I read a lot about that everyone thinks that Sweden has such low salaries. But I don’t agree, I don’t think Sweden has low salaries when talking about the median NET pay. I don’t compare to countries outside of Europe. Not everyone is an engineer, programmer or working in finance. I’m talking about the average person on the street. I am not saying Sweden has the one of the best salaries but definitely not the worst. Different countries have different tax and insurance systems and we need to compare net pay here. The money in your hand after tax and insurance to use for consumption.
Let’s take me for example. I work as a project manager and planning architect in the local government in Stockholm and I have 40k gross and 32k NET. All taxes and insurances are already paid when I get my 32k SEK. The payroll tax is paid by my employer and that includes insurances and other stuffs. I’m 31 years old and have 4 years of experience. So with 32k SEK I can do whatever I want with it. This salary has allowed me to afford to buy a newly constructed studio in Täby park which is considered one of the better areas to live in the Stockholm area. I travel every month and I wear a 5000 SEK suit. I often have fika 2-3 times a week and maybe have a dinner somewhere once a week. I don’t drink alcohol. I spend around 310 SEK for great sushi for two. That’s 26,7€. My life is comfortable and I have Friday as a weekend. I don’t feel poor when I travel and I’ve been to NYC, LA, and Switzerland recent year. So I don’t think that my salary is that low in an international context. Converted to euro it’s around 2726€ net, and with that money I pay my mortgage and living costs. My mortgage and housing costs including utilities are around 7500 SEK which isn’t expensive I think, that’s like 647€. My gym is around 1499 SEK a year after the friskvårdsbidrag. After traveling to over 100 countries I don’t find Sweden more expensive than other western European countries. I am not including alcohol here. The housing is definitely cheaper than other Western European countries. Buying an apartment seems to be very difficult in other Western European countries.
From my research only Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, and Switzerland have significantly higher salaries than Sweden. London is also a bit higher but that’s a special case. The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Ireland, UK, Belgium, Finland are give and take similar levels as Sweden depending on the job. I am talking about NET pay now. After all deductions, taxes, and insurances are paid. Some jobs better some worse. Sweden does good on average jobs and worse in the top level ones. But I do find Sweden competitive still. Yes engineers make more money in Germany. But how about cashier workers?
Nominal gross national income per capita in $ of some countries:
Norway 95,510 Luxembourg 91,200 Switzerland 89,145 USA 76,370 Denmark 73,200
Sweden 62,990 Netherlands 57,430 Austria 56,140 Finland 54,360 Germany 53,390 UK 48,890 Belgium 48,700 France 45,860
Source: World Bank
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GNI_(nominal)_per_capita?wprov=sfti1#Methodology
As you can see Sweden is doing okay. So please don’t call Sweden poor. I don’t compare to countries outside of Europe as they have a different environment all together. USA shouldn’t be mentioned in an European context. So my conclusion is that Sweden isn’t bad when it comes to money compared to European countries, rather decent. Yes it’s not the top 5. Yes it’s not great compared to USA.
TL;DR: People say that salaries are so low in Sweden but I actually think they are okay. Yes Sweden isn’t one of the best but it’s not worst either. I’m talking about median NET pay for normal average jobs. Not talking about engineering and IT. Sweden isn’t that bad what everyone claims it to be. I’m not comparing to USA. For 2726€ NET you will afford a decent life in Stockholm as I do.

Welcome to Solstice SMP, we foster a vibrant and inclusive community where players of all backgrounds unite to create unforgettable experiences.

With rich lore embedded in every aspect, immersive role playing adventures await those who seek them. From grand builds to sprawling empires, Solstice SMP offers something for everyone. The medieval theme to our modpack ties it all together! Our tight-knit community values friendship, collaboration, and creativity, making every player feel like part of the family.. with a touch of friendly competition. Engage in epic quests, fierce battles, and enjoy the camaraderie of your faction as you build and explore. Embark on a journey through time and fantasy, where your imagination sets the limits, whether you're a veteran or a newcomer Our server is more than just a place to play Minecraft; it's a cozy, welcoming space where you can truly feel at home!

What you can expect:

• A community entirely driven forward by players!
• Huge building opportunities, including as a community.
• Community driven economy, through a reliable trust-based system.
• No overworld/nether resets.
• Friendly battles/wars.
• Regular community events.
• Active and productive player-base!
• Mature players!

The mods we feature in our modpack

• ORIGINS! We have custom races for each team/nation
• Dungeons now loading 1%
• Create
• Create Steam and Rails
• Farmers Delight
• When Dungeons Arise
• Sophisticated Backpacks AND Storage
• Universal Graves
• Hardcore Revival
• Terralith
• And more!
• Season 1 begins on June 1st (but even beyond that, you are still free to join), so don’t wait to hop on if you want to catch the ride early! We’re incredibly excited to welcome new players and can't wait to see the amazing adventures you'll embark on! What are you waiting for?! Become apart of the community today! Comment your Discord username below, or add me on Discord unrivalry and shoot me a dm, I will get back to you swiftly.

This is my first ever girlfriend. She was very nice at the start, and she still is (when she’s not mad ofc), and she always shows how much she loves me, but when it comes to an argument or she just plain doesn’t feel good, things turn very ugly. My girlfriend grew up in the system, over 30 foster homes in her life, parents dead, they abused alcohol and drugs, she had it very rough. I get that it’s harder for her to regulate emotions since she wasn’t properly taught to do so, but it’s seriously taking its toll here. When she’s mad, I’m scared of her. Once it was our anniversary and she woke up mad for whatever reason, that day she beat the shit out of me, scratched my face and chest, pushed me around, sat on me, threw things, broke my iPad, things like that. When I couldn’t have enough I left our apartment and cried in the stairs, I came back to try and fix things, that’s when I saw my broken iPad (although she bought me a new one it doesn’t change what happened), her wrists were slit and she pissed herself. It always just so happens to be “my fault”. If I don’t massage her right she’ll get angry and start kicking. If I don’t wake her up properly she’s mad, I accidentally broke her glasses (I’ll admit it was on our part, I tried to give it to her and she pulled it out of my hands breaking the frame) and she hit me again. I just know my neighbors fucking despise us because of how loud she’ll yell at me. She was living in an apartment building for people with problems (fully furnished, dirt cheap ass rent, the works. All you needed to do was have a social worker check in on you, work or go to school, and participate in some activities once a month. Ofc she did nothing and decided to leave) Even when I let her stay at my mom’s house cuz she was gonna be homeless, she would still hit me in my own room. When she’s calmer, she always breaks down with the “idk what’s wrong with me, this isn’t me, I still love you, don’t listen to me” shpeel. It’s fucking killing me, but I can’t leave. We just got an apartment, we got no fucking job rn. I’m in college and she still isn’t done with her school. Months and months of trying to help her get a job and she’s still on her ass doing nothing all day and complaining about it. The only reason we’re still alive is my pay, and the fact that she inherited 100k from her dead parents, but it’s going down fast. I don’t rlly have any immediate family and wtf is she gonna do?? Always little hints of “I’m so glad I have you, if you left my life is basically worthless”. I can’t just leave her on the street like that. I’m stuck with her. I’m don’t wanna be anymore but I’m fucking stuck. What do I do here??

Welcome to Solstice SMP, we foster a vibrant and inclusive community where players of all backgrounds unite to create unforgettable experiences. With rich lore embedded in every aspect, immersive role playing adventures await those who seek them. From grand builds to sprawling empires, Solstice SMP offers something for everyone. The medieval theme to our modpack ties it all together! Our tight-knit community values friendship, collaboration, and creativity, making every player feel like part of the family... with a touch of friendly competition. Engage in epic quests, fierce battles, and enjoy the camaraderie of your faction as you build and explore. Embark on a journey through time and fantasy, where your imagination sets the limits, whether you're a veteran or a newcomer Our server is more than just a place to play Minecraft; it's a cosy, welcoming space where you can truly feel at home!
What you can expect:
A community entirely driven forward by players Huge building opportunities, including as a community Community driven economy, through a reliable trust-based system, No overworld/nether resets, Friendly battles Community Events, Active and productive player-base!
The mods we feature:

• ORIGINS! We have custom races for each team/nation
• Dungeons now loading 1%
• Create Create Steam and Rails Farmers Delight
• When Dungeons Arise
• Sophisticated Backpacks AND Storage
• Universal Graves
• Hardcore Revival
• Terralith
• And even more!

Season 1 begins on June 1st (but even beyond that, you are still free to join), so don’t wait to hop on if you want to catch the ride early! We’re incredibly excited to welcome new players and can't wait to see the amazing adventures you'll embark on!
What are you waiting for?! Become apart of the community today! Comment your Discord username below, or add me on Discord unrivalry and shoot me a dm!

Hello all. I currently live in Alaska and love it but the cost of renting up here is insane (spent over $15000 last year in rent for a cabin without indoor plumbing and a rainwater catch system, not including utilities such as electricity bills over $1000 each month in the winter). I have been keeping my head above water for a few years but just found out I'm pregnant and the thought of having a baby here with the insane cost of daycare scares me. I own a small bit of land in my homestate of missouri and am seriously considering moving in August to buy an RV and live on my land in Missouri. My mom is extremely worried about me and the baby being too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer, but im really worried about moving down to another rental apartment or house and throwing thousands down the drain a year. I am a minimum wage employee. Those of you that live in an RV full time, what do you do?
I have lived in an RV there before just in the summers and falls and obviously it was okay without the extreme heat or cold Missouri can get.

I realize there are lot more things to try out then just play only sorceress every season, but that is what I do, until I am done. I always think to myself that if I like it, then I will try out other classes more than just what I had experienced during the beta, but I never get to that point.
In short,
positives :

• I have noticed much better performance which is the biggest plus for me
• Codex - great rework, although I am still not a fan of the system itself, because legendary items are really not legendary as they do not represent anything unique or special about them
• Masterworking - much better version of previous 5/5 blacksmith upgrades
• Helltides - better collection radius of cinders, mob density, more random spawns, threat level system
• Town adjustements - movement, vendor placement (I never minded this, but obvioulsy now it saves time)
• Tormented bosses - didn't get to them, but I like the idea of something player can work towards
• Tempering - I like this addition very much, but it brings problems with it. Most interesting are "secondary" effects such as chance to freeze, immobilize etc. which can diverse your build and allow it to function in a different way
• Monster highlights - undermines a little the art direction the game took, but it helps
• Visual clarity - not getting my screen covered with Necromancer's mud anymore is a great change
• NMD - affix changes

negatives : (not necessarily related to season)

• Tempering -
  • presented to us as a feature where we make choice to further customize our build and make it specialized in some way. That is the impression I got from campfire chat, but not from what I have seen in the game. In the game I see one option which is the best, second best and that's about it.
  • giving players tools to feel more powerful is understandable, but tempering effects together with masterwork are so strong that it makes most unique items (for sorc at least) unusable.
• Rare and lower quality items - maybe I am just missing something but I didn't find any use for them
• Chat -
  • I want to talk to people, ask questions or just read what people say
  • Finding a group for Duriel is almost impossible. Not finding a group and doing the boss solo makes no sense when I get 1/4 the reward from it. I will rather let those materials sink into the abyss of Eternal Realm than use them inefficiently
• Leveling -
  • it is so fast now that it definitely doesn't feel like a journey or something meaningful. I am getting D3 vibes and considering an upcoming DLC I don't see it changing the other direction. It's only going to speed up even more
  • on the brightside, apart from collecting a few aspects, there is nothing I can get during the leveling so better just get through it quickly
• Seasonal rewards - I have used one item (aspect) from all the rewards so I feel like the intention of giving us tools for specific builds is missing its mark. Even if I got useful item, it would be replaced during the leveling so fast that I don't see the point. And later on at a higher level, you don't need it, because you have everything and uniques are weaker than legendaries.
• Skill tree - is in my eyes the weakest point of Diablo. I could talk about each individual skill point and say what's wrong with it, but I want to keep it simple. One good example are final sorceress talents. They got so specific that there is no choice to be made. And if I play burning then I get 20[x] burning damage +2[x] per unique source of burning. So am I supposed stop for a second to summon hydra which then might hit one of many targets to which it adds 2[x] dmg? Or am I supposed to use firebolt as an enchantment slot? Or does it benefit just from multiple firewalls. I don't understand
• Paragon board & glyphs -
  • Now that tempering effects are so strong, glyphs along with paragon points / nodes got that much weaker. It almost doesn't matter what you pick there as long as you use 6 glyphs with active bonus effects. Interesting is that with rare glyphs being much weaker, magic glyph Slayer (damage to elites) can be used now
• Open world & Level Scaling - This might be one of those moments where you would say "you think you do, but you don't". But I would rather have places with locked difficulty.

Bugs -

• Force move doesn't work while channeling incinerate. I have to let go of both keys to press force move key again for it to work. Imo Force move should override everything and if there are any settings for it in game options, it should be set by default
• Flame shield enchantement should activate only upon recieving fatal damage but I think it activates everytime I lose 100% life in total. I am basing this on my feeling and observation. I did not care enough to test it

Final thoughts -

• Itemization - fundamentals are the same as they were
• When I play this game and there is a problem I want to overcome it by looking for a solution, but there usually is very little room for it. It feels like all is given with not much choice to be had. I don't use guides because I never needed to. I am not a youtube guide gamer. I am the gamer. My math skills are good and I want to use my brain and think about what is or isn't possible. To have something to think about when I am not playing. That is when I have fun.
• The paragraph above (planning and figuring stuff out) along with a good execution creates a challenge for me. Not infinite Pit /GR levels. That is grind
• I realize that what I want varies from what majority wants, but that is ok.

Still, S4 is overall a very good change. Best so far

I have a dilemma. I'm 24 in July and my parents think I'm graduating uni at the end of the year... I'm definitely not (I officially quit uni sept 2023 after doing it on and off for 5 years). Up until now I was super confident I could get away with it because coming from a Chinese/vietnamese immigrant household, I'm distant enough with my parents that they couldn't possibly catch onto my lie.
My dilemma starts because my mum is extremely anal about me renting with my partner and bestfriend in a shared apartment. She doesn't like the fact that I'm "paying off someone else's mortgage". SO, she's actually forcing me into the housing market... literally it feels like gun to my head. She keeps going on about how the market has dropped by 14% and nows the time to buy blah blah. Now, my mum plans on helping me buy an apartment and she'll contribute approximately 60% towards the down payment along with whatever savings I've had since I was 16. I'm super grateful that I'm even able to think about owning my own property with the help of my family but it's alot of pressure and to be honest, and I'm happy renting in this stage of my life and don't actually want all the baggage that comes with owning your own home.
Continuing, I don't make a lot of money currently. I'm working two jobs, one of which is for my mum at a nail salon (I get paid in cash). So imagine this. My borrowing power from the bank isn't alot. So here comes my mum swooping in to save the day. She knows a guy who works at a bank who can play the system and give me more borrowing power. Super dodge I know. Vietnamese people in the same community always doing the most. So along with the money she's giving me for the down payment and the dodgy bank guy, she also has a broker who is helping her with all of this. If you can't tell, he's probably also dodgy. Now, when I say dodgy, they all get something in return for helping each other and if you couldn't guess, it's obviously getting paid extra on the side to help. So dodgy also means reliable.
I'm absolutely shitting myself because the broker and bank guy need to look at my history of spending and any loans I have ie. my hecs debt. I'm scared that they're going to be like, "you're daughter hasn't been at uni since 2023". And they're probably going to see that the debt amount and my years of schooling don't add up because I should have racked up more debt for an almost finished degree. That's pretty much it and i don't really know what to do now or if I'm over thinking. I just need someone on here to reassure me that this is all in my head and I have nothing to worry about.
Thank you for reading.

I've just completed my re-read of all of Stormlight in anticipation of the WaT coming out later this year. To say I'm excited for the new book would be an understatement.
Throughout my time reading Sanderson's works (Stormlight first then Mistborn Era 1+2, then everything else), I had largely considered Rhythm to be the weakest of the Stormlight series, with rating being something like Oathbringer as a 9.5, WoK a 9, Words of Radiance 8, Rhythm 7.
On my re-read however my view of Rhythm improved markedly and several of the issues I had originally seemed to fall away:

1. Kaladin repeats his storyline from the first two books.
2. Navani's storyline with Raboniel felt like lore dumping instead of the slow trickle discovery that worked so well in the Way of Kings
3. Venli's flashbacks are so boring that Eshonai actually just takes them over.
4. Szeth straight up murdering Taravangian is just written off by Dalinar, etc.
5. Kal's big 4th ideal moment is so convoluted they need to bring in time-slowing, speaking across continents and is separated by so many other moments that it loses all tension of Kal falling after Lirin

1st: The first was my biggest complaint. I had always thought Kaladin just replays his arc from the first novels, but on re-read, he is actually learning to grow beyond his old coping mechanism: his men and Bridge 4. Needing to fight and protect them was the identity he created to deal with being enslaved and watching of his squad being murdered by Amaram, but he's growing past that now.
2nd: On re-read I really really appreciated the Navani-Raboniel relationship more and feel like I glossed over this too fast in my first read. Raboniel ends up being a great character and a very interesting looking at someone utterly desperate to escape the prison of a life she is placed in by this eternal war. Navani's appreciation for her near the end after ending her daughter's life and her scenes with Moash were after all.
3rd: Conversely, this one seemed to be an even stronger take than before. Venli's chapters really just felt insufferable to me. I realize her story is about the awful things that happen with a literal child being forced to be responsible for the survival of her people, but her storyline just doesn't feel believable, especially the scenes in Kholinar where she just does everyone's bidding while igniting a war that effectively dooms multiple nations.
4th: This one....really doesn't make sense to me. I hope this is something addressed in WaT, but Szeth walked into Taravangian's room and just murdered a prisoner. We the reader know that Taravangian escaped and took up the shard of Odium, so never actually died....but Dalinar in the Radiants legitimately thing he murdered an elderly prisoner in cold blood with no authorization or process of justice. Dalinar immediately sending him on a mission to Shinovar with Kaladin seems insane given these circumstances.
5th: On re-read I liked this scene much more than I did in my original read, but I feel like it was just overdone so much. Dalinar's forgiveness scene in Oathbringer I think was the perfect template for Kaladin falling through the storm. It would have been better for him as a character to overcome his unwillingness to say the Fourth Ideal on his own, but even if he needed Dalinar to help him, then it would have been better to keep his entire falling plot within a single chapter instead of chopping it up so much. The constant jump cuts really ruined the tension of his fall and his return.
That was really just a stream of consciousness on the books as I finished them, but a few theories I have:

1. Kaladin is re-walking the same paths that Tanavast walked long in the past. In WoKs Kaladin almost ends his life at the HONOR chasm, presumably where Honor was splintered. The Stormfather later tells Dalinar that Tanavast loved humans and died protecting them. My guess would be Tanavast made a promise to protect both the Singers and the Humans, and was torn apart trying to honor both of those promises much like Kal was during WoR trying to protect Elhokar while also agreeing to help his murderers. More on this right below.
2. In Mistborn era 1, we are continually led to believe Vin will be the Hero of Ages, but in the end Sazed takes up both shards to form Harmony. Scadrial at the time was plagued by so many environmental disasters that the person to take up the power of the shards needed to be wise enough to use the power to remake the world itself: a task that Vin would have been incredibly ill suited for. I think a story conclusion is very similar in Stormlight, the true problem Roshar faces is the cycle of eternal war that destroys the planet and its people of both Singer and human descent. The person to eventually take up Honor / Odium / Cultivation etc. must be someone who can legitimately bring an end to the war and find a way to peacefully coexist. Kal so far seems like the best example, Dalinar is intent on leading the Radiants as a military force to oppose Odium directly, while Kal has had significant time with the Singers and humans of every kind, and he sees them as no different from each other.
3. Odium's offer to Dalinar near the end of the book, where the contest of champions is hashed out seems to have some spoilers: Odium: "Though I will be able to focus my attentions on sending agents to the rest of the Cosmere, using what I've conquered here as enough for now." as an addendum to the terms Dalinar demands if he wins. In Mistborn Era 2 we see two groups that are agents of Odium (the Skybreakers and the Iriali) operating on Scadrial. This seems like it indicates that Dalianr will be victorious and Odium will focus on sending agents to other planets and systems.
4. Dalinar: "I intend to be my own champion, I'll have died if you win." Odium "Yesssss, you will have. And you will give your soul to me. You Dalinar will join the Fused. You will become immortal." Human Fused are confirmed then. Who do we know wanted to become immortal and was generally a huge asshole who caused most of these problems? Gavilar. My pet theory is Gavilar will be Odium's champion when it is revealed that Odium made him a Fused after Szeth killed him. Gavilar being Odium's champion is a great explanation for why we start every single book looking at Gavilar through a different perspective in the prologues and will be a great emotional moment for Dalinar to face off against Gavilar one final time. No one else seems like it will have the same emotional weight as Gavilar, bringing a random Fused we've never heard of to get stomped by Dalinar would be anti-climatic while Gavilar could be an excellent twist for the series with lots of pontential foresadowing left to us in the prologues.

Monster wall of text, but just tons of thoughts as I just finished the novels again yesterday.

I sat in our dark bedroom, the computer screen glaring with a harsh, white light. A banner flashed before my eyes: “Seek wisdom by understanding yourself.”
“Chloe, check this out,” I called over my shoulder to my girlfriend playing The Sims on her laptop.
She glanced up, her brow furrowing in confusion before giving me a bemused look. “What the hell are you looking at?” she asked.
“It’s some cult,” I replied, unable to hide my fascination. “I fell down a rabbit hole and found this local place downtown. It's a derivative of Aleister Crowley and Golden Dawn bullshit.” I pointed to the Google Street View image of a dilapidated storefront in an ethnic shopping center.
She smirked, a hint of amusement in her eyes. “I never pegged you as the religious type.”
“Check this out,” I continued, clicking through the site. “They have some photos.”
We spent some time going through the albums celebrating various solstices. Most were taken in an odd room with black and white checkered floors, adorned with Egyptian pseudo-artifacts, bathed in the glow of red and purple lights that transformed the scene into a surreal dreamscape.
The people certainly had an alternative vibe. Tattoos were plentiful, but other than that they looked like they came from all different walks of life. Many of them looked like they had their fair share of bullying in high school - no shortage of that. But most of them looked relatively normal aside from the occasional piercing.
One photograph in particular caught my eye. A woman, sitting in a bright red room, sat on an altar, holding a staff in her right hand, wearing nothing. A man was kneeled before her, his arms tied behind him, rope anchored to the ceiling. They were sliding a knife down his back, a small trickle of blood dripping to the floor.
“Damn,” Chloe started. “She’s butt-ass naked.”
“You wanna go?” I asked. “They’re having a get together tonight.”
“You know what, fuck it. Why not? It’s not like we’re doing anything.” she replied.
“Good,” I smiled, standing up. “Because I already ordered an Uber.”
She sighed before opening a drawer and pulling out a small pipe. “I’ll go, but i'm not going sober.”
It was a cold, shitty Seattle winter night. We got dropped off in the parking lot and spent a few minutes looking for the storefront. We finally found it next to a dog groomer and Pho restaurant with some pun for the name I can’t seem to remember.
We entered the shop, which consisted of two narrow isles separated by wood shelves barely big enough for me to fit down. We spent some time looking at the various items, my attention diverting to a vial of elk blood. I remember wondering if they were even allowed to sell this without some type of medical certification they definitely did not have while Chloe shuffled through a bowl of mix and match crystals.
“Can I help you?” I heard a woman say from the back as she emerged from a beaded curtain. She was a short, overweight woman wearing what I could only describe as a sports bra and hula skirt.
“Hi, uh,” I stuttered. “I’m George and this is Chloe. We’re here for the… winter solstice celebration?”
“Oh, goodie! Newcomers!” she said with an out of place, overjoyed expression as she clapped her hands. Chloe and I laughed nervously.
“The door is in the back, but you can come through here just this time.” she said with a smile, arm holding the beaded curtain open.
We walked through a dark hallway, somehow more cramped than the shop, into a rather large room. A gaggle of people were huddled in the back, which Chloe and I quietly shuffled into.
A bearded man paraded around the room, white robes and red headdress cascading into a cloak, knuckles adorned with several large rings gripping a spear, held vertically in front of him. Behind him, another bald man, white robes and yellow cloak, followed behind, white sleeves crossed over his chest.
I glanced at Chloe’s bloodshot eyes, THC clearly flowing through her system. I gave her a knowing look, as if to say Having fun yet? She returned a slow smile.
Without warning, the entire crowd clapped their hands together over their heads as a woman in blue robes walked past, waving a censure leaking white smoke. We awkwardly followed to match the group.
The blue curtains on the back wall opened to reveal an older Asian woman sitting perched on the altar I saw in the photos, again, completely naked. And before you ask, no. She wasn’t attractive. It’s never the ones you hope it is. The red robed man kneeled down and softly kissed her knees.
I glanced back at Chloe. Her smile was so big I was afraid she was going to laugh at any moment. I pinched her on the side and whispered into her ear “Do. Not. Fucking. Laugh”. Honestly, I think I just made it worse. Her face turned beet red as she bit her cheeks.
The ritual went on for another half hour or so. They must’ve said “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law” at least a dozen times.
We were getting kind of bored and were ready to leave before the woman in the blue robes wandered in with a caged chicken.
"No fucking way" I thought. Surely enough, the man in the yellow robes held the chicken high in the air, before slitting its throat and draining blood into a large metallic basin. The man winced as the chicken flailed violently, scratching up his arms, before eventually succumbing to blood loss.
One by one, each person there stood between a white and black pillar saying love and intention in Greek before eating a piece of something, taking a sip of blood, and saying “There is no part of me that is not of the Gods.”
Chloe and I hung back, and politely declined when our turn came. Once all was said and done, they busted out some alcohol and started celebrating. We slipped out into the street, bursting out laughing. After we finally collected ourselves, Chloe whipped out her phone and showed me she took dozens of pictures of the ritual.
We laughed our asses off the entire way home. First thing she did was open her laptop and post the pictures on Twitter, tagging the lodge with the caption “me and the boys chilling right now”.
We returned to the usual rhythm of our lives. I went to work, conducting meetings and answering emails, while Chloe went back to her classes. A few days later, Chloe checked her Twitter and saw that she had gained a few thousand likes. The whole ordeal became a running joke between us.
I would eat fruit snacks and sip on my soda, saying, “There is no part of me that is not of the Gods”. A few weeks later, we had mostly forgotten about it, except for the occasional recounting as a funny story to regale our friends.
One night while Chloe and I were spending our evening the usual way with me on the computer and her on her laptop, I felt her furiously tap my shoulder while staring wide eyed at the window. Confused, I took my headphones off and walked over, pulling back the curtain to reveal 6 people standing in black robes and animal masks watching us from the hillside.
“What do we do, should I call the cops?” Chloe whimpered.
“No, they’re just a bunch of larpers. They’re not going to do shit! Just trying to scare us.” I said angrily as I closed the blinds and hopped back on my computer.
Chloe sat there for a few minutes in a tense pose with her arms folded together. She went to double check the door was locked, before we continued our night as normal.
The next day I got a text from Chloe frantically telling me to come home immediately. When I arrived, there was a squad car parked outside our building. I ran up the stairs to see two officers standing by Chloe in the doorway. I nearly shouted asking what was going on. They lead me inside to show me a massive black symbol drawn on our wall, a six-pointed star made from one continuous line.
We finished our police report and they told us they’d get back to us if they find anything. I’ve been robbed often enough to know that means they’re going to forget about this before they’ve even gotten back into their squad car.
Furious, I stormed over to the shop and banged on the window. The hula skirt woman came over and cracked the door open just enough for me to see one of her eyes.
“What the fuck do you think your little posse is doing!?” I screamed at her. “Breaking into my apartment like that!? You all are fucking psychos!”
“I haven’t any idea what you’re talking about”, she said with a sly grin.
“Oh, yeah?” I said pointing a finger in her face. “If anyone tries any shit like that again I’m going to burn your goddamn shop to the ground, do you hear me?”
She looked at the ground, clearly nervous. I have never blown up at a stranger like this but I could tell my threats were working.
After a moment of silence I stormed off again, back towards home.
“You meddle with forces you do not understand!” she called out from the shop.
I picked up a glass bottle from the sidewalk and chucked it, smashing against her shop window, forcing her to close the door and disappear into the shadows. I’m not particularly proud of how I behaved in this moment, but unless you’ve had someone break into your home and draw shit on the walls, hold on to your judgment.
The next few days passed without so much as a peep from them. Chloe and I began to relax, convincing ourselves that the cult had been scared off. Life seemed to be returning to normal, and the unsettling incident became just another story.

-Disclaimer: This is an examination of Dottore being a complex morally grey villain that wasn't just born 100% evil, it's NOT a case that he's a good boy.-
I'll assume Zandik is Dottore since it's very likely (plus, someone tried to name their Wanderer that but it didn't work.)
Let's start with the oldest piece of lore:
-- Doctor's Pinion reveals a tragic past with unknown reasons for persecution --
When Pierro first tried to recruit Zandik / Dottore, he responded:

"Will you treat me like the Akademiya did? Will you call me a monster, a madman?" "Or will you treat me as my hometown did, and chase me away with pitchforks and clubs...?"

Some people assume the persecution was because of his experiments but it's important to note that the fact is we don't know what happened so there's a chance it wasn't something evil. That he could be chased away by "pitchforks and clubs" indicates he was weak at that point and couldn't do anything to stop it.
He also expresses a desire to merge humans with machines.

"With or without a Vision, and irrespective of their physique or combat skills,"Enhanced humans" would surely display strength far beyond the average."

This shows a desire to give power to the weak (likely including himself), even if they lack visions. Which isn't inherently a bad thing, it's just against the Akademiya's teachings. This applies even to Scaramouche, whose power had been locked by Raiden and he unlocked it.
-- Mysterious moral convictions --
Although a lot of the fandom accuses him of having no ethics or morals at all, there are several hints that this isn't the case.
He got mad at Scaramouche when told: "you only care about your crazy experiments" and told Nahida he has "his own convictions, we just don't share them" which were both conveniently not further explained. There is also the Jeht quest incident but i'll discuss it later on.
-- Eleazar hospital notes --
To briefly summarize the notes, he cured a patient using another dead patient's remains. His treatment was harsh but successful. These notes read like a Dr. House script, Dottore not giving a crap about the patient's religious beliefs included.
Abbas had a terrible ending because he had developed insanity and ran away. Zandik/ Dottore left a note warning not to let him go but it seems the staff didn't listen.
These notes align with how plague doctors were misunderstood and feared in real life. This motif was incorporated into his video game iteration, replacing the joker / clown persona.
Some people interpreted these notes as "Dottore murders and mutilates people that are alive for experiments" but there's no indication of that.
-- Aranara experiment notes --
These are the worst by far. It's unclear if the "subjects" were people with Eleazar or healthy people exposed to the withering for tests. It has to be pointed out that it seems the actions were done by his subordinates since it's likely Dottore reprimanding them at the end:

"This is a waste of resources. It is advisable to watch over the subjects' mental state in the next experiment and avoid exposing them to extreme environments... Lab Lead on duty: ████"

Yes, this sounds bad but it's proof he isn't a sadist that enjoys watching pain.
It also means he is higher in a moral standpoint than characters like Jack Horner. These type of characters don't care or enjoy deaths with the pretext of "we can always get more lackeys."
-- During the Jeht quest --
Froderock (a subordinate of Dottore) wants to capture an eremite. It is stated he is acting on his own and that Dottore gave an order not to kidnap eremites.
A note by another Fatui member states that Froderock is going to get killed for going against the order. We can theorize that the Harbinger himself would kill him. There's also a line about "following military regulations" which means his subordinates operate under a code and can't just kidnap people for experiments for the lols.

Fatui Negotiator: Professor Froderock was looking for live specimens in the desert — he always defied The Doctor's orders... That's just pure jealousy, if you ask me
...I urge you to consider, Captain Zoya, that if we are able to complete this research work in the desert, perhaps our entire expeditionary force may receive the favor of our great Harbinger... (This line has been crossed out using a red pen, and a line in red has been added: "How about you consider military regulations? Or perhaps you would like to consider how long you have left to live?")

A similar thing happened with Arlecchino in the Fortune Slip quest in Inazuma. Subordinates of her were acting on their own by following the previous Knave's teachings to make some orphans for the House.
-- *Time of Insight Artifact * --
It mentions a "mad scientist expelled by the akademia" and the text under it seems to be Dottore speaking.
The last part says:

"Those sellswords (Eremites) once did much for me. I trust they will not disappoint this time, either."

Combining Jeht quest with this makes it seem that eremites helped Dottore in some way and he is fond enough of them to slaughter a subordinate that brings them harm.
The following text seems to be Dottore's reason to want to capture Aranaras:

"The dream had to be captured — along with the inhabitants of the forest who could control dreams, To remind that friend once again of one's own form and the memories that were shared.
If the organ that governs memory has taken too much damage and cannot be healed, Then bring another old friend and dwell in dreams of the past together, Play in a small tree house, and explore the limitless depth of the jungle. Yes, that would be nice as well. For in dreams, everyone has a chance to start over."

I couldn't find more info about this "friend". It seems to be someone who suffered the effects of erosion or death, or an aranara that lost their memory.
-- Al Haitham's SQ --
Alhaitham: (To Siraj / the villain, after praising his intelligence)

"You would never let a test subject escape. Mistakes like that are beneath you, and you also won't leave any mistake without a resolution."

This is relevant because we know Dottore is canonically smarter than Siraj yet he didn't hunt down Collei (Barnabas is the one that traumatized and wanted to kill her), Abbas or Scara. It's a known thing there's a Fatui code that traitors and deserters are executed to avoid spilling secrets. Dottore leaves even Scara alone, you may argue that he was lazy but suspiciously Childe, who during Labyrinth Warriors was chasing Scara, soon appeared in Inazuma in a photo taking event, leaving for Snezhnaya, after Scara lost his gnosis.
It was never explained why Childe was chasing him to take away the Gnosis yet suddenly Scara appeared with Dottore without Childe. This is suspicious because Childe loves to fight, to the point he wanted to fight Arle while recovering on her SQ. He didn't even show up to finish off Scaramouche at the end.
To play Devil's advocate, it could also be Scaramouche is a part of some unknown plan too and nothing to do with mercy.
-- Dottore's speech to Niwa --
Taking into account Nahida's story that says: "the monster found solace in the kitten", the black bird referring to himself as "a monstrosity yet they are too foolish to see it" and Dottore's lines to Pierro:

"Will you call me a monster, a madman?"

Dottore sees himself as an inhuman monster. It puts into question if the following line wasn't just about Scaramouche and is actually a metaphor of Dottore speaking about his past:

"Escher: Even without you, that pure, innocent puppet would only end up being used by someone else instead. What other reason would a human have for befriending one who is not of our kind?"

Although Dottore refers to himself as "human", the two lines I quoted previously contradict this. Mentally he sees himself as not human (to the point of finding solace in a living puppet), even though his words say otherwise. There is also a chance this Dottore was no longer human at all, the Nahida story shows the monster bird had tiny floating birds around, even though he hadn't studied Scaramouche to create the segments.
There is also a stark contrast between Dottore joining the Fatui expresing concern over been rejected again yet he is embracing his monster persona in the Niwa scene.

"Escher: Think of me as a monster or a demon, if you wish... "

It could be a sign of a person with trauma who steered into an evil path. Kept getting called a monster until he accepted it.
There could be many reasons for the change, besides being used, -incoming pure speculation- he could have experimented on himself to have less emotions or taking this quote into account: "everyone has a chance to start over in dreams" he believes he can commit atrocities and it won't matter because he plans to do a reset somehow.

" The Doctor: Jester, I have completed the task you gave me. Creating a gap and infiltrating Inazuma's inner workings... Heh, what fun it was. The Doctor: I'd like to introduce a puppet to you. If he proves useful, let's make him our newest comrade. And if not... let's turn him to dust."

The bold part is more clues of either future Scara related scheming or Dottore's words are an act, mercy was shown when he became useless. It also seems that Pierro stirred him into a darker path.
I wouldn't say it's confirmation that Pierro is pure evil because we barely know anything about him, there's a chance it was for some greater good since that's a trend with the Harbingers.
-- Possible Sohreh murder --
At first glance, it seems way too obvious that Zandik did it, it's like watching a murder mystery movie and the first suspect is a red herring.
Since people frequently incorrectly state: "Dottore murdered a girl while they were having a picnic" like a fact, I'm going to make a deep dive into these notes:
First there is no clear motive for him killing Sohreh. (Niwa had a purpose.)

attack of Rishboland Tigers. In need of first aid..."

The bold part implies she was still alive while Zandik was dealing with the Ruin Guard. The broken bone didn't happen during the picnic while he was alone with her. She was declared dead and buried after the attack, she could have been killed during it while everyone was distracted.
-Does the Akademiya think that Zandik is responsible?-
There is a message board that says he was investigated over her murder.
The lack of motive combined with Zandik only receiving negative consequences from saving the team makes me think he was framed and acted on impulse / emotion when saving them or he turned it on to spook the tigers and it accidentally killed her.
Why? He could have just ran away and let everyone die to not reveal he was hiding ruin guard knowledge. Which he expressed on the notes that he didn't want the rest to know:

"I am going to take them (Ruin guards) apart, and record the size and shape one by one...
...But first of all, this secret must not be revealed to the other team members..."
...Thank goodness, Zandik reacted quickly. Otherwise, the whole team would be in serious trouble..."

-Some people argue that "running away and letting everyone die would have been too suspicious so he saved them."
It's more likely he was just a weak regular human at that point in his life so it wouldn't have been too suspicious to run away / he actually risked his life to shut it down.-
The 2 burned notes both state: "Someone seems to have burnt the contents in a hurry" it could have been the person trying to frame him. One of them is a note about the Ruin Guards and has Zandik's signature, they may have wanted to steal credit of his research.
-Regarding who framed Dottore, u/Sandflow_23 commented an excellent theory
lt seems Zandik didn't care much about Sohreh's death since he proceeded to ask the team to take back the Ruinguard while she was bleeding but the Eleazar hospital notes come after this incident. Was this his first instance of curing people?
Did being unable to save someone influence him in some way? It may just be coincidental but it's worth taking note. I'm trying to look at all possibilities.
People usually see Sohreh's note as "she learned Dottore's secret so he murdered her" But something I haven't seen discussed is how there is also a chance he trusted her and decided to open up to people more. Previously he said studying Ruinguards could get him kicked out but after the following note by Sohreh, he decided to try to convince his team to take back the ruin guard:

"...Zandik was attracted by the ancient machines left behind by some civilization here...
We had a great time and decided to go on a picnic tonight..."

Finally, to play Devil's Advocate: it seems he also had another secret mission that was never explained.

"...It's a shame that documents regarding its (the giant golem's) energy supply systems have been lost, and I have far too important a mission to accomplish to afford to start from scratch. If not..."

He could have killed her because she learned that secret but it's still weird that he'd go and choke her with people focused on him speaking about Ruinguard studies.
-- Arle SQ --
Lyney said "he proposed the direction of the research " for the bottled flames. That he wants to give people "a chance to start over" was also hinted in Time of Insight artifact. I won't be surprised if it turns out most of the injured kids he took from Crucabena are actually fine. The Eremites, which he didn't want his subordinates to kidnap, were also healthy, so this is another instance of him seeking to work with weak people to give them power. I'm NOT denying there's a chance he wants to use it for some other plan like burning the tree like other Redditors have proposed
Finally, there remains the question of which Dottore would be playable. I predict the original or Omega. (Knocking off the angelic new segment theory)
We don't know if the original is alive, since Raiden destroyed her physical body (and the segments were based on Scaramouche) he could be dead BUT giving a kill switch to Omega may have a deeper meaning. Like those fragments of his mind from dead segments will re-materialize in an empty segment or object his soul is bound to or go back to Omega and change his personality, the former sounds like FullMetal Alchemist but a Remuria quest confirms this is a thing in Genshin.
Finally done, sorry if this is ridiculously long but I wanted to provide quotes to sustain the arguments, especially since some people hate him so much based on mostly misinformation.

Before I begin, I'd like to ask for any feedback concerning inconsistencies within the system, or just general questions about the system. Never hesitate to ask a question if this post gets your gears turning.
=======================================================================
"We are molded by the tears of the sun, the sorrow of the dawn. Thus, we must set those tears within aflame, we must burn away our dread, until it is ash."
Agnephagy refers to the manipulation of Divine Oil, and the flames that come from igniting said Divine Oil. Agnephagy is separated into two types, Internal and External.
Internal Agnephagy
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inner Agnephagy stems from the ignition of one's own Divine Oil, said to be the Sun's tears itself. All individuals with an ego develop the capability of manifesting a Fountain. Through use of one's Fountain, Agnephagy users are able to ignite oil vapors that emanate from their extremities through the process called inner evaporation.
Inner evaporation refers to the process of heating up the first outer ring of the Fountain, causing the divine oil to become oil vapors, which is then carried by the arteries and can be discharged through extremities such as one's own pores.
Because these oil vapors are born from one's own Fountain, it's generally easy to ignite them. Once ignited, these oil vapors become flames, in which they can be manipulated. However, similar to blood-types, these flames do hold some differences, mainly color. While the color itself does not denote any advantages or disadvantages, the oil-type does denote the speed, intensity, and pervasiveness of the flames generated.
It's important to note that depending on the oil-type, certain colors will be more common than others.
Oil-types are discovered through a process called Scrying.
External Agnephagy
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As all things are molded by the sun's tears, External Agnephagy involves manipulating and drawing Divine Oil from external sources, such as combustible objects like gunpowder or coal. Due to the physics surrounding Divine Oil, it can only manifest as such, thus absorbing oil vapors in the air is preferential to tapping into one's own Fountain.
Divine Oil found in the natural environment is uniquely type-less, meaning that it's compatible with anyone with the capability to make use of their Fountain. This type-less Divine Oil is called Seminal Oil, and once absorbed, undergoes a process that converts it to the Fountain's main oil-type.

Now you may be wondering, what sets this apart? Essentially, due to cultural, religious, and environmental reasons, different groups of people have developed different schools of Agnephagy. For example, The Church developed the ability to influence and artificially induce the pyrocumulonimbus phenomena and have their Agnephagy users act as conduits for the lightning that comes down.
This magic system in general will have a much more folklore-ish sense to it, as the schools can vary widely between region to region and each have a surrealist tone to them. I wanted to keep it generally soft, as making hard and faster rules for a single element system would be pushing yourself into a corner that most people can work out of.
Any feedback would be appreciated, thank you for reading :)

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So I've been radio silent, but I'm kinda back now. This is the beginning of my rewrite for this fic. Unfortunately I'm gonna take a bit to make the next part, this is due to me being part of the ficnnap. So future parts are gonna take a while to get going, hopefully I'll be functional enough to sit down during the summer and write a bunch.
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the fic. Any feedback would be nice :).
<<================================>>
Welcome to the XCOM archives, what would you like to search for?
Search: Psionic Imprints, Class Administrator - level 9
Please input access code: ******************
Access Granted... What Psionic Imprint would you like to view?
Search: Board Member Elias Meier, Director
Beginning playback of Imprint... standby...
`Psionic Imprint Subject: Elias Meier, Exhausted Director'
Date [standardized Human time]: June 27th, 2136
Humanity learned it was not alone in the year of 2015, when it was viscously attacked by a hostile alien force intent on colonizing Earth. But humanity fought back, with the formation of XCOM. For the first time in the entirety of human history, Humanity stood as one. And we won, barely and not without consequences. Countries fell apart, or were briefly colonized; or in the case of Advent, for a couple decades.
Of course there was also the aliens that were invading. After some time it was found out that all of them of them were enslaved, controlled and distorted by the Elders.
Or Ethereals if you wanted to be pedantic. God I have had enough of pedantic people.
After a few tense decades, the aliens had slowly filtered into human society. The Vipers forming Sisterhoods, Mutons forming tribes, Sectoids getting into everything, Andromedas forming a haven for their people, and Chryssalids... once thought to be a dying race, surging back to life in 2077 and becoming a horrendous problem for everybody. There were a couple others but I couldn't be bothered to remember them.
Ding a little ring tone sounded, reminding me of my wretched job. I groaned, and waved my hand. I heard a dial up sound, as the system connected. Finally it connected, and one of the voices I dreaded hearing started speaking.
A monotone male voice, the voice of an emotionless thing created by XCOM to make death. "Hello Meier. I have a report, Wraith unit sent to System Gliese-832c has returned. A sapient alien civilization has been discovered. It is not what we expected though."
Wonderful, great even... God this is gonna be a whole thing to handle.
"Explain Odin, I will have to schedule a meeting about this new discovery."
"I have sent a data packet to your computer, which you would see if you looked at it sir"
How the fuck has he developed sarcasm? Has he always had this quirk or did he create it just to personally fuck with me?
I sighed and spun my chair around, away from the great view of my office window. The office I was trapped in was decently sized, the large desk with two 57 inch monitors on each side. The room was 10 feet tall, and 20 feet from door to window, and 12 feet wide. There was a seating area with two couches and a coffee table. A large drink cabinet flanked by two busts on pedestals, and a foyer sitting on the opposite wall flanked by tall standing plant pots with ferns. The entrance was double doors that looked like wood, but were actually plasma and explosive shielded metal doors.
On the left monitor was a display of the planet baring alien life. It was tidally locked, and was inhabited by... sheep, literal fucking sheep. Course they had paws instead of hooves and had no nose but still, literally just fucking sheep. They were apparently called Venlil. They had a decent population, and were part of a larger federation with an unknown number of species. They were at war with 7-8 feet tall nazi space crocodiles, and were deathly afraid of anything "predatory".
I glanced at a small box that appeared, it was an addendum by Dr. Valhen regarding the Venlil. It was a hypothesis regarding their physiology.
Experimental Codex Simulations put them at a 21.53% chance of surviving to a century with current physiology. Likely hood of genetic modification to weaken species at 71.89%.
The addendum pointed out the knocked knees, and the absence of a nose being the most likely areas of modification. I quirked an eyebrow up. I know Dr. Valhen had experience tearing open modified aliens and modifying people at an extreme levels. But still this had to be stretch.
"I have done my own calculations sir, and I have come to the same conclusion as Dr. Valhen sir." I stared pointedly at my monitors before sighing and rubbing my face.
Hmmm whom do I trust more? The mad scientist that walks around in several different metal bodies, or the psychopathic Codex who was created to be unnaturally good at killing. Hmmm good question... how about neither and say fuck it.
"OK Odin. Would you kindly contact the rest of the board and notify them about an emergency meeting?"
"Of course sir, I have already notified them about the scheduled meeting."
... Fucking prick. Oh well if I'm going to be sitting through a meeting I'm going to atleast drink some of the piss flavored water called vodka to pretend I can get drunk.
I stood up and walked over to the drink cabinet. A small round drone that was more of a floating camera came out of the ceiling and followed me. I opened up the cabinet and selected the highest proof alcohol I could find. After popping the bottle and grabbing a shot glass I walked back to my desk. Sitting down as an encrypted channel lit up my right side screen. I pressed on it and poured a shot, the small camera drone hovering in front of me just beyond the desk. The right monitor lit up as 6 people connected.
The Heads of Military, Research and Development, and Diplomatic Affairs were all in the meeting. Dr. Tygan and Dr. Shen heads of R&D, General Zhao and General Kelly heads of Military, Ms. Clark and Mr. Freeman heads of Diplomatic Affairs.
Dr. Tygan didn't look a day over 30, even though he was older than myself. His white coat looked immaculate, and his glasses clean. But his posture and eyes spoke of a man who was debating falling over asleep or shooting someone in the face. Dr. Shen had safety gear on, his clothing stained by machine fluids and sweat. He looked more alive in his 40's than Tygan, and behind him was a scene of a bustling space yard. General Zhao was prim and proper, his posture rigid and his face completely neutral. General Kelly looked to be in a ships captain quarters, his General uniform replaced with a mandatory protective jumpsuit. He looked like he was just woken up, a steaming cup of coffee sitting before him. Ms. Clark and Mr. Freeman looked... normal, they had proper uniforms on and looked like they had been working for a while but still had plenty of energy.
I shot the glass back then looked back at the drone, which had moved to be above the monitor. "So... I have received a report from Odin, and it is the reason for this meeting. Have any of you received the report as well and viewed the contents?"
Dr. Shen squinted at something behind the camera, before bending back and nodding. "Yeah I glanced at it, doesn't really affect my operations honestly. Besides I doubt that they could even get close to the OCDM. That thing can wipe out all kinds of stuff. "
Ms. Clark palmed her face, an exasperated look on it. "Could we not immediately discuss killing these new extraterrestrials? For all we know they number in the hundreds of species, or dozens. Not to mention we do not know the full extent of their technology. They could be much more powerful than us for all we know!"
General Zhao spoke up, a dismissive look to his face. "I have already run through some of the internal information of the Wraith unit. It appears that they have relatively the same level of technology as us. In fact they are actually inferior in some areas. For instance they practically have no cybersecurity. We could shut down their whole planet with a button press."
Ms. Clark groaned as she put her face in her hands. Mr. Freeman just leaned back looking tired. He raised a hand, a ding from the system notifying that he had a question. "Have we attempted to secure a direct access to their network? The more we know about these aliens the better. For all we know they have plans on dealing with "predatory" aliens. We could be signing the death certificate of humanity if we don't investigate more."
Clark looked up with shock and anger. "Yo-you can't be serious Mr. Freeman?! We haven't even attempted communication with these people and you're already planning on spying on them?! We should talk to them first, not just assume they are gonna be murderous!"
Everyone else on the meeting glanced around, the unsaid thing hanging in the air. Clark was very new to the board, and had grown up in New Russia. One of the European countries with the most amount of aliens. Everyone else had either only interacted with aliens as acquaintances, or killed them. Not to mention that XCOM was literally formed with the intention of pushing an invading alien empire off Earth. It had a long and bloody history with aliens, not to mention some of the things that it had done to aliens in service to Humanity.
General Kelly just sighed as he took a long sip of his coffee. Putting it down he crossed his hands in front of him. "We're getting off track people. We need to decide our course of action moving forward with these Venlil and their allies. I would recommend sending a civilian science vessel alongside two Avengers and a Hammer. The Hammer ship can operate in Stealth mode in the alien system, while the Avengers act like Cargo Ships. This allows us to put on a good face while still ensuring that our assets will be protected."
There was nodding across the board, everyone seemed to reluctantly agree on something for once. Then they all stared at their cameras, obviously waiting for myself. I sighed and poured another shot. "I concur with Kelly's plan, but I would also like to have Mothership Valhala on standby with Fleet Alpha. I would like you Kelly to command it, if you are too busy General Zhao will command instead."
Kelly and Zhao looked shocked by what I said. But they both donned neutral faces quickly afterwards. Zhao raised a hand, the system dinged signaling that he had a question. "May I ask why you are requesting this? Last time I actively commanded was for Operation Living Mausoleum and we all know how that turned out."
I shot back the glass and pointed at the camera. "That Operation was fucked from the very beginning. There was jack shit you could've done to prevent the casualties that occurred. Not to mention that you can't compare yourself to the Commander, he was inhumanly good at what he did. Hell from what I hear the man could practically see into the future. So quit it, stop beating yourself up over it. You're one of the greatest generals I've ever had the pleasure of working alongside with."
Zhao's face briefly clouded with a dark brooding look as I talked. But when I finished it lit up in surprise. He must still be beating himself up over that shit operation. I still remember reading the reports and feeling afraid about the future of XCOM. But thankfully Valhen managed to control the damn thing, and Diplomatic Affairs quelled the fires that had started from it.
"This meeting is concluded. Get back to whatever you all are doing." One by one the channel sent quiet. Tygan just stared into space, a vacant look on his face. "Tygan? Tygan!" He jumped in his seat, finally coming to. He took off his glasses and rubbed his face. "Tygan... it's getting worse... you really should reconsider your stance."
He looked up, a fire in his eyes. He put his glasses back on, tapping his fingers as he did so. "Well I won't. I'm not gonna stoop down to Valhen's level of depravity. The procedure is completely experimental and for all I know it's a miracle that I'm even still alive. I am almost 200 years old. If my mind is finally failing then so be it. I have played God long enough."
He left the channel right afterwards, only for another person to appear. It was Dr. Valhen and she had no camera feed. All I could see was a noise graph. "Meier... I would like to... make a... request- demand... I would like to attend the mission."
I slammed the shot glass on the table. "Absolutely not, I don't care what you're reason is. My final and only answer will be no. So kiss my ass, and go back to cutting apart death row inmates and war criminals."
…After a few seconds of silence and the graph not moving, it started laughing. That laugh told me more than enough. "Oh Meier, naughty naughty Meier... keeping me away from the new toys? How cruel of you... forgive me... I will honor your request..."
She... it left the channel. I closed it up, and spun my chair around. The window allowed me to view the Appalachian Mountains in all their splendor. In the distance I could see the camo fields of ships shifting as they moved about. I stared at the bottle before corking it and walking back to the cabinet.
This is gonna be an absolute shitshow. For all we knew we are boldly striding towards a war that will be the end of humanity once and for all.
End of Imprint
[Next]

Hello,
I’ve been applying for different apartments in my area (CA). I have high savings, and plan to work during school starting in the Fall for a specific internship. I also have a temp job during the summer coming up.
I grew up in the system so I don’t really have people who’d want to be co-signers like parents. I do have great references though. My credit score is above 750. I’ve been staying in after-care housing apartments, and they are my “landlords”, and have said they are willing to be a refernce due to me being a good tenant in their program. I didn’t have to pay rent which is why I have high savings.
I also recently got approved for a section 8 voucher, which covers 95% of the rent. I’m being very vague on that part so I don’t give away too much of my identity. But as a student I’d only have to pay $50 a month for rent with this voucher.
Apartments see the fact I don’t have a job and they basically tell me to take a hike, even section 8 housing with open availability. I thought I was gonna be approved for one but they rescinded last minute saying they denied me for that reason. I even got laughed at by one lady when I said I didn’t currently have a job..
I was told maybe paying a year’s worth up front? I haven’t brought it up because it felt shady. I can pay that no problem. Hell, with the voucher I can pay several years ahead of time lol. But landlords don’t see too thrilled even when they see the savings I have.