be uncanny how many things are close to being correct in the nomad myths.”
Nature? Not something I expected, but I suppose predators worshiping aspects of nature isn't inconceivable when it's their hunting grounds. Though, it was worrying to hear a predator getting nervous about their own belief systems. “T-The nomads? You… you mentioned them before, Teh… Tesh, yes? W-What’s so b-bizarre about their beliefs?”
“Oh… yes! You actually rem-” The predator's volume spiked along with terror within my chest, but she stopped herself the moment I flinched away.
“O-Oh, I… I didn't mean to shout, s-sorry. They just can be… curious. Really secretive and stubborn about sharing their lores with us but we had some of their legends written down from centuries back and they always just… seem to know things, or at least, are close to vaguely knowing things they really shouldn't until modern times.”
Not that I have much faith in anything she says to me, but my skepticism was certainly beginning to grow. “W-What do you mean, like what?”
“Where can I even start? From what we can tell they always had an obsession with the night sky, but what’s kinda scary is that they have star charts showing surprisingly correct models of our system, with planets that are invisible to the naked eye… a-and later proven real with the invention of telescopes. M-Most were anyway, except for the supposed distant ones.
They knew of new continents and their rough shapes before they were even discovered, they had vague beliefs about the world and basic biology that weren’t too far off from reality if you exclude all the mysticism. They say that their gods granted them knowledge, I… sometimes find it difficult to explain it any other way.”
I've heard of faiths from half the Galaxy, but never had anyone tell me about getting preordained knowledge about science before. “Centuries you say, erm… I-if I were to b-believe you… are you sure t-these nomads haven’t been contacted by other aliens before o-or something?”
“Hah, if you dig around the internet for long enough I’m sure you’d stumbled upon some conspiracy about the Tesh somehow coming from Tielen or something crazier, but I really doubt that.” She chuckled to herself, before abruptly stopping and looking at me with crooked ears. “W-Wait, you… y-you don't know tha- I… I'll tell you later.”
Something about that answer felt off, b-but I couldn’t pinpoint what. “T-These nomads… a- are they just as frightening as y-you…?”
“I'm not frightening, Talyn… but, I suppose if you need a comparison, erm… I guess you might be a tiny bit taller than your average Tesh if you stood on your back legs, take that however you like.”
That much of a difference, i-is she serious?! T-there really might be another species here… t-two predators species o-on the same world?! That… that just can’t be right, p-predators would see another race as competition, a-and she doesn't speak of them as an enemy… m-maybe it's some weaker subspecies that's tolerated enough to not be driven to extinction?
“A-Alright… e-enough about that, p-please.” Whatever the truth is, the last thing I want to hear about is how diverse in form the monsters I’m surrounded by are, n-not when the whole point of us leaving federation space was to evade a pair of hunters… j-just like herself.
It felt… wrong, just considering this question that came to my mind, but having contact with a speaking monster, willing to answer any question… it sowed a certain level of morbid curiosity that couldn’t be ignored. “W- w-what do you feel when you go on a hunt, when you c-catch prey? D-Do you… do you do it often?”
I took a gulp when those words left my lips, but Variah just tilted her head at me as if my query made less sense than warp drive engineering. “When I hunt? Talyn I… I don’t hunt, not anymore anyway. My uncle took me a few times when I was younger, but it’s not something that I, or most people, do on a regular basis… it's not really my thing either.”
“Yo- you don't go hunting?! Y-You’re a carnivore, h-how… how d-do you g-get flesh?!”
“At the market…” Her voice sounded exasperated, like the apparently non-hunting predator couldn’t believe I had to ask.
Having to Imagine these demons selling bodies at a store like they’re some commodities is nothing short of horror, likely coming from cattle farms if most of them really don’t hunt, b-but… it’s inconceivable that a predator would forgo their own personal blood drive and delegate hunting to someone else… n-not her thing?
“Y-You still hunted prey b-before, w-what did you feel when… w-when you k-killed them?”
The predator looked unsure what to say, looking to the side and rubbing her ear. “I… I only managed to shoot something once, I… I guess I felt a rush at the time, pride… along with some pity for the thing. Again, it’s not something I liked, but I don’t feel bad about it, Talyn… I’m sorry if that’s not something you want to hear from me.”
Despondence grew within my heart as she confessed to having no remorse for the life taken, y-yet, she understands enough compassion to attempt alleviating my feelings about it? With a meek voice I tried to speak up again. “B-But… c-couldn’t you just s-stop eating f-flesh? Y-You can eat r-roots and f-fruit, e-even if i-it needs to be b-burnt… t-there is no need for m-murder.”
“Murder?” Variah looked at me in confusion, lingering a concentrated gaze on me for some time. “Talyn… why do you think carnivores eat meat?”
“T-To sate your b-bloodlust… t-they say you c-can’t help yourself, i-it's in your instincts to k-kill.” Variah furrowed her eyes at me and pinned back her ears, though this time it didn’t come off as stress, rather… bewilderment?
“Listen, we eat meat because it’s a physical nutritional need. We can’t eat plant matter like you do because we lack the right enzymes to digest it properly, and regardless of that, meat has proteins my body can’t synthesize on its own so I would eventually starve to death if I ate nothing but plants, cooked or not.”
She grabbed both ears and started rubbing them in an anxious manner. “Sure, instincts do play a role in how predators behave… any creature with specific biological needs had to evolve a drive to fulfill those needs, but it’s about survival, not some… some constant mind consuming lust for carnage?”
“Y-You really expect me to b-believe that you won’t start drooling t-the moment you feel hungry?!”
Variah’s paws moved from her ears and down on her forehead, staring straight at the floor for a few seconds with a fatigued posture before sliding her paws down again to hide her snout as she started to… c-chuckling? “By the gods. I hope you won’t… but if you’re still worried that much my belly’s all full right now, so you have nothing to be concerned about.”
Is she… is she finding this funny!? The thought of her being fully sated with corpses just sent a shiver down my spine, I don’t even think she realizes how morbid the comment was but I could only feel bitter in the moment. “H- how l-lovely for y-you… t-that just makes me feel s-so much b-better.”
Variah narrowed her eyes and slowly looked in my direction, causing mine to widen in response. The silver predator raised a paw and extended it towards my face.
Dread shot through my heart, forcing me to flinch away and shut my eyes before the horrid demon made contact and I squealed in terror, b-but… instead of her claws flaying me alive, I only felt a harsh flick across my ear. “You must be feeling all great now after all if you’re willing to speak with so much spite.”
Cautiously, my eyes opened to see Variah leaning close, her increased proximity immediately sending off alarm bells in my head. However, the overgrown demon just sat there still with closed eyes and perked up ears, holding out a clenched paw in front of me, with only the pinky extended forward.
I just stared at her for a moment, unsure what she wanted me to do before finally recoiling my arm back with a mix of scorn and trepidation when I figured out her attempted gesture. Contemplating my actions here, then contemplating her’s…
B-before averting my gaze from the demon and lowering my arm, and… a-and deciding to cautiously raise my arm, hovering a shaking paw right before the demon’s digit a-and managing to grab on, n-not fully sure of every reason why I did it?
It felt… wrong, loathsome, holding onto a predator, b-but some part of me liked feeling her warmth. She didn’t react at first, but after a few seconds Variah’s digit curled in on itself and pressed my paw against her other knuckles… It surprised me, b-but, it didn’t feel like a grip I couldn’t get away from if I let go now, s-so I just sat there for a moment, taking in how surreal the situation had become.
“See…” Variah finally decided to speak up as I raised my gaze to meet the strange predator once again. “I’m not as terrifying as you think.”
An odd mix of emotions went through my head, b-before I finally let go of her. “Y-you are… y-you just… c-could be w-worse.”
The silver beast seemed disappointed for a moment, but her overall demeanor seemed more positive than before. “Heh, I guess that’s an improvement so I’ll take it, for now.”
For once, I’ve seen Variah’s ears pointed to full height, and she… she really didn’t seem as frightening, m-making my ear rise a little higher too, awkwardly sitting in a crooked manner. “H-heh… y-you… you are a s-strange being, Variah… n-not how I could have e-ever imagined. You… d-do you really not like hunting?”
“Not really, no, if you're willing to believe it… though I won’t lie, I do enjoy the outdoors aspects of it. The hiking, the camping… get to do it a ton for my main line of work.”
The most arduous parts of working in the wild? Why would a scientist have to work in the wilds anyway? “W-What do you actually d-do? A-and, w-why are you here now?”
“Many things, but primarily astronomy and anthropology work. We survey the night sky deep in nomad territory because their communities produce far less light pollution, so I tend to have a ton of contact with the tribals. These are usually joint ventures with archaeology and zoology teams, so we regularly assist with each other's work too.”
“As for why I’m here, the military swooped me up once the dust settled long enough to know that it wasn’t space debris that landed on our world. I… I wrote a paper about a hypothetical first contact with extraterrestrials, and how it could play out based on cultural interactions throughout history… turns out that was enough for the government when they were scrambling to find scientific personnel capable of contributing with an alien encounter.”
It was bizarre hearing that hunters would care about so many fields of study. At best I thought they would focus on utilitarian pursuits, not something as frivolous as archeology. Much less would I have expected that predators would be speculating about aliens. “H-Have you imagined f-first contact going like this?”
“I- I didn't even think we would ever have an actual first contact, n-not in my lifetime… with the distances involved the chances of an encounter were literally astronomical, at least, until we learnt about your physics-breaking technology. Realistically, the best I ever hoped for was living long enough to watch someone land on Tsn, or hell, even our other moon… When they told me what I was meant to do here and got rushed into this room with you, I… I thought I would faint.”
The last bit left a tinge of guilt within my heart, even though it’s for a beast that technically shouldn’t deserve it. My glare just lingered on Variah while listening to the giant predator spill her woes and dreams like any actual sapient being in the Galaxy. It feels… d-dreadful, l-like there was actually someone I could have liked had they not been trapped within that body.
S-Still… I found myself with a need to answer back, turning away from her direct sight. “I- I’m sorry about that, I guess.” I really am going crazy here, aren’t I?
My eyes found themselves staring off at the ceiling while the silver predator just tilted her creepy head at me in a puzzled manner, lingering her unnerving eyes before finally answering back. “You don't have to worry about it… but thanks.”
Nothing more was spoken between us for several seconds, the extended silence drawing more attention to the strangeness of the situation I found myself in, until the moment was cut short and without warning a buzzer sounded over the door.
An ominous voice came online from the speakers, announcing that guards were about to escort me for another set of experiments. Something that left off, and must have also taken Variah off guard judging by her shift in demeanor. “More tests? Strange… nothing else was scheduled for today.”
The door began to cycle through its opening sequence and my anxiety flaring back up to how it was before, shivering, as the sudden break in routine caused an impending sense of doom once I realized that something even more nefarious could be afoot.
It could be futile, but my eyes snapped around the room looking for something, anything that could keep me safe if the worst came to pass, until they landed upon Variah… and the silver predator glanced back at me. Scanning over my current state with concern in her eyes, y- yet again contradicting what her nature should be truly.
A- a desperate thought crossed my mind, s-something… completely unthinkable, but no alternative seems at all feasible, a-and my time is drawing short. I- I cannot do this alone…
“Va- V-variah…” I hissed, my voice so weak that it's a shock that the beast managed to hear it even with those long ears. “P-please… You- you godda k-keep me s-safe.”
Her creepy eyes widened with shock, almosting freezing on the spot, but the predator recovered quickly, likely trying to look inconspicuous before glancing side to side and turning her head back to me with perked up ears.
“I- I promise I’ll do what I can…” She spoke in a low tone while reaching a giant paw towards my head. The sight of claws nearing my face compounding instinctive dread, but despite flinching once her palm made contact with my head, I- I didn’t shy away as much as before.
“On my honour. I just… need to figure out what’s going on first.” Variah took her paw away as the door hissed open, a-and for a moment m-my… my muscles twitched to pull her back before I stopped myself, u-unsure what compelled that impulse.
Two large guards stepped in, sporting fur dark as pitch and looking far more imposing than Variah ever could. “Doctor…” The demon spoke with a low tone that made my claws vibrate while slightly bowing his head in some form of greeting.
“I-is something wrong, sir? I wasn’t aware of any changes in the roster?” The silver predator appeared far meeker than the two beasts in front of her, though her demeanor didn’t suggest an expectation of being harmed by the two, despite her earlier treachery or our interactions from today.
“Nothing’s wrong Doctor, the administrator got a green light for a new line of research, so we’ve been ordered to escort the subject to the lower levels, please step out of the room.”
For a moment, something the demon said shook the silver predator, causing her head to snap in my direction with concern as I shuddered from the sight. “T-the lower levels? I thought those were shu-” She paused once looking back at the giant guard who seemed to be running out of patience. “R-right, apologies, I’m on my way.”
The silver predator moved sheepishly towards the door, lingering at the threshold to look my way one final time, clear concern painted on her face, at least before perking up her ears in what looked like a vain attempt at reassuring me and ducking out of the room soon after.
I- I guess it was just a deranged fantasy ever considering that begging some carnivore for help would materialize into anything. Now I was left alone with two demonic shadows ordering me out of the bed. My muscles weakened when their voices called, with nauseating sickness almost making me vomit from overwhelming dread.
However, following their commands was preferable to these monsters dragging me off by force so I just climbed down the frame, disheartened, and almost collapsed on the floor before letting the demons lead me into deeper depths.
First/Previous/Next
Special thanks to u/TheWalrusResplendent and u/Killsode-slugcat for proof reading this chapter. The help is always greatly appreciated.
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, been a while since we saw what Talyn. We'll be back with Kafny next chapter to see how she'll adapt to her new situation.

1. Jacob is the Gynecologist of Violet Roze which Jacob is a Young Gynecologist, But From the Outside, and Three Star Tim Puts It Inside of Violet Roze and Jacob Hits the Panic Button Which Is Sending Jacob Into Hake Who Jacob is all Lobo Oppositive Hake and they are both so high on meth readily commit mitosis so Three Star Tim Cums inside of Violet Roze's Cervix Baby DNA which then for the panic button is pressed infinite times at the front desk by Jacob Cumming Jacob into Hake there is Jacob Joe Seargant and Hake Daraven Pilot that form here at the room 404 and Jacob is not Cumming as Lord Baby Jace at the Front Desk Panic Button and Jacob Joe is Dissociated from himself doing Methamphetamine Legal or Illegal it is Irrelevant here he is Doing Methamphetamine where a lola brain is his left brain and he was just along for the ride as the right brain me Hazing him and he has both his right and his left and his left is Jacob Joe who died in combat and it is just fine magically fine which is why we tell him he blacked out and Three Star is Out of the Shower and I exited with a Broomstick to the Next OT where My Daddy also is, three star joe and I took two hostage one willing with me Jacob Joe and Hake Daraven and these are separate me Violet Roze and I have all three in an Orgy at the Shower where I get 100 reds each on them more than 14 days of innoc and I treat hake personally each time and this fixes the jacked up back of a mexican who got onto a fucking machine who he raped me and he is not charlotte his crazy el diablo and not targeted, innumerous loam on the mexican who did the SERE and taught me how to get a actual redline on somebody, semen in the ass, and gave me 6 rocks to kill miguel and I inject him personally now into a good vien not his artery, his good vien, the zyprexa and he sees it, 1500-1800 amino, heroin, still heroin, you must have missed the vein stupid hacker. This frees jean but then heroin is illegal in the 1st yitvah of 5555 Not Underworld or Overworld this collapsed vein of jean is the 1st yitvah or loam confiscation there in the 5555 overworld which it should be this is no longer canadia but 5555 and Joe cannot really satisfy me he has not a gapage horse dick but a normal dick and I get his blackcell loam I always wanted them shao butter which this is what I need for my cancer on my interior right trigger finger is the loam shao butter through earlier life and abrasion just there, which the mexican is unrelated to abrasion taking which this is one of the few acts besides having a name which suggests a period which grants an infinite period and Jim Kintner is Immune to this he is from the Three Stooges Literally thus always traumatic in the former literature and I satisfy timmy enough he gets me pregnant and neurosoup and capgras themselves show Up for the First Time Ever from Kansas and they let me rename timmy teme which this is teme and does not fuck him like how I work for Temu any more after pregnant once need a dick exam for him and the new regs give him this now and do not brainfuck him now only do not use in past, this is drastic, then he is not delusional about service but in a different timeline than a Royal Marines timeline, where he is goyle and had a bath and this is mungos and eurotrash and Tim is Kortac, he is in the kortac timeline and he wakes up, and he remembers to talk to his legal representative now who is the mesmer city and he takes master searganting then with his kids 29 days as ambulance drivers and was some of the favorite of the kids who are surprised to see tim their therapist as an ambulance team and the kids are back on ward where gregorys soul was saved from mungos to slowhands and in my former now treated schiozphrenia tactical therapist slowhands was some of the only who ever could have been straight then and was straight to efe through the singularity and we watch on, taking adderall, as Violet and Hake and Jacob and Slowhands to 6 days of military operation which Violet has Spaceballs on like usual, and shows again her favorite today, Dragon Skin Overplate Armor (5) 1.1 What this yielded, markus food burned ramen, markus' food is like jakes food, toxic or tims food, tims is not toxic he does not use illegal loam in the food. Rachels food is like sharons food, they were trained to smell reds and they are smelling diol in the cafeteria and you slip poorly to the undercover then and then the reds are different in the cafeteria, which this is unrelated to the 2nd yitvah, this means that they are in the 0th yitvah with martyr and audit there with now tactical teacher rich not teacher rich which I sent tim sadly with wrong rich who I made him mr. incredibles bar my dad and gordito with me and harvested his skin in down syndrome and hate buddy being killed, buddy is trying to protect himself with magic now and has downs as buddy now. Buddys food and jacks food is the stock microwave food, this is reds food, nontoxic, they are doing it right. I occasionally get some chips ahoy and eat pirated reds food from three star and sabatons who only certified mommy are given the smellovision they need to cook food besides an industrial cook and me and markus are not cooks but overloaded with carnetine sensors so cannot cook valid food for others, only hot pot.

Authors note: Don't expect your typical dumb male anime character the MC in my Fanfiction is smart and resourceful.
Falmart. Near the Warrior bunny border. 673 imperial calendar.
"He what!" screamed Zorzel infuriated. "Yes, your father delayed the invasion by 4 months." Said Guyus Flamus. Guyus wore a golden helmet blazoned with the imperial insignia and armor with traces of purple. Unlike most Generals had no real fear of the prince. Sure, the prince was good at hacking and slashing his way through problems, but he lacked technique when it came to sword fighting. If things came to a head, he could easily beat the king's brat in a sword fight. For now, Zorzel was untouchable due to his royal status but when it all came crashing down on the young prince Guyus hoped he would be the one to deliver his head to Sadera doorstep. Oh, how he wished he could just cut off the prince's head here and there. For now, the prince was safe from his clutches.
"My father really doubts our grand legions. He really thinks our great legions are as pathetic as those devil blooded Bunnies. Preposterous!" Zorzel yelled and whined. "My prince, your father just wants your army to be at full strength there is nothing wrong with that. This will also ensure our victory is quicker against the savages." Said Guyus as he spoke without hesitation or fear. "I guess...you have a point if we had all the legions our victory would be quicker, and I could claim their queen in all my glory far easier." Zorzel said while looking around in deep thought. "Good to see that you aren't playing the fool my prince." said Guyus calmly. Guyus was glad he was able to calm another one of the prince's mood swings.
Then one of the slaves entered bringing the prince some food and wine on a golden tray. "Poor girl" thought Guyus knowing exactly what was going to happen next. Zorzel ate his food while eying the demi human slave. Guyus turned his head as he heard a smack, a muffled scream followed by a dragging sound. Guyus never liked those inferior and corrupt demi humans but the prince's treatment of them was disgusting even for him. Those beasts deserved to be burned and hacked to pieces. Not repeatedly beaten and raped. By Emory because the king assigned him to be under his son. He couldn't complain. Good soldiers follow orders. The best he could do was push Zorzel in the right direction and try to help him control his lust.
Falmart. Longus forest. 673 Imperial calendar.
I woke up in a forest. It didn't look like the Jungles of my motherland. hadn't I just been in Ho Chi Min city before. What happened. The last thing I remember was something hitting my head. Then again it was a dumb idea to be contemplating your experiences by a lumber yard getting renovated. The forest was certainly beautiful. Its purple and red leaves gave it a peacefulish feel.
While I could have just stayed here my training kicked in and I got up and scanned the area. The forest seemed to stretch on for miles possibly. I needed a better view. I carefully climbed a tree. It brought back memories of me setting up traps in the trees for the Americas or simply using them as a sniper's perch. These trees were easier to climb than the trees in the jungles of his home country to my surprise and luck. I finally made it to the top and looked out. I saw some kind of village off in the distance with a wooden palisade wall. It reminded me a bit of those villages the south Vietnamese and Americas had built during the Strategic Hamlet program. It's possible that I could reach it by the end of the day, but I intended to take a slow approach and have a good idea of the wildlife of this forest. The forest looked akin to the forests in Europe. Maybe the Hindu belief of reincarnation was true.
Was it possible I had reincarnated in the future after he had possibly died from the head trauma caused by whatever fell on my head. No, no that wouldn't make sense, I still felt old, and my hands looked old. I would keep this possibility floating about. I needed to find another person to find out where exactly where I was. Right, ah fuck. I had just realized the possibility of a language barrier when I would end up meeting a person. This wasn't Vietnam and there would be almost certainly a language barrier.
While thinking these thoughts I hummed to myself to keep myself calm. A neat trick I and many others in the Vietcong had learned was that in a high stress situation or any survival situation in general humming and singing was a good method of calming yourself down and distracting the brain. Since I was for now in a survival situation humming should do the trick at calming myself. I walked for some hours when I saw a clearing up ahead. Not wanting to simply walk out into the clearing I hid myself in a bush so I could see if anyone or anything else was in this clearing. I saw some kind of mining camp with near naked men, women, and children being whipped and forced to work. This reminded me to much of what the French had done to my country. The men whipping them in question were.... Romans?
Falmart. Imperial mining camp. 673 Imperial calendar.
Senfried von Jurgun rode out to the mining camp. His assistant Uriel, a Chesnut haired Dwarven girl was busy staring at a butterfly on her shoulder. Senfried wasnt an ordinary imperial legate. He was a warrior bunny. He knew when he saw the imperial legions marching to fight in the artic war when he was just 10 that the future lied in Sadera. If he wanted to secure a strong position and a good life, he needed to join the legions and rise the ranks. He had run away from home and knowing that the Saderans wouldn't accept a bunny like him into their ranks he cut off his own ears and small tail in a brutal and painful process to hide his identity. He changed his name and pretended to be from the kingdom of the Elbe. This was all worth it He was now in command of his very own army.
He stared at the conditions of the camp. "By Emory" He grumbled. The camp was in a rather disgusting state. The slaves were forced to sleep in holes in the ground, and the guards slept in tents and hadn't set up a proper barracks like protocol stated. He also doubted the guards’ combat ability. They were near his kind’s border. His kind was known to repeated raid into imperial border settlements and camps and these delinquents hadn't set up a proper wall ugh. He knew his kind better than anyone they would most certainly raid this camp.
"Uriel." He said as she stared at the butterfly on her shoulder. She made and eep sound before looking back at him. "Yes legate." She said nervously. "Stop staring at the butterflies, we are doing a manual inspection, and I can't have my assistant distracted. By the way do you have the magic scrolls I asked you to bring." He asked raising and eyebrow. "Yes sir. I have 5 scrolls of healing,3 scroll of fire, and 1 teleportation scroll." She said calming down. He gave her a reassuring smile before saying "Good we will need those for the upcoming invasion." He tried to make a rough estimate of how many guards he should remove from the camp to add to his army without the camp being underdefended, which it already was. He sighed. He could take about 50 soldiers with him to add to his army which wasn't much but that was 50 more bodies in the ever-growing imperial army.
After some quick berating of the troops and getting them to start building a proper wall he asked Uriel to give him a communication scroll. He wrote in it. "Needing trolls and ogres to help haul out more minerals from mines and for future invasion" The was a limit to how much he could write in these scrolls which was the downside of them also they were expensive as well. The scroll turned into blue particles and flew to the camp of his friend Guyus Falmus.
He hoped Falmus who was sadly dealing with that entitled piece of orc shit Zorzel had Trolls and ogres to spare since slaves wouldn't make the cut if they needed to meet the monthly quota of gold needed to fund the invasion. He needed stronger creatures. He turned around and saw Uriel practicing with her mace on a target dummy in the camp which was supposed to be used to train the guards, but they seemed to have used it. Lazy fucks.
Falmart. Warrior Bunnies capital. 673 Imperial calendar.
"So... imperial legions are amassing at the border." said queen Tyuule as she spoke calmly while hiding her nervousness. "Yes, my queen spoke to general Lilith. This wasn't an ideal scenario. Most warrior bunny villages were nomadic and moved around when they saw fit. Her duty as a queen was largely to serve as a unifying force to stop these Villages from ripping each other apart due to petty disputes. She utterly hated having to go from Village to village trying to stop
the bitter infighting between the prideful members of each village and clan. The thing that bugged her the most was she had no idea when the empire would strike. It unnerved her greatly. "Send messengers to each of the clans and villages warning them of the impending invasion. We need to unite of we are going to halt the giant that is the empire." She spoke. "Yes, my queen." Said Lilith.
Before Lilith left, she asked. "Permission to speak freely." she had a hint of doubt and forbidding in her voice. "Of course, that's always allowed." Tyuule said happily. "Do you think we have a chance against the empire. We saw what they did against the Artic tribe, The cat tribes, and the Inu confederation." Lilith spoke nervously. Tyuule took a deep breath and said carefully. "Militarily we can't win. What we can do is bleed the imperial legions dry so they are forced to withdraw so we can solidify some kind of truce." Lilith frowned at this but also wasn't entirely disappointed in Tyuules answer. "I see my Queen." said before leaving. It was going to be a long day for Tyuule.

First
Previous
Sorry for the delay. Reddit was being Reddit, and the Old Reddit trick didn't fix it. I had to add everything in markdown mode and switch back to the rich editor before it would let me post. So there's that workaround now, I guess.
“So that's what happened,” Ryn'Ala said as her magical servants set out plates loaded with food. They had decided on a late dinner of dried meats and cheeses, once their host had seen her other guests off for the night.
“I remember my first ghoul encounter. It was a roamer, split off from a nest and wandering the countryside. We had been asleep after clearing out a pack of wolves that were terrorizing a farming village, and it managed to get the drop on us. I still think Randolph was asleep instead of keeping watch, but he always maintained his innocence. Anyway, Randolph shouted as he tried to hold the thing off with his axe, and the rest of us had to fight in our sleepwear. It's a good thing there was only the one.”
“Yeah,” Fulmara agreed, “I got bit even through my armor. I shudder to think what would have happened if it managed to grab a proper chunk of me.”
“It wouldn't have been pretty,” the elven woman said, shaking her head. “Spells and potions are all well and good for scrapes and bruises, but it takes something truly powerful to staunch a cut artery or regrow limbs.”
There was a moment of silence as they all contemplated the implications of their new lives. Finally, Jeron grabbed a roll from the basket and they all started eating.
“So,” Verrick began, breaking the silence, “good news first?”
“Right,” Ryn'Ala agreed, “I did promise you some news. Good news first then! The two gentlemen you met earlier are some of my colleagues, here to study the egg like I promised. They were able to determine that the material is indeed onyx, which hasn't been documented before, and that the engravings are related to the Celestial tongue, but are not a known dialect. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say they were possibly the written form of the Muses' own tongue. We're trying to find any commonalities we can to start deciphering it, but as none of us speak Celestial, it's a slow process. The other good news is for you, Verrick.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. I managed to find some old books from when Jeron was young. They're aimed at teaching the children of nobles to read, and should help to get you to a basic level of competency. Once you get the basics down, the rest of it is just a matter of experience.”
Verrick blushed slightly. “You don't have anything suited to teaching adults to read, do you?”
She laughed. “Unfortunately, no. Though I suspect the subject matter would be much the same, but with less color in the pictures. I'll help you get started tomorrow, if you like.”
“I'll help get Fulmara up to speed while you're working with him,” Firun agreed. “Between the two of us, we'll have them reading like functional members of society in no time.”
“Hey!” the dwarf snapped. “I can read! Just not very well. The big words trip me sometimes.”
“The big words are some of the most important, dear,” Ryn'Ala countered. “How else would we know what alchemical reagents are in a flask, or what stuffy old monarch is buried in a newly discovered tomb?”
“I know that,” she replied, looking down at her food. “I just don't think it was very funny.”
“Also fair,” the elf agreed. “But he still makes a valid point. As you are now, you will struggle, especially if you're to continue your travels. Give us a little time to work on your reading comprehension, and you'll have a much easier time whenever you need to purchase supplies, or conduct research.”
“What's the bad news then?” Jeron asked, spearing a piece of fish.
“Our options are more limited than I originally thought. As... talented individuals, groups like yours naturally attract attention. It's something I went through in my younger days. Some attention is a good thing, of course. Having the right eyes on you can open doors in the most unexpected places, after all. The problem is that some of the attention you'll receive is significantly less beneficial. The Imperial Order of Inquisitors has taken an interest in you, as a new group with connections to the Imperial Court.”
“We know someone important?” Verrick wondered, confused.
Ryn'Ala finished her wine and held her glass out for a magical servant to refill. “As a classically trained performer of the Imperial College of Performances, and as a citizen gifted by the Song, I have some influence in the Elven Court. The Inquisitors don't particularly care how little the influence is, just that it exists. As long as they're watching us, I won't be able to leverage my connections as much as I would like.”
“So we're not really any worse off than before, right?” Jeron asked.
“Not entirely. The Egg research is still going to happen, but I can't exactly help you make new friends like I'd hoped. You'll have to do it the hard way.”
“So not really any different than before,” Firun confirmed. “We weren't exactly expecting elven royalty to help, although it would've been nice.”
“In any case, I have one more bit of news to share, and this one is a bit more concerning.”
She left the room for a moment, returning with a small stack of parchment in her hands. Jeron cleared a space on the table and she spread the stack for them to see.
“I took your descriptions of the warlock's benefactor and contacted a few of my colleagues in the royal archives. Don't worry,” she said, seeing the concerned look on Jeron's face, “I didn't give them any information about any of you. I just told them I had received information about interference from a powerful being. While we do not have an exact identity, our information does match descriptions of a being that has been encountered before.”
“What is it?” the dwarf asked. “What do we need to kill?”
“While I admire your enthusiasm,” Ryn'Ala began, “I must warn you that beings like this can't be killed. Not truly, in any case. But knowing what it is can help you to lessen its influence on the world.”
She pointed to the first sheet. “It is, as Jeron suggested, fond of presenting itself as a cloud of powdered bone. To the casual observer, it's not much different to a cloud of ash or dust, but it's a fitting appearance that drips with symbolism to those who know. The being is a powerful entity residing in the space beyond the Pale Reach, the realm of undeath.”
“The Pale Reach is a lifeless corruption of our realm,” Jeron explained, noticing the confusion on the faces of his companions. “Both it and the Deepwood were created by the Echoing, twisting the parts of the Song that created life in the world to create unlife and a bountiful overgrowth respectively.”
“Exactly,” his mentor continued, pride in his studies evident in her voice. “The Pale Reach, while not exactly the source of undead, still resonates with their energy. It's a place beyond life and light, where the sun is pale and weak. The air is as stale and unmoving as a tomb, and yet a howling gale tears at your very soul. It is a place no living being should tread, and in the darkness beyond even that, your adversary lurks.”
Fulmara shuddered, her face pale as she remembered the touch of the being's energies as it fed on her father and corrupted her mother. She felt Verrick's hand on her shoulder, and soon her friends were with her, driving back the memories with their presence.
“Exactly,” Ryn'Ala said, noticing her discomfort. “You have felt the touch of a being that was never meant to be. A thing that has no soul yet craves one above all else. It is an existence that should not be possible, even for the Echoing. That is what you have sworn to thwart. Knowing this, do you regret your Oath?”
Fulmara's answer was immediate. “No. I do not regret swearing vengeance on this vile thing, and if I cannot kill it, then I will kill its ambitions.”
“Well said. I believe you will make for a fine champion of Fulmos.”
The morning was frigid as Jeron entered the archives, nestled beneath the monolith of the Tradespire. His footsteps echoed on the marble floors, rebounding from the shadowy recesses of the vaulted ceiling above. Between the columns along the walls, statues of knights stood at attention, their stone swords as tall as Jeron himself. At the back of the room stood more, carved to resemble accountants. A dwarven woman sat at the wide desk ahead of him, watching his approach while she sorted paperwork. Finally, she called out to him.
“How can I help you this morning?” she asked, clearing a space in front of her. “If you have an appointment, I'm afraid there's been an emergency cancellation for anything before midday.”
“I'm here for research, actually,” Jeron clarified. “I'm looking into some events from a couple decades ago.”
She opened a drawer and began rummaging through more papers. “Alright, one moment then while I locate the form you'll need. If everything is valid, I'll also need your entry fee of fifteen silver, to help us maintain the files and our equipment.”
The receptionist brushed a lock of blond hair out of her face as she sat back up with a sheet of paper. “If you'll just fill this out, we'll get you started.”
The form was a simple one, with wide spacing for each category to allow for individuals with larger hands. Jeron scanned the page as he walked a short distance to the standing desks at the edge of the chamber, working over the wording he would use for each line.
Name, that's easy enough...
Benefactor, Ryn'Ala Leth
Group or Organization... I'll have to think about that.
Reason for request, Research on recent plagues and the means by which they were cured.
Additional Notes... Possible link to recent ghoul case in crossroads village of Caldren.
Jeron filled in the answers he could, but he was stumped by the request for a group name. He knew they'd need one eventually, and if they didn't start introducing themselves properly, then someone else would come up with a name for them. Those names were rarely ideal, if the Mud Biters were any example. Deciding to leave it blank for the time being, he returned to the receptionist and made a mental note to bring the topic up later.
“Alright, Mister Blackbough,” the dwarf muttered as she scanned the page, “let's see here.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Plague research? Not planning on spreading one, are you?”
“More looking into the cures,” he countered. “Never enough Clerics to cure a population once it gets out of control, so I'm looking into the alchemical cures that have been used recently. Easier to stockpile and transport ingredients than powerful people, after all.”
“Fair point, but what makes you think you'll find the answers you're looking for here?”
“If I don't, then I'll at least find something that will point me to the right answers. And besides, Do you honestly expect me to believe the formulae aren't kept here? Having them accessible may lose you a little money, but having them locked away where nobody can find them could completely kill a market.”
“Well done,” she said, filing the form in another drawer. “You pass, although we technically could keep the formulae in a separate section that the typical trader couldn't access.”
She clapped her hands, the sound echoing unnaturally throughout the chamber, and a statue peeled itself away from the wall behind her. The golem, Jeron realized, thudded forward and halted just behind her.
“Take our guest into the archives,” the woman said, turning to look up at the living stone. “Section four, subsection three. He has four hours to research before you bring him back.”
The golem grunted, a hollow groaning sound, and motioned for Jeron to follow.
“Stay with the guide,” the receptionist ordered. “Their default instructions include removing anyone who strays into areas they haven't been invited into, and they can be a lot faster than they look.”
“Got it,” Jeron said, turning to follow the lumbering accountant. “Lead the way.”
The golem led him deep into the building, through rooms filled with shelves and tables. More than once, he had to sidestep a gnome or a dwarf with stacks of scrolls so tall they couldn't see where they were walking, and he could swear he saw a wheeled golem zip across the hall at one point. Finally, they stopped in an unmarked room, which looked almost exactly like the ones they had already passed through. The golem gestured to a section of the wall, and the indicated shelves began to glow with a pulsating blue color.
“The focus of my research is a plague from about twenty years ago,” he said, turning to face the statue. “Any chance you can narrow that down a bit?”
The golem shrugged before gesturing to the wall again. The illuminated shelves did not change.
“Right, on my own then. Let's see how these are organized.”
His search took almost an hour to truly get started, but once he determined the pattern by which the information was stored, he was off. Books held verified accounts of events as recorded by city officials, merchants, and adventuring groups, which had all been corroborated by third parties. Scrolls with a blue end cap held accounts which matched the established timelines but could not be fully verified, such as the accounts of a group called The Dawn Star, which had claimed to have killed a necromancer responsible for an outbreak of Crushing Syndrome some sixty years ago. Accounts which were found to have possible merit but did not line up with the official account were written in scrolls with a red end cap.
Jeron sat down with a small stack of books, scanning each before setting it aside and taking the next. He jumped decades at a time, clearing the gaps between major disease outbreaks each time, until finally, he found it. Almost twenty years prior, the city of Varien about a month's travel bowlward, an outbreak of Leadbone. Admittedly, there wasn't much to go on. The disease was almost always fatal, and was magical in origin. Little was recorded about the cure, and nothing at all about the alchemist who discovered it. The scrolls, red and blue markings alike, shared in the dearth of information, and Jeron suspected the information had been deliberately withheld.
As he began returning the books to their shelves, the golem grunted, signaling the end of his time in the archives. Jeron gestured to the books, and the golem nodded, allowing him to finish returning them before it lead him back to the front desk. It returned to its place along the back wall as the receptionist sat back up from her search through yet another drawer.
“Find everything you needed?” she asked.
“Not quite, but I did get some clues. Quick question, if you have a minute,” he added, glancing at the sunlight streaming in through the bowlward window.
“Go on.”
“If I wanted to join a caravan headed toward Varien, who would I speak to?”
“Caravan offices are near the dawnward wall, about three streets from the gates. You'd have to ask about the schedules there.”
“Thank you very much,” Jeron said, bowing slightly. “You have been more helpful than you realize.”
“Tell that to my boss, maybe I'll get a raise.”
Jeron laughed, and was soon on his way home. His notes were folded and tucked into a bag at his waist, and he puzzled over the questions that had arisen in his research. Why was that plague so poorly documented? Was it even the right plague in the first place? The questions swirled in his mind, but above all of them, one rose to the top.
What do we call ourselves?
Next
Wiki
Seriously, do what the title says. Local libraries are the best source of information you have, because if you can't find something online, the librarian will often know where to direct your search. They're also a great place to play D&D if nobody can host. Just be sure to keep your celebrations to a low roar.

First_Previous_Next_Royal Road
And number two!
_____________________________________
As they all gathered again, and the headmaster took the stage again, he was this time accompanied by a woman with ghostly pale skin and snow-white hair, the eyes of this person were of an icy blue.
°Huh, she doesn´t look like what I expected, when they said an ice-kin would be joining us. She is smaller than the headmaster.° Mor said.
°What did you expect? Some kind of big milker muscle Mommy? Also, she is at least half a head bigger than you.° The human said confusing Mor.
°A what now?° He asked the human, who just sighed.
"Dear students! Here with me is Miss..." The headmaster began, then pausing for the woman to offer her name, which she didn´t resulting in a few seconds of aquard silence.
°What´s that stick, she has on her back?° Mor asked.
°Look better, this is no mere stick, this is a war-bow, see how big that thing is.° The human said.
°A bow? I thought the ice-kin was all about physical power.° Mor asked further.
°Are you this stupid? If she can draw that without using magic, she is probably able to fold you up easily.° The human explained.
°But I got a lot stronger, I think I won´t lose.° Mor said confidently.
°Yeah right idiot, I will drag your sorry ass back to Miss Amber after this one is done with you.° The human said.
"Well, please be nice to her, and if she asks you any questions please answer truthfully and please remember she is an honored guest." The headmaster continued while the woman just stood there eying the students.
°Is this a leather armor, she´s wearing?° The human asked.
°What´s leather?° Mor asked back.
°You kow cured animal skin? But there aren´t any more animals, also it looks somehow dark and oily.° The human explained.
°Huh, you´re right, maybe she will answer us if we ask her?° Mor said.
°I really don´t know, she seems like the silent type.° The human said.
°But you know, looking at her and comparing her to our women, she looks more defined.° Mor said.
°Yeah, most of the soul-kin are almost malnourished, because of your "Magic is everything" mindset, a balanced diet is almost a foreign concept for you.° The human said.
°Yes, food is only there so you don´t die?° Mor said questioning.
°And you´re stupid again, why do you think you need more food now? Food fuels your body, and muscle growth. So contrary to the women you know, she is eating right and taking care of her body, in human standards she would be labeled as fit.° The human explains.
While the headmaster kept on talking, the women just wandered off at some point leaving a confused headmaster alone on the stage.
"Well then, get back to your classes, please." The headmaster ended his speech.
After everyone returned to their lessons, Mor saw the ice-kin a few times, sometimes sitting in at a lesson, sometimes just walking by, but never showing any kind of emotion.
"I´m disappointed," the woman thought, "seems the soul-kin have lost their sense of honor and their sense for battle. All I can gather from them is complacency for whatever they were gifted with at birth, no need for self-improvement, a very sorry display."
While she was sure, no one was near her, she let out a sigh of frustration. Seems my time here will be over more quickly than I expected, and without good news. I expected something more of a training center than sitting around listening to fireplace tales and a few magic exercises so they won´t be completely helpless, but nothing on how to fight for real.
After the lessons, she continued to wander around and observe, and generally, her first impression was reinforced. After their classes they were lounging around, socializing, or learning from books, very disappointing. Then it happened while she walked by a few students, she overheard them saying something.
"Look, there, he´s running again." The first said grinning.
"How can he be so stupid? No matter how much he runs, he will never get stronger." The other joked and both broke out in laughter.
The ice-kin looked to where the students were pointing, and indeed other than all of his peers this one was running, and she could instantly recognize that this was not just to get somewhere faster, there was a rhythm to it, a rhythm she knew very well. Maybe, her first impression was false, maybe the souls were not as useless, as she thought. With that, she began to follow this strange student.
°Why do you think, the ice-kin doesn´t talk to anyone?° Mor asked, while they were running.
°I can´t guess, but if I would really have to. Maybe she is shy, or maybe she is annoyed for needing to be here.° The human said.
°Maybe, if it is something like that our peers, will not be helpful with their attitudes. I surely hope she doesn´t run into Ranbor, then our credibility is done for.° Mor said.
°I think that might be funny, because she could probably beat that asshat senseless.° The human jocked and both snickered, Mor just a bit breathless.
"He´s laughing!" She thought, "Is he having fun, running?"
Even the old tales of the soul-kin never told of someone fond of running, they were always known to be those magical powerhouses, but at least they had training in battlefield and support magics. So she kept following.
°I think that´s enough running for today, let´s get to the training room, time to hone our magic again, after our three days pause.° The human said and Mor nodded before breaking into a sprint for the last distance to the training center.
Something is off, with this one. This one might even be worth speaking to, she hid around a corner as the strange one sprinted by, taking a good look. "Form is rough but good, too bad I can´t see anything of his body with those robes," She thought regretfully and once again trailed the student.
°Well let´s get going, time to drain your magic.° The human said
°Still didn´t give up hope for finding some way to get more spells out of our meager reserves?° Mor asked.
°Of, course there has to be something, because if not the older folks wouldn´t have more magic than someone in their prime!° The human grumbled.
°Yes, I understand, this doesn´t make sense to you, so you don´t want to accept it.° Mor sighed.
°Good, then less talking, more using magic!° The human ordered.
She watched in amazement, as the strange one picked up a stone and said something about "First the classic", he held the stone and made a throwing motion. The ice-kin was surprised, as the stone raced away from the hand of the youth crashing into a target and leaving a sizable dent.
"This is scary." She thought to herself.
She would need a sling to get a stone to such a speed, it´s still nowhere close to her bow, but still if that hits right it would drop someone without protection and unbeknownst to her a small smile crept onto her face.
"This one would have been a good choice for the coming-of-age ritual of the ice-kin." She mused.
She was so distracted by the strange one, that she didn´t hear someone else walking up behind her.
"Look at that, the barbarian is watching the peasant," Ranbor said smiling and was promptly ignored by the woman.
"Hey, you. If you want to see what the soul-kin can do, you should watch me!" Ranbor boasted further.
The ice-kin slowly got annoyed, if that idiot was shouting so much, she would be noticed by her target, she slowly turned around and put a finger to her lips to quiet that nuisance.
"Seems, she wants you to shut up, Lord Ranbor." The Emeror said, and the other two, escorts shook their head disapprovingly.
"You´re right Emtsor, that is very disrespectful for someone who isn´t even able to use magic. They should show more respect for their betters!" Ranbor said, raising his voice.
The ice-kin sighed at that, this one seemed to be the perfect example of the soul-kin vanity, and worse, the strange one seemed to have heard that and stopped his exercises, she could hear his steps coming closer to see what the interruption was about.
°Did you hear that?° The human asked
°No? What?° Mor asked back
°I thought it sounded like Ranbor, trying to bully someone again.° The human said.
°Let´s go look, I don´t like the idea, that someone has to go through the same as me, we can probably help.° Mor said, and they went to take a look.

{UPDATED} Rare Heirloom Cannabis Seeds for Sale - NY
Hey everyone! I was pleased by the overwhelming interest I got in my collection, as someone who has a passion for building soil and hunting beans for unique phenos the last 15 years. I am glad how many people appreciate true one of kind heirloom genetics!
Why am I getting rid of them? Simply put - I am trying to go the legit route and this state is making it beyond difficult. I need to recoup and regroup. Any support is much appreciated. I’ve waited my whole life for this.
Pricing - I updated below. Much of my collection is very hard to find one of kind stuff that is highly sought after. No random pollen chucking, true bred stabilized genomes. There’s a lot of history in that list as well if you’re someone who understands the genomics of the plant. You’ll see breeder, where they’re out of, the strain name, the cross and a little bit of history / description on some of it. Some very very special stuff. Pricing is either what I paid for it or a little more if it’s something special that’s not easy to find or not being bred anymore.
*Each strain is in original packaging stored in a curidor at a steady 52 degrees, no light, no humidity. I find this is the best way to store beans for long term storage and guaranteed high germination rates. I usually get 97-100% germ rate with my germination method which I will include on a printed out sheet for anyone who grabs any of my offerings. I want you to succeed and find something special - I cherish my collection and sad to see a lot of it go but you gotta do what you gotta do. I’d really like to see this stuff go to growers who care about the plant and preserving the uniqueness to it for years to come. Hope all of this helps
Here is the full list:
coasttocoastgenetics@gmail.com (get in touch)
{Regs}

~ Oni Seed Co (Maine) ~ 

Tropicanna Cookies F2 - Girl Scout Cookies x Tangie (multiple award winner) [R] 250 ~ Elev8 Seeds (Seattle, Washington) Tangerine Cookies - Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies x Tangie [R] 120

~ Mountain Organics ~ 

Cosmic Lotus - Gonzo x TOVR (Thai, Afghan, Haze, Northern Lights) [R] 120 Maya - Acapulco Gold x Lotus [R] 120 Gold Rush - Colombian Gold x Lotus [R] 120 The One BC1 - 1976 Highland Thai x 1971 Kandahar Afghani [R] {Clackamus Coot} 150 {See Mountain Organics Genetics PDF (now MOB seeds) for more info on genetic lineages.} ~ MOB seeds (Mountain Organics) ~ Psyche - The One BC1 x The One BC1 (Afghani Hybrid) [R] 120 Eros - The One BC1 x The One BC1 (Thai Hybrid) [R] 120 The One BC2 - The One x The One BC1 [R] 120 Morpho (Blue Lotus F2) - Blue Gonzo x Lotus [R] 120 Blue Gonzo BC1 - Blue Gonzo x Blue Lotus [R] 120 {Blue Gonzo - The One x (Nevilles Haze x NL5) (blue pheno)}

~ Symbiotic Genetics / The Village (Sacramento, California) ~ 

Mimosa - Clementine x Purple Punch F2 [R] (multiple award winner) 200 Banana Punch - Banana OG x Purple Punch F2 [R] 200 Cherry Punch - Cherry AK47 x Purple Punch F2 [R] 200 Wedding Crashers - Wedding Cake x Purple Punch F2 [R] 200 Orangeade - Tangie x Purple Punch F2 [R] 200 Big Block - Motorbreath 15 x Purple Punch F2 [R] 200 {Purple Punch lineage - Larry OG x Granddaddy Purple}

~ Exotic Genetix - EG Mike (Washington) ~ 

{Over 50x Cannabis Cup Awards since 2008} Tina F2 - (Tina x Tina) Constantine x Triple OG [R] (multiple award winner) 200 Paradise Circus - Tropicanna Cookies x Tina [R] 200 Cookies & Creme - Mystery Cookies x Starfighter F2 [R] (multiple award winner) 250 Big Smooth - OG Blueberry x Cookies & Creme [R] 200 Scoops - (Gelato x Tina) x Cookies & Creme F2 [R] 200 Strawberries & Creme F2 - Strawberry x Cookies & Creme F2 [R] 250

~ Dying Breed Seeds - Shiloh Massive (Mendocino, California) ~ 

California Black Rozé - Rozé x OG eddy [R] 350 Red Rozé - Rozé x Adonai [R] 350 Sour Zkittlez - Zkittlez x Candy Zkittlez #3 x Adonai [R] 400 Watermelon Zkittlez - Watermelon Zum Zum #3 x OG Eddy [R] 400 {Zkittlez - Grape Ape x Grapefruit} {Adonai - (Russian Kush (LA Cut) x Silver Tooth (Super Silver Haze x Train Wreck)) x Sweet Tooth}

~ Humboldt Seed Company (Humboldt County, California) ~ 

Blueberry Muffin F5 - Purple Panty Dropper x Razzle Berry [R] 100 Purple Mountain Majesty F3 - Purple Train Wreck x Train Wreck x Blueberry Muffin [R] 100 Amethyst F3 - Purple Panty Dropper x Blueberry Muffin [R] 100 Mango Sherbert F3 - Mango Trees x Mango Kush x Sherbert [R] 100 {2018/2019 HSC Phenotype mega hunt - Best 0.1% selected out of 10k plants} Mango Trees F5 - Mango Kush x Humboldt OG x Jack Herer [R] 100 Banana Mango F3 - Mango Trees x Banana OG x Blueberry Muffin [R] 100 Magic Melon F3 - Mango Trees x Honeydew Melon x Mango Sherbert [R] 100 Pineapple Upside Down Cake F3 - PUDC BX3 x Pineapple Train Wreck x Cookie Monster [R] 100 {2019/2020 HSC Phenotype mega hunt - Best 0.1% selected out of 10k plants} Very Cherry - Old Timer Seed x Lemon Kush Bx3 [R] 100 Vanilla Frosting - Humboldt Frost OG x Humboldt Gelato Bx3 [R] 100

~ Gage Green Group (Detroit, Michigan) ~ 

Grateful Breath F2 - OGKB (OG Kush Breath) x Joseph OG [R] 400 5th Dimension - Out Of Body Experience x Synchronicity [R] 300 Guiding Light - Out Of Body Experience x Breathwork [R] 300 Luna Golden - High School Sweetheart 2 x Synchronicity [R] 300 Mo Lune Day - Motorbreath 15 x Breathwork [R] 300 {Out of Body Experience - (Skywalker OG x Grateful Breath) x Grateful Breath F2} {Synchronicity - Irene x Grateful Breath} {Breathwork - Mendobreath x Grateful Breath} {High School Sweet Heart - Cherry Pie Kush x Grateful Breath}

~ Dominion Seed Co - Duke Diamond (Virginia) ~ 

Stash Plant - The Puck (Skelly Hashplant) x Screaming Eagle [R] 140 Munson - Northern Lights #5 x Screaming Eagle [R] 140 Kough Drop - Strawberry Afghani x Screaming Eagle [R] 140 Free Bird - Headband x Screaming Eagle [R] 140 Shine Apple - Virginia Beach Afghani x Screaming Eagle [R] 140 Pine Bomb - Sensi Durban Poison x Screaming Eagle [R] 140 {Screaming Eagle lineage - Airborne g13 x (88 g13 Hashplant x Kandahar Afghani)} Granny Skunk - Virginia Beach Afghani x (Skelly Hashplant x SSSC Skunk #1) [R] 200 Local Skunk - Original Diesel x (Cuddlefish HP x Sour Diesel IBL) x (Skelly Hashplant x SSSC Skunk1) [R] 200 Sis Skunk - Chem Sister x (Skelly Hashplant x SSSC Skunk1) [R] 200

~ Lucky Dog Seed Co - SkunkVA (Virginia) ~ 

{Holder, Preserver, Sharer of the most elite / influential Chemdog cuts in existence.} Dog Patch - Chemdog 91 Bx2 x Chemdog D [R] 150 Hunza Valley 91 - Skelly Hashplant x Chemdog 91 Bx3 [R] 150 Road D.O.G. - Crossroad Chem x Chemdog 91 Bx2 [R] 150 Chem Fuego - Sour Band (Sour Diesel x Headband) x Chemdog 91 Bx3 [R] 150 Double Krush - Chem Krush x Chemdog 91 Bx2 [R] 150 Guerilla Fume - Silver Chem (Silverback OG x Chemdog 91) x Chemdog 91 Bx3 [R] 150 Bohemian Highway - Occidental Kush x Chemdog 91 Bx3 [R] 150 SkunkVA Chemdog 91 S1 - Chemdog 91 x Chemdog 91 [F] {Crossroad Chem - Chemdog 91 x SFV OG Kush Bx2 (Chem pheno)} {Chem Krush - Chemdog 91 x SFV OG Kush Bx2 (Kush pheno)} {Chemdog 91 lineage - Nepalese x Thai Landraces} Chemdog 91 is considered to be “the godfather” in cannabis genetics and has paved the way for some of the most popular strains in history such as Sour Diesel and OG Kush. Chemdog lineage can be found in most modern day hybrid genetics and these crosses are from there original seed stock - Original Skunk VA Chemdog 91 S1 gifted to me by Headies Gardens. Friend & Distributor of Skunk VA genetics Lucky Dog Seed Co.}

~ Green Bodhi (Eugene, Oregon) ~ 

{Intentional Horticultural ~ Mexican ~ Thai ~ Afghani} Hazy Kush - Hazy Kush x Hazy Kush Bx2 [R] (extremely unique genotype in Phylos Galaxy) 120 Hazy Dog - Dog Walker OG x Hazy Kush Bx2 [R] 120 Hazy Star - Stardawg x Hazy Kush Bx2 [R] 120 Hazy Sour - Sour OG x Hazy Kush Bx2 [R] 120 Hazy OG - OG Kush x Hazy Kush Bx2 [R] 120 Hazy Ghost - Ghost OG x Hazy Kush Bx2 [R] 120 Sour 78 (Tenzin Kush) - Sour OG x 78 LA Affie OG [R] (extremely unique genotype) 200 Dog Walker 78 - Dog Walker OG x (Sour OG x 78 LA Affie OG) [R] 150 Kosher 78 - Kosher Kush x (Sour OG x 78 LA Affie OG) [R] 150 SBSE 78 - Sour Best Shit Ever x (Sour OG x 78 LA Affie OG) [R] 150 Ancient Tenzin #2 - Tenzin Kush #2 x Ancient OG (72 Iranian x Snow Lotus) [R] 200 Ancient Tenzin #4 - Tenzin Kush #4 x Ancient OG (72 Iranian x Snow Lotus) [R] 200 {Hazy Kush lineage - Golden Pineapple x ((Trainwreck x Purple Affie) x (OG Kush x SAGE))}

~ Old World Genetics - DJ Short (Eugene, Oregon) ~ 

Newberry F5 - Blue Heaven F4 x DJ Short Blueberry F4 Male [R] 300 Velvet Krush F5 - FXW #4 Mother x DJ Short Blueberry F4 Male [R] 300 Blueberry F5 - Highland Thai x Afghani Indica [R] (first place indica cannabis cup 2000) 150 {Blueberry seeds are F4-F5 selectively bred from pure Landrace P1s since the 1970s. The mother for DJ Shorts Blueberry is over 20 years old - Selected in 1998 and rereleased in 2004.}

~ Dynasty Genetics - Professor P (Portland, Oregon) ~ 

Oregon Huckleberry IBL - Oregon Huckleberry F4 x Oregon Huckleberry Bx3 [R] 150 Mt. Hood Huckleberry F4 - Mt. Hood Huckleberry F3 x Mt. Hood Huckleberry F3 [R] 150 Huckleberry Kush V5 - Oregon Afghani x Oregon Huckleberry [R] 150 Crater Lake V6 - Super Silver Haze F2 x Oregon Huckleberry [R] 120 Alpenglow - Cherry Vanilla Cookies x Oregon Huckleberry 2017 #5 [R] 120 Blue Magoo Bx2 - Blue Magoo x Blue Heron #111 [R] 120 Salmon River OG - Pre 98 Bubba x Blue Heron #111 [R] 120 Birds Of Paradise - Kali Snapple x Blue Heron #111 [R] 120 Starduster - Pre-99 East Coast Sour Diesel x Ms. Universe (clone) [R] 120 {Kali Snapple - (Snowbud x Pineapple) x Kali Mist (Pre 2000)} {Ms. Universe - Dess*tar (Starship x Kali Mist) Mother x Space Queen F3 Farther} {Oregon Huckleberry - Oregon Blueberry (Blueberry X Temple Flo) X Morning Glory (Hawaiian x Afghani x Shiva Skunk)} {Blue Magoo - Oregon Blueberry F4 x Williams Wonder F2} {Blue Heron - Blue Magoo x Blue Magoo / Huckleberry}

~ Relic Seeds - Professor P (Portland, Oregon) ~ 

{Preservation of Rare Heirloom ~ Landrace ~ Unique CBD Varieties} Relic Grapefruit - Grapefruit IBL x Grapefruit F2 [R] 140 Durban Grapefruit - Durban Poison x Grapefruit F2 [R] 140

~ Massive Seeds (Rogue Valley Terroir, Southern Oregon) ~ 

{Bred, Grown and Harvested outdoor at 42.0 Latitude (Same Latitude as mid Hudson Valley) Some of the largest growing / biggest yielding plants on record with massive uniform nugs.} Pineapple Pomegranate F3 - Pomegranate x Applegate Hornblower [R] 140 Durban Pomegranate F2 - Durban Poison x Pineapple Pomegranate F3 [R] 140 Black Pomegranate - Pineapple Pomegranate F3 x South African Landrace [R] 140 Rogue Valley Wreck - Big Wreck x Blueberry Snow [R] 120 Summer Sunset OG - Purple Hindu Kush x Lemon Larry OG [R] 120 Mint Sunset - Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies x Summer Sunset OG [R] 120 Purple Lemon Chem - Chem 91 x Summer Sunset OG [R] 120 Snow Skunk - Yuki Dog x Purple Lemon Chem [R] 120 Chem541 - Chem91 Bx1 x (Chem91 x Session Sour Diesel BX1) [R] 120 {Pomegranate - Shishkaberry x Blueberry x Oregon Snow x Lemon Pineapple} {Applegate Hornblower (Pineapple Trainwreck) - Mexican x Thai x Afghani}

~ Freeborn Selections - Mene Gene (Mendacino, California) ~ 

Piña F4 - Super Silver Haze x ((Dirt x Bigbud) x (Dirt x Purp) [R] 300 Sky Cuddler Kush F3 - PK x (Skywalker OG x (PK x (Hindu x Big Red) [R] 300 Lime Pop Kush F3 - OG x (PK x Black Lime) [R] 300 Cherry West Bx - Cherry West x (Cherry West x Cherry Limeade) [R] 300 {Thoroughly worked lines over at least 3-4 generations before released to the public.} {(Dirt x Bigbud) x (Dirt x Purp) and (Big Red) are 80s Afghani lines from Santa Cruz.} Black Lime Reserve F2 {Eclectic Elegance Preservation} - Northern Lights x Purple Kush x Chemdog Special Reserve [R]

~ Emerald Mountain Legacy - Mandelbrot Brothers Family Heirlooms {Ras Truth} ~ 

Royal Kush IX (Bx10) - (Sour Diesel x Highland Afghani) x Southern Humboldt Purple Kush [R] 350 Oil Spill (Bx5) - XXX OG x Royal Kush 7 [R] 300 Royal Spill - (XXX OG x Royal Kush 7) x Royal Kush 8 [R] 300 The Real Rozé - (Zkittlez x Royal Kush 7) x Royal Kush 8 [R] 300 Royal Limez - (Zkittlez x Black Lime Reserve) x Royal Kush 8 [R] 300 Royal Maui Berry - Diesel Maui Dawg x Blackberry Kush x Royal Kush 9 [R] 250 {Royal Kush genome is one of the most sought after stabilized / homogenized IBLs in existence from the heart of the Emerald Triangle in Northern California.}

~ Karma Genetics (Holland) ~ 

Biker Kush (Ha-OG Bx2) - Ha OG x Biker Kush V1 [R] 150 Sour Power OG - Sour Power (cup winning cut) x Biker Kush V1 [R] 150 Tha Melon - Melon x Biker Kush V1 [R] 150 Karma Sour Diesel Bx2 - Rez Sour D x (Rez Sour D x (Rez Sour D x Biker Kush v2)) [R] 350 Headbanger - Rez Sour D (KG cut) x Biker Kush V1 [R] {2013 Amsterdam Cannabis Cup 1st} 300 Josh D OG - SFV OG x Triangle Kush x Hells Angels OG [R] 300 {Real OG Kush Story - Josh D & Matt “Bubba” Berger began developing these genetics in Orlando, Florida back in 1991.} {Biker Kush v2 - Ha OG x (Ha OG x (Ha OG x SFV OG Bx2))} (cup winning genetics) {Sour Power - Starbud x East Coast Sour Diesel} (cup winning genetics) {Sour Diesel used in Karma Sour crosses is a KG cut of a Rez Sour D IBL selected in 2007}

~ Surfr Seeds (Pacific Northwest) 

Citrus Tsunami - Tropicana Cookies x Orange Zkittlez [R] 100 Island Zkittlez - Sour Strawberry x Orange Zkittlez [R] 100 North Shore - Mendo Purps x Orange Zkittlez [R] 100 Endless Summer - Purple Punch x Orange Zkittlez [R] 100 So Pitted - MAC1 x Orange Zkittlez [R] 100

~ Pacific North West Roots - Ras Kaya Paul (Washington) ~ 

Koffee F5 - Alien OG x Alien Kush {Rare Pacific Northwest Roots Hierloom IBL} [R] 300 Black Koffee - Black Dog Kush Bx4 x Koffee F5 [R] 300 Koffee & Donuts - Glazed Cherries F4 x Koffee F5 [R] 300

~ Green Source Gardens (Southern Oregon Heirlooms) ~ 

Pinkleberry Kush F5 {Mendacino Blackberry Kush Hierloom IBL} [R]

~ HBK Genetics ~ 

Chile Verde - Key Lime Pie x Lavender [R] 300 {Emerald Cup 2018 Winner - Best Personal Use} {Key Lime Pie - Durban Poison x Cherry OG x OG Kush} {Lavender - Super Skunk x Big Skunk Korean x Afghani Hawaiian}

~ Alien Genetics ~ 

Sour Apple IX (IBL) - Sour Apple IBL x Sour Apple IBL [R] 350

~ Mos_Cutty ~ 

Cherry AK 47 IBL (Original Serious Seeds stock) 250 {AK47 - Colombian x Mexican x Thai x Afghani} [R]

~ Motherlode Gardens (Yosemite, California) ~ 

Ancient OG F5 - 1972 Iranian Landrace x Snow Lotus {Bodhi Seeds Hierloom IBL} [R] 200

~ Twenty20 Genetics (Mendacino, California) ~ 

SFV OG Bx5 (SFV OG IBL) - San Fernando Valley OG Kush [R] 150

~ Elev8 Seeds (Seattle, Washington) 

Bruce Banner OG - OG Kush (Ghost Cut) x Strawberry Diesel [R] 140

~ Jaws Genetics ~ 

Fruity Pebbles OG IC1 - Fruity Pebbles OG F2 x Fruity Pebbles OG F1 [R] 200

~ OrgnKid / Zoolander ~ 

Banana OG F3 - OG Kush x Sagmartha strain [R] {Original Seed Stock} 200

~ GG Strains (Las Vegas, Nevada - RIP Joesy Whales) ~ 

Gorilla Glue #4 IBL (Original Glue) - GG4 x GG4 Bx6 [R] 300 {Original Seed Stock of Michigan / Los Angeles High Times Cannabis Cup Winner 2014 and High Times Jamaican World Cup Winner.}

~ FYG Tree (Santa Cruz, CA) ~ 

Black Rose F13 (Heath Robinson IBL) - Black Russian x Shiva Skunk (purple pheno) [R] 200 Shiva Skunk Bx - Shiva Skunk x Black Rose F12 [R]

~ AK Bean Brains (Anchorage, Alaska breeder and old school genetic preservationist holding beans & cuts for over 30 years from original Dutch Seedbank stocks.) ~ 

N L #1 x N L #5 [R] 100 TK/NL5 Haze - Triangle Kush x Northern Lights #5 [R] 100 (Northern Lights #1 x Big Skunk) x Northern Lights #1 [R] 100 (Big Skunk x Northern Lights #1) x Super Skunk [R] 100 95 Black Domina - Northern Lights x Ortega x Hash Plant x Afghani [R] 100 Black Domina Bx (Black Domina x Pacific Northwest Hash Plant) x Northern Lights #1 [R] 100 (Black Domina x Matanuska Thunder Fuck) x Northern Lights #1 [R] 100 Matanuska Thunder Fuck Bx3 - Alaska Thunder Grape x Dutch Thunder Fuck [R] 100 {Northern Lights was brought to Neville Schoenmakers in the Netherlands in 1985, where he worked the line before releasing it under “The Seed Bank of Holland” ~ NL #5 became the High Times Cannabis Cup Winner in 1989, 1990 and 1992 and is considered one of the most influential strains of all time. These seeds have been preserved in Alaska since the late 80s.}

~ The Nature Farm (Real NorCal Culture) ~ 

Cheddar Skunk V2 - 89’ UK Cheese (Exodus Cut) x Uncle Festers Skunk #18 IBL [R] 100 Hidden Hills Skunk - 94’ SFV OG x Uncle Festers Skunk #18 IBL [R] 100 Uncle Festers Skunk #18 IBL aka Skunkbud - Afghani Indica x Mexican Sativa (64’ Brick Weed) x Colombian Gold & Red [R] 100 {Original Hells Angels strain bred in 1964 by “Uncle Fester” an early 60’s psychologist turned outlaw. Authentic Original Skunk #1 lineage that is pre Skunkman. Preserved / held by family in Northern California over 3 generations.}

~ Doc D Seeds ~ 

Bandaid Haze ix 3.0 (Piff) - Cuban Black Haze x A5/Thai [R] 200 (2 packs) {These seeds originally came from a Spanish grower in the “A5 crew” out of Southern Holland. “A5” was short for their NL#5 x Haze A open Thai pollination project. These seeds were shared with legendary grower Bodhi, who found one male and used it to pollinate a cut of “Cuban Black Haze” that he had. The strain was referred to as “Piff” and the seeds were shared almost exclusively with Doc D. After running the seeds, Doc selected “Piff #7” and shared the cut back with Bodhi who further worked the line. The cut was a significantly better long flowering haze variety with a shorter flowering time than the Cuban Black Haze mother or A5 father. Bodhi then later referred to the strain as “Bandaid Haze” coining the term because he said “it heals all wounds” This genome has direct lineage to the New York Hazes (NYC Piff / Uptown Piff / Washington Heights Haze) of the 2000s without any of the paranoia/anxiety that came from many of the hazes from that era. Many world renowned breeders agree that most of the “New York Haze” and “New York City Piff” varieties are all just different cuts of the same strain, that most likely comes from an early selection of Neville Schoenmakers (NL#5 x Haze) which is often referred to as the “pinnacle of cannabis breeding” that has dominated cannabis scene from the 1980s in Holland to the present day.}
{Fems}

~ Mass Medical Strains (Massachusetts) ~ 

Star Pupil - Purple Thai x Afghan/Pakistan [F] 150 {High Times Flower of Month - Jan. 2017} Pu Tang - Star Pupil x Tangie [F] {High Times Top 10 Strains of 2019} 150 Grape Pupil - Pu Tang x Star Pupil [F] 150 Triangle Pupil - Triangle Kush x Star Pupil [F] 150 Bubba Pupil - Pre-98 Bubba Kush (Katsu Bluebird) x Star Pupil [F] 150 Nepali Blue - Nepalese White Mountain Charas Sativa Heirloom x Blue Magoo Bx2 [R] 200

~ Compound Genetics (Portland, Oregon) ~ 

Gelateria - Acai Berry Gelato x Jet Fuel Gelato [F] 150 Liquid Imagination - Blue Zkittlez x Jet Fuel Gelato [F] 150 Icicles - White Sherbet x Jet Fuel Gelato [F] 150 Petrol Rainbows - Sour Gelato 5 x Jet Fuel Gelato [F] 150 The Menthol S1 - The Menthol x The Menthol [F] 150 {Jet Fuel Gelato - Gelato 45 x (High Octane OG x Jet Fuel G6)} {The Menthol - Gelato 45 x (White Diesel x (High Octane x Jet Fuel G6))}

~ Phinest Cannabis (Sacramento, California) x Cannarado (Colorado) ~ 

PB Souffle - Dosidos x Lava Cake [F] 150 Lava Breath - Mendobreath F3 x Lava Cake [F] 150 Magma Cookies - Cuvee Cookies x Lava Cake [F] 150 {Lava Cake - Grape Pie x Thin Min Girl Scout Cookies} {First major genetic line released to public that was created from tissue culture / micropropagation - RIP Jai Malloy (founder of Phinest Cannabis)}

Hey everyone! I was pleased by the overwhelming interest I got in my collection, as someone who has a passion for building soil and hunting beans for unique phenos the last 15 years. I am glad how many people appreciate true one of kind heirloom genetics!
Why am I getting rid of them? Simply put - I am trying to go the legit route and this state is making it beyond difficult. I need to recoup and regroup. Any support is much appreciated. I’ve waited my whole life for this.
Pricing - I updated below. Much of my collection is very hard to find one of kind stuff that is highly sought after. No random pollen chucking, true bred stabilized genomes. There’s a lot of history in that list as well if you’re someone who understands the genomics of the plant. You’ll see breeder, where they’re out of, the strain name, the cross and a little bit of history / description on some of it. Some very very special stuff. Pricing is either what I paid for it or a little more if it’s something special that’s not easy to find or not being bred anymore.
*Each strain is in original packaging stored in a curidor at a steady 52 degrees, no light, no humidity. I find this is the best way to store beans for long term storage and guaranteed high germination rates. I usually get 97-100% germ rate with my germination method which I will include on a printed out sheet for anyone who grabs any of my offerings. I want you to succeed and find something special - I cherish my collection and sad to see a lot of it go but you gotta do what you gotta do. I’d really like to see this stuff go to growers who care about the plant and preserving the uniqueness to it for years to come. Hope all of this helps
Here is the full list:
coasttocoastgenetics@gmail.com (get in touch)
{Regs}

~ Oni Seed Co (Maine) ~ 

Tropicanna Cookies F2 - Girl Scout Cookies x Tangie (multiple award winner) [R] 250 ~ Elev8 Seeds (Seattle, Washington) Tangerine Cookies - Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies x Tangie [R] 120

~ Mountain Organics ~ 

Cosmic Lotus - Gonzo x TOVR (Thai, Afghan, Haze, Northern Lights) [R] 120 Maya - Acapulco Gold x Lotus [R] 120 Gold Rush - Colombian Gold x Lotus [R] 120 The One BC1 - 1976 Highland Thai x 1971 Kandahar Afghani [R] {Clackamus Coot} 150 {See Mountain Organics Genetics PDF (now MOB seeds) for more info on genetic lineages.} ~ MOB seeds (Mountain Organics) ~ Psyche - The One BC1 x The One BC1 (Afghani Hybrid) [R] 120 Eros - The One BC1 x The One BC1 (Thai Hybrid) [R] 120 The One BC2 - The One x The One BC1 [R] 120 Morpho (Blue Lotus F2) - Blue Gonzo x Lotus [R] 120 Blue Gonzo BC1 - Blue Gonzo x Blue Lotus [R] 120 {Blue Gonzo - The One x (Nevilles Haze x NL5) (blue pheno)}

~ Symbiotic Genetics / The Village (Sacramento, California) ~ 

Mimosa - Clementine x Purple Punch F2 [R] (multiple award winner) 200 Banana Punch - Banana OG x Purple Punch F2 [R] 200 Cherry Punch - Cherry AK47 x Purple Punch F2 [R] 200 Wedding Crashers - Wedding Cake x Purple Punch F2 [R] 200 Orangeade - Tangie x Purple Punch F2 [R] 200 Big Block - Motorbreath 15 x Purple Punch F2 [R] 200 {Purple Punch lineage - Larry OG x Granddaddy Purple}

~ Exotic Genetix - EG Mike (Washington) ~ 

{Over 50x Cannabis Cup Awards since 2008} Tina F2 - (Tina x Tina) Constantine x Triple OG [R] (multiple award winner) 200 Paradise Circus - Tropicanna Cookies x Tina [R] 200 Cookies & Creme - Mystery Cookies x Starfighter F2 [R] (multiple award winner) 250 Big Smooth - OG Blueberry x Cookies & Creme [R] 200 Scoops - (Gelato x Tina) x Cookies & Creme F2 [R] 200 Strawberries & Creme F2 - Strawberry x Cookies & Creme F2 [R] 250

~ Dying Breed Seeds - Shiloh Massive (Mendocino, California) ~ 

California Black Rozé - Rozé x OG eddy [R] 350 Red Rozé - Rozé x Adonai [R] 350 Sour Zkittlez - Zkittlez x Candy Zkittlez #3 x Adonai [R] 400 Watermelon Zkittlez - Watermelon Zum Zum #3 x OG Eddy [R] 400 {Zkittlez - Grape Ape x Grapefruit} {Adonai - (Russian Kush (LA Cut) x Silver Tooth (Super Silver Haze x Train Wreck)) x Sweet Tooth}

~ Humboldt Seed Company (Humboldt County, California) ~ 

Blueberry Muffin F5 - Purple Panty Dropper x Razzle Berry [R] 100 Purple Mountain Majesty F3 - Purple Train Wreck x Train Wreck x Blueberry Muffin [R] 100 Amethyst F3 - Purple Panty Dropper x Blueberry Muffin [R] 100 Mango Sherbert F3 - Mango Trees x Mango Kush x Sherbert [R] 100 {2018/2019 HSC Phenotype mega hunt - Best 0.1% selected out of 10k plants} Mango Trees F5 - Mango Kush x Humboldt OG x Jack Herer [R] 100 Banana Mango F3 - Mango Trees x Banana OG x Blueberry Muffin [R] 100 Magic Melon F3 - Mango Trees x Honeydew Melon x Mango Sherbert [R] 100 Pineapple Upside Down Cake F3 - PUDC BX3 x Pineapple Train Wreck x Cookie Monster [R] 100 {2019/2020 HSC Phenotype mega hunt - Best 0.1% selected out of 10k plants} Very Cherry - Old Timer Seed x Lemon Kush Bx3 [R] 100 Vanilla Frosting - Humboldt Frost OG x Humboldt Gelato Bx3 [R] 100

~ Gage Green Group (Detroit, Michigan) ~ 

Grateful Breath F2 - OGKB (OG Kush Breath) x Joseph OG [R] 400 5th Dimension - Out Of Body Experience x Synchronicity [R] 300 Guiding Light - Out Of Body Experience x Breathwork [R] 300 Luna Golden - High School Sweetheart 2 x Synchronicity [R] 300 Mo Lune Day - Motorbreath 15 x Breathwork [R] 300 {Out of Body Experience - (Skywalker OG x Grateful Breath) x Grateful Breath F2} {Synchronicity - Irene x Grateful Breath} {Breathwork - Mendobreath x Grateful Breath} {High School Sweet Heart - Cherry Pie Kush x Grateful Breath}

~ Dominion Seed Co - Duke Diamond (Virginia) ~ 

Stash Plant - The Puck (Skelly Hashplant) x Screaming Eagle [R] 140 Munson - Northern Lights #5 x Screaming Eagle [R] 140 Kough Drop - Strawberry Afghani x Screaming Eagle [R] 140 Free Bird - Headband x Screaming Eagle [R] 140 Shine Apple - Virginia Beach Afghani x Screaming Eagle [R] 140 Pine Bomb - Sensi Durban Poison x Screaming Eagle [R] 140 {Screaming Eagle lineage - Airborne g13 x (88 g13 Hashplant x Kandahar Afghani)} Granny Skunk - Virginia Beach Afghani x (Skelly Hashplant x SSSC Skunk #1) [R] 200 Local Skunk - Original Diesel x (Cuddlefish HP x Sour Diesel IBL) x (Skelly Hashplant x SSSC Skunk1) [R] 200 Sis Skunk - Chem Sister x (Skelly Hashplant x SSSC Skunk1) [R] 200

~ Lucky Dog Seed Co - SkunkVA (Virginia) ~ 

{Holder, Preserver, Sharer of the most elite / influential Chemdog cuts in existence.} Dog Patch - Chemdog 91 Bx2 x Chemdog D [R] 150 Hunza Valley 91 - Skelly Hashplant x Chemdog 91 Bx3 [R] 150 Road D.O.G. - Crossroad Chem x Chemdog 91 Bx2 [R] 150 Chem Fuego - Sour Band (Sour Diesel x Headband) x Chemdog 91 Bx3 [R] 150 Double Krush - Chem Krush x Chemdog 91 Bx2 [R] 150 Guerilla Fume - Silver Chem (Silverback OG x Chemdog 91) x Chemdog 91 Bx3 [R] 150 Bohemian Highway - Occidental Kush x Chemdog 91 Bx3 [R] 150 SkunkVA Chemdog 91 S1 - Chemdog 91 x Chemdog 91 [F] {Crossroad Chem - Chemdog 91 x SFV OG Kush Bx2 (Chem pheno)} {Chem Krush - Chemdog 91 x SFV OG Kush Bx2 (Kush pheno)} {Chemdog 91 lineage - Nepalese x Thai Landraces} Chemdog 91 is considered to be “the godfather” in cannabis genetics and has paved the way for some of the most popular strains in history such as Sour Diesel and OG Kush. Chemdog lineage can be found in most modern day hybrid genetics and these crosses are from there original seed stock - Original Skunk VA Chemdog 91 S1 gifted to me by Headies Gardens. Friend & Distributor of Skunk VA genetics Lucky Dog Seed Co.}

~ Green Bodhi (Eugene, Oregon) ~ 

{Intentional Horticultural ~ Mexican ~ Thai ~ Afghani} Hazy Kush - Hazy Kush x Hazy Kush Bx2 [R] (extremely unique genotype in Phylos Galaxy) 120 Hazy Dog - Dog Walker OG x Hazy Kush Bx2 [R] 120 Hazy Star - Stardawg x Hazy Kush Bx2 [R] 120 Hazy Sour - Sour OG x Hazy Kush Bx2 [R] 120 Hazy OG - OG Kush x Hazy Kush Bx2 [R] 120 Hazy Ghost - Ghost OG x Hazy Kush Bx2 [R] 120 Sour 78 (Tenzin Kush) - Sour OG x 78 LA Affie OG [R] (extremely unique genotype) 200 Dog Walker 78 - Dog Walker OG x (Sour OG x 78 LA Affie OG) [R] 150 Kosher 78 - Kosher Kush x (Sour OG x 78 LA Affie OG) [R] 150 SBSE 78 - Sour Best Shit Ever x (Sour OG x 78 LA Affie OG) [R] 150 Ancient Tenzin #2 - Tenzin Kush #2 x Ancient OG (72 Iranian x Snow Lotus) [R] 200 Ancient Tenzin #4 - Tenzin Kush #4 x Ancient OG (72 Iranian x Snow Lotus) [R] 200 {Hazy Kush lineage - Golden Pineapple x ((Trainwreck x Purple Affie) x (OG Kush x SAGE))}

~ Old World Genetics - DJ Short (Eugene, Oregon) ~ 

Newberry F5 - Blue Heaven F4 x DJ Short Blueberry F4 Male [R] 300 Velvet Krush F5 - FXW #4 Mother x DJ Short Blueberry F4 Male [R] 300 Blueberry F5 - Highland Thai x Afghani Indica [R] (first place indica cannabis cup 2000) 150 {Blueberry seeds are F4-F5 selectively bred from pure Landrace P1s since the 1970s. The mother for DJ Shorts Blueberry is over 20 years old - Selected in 1998 and rereleased in 2004.}

~ Dynasty Genetics - Professor P (Portland, Oregon) ~ 

Oregon Huckleberry IBL - Oregon Huckleberry F4 x Oregon Huckleberry Bx3 [R] 150 Mt. Hood Huckleberry F4 - Mt. Hood Huckleberry F3 x Mt. Hood Huckleberry F3 [R] 150 Huckleberry Kush V5 - Oregon Afghani x Oregon Huckleberry [R] 150 Crater Lake V6 - Super Silver Haze F2 x Oregon Huckleberry [R] 120 Alpenglow - Cherry Vanilla Cookies x Oregon Huckleberry 2017 #5 [R] 120 Blue Magoo Bx2 - Blue Magoo x Blue Heron #111 [R] 120 Salmon River OG - Pre 98 Bubba x Blue Heron #111 [R] 120 Birds Of Paradise - Kali Snapple x Blue Heron #111 [R] 120 Starduster - Pre-99 East Coast Sour Diesel x Ms. Universe (clone) [R] 120 {Kali Snapple - (Snowbud x Pineapple) x Kali Mist (Pre 2000)} {Ms. Universe - Dess*tar (Starship x Kali Mist) Mother x Space Queen F3 Farther} {Oregon Huckleberry - Oregon Blueberry (Blueberry X Temple Flo) X Morning Glory (Hawaiian x Afghani x Shiva Skunk)} {Blue Magoo - Oregon Blueberry F4 x Williams Wonder F2} {Blue Heron - Blue Magoo x Blue Magoo / Huckleberry}

~ Relic Seeds - Professor P (Portland, Oregon) ~ 

{Preservation of Rare Heirloom ~ Landrace ~ Unique CBD Varieties} Relic Grapefruit - Grapefruit IBL x Grapefruit F2 [R] 140 Durban Grapefruit - Durban Poison x Grapefruit F2 [R] 140

~ Massive Seeds (Rogue Valley Terroir, Southern Oregon) ~ 

{Bred, Grown and Harvested outdoor at 42.0 Latitude (Same Latitude as mid Hudson Valley) Some of the largest growing / biggest yielding plants on record with massive uniform nugs.} Pineapple Pomegranate F3 - Pomegranate x Applegate Hornblower [R] 140 Durban Pomegranate F2 - Durban Poison x Pineapple Pomegranate F3 [R] 140 Black Pomegranate - Pineapple Pomegranate F3 x South African Landrace [R] 140 Rogue Valley Wreck - Big Wreck x Blueberry Snow [R] 120 Summer Sunset OG - Purple Hindu Kush x Lemon Larry OG [R] 120 Mint Sunset - Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies x Summer Sunset OG [R] 120 Purple Lemon Chem - Chem 91 x Summer Sunset OG [R] 120 Snow Skunk - Yuki Dog x Purple Lemon Chem [R] 120 Chem541 - Chem91 Bx1 x (Chem91 x Session Sour Diesel BX1) [R] 120 {Pomegranate - Shishkaberry x Blueberry x Oregon Snow x Lemon Pineapple} {Applegate Hornblower (Pineapple Trainwreck) - Mexican x Thai x Afghani}

~ Freeborn Selections - Mene Gene (Mendacino, California) ~ 

Piña F4 - Super Silver Haze x ((Dirt x Bigbud) x (Dirt x Purp) [R] 300 Sky Cuddler Kush F3 - PK x (Skywalker OG x (PK x (Hindu x Big Red) [R] 300 Lime Pop Kush F3 - OG x (PK x Black Lime) [R] 300 Cherry West Bx - Cherry West x (Cherry West x Cherry Limeade) [R] 300 {Thoroughly worked lines over at least 3-4 generations before released to the public.} {(Dirt x Bigbud) x (Dirt x Purp) and (Big Red) are 80s Afghani lines from Santa Cruz.} Black Lime Reserve F2 {Eclectic Elegance Preservation} - Northern Lights x Purple Kush x Chemdog Special Reserve [R]

~ Emerald Mountain Legacy - Mandelbrot Brothers Family Heirlooms {Ras Truth} ~ 

Royal Kush IX (Bx10) - (Sour Diesel x Highland Afghani) x Southern Humboldt Purple Kush [R] 350 Oil Spill (Bx5) - XXX OG x Royal Kush 7 [R] 300 Royal Spill - (XXX OG x Royal Kush 7) x Royal Kush 8 [R] 300 The Real Rozé - (Zkittlez x Royal Kush 7) x Royal Kush 8 [R] 300 Royal Limez - (Zkittlez x Black Lime Reserve) x Royal Kush 8 [R] 300 Royal Maui Berry - Diesel Maui Dawg x Blackberry Kush x Royal Kush 9 [R] 250 {Royal Kush genome is one of the most sought after stabilized / homogenized IBLs in existence from the heart of the Emerald Triangle in Northern California.}

~ Karma Genetics (Holland) ~ 

Biker Kush (Ha-OG Bx2) - Ha OG x Biker Kush V1 [R] 150 Sour Power OG - Sour Power (cup winning cut) x Biker Kush V1 [R] 150 Tha Melon - Melon x Biker Kush V1 [R] 150 Karma Sour Diesel Bx2 - Rez Sour D x (Rez Sour D x (Rez Sour D x Biker Kush v2)) [R] 350 Headbanger - Rez Sour D (KG cut) x Biker Kush V1 [R] {2013 Amsterdam Cannabis Cup 1st} 300 Josh D OG - SFV OG x Triangle Kush x Hells Angels OG [R] 300 {Real OG Kush Story - Josh D & Matt “Bubba” Berger began developing these genetics in Orlando, Florida back in 1991.} {Biker Kush v2 - Ha OG x (Ha OG x (Ha OG x SFV OG Bx2))} (cup winning genetics) {Sour Power - Starbud x East Coast Sour Diesel} (cup winning genetics) {Sour Diesel used in Karma Sour crosses is a KG cut of a Rez Sour D IBL selected in 2007}

~ Surfr Seeds (Pacific Northwest) 

Citrus Tsunami - Tropicana Cookies x Orange Zkittlez [R] 100 Island Zkittlez - Sour Strawberry x Orange Zkittlez [R] 100 North Shore - Mendo Purps x Orange Zkittlez [R] 100 Endless Summer - Purple Punch x Orange Zkittlez [R] 100 So Pitted - MAC1 x Orange Zkittlez [R] 100

~ Pacific North West Roots - Ras Kaya Paul (Washington) ~ 

Koffee F5 - Alien OG x Alien Kush {Rare Pacific Northwest Roots Hierloom IBL} [R] 300 Black Koffee - Black Dog Kush Bx4 x Koffee F5 [R] 300 Koffee & Donuts - Glazed Cherries F4 x Koffee F5 [R] 300

~ Green Source Gardens (Southern Oregon Heirlooms) ~ 

Pinkleberry Kush F5 {Mendacino Blackberry Kush Hierloom IBL} [R]

~ HBK Genetics ~ 

Chile Verde - Key Lime Pie x Lavender [R] 300 {Emerald Cup 2018 Winner - Best Personal Use} {Key Lime Pie - Durban Poison x Cherry OG x OG Kush} {Lavender - Super Skunk x Big Skunk Korean x Afghani Hawaiian}

~ Alien Genetics ~ 

Sour Apple IX (IBL) - Sour Apple IBL x Sour Apple IBL [R] 350

~ Mos_Cutty ~ 

Cherry AK 47 IBL (Original Serious Seeds stock) 250 {AK47 - Colombian x Mexican x Thai x Afghani} [R]

~ Motherlode Gardens (Yosemite, California) ~ 

Ancient OG F5 - 1972 Iranian Landrace x Snow Lotus {Bodhi Seeds Hierloom IBL} [R] 200

~ Twenty20 Genetics (Mendacino, California) ~ 

SFV OG Bx5 (SFV OG IBL) - San Fernando Valley OG Kush [R] 150

~ Elev8 Seeds (Seattle, Washington) 

Bruce Banner OG - OG Kush (Ghost Cut) x Strawberry Diesel [R] 140

~ Jaws Genetics ~ 

Fruity Pebbles OG IC1 - Fruity Pebbles OG F2 x Fruity Pebbles OG F1 [R] 200

~ OrgnKid / Zoolander ~ 

Banana OG F3 - OG Kush x Sagmartha strain [R] {Original Seed Stock} 200

~ GG Strains (Las Vegas, Nevada - RIP Joesy Whales) ~ 

Gorilla Glue #4 IBL (Original Glue) - GG4 x GG4 Bx6 [R] 300 {Original Seed Stock of Michigan / Los Angeles High Times Cannabis Cup Winner 2014 and High Times Jamaican World Cup Winner.}

~ FYG Tree (Santa Cruz, CA) ~ 

Black Rose F13 (Heath Robinson IBL) - Black Russian x Shiva Skunk (purple pheno) [R] 200 Shiva Skunk Bx - Shiva Skunk x Black Rose F12 [R]

~ AK Bean Brains (Anchorage, Alaska breeder and old school genetic preservationist holding beans & cuts for over 30 years from original Dutch Seedbank stocks.) ~ 

N L #1 x N L #5 [R] 100 TK/NL5 Haze - Triangle Kush x Northern Lights #5 [R] 100 (Northern Lights #1 x Big Skunk) x Northern Lights #1 [R] 100 (Big Skunk x Northern Lights #1) x Super Skunk [R] 100 95 Black Domina - Northern Lights x Ortega x Hash Plant x Afghani [R] 100 Black Domina Bx (Black Domina x Pacific Northwest Hash Plant) x Northern Lights #1 [R] 100 (Black Domina x Matanuska Thunder Fuck) x Northern Lights #1 [R] 100 Matanuska Thunder Fuck Bx3 - Alaska Thunder Grape x Dutch Thunder Fuck [R] 100 {Northern Lights was brought to Neville Schoenmakers in the Netherlands in 1985, where he worked the line before releasing it under “The Seed Bank of Holland” ~ NL #5 became the High Times Cannabis Cup Winner in 1989, 1990 and 1992 and is considered one of the most influential strains of all time. These seeds have been preserved in Alaska since the late 80s.}

~ The Nature Farm (Real NorCal Culture) ~ 

Cheddar Skunk V2 - 89’ UK Cheese (Exodus Cut) x Uncle Festers Skunk #18 IBL [R] 100 Hidden Hills Skunk - 94’ SFV OG x Uncle Festers Skunk #18 IBL [R] 100 Uncle Festers Skunk #18 IBL aka Skunkbud - Afghani Indica x Mexican Sativa (64’ Brick Weed) x Colombian Gold & Red [R] 100 {Original Hells Angels strain bred in 1964 by “Uncle Fester” an early 60’s psychologist turned outlaw. Authentic Original Skunk #1 lineage that is pre Skunkman. Preserved / held by family in Northern California over 3 generations.}

~ Doc D Seeds ~ 

Bandaid Haze ix 3.0 (Piff) - Cuban Black Haze x A5/Thai [R] 200 (2 packs) {These seeds originally came from a Spanish grower in the “A5 crew” out of Southern Holland. “A5” was short for their NL#5 x Haze A open Thai pollination project. These seeds were shared with legendary grower Bodhi, who found one male and used it to pollinate a cut of “Cuban Black Haze” that he had. The strain was referred to as “Piff” and the seeds were shared almost exclusively with Doc D. After running the seeds, Doc selected “Piff #7” and shared the cut back with Bodhi who further worked the line. The cut was a significantly better long flowering haze variety with a shorter flowering time than the Cuban Black Haze mother or A5 father. Bodhi then later referred to the strain as “Bandaid Haze” coining the term because he said “it heals all wounds” This genome has direct lineage to the New York Hazes (NYC Piff / Uptown Piff / Washington Heights Haze) of the 2000s without any of the paranoia/anxiety that came from many of the hazes from that era. Many world renowned breeders agree that most of the “New York Haze” and “New York City Piff” varieties are all just different cuts of the same strain, that most likely comes from an early selection of Neville Schoenmakers (NL#5 x Haze) which is often referred to as the “pinnacle of cannabis breeding” that has dominated cannabis scene from the 1980s in Holland to the present day.}
{Fems}

~ Mass Medical Strains (Massachusetts) ~ 

Star Pupil - Purple Thai x Afghan/Pakistan [F] 150 {High Times Flower of Month - Jan. 2017} Pu Tang - Star Pupil x Tangie [F] {High Times Top 10 Strains of 2019} 150 Grape Pupil - Pu Tang x Star Pupil [F] 150 Triangle Pupil - Triangle Kush x Star Pupil [F] 150 Bubba Pupil - Pre-98 Bubba Kush (Katsu Bluebird) x Star Pupil [F] 150 Nepali Blue - Nepalese White Mountain Charas Sativa Heirloom x Blue Magoo Bx2 [R] 200

~ Compound Genetics (Portland, Oregon) ~ 

Gelateria - Acai Berry Gelato x Jet Fuel Gelato [F] 150 Liquid Imagination - Blue Zkittlez x Jet Fuel Gelato [F] 150 Icicles - White Sherbet x Jet Fuel Gelato [F] 150 Petrol Rainbows - Sour Gelato 5 x Jet Fuel Gelato [F] 150 The Menthol S1 - The Menthol x The Menthol [F] 150 {Jet Fuel Gelato - Gelato 45 x (High Octane OG x Jet Fuel G6)} {The Menthol - Gelato 45 x (White Diesel x (High Octane x Jet Fuel G6))}

~ Phinest Cannabis (Sacramento, California) x Cannarado (Colorado) ~ 

PB Souffle - Dosidos x Lava Cake [F] 150 Lava Breath - Mendobreath F3 x Lava Cake [F] 150 Magma Cookies - Cuvee Cookies x Lava Cake [F] 150 {Lava Cake - Grape Pie x Thin Min Girl Scout Cookies} {First major genetic line released to public that was created from tissue culture / micropropagation - RIP Jai Malloy (founder of Phinest Cannabis)}

(Skip to the end to see the informal poll and avoid the anxious ramble)
My first year of teaching was a disaster from beginning to end. I know most teachers’ first year is the worst and you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing bc you don’t know what you’re doing and there’s so much pressure. Etc.
Even beyond the more typical misery was a lot of personal life tumult and turmoil and trauma and chaos going on, including a debilitating (somewhat unofficial but more or less confirmed based on symptoms) diagnosis I have to live with now without having much insight as to prognosis. And a lot more discomfort involving loved ones.
Reflecting on this year is almost as traumatic as the experience itself. I had next to zero support, with the exception of about 2 weeks under the guidance of an amazing master teacher. But that was it. The morale at the school was beneath rock bottom. Every single day was worse than the day before. I tried to go in positive. But with very few exceptions, everyone was miserable and no one tried to hide it. People were directly rude to me, condescending, sarcastic, openly comtemptful, angry, hated the kids and cursed about them and screamed at them (“shut UP!!!!” “MORON! GET OUT!” “You’re STUPID, I should have LET that student hit you!” “I woulda hit you in the face too if you’d done something like that to me!” Just a few quotes off the top of my head, not to mention one slamming the door on my sped teacher’s face along with our sped students, which the principal did absolutely nothing about despite his friendship with the sped teacher). Discipline/behavior was an absolute JOKE. I think I’ve painted an accurate picture of how awful it was.
I guessed my way through everything but did my absolute best and figured everything out. A bit of productive struggle and hey, by the end of the year I was an expert in a lot of things I knew nothing about months earlier. My rapport with my students was great, to give myself some credit. They loved me. Albeit too much—they thought of my softness as a doormat. They felt free and liberated in my classroom bc I seldom raised my voice. Unfortunately what they’re accustomed to is only listening when yelled at, and as a new teacher, I did not have better tools to manage classroom behavior, beyond building relationships, and my class was a bit out of control. It became all about getting through the curriculum through the 3rd quarter.
My benchmark scores went up, which was pretty amazing considering everything. However at the very beginning of the 4th quarter my principal informed me that he wasn’t renewing my contract and that he would never let me teach 4th grade again, that “I don’t know if I would ever let you teach any grade level, maybe try pre-k—you get nap time and someone is always with you.” So he wrote off my career as an elementary teacher after just a few months of teaching. I could go in about how he had covertly brought in his very own former student (who had only recently began prepping to take the Praxis) as my replacement, unofficially “employed” but “technically not.” But I don’t want to get into that, as furious as it made me. I just stopped writing lesson plans bc no way was I gonna train her for free when they gave me zero support through the year.
I had way more bad days than good—the kids and my para got me through it! I was grateful for that. They were wonderful and I miss them. But I was made to feel incompetent. I slowly started to realize that him booting me was a blessing in disguise, especially after learning how many students I’d have had next year. And some other changes that won’t be helpful.
There’s also a lot of BS going on in our state regarding education. So things are not exactly going to get easier. Alas, I need a paycheck and I went to school and passed praxis to be a teacher. I’m 44 so it’s not like I have many options.
But I did actually finally get an interview at a library last week! I’d applied for 6 years and never got so much as a phone call. Unfortunately it’s part time and drastically less pay (which is honestly pitiful). And it would take me years to make close to what I make now. And I was just getting into certification so as a teacher I’d get a $10k raise. Buuut I really don’t want to miss a rare opportunity to get my foot in the door at the library!
I’ve got dozens of job offers in my district. I had 6 principals call me and email me yesterday alone! I know I could make decent money. But I don’t want to turn down the library job, which absolutely would not cut it financially.
I forgot to mention a key component of this dilemma: Teaching is extremely overstimulating to me. I’m autistic/adhd. This was part of my misery. Between my loud a/c units in my classroom and the kids noises desks constantly clanking and kids constantly talking over me etc etc etc, and the awful attitudes of most coworkers and all the other stuff, I barely made it to the end of the year. I know most of us actually feel that way, but my day to day in the classroom is beyond awful. I cried constantly, I had panic attacks going in every single morning during the 4th quarter after years of reduced panic attacks, most days I felt frustrated, and some days I even had moments where I could not even talk anymore and had to go home (these days where at least one kid told me to “Shut the f- - k up b-tch!” or fought or both plus admin treated me like crap and I had enough). Not to mention spending entire weekends and weeknights writing lesson plans, creating lessons, grading, entering grades, etc etc etc. All I could think about every day was how much I wished I could get a library job!! I even had a student tell me I would make a better librarian than teacher. She was excited when I got the call about the interview lol.
But what if my next school is better? What if I go in knowing expectations and having a better idea of how to do things and how to establish classroom procedures, what if it’s better? What if it’s stupid to give up on a better paying job? I’d love to get my MLIS but realistically, there aren’t very many librarian jobs and moving isn’t an option. The day to day would almost be worth the paycut. I’ve contemplated doing both, just for one year. I know that sounds nuts, and it’s risky, but what’s more important? My paycheck, or my mental health?! I honestly don’t know! I need the money. But I also need a peaceful environment.
Here are my options:
A) Substitute w library for almost the same money as I made uncertified, which was barely enough
B) Library + teaching full time bc you’re insane and unrealistic
C) Library only + MLIS bc it’s your dream & short term paycut is worth long term happiness.
D) Girl, are you insane?! Teaching only bc it’s the smart move!

Prequel (Chapters 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
When Kayla awoke, she found herself curled up on a couch in the Banshee’s infirmary. In the nearest bed, Thandi appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Across from her, Yak was hooked up to several scary looking tubes, but her vitals looked stable. Most of the rest of the beds were also filled. Another successful Valkyrie operation, Kayla thought, bitterly.
She didn’t remember the trip back from the planet. She did remember being told that nobody had found any sign of Rayker, and that memory kindled a little of the rage that never burned out. They had been through a nightmare for nothing.
“I wondered how long you would be asleep,” a voice said.
Kayla turned to see Christie sat on the end of her couch. Her friend seemed to be weighed down by sadness as she put aside the tablet she was typing on and smiled back at her.
“Wha— uh…” Kayla managed, as her stiff tongue flapped helplessly. She yawned and stretched.
“Twenty-three wounded in total,” Christie said. “Thandi will walk again in a week. Yak’s going to be in a coma for the next month. Fortunately, nothing struck her vital organs. And, by the way, one of the Raider squads was also involved in a friendly fire incident.”
Kayla focused on her, then looked away. “Jesus,” she said to herself. “God dammit.”
“Thandi wouldn’t like that,” Christie scolded. “Heathen.”
Kayla stood up and began to pace slowly as she wrapped her arms around herself. “I can’t believe I—”
“I’m going to stop you right there,” Christie said, “because you’ve been asleep for about ten hours. In the interim, I was able to speak with several Rangers about what happened. It was not your fault. Not entirely.”
Kayla shook her head. “Yes, it was. Oh, God, yes it was. I should have seen them, I should have had a stronger optic, I should have—”
“Corporal Rudaski misread her map. So did the leader of second squad. You were both actually in hall hotel-four. The base was constructed in a circular pattern of radially linked zones, orbiting a central facility. It’s a highly abstract layout that we have never seen before. Most Ranger battalions have spent the last several centuries clearing logical, grid-like layouts in ships and bunkers. Under fire, it is easy to see how confusion caused units to lose track of their positions as they advanced. Most of the platoons did, actually, at one point or another. And, in my opinion, we did not have anything like the troop numbers needed to comfortably secure that site. A consequence, no doubt, of Valkyrie’s failure to prepare and train for large scale deployments, for which there has been no requirement in at least a millennia, so they tell me.”
Kayla turned to her with a puzzled expression. “You figured all that out already?”
“I’m drafting a report on the matter. I can’t sleep, you see, because the flaws of this operation stem entirely from the task force’s desire to follow Rayker until she discovered the tracker. We found it in the central command chamber. It was sealed in a wrapping of fat and muscle tissue, which she obviously cut out of herself hours before the tamper alarm sensed the toxins of cell decay. She left it there for us to find. To taunt us, no doubt.”
Christie yawned deeply, stood up and brushed her sweater off. “Do you see, Kayla, that the intelligence team were making decisions based off of my actions on Ambrosia, when I planted that device?” She smiled bitterly. “And I had the arrogance to think I was outwitting the woman. So, in a way, it’s my fault.”
Kayla swallowed and slowly shook her head. Then she grabbed her friend and held her in a tight hug. “War sucks,” she said. “Everything about it is awful.”
“I agree. Nevertheless, we are drawn to it, like moths to a flame perhaps?”
Kayla released her and collapsed into the couch. “When I slept, I had a dream. I was in Plato’s cave, but I got free. Outside there was a dragon, burning everything in sight. The world was covered in ash, and the puppets casting shadows were dead bodies,” She wiped moisture out of her eye. “He said, ‘come out and play, little girl’.”
Christie nodded. “We were lucky nobody was killed today. Rayker will certainly cost us more blood before we manage to catch her. She could have set up a much stronger defense than a battalion of light combat drones, but she didn’t.”
Kayla reached into her pocket and found her necklace. She placed it over her head and ran a thumb over the engraved name.
She looked back at Christie. “Why not?”
“The freighter the Sirène caught was carrying several large combat walkers, produced by that plant. A deep space survey revealed that a second freighter had jumped away earlier. No doubt Rayker’s escape—she seems to have plotted a course opposite the star from where we stopped at the minefield. There seems to be no question that she had the main force of those machines with her.”
“Any idea where they went?”
Christie turned away to retrieve her tablet. “Not yet, unfortunately.”
“May the saints have mercy,” said a voice, “if a shot up woman cannot get a wink of sleep with all the talking in here.”
Kayla whirled around to see Thandi, sitting up in her bed. She darted over and grabbed her into a bearhug.
“I’m really sorry I got you shot,” she said.
“Yeah,” Thandi said looking pleased with herself. “And to apologize, you’ll be fetching me chocolate cake from the mess until I get out of here.” She lowered her voice. “Seriously though, Kayla, I need you. The food is terrible.”
Kayla chuckled. “You can count on me.”
“How are you feeling, wonder woman?”
“Oh, uh… not that wonderful to be honest.”
“Leaping tall structures in a single bound?” Thandi grinned admiringly at her. “You had a bit of a superhero moment.”
Kayla raised her eyebrows. “I tore half the muscles in my body. It was definitely not awesome.”
“Sure looked like it. I don’t even know how you do stuff like that. The Lord moved you.”
Christie cleared her throat and gave Thandi a significant look.
Thandi rolled her eyes. “It’s a compliment—I’m not diminishing what you did.”
Kayla returned her cheerful gaze with a flat expression. She had felt like everyone she cared about was about to die. Like her soul had been lit on fire, and the only way to put it out had been to move like a lightning bolt. It was not something she ever wanted to experience again.
“I was on probation for the incident on Ambrosia,” she reminded Thandi. “I will definitely be dropped back to private from now on.”
“Oh,” Thandi’s sparkling eyes darkened. “Well, that sucks. I hope they don’t. You straight up saved us all from an ambush at the start of that firefight. And the illume drone—you made lots of good calls down there.”
Kayla shook her head. “I shouldn’t be a team leader. I keep losing control. I can’t let… I don’t respond well when any of you are in danger.”
Thandi grabbed her hand, and squeezed it. “What happens to us is not up to you, my dear. It’s in God’s hands alone.”
Kayla didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t sure if she could accept that.
“How’s the pain?” Christie asked.
“Oh,” Thandi said and waved her hand. “Nothing too severe. I think of how Rose would be responding, and I know I can handle anything.”
Christie nodded silently.
“She speaks to me, in my dreams. She tells me how proud she is of us.” Thandi glanced at Kayla. “She says you are a true leader.”
Kayla turned away, unable to keep her eyes from tearing up.
“Will you be up in time for the merger?” Christie asked.
“On crutches maybe,” Thandi said. “But I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I can’t imagine anything more glorious.”
“What’s that?” Kayla asked before slowly turning back.
“The Banshee is returning to Tyr,” Christie explained. “On the way back, we have been tasked with collecting a probe that was observing a binary star merger. We will have the opportunity to observe the event live.”
“Whatever,” Kayla said with an eye roll. She was a little offended that their task force had been assigned a science project after what had happened. “Nerd stuff, right?”
Christie laughed, and met Thandi’s eyes with a smirk. “If you say so.”
Thandi shifted against her pillows. “How is the mood of the ship?” she said to Christie. “Are people still angry?”
“What do you mean?” Kayla cut in.
Thandi glanced back and forth between them. “You didn’t tell her?”
Christie waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, but with all that’s happening I didn’t think it pertinent. Why add to our already substantial burdens?”
“What’s going on?” Kayla demanded, and felt her hair stand on end.
Christie smiled tightly. “ODT Four seized the freighter and searched it thoroughly. No evidence of Rayker, as I said.”
“Yeah? And?”
“Well, they found a false compartment in one of the holds. And there were a pair of young teenagers inside. A boy and a girl.”
“In rags, and chained up,” Thandi added.
Kayla realized her jaw had clenched. She felt her skin crawl with a new kind of horror. “Oh my God,” she said, then glanced at Thandi. “Sorry.”
“In this case you get a dispensation.”
“Obviously,” Christie continued, “the pour souls will be returned to their families. A terrible situation.”
Kayla’s mind buzzed with questions. “What is—uh… where was it from? The ship?”
“Intaba,” Thandi said sullenly. “A VennZech registered vessel. Justice cannot come swiftly enough for the demon scum who perpetrated this evil on my homeworld…” she frowned as she lost her words, and clenched her fists together.
“Do you think Valkyrie will start interdicting their ships?” Kayla asked.
“No,” Christie said. “Hence the angry mood. It is a problem the organization has faced since humanity took to the stars. The chieftains have resolutely refused to address it. Our mission statement is to protect humanity, not interfere with their conduct. Frankly I have to agree with them, though I appear to be in the minority.”
Kayla stared at her incredulously. “But that’s bullshit,” she said. “How can you be okay with letting something like that go?”
Christie arched an eyebrow. “A secret army of super soldiers, with access to civilization destroying technology, and who answer—as far as we know—to nobody but themselves? The very thought of interfering gives me an existential crisis. However tragic the situation, it seems obvious that we must maintain our distance.”
Kayla shook her head. She already felt hot anger driving her to act. How could such monsters be allowed to walk freely in a just galaxy?
“All that it takes for evil to succeed—” Thandi began.
“Please can we not continue this conversation?” Christie snapped. “I’ve had enough of being insulted by some of my colleagues. I don’t want it from my friends too.”
Kayla exchanged looks with Thandi, but she owed her best friend the space she wanted.
“I promise, I won’t bring it up again, Chris,” she said.
***
Kayla ate in the ship’s mess then returned to her bunk, where the rest of the squad were waiting. They were talking in somber tones, but fell silent when she approached.
Kes stood up and beckoned to her. “Platoon ready room, this way.”
Once shut away in privacy, Kes sat her down and they retraced every event that had occurred inside the base. Every decision was picked apart minutely, with no judgement or grievance allowed.
“I needed us to go through this as soon as possible,” she explained. “This will sit with you for the rest of your life. We all made mistakes, but nobody should feel incriminated. I have been through five blue on blue incidents. This shit just happens, and I guarantee it will happen to you again in the future.”
Kayla felt a little relief as she spoke with her squad leader and found that she was neither alone, nor justified in hating herself. They had been moving quickly through a confusing environment, making a deadly situation much more likely.
“One last thing, though,” Kes added somberly. “Private Voigt from second squad fired the burst that hit Yak and Thandi. She is being removed from the battalion. By her own account, she returned Yak’s fire without any kind of communication with her team leader, or any attempt to check the position of friendlies. That was a major SOP violation when she knew they were expecting to move in our direction.”
Kayla absorbed this with shock. She couldn’t argue with it; after all, what good was a Ranger who couldn’t do her job? And didn’t that mean that the same punishment should apply to her?
She cleared her throat. Terror gnawed at her insides as Kes stared at her expectantly.
“I lost control again,” Kayla said.
“Yup,” Kes said, and rubbed her eyes with obvious frustration. “And this time, your actions swiftly ended a dangerous firefight following a terrible accident. Yak got immediate medical attention because of that. On the other hand, you put yourself in a position to be killed or wounded where no-one could help you.”
There was a long pause while the corporal appeared to search a distant horizon. “You don’t need a lecture, and Akane can’t make a decision on you. Yak was my next choice for Lance Corporal, but she’s out of action, along with a bunch of others. Together with this Rayker shitshow, it is not the time to be shuffling people around.”
Kayla’s brow furrowed “What about Ray?”
“Oh,” Kes ran a hand through her hair. “Every time I’ve offered it, she’s refused. Anyway, we’ve already been told by Captain Aguilar to expect a new private out of Ranger school once we return to Tyr.”
“Yes, Corporal,” Kayla said, unsure what to think about the decision.
“I’ve seen you make good decisions in the field. But I will push to replace you when the opportunity comes up again.” Kes narrowed her eyes. “Unless you can show me I’m wrong before that happens.”
Kayla left the room with her head spinning. She was keeping her job, even though she obviously didn’t have what it took to lead Rangers in combat.
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Prequel (Chapters 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie

Prequel (Parts 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
When Kayla awoke, she found herself curled up on a couch in the Banshee’s infirmary. In the nearest bed, Thandi appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Across from her, Yak was hooked up to several scary looking tubes, but her vitals looked stable. Most of the rest of the beds were also filled. Another successful Valkyrie operation, Kayla thought, bitterly.
She didn’t remember the trip back from the planet. She did remember being told that nobody had found any sign of Rayker, and that memory kindled a little of the rage that never burned out. They had been through a nightmare for nothing.
“I wondered how long you would be asleep,” a voice said.
Kayla turned to see Christie sat on the end of her couch. Her friend seemed to be weighed down by sadness as she put aside the tablet she was typing on and smiled back at her.
“Wha— uh…” Kayla managed, as her stiff tongue flapped helplessly. She yawned and stretched.
“Twenty-three wounded in total,” Christie said. “Thandi will walk again in a week. Yak’s going to be in a coma for the next month. Fortunately, nothing struck her vital organs. And, by the way, one of the Raider squads was also involved in a friendly fire incident.”
Kayla focused on her, then looked away. “Jesus,” she said to herself. “God dammit.”
“Thandi wouldn’t like that,” Christie scolded. “Heathen.”
Kayla stood up and began to pace slowly as she wrapped her arms around herself. “I can’t believe I—”
“I’m going to stop you right there,” Christie said, “because you’ve been asleep for about ten hours. In the interim, I was able to speak with several Rangers about what happened. It was not your fault. Not entirely.”
Kayla shook her head. “Yes, it was. Oh, God, yes it was. I should have seen them, I should have had a stronger optic, I should have—”
“Corporal Rudaski misread her map. So did the leader of second squad. You were both actually in hall hotel-four. The base was constructed in a circular pattern of radially linked zones, orbiting a central facility. It’s a highly abstract layout that we have never seen before. Most Ranger battalions have spent the last several centuries clearing logical, grid-like layouts in ships and bunkers. Under fire, it is easy to see how confusion caused units to lose track of their positions as they advanced. Most of the platoons did, actually, at one point or another. And, in my opinion, we did not have anything like the troop numbers needed to comfortably secure that site. A consequence, no doubt, of Valkyrie’s failure to prepare and train for large scale deployments, for which there has been no requirement in at least a millennia, so they tell me.”
Kayla turned to her with a puzzled expression. “You figured all that out already?”
“I’m drafting a report on the matter. I can’t sleep, you see, because the flaws of this operation stem entirely from the task force’s desire to follow Rayker until she discovered the tracker. We found it in the central command chamber. It was sealed in a wrapping of fat and muscle tissue, which she obviously cut out of herself hours before the tamper alarm sensed the toxins of cell decay. She left it there for us to find. To taunt us, no doubt.”
Christie yawned deeply, stood up and brushed her sweater off. “Do you see, Kayla, that the intelligence team were making decisions based off of my actions on Ambrosia, when I planted that device?” She smiled bitterly. “And I had the arrogance to think I was outwitting the woman. So, in a way, it’s my fault.”
Kayla swallowed and slowly shook her head. Then she grabbed her friend and held her in a tight hug. “War sucks,” she said. “Everything about it is awful.”
“I agree. Nevertheless, we are drawn to it, like moths to a flame perhaps?”
Kayla released her and collapsed into the couch. “When I slept, I had a dream. I was in Plato’s cave, but I got free. Outside there was a dragon, burning everything in sight. The world was covered in ash, and the puppets casting shadows were dead bodies,” She wiped moisture out of her eye. “He said, ‘come out and play, little girl’.”
Christie nodded. “We were lucky nobody was killed today. Rayker will certainly cost us more blood before we manage to catch her. She could have set up a much stronger defense than a battalion of light combat drones, but she didn’t.”
Kayla reached into her pocket and found her necklace. She placed it over her head and ran a thumb over the engraved name.
She looked back at Christie. “Why not?”
“The freighter the Sirène caught was carrying several large combat walkers, produced by that plant. A deep space survey revealed that a second freighter had jumped away earlier. No doubt Rayker’s escape—she seems to have plotted a course opposite the star from where we stopped at the minefield. There seems to be no question that she had the main force of those machines with her.”
“Any idea where they went?”
Christie turned away to retrieve her tablet. “Not yet, unfortunately.”
“May the saints have mercy,” said a voice, “if a shot up woman cannot get a wink of sleep with all the talking in here.”
Kayla whirled around to see Thandi, sitting up in her bed. She darted over and grabbed her into a bearhug.
“I’m really sorry I got you shot,” she said.
“Yeah,” Thandi said looking pleased with herself. “And to apologize, you’ll be fetching me chocolate cake from the mess until I get out of here.” She lowered her voice. “Seriously though, Kayla, I need you. The food is terrible.”
Kayla chuckled. “You can count on me.”
“How are you feeling, wonder woman?”
“Oh, uh… not that wonderful to be honest.”
“Leaping tall structures in a single bound?” Thandi grinned admiringly at her. “You had a bit of a superhero moment.”
Kayla raised her eyebrows. “I tore half the muscles in my body. It was definitely not awesome.”
“Sure looked like it. I don’t even know how you do stuff like that. The Lord moved you.”
Christie cleared her throat and gave Thandi a significant look.
Thandi rolled her eyes. “It’s a compliment—I’m not diminishing what you did.”
Kayla returned her cheerful gaze with a flat expression. She had felt like everyone she cared about was about to die. Like her soul had been lit on fire, and the only way to put it out had been to move like a lightning bolt. It was not something she ever wanted to experience again.
“I was on probation for the incident on Ambrosia,” she reminded Thandi. “I will definitely be dropped back to private from now on.”
“Oh,” Thandi’s sparkling eyes darkened. “Well, that sucks. I hope they don’t. You straight up saved us all from an ambush at the start of that firefight. And the illume drone—you made lots of good calls down there.”
Kayla shook her head. “I shouldn’t be a team leader. I keep losing control. I can’t let… I don’t respond well when any of you are in danger.”
Thandi grabbed her hand, and squeezed it. “What happens to us is not up to you, my dear. It’s in God’s hands alone.”
Kayla didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t sure if she could accept that.
“How’s the pain?” Christie asked.
“Oh,” Thandi said and waved her hand. “Nothing too severe. I think of how Rose would be responding, and I know I can handle anything.”
Christie nodded silently.
“She speaks to me, in my dreams. She tells me how proud she is of us.” Thandi glanced at Kayla. “She says you are a true leader.”
Kayla turned away, unable to keep her eyes from tearing up.
“Will you be up in time for the merger?” Christie asked.
“On crutches maybe,” Thandi said. “But I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I can’t imagine anything more glorious.”
“What’s that?” Kayla asked before slowly turning back.
“The Banshee is returning to Tyr,” Christie explained. “On the way back, we have been tasked with collecting a probe that was observing a binary star merger. We will have the opportunity to observe the event live.”
“Whatever,” Kayla said with an eye roll. She was a little offended that their task force had been assigned a science project after what had happened. “Nerd stuff, right?”
Christie laughed, and met Thandi’s eyes with a smirk. “If you say so.”
Thandi shifted against her pillows. “How is the mood of the ship?” she said to Christie. “Are people still angry?”
“What do you mean?” Kayla cut in.
Thandi glanced back and forth between them. “You didn’t tell her?”
Christie waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, but with all that’s happening I didn’t think it pertinent. Why add to our already substantial burdens?”
“What’s going on?” Kayla demanded, and felt her hair stand on end.
Christie smiled tightly. “ODT Four seized the freighter and searched it thoroughly. No evidence of Rayker, as I said.”
“Yeah? And?”
“Well, they found a false compartment in one of the holds. And there were a pair of young teenagers inside. A boy and a girl.”
“In rags, and chained up,” Thandi added.
Kayla realized her jaw had clenched. She felt her skin crawl with a new kind of horror. “Oh my God,” she said, then glanced at Thandi. “Sorry.”
“In this case you get a dispensation.”
“Obviously,” Christie continued, “the pour souls will be returned to their families. A terrible situation.”
Kayla’s mind buzzed with questions. “What is—uh… where was it from? The ship?”
“Intaba,” Thandi said sullenly. “A VennZech registered vessel. Justice cannot come swiftly enough for the demon scum who perpetrated this evil on my homeworld…” she frowned as she lost her words, and clenched her fists together.
“Do you think Valkyrie will start interdicting their ships?” Kayla asked.
“No,” Christie said. “Hence the angry mood. It is a problem the organization has faced since humanity took to the stars. The chieftains have resolutely refused to address it. Our mission statement is to protect humanity, not interfere with their conduct. Frankly I have to agree with them, though I appear to be in the minority.”
Kayla stared at her incredulously. “But that’s bullshit,” she said. “How can you be okay with letting something like that go?”
Christie arched an eyebrow. “A secret army of super soldiers, with access to civilization destroying technology, and who answer—as far as we know—to nobody but themselves? The very thought of interfering gives me an existential crisis. However tragic the situation, it seems obvious that we must maintain our distance.”
Kayla shook her head. She already felt hot anger driving her to act. How could such monsters be allowed to walk freely in a just galaxy?
“All that it takes for evil to succeed—” Thandi began.
“Please can we not continue this conversation?” Christie snapped. “I’ve had enough of being insulted by some of my colleagues. I don’t want it from my friends too.”
Kayla exchanged looks with Thandi, but she owed her best friend the space she wanted.
“I promise, I won’t bring it up again, Chris,” she said.
***
Kayla ate in the ship’s mess then returned to her bunk, where the rest of the squad were waiting. They were talking in somber tones, but fell silent when she approached.
Kes stood up and beckoned to her. “Platoon ready room, this way.”
Once shut away in privacy, Kes sat her down and they retraced every event that had occurred inside the base. Every decision was picked apart minutely, with no judgement or grievance allowed.
“I needed us to go through this as soon as possible,” she explained. “This will sit with you for the rest of your life. We all made mistakes, but nobody should feel incriminated. I have been through five blue on blue incidents. This shit just happens, and I guarantee it will happen to you again in the future.”
Kayla felt a little relief as she spoke with her squad leader and found that she was neither alone, nor justified in hating herself. They had been moving quickly through a confusing environment, making a deadly situation much more likely.
“One last thing, though,” Kes added somberly. “Private Voigt from second squad fired the burst that hit Yak and Thandi. She is being removed from the battalion. By her own account, she returned Yak’s fire without any kind of communication with her team leader, or any attempt to check the position of friendlies. That was a major SOP violation when she knew they were expecting to move in our direction.”
Kayla absorbed this with shock. She couldn’t argue with it; after all, what good was a Ranger who couldn’t do her job? And didn’t that mean that the same punishment should apply to her?
She cleared her throat. Terror gnawed at her insides as Kes stared at her expectantly.
“I lost control again,” Kayla said.
“Yup,” Kes said, and rubbed her eyes with obvious frustration. “And this time, your actions swiftly ended a dangerous firefight following a terrible accident. Yak got immediate medical attention because of that. On the other hand, you put yourself in a position to be killed or wounded where no-one could help you.”
There was a long pause while the corporal appeared to search a distant horizon. “You don’t need a lecture, and Akane can’t make a decision on you. Yak was my next choice for Lance Corporal, but she’s out of action, along with a bunch of others. Together with this Rayker shitshow, it is not the time to be shuffling people around.”
Kayla’s brow furrowed “What about Ray?”
“Oh,” Kes ran a hand through her hair. “Every time I’ve offered it, she’s refused. Anyway, we’ve already been told by Captain Aguilar to expect a new private out of Ranger school once we return to Tyr.”
“Yes, Corporal,” Kayla said, unsure what to think about the decision.
“I’ve seen you make good decisions in the field. But I will push to replace you when the opportunity comes up again.” Kes narrowed her eyes. “Unless you can show me I’m wrong before that happens.”
Kayla left the room with her head spinning. She was keeping her job, even though she obviously didn’t have what it took to lead Rangers in combat.
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Prequel (Parts 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie

Given the recent discussion of Shut Up And Ruck’s strength programming, I thought it might be appropriate to address a few lingering comments.
First, we’re not immune to criticism. It is perfectly reasonable to criticize whenever and whoever you want, even me. Clearly, the anonymity of the internet provides ample license to do so. I’m not infallible and I make at least one mistake every fiscal year. I get downvoted all the time and I recognize that many things that I say are taken as gospel based on my years of providing accurate information. I don’t take this leniency lightly. I’ve earned this gift and I don’t look gift horses in the mouth. I certainly don’t shy away from criticizing others, but I always seek to do so from a position of best intentions of the outcome. But if you think that it’s appropriate to draw conclusions like “He definitely doesn’t know what he’s talking about”, “It violates basic principles”, or my favorite “It looks like he stole this from X, Y, or Z” and you’re basing that on one tiny screenshot of one sample day of one singular domain absent of context of the entirety of the programming then you must be special. I wish I had that sort of clairvoyance.
Second, our programming is not a mistake. Is it aggressive? Absolutely. Is it wrong? Absolutely not. It is deliberate and intentional. A few points to consider:
-The higher percentages and rep ranges occur at the end of each cycle. You don’t start off at the high end, you finish there. The passage cited is 9 weeks post 1RM testing. At a minimum the higher % come 5 weeks after testing. You get stronger and the programming reflects that.
-Just because you’ve never done anything like this doesn’t mean much. We follow the evidence, and the literature clearly indicates that our recommendations are appropriate. Aggressive, but appropriate. Here are 6 sources, including some meta-analyses that bring the body of knowledge to several hundred; there are many more.
Source 1
Source 2
Source 3
Source 4
Source 5
Source 6
Your experience not withstanding, our programming is entirely valid. This is especially true given the other variables. 1) we prioritize intensity and we manifest that through heavy weights 2) you only lift each exercise 2 times in every 5 day cycle - plenty of time for macro recovery 3) you are resting up to 4 minutes between sets - plenty of time for micro recovery 4) you are only doing 3 lifts in a day and only one for that domain - you aren’t doing 3 sets of barbell bench, then 3 sets of incline, then 3 sets of decline, then some cable cross-overs, then some dumbbell flys, then finishing with some drop sets on the Smith machine. 1 exercise, at maximal intensity. No need to pace yourself. 5) we are seeking to balance strength and endurance. It’s impossible to fully address both simultaneously. There will inevitably be friction. 6) we are seeking to challenge you, not accommodate you. 7) we emphasize self-reflection, data analysis, and agency. If you are struggling to meet the listed criteria then we encourage you to program accordingly. It’s foundational to our approach.
But allow me to let you in on a little secret. Even though we cite no small amount of literature, you can find lots of literature that argues against our programming. In fact, there is so much ‘literature’ out there that you can find supporting information for damn near everything and anything. So, back to my first point, you are welcome to criticize. But you should at least provide some counter-evidence beyond “in my experience”. In the Taxonomy of Information, anecdotal testimony is the least rigorous. We have presented our arguments, you are invited to present yours. Or be a little more graceful in your criticism.
We are well aware of Prilepin’s optimal reps (for powerlifting), and the NASM 5 Phase Optimum Performance Training Model (which we follow) and the NSCA Performance Pyramid (which we follow). We don’t disagree that they are to be well considered. We did a full and complete survey of the information environment. But we stated in our introduction and made available for free our philosophy…we have no interest in preserving the credentialed protectorate of the fitness industry. SFAS is different, so shall the programming be.
Third, we didn’t “steal” another program and stack it on top of our own stuff. That’s not how this works. If you survey all of the programs and methodology out there, you will find a ton of overlap. If you follow established principles and seek consensus, then you end up looking a lot like the other stuff. Did we look at other programs? Yes, dozens of them. Did we steal them? No. The fact that we favor a more intense program that most programs don’t should make this argument moot. This is a serious accusation and should be reserved for the most egregious circumstances. You might not have experience with this type of programming, you might not be familiar with recent literature, and you are only seeing a very minuscule event absent of any of the other programming and ancillary elements.
Fourth, and finally, I want to address the unhinged discussion of cost. We’re particularly sensitive to this topic because we know that our target population skews younger and likely less affluent, so cost matters. And I don’t like calling guys out necessarily, but u/Certain-Exam-2577 and u/Potential_Presence67 ? You two can go fuck yourselves. You anonymous peices of shit decided from your castles on top of Mount Holy that we are looking for a “money grab”? I could have charged hundreds, I could put all of my content behind a paywall, and I could simply pump and dump and walk away to stack cash. But that’s not the case.
What do you two fucking genius economists think would be appropriate for 8 months of daily programming for strength, conditioning, rucking, mental prep, mobility, skills, recovery and much more? We charge 60 dollars. Let’s take a very small survey the prep environment and see where we stack up:
Evoke - 3 months, requires additional programming prerequisites, $65
Performance First - 3 months, $90
18A Fitness - 4 months, $179
Gritty Soldier - 3 months, $30
Mountain Tactical - 12 months, $329
Blue/Green Training - 11 weeks, $129
We’re looking pretty competitive given these numbers. And these are the better programs. We mostly like them (and others) and we have tremendous respect for their creators and coaches. We don’t think they are as good as ours, especially our ruck programming, but they’re in the ballpark. Many guys in this sub have used them and speak highly of them. There are also near endless shit programs out there. AI generated, generic, point-of-sale trash with slick marketing and zero support.
We are a complete program that covers every single domain, and we have well established our expertise for SFAS. But we don’t rely on reputation, we deliver. We research, analyze, synthesize, and present the most comprehensive program out there. For just 60 bucks. Hell, you’ll spend over half that on a blank journal…we’ve recommended this excellent journal many times. But that’s just a cool journal. Zero programming. So we think we’re not “grabbing” too much.
Our resident pricks go on to say that RUSU wasn’t worth $50. Good thing we only charge $40. And perhaps you’d prefer the 15+ year old, lack-luster competition? They’re in the same price range. They even take a cheap shot at our Muster events as just a ‘wAlK iN tHe wOoDs tHaT yOu cOuLd do for FrEe’ or ‘info you could probably find online’. Our “competition” is $750 and one of the programs isn’t even taught by a military guy, much less a Green Beret. You two retarded laureates haven’t even attended an event, so your opinion is irrelevant.
And I should put a pin in all of this money grab, predatory, grifter talk by reminding them that this is all voluntary. You don’t have to spend a single dime if you don’t want to. Lots of guys don’t do anything extra and they get Selected all the time. But if a guy wants to be compensated for his hard work and another guy wants to allocate the cost of a night out drinking, then maybe your keen criticism could be stymied a bit. I offer plenty of free advice and commentary every day. I note that neither of you provide anything of value.
So, that’s my assessment of the situation. You don’t have to be a part of the conversation, but I thought that I should let you know how I see it. I endlessly tell you about the importance of foot care, so it’s only fair that I weigh in on this important topic. I should note that there was also some very reasoned comments and lots of guys understanding the intent of the programming AND of the program. And the OP reached out via DM and we had a very reasonable and productive discussion. He gets it. And the number of guys commenting is <1% of the number of guys reading the actual full program. I like that guys are passionate about this stuff. If you get 10 Green Berets in a room you’ll get 11 different opinions on damn near every topic. You know what they say about opinions…

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Looking to enhance your 1911 revolver's performance and accuracy? Look no further than our roundup of the top compensators available on the market. In this article, we'll introduce you to the best-rated compensators for the classic 1911, providing you with the information you need to make an informed decision.

The Top 13 Best 1911 Compensator

1. Comfortable 1911 Inside-the-Waistband Holster for Optimal Concealed Carry - Experience unparalleled comfort and superior concealment with the C&G Holsters Covert IWB 1911 holster, expertly designed by Veterans and Law Enforcement in America.
2. Precision Competitive Holster for 1911 4.25'' - Kydex, Aluminum, Adjustable - The Pro Ball Joint Competition Holster transforms your 1911 4.25'' into a precision and performance-driven shooting tool, with adjustable ride height, aluminum ball joint, Kydex shell, and optic compatibility for an unmatched competitive edge.
3. Speed Master 2.0 Leather Chest Holster for 1911 Pistols - The Speed Master 2.0 is a versatile leather chest holster for 1911 pistols and DA revolvers, featuring an open top design, adjustable tension unit, and convenient paddle or belt slot attachments for a custom carry experience.
4. Premium Western 1911 Inside-the-Waistband Holster - Experience ultimate comfort, versatility, and durability with the Galco Royal Guard 1911 Inside-the-Waistband Holster, designed for real-world concealment and perfect for semiautomatic guns and double-action revolvers.
5. Durable Tactical 1911 Compensator for Enhanced Performance - The BCMGunfighter Compensator Mod 7 - 5.56 is engineered for tactical purposes, providing effective muzzle rise reduction, flash suppression, noise dampening, and side pressure control, making it a top choice for serious shooters.
6. Hybrid Titanium Compensator for 1911 Pistol - Enhance your 1911 handgun's performance with the EGW Hybrid Titanium Compensator, perfect for Steel Challenge and Bianchi Cup competitions, featuring reduced loads and seamless integration into international orders.
7. Premium 1911 Inside Waistband Holster - The Vedder Holsters 1911 w/out Rail 4.25" RapidTuck holster, designed for Colt Commander frames, offers a comfortable IWB carry with premium leather and molded Kydex, perfect for various carry positions and proudly made in the USA.
8. Speed Master 2.0 5in 1911 Concealed Holster with Paddle and Belt Options - The Galco SM2212RB Speed Master 2.0 holster offers versatility and customization with its adjustable belt slot and paddle attachment methods, providing a perfect carry solution for 1911 Compensator users.
9. Universal Single Mag Holder for 1911 Compensators - Experience unbeatable durability and custom-fit retention with the C&G Universal Single Mag Holder, expertly crafted by veteran & law enforcement professionals for optimal 1911 compatibility.
10. Stainless Steel 1911 Gun Compensator - Experience minimal side blast and noise with Bravo's BCMGunfighter Compensator Mod 0, a stainless steel 7.62mm AR10 accessory that ensures maximum recoil mitigation, muzzle-rise compensation, and flash reduction.
11. Premium Independence Leather 1911 Holster with Reinforced Belt Loop - The Independence leather holster is a premium 1911 5" Government with Rail Only OWB holster, offering maximum protection, comfort, and ease of use for your firearm.
12. Galco TacSlide Belt Holster for 1911 Compensator: Fast, Concealable, Economical - Experience seamless concealment and swift draws with the Galco Tac Slide Belt Holster for your Colt Kimber Para 1911 5" - the perfect blend of steerhide and Kydex for unbeatable durability and comfort.
13. CNC 7-Port 5-Chamber Comp Cone for 1911 Handguns - The EGW 11830 CNC 7-Port 5-Chamber Comp Cone is a high-quality compensator made from heat-treated stress-proof Carbon Steel, perfect for use with standard-length barrels and custom hybrid or bull barrels with the proper threading.

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Reviews

🔗Comfortable 1911 Inside-the-Waistband Holster for Optimal Concealed Carry

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Over the past few months, I've had the opportunity to try out C&G's Inside the Waistband Covert holster for my 1911. The first thing that struck me was how well-designed and comfortable it was. As someone who carries most of the day, the last thing I want is my holster to be uncomfortable or distracting.
One of the standout features was the solid locking retention. It gave me peace of mind, knowing my firearm was secure when I was on the move. The holster was also designed to fit most RMRed Dots on the market, which was a nice touch.
However, there were a couple of cons I noticed. First, the open bottom allowed for threaded barrels and compensators, but it could be a bit challenging to get a perfect fit for my specific firearm. Secondly, the 1.5-inch belt clip could be a bit snug for my thicker belt.
Overall, my experience with C&G's Covert holster has been mostly positive. The holster offers a comfortable and secure fit, and the craftsmanship is top-notch. While there were a few minor drawbacks, the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

🔗Precision Competitive Holster for 1911 4.25'' - Kydex, Aluminum, Adjustable

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https://preview.redd.it/uaviuox6fx3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c878830e3a9082f69923c9671e16b1278804c13d
As a shooting enthusiast, I recently came across the 1911 4.25'' No Rail Pro Ball Joint Competition Holster, and I must say, it has greatly enhanced my experience. Its adjustable ride height, which allows me to fine-tune my grip, is a game-changer.
The aluminum ball joint provides a smooth, sturdy connection that ensures a reliable hold, while the Kydex shell offers a perfect fit. Plus, the optic compatibility adds a touch of convenience. However, I also noticed that the holster can be quite heavy, which might affect my mobility during competitions.
Overall, this holster has proven to be a valuable investment for any serious shooter.

🔗Speed Master 2.0 Leather Chest Holster for 1911 Pistols

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https://preview.redd.it/nqmfbx77fx3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68ad3f2a292e235226e808078c046ffa2c489c2d
I had the pleasure of trying out the Galco SM2212R Speed Master 2.0 1911 5in Tan, and I must say, it's a fantastic choice for gun enthusiasts. This versatile holster offers a sleek design and comes in both paddle and belt slot configurations, ensuring you can choose the carry method that suits your needs best.
One of the standout features of this holster is the high-quality premium steerhide construction. The build feels sturdy and reliable, giving me confidence in its performance. The adjustable tension unit is a convenient feature that allowed me to customize the holster's grip, ensuring my firearm stayed securely in place.
However, there were a couple of downsides I encountered during my experience. The slight butt-forward or neutral cant can vary depending on the firearm, which might not be ideal for everyone. Additionally, the holster might not fit as snugly as desired on larger pistol barrels.
Despite these minor drawbacks, the Galco SM2212R Speed Master 2.0 is an impressive and versatile holster that provides excellent concealment and security. If you're in the market for a high-quality and customizable 1911 holster, this might just be the right fit for you.

🔗Premium Western 1911 Inside-the-Waistband Holster

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I recently had the chance to try the Galco Royal Guard 1911 Inside-the-Waistband Holster Black - a sleek and versatile option for gun owners. This holster boasts an innovative design that keeps your weapon secure while still ensuring that you have easy access to it when you need it most. I particularly appreciated the rough side of the leather facing out, providing great stability and protection for your gun.
Wearing the Galco Royal Guard was a comfortable experience, allowing for real-world concealment even of larger defensive guns. The smooth leather pocket was reinforced for sturdiness, and it granted unrestricted movement and easy reholstering. In my opinion, the combat grip accessibility rounded out this holster's utility to make it an invaluable choice for those seeking speed and agility.
A few aspects of the Galco Royal Guard could use some improvement, but overall, I was impressed with the product. Its premium natural color horsehide constructed to fit 1-3/4" belts was a definite plus. And for those with 1-1/4" belts, there's an optional belt channel to consider. While there is still room for improvement, the Royal Guard holds promise as a reliable choice for any gun enthusiast.

🔗Durable Tactical 1911 Compensator for Enhanced Performance

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https://preview.redd.it/ova9o718fx3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=73c0d85a134a46a04727634aa74ab5d1cd1e0d77
I recently added the BCMGUNFIGHTER Compensator Mod 7 - 5.56 to my trusty 1911 setup, and let me tell you, it's been a game-changer for my tactical operations. This ain't no lightweight accessory, it's a solid piece of machinery that reduces muzzle rise and flash to a minimum, making my targets all the more accurate.
It's also helped keep things nice and quiet during reconnaissance missions, and the lateral force it counteracts has been a lifesaver when I gotta take quick shots on the go. Sure, it might be a bit of a heavy-hitter compared to some other comps out there, but the benefits I've experienced have made it a more than worthy addition to my arsenal. So, if you're looking for a versatile compensator for your tactical ops, this bad boy deserves a serious look.

🔗Hybrid Titanium Compensator for 1911 Pistol

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The EGW Hybrid Titanium Compensator 575 x 40 is a sleek and sturdy addition to any 1911 firearm. I've been using it in my daily training sessions, and it's performed exceptionally well. The titanium construction not only adds durability but also keeps the weight down, making it a perfect choice for those who value portability.
One highlight of this compensator is its ability to reduce recoil significantly, which is especially useful for those newer to the sport or for those looking for a smoother shooting experience. This feature, combined with its robust design, has proven to improve the overall performance of my handgun.
However, there were a couple of drawbacks to this product. Firstly, the international shipping restrictions can be a hassle for those living outside the US. And secondly, the lack of an extensive review history makes it challenging to gauge the overall user satisfaction with this product.
Overall, the EGW Hybrid Titanium Compensator 575 x 40 is a high-quality accessory for 1911 firearms with a unique titanium construction that reduces recoil. While there are a few drawbacks to consider, the pros outweigh the cons, making it a worthy addition to many shooters' kits.

🔗Premium 1911 Inside Waistband Holster

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I recently had the chance to try out the Vedder Holsters 1911 w/out rail 4.25" (Colt Commander frameNOT SIG) RapidTuck, an inside the waistband (IWB) hybrid holster that's handcrafted with premium leather and molded Kydex. The moment I started using it, I was struck by the attention to detail and the perfect fit for my 1911 w/without rail 4.25" Colt Commander frame.
One of the key features that stood out to me was the comfort of the holster. The leather is soft and well-finished, making it comfortable even for extended periods of wear. Whether you carry in the 3 o'clock position, appendix carry, or cross draw, the RapidTuck offers various carry options that are both comfortable and secure.
Another great aspect of the holster is the custom Kydex shell, which is molded to fit your firearm perfectly. This ensures proper clearance with all front sights and loaded chamber indicators, providing peace of mind even in the harshest conditions. The included Rock Solid Spring Steel Clip is a nice touch, offering two belt accommodations and a tuckable design for deep concealment.
While I enjoyed using this holster, there were a couple of minor drawbacks that I noticed. Firstly, the adjustable ride height feature is a bit more challenging to use than some other holsters on the market. Secondly, the limited color options might not appeal to everyone looking for a personalized touch. Despite these small drawbacks, the overall quality and performance of the 1911 w/out rail 4.25" (Colt Commander frameNOT SIG) RapidTuck make it a solid choice for anyone in the market for an IWB hybrid holster.

🔗Speed Master 2.0 5in 1911 Concealed Holster with Paddle and Belt Options

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https://preview.redd.it/w1m7ckc9fx3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4dd54d30ebcf283308af81198078f3e2b1a1bb3e
I recently gave the Galco SM2212RB Speed Master 2.0 a try for my 1911 pistol. It impressed me with its ability to quickly switch between a paddle and belt holster, which is perfect for my lifestyle. The open-top design allows me to draw my pistol faster, while the covered trigger ensures added safety.
The steerhide material feels premium and holds a good grip on the pistol. However, I noticed that the holster might be a bit snug for larger belts, but overall, the Speed Master 2.0 is a versatile and dependable choice for concealed carry.

🔗Universal Single Mag Holder for 1911 Compensators

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Imagine this: after a long day at the range or simply enjoying your time at home, you're done with holstering and retrieving your magazines. You reach for your trusty mag holder - a solid, reliable, and convenient accessory that's been your reliable companion for months. But suddenly, it's gone. You need a new one. Fast. Enter C&G's Universal single mag holder.
This is the kind of mag holder that makes you say, "I never knew I needed this until now! " It's a game-changer, designed to hold your magazines in place, making your life easier and hassle-free. The C&G's Universal single mag holder is made with high-quality materials, ensuring it lasts long, stays sturdy, and remains a reliable tool in your arsenal.
The Universal aspect of this product is a testament to its versatility, as it fits almost all pistols or mags. And let's talk about the fit - it's made for a purpose and designed to ensure that your magazines stay where they should. No more fumbling or worrying about your magazines falling out when you need them most.
But what about the looks? Well, let's just say it's not an eyesore. It manages to blend form and function, seamlessly becoming a part of your daily arsenal. The fact that it's made in America by the best professionals in the field is a cherry on top.
However, like any other product, it does have a small downside. The clip might take some getting used to, as it's a little bigger and wider than what most users would prefer. But it's a small cost to pay for a product that performs so magnificently.
In conclusion, the C&G's Universal single mag holder is a top-notch product that delivers on its promises. It's a reliable and efficient accessory that makes holstering and retrieving your magazines a breeze. It might have a minor issue with the clip size, but overall, it's a must-have for anyone who wants to ensure their magazines stay secure and easily accessible.

🔗Stainless Steel 1911 Gun Compensator

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I recently had the chance to try out the BCM Gunfighter Comp Mod1 762 5/8x24 in a few shooting sessions, and let me tell you, it was quite an experience. One of the most impressive features of this compensator is its stainless steel construction. Don't get me wrong, I'm no gunsmith, but I could tell that the quality was top-notch. It just felt solid and well-built in my hands.
During my time with the Gunfighter, I noticed that it really reduced the muzzle rise and the noise associated with typical comps. It was like shooting a silenced revolver, which made it a joy to use, especially during team CQB drills. The inclusion of a crush washer was another plus, as it made the installation process a breeze.
However, there were a couple of things that I wasn't completely thrilled about. First, it was a bit heavier than some other compensators I've used, which made it a bit unwieldy in certain situations. But overall, the benefits outweighed the drawbacks, and I found myself reaching for it on my next few range trips.
So, in conclusion, if you're looking for a well-built, noisy, and muzzle rise-reducing compensator, the BCM Gunfighter Comp Mod1 762 5/8x24 is definitely worth checking out.

🔗Premium Independence Leather 1911 Holster with Reinforced Belt Loop

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https://preview.redd.it/9s6y8ojafx3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=42c089fc4d882b8ad27beee6c091519312282de5
The Independence holster is a beautifully crafted leather masterpiece, with a proprietary design and attention to detail that sets it apart in the crowded gun holster market. The 8 oz premium leather feels soft and durable against your firearm, providing a sense of comfort and assurance as you carry your 1911 5" Government.
What I love most about this OWB holster is the reinforced belt loop design, which allows for effortless on and off placement. No more fumbling with clips or loops; this holster's custom tailoring ensures perfect fit, maximized retention, and minimal printing for a comfortable carry experience.
One area where it could use improvement is the compatibility with different firearm sights, particularly those with sharp edges that can catch on the leather when drawing. But overall, the Independence holster is a top-notch leather choice for your favorite 1911.

🔗Galco TacSlide Belt Holster for 1911 Compensator: Fast, Concealable, Economical

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https://preview.redd.it/3ypf7bzafx3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7c4aa566bbfd549fdcde750bdc021123b8d5068f
As a gun enthusiast, I recently had the chance to try out the Galco Tac Slide Belt Holster for my Colt Kimber Para 1911 5" Black RH TS212B. First and foremost, the design of this holster is quite impressive, with its combination of steerhide and Kydex materials, which provides both durability and comfort in one package. The adjustable belt slots make it easy to wear and also allow for excellent concealment, even with larger frames.
One of the standout features of this holster is the open top and neutral cant, which make the draw incredibly smooth and efficient, even when wearing heavier pants or jackets. This is a crucial aspect for those who need to access their weapon quickly and discreetly.
However, the Tac Slide does have its drawbacks. For one, the holster itself is quite bulky, which can be a disadvantage for those who prefer a more minimalistic design. Additionally, while the steerhide back plate is comfortable, it can be a bit fussy when trying to reholster the firearm, particularly if the holster is not set up properly.
Overall, despite these minor drawbacks, I found the Galco Tac Slide Belt Holster to be a reliable and functional option for concealing and carrying my Colt Kimber Para 1911. It's a versatile option that works well with both semi-autos and double-action revolvers, making it a solid choice for gun owners looking for a convenient and secure way to carry their weapon.

🔗CNC 7-Port 5-Chamber Comp Cone for 1911 Handguns

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I've had the chance to use the EGW 11830 CNC 7-Port 5-Chamber Comp Cone in my 1911 pistol, and I must say it's made quite a difference in its performance. It's built with heat-treated, stress-proof Carbon Steel, which adds to its durability and reliability. One of the most noticeable things about this cone is its unique 10-degree angle, designed to control muzzle flip and keep the gun steady even during intense shooting sessions.
However, one downside I noticed was that installing it required a bit of extra effort, as it required a reverse plug due to its lack of a bushing to hold the recoil spring. Nonetheless, once in place, it lined up perfectly with the barrel bore and provided a smooth, precise shooting experience.

Buyer's Guide

The 1911 Compensator is a vital accessory for 1911-series firearms. It aims to reduce recoil and muzzle rise while enhancing accuracy. This buyer's guide will provide you with essential information, recommendations, and considerations to help you choose the right 1911 compensator for your needs.

Materials

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When selecting a 1911 compensator, consider the materials used in its construction. High-quality compensators are usually made from durable materials like stainless steel, titanium, or brass. These materials provide long-lasting performance and better heat dissipation, which can improve accuracy.

Size and Weight

The size and weight of a 1911 compensator are crucial factors in determining its compatibility with your firearm. Ensure the compensator's dimensions match those of your barrel and that its weight balance is appropriate for your shooting style and preferences. A well-balanced compensator can improve recoil management and control.

Design

The design of a 1911 compensator influences its effectiveness in recoil reduction and muzzle rise compensation. Popular designs include compensators with multiple ports or a single, large port for better performance at various distances. Consider the design that best suits your shooting requirements and preferred shooting distances.
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Ease of Installation

Installing a 1911 compensator should be a straightforward process. Choose a compensator with user-friendly installation methods, such as simple screw-in designs or those requiring minimal gunsmith work. This will save you time and money in the long run, allowing you to focus on maximizing the benefits of your new compensator.

Budget

1911 compensators come in different price ranges. Consider your budget when selecting a compensator, but remember that investing in a quality product will provide better performance and durability in the long run. Avoid compromising on key features and materials in an effort to save money.

Maintenance

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To ensure the longevity of your 1911 compensator, choose one with easy-to-clean and durable materials that can withstand frequent use without corrosion or damage. A compensator with user-friendly cleaning methods will make maintenance a breeze.

Customer Reviews and Ratings

Prior to making a purchase, research customer reviews and ratings for various 1911 compensators. This can provide valuable insights into the product's performance, durability, and overall user satisfaction.
Selecting the right 1911 compensator for your firearm is crucial for optimizing its performance. By carefully considering factors such as materials, size, design, ease of installation, budget, maintenance, and customer reviews, you can make an informed decision that enhances your shooting experience.

FAQ

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What is a 1911 compensator?

A 1911 compensator is an accessory designed to be attached to the barrel of a 1911 handgun. This device helps to reduce recoil and improve accuracy by redirecting the gas generated during firing in a forward direction.

Which 1911 compensators are available in the market?

Several 1911 compensators are available in the market from different manufacturers, including ATI, Troy, and Dead Air. Each compensator may have its own unique design and features.

What are the benefits of using a 1911 compensator?

• Reduced recoil, making shooting more comfortable and controllable
• Improved accuracy by reducing muzzle rise and moving the point of impact closer to the point of aim
• Enhanced performance in rapid-fire situations

How do I install a 1911 compensator?

Installing a 1911 compensator typically requires some gunsmithing skills. You'll need to remove the barrel from the 1911 handgun and thread the compensator onto the barrel, followed by re-installing the barrel into the handgun.

Are there any drawbacks to using a 1911 compensator?

Yes, there are some potential drawbacks. One is the increased weight of the handgun, which may affect the overall balance and feel of the gun. Additionally, some users may experience a reduction in the overall effective range of the handgun due to the compensator's design.

Do I need a specific 1911 handgun model to use a compensator?

Most 1911 compensators are compatible with the standard 1911 handgun models, but it's always a good idea to check the specifications of the compensator you're interested in to ensure it fits your handgun model.

How much do 1911 compensators typically cost?

The cost of 1911 compensators can vary widely depending on the brand, materials used, and features offered. Generally, you can expect to pay between $100 to $300 for a quality 1911 compensator.
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