Print file output file name issue

This is also my first time using a refrence track, which really helped me understand vocal eqs better, I used to not put any high end on the vocals and when I actually compared my vocals to my refrence, I realized there was a lot of top end missing. I have also tried being more thoughtful about every little thing I do and this single sounds so much more professional than my last one. During the mixing process I also switched to my laptop speakers and also mixed in mono in my headphones. (The vocals seem to sound weird in mono, idk if it's some phase issue or the recording is bad)
My mixes are still far from industrial level mixes so I would really appreciate any and all feedback relating to the mix. Anyways here's the gdrive link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TZNDirLkM6LbuoYM2UQthJVd2OG9_nIl/view?usp=drivesdk

I have superior drummer 3 and I'm working on sampling drum stems for my band's album, and using the tracker feature to detect hits and change them over to midi notes. Everything is working fine, I've gotten the hang of triggering events and rendering down a midi file from the stems. The issue I'm having is that my reaper project has songs with multiple tempo changes and they are mapped by tempo/time signature markers on the grid. I have no problems tracking midi files for songs that are one steady tempo all the way through, but when I come to songs with tempo changes I'll render the midi file and put it on the grid as a midi take where the song begins and the tempo is correct up until the tempo change marker. When the tempo changes the midi file speeds up to almost double speed and is obviously way off from the click and scratch tracks. Raw drum stems have their own takes on their own tracks that have been play rate corrected to 1.000 to account for the tempo change markers. Superior drummer is set to follow host and for some reason the midi file is rendered in the speed at which it was performed so I think the tempo change markers are taking the performance and altering the tempo and length of the file itself. I'm stuck at this point. I have some ideas for a work around but I feel like there's gotta be something simple I'm missing. Surely reaper or Superior Drummer were designed with functions like this in mind. Sorry about the word salad, this problem is really difficult to explain simply. Any ideas?

I'll make it as concise as possible, if more details are needed I'll be happy to provide them:

• Us :M40, F40, plus a young child, downstairs neighbour : F40
  
• Our downstairs neighbour (we're in a condo) has had mental health issues for the last 2 years. We've known this through other people. Prior to that, we just exchanged a hello and a smile when we saw each other in the stairs, and never said more than a few words;
  
• However, she started targeting us in the last couple of months, there were 3 incidents that were out of line but individually could seem like a unhinged Karen fed up with her upstairs neighbours.
  
• In the meantime, I learned from neighbours that on her Facebook, she talked about us, and other neighbours, and other people as well, but they were madman's rantings. I said it had to be taken seriously, was promised the account's name as I couldn't find it by myself, but in the next few days I had no news on that front.
  
• Fourth incident was yesterday: we were working from home, and suddenly heard her banging on the door and screaming at the top of her lungs. When I opened the door, she yelled at my wife and I that I raped her daughter, and that my wife poisoned her, and... a few other things that we didn't understand. Another neighbour opened her door and heard her.
  
• I called back the neighbours who mentioned the Facebook messages, explained what had just happened, and insisted that I would need the account's name urgently. They got back to me quickly, took a few screenshots, it was worse than expected. A lot of rambling messages about us, about our daughter, that we were international spies, that I had raped her, raped her daughter, that her daughter had been killed in another neighbour's apartment, with a picture of her kid and a picture of a knife, that my wife is a whore, that she slept with other men, that our daughter isn't ours, and that we should be deported and/or executed, that she wishes we were dead, that she wants us dead, that we're evil, etc, etc.
  
• Because of that, I called the police. I spared no details, told them everything. They told me there were no death threats because she didn't clearly say that she wanted to kill us, but that the repeated incidents were enough to qualify for harassment. They made the clear distinction that any slandelibel would be a civil case and that I should pursue these matters through a lawyer, but that I should know that because of the limited reach of her facebook profile it was unlikely that the endeavor would go far). However, they went to talk to her, and a service called "psycho-social emergencies" was involved.
  
• Police came back to me, told me she was to be committed immediately because of some signs given to the psycho-social emergencies, and asked me if this meant that I felt safer and still wanted to file a criminal complaint for harassment. I thought that since she's a mother, and since it seems like a mental health issue first and foremost, I would not file a complaint yet, but would if anything new ever happened. The police accepted my answer. I got the file # as a reference.
  
• More as a side note than anything: when I saw the status with a pic of her girl and a pic of a knife, I called CPS (the DPJ in Québec). The child hasn't lived with her recently though, but I thought that was one of these "better safe than sorry" situations.
  

My two questions are :

• Did I do the right thing about not filing a complaint just yet? There is now a file # that mentions the harassment situation, she was committed and will receive the care and medication that she needs, and I hope she comes back in a better place mentally.
  
• What should we do about the content on her Facebook? My wife is livid, she wants that gone. However, I say it's a blessing in disguise because at least we have a way to monitor her mental health, and could use any ranting status as a new sign of harassment, and call the police again if need be. Better that than having to wait for her to act. Especially since we have to walk right in front of her door every time we leave the building. If Facebook closed down her account, we'd lose that monitoring tool. On the other hand, while I've been unable to Google her Facebook page in private mode using specific terms and names used in her Facebook messages, I wonder if someday further down the road it could change, and say 5 years from now a future potential employer sees Facebook messages about me being accused of raping a child...
  

I’m confused exactly what’s going on and I’m hoping someone can help me.
I submitted my estimated income to the marketplace insurance and was told I had to submit income verification by a date. Before I could submit the income proof, I received a notification from the marketplace that income verification had already been received for my estimated amount on my account. However, I had not started my new job yet, so I had not received or filled out my 1099, yet that anything could be submitted to the marketplace from me, or on my behalf.
I called the marketplace and asked them where they had gotten this income verification from and from whom. They could not answer that question as they said income verification is done by a system and it’s an internal department, but they advised me to call Social Security and the IRS.
I called Social Security and was told that they did not receive income information for me for that year yet, but to call back next year when they do receive it. We went over previous years reported income and nothing was amiss. I then called the IRS, and was told and did the same thing.
This year, I called the IRS to inquire back and was told that actually last year someone tried to e-file an attempted return last year using my social around the same time as I received the notification from the marketplace. The agent that I spoke to last year only looked at if there was any amiss reported income, but not if there were any attempted filings of returns that weren’t from me. Luckily, the attempted efile return was rejected because they spelled my name wrong. It would have been rejected anyway because years ago I put pins on my account when a previous workplace had a security breach of our data. All the irs could tell me was the date of the attempt and that it was rejected because of a misspelled name. We went over previous years reported income including for last year, and nothing was amiss. My address wasn’t changed as it was still mine and as of now there have been no other attempted filings of paper or efile return. The irs could not give me any more information other than telling me to fill out another identity theft form for this attempted efile and to call social security and the ftc.
I called Social Security and we went over previous years incomes and also nothing was reported that wasn’t mine.
Also, I have checked my credit report, and I see no accounts that aren’t mine. After the breach at my previous place of employment, I put locks on all of the credit bureaus and chexx (though I haven’t done the nctue or Lexus nexus yet) so that no one is supposed to open any accounts unless they are me, but who knows how secure that is. And I haven’t received any weird bills either.
So it seems to me that whoever tried to do this attempted e-file didn’t try to do anything else when it was rejected or they have been unable to because of all the locks I have placed on my credit and account? At least that’s what I’m hoping.
But what bothers me so much is I don’t understand how the marketplace had reported income for me that wasn’t mine, which seems to be related to this fraudulent attempt at an e-file; but there’s nothing that shows with the Social Security and IRS for reported income that isn’t mine. And I can’t get any clear answers from the marketplace or IRS or Social Security how this is possible. The only thing I can think of is that this person is using my social for work but it’s not being reported to the IRS or Social Security but it’s being reported somewhere that the marketplace can see or the marketplace somehow got the attempted email and thought it was real income of mine? I can’t figure it out.
Can anyone here figure out what is going on?! Or point me in the right direction to figure it out?
And answer any or all of the following: 1. can the irs let me know where the attempted efile came from or any more info about it? If so, how do I do that? 2. How can I figure out from where and how the marketplace got this reported income that wasn’t mine? 3. What else can I do to secure my irs account? I already have pins and they told me they can’t place verbal passwords on my account, which scares me because the verification they ask me on the phone to authenticate me can easily be breached? 4. What else can I do to protect my accounts/credit in general that I’m already not doing? 5. I do not have an online irs account, how can I figure out if someone has created one for me without my knowledge?

I have superior drummer 3 and I'm working on sampling drum stems for my band's album, and using the tracker feature to detect hits and change them over to midi notes. Everything is working fine, I've gotten the hang of triggering events and rendering down a midi file from the stems. The issue I'm having is that my reaper project has songs with multiple tempo changes and they are mapped by tempo/time signature markers on the grid. I have no problems tracking midi files for songs that are one steady tempo all the way through, but when I come to songs with tempo changes I'll render the midi file and put it on the grid as a midi take where the song begins and the tempo is correct up until the tempo change marker. When the tempo changes the midi file speeds up to almost double speed and is obviously way off from the click and scratch tracks. Raw drum stems have their own takes on their own tracks that have been play rate corrected to 1.000 to account for the tempo change markers. Superior drummer is set to follow host and for some reason the midi file is rendered in the speed at which it was performed so I think the tempo change markers are taking the performance and altering the tempo and length of the file itself. I'm stuck at this point. I have some ideas for a work around but I feel like there's gotta be something simple I'm missing. Surely reaper or Superior Drummer were designed with functions like this in mind. Sorry about the word salad, this problem is really difficult to explain simply. Any ideas?

I’m confused exactly what’s going on and I’m hoping someone can help me.
I submitted my estimated income to the marketplace insurance and was told I had to submit income verification by a date. Before I could submit the income proof, I received a notification from the marketplace that income verification had already been received for my estimated amount on my account. However, I had not started my new job yet, so I had not received or filled out my 1099, yet that anything could be submitted to the marketplace from me, or on my behalf.
I called the marketplace and asked them where they had gotten this income verification from and from whom. They could not answer that question as they said income verification is done by a system and it’s an internal department, but they advised me to call Social Security and the IRS.
I called Social Security and was told that they did not receive income information for me for that year yet, but to call back next year when they do receive it. We went over previous years reported income and nothing was amiss. I then called the IRS, and was told and did the same thing.
This year, I called the IRS to inquire back and was told that actually last year someone tried to e-file an attempted return last year using my social around the same time as I received the notification from the marketplace. The agent that I spoke to last year only looked at if there was any amiss reported income, but not if there were any attempted filings of returns that weren’t from me. Luckily, the attempted efile return was rejected because they spelled my name wrong. It would have been rejected anyway because years ago I put pins on my account when a previous workplace had a security breach of our data. All the irs could tell me was the date of the attempt and that it was rejected because of a misspelled name. We went over previous years reported income including for last year, and nothing was amiss. My address wasn’t changed as it was still mine and as of now there have been no other attempted filings of paper or efile return. The irs could not give me any more information other than telling me to fill out another identity theft form for this attempted efile and to call social security and the ftc.
I called Social Security and we went over previous years incomes and also nothing was reported that wasn’t mine.
Also, I have checked my credit report, and I see no accounts that aren’t mine. After the breach at my previous place of employment, I put locks on all of the credit bureaus and chexx (though I haven’t done the nctue or Lexus nexus yet) so that no one is supposed to open any accounts unless they are me, but who knows how secure that is. And I haven’t received any weird bills either.
So it seems to me that whoever tried to do this attempted e-file didn’t try to do anything else when it was rejected or they have been unable to because of all the locks I have placed on my credit and account? At least that’s what I’m hoping.
But what bothers me so much is I don’t understand how the marketplace had reported income for me that wasn’t mine, which seems to be related to this fraudulent attempt at an e-file; but there’s nothing that shows with the Social Security and IRS for reported income that isn’t mine. And I can’t get any clear answers from the marketplace or IRS or Social Security how this is possible. The only thing I can think of is that this person is using my social for work but it’s not being reported to the IRS or Social Security but it’s being reported somewhere that the marketplace can see or the marketplace somehow got the attempted email and thought it was real income of mine? I can’t figure it out.
Can anyone here figure out what is going on?! Or point me in the right direction to figure it out?
And answer any or all of the following: 1. can the irs let me know where the attempted efile came from or any more info about it? If so, how do I do that? 2. How can I figure out from where and how the marketplace got this reported income that wasn’t mine? 3. What else can I do to secure my irs account? I already have pins and they told me they can’t place verbal passwords on my account, which scares me because the verification they ask me on the phone to authenticate me can easily be breached? 4. What else can I do to protect my accounts/credit in general that I’m already not doing? 5. I do not have an online irs account, how can I figure out if someone has created one for me without my knowledge?

-First- -Previous- -Next (on Patreon)-
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My second to last quarter just ended and I'm pretty swamped with final reports right now, but I'm almost through. Not to mention, the next seven weeks are going to be pretty light because of a sudden lack of classes, since I busted my butt finishing up my remaining credits. I've decided to dedicate this time to (among other things) a writing frenzy! I wanna get some serioussss backlogs up because who knows how busy I'm going to be after graduation. (Not to mention, I'm having some troubles getting my VISA renewed, but that's a personal issue).
Anyways, don't wanna bore you with irl stuff. You're here for food and gay furry romance! So as always, I hope you enjoy reading! :D
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Note: This is a Fanfic of the Nature of Predators series by u/Spacepaladin15, that is being reposted from the NatureofPredators sub. Please support the original content.
Thank you to Philodox on discord for proofreading and editing RfD.
Thank you to Pampanope on reddit for the cover art.
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​
Memory Transcript Subject: Sylvan, Venlil Citizen
Date: [Standardized Human Time]: December 13, 2136
​
It wasn’t too long that I was absent from the event. Sure, Kenta and I had run into a few hiccups when trying to load up the cart, but that was to be expected. Just looking at the absolute behemoth of an edible pile that he had somehow been able to put together in such a short amount of time, it was a wonder just how we were able to fit them all on there in the first place. And the promise that there was still more yet to be brought out had left me astonished. If I hadn’t already seen the ravenous vortex of Venlil that had so efficiently done away with the other dishes, I might have actually been worried about leftovers.
The food in question, long tubes made out of some kind of starchy form of strayu and packaged in an even starchier husk, were stacked in circular pyramids atop three large trays. As it turned out, this delicacy was the same “Tamale” recipe that I had heard mentioned the day before, the sheer amount being the product of Kenta’s, Julio’s, and even Jeela’s preparations. Unfortunately, I hadn’t received the full explanation of what they were just yet, but Kenta had thankfully given me at least a quick rundown.
Using the same steaming methods as the gyoza, these tamales had been folded carefully over a mix of fresh, crisp vegetables whose scent floated around each in a rich aura. They were hot out of the steamer, a cloud of gaseous water encircling the air above it in a decadent plume. If I hadn’t known better, with the combined mass of the tamales and the sheer volume of steam they collectively released, it might have made me believe the cart itself to be on fire. But of course, there was no such thing, and the cloud that spread into the sky only served to sweeten the air.
As I rolled out the cart, I looked at one last addition to the ensemble. There in a large bowl was something that Kenta hadn’t mentioned in the slightest when explaining the recipe and reasonings behind the tamales, and I had been so urgent to get these out the door that I’d forgotten to press for more details. It had been left in the refrigerator since the day before, which I had only noticed when doing inventory after the fiasco of event preparations.
‘It completely slipped my mind until now… I’m glad I didn’t forget it. Especially after what that note said.’
When I had found the bowl, a small piece of paper had been taped to it. On which, an alien text had been inscribed that required me to use my visual translator to make any sense of. It had been nothing but obvious that holding up the translator informed me that the language was indeed Terran. But what confused me was that instead of the morphemic script that I had come to slightly recognize from Kenta’s subculture, it instead appeared to be something more alphabetic.
On it, the note simply read: “Make sure to serve this with the tamales, my friend. Don’t forget!”
Additionally, below those words had appeared to be an additional message. That one, however, was partially scribbled out. When I scanned that one as well, the translator had taken a long time to process, and its output remained considerably fractured: “**od l*ck wit* y*u* n*w boyf***nd.”
Having not thought much of the note, I had just barely remembered to retrieve the bowl from the fridge and put it on the card while Kenta was off busy grabbing one last batch of tamales before rushing me out the door. I shook it out of my mind for the time being. After all, right now there were more pressing things to manage.
Wheeling the cart back outside, I was hit with the briefest shortage of breath. It had only been a momentary respite, but shifting from the quiet of the empty diner to the lively atmosphere of a crowded party would never not be a shock. By now, enough people had shown up that the event could already be considered at max capacity. People from all over filled the street, chatting and conversing in a rambunctious, lively gusto.
To see so many people take the time out of their schedules and come down to my family’s diner just because of the promise of our food… It was almost overwhelming, enough to bring a brief tear to the eye reminiscent of my reaction to that very first wave of people Ginro had brought soon after I first hired Kenta. I took a moment just to bask in it. A feeling I had all but begun to grow almost too accustomed to. A feeling of success, and of pride. And as I once again continued pushing the cart past the crowds of chatty party attendees, along with the piles of wool that it entailed, that feeling continued to pour into me. It was all almost too much to hear at once.
“Hey Sylvan! Great party!” said one voice to my left.
“Amazing food as always, Lackadaisy guy! I can’t get enough of these little strayu things in the salad!” piped another to my right.
“Ooooo! What are those things?” asked one more as I passed by them, who excitedly eyed up the stack of tamales I was delivering.
I laughed along and chatted with people on my way to one of the tables, chuckling at their jokes and accepting their praise on behalf of both myself and the mysterious ‘Kahnta.’ With each pleased guest and hungry gaze, I couldn’t help but feel myself bloom in sheer joy at the tidal wave of enthusiastic complements.
That was… until one otherwise innocent comment sounded from behind me.
“So you’re telling me this was all made by one chef?” they asked one of their friends, not intending me to hear as they talked with their mouth half stuffed with food. Looking closer, I could see that they were two Gojids chatting with one another. “Better enjoy it now, I guess. Not gonna be long before some fancy place in the Capital comes and recruits them. Honestly, if the owner of this place wants to have any hope of holding on to them, he better marry them or something.”
The partygoer’s friend laughed, “Well if he doesn’t, then I will! Can you imagine eating something like this every day?”
I couldn’t help but bloom even more overhearing this. But this was a different kind of feeling. Not the gentle warmth of normal delight, but instead the torrid heat of surging emotions. And as I began nonchalantly transferring the steaming tamales to one of the tables, these emotions steamed to the surface of my mind as well.
It was a mix of things that fueled my silent reaction. At first, the implication of asking Kenta into matehood was… well it was certainly something. I was sure the two Gojids were simply making innocent remarks, assuming that the lie about my precious chef being another, completely ordinary Venlil was correct, not realizing in the slightest just how much the implication left me flummoxed. And in normal circumstances, it would have been just that, a simple perk of the ears and a brief daydream of something so far away from me. But after yesterday, things had changed.
The previous day had been eventful, to say the least. I had eaten some amazing pastries and listened to an even more amazing alien melody. Only for it all to come crashing down when my idiotic brain forgot to turn back on the translator before pouring out my entire menagerie of pent up emotions before Kenta. My one chance to seize an opportunity at the height of a courageous high, only to tumble and fall flat during the execution. Even worse, I couldn’t muster the bravery to say the same thing even one more time.
I had completely blown it. And needless to say, I wasn’t exactly keen on remembering my mistakes from that previous day, especially during such a pivotal event. The only mediocre condolence I could take from the whole ordeal being the opportunity of waking up next to Kenta that same day. But even that was cut much too short by the mad rush to get preparation ready for the event.
‘I can still remember how warm he felt… And how peaceful he looked when his eyes were closed…’ I thought to myself in deep reminiscence.
“Hey there Sylvan!”
‘I can’t get it out of my head…! Ugh! I wish it wasn’t just a one time thing…’
“Sylvan?”
‘If we really were together romantically, then maybe I could see that every day… But that’s not–’
“Sylvan!!”
The moment my attention was pulled away from my internal thoughts, I audibly bleated out a high pitched noise of surprise, “Eeep!”
My ears jutted up and my tail straightened like a steel beam. My attention shifted over to my side, where I soon realized Fehnel now stood. She had her paws held firmly on her hips, with a head tilted to the side in a half puzzled, half amused demeanor. Then, when I realized I had been staring a little too long without saying anything, I quickly turned my attention back to the table.
“Oh hey Fehnel!” I stuttered out. “Didn’t see you there!”
“Sorry if I sneaked up on ya, hun,” Fehnel replied with a single wag of the tail. “Got somethin’ on the mind, I’m assumin’?”
The image of Kenta and I huddled together on my couch flashed through my mind once more, before I quickly shook it away. “Uhhhh… Nope! I’m just really focussing here on getting these tamales out.”
“‘Tamales,’ huh?” Fehnel chuckled. “Well between this and that ‘gee-yo-za’ stuff, I think I’m startin’ to give up on predictin’ what crazy name Kahnta’ll come up with next.”
“Yeah it’s pretty… uh–” I coughed awkwardly, clearing something nonexistent out of my throat. “It’s pretty creative.”
“You can say that again. By this point, they’re startin’ to sound almost alien!” Fehnel laughed again, and I cringed as the irony fell over deaf ears. “But hey, who am I to judge! I mean, to me all the stuff on this planet is alien, so what’s another ‘Tamale’ added to the pile, yeah?”
I had to stop my ears and head from shrinking too far towards the ground.
“Anyways, I’m assumin’ these are the actual foods I requested Kahnta to create, right?” Fehnel continued to ask.
“Uh– Y-yeah, yes they ar–” I tried to say before one of Fehnel’s paws suddenly reached out and grabbed my wrist.
“Great!” she beamed, before dragging me away into one of the many chatty piles of fluffy wool that constituted our event.
It didn’t take more than a few rushed steps before I was suddenly pulled in front of another Yotul and Venlil, who I did well to recognize immediately. It seemed as though Kadew and Vuilen had arrived, the former of which looking just about as nervous as I had expected. Vuilen, on the other paw, was anything but. Her tail was wagging furiously, almost impossibly giddy with enthusiasm as her ears shifted around a swivel, likely allowing every new smell and sound to pull her attention to and fro.
Fehnel dragged me forward and plopped me down right in front of the two, before saying, “Tell them what you just told me.”
Vuilen leaned forward, bestowing me her full attention, while Kadew remained stationary, only doing as much as to straighten a single, skeptical ear.
“W-well, uh…” I stumbled, before quickly getting my act together. “Among a number of new strayu recipes, the main entree for today’s event is called ‘Tamales.’”
“Oooo!” Vuilen beamed. “What’s that, Lackadaisy guy? It sounds awesome!”
“According to Kahnta, it’s a mix of vegetables folded in a spongy strayu wrap and steamed inside a starchy husk. And…” I tilted my ears towards Kadew, “It’s supposedly a specialty that is designed to be eaten during times of celebration with family. Regardless of whether they be by blood, or found.”
Kadew huffed a short breath, before folding her arms. But before she got the chance to speak, Vuilen’s enthused voice overtook it. The black and white wooled Venlil leaned into her smaller Yotul partner and pulled them into a strong hug.
“Hear that, Dew? It’s like this food was MADE for your Running Day!” Vuilen piped, bouncing up and down like a cub and bringing the now deeply blooming Kadew along for the ride. “Well… I guess it literally was, but you know what I mean! Either way, there’s like a million new kinds of strayu foods here! Can you believe that? I think I even saw some sylvanas over on that table there! Can you even begin to wonder what they taste like? Oh my Sol, I’m so excited!”
Kadew, whose previously unimpressed countenance now had more steam coming out of her ears than the tamales off in the distance, stuttered out her response. “Uh– Uhmm– That’s… that’s great…”
“I know right!” Vuilen squealed. “This is going to be the BEST Running Day ever! I’m so happy for you!”
I couldn’t help but giggle out in response to this, something which Fehnel had long since been doing on her own volition. Unfortunately for Kadew, this did nothing to ease the sheer amount of embarrassment already flying around her dazed face.
“Of course, all guests are free to eat their fill, especially those invited by the Claw’s Lady herself,” I said, before gesturing a paw towards Fehnel. “All of it has been covered in advance by our generous sponsor.”
Vuilen retreated from her hug just as quickly as it had started, twisting her attention back towards Fehnel and I. “Really? I still can’t believe you’re just giving away all this for free!”
She walked towards the two of us, leaving a still dazed Kadew behind her, before rushing to give Fehnel herself another brief hug. “Thank you so much again for organizing something like this, ma’am.”
Fehnel returned the embrace, having nothing but pure pride and joy radiate through her voice. “Of course, hun. I hope you and my daughter enjoy your date.”
“Oh we will!” Vuilen replied quickly, pulling back once again. Just as fast, she began making a beeline for the buffet tables, almost disappearing into the crowd of fellow Venlil fluff before her voice was heard once more. “I’ll be back in a jiffy, Dew! I just gotta try some of this stuff before it’s all gone!”
Before she was out of range, I twisted around, raised a paw up to my mouth, and stood up high to help carry my voice after her. “Don’t forget to save room for dessert!”
Turning back, I joined Fehnel once again in her chuckling. It didn’t take long for Fehnel to comment on the situation now that Vuilen was out of earshot.
She leaned over and gently nudged me in the leg with her tail. “She’s a riot, ain’t she? Does my daughter know how to pick em’, or what?”
“Oh yeah, I’ve seen them together in the diner all the time. Honestly, I’ve been wondering how long it was going to take to knit that scarf,” I commented, referencing one of the more common and romantic Venlil courtship rituals.
“Guys I can HEAR YOU!” Kadew yelped, now seemingly freed of her hug-induced daze.
“Oh hun don’t you worry yourself about us,” Fehnel replied, a slight hum to her voice. “Us adults can’t help but watch the young love bloom.”
“That guy’s barely older than I am!” Kadew shot back, raising a finger to point at me.
I raised two paws in defence, much too similar to the way Kenta does when he’s been caught teasing me. “Hey, doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate it when I see it. You’re doing great, by the way.”
The teasing, however, had been lost on her. I had meant it in good will, but my words had only served to aggravate Kadew, and she huffed out an annoyed breath. Then, she started stomping rapidly in place, her trained legs moving in a blur like overclocked turbines. From even the briefest glance, I could tell that something had been pulling away at her tail, and our comments were doing it no favours.
“Uhh… are you alright?” I asked tentatively.
“ARGH!” she groaned back. “No! No, I am very much NOT alright! Running Day’s here already, I feel like a pile of speh, my fur’s a mess, and I’m FREAKING THE BRAHK OUT!!”
‘Quite the vocabulary on this one, apparently,’ I judged silently, wondering how my mother would have reacted to hearing me talk like that.
“Honey, Vuilen’s not gonna care about any of that silly stuff,” Fehnel said jovially. “Why, I remember bein’ covered in dried mud the first time I went on a date with your father. We went down to the creek together and took turns tossing water at each other. Then, we went down to the local actin’ house and watched a show. But even after all of that, I still had a bit of dried mud crusted on my fur, but your father didn’t mind. Said it gave me ‘character,’ of all the silly things.”
“Isn’t dried mud just dirt?” I asked.
“Naw, see, dirt is sand, silt, and clay, but it only becomes mud when it has a higher content of clay.”
“So then what happens when dirt gets wet but doesn’t have a lot of clay?”
“Wet dirt.”
“Ah.”
“WHAT ARE YOU BRAHKING TALKING ABOUT!?” Kadew squealed in a panic, her stomping had not ceased in the slightest. She threw her paws up and pulled her ears down over her eyes. “Dirt and mud! That’s all that we Yotul talk about apparently! And trains! Can’t forget the brahking trains! Stars above, that’s all people ever say!”
“Trains are cool,” I said indifferently.
“I don’t care!” she huffed, before turning to Fehnel. “Mom. What if Vuilen comes back and sees you talking about dirt? She’ll just see that it’s the only thing a primitive uplift is capable of understanding! Do you really want to prove her right?”
Fehnel looked shocked, but replied nonetheless. “Has… she said something like that before?”
“Well…! No…! But…” Kadew stomped again. “She might, okay!? Especially if she sees you actively talking about it!”
“To be fair, I asked,” I replied. “Besides, Vuilen seems like a smart girl. She wouldn’t make a rash assumption about the Yotul based off some random remark. Relationships are stronger than that. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“What do you know about it!?” Kadew shot back, releasing her ears and letting them perk up to max height. “Unless I missed something, I don’t see you dating any other Venlil in that restaurant of yours! How do you know if any of this is fine!?”
Fehnel’s voice soured immediately. “Kadew! That is no way to talk to our new business partner! He was just tryin’ to help! Apologize this instant!”
Realizing something had shifted without my notice, I tried to mellow my voice in an attempt to calm the situation down. “Oh, that won’t be necessar–”
“No,” Fehnel interrupted. “I refuse to let my daughter be rude to anyone. We might not have much, but we at least have manners.” She turned her attention back to her daughter. “Kadew, if you have a problem, then I want you to tell me about it. If there’s somethin’ we can do to help, then–”
“No no, it’s not…” Kadew replied, bringing two fingers up to pinch the bridge of her snout. “It’s not that…”
“It’s not what?” Fehnel tried to guess. “It’s with Vuilen, isn’t it? You’re afraid she’ll not be able to appreciate the Runnin’ Day? Listen, I know this isn’t Leirn, but Sylvan and I are kickin’ our hardest to make it special for you regardless. Sure, it’s not the most traditional, but I’m sure Vuilen won’t mind! I understand that livin’ on a new planet is taxin’, the gravity here especially, but as foreigners it’s our job to show these nice people where we come from. We’re Yotul, and nothin’ will change that!”
“Mom…” Kadew grunted back, before taking a deep breath.
Before she could speak, Fehnel continued with a proud wag to her tail. “Do you remember what a Runnin’ Day is all about, Kadew? It’s about all the cubs that came of age that year comin’ together and sayin’ that they’ll be fine by themselves. But it’s also about family. It’s about knowin’ that no matter where you run off to, I’ll be there to support you. But you’re makin’ it real hard to do that every time you don’t tell me what the matter is! And if you don’t, how can I make this Runnin’ Day the best it can–”
“But it’s not a Running Day, is it!” Kadew yelled, instantly shutting Fehnel up.
Her mother stared forward blankly, stumbling over a few unclear words. “Wh-what do you…”
“It’s not a Running Day!” Kadew repeated. “It’s not! I mean look around you!” She lifted her arms up dramatically, motioning towards the crowds of unaware Venlil around us. “We’re the only Yotul here! We’re the only two people that even know what a Running Day is, and I’m pretty sure we’re the only people that care!”
I tried to speak, “Umm… I know what a Running Day i–” but the look of animosity Kadew immediately shot my way gave me Jeela flashbacks, and I shut up just as quick.
“Kadew… Hun, that’s not true,” Fehnel tried to defend. “I’m sure they’d be willing to open their minds if we just–”
“What? Tell them all about how great it is to come from an Uplift planet? Talk about brahking DIRT some more!? Careful there Mom, don’t want to spoil their meal!” Kadew continued her berating. “Because you and I both know that the only reason anyone even showed up to this thing is because of that guy’s food!” Another finger was shot out in my direction. “Even you know there’s nothing special about your stupid Uplift culture! There’s nothing here even remotely related to the Yotul! It’s all just Venlil decorations and Venlil food, for our solely Venlil guests! And look!!” She pointed directly at the statue Jeela had placed as the centerpiece. “They have a statue of a Venlil as the center of everything! It’s the star attraction, not us! They couldn’t give a damn about me or Running Day or our culture or… or anything!”
Fehnel appeared to be on the verge of tears.
“And now I’ve got to find some kind of excuse for all this!” Kadew added. “It’s bad enough I had to drag Vuilen into pretending to care about the Yotul. But now the entire town is a part of it too! They’re laughing at us, Mom! Just like at school! Just like everywhere else I go! They’re laughing at us and you’re proud about it!”
From the verge of tears, Fehnel’s voice had croaked into a soft weep. A glimmering stream of water had begun to crawl down the ridge of her rust-coloured face.
“I hate being born a Yotul! I hate this gross, rusty fur! I hate everyone thinking I’m primitive and that I must be in love with trains and steam engines! And I hate you trying to push your culture on me! Cause guess what? I’ve never even seen Leirn! It’s NOT my home and you need to stop pretending it is!”
Fehnel stood simply aghast, the occasional choked-up garble of sounds emerging from her throat. Meanwhile, I stood speechless as well. Obviously, I had accidentally walked in on and been exposed to something that had been going on for quite a while. But even worse, it seems as though I had done nothing but fanned the flame of this long-fueled fire. Instinctively, I began taking a few steps back to give the two their space, which went unnoticed by either party.
Fehnel swallowed, her eyes still welling tears. “I… I…” she tried to say, but no words would form. Instead, she choked on her own voice. And Kadew, who stood waiting for a response, sucked in heavy loads of air in the fleeting hope to catch her breath.
But instead of an answer, all that any of us heard was a scream.
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This is going to be a long story y’all, buckle up!
My father, Matthew, has always been an unstable man. When I was growing up, he would regularly lash out physically and verbally towards those closest to him, but he would put on a façade when around anyone else. Those who are closest to him know just how awful a person he is yet how good he is a covering it all up to convince people outside the family that everything is ok.
My mother and father had gotten divorced when I was young and I, along with my two siblings, would go to his house on the weekends. When we lived at his house, he would never let us go outside, he would forget to feed us, he would make us do chores to clean up after him, he had cameras all over the house, and he would lash out violently if his standards weren’t met.
When I was 14~, I stopped going to Matt’s house. I had forgotten a book at my mom’s house that I needed for homework over the weekend, and I asked Matt if my stepdad could drop it off out front of the house so that I could get it done still. Matt started to yell at me saying how forgetful I am and how my stepdad is not allowed anywhere near the house and all these other nonsense things and then demanded that I hand over my phone to him and that I was grounded for the weekend.
I yelled back at my dad that he doesn’t pay for the phone, Mom does, so he has no right to take it from me. He did not take this kindly and proceeded to tackle me into the doorframe to get the phone out of my hand.
Now, keep in mind, I was a small kid growing up and he is a very fat man that was much taller than me at the time. I got a serious bruise on my shoulder.
After being tackled, I took off into the street running every which way to hide from him. I did not want to be hurt like that by him ever again. I found solace in an old man’s house after I had run for 20 or so minutes. We called the police and my parents and that was the last day that I would speak to my father for the next four years.

Fast forward 4 years, my great grandmother (Nan) who is Matthew’s grandmother was in the hospital and her condition was grim. Her organs were shutting down one by one due to her age.
Nan meant so much to me, when I got my driver's license her house was the first place that I went to. I would drive to see her as often as I could, and I would keep her up to date on everything that was happening in my life. And when she fell ill was no exception, I was glued to her bedside all day every day.
I was a senior in high school when she was sick and all I needed to graduate was an English credit, so I got out of school at 10:30 every day. Once Nan was hospitalized, I was there by her side from 11am to 11pm on most days. I talked with her for hours about her life, about meeting my Pap, about how her siblings had passed in a fire when she was young, and everything else under the stars.
For almost 30 days in a row, I was there for her, calling off work and putting my life on hold just so that I could be there for what was left of hers. She had many visitors, some family members came from Nebraska, Florida, and hours away by car just to spend time with her in her last days. One person that was absent, however, was Matthew.
Matthew was raised by Nan growing up. His mom had him when she was way too young. In fact, my father was the product of my grandmother’s sister’s husband and my grandmother. So, my Nan raised him instead.
At first, my Nan would ask when Matthew was going to stop by, but over the month she asked less and less.
They moved her to a hospital that was closer to her home and the rest of her family, and I kept going to see her, but this time the commute was an hour instead of 10 minutes. This hospital was conveniently located 5 minutes away from Matthew's house, but still no sign of him. Not until things took a turn for the worst that is.
My Nan’s condition was getting very bad and my grandmother, Matthew’s mom, had asked me to go and pick up my Nan’s husband because everyone thought that this was the last chance that they would have to see each other. Little did I know, as I was out to get Pap, my gram had called my dad and told him that this was it and he had to come and say goodbye.
When I returned with Pap, my dad and his girlfriend were there at her bedside for the first time since she had fallen ill. The moment I saw my dad, I started to shut down. I feared him. Even though it could have been the last time that I could have seen my Nan, I left the room to cry in the hallway. This is the man that had abused me, my siblings, and my mom for so many years yet now all of a sudden, he was there like he was the golden child.
After having only been there for about an hour, my dad and his girlfriend decided that it was time to leave. My gram turned to me and told me that my dad loves me still and he didn’t mean any of that stuff from the past and that he wanted to talk to me. Idiotically, I listened to her and walked after him and his girlfriend and called out, saying, “dad, do you have a minute?”
He snapped back with “no, I don’t” and then grabbed a nurse and told her that “this kid is following me, and I don’t feel safe enough to walk to my car, I need security to make sure he doesn’t harm me”
I broke down and asked him if he even remembered me or if he cared enough to ever want to reconcile with me and his girlfriend chimed that I need to leave him alone and that I don’t understand what he’s going through.
If there was any part of this story that I regret, it is what I said next. My dad’s girlfriend was born and raised in Germany and had talked about German history and that sort of thing with us in the past, and well... she didn’t denounce what the N@zi's did, let's just say that.
I told her “Shut up you stupid kraut, I’m not talking to you”
After this my dad yelled at me in the hospital and said “way to show your true colors, I knew I was right about you all along”
The next morning on my drive to the hospital I got a call from an attorney saying that Matthew had filed an emergency protection from abuse against me (my state doesn’t do restraining orders, but just think that).
In my state there are 2 types of PFA’s, EPFAs and regular ones. The kind that my dad filed against me was the Emergency kind that would get immediately granted in order to protect the person that filed from imminent dangeserious harm, then they would retroactively checkup to see if the EPFA was warranted after it was filed.
This meant that I could not go and see Nan again, not as long as I had this EPFA hanging over my head.
The claim that Matthew made against me, his own son, had so many errors and made-up nonsense. For example, he said that I am 6’2”, 220lbs, brown eyes, mentally unstable/dangerous, threatened his life, that I own guns and that he fears I’d use them on him, that I abuse my brother and sister, that I abuse my Nan, that I followed him to his car and all of these other things. He even spelled my name wrong in the document. A name that HE gave to me.
At most I’m 5’10”, 160lbs, green eyes and never shot a gun before, you get the picture. All of it was nonsense. The judge didn’t know that though when he filed it, he just heard a story of a crazed man who owns guns and wants to use them.
I got in contact with a lawyer once I got off the phone and tried to find any way around this so that I could go and see my Nan before she passed.
Unfortunately, I was too late. My Nan passed the next day, and I could not say goodbye. She had her funeral (which she asked me to sing at) and was buried all before I could get this EPFA overturned so that I could go and see her.
I missed all of it and Matthew got to walk away unscathed.
This happened a year ago and I am just finally getting it off my chest. I don’t even care if anyone reads this, I just wanted to type it.
If it makes anyone feel better, my dad was a middle school music teacher, but wasn’t allowed to go work around kids this year because of another lawsuit that he got himself.

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My second to last quarter just ended and I'm pretty swamped with final reports right now, but I'm almost through. Not to mention, the next seven weeks are going to be pretty light because of a sudden lack of classes, since I busted my butt finishing up my remaining credits. I've decided to dedicate this time to (among other things) a writing frenzy! I wanna get some serioussss backlogs up because who knows how busy I'm going to be after graduation. (Not to mention, I'm having some troubles getting my VISA renewed, but that's a personal issue).
Anyways, don't wanna bore you with irl stuff. You're here for food and gay furry romance! So as always, I hope you enjoy reading! :D
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Thank you to Philodox on discord for proofreading and editing RfD.
Thank you to Pampanope on reddit for the cover art.
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Memory Transcript Subject: Sylvan, Venlil Citizen
Date: [Standardized Human Time]: December 13, 2136
​
It wasn’t too long that I was absent from the event. Sure, Kenta and I had run into a few hiccups when trying to load up the cart, but that was to be expected. Just looking at the absolute behemoth of an edible pile that he had somehow been able to put together in such a short amount of time, it was a wonder just how we were able to fit them all on there in the first place. And the promise that there was still more yet to be brought out had left me astonished. If I hadn’t already seen the ravenous vortex of Venlil that had so efficiently done away with the other dishes, I might have actually been worried about leftovers.
The food in question, long tubes made out of some kind of starchy form of strayu and packaged in an even starchier husk, were stacked in circular pyramids atop three large trays. As it turned out, this delicacy was the same “Tamale” recipe that I had heard mentioned the day before, the sheer amount being the product of Kenta’s, Julio’s, and even Jeela’s preparations. Unfortunately, I hadn’t received the full explanation of what they were just yet, but Kenta had thankfully given me at least a quick rundown.
Using the same steaming methods as the gyoza, these tamales had been folded carefully over a mix of fresh, crisp vegetables whose scent floated around each in a rich aura. They were hot out of the steamer, a cloud of gaseous water encircling the air above it in a decadent plume. If I hadn’t known better, with the combined mass of the tamales and the sheer volume of steam they collectively released, it might have made me believe the cart itself to be on fire. But of course, there was no such thing, and the cloud that spread into the sky only served to sweeten the air.
As I rolled out the cart, I looked at one last addition to the ensemble. There in a large bowl was something that Kenta hadn’t mentioned in the slightest when explaining the recipe and reasonings behind the tamales, and I had been so urgent to get these out the door that I’d forgotten to press for more details. It had been left in the refrigerator since the day before, which I had only noticed when doing inventory after the fiasco of event preparations.
‘It completely slipped my mind until now… I’m glad I didn’t forget it. Especially after what that note said.’
When I had found the bowl, a small piece of paper had been taped to it. On which, an alien text had been inscribed that required me to use my visual translator to make any sense of. It had been nothing but obvious that holding up the translator informed me that the language was indeed Terran. But what confused me was that instead of the morphemic script that I had come to slightly recognize from Kenta’s subculture, it instead appeared to be something more alphabetic.
On it, the note simply read: “Make sure to serve this with the tamales, my friend. Don’t forget!”
Additionally, below those words had appeared to be an additional message. That one, however, was partially scribbled out. When I scanned that one as well, the translator had taken a long time to process, and its output remained considerably fractured: “**od l*ck wit* y*u* n*w boyf***nd.”
Having not thought much of the note, I had just barely remembered to retrieve the bowl from the fridge and put it on the card while Kenta was off busy grabbing one last batch of tamales before rushing me out the door. I shook it out of my mind for the time being. After all, right now there were more pressing things to manage.
Wheeling the cart back outside, I was hit with the briefest shortage of breath. It had only been a momentary respite, but shifting from the quiet of the empty diner to the lively atmosphere of a crowded party would never not be a shock. By now, enough people had shown up that the event could already be considered at max capacity. People from all over filled the street, chatting and conversing in a rambunctious, lively gusto.
To see so many people take the time out of their schedules and come down to my family’s diner just because of the promise of our food… It was almost overwhelming, enough to bring a brief tear to the eye reminiscent of my reaction to that very first wave of people Ginro had brought soon after I first hired Kenta. I took a moment just to bask in it. A feeling I had all but begun to grow almost too accustomed to. A feeling of success, and of pride. And as I once again continued pushing the cart past the crowds of chatty party attendees, along with the piles of wool that it entailed, that feeling continued to pour into me. It was all almost too much to hear at once.
“Hey Sylvan! Great party!” said one voice to my left.
“Amazing food as always, Lackadaisy guy! I can’t get enough of these little strayu things in the salad!” piped another to my right.
“Ooooo! What are those things?” asked one more as I passed by them, who excitedly eyed up the stack of tamales I was delivering.
I laughed along and chatted with people on my way to one of the tables, chuckling at their jokes and accepting their praise on behalf of both myself and the mysterious ‘Kahnta.’ With each pleased guest and hungry gaze, I couldn’t help but feel myself bloom in sheer joy at the tidal wave of enthusiastic complements.
That was… until one otherwise innocent comment sounded from behind me.
“So you’re telling me this was all made by one chef?” they asked one of their friends, not intending me to hear as they talked with their mouth half stuffed with food. Looking closer, I could see that they were two Gojids chatting with one another. “Better enjoy it now, I guess. Not gonna be long before some fancy place in the Capital comes and recruits them. Honestly, if the owner of this place wants to have any hope of holding on to them, he better marry them or something.”
The partygoer’s friend laughed, “Well if he doesn’t, then I will! Can you imagine eating something like this every day?”
I couldn’t help but bloom even more overhearing this. But this was a different kind of feeling. Not the gentle warmth of normal delight, but instead the torrid heat of surging emotions. And as I began nonchalantly transferring the steaming tamales to one of the tables, these emotions steamed to the surface of my mind as well.
It was a mix of things that fueled my silent reaction. At first, the implication of asking Kenta into matehood was… well it was certainly something. I was sure the two Gojids were simply making innocent remarks, assuming that the lie about my precious chef being another, completely ordinary Venlil was correct, not realizing in the slightest just how much the implication left me flummoxed. And in normal circumstances, it would have been just that, a simple perk of the ears and a brief daydream of something so far away from me. But after yesterday, things had changed.
The previous day had been eventful, to say the least. I had eaten some amazing pastries and listened to an even more amazing alien melody. Only for it all to come crashing down when my idiotic brain forgot to turn back on the translator before pouring out my entire menagerie of pent up emotions before Kenta. My one chance to seize an opportunity at the height of a courageous high, only to tumble and fall flat during the execution. Even worse, I couldn’t muster the bravery to say the same thing even one more time.
I had completely blown it. And needless to say, I wasn’t exactly keen on remembering my mistakes from that previous day, especially during such a pivotal event. The only mediocre condolence I could take from the whole ordeal being the opportunity of waking up next to Kenta that same day. But even that was cut much too short by the mad rush to get preparation ready for the event.
‘I can still remember how warm he felt… And how peaceful he looked when his eyes were closed…’ I thought to myself in deep reminiscence.
“Hey there Sylvan!”
‘I can’t get it out of my head…! Ugh! I wish it wasn’t just a one time thing…’
“Sylvan?”
‘If we really were together romantically, then maybe I could see that every day… But that’s not–’
“Sylvan!!”
The moment my attention was pulled away from my internal thoughts, I audibly bleated out a high pitched noise of surprise, “Eeep!”
My ears jutted up and my tail straightened like a steel beam. My attention shifted over to my side, where I soon realized Fehnel now stood. She had her paws held firmly on her hips, with a head tilted to the side in a half puzzled, half amused demeanor. Then, when I realized I had been staring a little too long without saying anything, I quickly turned my attention back to the table.
“Oh hey Fehnel!” I stuttered out. “Didn’t see you there!”
“Sorry if I sneaked up on ya, hun,” Fehnel replied with a single wag of the tail. “Got somethin’ on the mind, I’m assumin’?”
The image of Kenta and I huddled together on my couch flashed through my mind once more, before I quickly shook it away. “Uhhhh… Nope! I’m just really focussing here on getting these tamales out.”
“‘Tamales,’ huh?” Fehnel chuckled. “Well between this and that ‘gee-yo-za’ stuff, I think I’m startin’ to give up on predictin’ what crazy name Kahnta’ll come up with next.”
“Yeah it’s pretty… uh–” I coughed awkwardly, clearing something nonexistent out of my throat. “It’s pretty creative.”
“You can say that again. By this point, they’re startin’ to sound almost alien!” Fehnel laughed again, and I cringed as the irony fell over deaf ears. “But hey, who am I to judge! I mean, to me all the stuff on this planet is alien, so what’s another ‘Tamale’ added to the pile, yeah?”
I had to stop my ears and head from shrinking too far towards the ground.
“Anyways, I’m assumin’ these are the actual foods I requested Kahnta to create, right?” Fehnel continued to ask.
“Uh– Y-yeah, yes they ar–” I tried to say before one of Fehnel’s paws suddenly reached out and grabbed my wrist.
“Great!” she beamed, before dragging me away into one of the many chatty piles of fluffy wool that constituted our event.
It didn’t take more than a few rushed steps before I was suddenly pulled in front of another Yotul and Venlil, who I did well to recognize immediately. It seemed as though Kadew and Vuilen had arrived, the former of which looking just about as nervous as I had expected. Vuilen, on the other paw, was anything but. Her tail was wagging furiously, almost impossibly giddy with enthusiasm as her ears shifted around a swivel, likely allowing every new smell and sound to pull her attention to and fro.
Fehnel dragged me forward and plopped me down right in front of the two, before saying, “Tell them what you just told me.”
Vuilen leaned forward, bestowing me her full attention, while Kadew remained stationary, only doing as much as to straighten a single, skeptical ear.
“W-well, uh…” I stumbled, before quickly getting my act together. “Among a number of new strayu recipes, the main entree for today’s event is called ‘Tamales.’”
“Oooo!” Vuilen beamed. “What’s that, Lackadaisy guy? It sounds awesome!”
“According to Kahnta, it’s a mix of vegetables folded in a spongy strayu wrap and steamed inside a starchy husk. And…” I tilted my ears towards Kadew, “It’s supposedly a specialty that is designed to be eaten during times of celebration with family. Regardless of whether they be by blood, or found.”
Kadew huffed a short breath, before folding her arms. But before she got the chance to speak, Vuilen’s enthused voice overtook it. The black and white wooled Venlil leaned into her smaller Yotul partner and pulled them into a strong hug.
“Hear that, Dew? It’s like this food was MADE for your Running Day!” Vuilen piped, bouncing up and down like a cub and bringing the now deeply blooming Kadew along for the ride. “Well… I guess it literally was, but you know what I mean! Either way, there’s like a million new kinds of strayu foods here! Can you believe that? I think I even saw some sylvanas over on that table there! Can you even begin to wonder what they taste like? Oh my Sol, I’m so excited!”
Kadew, whose previously unimpressed countenance now had more steam coming out of her ears than the tamales off in the distance, stuttered out her response. “Uh– Uhmm– That’s… that’s great…”
“I know right!” Vuilen squealed. “This is going to be the BEST Running Day ever! I’m so happy for you!”
I couldn’t help but giggle out in response to this, something which Fehnel had long since been doing on her own volition. Unfortunately for Kadew, this did nothing to ease the sheer amount of embarrassment already flying around her dazed face.
“Of course, all guests are free to eat their fill, especially those invited by the Claw’s Lady herself,” I said, before gesturing a paw towards Fehnel. “All of it has been covered in advance by our generous sponsor.”
Vuilen retreated from her hug just as quickly as it had started, twisting her attention back towards Fehnel and I. “Really? I still can’t believe you’re just giving away all this for free!”
She walked towards the two of us, leaving a still dazed Kadew behind her, before rushing to give Fehnel herself another brief hug. “Thank you so much again for organizing something like this, ma’am.”
Fehnel returned the embrace, having nothing but pure pride and joy radiate through her voice. “Of course, hun. I hope you and my daughter enjoy your date.”
“Oh we will!” Vuilen replied quickly, pulling back once again. Just as fast, she began making a beeline for the buffet tables, almost disappearing into the crowd of fellow Venlil fluff before her voice was heard once more. “I’ll be back in a jiffy, Dew! I just gotta try some of this stuff before it’s all gone!”
Before she was out of range, I twisted around, raised a paw up to my mouth, and stood up high to help carry my voice after her. “Don’t forget to save room for dessert!”
Turning back, I joined Fehnel once again in her chuckling. It didn’t take long for Fehnel to comment on the situation now that Vuilen was out of earshot.
She leaned over and gently nudged me in the leg with her tail. “She’s a riot, ain’t she? Does my daughter know how to pick em’, or what?”
“Oh yeah, I’ve seen them together in the diner all the time. Honestly, I’ve been wondering how long it was going to take to knit that scarf,” I commented, referencing one of the more common and romantic Venlil courtship rituals.
“Guys I can HEAR YOU!” Kadew yelped, now seemingly freed of her hug-induced daze.
“Oh hun don’t you worry yourself about us,” Fehnel replied, a slight hum to her voice. “Us adults can’t help but watch the young love bloom.”
“That guy’s barely older than I am!” Kadew shot back, raising a finger to point at me.
I raised two paws in defence, much too similar to the way Kenta does when he’s been caught teasing me. “Hey, doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate it when I see it. You’re doing great, by the way.”
The teasing, however, had been lost on her. I had meant it in good will, but my words had only served to aggravate Kadew, and she huffed out an annoyed breath. Then, she started stomping rapidly in place, her trained legs moving in a blur like overclocked turbines. From even the briefest glance, I could tell that something had been pulling away at her tail, and our comments were doing it no favours.
“Uhh… are you alright?” I asked tentatively.
“ARGH!” she groaned back. “No! No, I am very much NOT alright! Running Day’s here already, I feel like a pile of speh, my fur’s a mess, and I’m FREAKING THE BRAHK OUT!!”
‘Quite the vocabulary on this one, apparently,’ I judged silently, wondering how my mother would have reacted to hearing me talk like that.
“Honey, Vuilen’s not gonna care about any of that silly stuff,” Fehnel said jovially. “Why, I remember bein’ covered in dried mud the first time I went on a date with your father. We went down to the creek together and took turns tossing water at each other. Then, we went down to the local actin’ house and watched a show. But even after all of that, I still had a bit of dried mud crusted on my fur, but your father didn’t mind. Said it gave me ‘character,’ of all the silly things.”
“Isn’t dried mud just dirt?” I asked.
“Naw, see, dirt is sand, silt, and clay, but it only becomes mud when it has a higher content of clay.”
“So then what happens when dirt gets wet but doesn’t have a lot of clay?”
“Wet dirt.”
“Ah.”
“WHAT ARE YOU BRAHKING TALKING ABOUT!?” Kadew squealed in a panic, her stomping had not ceased in the slightest. She threw her paws up and pulled her ears down over her eyes. “Dirt and mud! That’s all that we Yotul talk about apparently! And trains! Can’t forget the brahking trains! Stars above, that’s all people ever say!”
“Trains are cool,” I said indifferently.
“I don’t care!” she huffed, before turning to Fehnel. “Mom. What if Vuilen comes back and sees you talking about dirt? She’ll just see that it’s the only thing a primitive uplift is capable of understanding! Do you really want to prove her right?”
Fehnel looked shocked, but replied nonetheless. “Has… she said something like that before?”
“Well…! No…! But…” Kadew stomped again. “She might, okay!? Especially if she sees you actively talking about it!”
“To be fair, I asked,” I replied. “Besides, Vuilen seems like a smart girl. She wouldn’t make a rash assumption about the Yotul based off some random remark. Relationships are stronger than that. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“What do you know about it!?” Kadew shot back, releasing her ears and letting them perk up to max height. “Unless I missed something, I don’t see you dating any other Venlil in that restaurant of yours! How do you know if any of this is fine!?”
Fehnel’s voice soured immediately. “Kadew! That is no way to talk to our new business partner! He was just tryin’ to help! Apologize this instant!”
Realizing something had shifted without my notice, I tried to mellow my voice in an attempt to calm the situation down. “Oh, that won’t be necessar–”
“No,” Fehnel interrupted. “I refuse to let my daughter be rude to anyone. We might not have much, but we at least have manners.” She turned her attention back to her daughter. “Kadew, if you have a problem, then I want you to tell me about it. If there’s somethin’ we can do to help, then–”
“No no, it’s not…” Kadew replied, bringing two fingers up to pinch the bridge of her snout. “It’s not that…”
“It’s not what?” Fehnel tried to guess. “It’s with Vuilen, isn’t it? You’re afraid she’ll not be able to appreciate the Runnin’ Day? Listen, I know this isn’t Leirn, but Sylvan and I are kickin’ our hardest to make it special for you regardless. Sure, it’s not the most traditional, but I’m sure Vuilen won’t mind! I understand that livin’ on a new planet is taxin’, the gravity here especially, but as foreigners it’s our job to show these nice people where we come from. We’re Yotul, and nothin’ will change that!”
“Mom…” Kadew grunted back, before taking a deep breath.
Before she could speak, Fehnel continued with a proud wag to her tail. “Do you remember what a Runnin’ Day is all about, Kadew? It’s about all the cubs that came of age that year comin’ together and sayin’ that they’ll be fine by themselves. But it’s also about family. It’s about knowin’ that no matter where you run off to, I’ll be there to support you. But you’re makin’ it real hard to do that every time you don’t tell me what the matter is! And if you don’t, how can I make this Runnin’ Day the best it can–”
“But it’s not a Running Day, is it!” Kadew yelled, instantly shutting Fehnel up.
Her mother stared forward blankly, stumbling over a few unclear words. “Wh-what do you…”
“It’s not a Running Day!” Kadew repeated. “It’s not! I mean look around you!” She lifted her arms up dramatically, motioning towards the crowds of unaware Venlil around us. “We’re the only Yotul here! We’re the only two people that even know what a Running Day is, and I’m pretty sure we’re the only people that care!”
I tried to speak, “Umm… I know what a Running Day i–” but the look of animosity Kadew immediately shot my way gave me Jeela flashbacks, and I shut up just as quick.
“Kadew… Hun, that’s not true,” Fehnel tried to defend. “I’m sure they’d be willing to open their minds if we just–”
“What? Tell them all about how great it is to come from an Uplift planet? Talk about brahking DIRT some more!? Careful there Mom, don’t want to spoil their meal!” Kadew continued her berating. “Because you and I both know that the only reason anyone even showed up to this thing is because of that guy’s food!” Another finger was shot out in my direction. “Even you know there’s nothing special about your stupid Uplift culture! There’s nothing here even remotely related to the Yotul! It’s all just Venlil decorations and Venlil food, for our solely Venlil guests! And look!!” She pointed directly at the statue Jeela had placed as the centerpiece. “They have a statue of a Venlil as the center of everything! It’s the star attraction, not us! They couldn’t give a damn about me or Running Day or our culture or… or anything!”
Fehnel appeared to be on the verge of tears.
“And now I’ve got to find some kind of excuse for all this!” Kadew added. “It’s bad enough I had to drag Vuilen into pretending to care about the Yotul. But now the entire town is a part of it too! They’re laughing at us, Mom! Just like at school! Just like everywhere else I go! They’re laughing at us and you’re proud about it!”
From the verge of tears, Fehnel’s voice had croaked into a soft weep. A glimmering stream of water had begun to crawl down the ridge of her rust-coloured face.
“I hate being born a Yotul! I hate this gross, rusty fur! I hate everyone thinking I’m primitive and that I must be in love with trains and steam engines! And I hate you trying to push your culture on me! Cause guess what? I’ve never even seen Leirn! It’s NOT my home and you need to stop pretending it is!”
Fehnel stood simply aghast, the occasional choked-up garble of sounds emerging from her throat. Meanwhile, I stood speechless as well. Obviously, I had accidentally walked in on and been exposed to something that had been going on for quite a while. But even worse, it seems as though I had done nothing but fanned the flame of this long-fueled fire. Instinctively, I began taking a few steps back to give the two their space, which went unnoticed by either party.
Fehnel swallowed, her eyes still welling tears. “I… I…” she tried to say, but no words would form. Instead, she choked on her own voice. And Kadew, who stood waiting for a response, sucked in heavy loads of air in the fleeting hope to catch her breath.
But instead of an answer, all that any of us heard was a scream.
—————————
​
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So as far as I'm concerned (from one GamerPoet video), the Overwrite folder of MO2 contains output from tools, or ini files that are generated by mods for additional configuration. Assuming this is a correct understanding, I've got the following questions (please correct me if I'm understanding this wrong):

1. The Overwrite folder, in the mentioned GamerPoets video, he mentions not wanting to mix multiple mods output via downloading several at the same time, as it makes it difficult to tell what mod is generating what files, and making the appropriate 'ModName - Output' mod much harder. I'd be doing almost exactly what he's said not to do, by importing my 800-900 mods currently handled by Vortex. What's going to be the cleanest way to handle all of the .ini files that will be generated upon booting up Skyrim?
   
2. Purging all of my mods cleans up most, but not all of my Data directory. Things left over are various ini's, grass cache, and bodyslide files primarily. Will these additional loose files cause an issue for MO2, or should I go and reinstall AE 1.6.640 (version my modlist is built on atm) via the steam console and then use MO2 from there? Would making a backup of my Skyrim game folder, deleting everything inside the actual directory, and verifying through Steam allow me to return it to a fresh install?
   

Thanks for the help in advance!

We have been using Lightning File Explorer but after the new release, we keep encountering these errors in a pop up window.
A Component Error has occurred!
MessageComponent Descriptor
File Name: https://static.lightning.force.com/eu53/auraFW/javascript/ZDROWDdLOGtXcTZqSWZiU19ZaDJFdzk4bkk0bVJhZGJCWE9mUC1IZXZRbmcyNDguMTAuNS01LjAuMTA/aura_prod.js
Function
Line 1061
Column 112
Stack Trace a()@https://static.lightning.force.com/eu53/auraFW/javascript/ZDROWDdLOGtXcTZqSWZiU19ZaDJFdzk4bkk0bVJhZGJCWE9mUC1IZXZRbmcyNDguMTAuNS01LjAuMTA/aura\_prod.js:1061:112
{anonymous}()@https://static.lightning.force.com/eu53/auraFW/javascript/ZDROWDdLOGtXcTZqSWZiU19ZaDJFdzk4bkk0bVJhZGJCWE9mUC1IZXZRbmcyNDguMTAuNS01LjAuMTA/aura\_prod.js:1061:305
i()@https://static.lightning.force.com/eu53/auraFW/javascript/ZDROWDdLOGtXcTZqSWZiU19ZaDJFdzk4bkk0bVJhZGJCWE9mUC1IZXZRbmcyNDguMTAuNS01LjAuMTA/aura\_prod.js:50:51396
qt.dispatchEvent()@https://static.lightning.force.com/eu53/auraFW/javascript/ZDROWDdLOGtXcTZqSWZiU19ZaDJFdzk4bkk0bVJhZGJCWE9mUC1IZXZRbmcyNDguMTAuNS01LjAuMTA/aura\_prod.js:50:14604
{anonymous}()@https://static.lightning.force.com/eu53/auraFW/javascript/ZDROWDdLOGtXcTZqSWZiU19ZaDJFdzk4bkk0bVJhZGJCWE9mUC1IZXZRbmcyNDguMTAuNS01LjAuMTA/aura\_prod.js:102:82836
en.eval()@https://static.lightning.force.com/eu53/auraFW/javascript/ZDROWDdLOGtXcTZqSWZiU19ZaDJFdzk4bkk0bVJhZGJCWE9mUC1IZXZRbmcyNDguMTAuNS01LjAuMTA/aura\_prod.js:102:95663
eval()@modules/qsyd_FE/qsydFileExplorer.js:3:11570

I am not sure what to do, but I checked the reddit and the forum and I tried to do all those thigns, but it still wont boot up. my pc ain't the issue, with a 11400f and 3060, but in the
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\American Truck Simulator\bin\win_x64
The snowwymoon.log still p;ops up everytime. Please man I just wanna truck without losing progress.
(I DELETED ALL THE MODS FROM FOLDER AND THE WORKSHOP) 😢😢😭😭

I’m confused exactly what’s going on and I’m hoping someone can help me.
I submitted my estimated income to the marketplace insurance and was told I had to submit income verification by a date. Before I could submit the income proof, I received a notification from the marketplace that income verification had already been received for my estimated amount on my account. However, I had not started my new job yet, so I had not received or filled out my 1099, yet that anything could be submitted to the marketplace from me, or on my behalf.
I called the marketplace and asked them where they had gotten this income verification from and from whom. They could not answer that question as they said income verification is done by a system and it’s an internal department, but they advised me to call Social Security and the IRS.
I called Social Security and was told that they did not receive income information for me for that year yet, but to call back next year when they do receive it. We went over previous years reported income and nothing was amiss. I then called the IRS, and was told and did the same thing.
This year, I called the IRS to inquire back and was told that actually last year someone tried to e-file an attempted return last year using my social around the same time as I received the notification from the marketplace. The agent that I spoke to last year only looked at if there was any amiss reported income, but not if there were any attempted filings of returns that weren’t from me. Luckily, the attempted efile return was rejected because they spelled my name wrong. It would have been rejected anyway because years ago I put pins on my account when a previous workplace had a security breach of our data. All the irs could tell me was the date of the attempt and that it was rejected because of a misspelled name. We went over previous years reported income including for last year, and nothing was amiss. My address wasn’t changed as it was still mine and as of now there have been no other attempted filings of paper or efile return. The irs could not give me any more information other than telling me to fill out another identity theft form for this attempted efile and to call social security and the ftc.
I called Social Security and we went over previous years incomes and also nothing was reported that wasn’t mine.
Also, I have checked my credit report, and I see no accounts that aren’t mine. After the breach at my previous place of employment, I put locks on all of my credits, so that no one is supposed to open any accounts unless they are me, but who knows how secure that is. And I haven’t received any weird bills either.
So it seems to me that whoever tried to do this attempted e-file didn’t try to do anything else when it was rejected or they have been unable to because of all the locks I have placed on my credit and account? At least that’s what I’m hoping.
But what bothers me so much is I don’t understand how the marketplace had reported income for me that wasn’t mine, which seems to be related to this fraudulent attempt at an e-file; but there’s nothing that shows with the Social Security and IRS for reported income that isn’t mine. And I can’t get any clear answers from the marketplace or IRS or Social Security how this is possible. The only thing I can think of is that this person is using my social for work but it’s not being reported to the IRS or Social Security but it’s being reported somewhere that the marketplace can see or the marketplace somehow got the attempted email and thought it was real income of mine? I can’t figure it out.
Can anyone here figure out what is going on?! Or point me in the right direction to figure it out?
And answer any or all of the following: 1. can the irs let me know where the attempted efile came from or any more info about it? If so, how do I do that? 2. How can I figure out from where and how the marketplace got this reported income that wasn’t mine? 3. What else can I do to secure my irs account? I already have pins and they told me they can’t place verbal passwords on my account, which scares me because the verification they ask me on the phone to authenticate me can easily be breached? 4. What else can I do to protect my accounts/credit in general that I’m already not doing? 5. I do not have an online irs account, how can I figure out if someone has created one for me without my knowledge?

So I've been playing all week up until yesterday with no issues aside from the occasional game crash. But as of now the game just closes as soon as I load onto my super destroyer. I play on PC and already tried verifying my files on Steam. Even did a full reinstall but the issue persists. Players from my region are still able to play, so I don't believe its a region related thing. Any one here have any ideas how I might fix this?

My old ssd started breaking , caused my pc to malfunction. The ssd is barley in tact and I got the ALS , temp files , etc off of it. I don't know why but for some reason none of the recorded samples I made are their. It's not in my user library, song folder, or in the temp project. I always saved the song multiple times and never had an issue with self recorded samples before. If someone could help me I would really appreciate it

First off, I don't work for any healthcare provider or insurance company. I am promoting this only because I can't imagine what it would be like going through this alone. Actually, I can imagine it because I did for a long time until I found this service.
I am self-employed but can't afford private insurance, but still don't qualify for free insurance. I'll just leave it at that. I know there are many more situations than mine where the outcome is just no insurance and being left without being able to afford out of pocket pay.
The only reason I know about this supplemental insurance is that it was mentioned to me by an employee after desperately asking for help. Trying to find it online just took me almost 2 hours to locate it.
With that being said, here are the details:

• This is not insurance and they make that very clear. It's a discount program.
• For $40 a month the program offers unlimited Teladoc general doctor visits, (anything you would see a general health doctor for), Unlimited Teladoc Psychiatrist visits (for medication), Unlimited Teladoc Therapist visits, Teladoc Dermatology visits, Teladoc Nutrition specialist visits.
• You can develop an ongoing relationship with the same Doctor or therapist. You don't have to see a new one every time. My therapist and psychiatrist went to very well known universities and are very qualified.
• Additionally, they offer discounts on pet care, pet Rx, discounts on lawyers, discounts for your own RX, discounts on care for your parents if you take care of them and can't for some reason....the list goes on.
• You have to live in the USA
• You don't have to purchase or already have regular insurance to qualify.
• There are no restrictions, conditions or caps on income to qualify.

You sign up through United Health Care. However, the discounts are actually provided by "New Benefits".
Here is the brochure that compares the plans you can choose. Only the $40 a month plan and higher offer mental health.
It will not let me link directly to the plan page because you're required to enter your zip code to see if it's offered in your area. When I tried to find this page after closing my browsers and opening them again, I almost couldn't find it. It might be easier just to call them.
When I found this plan, I was so happy and mad at the same time. Happy because I found it. Mad because I had gone so long without help. I really hope this post will help someone out there.
Edit - here is the direct link to the page where you enter your zip code. Once you have this page, it's easier to locate: https://www.uhone.com/health-insurance/additional/telehealth

ok so to save you the hour of googling I did, if you use xbmc4gamers (which you should be) or really any other modded dash, make sure to set the network config inside the dashboard to be manual! Set the DNS to insignia (46.101.64.175) and set secondary DNS to google (8.8.8.8)
Easiest way to set manual IP is to just take note of what it gets set to automatically (eg 10.0.1.69) then select manual settings in the dashboard settings and set the IP to that. The rest of the information if your struggling, can be found on your windows PC under control panel -network and internet -network and sharing center - select the connection under "view your active networks" for me it's called ethernet 4 for you it may be something else.
Select details from the pop up.
It seems obvious in hindsight but it drove me nuts for a fair bit, seems the insignia setup guide could do with an update to mention this.
Specifically for halo 2 if issues persist:
Update your Xbox dash! This should have already been done before you got on to insignia in the first place but if not, download the latest 5960 dash (easily found on google) and copy all contents to the C drive. Reboot.
I recommend clearing out all data for halo 2 in save manager for halo 2 on the stock ms dashboard (use file manager on your modded dash of Choice, go to C parition and select xboxdash.xbe) clear all content that isn't save profiles, load the game and connect online, should prompt you for an Xbox live update, run that. Once it gets back in, you should see 1.5 in the bottom right corner of "press start" screen, from here use the halo2 multiplayer disc or similar installer to install the map packs and game types (don't reinstall the update! Just the game packs!) once done, load halo 2 again and log in. If all goes well it should get you online!
I would also massively recommend doing a clean rip of halo 2 off disc or make sure to get a copy with the updatedash.xbe etc in it! For me with a faulty disc reader, I used my rgh 360 to dump the game from disc on freestyle dash (making sure to select the "include $ystem update folder" button)
Then FTP off the 360 and on to the og Xbox.
Enjoy!