For example, the entire Marvel Comic Universe (MCU) has something like 30 movies that are all somehow supposed to be connected, or something. How many sub-par forced sequels, "reboots", whatever, can these studios put out before they dilute the products so much that they just suck (kinda like a lot of post-Disney Star Wars).
I am well aware that these movies must be making money, if studios keep making them, but dang.
I can't sit through a single Iron Man movie, or a Hulk movie, or whatever. It's all so overdone, the plots are all just cheesy as hell, sometimes just outright dumb. The forced humor is always some cringey pixar-like quips or non-sequiturs, so not actually humor, lol.
I'll never openly (irl) hate on someone being a nerd and liking something, I'm a big nerd, but it's pretty cringe when the fandom is drooling over some silly details, like "omg!!! Black Panther was able to scratch Captain America's shield!!! CUZ THEY ARE BOTH VIBRANIUMMM OMGG" It's like: yes, these are man-made stories, they are written like this on purpose, it's not that deep or complex at all.
Would literally rather watch Harry Potter than the current state of super hero movies.

A Simple Yet Thought-Provoking Doorway

Interviewer: Howl's Moving Castle was a huge success as well, with box office revenue reaching 19.6 billion yen. This places it second only to Spirited Away among Studio Ghibli films. The original story is by Diana Wynne Jones, and the screenplay was written by Mr. Miyazaki.
Mamoru Oshii: Howl's Moving Castle is excellent, my favorite among Ghibli's works. The story isn't entirely clear, the logic doesn't always hold up – these aspects haven't changed much from Miyazaki's past films. But, at this point, there's nothing more to say about those points. So, what do I appreciate about this film? In a word, it's the mechanism of that doorway. Miyazaki's changing mindset as he gets older is clearly expressed through that door's workings.
Interviewer: The door of Howl's castle leads to different worlds, and its mechanism is divided into four parts.
Mamoru Oshii: That truly impressed me. Every time the mechanism shifts, the door opens to a different world. The black passage leads to the battlefield, flames are raging, Howl transforms into a monstrous bird and flies off, then returns completely exhausted. Seeing Howl like that, Calcifer says, "He might not come back." What kind of meaning do you think that holds?
Interviewer: Does it represent Mr. Miyazaki's heart being divided into four parts?
Mamoru Oshii: It's not about the number. Women might not understand easily, but men get it right away. Especially older men, they understand at a glance. Because they are also constantly turning that doorway unconsciously. In other words, whether consciously or unconsciously, they always play multiple roles. An older man working at a company switches modes when he comes home; when playing with a young woman somewhere else, he switches again; when interacting with his son and daughter, he switches yet another time. Simply put, humans are creatures that live separately in different worlds. There may also be a dark side that leads one to become a monster. People definitely possess a side that turns into a monster and runs rampant on the battlefield, and are destined to coexist with this darkness.
I've never seen a film that depicts the multiplicity of an older man's inner world in such a persuasive way. I love it. The doorway mechanism turns, and the world changes instantly. It's fantastic.
Interviewer: That's high praise indeed.
Mamoru Oshii: It is. But it's dangerous, you know? Sometimes you slip up and reveal a side you shouldn't in front of your wife and children. Wives are probably aware of this to a certain extent, but they don't bring it up. If you ask me, that's what living with a man is all about. You might not notice it when you're dating, but after getting married and having children, women realize that older men use different faces in different situations.
Being able to create this kind of expression means that Miyazaki himself must have struggled with switching between different faces. By now, he's probably become quite adept at it. I'm the same way. After all, film directors have to be geniuses at switching gears – the face shown to staff, the face shown to producers, the face when alone, the face shown to family – you really have to separate them all.
Interviewer: That sounds truly exhausting.
Mamoru Oshii: It is, it is. A person like Miyazaki must have a remarkable monster dwelling within him, right? For Howl, that represents the moment when he throws aside all humanity and becomes a monster. Although it's incredibly difficult, even requiring him to fight till he's covered in blood, he can't escape it. Why? Because he couldn't survive without that side of himself.
He must have referenced other archetypes as well, but no one else could have expressed it so brilliantly. Miyazaki truly is one of a kind. That doorway in the film is so good that it overshadows everything that comes after. The war ending abruptly, for instance.
Interviewer: In the first place, it's unclear why the war even started. To be honest, there are too many things that don't make sense. Sophie's original goal was to break the Witch's curse, but somewhere along the way, this goal disappears, and she ends up living with the Witch.
Mamoru Oshii: That's why it's pointless to try to apply logic. This is Miyazaki's world of imagination, where the laws of cause and effect don't apply. This world itself is Miyazaki's fantasy.
Interviewer: But there is a source material.
Mamoru Oshii: Half of it has probably vanished without a trace, wouldn't you say? All that's left is the basic setting. The castle's design is amazing, it even has a torpedo launcher, doesn't it? It makes you wonder what that torpedo launcher is for and what it's supposed to fire at. It feels like Miyazaki just crammed in everything he likes.

Miyazaki and My "View of Family"

Interviewer: I love the design, though.
Mamoru Oshii: It can accommodate anything, and this time he put "family" in it.
Producer Toshio Suzuki said something interesting. He was also the producer for my film, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. He said: "It's fascinating how both Miyazaki and you are making the same kind of film. In short, the theme is "home". Both are stories about family. Miyazaki's film expresses the idea that whether it's an old witch or an orphan, it's fine to welcome anyone into the family, because we're all family. And in your film, whether it's a dog or a doll, it doesn't matter if they're not human. It's a very interesting approach to considering a new kind of family."
Interviewer: Mr. Suzuki is insightful.
Mamoru Oshii: He's the kind of person who observes from such unique angles. That's his strength, thinking from perspectives no one else would consider.
Of course, I wasn't conscious of it either. I had no intention of making a story about family. The "unconscious genius" Miyazaki must have been the same. But when Suzuki pointed it out, I felt "that's exactly right". When people establish a sense of shared existence, the most basic form of it is family. Of course, there are male-female relationships within it, but when viewed from the perspective of social relationships, there's nothing other than family. Even blood ties aren't necessarily essential within it. Originally, the starting point of family is strangers, no blood relation needed. A married couple is essentially a pair of complete strangers with no initial blood ties. They start from a marital relationship and then begin to build kinship ties. It's not like in Shuji Terayama's Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets where people separate first and then spend time exploring family forms in various ways. That's probably how it is.
Thinking about it this way, even the house they live in in Howl's Moving Castle walks on two legs, doesn't it? What does that mean? It means that it's no longer even connected to the concept of "settling down", which represents the idea of family. The characteristics of a house being rooted in the land are irrelevant. On the other hand, in Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, it doesn't matter whether you're human or not, but you need to be with others to live as a human being.
Looking at both films from the perspective of family makes many things easier to understand, that's for sure. If you don't think about it this way, the content of Howl's Moving Castle will become more and more perplexing as you watch it.

Hayao Miyazaki is David Lynch?

Interviewer: Speaking of family, Sophie's family is nowhere to be found. It's as if she's just a beloved and beautiful younger sister that everyone adores.
Mamoru Oshii: After watching Howl's Moving Castle, no one can recall the details of the story clearly. I watched it twice, which is rare for me, but I still can't remember the story. The protagonist Howl appears suddenly, and Sophie is introduced already sewing hats, but why is it a hat shop?
Interviewer: It's a hat shop in the original story.
Mamoru Oshii: But it must be because Miyazaki wanted to draw scenes of hat making, right? Miyazaki loves artisans, loves depicting scenes of crafting things. Up until now, he's always had this tendency - even if it sacrifices consistency to some extent, he'll find a way to realize the scenes and fantasies he envisions. But with Howl's Moving Castle, he completely let go and took a straight path to fantasy. Howl's Moving Castle is exactly that kind of film. Whether or not there's source material is irrelevant. The story of Master Howl is a prime example.
Interviewer: Voiced by Akihiro Miwa, the character of the Witch of the Waste, right?
Mamoru Oshii: Scenes like the shooting stars are undeniably beautiful, but do they have anything to do with the story? Miyazaki's impression of magic must be these beautiful visuals, so he simply wanted to create them.
Interviewer: It's not just that, the character of the Master is completely incomprehensible.
Mamoru Oshii: I've said this so many times, you can't seek consistency in Miyazaki's films because they're all fantasies. It's best to view them through the lens of David Lynch's Twin Peaks.
Interviewer: Lynch's films don't prioritize consistency either. Nobody expects a logically sound story from his work.
Mamoru Oshii: Then why have such expectations for Miyazaki's films? They're both transforming their own fantasies into films, whether it's Lynch or Miyazaki.
Interviewer: "Hayao Miyazaki is David Lynch", that's quite a bold statement.
Mamoru Oshii: There's one crucial difference between Lynch and Miyazaki: Lynch sees humans as frightening creatures. Lynch's theme is singular – the terror of humanity. As a Lynch fan, I've finally reached this conclusion recently. Humans are terrifying beings; they create terrifying events. This is the theme of Lynch's works. The very existence of humans is eerie, so his works are unconcerned with good and evil, angels and demons. That's why Lynch's films are unique.
So, what about Miyazaki? Miyazaki genuinely wants to view humans as benevolent creatures and the world as something beautiful. This fundamentally differs from Lynch, who is obsessed with a world of horror. However, they share the commonality of realizing their fantasies through film. Another difference is that Lynch consciously depicts horror, while Miyazaki does so unconsciously.
Interviewer: In the latter half of the film, Sophie suddenly shifts between being young, middle-aged, and elderly. Is there any meaning behind this?
Mamoru Oshii: No, it's just to make her appearance fit the scene. They simply decided, "It's better for her to be young here", and that's about it. There's probably no deeper reason. So even if you try to overanalyze it, you won't find anything.
Interviewer: It's fine if you don't fully understand Lynch's films, but you still want to try and understand Miyazaki's.
Mamoru Oshii: Because at first glance, they appear to be orthodox narrative films.
No matter how many bursts of fantasy there are, he still wants to reach a conclusion and summarize the meaning in the end, right? In that sense, he's still clearly more timid than Lynch.
Interviewer: But you said that Howl's Moving Castle is your favorite work, didn't you?
Mamoru Oshii: Yes. Even though it doesn't fully let go in the end, it's quite transparent before reaching the conclusion. It doesn't force itself into a narrative structure, so in that sense, I really appreciate it. The doorway mechanism and the scene where the Witch of the Waste makes shooting stars fall from the sky are both incredibly beautiful and impressive. Although the depiction of the royal palace feels somewhat generic, the scene where they're panting and climbing the palace stairs is quite interesting. There are truly many excellent scenes.

Howl is Miyazaki Himself

Interviewer: In that stair-climbing scene, there's a dog named Heen. Don't you think he resembles you a bit?
Mamoru Oshii: That dog... (laughs) The staff kept telling me about him when the film was released, and I could definitely sense some malice directed at me. Because Heen is a useless dog, isn't he? His personality seems quite bad as well.
Interviewer: So he's like you. When I saw it, I couldn't help but think, "It's Oshii!"
Mamoru Oshii: Because I've also poked fun at them many times in my own works. I named the old man who runs Shanghai Tei in Patlabor "Hayao Saki". Mr. Takahata appears as "Inspector Takahata", although he's a villain (laughs). Needless to say, Toshio Suzuki has made multiple appearances as well.
But if that dog is me, then Howl must be Miyazaki. He projected himself onto the protagonist in Porco Rosso, didn't he?
Interviewer: Wait a minute, that handsome Howl? Really?
Mamoru Oshii: Absolutely. The works where Miyazaki projected himself onto the protagonist are Porco Rosso, Howl's Moving Castle, and The Wind Rises. What aspects of Howl resemble Miyazaki? This statement will surely shock many fans.
Mamoru Oshii: He wants to be that kind of man. A wizard, the head of a household - there's no doubt that Howl is his projection.
Interviewer: But Howl said, "I can't live without being beautiful."
Mamoru Oshii: That's right, he transformed from a pig and uttered those words. Voiced by Takuya Kimura, no less. In reality, Miyazaki loves to be cool, but he understands that it doesn't suit him, so he intentionally makes himself appear plain. I forget when it was, but he even imitated Ryotaro Shiba's style by wearing a black coat. Miyazaki respects Ryotaro Shiba a lot, although I dislike him.
What strikes me as the biggest similarity between Howl and Miyazaki is the scene where Howl returns to the castle as a monster and sluggishly climbs to the second floor.
That scene embodies Miyazaki's true feelings - even if he's making a big fuss outside, he still has to crawl back to his room. When Sophie scolds him saying, "You did it again! It can't be helped", didn't you feel like he must have been scolded by his wife this way too? He finally returns, but as a monster. From this perspective, he's really quite transparent (laughs).
As long as you understand Miyazaki, you can pick up on these amusing nuances. But even if you don't know him personally, the film is full of interesting scenes and beautiful visuals. However, there's really nothing to say about the plot. So, they should just tell the world that, but instead, people love to praise "how great the stories are" in Miyazaki's films.

The day is as hot as any other, but now that my body has come to expect it, I slip on a shirt, plus my beaded necklace, head out to the commons, sprawl in the grass, make like a solar panel and feel inspired. The heat is like a warm round of applause, and I begin reading Thich Nhat Hanh’s advice about mindfulness, happiness and impermanence, its adjacency to the lived experience of heaven on earth, which is more than enough incentive to cause an average summer reading program to really take off. Mindfulness is easily achieved on a day like today – really? challenge the clouds – the clouds are having dreams of being clouds, like each cloud has an aura, which is also made of cloud but wispier, resulting in a sky that dreams of being sky. Maybe the sky is the illustrious career of whoever painted the clouds onto it. They urge the mind to take a breather.
So I try to keep my eyes on the page, and for a few minutes that goes great, but then something tickles my neck, and a minute later, something tickles my wrist, a minute after that, something prompts me to imagine the feminine spirit of nature gently grazing my scalp with a fingertip, as though moving concepts around in my head by force of will, and my experience of time does change – I can feel it – and that present-tense notion of time seems to corroborate the story that vacant commons areas on a sunny spring afternoon aren’t really vacant at all. In point of fact, if the whole place were crowded with people, it wouldn’t much budge an expert’s estimate of the total life already there – average natural abundance is so awe-inspiring to begin with. There are half a billion blades of grass, for instance – I did the math. Who knows how many million ants.
Something tickles my shoulder – I mindfully stop what I’m doing, brush myself off, check out a tiny beetle bug with an orange spot on its back that landed in my lap. A black ant longer than my thumbnail charges down my pant leg. A plant-hopper stops on my knee, and it is a shade of green impossible to believe, a brightness that glows. It adjusts its direction ceremoniously, like it’s consulted some interior atlas of becoming, then leaps away. In the grass on a day like today, the mindfulness tends to find you, and I know the longer I sit there, the more likely I will be to never get up – to get lost in the crowd of life, which at this time of year is surging upward and outward and downward, even as its making trillions of babies to sail through the air. I watch a seed-dreaming-of-seeds levitate above the grass, climb over the treetops, vanish in the clouds.
If humanity has a brilliance unobserved, I nominate our ability to turn the life of potential into the lived existence of the actual – we do it all the time, compulsively even, a term of agreement practically, with occurrence in all its forms. With every breath and wheeze, every eye blink and heartbeat, every ideation of color, form, and sequence – we are self-conscious standard bearers of the present. Or so we would like to believe – the clouds above are panoramic to a degree that gives the stuff of the earth, just being the stuff of the earth, the starring role no matter who we get to stand in front of them, how many skylines we erect. The clouds seem nude in a way, like their striking dramatic poses for the students to sketch with sticks of charcoal. These aren’t the sort of clouds that make it rain, at least not on us. They seem intent on foreseeing the future.
Can clouds do that? If the mind is a kind of cloud, then of course they can, though what follows is soon followed by a desire to shape the future, at which point the clouds check the time, gaze off into the distance, then hurry on, all of which is plenty true of the human mind. Hey, what’s for dinner? I make red beans and rice for the umpteenth time in my life, set the pot to boil, then forget about it, which is an instance of learned incompetence in that, when I finally remember to set the timer, I always end up leaving the pot on the stove ten-minutes too long, and that causes the bottom layer of rb-and-r to caramelize, which deglazes itself when the food cools, and the resulting dish is so substantial – so actualized of its potential – that being mindful of my eating is a pleasure – the rice’n’beans, the parts like hash browns – they rise to my lips like book pages.
This compassionate attention to the value of the actual is not evenly distribute in my life – not even close – such that my living space is more like the sort of hollow that wild mammals tend to prize, the ones they were hole up in all winter long, which was only a couple of month ago, remember – the squirrels still remember that week in January when life in the outdoors passed through a sub-zero death zone. I see three yearling squirrels dancing around the most westward of the sycamores out front. I stop in my tracks, give them time to see me with their fresh social constructs – two hang on either side of the tree, looking at me directly, curiously, and the third is poised at the base of the power box. Power? Don’t do it, I project telepathically – whatever it is, just don’t do it. Your existential task is to unearth vintage nuts, not disrupt global authority.
Or proceed as you please – it’s up to you. How much trouble can the three cutest mammals on the block get into on a day like today? I make a clicking sound by pulling the tip of my tongue off the roof of my mouth, an aural expression I equate with speaking squirrel – I come in peace, I want it to mean. If I had something in my pocket to feed them, the whole interaction would be complete, but I’m empty handed then, so we end up inching toward each other for a minute, get in some good meet-and-greet get-to-know-you time. This probably happens every spring, urges me to carry baggies of popcorn on my person when I’m outside, fantasize about squirrels sitting at the picnic table with me, rubbing their fuzzy ears against my chin, buttoning my shirt for me.
We’re in it together – this is what nature told me today and what I think about later in my peace church loft, which sounds like a brand of sustainability, when someday they sell such a thing to the average consumer. Peace Church Loft – what everyone will be into one day, like an incense fragrance, an aural sensation, more or less guaranteed to produce a life sustained. Faith finds its resurgence when new congregations manifest in the environment in order to erect churches that brim with lofts. Thich Nhat Hanh advises: As soon as we understand the causes and nature of our feelings, they begin to transform themselves. Themselves – they transform themselves when we understand. The nature of the universe is to grow reality by comprehending it, a little better tomorrow than today. A ghostly finger grazes fine hairs on my neck, draws a line to my earlobe.

TheOneAndOnlyVegas remains in first (and has the highest ceiling). I accidentally left off the true Chump in my first round report - that honor continues to go to DejaJewels Chaos.
There are a LOT of us whose totals are set. And some of those totals are very, very low. (cough scottyfoxy cough)
Only TheOneAndOnlyVegas, Shadyhill, JohnStamos, and Gyllene Knekten can still predict the eventual cup winner.
Rank User Champ pick points/max
1 TheOneAndOnlyVegas's bracket [NYR] 186/386
2 Sneakytinkerspirits's bracket [VGK] 144/194
3 pws7701's bracket [VGK] 138/188
4 Kryptx's bracket [VAN] 132/182
5 Shadyhill's bracket [EDM] 131/331
6 3vil3v0''s bracket [VGK] 128/178
6 Slugzer07's bracket [VGK] 128/178
8 BlackThorneVGK's bracket [VGK] 123/123
9 Xelaa''''s bracket [VGK] 122/172
10 VGKTML's bracket [WPG] 119/169
11 Screebus's bracket [VGK] 118/168
12 ThingkingIwasmart's bracket [VGK] 116/166
12 Stagecoach's bracket 1 [VGK] 116/116
14 22lwarren's bracket [VGK] 115/165
15 MyCat&ILoveVGK's bracket [VGK] 113/162
16 CoolOpotamus's bracket [VGK] 112/162
17 JohnStamos's bracket [FLA] 109/309
17 SMF [VGK] 109/109
19 sword&star [VGK] 106/156
19 FrankiesTiki's bracket [VGK] 106/106
21 NeOxJokeR's bracket [VGK] 104/104
22 VGKnightmare's bracket [VGK] 103/103
22 ResponsibleTry's bracket [VGK] 103/153
24 boondockbear's bracket [VGK] 96/146
24 Rattlehead666's bracket [VGK] 96/96
24 UnhealthyCheesecakeNHL's bracket [VGK] 96/146
27 VGK_555's alt brcket [VGK] 93/143
28 LobsterPillow's bracket [VGK] 84/84
29 Gyllene Knekten's bracket [EDM] 81/231
29 FlowerDemon Bracket1 [VGK] 81/81
31 PaulyWalnuts's bracket [VGK] 74/124
32 BPE's bracket [CAR] 73/73
33 jnscholl23's bracket [VGK] 68/68
34 81stredditaccount [VGK] 65/65
34 jjdws's bracket [VGK] 65/115
36 Wedjatwhat's bracket [VGK] 63/63
37 Mokiki's bracket [VGK] 53/53
38 FoxupinReno2023's bracket [VGK] 33/33
39 DejaJewels Chaos [VGK] 0/0

Hello! My name is Joesph! I’m 27 years young. I have a 11 month old daughter named Izabella she’s my world! I work 3rd shifts as an Operations Supervisor. A little about me, I’m a major fan of Star Wars LOTR and Harry Potter. I watch a little bit of anime but not a whole bunch. I’m a very outgoing person. I tend to shy away from people in real life as my anxiety tends to get the best of me but I’ve been working on it. I have a vast variety of interests. I love to go hiking or just being outside. I play some video games here and there. I’m a huge horror fan! I’m a big sports fan as well’ I also love muscle cars. I collect watches, embroidered patches, and playing cards. I’m the black sheep in my family that being said I have 2 sisters and a brother. I love to learn I’m always looking up a topic or listening to a podcast. In my opinion knowledge is power and the only dumb question is the one that’s not asked. I have zero interest in people who are rude and have zero morals. Respect is a huge thing for me. I’ll always respect your boundaries please do the same for me. I have a miniature schnauzer! Her name is Rosie! If I sound like someone you could be friends with please don’t hesitate to message me! No matter what you choose I hope you have an amazing day!

It’s funny how many characters play political figures in other shows.
Sam Seaborn - City Manager (Parks & Rec) Josh Lyman - Commander (Handmaid’s Tale… where he secretly helps Zoey Bartlett!) Will Bailey - Attorney General (Scandal) Tony Ziegler - Secretary of State (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) President Santos - Senator (Star Wars Prequels AND 24) VP Russell - Political statistician (Veep) President Walker - Senator (Alpha House)
Most interesting, Secretary of State Berryhill, Barbara Layton, Senate Minority Leader Tripplehorn, and a State Dept Rep all became President in 24. Also in 24, Military advisor Mike Chrysler was a Secret Service agent and Martin Avery was the President of Russia.

Expedition Yeltomar
Frank, a human male in his middle ages, sits in the pilot seat of the small single occupant shuttle. It had been a rather challenging descent so he was taking this time to catch his breath and settle his nerves. The Zeno-biologist has been exploring planets for the past year, jumping from system too system, cataloging planets for the galactic federation. He has already cataloged 3 other life bearing planets in the last 17 systems but this one was by far the most challenging.
Star system 2B38A-22 is a fairly mundane system with a larger K-class orange dwarf star at its heart. It contains a single gas giant and a common ice giant in its outer system with the molten metallic core of another gas giant circling in a 15 day orbit of its parent star. Just farther out is the planet he is currently landed on, being a sizable heavy gravity terrestrial world of 2.8 galactic standard gravity and having an unusually dense atmosphere of 8.1 galactic standard.
Frank takes a deep breath and pulls himself out of the seat. The high gravity of this world was proving difficult to fight against after his time in deep space. 'I really need to get more exercise. I'm getting weak here.'; he says too himself. Being an Earth born human, this world is only 1.6 times the gravity of Earth, so should not be this hard to manage. Walking slowly over too the science station he starts taking readings on the atmosphere of the planet too see if he will need the bulky atmosphere isolation suit, or just the re-breather. 'Hmmm. 40% Oxygen, 30% Carbon dioxide, 22% Methane, trace amount of Nitrogen, Neon, Helium, other gasses too low to make out. That's a novelty. Gravity and atmospheric pressure high enough to hold onto Helium.'; he thinks, starting to get into his elements again.
'Dangerously low biodiversity, mostly grasses and a few types of larger shrub and tree analogs. The limited animal life seems to be almost entirely evolved to use some type of flight. Almost no ground based life. But seems to be a stable marine biodiversity. Signs of a recent mass extinction event, no more then 1000 stellar cycles ago. No signs of civilization detected. No ruins or any forms of technology detected. Anomaly? Hmmm. What type of anomaly? Electromagnetic/Radio-logical. Odd... Close by as well. I'll have to check that one out.'; he reads off in his head. The results read out by the sensors were a bit erratic, changing a bit randomly as he watched them. The thick atmosphere and the shifting magnetic field of the planet are having negative effects on the shuttles sensors, making them unreliable.
"The atmosphere should be breathable, even without the re-breather. That's a nice change. But that high methane level will probably stink. Not so sure about the density though. It's thick as soup out there. Might want the re-breather just in case. Temperature seems fine and there isn't anything dangerous in the atmosphere so won't need the suit at least. Thank goodness for that. Wasn't looking forward to trying to move around in that bulky thing in this gravity."; Frank was starting too think out loud again. Being out here in unexplored space was starting to get too him. "Did you get the info dump Bimni? Is the info matching up with your reading up there?"; Frank calls out, having pushed the comms button in the science lab.
BrightEyesAtSea is a female Adelie Astor-geologist who is unfortunately stuck in their "mother-ship" due too the Adelie being unable to handle high gravity planets. She was quite displeased to say the least. So many different interesting mineral combinations to study and she was stuck ship side. Bimni was a name the human, Frank, had said when trying to shorten her name and it just kind of stuck. Not that she minded, but why couldn't he just use her full name? "Reading different up here. Not seeing that anomaly reading either. Blasted electromagnetic interference."; she Warbles out. The translation software working well to convert her Adelie churrs into human guttural speech, and vise verse. "This one is your call. You've got the more accurate atmospheric readings. Not sure about the rest. Something is off on this world, the chemistry just does not add up."
That did not bode well. If Bimni was having bad feelings, then he needed to be careful. Her gut feelings had proven more accurate then any sensor. "Noted. I'll be careful when out and about. Just keep Rover warmed up and send him down if anything goes wrong."; Frank responds in turn. Rover was a military robotic mech that, despite many attempts at reprogramming, they were not able to tone down its brutishly aggressive responses to stimuli. So they never use it for anything but hazardous environments or when things go wrong. "Just be sure to grab as many mineral samples as you can fit onto the shuttle. It would be so much easier if I could just be down there.": Bimni responds with a huff. Frank can feel her telepathic annoyance even from this range, so she must be truly furious about being stuck ship side.
Finding no other reasons to postpone this, Frank grabs the re-breather and walks, still slowly, over too the airlock. "Alright Bimni. I'm heading out. I'll keep in touch with you using the shuttle as a relay. Hopefully the interference doesn't get too bad."; Frank says after after linking up the mobile comms earpiece to the shuttles antenna. It's not like he was going to go far from the shuttle anyways. Not in this gravity. Just far enough to reach that anomaly. Cycling the airlock, he steps inside. Deciding to wait on the re-breather for now, he clips it too his belt. He would see how bad the atmosphere was and decide from there. Pushing the cycle button, he waits for the airlock to balance atmospheres with the outside, getting a taste of the atmosphere in the process.
As the airlock finishes cycling and opens, Frank is hit with the thick humid atmosphere and the raw smell of methane. Huh. The smell was not as bad as he thought it would be. But the thick humid air was another matter. "It's like pea soup out here."; Frank comments. "I could almost swim in this stuff. But at least its not hard too breathe." Bimni quickly responds with; "Gee thanks. Now I want a bowl of pea soup, and you know we ran out 5 cycles ago." She didn't sound any happier after that comment. "Well sorry for making you hungry, with all the good food being on the mother ship and me only having excursion rations."; he jokes back at her hoping to at least lessen her bad mood. "The only solace I have for being stuck up here."; Bimni coos back, seeming to have lost at least some of her bad mood.
Frank takes his first steps out of the airlock onto this new world and... \*SPLAT\* feels something wet and soft hit his head and slide down his side. Lifting a hand up to wipe the side of his head, he is met with a slimy substance with bits of plant matter and something else. Tentatively, he takes a sniff; "Fraaack...."; Frank lets out with a sigh. Looking up he sees a 2 meter long gasbag creature with undulating manta ray like wings slowly swimming away high above him. "First steps out of the shuttle and I get crapped on by an alien."; he says with a bit of disgust. This is quickly answered with a trilling chuckle from Bimni though the comms. "Not a word."; he says too Bimni, who continues to chuckle even louder. Retracing his steps back up to the shuttles airlock, he reaches inside and grabs one of the rag towels and wipes off the droppings from his head and side. What a great start this is...
20 minutes later, Frank has already loaded several unique looking rocks into the shuttle for Bimni to examine later and has determined that there are in fact TWO types of grass in the surrounding area. Wow. And what is that? Another one of those elongated gasbag creatures high above. Both of the grasses are very similar too each other it seems, both being nearly black in color too absorb as much of the very dim light given off by the orange sun in the sky as possible. It is quite dim out despite it being close too mid day with the sky being completely clear. The thick atmosphere dispersing a lot of the light and giving everything a red orange tint with blues being quite faint. In the distance he can see a cluster of shrubs that look like thick orange coral with yellowish black balloon like gas bags growing out of the ends of each branch. And beyond that, in the general direction of the anomaly readings, there is an unusual rock formation overgrown with some type of plants.
"Still not much too see here Bimni, other then a few odd rocks here and there. I grabbed several samples for you already before you ask. The lack of diversity here is quite disconcerting."; Frank comments to Bimni through the comms. In response he only hears the faint crunching of whatever she had found to munch on while he did all the hard work down here. "Still making my way towards the anomaly. Hopefully there will be something interesting there. At least the bushes ahead are something different. Seem to be a thick stemmed Ficus analog with inflated leaf structures that look like balloons. Some type of adaptation to the high gravity I'm sure."; he continues the running dialog he's been trying to keep up since the gasbag poo incident. Though it has been hard too due with how little there has been to discuss.
Closing in on the bushes, they are in fact, just as he though. Similar to a ficus with thick stems, and the leaves are gas filled balloon like structures that hold up the stems. Really not much to look at other then being completely alien with a fascinating symbiosis with a few benign bacteria that seem to produce the gas that fills its leaves. A sudden sound diverts his attention. Frank looks up just in time to track an unusual 1 foot long bird like creature taking off from the ground in a hurry. The creature has 2 pairs of feathered wings attached too a bird like body, a long swan like neck with a bird like beaked head that hangs down below it's body, no legs, and 2 highly aerodynamic gasbags on it's back. This bird is already moving fast and accelerating even faster as it moves at a right angle too him. "That's a new one. A bird like life form. Has both 2 sets of feathered wings and a pair of gasbags for lift. It's fast too!"; he excitedly says too Bimni.
His excitement is short lived though, as a loud POP is heard and a 3 clawed tentacle is suddenly attached through the birds gasbag, holding onto the bird. This tentacle is in turn part of a large wing shaped creature with an open mouth, filled with sharp teeth, attached too the bottom of its wing shaped body. The bird is quickly dragged backwards towards the open mouth and swallowed hole. The whole time this flying wing creature is rippling with different colors like an earth cuddle fish. Before Frank can even exclaim about it, there is a soft booming sound as trails of faint smoke start to come out of a cylindrical shaped bulge on each side of the wing shaped creature before it shoots forwards at high speed, climbing up upwards again before it's body ripples with color one last time then seems to fade into the sky as its body color quickly matches the color of the sky.
"By all that's holy! Your not going to believe this one..."; Frank says in a hushed tone. His excitement replaced with caution and a bit of fear. "There's a flying predator here that can camouflage to match the sky. Damn thing appeared in the sky out of no where and then was gone from sight just as quickly. Wolfed down that bird like you do with those sardines you like so much."
"Are you safe?"; Bimni responds with honest concern in her squawking voice.
"I think so. Don't see that thing anywhere. But you better make sure Rover is ready too launch on a moments notice in case that thing comes back. The damn thing seemed to be jet powered as well."; Frank responds, still a bit shaken up. He was not expecting anything like that, he wasn't going to lie. Looking around him, there was no shelter nearby other then the rock formation ahead.
"Can you take shelter for a bit somewhere? Just in case it's still around?"; Bimni asks, sounding quite concerned as she preps Rover for immediate launch.
"There's no where too take shelter. Closest is that rock formation. Hopefully there is some place to shelter near there."; Frank responds, not feeling very confident. But it's that or make a break for the shuttle, a good 15 minutes away though the open grasses.
"Do it. And by the gods, keep your human senses open!"; Bimni blurts out.
Frank didn't even bother with a response. He went into a full jog, the fastest he could move in the high gravity of this world. Even with his crazy human endurance, he was all too quickly winded and forced too slow down as he neared the rock formation. Finding an overhang with a shallow but human sized indent under it he ducks into it. It might not be much, but at least he only need to worry about what's in front of him now. "I'm there... Found a... overhang. In shelter."; he panted out. "No sign... of danger." He hasn't felt this winded since he used to run marathons back on Earth.
Having taken a moment to catch his breath again, Frank places his hands on the sides of the indent he's tucked into and only now realizes something is off. Pulling his eyes away from looking for danger, he glances at the surfaces around him. Too smooth. He runs his hands along it again and can feel the seams of... construction? "Uh Bimni? This rock formation is not natural. It was constructed."; he says in a slow quiet voice.
"What? Someone carved it?"; she asked. Frank ran his hands along the underside of the overhang while watching for danger, feeling the framework and paneling that was used too construct it. Metal. "No. It's a structure of some type. It's made of metal."; he responds. No ruins or technology my arse! "Wish you were down here even more now, your better with this stuff."
"I'm sending down Rover. I'll put it on manual and pilot it remotely myself."; Bimni states with a sharp chirp, leaving no room for argument. "Yeah, that's a good idea."; Frank responds softly. "I'll wait until Rover touches down before I start exploring. Don't need that big flying wing to catch me off guard."; he replies back.
Frank remains under the ledge while he waits for Rover to drop in, but luckily it's only a matter of a few minutes and the mech descends too the ground, curled into a ball, and under parachute. The mech is ready to go, being able to survive entry without the shuttle thanks to it's built in heat shield. Rover unrolls and stands up, being half the height of Frank, walking on 4 legs, with a manipulate arm on its back. With Rover there to help guard, Frank is able to leave his impromptu shelter. "Nice aim there Bimni. Landed Rover within meters."; he says to Bimni, a bit impressed. "Are you detecting anything new with Rovers sensors?"; Frank asks.
"Only getting the same reading, anomaly."; Bimni's voice comes from the speaker built into Rovers frame. "Now where did you find the metal?"; she asks as Frank gestures Rover over too the underside of the overhang and the indent he was tucked into before. "Back here, and above us. These surfaces are unnatural and the underside of this overhang is metal."; Frank points out.
Bimni pilots Rover under the overhang and uses the manipulator arm, with its light, to examine the surfaces more closely. "hmmm. Fascinating. These surfaces are of an alloy I've never seen before."; she says with a chirp of interest. As she is maneuvering to look at different parts of the surface, she accidentally bumps Rover into a panel on the side of the indent. There is a groaning noise from the back wall before the wall just as suddenly slides sideways revealing an opening. A soft glow is comming from inside along with the sounds of running machinery.
Giving each other a quick glance, both Frank, and Bimni piloting Rover, step in through the open doorway too figure out what is inside. There is a short corridor that leads too a room filled with softly glowing lights and what can only be a computer control room of some sort. Everything is marked with an alien language that is completely undecipherable. "Now this is interesting. And it's still running. Can you make anything of this?"; Frank says too Bimni before going to oe of the control panels and trying to figure out what it says. He doesn't notice Bimni's lack of response as he touches one of the displays.
There is a quick flash of the dim lighting in the room before all the sounds in the room go quite and the light turn off. "Did I touch the wrong thing?"; Frank asks. "Bimni, any idea? Bimni?"; he asks before turning around too see Rover standing un-moving in the corridor. "Hello. Bimni, you there?" There is no response but suddenly there is a burst of of some form of energy that even Frank can feel and an alarm starts blaring. Think now is the time to leave, Frank turns to Rover and grabs the handle on its back, pushing on it to try and get Rover's tactile override to move it. He's a bit grateful when it starts to back up through the corridor as its supposed to.
Once back outside, in the open air, there is a beep, as Bimni is able to reconnect too Rover. "What happened? I suddenly lost signal with Rover and lost your signal as well frank."; Bimni keels out, sounding quite worried.
"Not sure. Rover just stopped moving in the corridor while I was inside the room on the other side. Maybe some kind of shielding or interference?"; Frank responds while the alarm can still be clearly heard in the background.
"What did you do?"; Bimni demands now that the alarm sound can be heard clearly by her as well. "Nothing. I was just trying to see what the panels were and touched one, then the whole thing shut down and the alarm started going off. A growl is heard through Rovers speakers; "You humans have no common sense! You touch everything without even thinking..."; Bimni grumbles out. Frank can only shrug his shoulders sheepishly, can't really fight ones nature.
Any further comments from either of them is cut short as a pair of dragon like creatures land heavily beside them and let out a roar. These creatures are close too 4 feet tall at the shoulders, standing on four thin legs with 4 toed clawed feet. They both are black in color with thin, spindly looking bodies that are covered in very short, dense fur. They have a pair of wings on their back that are larger then their bodies and shaped like the wings of an albatross, and a single row of wide scales running along their backs from the top of their head too half way down their tail. The larger of the two stands up on it's hind legs and starts making shooing motions with its front legs and wings as it takes steps towards them. It is making strange animal vocalizations while it is doing this, sounding like many different animals, most unknown, but some sounding strangely familiar.
Bimni readies to defend Frank using Rover, but a quick gesture by Frank delays her. "Lets back away slowly and see how they respond first."; Frank says as he starts to back away from the structure. Begrudgingly, Bimni follows suit, backing Rover away from the building as well. Their actions are rewarded by the larger creature moving to stand in front of the open passage and crossing its front legs, like it is standing guard. The smaller of the two slips behind the larger one and hurries into the structure, still moving on all four legs. As it slips past, and into the structure, a series of marking can be seen over its back legs and tail. They are green in color and resemble lightning or electricity.
A loud series of animal noises is heard coming out from inside the structure. The larger creature blocking the passageway leans down, without taking its eyes off Rover and Frank and barks a series of noises back into the structure in turn. As it does this, marking can be seen on the sides and back of this creature as well, this time a red flame like pattern can be seen. A quick series of flashes is seen from the corridor and the sound of the alarm is silenced followed by the sounds of machinery starting up again. The smaller creature exits the structure shortly after, using its tail to hit the panel too close the doorway as it exits. Both creatures are now standing there staring at Frank and Rover, not looking too happy.
The smaller of the two creatures standing in front of Frank and Bimni turns too the larger one and lets out a series of barks, pops, clicks, and whistles which the larger one turns its head slightly towards it and gives off a purr sound. The smaller one stands up on it's hind legs and stretches up to rub it's nose on the chin of the larger one before dropping down too all 4 legs again and slipping behind the other. It quickly moves away from everyone and launches its self into the air with some visible effort, flying away on it's long thin wings.
"So what do you think Bimni? They don't seem like animals too me. Their actions seem a bit too civilized."; Frank says too Bimni, with a strange echo. "You think they are the ones who built this structure?"; Bimni responds with no echo from Rovers speaker. "I'm not sure. They might also be another species that found the structures already here."; Frank says with that odd echo again, while turning towards Rover. "I'm not sure."; is repeated in Franks voice. Frank freezes, looking around. Bimni also hears that, and has Rover turn completely around too scan the area. The creature in front of the structure has uncrossed it's front legs and is now standing less defensively with its head cocked too the side.
"I'm not sure."; is said again in Franks voice. This time it is definitely coming from the creature in front of the structure, as it tips its head too the other side. "Did it just copy your voice?"; Bimni asks, having turned Rover to face the creature again. "I think it did."; Frank responds, with no echo. Raising one of his hands up he points at himself and says; "Frank", then points at Rover and says; "Rover". Finally giving an open handed gesture towards the creature, he waits for a response. The creature seems to think about it for a bit and is about to give a response but suddenly turns it's head too the side as three more of the creatures fly in and land nearby.
One of the three that lands is the smaller one with green markings from earlier. Another is only slightly larger with blue markings that look like lightning, while the third is much larger. The largest of the three is even larger then the one standing in front of the structure. It has bright yellow flame markings on it's sides and tail and is carrying some sort of device. All three of them stand up on their hind legs shortly after landing and start talking to each other and the one that was there already quite heatedly. An unusual combination of different animal noises, mixed with pops, whistles, and barks and exchanged before the one at the structure stops and points at Frank and says; "Frank", then at Rover and says; "Rover" in a perfect imitation of Franks voice.
"Well, that settles it. If there was any doubt about intelligence..."; Bimni says after the obvious display. As soon as Bimni speaks, the largest of the beings taps a few times on the device it has and a projection appears above the device like a video screen. On this projected screen is the world they are standing on, seen from high orbit. The projection begins playing a video of sorts that shows a world lush with life. None of which has been seen anywhere. The video changes view, showing different versions of the 4 beings on different parts of the world, with cities and lots of advanced technology around them. Then the view changes again too high orbit where a powerful solar flare is shown flashing over the planet with several chunks of metalic asteroids being swept along with it.
The view changes again so the beings running in terror and crowding into bunkers and sturdy structures as asteroids rain down in fireballs, exploding high in the thick atmosphere. The sky turns flames as the atmosphere is ignited by the asteroids. The view changes again to a few survivors making their way out of bunkers to find a world flattened and burned empty. The view changes to high orbit again, but the view is getting closer too the planet as if what is giving the view is falling towards the planet. The lush planet appears burned barren and brown as the view goes static as the view source starts to burn up as well. Finally the view shifts too the few survivors giving up everything they have to build structures like the one in front of them as plants start to grow around the structures in slowly increasing circles. The 4 beings all turn too look at Rover and Frank while the one in front of the structure points at it then sweeps it's hands around at the general area.
Several days go by with the beings on the planet, soon known to call themselves Yeltarians, surprisingly quickly learning how to use the human language. Their own language involving implied meaning, and the sounds produced expressing that meaning instead of words. With the language barrier broken, the Yeltarians were able to fully explain what happened too their world. A massive solar flare had shattered the dieing inner planet of their system, flinging chunks of the planet outwards with the flare its self. Between the flare and the following planetary chunks, they had set the atmosphere ablaze, catastrophically altering the atmospheric composition. Most non aquatic life was decimated in the initial inferno while much more of the remaining life on the planet slowly dieing off from the atmospheric changes.
When the Yeltarian survivors finally left their bunkers, they found a world leveled by fire and chocked off by a nearly un-breathable atmosphere. Using all their advanced knowledge, the survivors hatched a plan to save both themselves and their world. A massive terraforming project over their entire planet. They built hundreds of terraforming machines around the world using every available scrap and surviving piece of technology they could find. Then to give their planet a chance to heal, they turned to their own culture and shifted it from a materialistic high tech one, to a minimalist druidic society. All this, just to save as much as they could of what life remained.
But the remaining biodiversity of their world is too low, and they continue to loose species to disease and failed genetic alterations. Their world will not last much longer with how few living things remain. Even their terraforming equipment is starting to fail. So this leaves them with only one hope, to find suitable life outside of their own world to balance the failing ecosystems. But, they had torn apart their only remaining spacecraft to build the equipment that sustains their world. And they have no way to rebuild them with all their technology regressed to the state it is in now.
They were also willing to explain their race as well. What had once been several different Yeltarian races, had all become one race after the cataclysm. They are of two different sexs, male and female, with the females being larger and stronger in general. While the males tend to be smaller and much lighter, but also faster and more maneuverable in flight. They also explained the meaning of the markings on their bodies. The color doesn't mean as much, but the pattern shows which of the two divergent genetic traits are active in their bodies. All Yeltarians have the genetics to use an organic fire through the production of alcohol in their bodies, and bio-electrics generated by specialized cells in their bodies. But only one of the two genetic traits ever manifests due to a special gene that randomly activates one trait genetic while blocking the other trait genetics when they reach maturity.
"So, would you be willing to help us out? Take one of us with you to help search for compatible life in the depths of space? Too save our dieing world?"; The leader of the local Yeltarians asks Frank and Bimni. "This is our only chance since we are unwilling to give up our dieing world. Our, Yeltomar."

Make up & fragrance sale! (Verification is at the top of each category and at the very bottom) - will ship within 24 hours of payment - prices do not include shipping
Perfume & Eyeshadow Palettes Photo 1:
Sol de Janeiro ‘68 Beija Flor hair and body fragrance mist 1oz $10
Sol de Janeiro Rio Radiance hair and body fragrance mist 1oz $10
Gucci Bloom Mini Perfume 5ml $16
Juliette Has A Gun “not a perfume” (x2) 5ml $14 each
Nest “Lychee Rose” 3ml $12
By Rosie Jane “Leila Lou” 3ml $11
Juliette has a gun “not a perfume” 1.7ml $3
Commodity milk bold 5ml $10
Commodity milk bold 10ml (sprayed 2x) $14
Ellis Brooklyn “sun fruit” 5ml $10
Carolina Herrera very good girl travel spray 10ml $26 (used twice)
Photo 2:
Ariana grande cloud 2.0 3.4oz $58
Dior hypotonic poison EDT 1.7oz $75
Laura mercier Ambre Vanilla EDT 50ML $35
Commodity Gold 1oz $35
Ariana grande “moonlight” perfume 60-70% full $20
Maison Louis Marie no 13 perfume oil $35
Third-Seventh photo:
Too faced better than chocolate eyeshadow palette
Tartelette in Bloom eyeshadow palette
Natasha Denona Retro Palette $50
Ofra “on the glow” palette $30
Glossier monochromes trio eyeshadow palette “clay” and “bluff” $15 each
Kylie classic matte palette $25
REM Midnight Snack eyeshadow palette $18
Chella divine eyeshadow palette $5
Pat McGrath eternal Eden eyeshadow quad quad $35
Pat McGrath passion fleur eyeshadow quad quad $35
Tarte Amazonian Clay eyeshadow palette “glamour palette” $25
Tarte Amazonian Clay eyeshadow palette “gilded glamour” $25
ATHR Beauty Crystal moonlight palette $8 (fingerprint in silver shade)
Eighth-Tenth photo:
ATHR Beauty Crystal moonlight palette $8 (fingerprint in silver shade)
Ciate London velvet palette $10 (one swatched shade)
Il makaige color boss master palette (one swatched shade) $20
Lip products/mascara/foundation
First-third photo:
Pat McGrath Lip Lust Gloss “earth angel” $18
Pat McGrath Lip Lust Gloss “heavy petal” $16
Pat McGrath lunar new year matte lipstick “rouge 8” $15
Buxom plumping gloss set $30
Buxom full on lip polish “Patricia” $12
Buxom full on lip polish “Rebecca” $12
Buxom full on lip polish “Angela” $12
Charlotte tilbury “nude romance” lipstick $25
Jaclyn Cosmetics lip oil “pink pop” $15 (2 available)
Natasha denona I need a nude lipstick “21P Sava” $24
Huda beauty faux filler “bombshell” $20
Jaclyn liquid lipstick “bow” $10
Jaclyn lip liner “bow” $10
GXVE liquid lipstick “tomboy” $12
Beauty value lip liner trio $10
Mac lipglass “all things magical” $14
Too faced too femme “never grow up” $14
Elf lip oil “honey talks” and “jam session” $5 each
Pat McGrath lip fetish divinyl lip shine “flesh 7” $25
Laura mercier petal soft lipstick crayon “320 Amelie” $18
Too faced lip injection lip gloss “pretty pony” $14
Too faced lip injection plumping liner “puffy nude” $14
“Fenty glow” gloss bomb 2ml mini $12
Jaclyn cosmetics lip gloss “fearless” $10
Anastasia velvet matte lip duo hush rose & muted mauve $20
Kimchi marshmallow butter lippie “nineteen” $12
Olehenriksen pout preserve peptide lip treatment “citrus sunshine” $16
YSL rouge volupte shine “161 rosewood beat” $28
YSL rouge volupte shine “44 nude lavalliere” $28
YSL The bold “13 Nude Era” $30
Lawless forget the filler lip plumping satin lipstick “femme” $22
Tarte maracuja juicy lip plump “pearl shimmer glass” $22
Summer Fridays lip oil “blush dreams” $22
Fourth photo:
Mac powder kiss liquid lipcolour “a little tamed” $10
Bare minerals “wonder” lip gloss $12
Too faced lip injection maximum plump mini $6
Charlotte tilbury “hall of fame” lipgloss $12 (used 3x)
YSL candy glaze 02 (used 2x) $18
Fifth photo:
PLouise lip drip “growing & glowing” $18
Kylie plumping gloss “moody queen” $18
Kylie tinted butter balm “pink me up at 8” $18
Lawless forget the filler plumping gloss “Annie” $25
Sephora favorites perfect pout lip kit $45 (3 available)
Pat McGrath mini maximum impact kit: Elson $25
Sixth photo:
PLouise liquid blush the cheek of it “melon mood” & “Lolly dolly” $20 each or
Elf lip oil “jam session” $5
Anastasia satin lipstick “peach bud” $15
Anastasia satin lipstick “taupe beige” $15
Seventh photo:
Too faced better than sex foreplay mascara primer $14
Too faced better than sex mascara full size $15
Too faced better than sex mini mascara $10
Rare beauty mini mascara $10
YSL lash clash “uninhibited brown” full size $25
YSL lash clash mini noir black (2 available) $15 each
Charlotte tilbury full fat lashes mascara $12
Fenty beauty full frontal black mascara $12
Iconic London black mascara $12
Eighth - Tenth photo:
Charlotte tilbury airbrush flawless foundation “2” (used 2x) $20
Dior backstage face and body foundation “0N” (used lightly 4x) $25
Mac strobe dewy skin tint “light 3” $38
Laura mercier full size translucent setting powder & velour puff $30
Face products
First-Fourth photos Charlotte tilbury highlighter “pillow talk glow” $25
Physicians formula bronze booster light to medium $10
Kylie highlighter “winter rose” $16
Bare minerals ocean sunset glow cheek palette $25
Iconic London “light & glow” duo $16
Too faced highlighter “moon crush” $20
Colourpop lip & cheek balm “hearts content” $12
Ofra highlighter “star island” & “glazed donut” $12 each
Flower pyramids cheek color $6
Benefit “tickle” highlighter $25
Dior rosy glow blush “001 pink” swatched $28
Dior forever highlighter “pink glow” $50
Fenty “wattabrat” highlighter $28
Fenty killawatt highlighter snack size “crystal fire” $20
Vesca bronzer $6 (2 available)
Pixi hello kitty glowy powder “friendly blush” $12
Laura mercier blush “pomegranate” $25
Kimchi almost catfished “banana” pressed powder $15
Anastasia sugar glow kit $25
Iconic London bronzer “warm bronze” $10
Beauty concepts “stargazer” complexion palette $15
Too faced cloud blush “golden hour” $18
Tarte highlighter “sparkler” $15
Bobbi brown highlighter “pink glow” & “chestnut glow” full sizes $25 each
Fifth photo
Laura mercier “celestial light” setting powder $25
Drunk elephant miracle butter
Urban decay eyeshadow primer
Hello Kitty compact mirror $12
Grande brow 2 in 1 brow serum $10
Glossier haloscope “quartz” highlighter
Fenty matchstix “amber” $25
Glow recipe watermelon moisturizer 10ml $5
Givenchy prisme libre green color corrector $26
Beauty concepts butterfly shimmer highlighter $6
Too faced plump and prime primer $25
Lucky chick lip & cheek stick
NARS afterglow blush “behave” $25
Laneige glowy make up serum $25
Tula rose glow + get it eye balm $28
Tula gold glow + get it eye balm $28
Joah buffing brush $5
Beauty blender opal essence serum primer $26
Benefit the porefessional good clean up $15
Too faced born this way concealer “marshmallow” $18
Glossier stretch concealer G10 $16
Anastasia cream bronzer “Amber” $25
Make up eraser mini cloth $4
Skylar “pink canyon” perfume $10
Anastasia “iced out” cream stick highlighter $26
Bobbi brown eyeshadow sticks “dusty mauve” “truffle” and “golden pink” $20 each
Laura mercier caviar eyeshadow stick “Wild rose” $20
Pat McGrath gel eyeliner black $14
Mac powder foundation
Sixth photo:
Laneige make up bag (2 available) $15 each
Seventh photo:
Lawless body buff brush $20
Lawless set the stage hydrating + soothing primer serum $20
Rose inc foundation brush #3 $20
Laura mercier Longwear eye pencil “noir” $15
Pixi by Petra glitter-y eye quad $14
Rare beauty blot & glow touch up kit (2 available) $20 each
Charlotte tilbury flawless filter “2” $38
Mac mini strobe cream “pinklite” $10
Bobbi brown mini long wear cream shadow set $30
Juliette has a gun “pear inc” $2
Colourpop twilight highlighter “vampire skin” $12
Living proof dry shampoo mini $8
Ouai detox shampoo 1oz $5
Anastasia cream stick highlighter “bubbly” $20
Kimchi diamond shartz “world dominance” $10
Bare minerals loose powder foundation “fair ivory 2” and “fair 1” $30 each
Danessa Myricks Merch
Danessa myricks Starbucks tumbler $20
Danessa myricks sunglasses $8
Verification 1
Verification 2
Verification 3
Verification 4

Kimchi: Hey, you there. Yeah, you reading this. If you want to know about boring human stuff, go here An Introduction To The Book That Is Me : ASMRScriptHaven (reddit.com) . If you want to know about more fun cat stuff... and... I guess... other fun human kinds of stuff... even though humans aren't nearly as fun as cats, go here Masterlist for edgiscript : ASMRScriptHaven (reddit.com)
Edgiscript: Kimchi.
Kimchi: What? This is what you said to do.
Edgiscript: Not like that. Now they're going to think this is actually part of the script.
Kimchi: Whaaaaaaat? No. Humans can't be that dumb, can they?
Edgiscript: They're not dumb. But your format is all wrong.
Kimchi: Pfft. Whatever. It gets the job done and it's more fun that your boring-ass method.
Edgiscript: Hey!!!
Kimchi: Well, it is. You can't blame me for that.
Edgiscript: Look, you... all right, fine. The intros are usually pretty boring. So then, just get everybody to the script.
Kimchi: Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah. This is really cool, because it stars me and my cute, little, adorable hubby. It starts out all spooky like because he doesn't know what's going on, but come on, nobody could be scared of me for too long, now could they? I mean, look at these cute little ears and tail.
Edgiscript: Kimchi, it's a script. They can't see you.
Kimchi: Maybe you can't. Anyway, the really, really, really, super-cool thing about this series is that each piece was written to work completely on its own. Well, maybe you need the 1st one to set things up. But then it doesn't matter. You can do any pieces you want after that in any order you want. And you don't even have to mark them as being a part 2 or part 3 or anything like that. You can just treat them as one-offs and see if your listeners make the connection. Each chapter is its own self-contained story. Some require multiple voices, but each one is its own thing.
Edgiscript: So, if you think series don't do that well, you can do any of these chapters without treating them as a series.
Kimchi: Duh. That's what I just said.
Edgiscript: I know, but... (shuffling his feet in the ground.) I just wanted to be a part of what you were doing.
Kimchi: Awww, edgi, you're so cute. Come here and sit beside me.
Edgiscript: But, I....
Kimchi: I SAID SIT DOWN!
Edgiscript: Yes, ma'am.
Kimchi: And now, on to part 1. Enjoy.
-------------------------------------------------------------
(And now, the Real Script.)
Title: Play Time

Part 1

(Slow footsteps. Sounds of night time.)
Kimchi: (From nearby. Spooky and mysterious. Singsong voice calling out.) Where aaaaaare you, human? Come oooooouuuut.
(Still spooky and haunting, but no longer singsong.) I know you’re here. I can smell you. I’ve been hunting you for a while now. Did you know that? Did you know I’ve been stalking you for weeks?
I’ve never had the opportunity to catch you until now. You’ve never been alone before. Is that because you knew I was watching? I wonder.
But this time you chose to wander through the woods back to your house. Is that because somebody slashed your tires? I wonder who could have done that? (Giggles creepily.) Maybe someone that wanted you out here all alone so she could have you all to herself. And now you’re aaaaaaaaaalllllll mine.
(Singsong.) So come on ooooooooooooouuuuut.
(Footsteps pick up the pace a little.)
You’re walking faster now. I can hear you. I see you like to play. Good, that makes this more fun. It’s so satisfying to catch prey that’s actually trying. When your prey knows there’s no chance and gives up, it takes away all of the thrill of the hunt, and I looooooove the hunt.
Your smell is so intoxicating. I’m going to love sinking my teeth into your neck.
I was hoping you wouldn’t bother calling for an Uber. After all, your apartment was so close, and you’ve walked these woods so many times during the day. You know every branch, every rock. Don’t you? You felt so safe walking this way. In fact, you even avoided possibly running into some very bad people in town by going this way.
I wonder if you thought they might have slashed your tires and were fooling them by taking this route. Bet you didn’t know that something else haunted these woods. But now you do. And now you’re beginning to realize that you can’t get away from me.
(Footsteps begin running.)
Ah hah. Now you’re finally running. Yes! Gooooood. That gets me so excited. The chase is on.
You know you’re fast. You run regularly. You work out. You’re healthy and strong. You believe you can make it. Go on, little prey. You can do it.
(Giggles creepily.) The thing that’s chasing you can’t be faster than you, can it? It’s not racing towards you right now drawn by your breathtaking aroma and your delightful sound, and now…
...your beautiful sight. Yes. There you are. You can’t see me, but I can see you.
Now, the real fun begins. Should I just take you, or let the chase go on? I want you so badly, but I also love the chase, and I never get to chase anything anymore. Nothing comes through here at night. I think they’re afraid of me. Nobody wants to play.
But you do. You came into my woods because you love to play, don’t you? Admit it. The chase thrills you too. Your blood is pumping. Your heart is racing. You feel so alive.
But not for very much longer now. No, not very long now. You know the end is near. Your home is so close, isn’t it? You have only a little further to go and you’ll be out of the woods and close enough to other people that I won’t be able to catch you. There’s hope. Hope you’ll make it. So, I guess this game is finally over. You’re MINE!!!
(Sounds of a tackle.)
Hello, little human. You’ve made for such an exhilarating prey. I loved this game very much and I want to thank you for your part.
(Pause.)
Yes, I said, “human.” You see what I am now. You see my teeth. You see my ears. I’m a cat-girl. Or rather, I am the hunter and you are my prey. But now the chase is over and you’re mine. Any last words before I finally… heh heh, finalize our… courtship?
(From now on Kimchi is sweet and endearing, not creepy and menacing.)
(Confused.) Whoa, whoa, whoaaaaaaaa!. Human, what are you doing? When I asked if you had any last words, I didn’t think you’d scream for help. What’s that all about?
(Pause.)
WHAT!?! Eat you? Of course I’m not going to eat you. Why would I eat you?
(Pause.)
Yes, I said I was going to sink my teeth into your neck, but not like that. Humans taste… well, I don’t know what humans taste like, because I’ve never eaten a human. But I’m sure they taste disgusting. Blech.
Do human girls eat their men when they catch them? I suppose that would explain why the number of marriages is dropping.
(Pause.)
Yes, marriages. That’s what I said.
(Pause.)
What do you mean, what’s that got to do with this? That’s got everything to do with this. I’m marrying you.
(Pause.)
No, I’m not proposing marriage.
(Speaking slowly as if the listener is stupid.) I’m ma-rry-ing you.
(Normal.) Right now. That’s what cat-girls do. We find ourselves a hubby, (Smiling.) that’s you, (Normal.) we catch them, and we make them ours. I’ve caught you. You’re mine. That’s how it works.
(Pause.)
Of course you have a say in this. That’s why I asked you if you had any last words. Isn’t that what the humans do? As the ceremony is wrapping up, they like to say, “I do.” Right? I was letting you say, “I do.”
(Pause.)
What do you mean I made it sound like I was going to kill you? Who says, “Any last words” before killing somebody?
Oh, come to think of it, you may have a point. I didn’t think of it that way.
(Pause.)
And I also said, “The end is near.” I meant the end of the chase, not your life.
Sorry about that, but whatever. It’s irrelevant because I’ve caught you and you’re mine. All I have left to do is attach this collar and tie you up and then I bring you back to my place for all of the love and affection I can provide.
(Giggles.) There’s your collar attached. Now, the humans will see that you’re mine. I still have to mark you with my scent when we get home so other cat-girls will know to keep their grubby little hands or paws off of you. That’s where biting your neck comes in.
(Pause.)
Yeah, I’ve got human looking hands. Some cat-girls have paws. It’s kind of like how some humans have black hair and some are blonde or red. It just happens that way.
Now, do you mind putting your hands together for me? That would make it easier on me to tie you up.
Thank you. Keep them like that.
(Pause.)
Am I worried somebody will stop me? You can’t be serious. Why would I be worried about that?
Wait. You don’t already have a mate, do you? I was certain you didn’t. I told you I’ve been stalking you for weeks now.
(Sniffs all over him.) And I don’t detect any scent of girl on you.
(Sweetly.) I just smell cuteness. (Giggles.) And Cheetos.
Ok, I’m done with your hands. Now turn around please so I can wrap this around you and finish these knots.
(Pause.)
What? You meant I might be doing something illegal? Of course I’m not. This was voted in by you humans several years ago. By a wide margin, I might add.
Cat people just decide on who they want and they take them. According to your human laws, I only can’t take you if another girl has made you hers. Those are your rules, not mine. Personally, I might fight a girl for you if I thought she wasn’t good enough for you.
We used to chase only other cat people, but you humans are the ones that said it was ok if we included you as potential mates. And I’m so glad they did, because you are the cutest, most adorable little man I have ever seen, and I’ve just made you mine.
There, I’ve got your legs all tied too.
(Pause.)
Yes, yes, I know I keep calling you “little” and I’m actually smaller than you, but it was supposed to be affectionate. A term of endearment. You’re my cute little baby. See? Like that.
But us cat people are so much stronger than you humans and so much more athletic. I can pick you up easily like this without a struggle. And now I can carry you back to my place. It’s not far. See, it’s right over there.
(Pause.)
Right. It’s that pile of leaves. It’s very cozy. I gathered all of the leaves myself.
Let me just put you down so I can finally shower my new little hubby with all of my love and affection. Let me start right back here on your neck.
(Kisses and nibbles.)
Yes, I told you I have to mark you so the other cat-girls will know to keep away from you. I’ve got to kiss you and nibble you back here too in order to really get my scent on you.
(Pause.)
Yes, now you get it. That’s what I meant earlier when I said I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into your neck.
(Pause.)
Yes, I thought you’d like that.
(Pause.)
I didn’t know you thought I was going to eat you. I thought all humans knew about cat people mating rituals. No wonder you screamed when I caught you.
I’m sorry, hubby. Can you forgive me for scaring you?
(Pause.)
Oh, that’s right. I haven’t told you who I am yet. Sorry. I was just so excited with the hunt and finally catching you that I forgot.
My name is Kimchi.
(Pause.)
Yes, I know what it means. A nice, old Korean lady gave me the name after she took me in when I was very small. She was wonderful to me. I called her mom. She fed me and gave me a nice place to sleep.
(Pause.)
Yes, I liked staying at her place. She was a magic lady.
(Pause.)
Uh huh, there are too magic ladies. Did you know that she could make it rain inside her house with warm water. Can you believe it?
(Pause.)
Yes, a shower. That’s what she called it.
(Pause.)
What? You have one too? Are you magic too?
(Pause.)
What do mean, that’s common among humans? Really? You say you have a shower at your apartment? And a stove where we can heat our food? And a bed like the one I used to sleep in at mom’s house? That sounds wonderful.
I’m so sorry. All I have are these leaves. But at least I have a beautiful night sky to sleep under. It’s very romantic, don’t you think?
(Pause.)
Wait, you’re saying we could live in your apartment? You’d really let me stay there?
(Pause.)
Well, yeah, you’re my hubby and I’m your wife. Awwww, I love hearing you say that. Say it again.
(Pause, then squeals with glee.)
Ok, I’ll carry you to your apartment.
(Pause.)
Of course I have to carry you. How else will you get there all tied up?
(Pause.)
Oh, no. I couldn’t untie you. You might get away from me.
(Pause.)
What do you mean, “Exactly.”
(Sad.) You want to get away from me?
(Pause.)
(Understanding.) Oh, you think I sounded sorry that the hunt was over so soon. You’d like to let me do it again.
(Suddenly very excited.) Wait, WHAT!?! You’d… you’d let me hunt you again? Really, really, really, really, really? I get to chase you and catch you all over?
(Concerned.) But wait. You were scared the first time. Why do you want me to chase you again.
(Pause.)
Well, yeah, you probably would enjoy it more if you knew ahead of time that I wasn’t going to eat you.
(Pause.)
(Excited again.) And you say you’re really good at hide-and-seek? Oh, ho, ho, hoooooo. Challenge accepted.
(Flustered from her excitement.) Now… I just need to undo… these knots… and… Oh, screw it. I’ll just bite the ropes apart. There. They’re off.
(Realizing.) Oh, wait. I just cut my ropes. Now I’ll have no ropes to tie you up.
(Pause.)
That’s ok? When I catch you, you’ll just come with me. And you’ll never take off your collar so everybody else knows what’s going on because I am your wife, after all?
(Squeals.) I love it, I love it, I love it. I knew you were beautiful, but I didn’t know you’d love to be chased.
Ok, are you ready? Then, ready, set… no, wait, wait, wait.
(Kisses. Giggles.) Ok, now you’re ready.
(Pause.) No, I’m not cheating by marking you up with my scent. I’m just so excited.
I’ll give you a five minute head start to make it fair. And when I catch you, we’ll go to your apartment and have showers, and hot food, and a bed.
(Pause.)
(Ecstatic.) And you also have more string to play with? GO! Go, go, go, go, GO! Hurry! Run! Now! The quicker you run, the quicker I can catch you and we can go back to your place. Now run.
(Pause.)
Oh, I caught the best mate in the world. I’m going to love him sooooooo so much.
(Pause.)
Has it been five minutes? I don’t know. I never figured out how to tell time. It’s been long enough. Oooooooh, look out, hubby. Here I come.
Part 2 coming soon.

For the last two years I have checked out Record Store Day. Its when they put out special releases of records and soundtracks to get people in record stores.
Well I happen to be working last month so I could not get he one I wanted. But I noticed that there was two older Star Trek soundtracks re released on Vinyl with different colors. I was wondering if anyone in the US has pics or seen them? I have the black old orginal ones. Was the record store days ones only in Europe?
Star Trek TNG 'Encounter at Farpoint' Vinyl, LP, Limited Edition, Reissue, Clear Blue / Black Splatter
Star Trek DS9 'Emissary ' Vinyl, LP, Album, Record Store Day, Reissue, Blue transl. w/ black smoke

Has there ever been an actor or actress that you felt was very average or flat in terms of their acting abilities, but with each new project whether it was in a show or a miniseries you noticed such a huge improvement?
One example of this that I can think of is Kate Mara!
This past week, I watched the FX miniseries; "A Teacher" for the first time, and I have to say I am so amazed by how well she makes her character; Claire (a teacher who preys on a male student after developing a sexual interest towards him and when she manages to get him to have a crush on her, she uses that to her advantage to make it seem like he's initiating the relationship) so complex and layered that you feel so conflicted on how you should feel towards her. Especially with the chemistry she had with Nick Robinson (who is also just as brilliant in his role as the student she grooms), which was the point in order to show the audience how dangerous cases like this can be IRL.
I was never really a big fan of her acting going back to her House of Cards days, but I have to say she has really improved on her craft over the years. I still need to watch that Black Mirror episode she stars in with Aaron Paul, but from what I've read she's also quite phenomenal in that as well!
I really look forward to seeing how much further she goes, and if she can match the same level as her sister; Rooney Mara (whose also quite talented)

Sorry for the long post, but I promise, its a good one. For some context, I work at a busy medical clinic that is its own standalone entity, no hospital attached to the clinic. We have 50+ rooms being used at any given time and have an urgent care that allows for walk-in appointments. Yesterday, I was asked if I would be able to stay after my normal shift to cover urgent care as the PA working had a sick kid. Not a problem, I do this all the time and am happy with the OT and knowing its either incredibly busy in urgent care until doors close, or its completely dead. Yesterday, we saw basically no one after 4p.m. (we are open until 10p.m)
All that changes when 45 seconds prior to closing, in comes boomer, boomer's husband, son-in-law, and two grandchildren. I hear, "glad we made it! Looks like you guys were just about to go home." Front desk staff checks boomer into the computer and then hands her an iPad to do her intake forms as she was a brand new patient for our clinic. Cue the stereotypical "back in my day" BS I head multiple times daily about how the iPad is so difficult to fill out for anyone who isn't a child.
In the interest of getting home sooner, I decided to get her back into a room, get tests started, and help her with the iPad. Going through the intake questions everything seemed fine. A few minutes go by when boomer's husband starts yelling, and I mean SCREAMING, at the top of his lungs at me that their wheelchair "didn't have the leg rests like the hospital's wheelchairs did. Why don't you have those wheelchairs here????" No problem. I can help with that, literally part of my job. I showed them how to use the wheelchair, got her leg supported, and continued asking questions. Then, boomer AND husband start screaming telling me the clinic is too cold, that I should have offered her a warmed blanket, coffee, and some kind of item to eat prior to bringing her back to the room. Like this is a restaurant or 5 star resort.
At this point I was flabbergasted, I've spent 15 minutes in the room with the patient helping with the iPad, explaining "a friend who you treated like family and had cancer has no medical relevance to your medical history," and trying to keep the rest of the family comfortable as their wife, mother-in-law, and grandmother was being treated. I looked at them and said, "we don't have any warmed blankets as this is not an emergency room or surgical center, but I can try to find a few gowns or towels we can use as blankets." Nope. Continued screaming and complaining. However, the tone had shifted from "this clinic is bad" to "you're the issue," meaning the screaming started to be directed towards me. As a healthcare provider, I have fairly thick skin and am able to shrug most things off with no problem. I generally will just leave the room for a few minutes to let the situation calm down and then return with a "kill'em with kindness" attitude. I left, ordered the tests I wanted to be run, and went and ended up finding a few blankets we had from a previous shipping mix-up. I walk back into the room, smile on my face, ready to give them the good news that nothing seems to be abnormal on any of the tests and she will be completely fine in a few days.
Oh boy was I wrong, in more ways than I could have thought. I open the door and feel like I was clothes-lined. I stumble backwards, supporting myself with the door, look up and see husband going in for another punch. A total of three punches connected with my face before son-in-law was able to hold husband back enough for me to leave the room. We have panic buttons placed around the clinic and I told one of the clinic staff to call the police and push the panic button. Told them under no circumstances do you enter that room.
Few minutes go by and you hear sirens approaching, shortly followed by three police officers coming into the clinic. I explain the situation to the police, explain I am not looking to press charges, I just want husband removed from the location so I can treat his wife. Police understand and say they will remove husband and have him trespassed from the property. Husband must have heard this through the door because he SWUNG the door open, smacking his grandchildren who were sitting behind the door, quietly the whole time. The police saw this, grabbed husband and detained him in cuffs immediately. They then explain he could be charged with two counts of aggravated assault and a count of aggravated assault on a juvenile. He turns ghostly white, turns to me and says "I ONLY hit you three times, you're just overreacting. Why did you need to call the police? I did nothing wrong!!"
Now our policy is quite black and white in regards to unruly patients, especially since we are an outpatient clinic and not an emergency room. Absolutely zero, and I mean ZERO tolerance of verbal, physical, or sexual abuse of any staff member or patient by any patient, family, or guests will be tolerated. I mean, I was punched three times by a dude I wasn't even treating, close to 30 minutes now past closing time after a 10 hour shift. IDK what constitutes calling the police to this dude, but I feel this was warranted. Once husband had been removed from the room, I returned to the patient, now in tears because her husband was just taken away by police. She is yelling at me that I "should have known he was just having fun and joking." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I ended up giving the son-in-law the directions for her care that I had written on her discharge sheet, checked out her grandchildren (no injuries other than a very small abrasion on one of their arms), and escorted them out of the clinic.
Seriously could not have made this shit up. After being assaulted by her husband, I was the one in the wrong for calling the cops? Nah. That ain't right. Normally love my job, but last night was a tough one.
Edit: wow, didn’t realize how not pressing charges lets them get off my bad guys. I will chat with my bosses tomorrow and see how I can press charges. Sorry guys, I’ll get that changed right quick

My second playthrough of Stellaris.
Writing a story while playing improves the strongest part of this game: The role playing. I did it mostly for myself, but i guess it never hurts to share.
It's pretty long for a reddit post. (short compared to some other AARs tho).
I played the pre-defined Gorthikan race. Their origin is Overtuned Genetics. Democratic scavengers with mutagenic spas. Fanatic egalitarian materialist.
*SPOILER WARNING*
2200: We overthrew the shackles of mindless ravaging and tyranny with our bravery. We would not succumb to our animal like existence. Gene splicing gave us the answers. Life for everyone got easier. With all this pressure taken away from us, we would finally be able to create a Government. A place for every Gorthikan to be represented. Freedom would be our guide. Self improvement our Sword. To the stars!
2205: Our scientist informed us of our biosphere in danger. We would need to research catastrophic events on other planets. With only one planet, this is of major importance. We found one planet, but its not very habitable. The search goes on.
2208: We found a planet worth colonizing. Our colonist are on the way.
2210: Another alpine world found! A glorious day for all Grothikans. We have decided to improve fertility, but the genetic splicing made our species fragile. Leading positions are hard to fill, with leaders only serving for 10-15 years. This takes a huge toll on our unity as a species. Maybe more splicing has to be made, in order to increase the lifespan. For now, we must fill the stars with the abundance of our citizens.
2215: It turned out our recent splicing was a fatal mistake. With our populations life span toll, governing a galactic civilization would become impossible. Our latest leader served less than a year. We would fall into chaos if would not intervene immediately. Splicing had to be conducted NOW. Our scientist came up with a genius trait, which would automatically adjust citizens to their jobs. We needed to incorporate this in exchange for some reproduction, and gain a lot of lifespan in return. Sadly it took many years to modify our species. Only hope could carry us further from here.
2218: We encountered sentient alien life! They seem to be fungus in nature, but form a usual Space faring civilization. Fascinating.
2220: Early years of space colonization have been really rough for us. Still about 15 more years until the splice fixing would be complete. 2 great habitable worlds are locked in a system with what seems space amoeba. Those creatures are fending us off. With one fleet of corvettes destroyed, we had to realize that, our military technology would have to improve if we wanted to take that system.
2221: War has been declared on us. The first Alien nation we met is now trying to beat us into vassals. With our fleets weakened we have to scramble to not get overrun. Things looking more dire by the minute.
2222: With no fleets by the start of the war we were forced to accept submission. We lost a system and are now dominated by those fungal creatures. Our Agreements with them were dire. No further expansion and 15% tax on goods. We could only hope they would treat us with more respect later.
2228: After a few tough years we were able to negotiate the terms of our servant ship. We would be free to expand, and not taxed. Maybe there would be a chance for our civilization, if just a slim one. The stresses of galactic wars and resource shortages had taken their toll on the population. Unfortunately one of our planets started to rebel.
2232: The rebellion had long been quenched easily. Our genetic alterations finally commenced. New hopes were rising. Unfortunately climate changed completely on one of your planets, and it turned into an ocean world. Not quite habitable for our people, but it would have to suffice. Luckily we research robotics. That would make things a bit easier. It also turns out that our latest genetics program was a success. Our civilization is manageable now, since individuals can grow into significant personalities due to their increased lifespans.
2243: After a calm period of economic growth we decided it would be time to challenge our overlord. Enough oppression. Rally the fleets.
2246: We won! Finally free from their control, we decided to bide our time until we could return the favor. For now, we had gotten control of 2 of their systems as a bonus.
2248: Our improved robotics now allow for specialized robots. Finally, we have effective workers for our ocean planet. After a gradual replacement, we hope to resettle our real citizens to a more suitable planet. Habitable planets are much less common than anticipated. We still only possess 4 worlds, and they are getting crowded. Most of them are quite small. We decided we would try putting a colony on a tropical world. Not very habitable for us cold-loving creatures, but maybe our robots could do most of the work there.
2257: While we were preparing to vassalize our fungal neighbors, another empire to the south declared war on us. They wish to vassalize us. Traumatic memories come ashore. We discovered them about a year ago. They are reptilian. We don't have much more information. To war!
2263: We are close to victory over the cold-blooded snake-eyes. But our fleets are so far away from our old rival, the fungal fiends, that we decided to build a second fleet. We declared war to vassalize them and marched onwards with our secondary fleet.
2266: Our society had a breakthrough! With the combined might of the unity between us, we've gotten our society even more focused on what even united us in the first place. New fields of genetics lay before us. We would ascend.
2267: We have encountered quite a few space faring civilizations by now. A multitude of them proposed to create a galactic council. That sounds promising. Maybe it could get more peaceful around here.
2268: We have beaten the cold-blooded and gotten 6 systems in reparations, but the fungoids are proving hardy. With only a small fleet of ours in the northern conflict, we cannot win the war effectively even though we have the upper hand. We will settle on the status quo for now, still planning to return in a few years. Their atrocities of the first war still reverberate to this day.
2272: The scientific community proposed a technology to alter our species' habitability towards specific planets! In preparation, we would send colony ships to every planet we were able to reach. This news came at the right time. Our planets are bursting with populations.
2277: One more year until our truce with the snake-eyes ends. Shipyards are converting every alloy we have into fleets. 2282: We would have loved to attack the fungal menace in the north, but it's very far from the south, and down there, our truce with the snake-eyes would end. Our cunning plan: draw the snake-eyes into a quick war, with the intention of a quick truce. With the forced peace in the south, we could concentrate our fleets on the north without danger from below.
2283: Our scientists had a massive breakthrough! Genetics would now be possible almost without constraints. Ascension had come. Each and every citizen elevated to perfection for its purpose.
Modification template creation would start immediately. The masses of Gorthikans would be modified to either be shaped for dry, wet, or cold environments. But we would not stop there. Genetics had so much more to offer.
The generalist Gorthikans would live long lives, be happier, less unruly, and very efficient at industrious tasks. In addition, they would adapt to whatever task they picked up. Perfection.
The less common Gorthikans would be next. We only created them from clone vats, since we could control exactly where those would be needed, and they would not reproduce out of control, since there were never many jobs for such citizens anyway. We made them incredibly smart. Tests showed that they would be 50% smarter than their peers. Artists and bureaucrats were designed to live long, happy lives, with an urge for the betterment of other people's lives.
Lastly, in a fortunate coincidence, we managed to find gene samples for a species able to survive the harshest post-apocalyptic landscapes. We perfected those mammals to live on the huge tomb world that happened to be in our borders. They would be obedient and strong, perfect for lowly works.
From now on, robots would be obsolete. Sentient life was more than just superior.
With our new plan set in action, we needed tremendous amounts of biomass.
2292: What was supposed to be a quick stratagem, turned out to be a nail-biting war of attrition against the snake-eyes. We could barely whittle them down. But our prize was phenomenal. 6 star systems and 1 huge relic world. With those achievements behind us, we were looking northwards to our fungal rivals. It was time to settle this once and for all.
2293: Our fleets in position, there was a moment of calamity. In our early days of space fare, we were taught that the strong would get their way. Our magnificent creations, each and every one perfect, were threatened. Threatened by the imperfect. It was time we got our way. Perfection should rule over the galaxy. As we would make every life form flawless. Other empires would not see our plans with mistrust. We were preparing to bring our gift by force. From now on, other empires called us the Galactic Nemesis from then on.
2298: We learned some valuable lessons during this war. Our enemy would absolutely not surrender multiple systems to us and be our vassal. They would rather die. We are not at that point yet. Another offense at a later point will subjugate them. We are patient.
2302: The snake-eyes in the south kept cursing our way. It's only a matter of time until they declared war. We had to end it once and for all. Use the leftover specimens as genetic material. We started by paying raiders. Hiring a few mercenaries wouldn't hurt either. Our fleets were strong. So it begins. To war!
2313: With a last effort, the reptilians were able to muster out one last powerful fleet. We couldn't push further. But they lost 80% of their star systems. About half of them fell into our possession. Construction vessels were on the way to conquer the others. The snake-eyes would no longer pose a threat to us. Gorthikans could rest easier.
2320: The snake-eyes would prove sturdier than we thought. They formed alliances with multiple other empires. We set out to crush them again. This time supporting a rebellion from within them.
2321: Our species is divided. We gave them everything. Freedom. Perfect bodies. Great living standards. But we have always been rebels at heart. Seemingly even the best splicing could not get rid of that. Half of the population wanted to conquer the galaxy. The other half wanted to embrace peace and compassion for the alien nations. Overall unhappiness took hold in our empire. Rebellions sprung up from time to time. Enforcement and distractions were necessary to keep the population in check. Did we go too far? Our hatred was sparked by the attacks on us. Now we were the aggressors. Did we go too far?
2325: The wars on multiple fronts spread us too thin. We won against the snake-eyes, but the fungus managed to get away with a white peace status quo. Again. The fallen empires start threatening us and our citizens shake in fear. Frustration settles in. The once so great vision and unity is no more. Hatred within and without our nation. There is no turning back either. Everybody hates us and wants to see us dead. The economy is decent but cannot support our required fleet. We took every planet we could. Unemployment is still high.
2331: We had shifted our focus inwards. What worth is freedom if you have no choice? We created opportunities for our citizens. Theaters on every planet. An abundance of jobs. After all, if we were determined to bring our way to the universe, it'd better be worth it.
2332: We were finally able to construct hyper relays. The century-old problem of fleet logistics would become far less detrimental.
2334: Dormant empire threatened us for the third time. This time it was enough. Fleet production to the maximum.
2335: With no attack from the fallen ones, we decided to use our fleets to attack the cursed fungal people. Success came fast this time. We relied on our spacecraft until now. But the first breakthrough in this century-long conflict was achieved by our ground forces. Our gene-soldiers would make short work of planetary defenses. Perfection would prevail after all. With 4 planets full of new citizens taken from them, our researchers had lots to do in order to ascend them to perfection. They would be grateful after all. Free of inadequacies, free citizens in our egalitarian nation.
2336: Formation of the galactic council. We couldn't care less. The other empires were neither free nor perfect. We would bring it to them. No matter what they say.
2343: An all-out war with the lizard fiends was at full swing. The hatred between our species surged to new heights. Every Gorthikan could feel it. A mysterious connection. Our scientists said it came from the Shroud. Some raised their voices in question, asking if we had gone mad. Did our genetic splicing take its toll after all? Billions had died in our wake. There was no turning back.
2348: In an unforeseen event, the Panaxalan Horde united under a Khan. Their fleets were absolutely massive. All other wars had to be put to rest for now. We had made great land gains. We could come back later.
2358: Luckily, the horde was concentrating on other empires. We lost a few systems here and there, but the losses were acceptable. We decided it was time to level the playing field and erase some of the tiny empires in the area. With them removed, the big players in the area would not have to tread so carefully in the future.
2361: The horde started turning our way. We managed to destroy their second-biggest fleet and one of their flagships. Their biggest fleet wiped out our fighters shortly after. Mass production from all starports would hopefully suffice.
2364: The Great Khan's fleet was destroyed. The coward escaped through hyperspace. The war is not over. Our fleets shall push as fast as they can through their territory. Sadly, a vile necropolis kingdom declared war on us, and we had to spread our fleets thin.
2365: The Khan already had a second fleet assembled. Seems like he would not give up easily.
2366: We were able to bruise the necropolis kingdom hard enough to make them settle for a status quo. Just in time. Our forces needed to race to meet the Khan's second fleet. No time for repairs. Meanwhile, our eyes turned west. During all our fighting in the north and south, the Ruphaarian Hive was left unchecked for a century. Their unobtrusive looks were deceiving. Insignificant mammals at first glance, but connected via a fascinating connection, they acted as one individual. In either case, their empire was massive. They took the fungal people as vassals recently. Our fighting in the south and east needed to come to a conclusion soon.
2367: The Great Khan is dead! New, infighting empires were founded. With our fleets bordering one of them, we decided to subjugate the closest one. Such uprisings shall never happen again.
2370: The Galactic Community declared us an existential galactic threat. All we wanted was to bring freedom and perfection. Maybe our methods were not diplomatic, but our motives were good. Sacrifices had to be made. Billions so far. With everyone against us now, trillions to come. Probably. Maybe there was another way out. Our scientists proposed a new device: the Aetherophasic Engine. Combined with the immense star-eater ships, we could get closer to tapping into the shroud, the mysterious thing which connected all of us. We had to see it through.
2371: The onslaught from all sides was immense. When war was declared on us, our fleets were completely out of position. To our demise, the Ruhaarian Hive used a wormhole close to our home planet to bring in massive fleets. Our only hope was that our hyperlanes could get us into position fast enough. Due to a fatal error in miscommunication between our scientists and mega-facility team, our starbases were not upgraded to the citadel design, which was needed to produce further Star-Eaters. Who would have thought that the destruction of our species might come down to such an embarrassing error? Our only chance was to defend longer with our normal fleets.
2373: Defense was manageable. The other empires in the galaxy were no match for a conglomerate of perfected species after all. Attacks were still underway, but the surprise attack was defeated, and the brunt of their fleets shattered.
2385: Other empires had no fight left in them anymore. Our Star-Eaters left a wake of destruction. More than that, our neighboring empires glowed up in supernovae. Unusable star systems with nothing left except black holes remained. Our rivalry with the fungoids seemed so childish and innocent. The snake-eyes were about to meet the same fate. The citizens whom we integrated into our empire before the great star feast were all that was left of them.
2395: The galaxy started to change. Not in the visuals in the sky. Most systems were not connected to a hyperlane anyway. But the galactic map of charted systems did even more. Half the Ruphaarian Hives' worlds were devoured by black holes.
2398: Our hold on the shroud grew with every stage of the project. Soon not only our bodies would be perfect, but our minds as well. Perfect in every aspect.
2399: The fabric of space tore apart, the being of the void entered our space. We had no more mercy for them than for the other casualties of this war. The price had to be paid. But after all, a universe in flames was a sight to behold.
2409: The shroud is fighting with all its frenzy not to be invaded. Mad avatars pour into our dimension as it lies in anguish.
2418: The Aetherophasic Engine is brimming with the dark energy of countless stars. We would only have to activate it and ascend. Nothing of what has been could describe what would be. Perfected beings in a flawless new existence. The destruction of the whole galaxy was the price. As an inconceivable number of beings perished, we were taken somewhere, where those things don't have meaning anymore.

Like I'm sure many of you, I was not around during 75% of the Edmonton Oilers existence. So to fill in the gaps of the years I was not around, I made this guide detailing every playoff series in Oilers history. This just shows what every series the Oilers played was like in a little more detail than usually shared.
EDIT: This did not format well after posting, here's a cleaned up screenshot that's easier to follow: https://www.reddit.comXxBLAKEMWxX/s/ZObq9iUKqZ
World Hockey Association
1973
Preliminary Round vs Fighting Saints
❌
Avco Cup Champion: Whalers
1974
Quarter-Final vs Fighting Saints
❌❌❌✔❌
Avco Cup Champion: Aeros
1975
Missed Playoffs
Avco Cup Champion: Aeros
1976
Quarter-Final vs Jets
❌❌❌❌
Avco Cup Champion: Jets
1977
Quarter-Final vs Aeros
❌❌✔❌❌
Avco Cup Champion: Nordiques
1978
Quarter-Final vs Whalers
❌❌✔❌❌
Avco Cup Champion: Jets
1979
Quarter-Final vs N/A
✔ (Top 3 finishers received byes)
Semi-Final vs Whalers
✔✔❌❌✔❌✔
Avco Cup Final vs Jets
❌❌✔❌✔❌
Avco Cup Champion: Jets
National Hockey League
1980
First Round vs Flyers
❌❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Islanders
1981
First Round vs Canadiens
✔✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Islanders
❌❌✔❌✔❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Islanders
1982
First Round vs Kings
❌✔❌✔❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Islanders
1983
First Round vs Jets
✔✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Flames
✔✔✔❌✔
Conference Final vs Black Hawks
✔✔✔✔
Stanley Cup Final vs Islanders
❌❌❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Islanders
1984
First Round vs Jets
✔✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Flames
✔❌✔✔❌❌✔
Conference Final vs North Stars
✔✔✔✔
Stanley Cup Final vs Islanders
✔❌✔✔✔
Stanley Cup Champion: Oilers
1985
First Round vs Kings
✔✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Jets
✔✔✔✔
Conference Final vs Black Hawks
✔✔❌❌✔✔
Stanley Cup Final vs Flyers
❌✔✔✔✔
Stanley Cup Champion: Oilers
1986
First Round vs Canucks
✔✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Flames
❌✔❌✔❌✔❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Canadiens
1987
First Round vs Kings
❌✔✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Jets
✔✔✔✔
Conference Final vs Red Wings
❌✔✔✔✔
Stanley Cup Final vs Flyers
✔✔❌✔❌❌✔
Stanley Cup Champion: Oilers
1988
First Round vs Jets
✔✔❌✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Flames
✔✔✔✔
Conference Final vs Red Wings
✔✔❌✔✔
Stanley Cup Final vs Bruins
✔✔✔✔
Stanley Cup Champion: Oilers
1989
First Round vs Kings
✔❌✔✔❌❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Flames
1990
First Round vs Jets
❌✔❌❌✔✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Kings
✔✔✔✔
Conference Final vs Blackhawks
✔❌❌✔✔✔
Stanley Cup Final vs Bruins
✔✔❌✔✔
Stanley Cup Champion: Oilers
1991
First Round vs Flames
✔❌✔✔❌❌✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Kings
❌✔✔✔❌✔
Conference Final vs North Stars
❌✔❌❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Penguins
1992
First Round vs Kings
✔❌✔❌✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Canucks
✔❌✔✔❌✔
Conference Final vs Blackhawks
❌❌❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Penguins
1993
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Canadiens
1994
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Rangers
1995
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Devils
1996
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Avalanche
1997
First Round vs Stars
❌✔✔❌✔❌✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Avalanche
❌❌✔❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Red Wings
1998
First Round vs Avalanche
✔❌❌❌✔✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Stars
❌✔❌❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Red Wings
1999
First Round vs Stars
❌❌❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Stars
2000
First Round vs Stars
❌❌✔❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Devils
2001
First Round vs Stars
❌✔❌✔❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Avalanche
2002
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Red Wings
2003
First Round vs Stars
✔❌✔❌❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Devils
2004
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Lightning
2005
Season Cancelled
2006
First Round vs Red Wings
❌✔✔❌✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Sharks
❌❌✔✔✔✔
Conference Final vs Mighty Ducks
✔✔✔❌✔
Stanley Cup Final vs Hurricanes
❌❌✔❌✔✔❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Hurricanes
2007
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Ducks
2008
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Red Wings
2009
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Penguins
2010
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Blackhawks
2011
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Bruins
2012
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Kings
2013
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Blackhawks
2014
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Kings
2015
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Blackhawks
2016
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Penguins
2017
First Round vs Sharks
❌✔✔❌✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Ducks
✔✔❌❌❌✔❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Penguins
2018
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Capitals
2019
Missed Playoffs
Stanley Cup Champion: Blues
2020
Qualifying Round vs Blackhawks
❌✔❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Lightning
2021
First Round vs Jets
❌❌❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Lightning
2022
First Round vs Kings
❌✔✔❌❌✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Flames
❌✔✔✔✔
Conference Final vs Avalanche
❌❌❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Avalanche
2023
First Round vs Kings
❌✔❌✔✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Golden Knights
❌✔❌✔❌❌
Stanley Cup Champion: Golden Knights
2024
First Round vs Kings
✔❌✔✔✔
Conference Semi-Final vs Canucks
❌✔❌✔❌✔✔
Conference Final vs Stars
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
Stanley Cup Final vs TBD
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
Stanley Cup Champion: TBD

I recently posted an analysis of input lag on the 4KP, and I'm back with more accurate data. I'm also using this post to share some info on two popular after-market replacement buttons. Read on if you're interested, skip if not, but I did the work for myself anyway, so I thought I'd share with you all.
This is specifically going to be a look at aftermarket button options and then at total input lag for a selection of native tables. I'll be focusing on OTG lag and tweaking VPX/FX settings next time.

What's New?

Just as a quick TLDR from my last post, I'm trying a bunch of stuff to try and minize total input lag as much as possible, mainly for OTG use. My input lag measuring methodology was: high speed camera method, using iOS app "Is it Snappy?," tagging the input frame as the frame where the button was fully pressed in, and the output frame as the frame where flipper movement was first seen. So basically an imprecise start frame and a precise final frame.
Well, turns out we can have a precise first frame as well. I put together a quick breadboard circuit setup (details at the very end of this post) that adds in an LED light to indicate the precise moment when the button was actuated.

Solenoid LEDs

It turns out you don't even need a breadboard or electronics skills to get much more accurate, consistent, input lag measurements than I was getting by eyeballing the button. If you have your solenoids turned on, then there will be a pair of red LEDs on one of the controller boards that light up every time you push the flipper button. To be clear, these are solenoid lights, so they won't trigger if you have your solenoids turned off. Just remove the control deck, hit the flipper button, and the lights will be easy to spot. Now the caveat here is that these lights do trigger ~4-8ms (1-2 frames at 240fps) after the breadboard light (and thus after actuation), so you should build that additional lag amount in to your measurements if you use this method.

Aftermarket Button Options

Imgur Album
One big point of discussion around input lag (maybe more on YT than here) has been the flipper buttons. Are the stock buttons bad? Which aftermarket option is best? Do these completely fix flipper lag as some videos have claimed? Does any of this really matter?
The answer to the last one is: "Kind of. Maybe." I have three buttons that I've been playing with. The stock clicky button, the popular "gold leaf" button, and the much-praised "leaf" button. I sourced these from the usual eBay sellers.
Button Characteristics
I used a digital caliper to measure some key numbers for these buttons. Total travel distance is the distance that the button is capable of traveling, from unpushed to bottomed out. The actuation point is the distance into the button press that the button completes the circuit and sends the flip signal to the machine. This is all as accurate as I could get, but there's always some literal wiggle room when taking measurements like this.

Button	Actuation Point	Total Travel Distance
Stock	~1.75mm	~3.7mm
Gold Leaf	~1.75mm	~3.7mm
Leaf	~1mm	~3mm

Stock button:
There is a Baolian/Bao-Lian brand black clicky mechanical switch inside the button, with silver-colored contacts. It has low push resistance overall that increases leading up to the click, and peaks at the click, with low post-click resistance. See the album for a dissambled white stock button and a look at the Baolian switch.
Honestly, I don't like the stock button because it's clicky, and pinball flipper buttons shouldn't be clicky.
Oh, and the click happens 2mm into the button push, so it clicks actually after it actuates.
Gold leaf button:
Essentially identical to the stock button in terms of basic push characteristics, but there's no click, and the contacts are gold-colored instead of silver-colored. There is a Baolian grey linear switch inside the button. They are quiet and smooth, with a low push resistance that is consistent throughout the push.
I'm not sure if the contacts are just gold-colored, or if they're actually gold plated. Even if they are truly gold plated, that isn't going to make a meaningful impact on response time or lag. This button and the stock button have exactly the same actuation point and total travel distance.
The lack of a click makes these an easy winner for me over the stock buttons. I like them, and they make for an easy drop-in replacement for the stock buttons.
Leaf button:
Uses an actual old-school leaf switch mechanism, so this also has no click. See the Imgur album for a demonstration video. It has a much higher push resistance than either of the other two, and it comes in two stages. A lighter pre-actuation stage, and then a heavier post-actuation stage as you transition from pushing one contact arm to pushing both arms. It's actually surprisingly tough to bottom out compared to the low-effort bottom out on the others. It does make a small amount of noise due to various parts rubbing together and bending, but I'd say not really loud enough to hear when installed.
The leaf button has shorter pre-actuation travel than the other options, so it wins for "speed" by ~.75mm. How much that actually matters in terms of perceived lag is very much up for debate, but I expect it's a small impact.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of the extra resistance these buttons have. My sweet spot is the gold leaf button.
Input Lag Impact:
Actuation is actuation. Your button choice doesn't affect lag once the button has been actuated, so if you want to do absolutely everything you can to minimize perceived input lag, go with the leaf switches. I'm sure you can claw back a few milliseconds, but it probably won't make much difference overall, and it definitely won't solve the lag problem altogether as certain YouTube videos suggest. The real lag isn't happening between 1mm and 1.75mm of the button press.
There has long been a related discussion in MechanicalKeyboards, with "normal" switches compared against "speed" switches that have a shorter actuation distance, and the consensus there is that the shorter throw "speed" switches don't actually improve your gaming performance in a meaningful way. I expect it's not that different here.
If you want the button that feels most authentic to modern physical pinball machines, go with the gold leaf buttons. That's what I'll probably stick with.

More Accurate Input Lag Data for Native Tables

Here I'm looking at a variety of stock/native tables, with a deeper dive into OTG coming later. One last quick note - I hate how the total lag measures seem to vary over time, but they do. In the past, I've captured total input lag times for Dino Dynasty as low as about 50ms, but I didn't capture anything that low this time.
Software version 2.16.6. Measurements taken using my breadboard LED indicator for the most accurate possible results. The individual measurement error is ±~6ms, and I've gathered anywhere from 5 to 15 measurements for each table, and I threw in the 95% confidence interval data for any stats heads out there.

Table	Type	Average Total Input Lag (ms)	95% CI (ms)
Dinosaur Dynasty	Magic Pixel	72.5	± 3.27
Ice Age	Magic Pixel	68.4	± 7.33
Attack from Mars (with effects)	Zen	139.5	± 5.46
Attack from Mars (no effects)	Zen	135.0	± 7.33
Star Trek Deep Space 9	Zen	145.3	± 7.33
Star Trek Discovery	Zen	137.5	± 7.33
Star Trek Kelvin Timeline	Zen	138.9	± 7.33
Tee'd off	Gottlieb	54.2	± 7.33
Space Invaders	Taito	69.2	± 7.33

I'm personally looking at ~100ms of total input lag as the benchmark for maximum acceptable lag, and below ~50ms total lag as the ideal range.
There's nothing shocking here. I just wanted to provide more accurate data. The Magic Pixel tables get a passing score, as do the native Gottlieb and Taito tables. Zen, of course, is still the problem. It's interesting how small of an improvement I got from disabling the table effects on Attack from Mars.
That's it! Thanks for reading and I hope this was interesting for at least one of you.
Breadboard Setup
A red LED in series with 50k ohms worth of resistors, with wires going to the button terminals, putting the whole setup in parallel with the button. The buttons are NC (normally closed) buttons, so the led light will be on by default and turn off when the button is actuated. The system is also very sensitive, reading even small drops in voltage as a button press. 50k ohms was the magic number where the system finally worked. Anything below that and the system was interpreting the voltage drop caused by the mere presence of the LED circuit as a button press due.

So I currently am trying to decide if Fuxuan is worth it for my account. I started recently and I am a Clara main. My team is Clara Robin Lynx and Tingyun. Lynx will be replaced by HuoHuo in her rerun. My other team is currently Jingliu, Bronya, Bailu, and Pela. I am debating pulling Fuxuan so I have another limited 5 star support but my issue is that ultimately I would like to run a black swan team and Fuxuan’s crit buff is not worth it. My Jingliu team is just in the interim until black swans rerun and I’m just not sure if she’s worth all the wishes for a f2p account like my own.

Hi there! So apparently I am a trusting person. In this world I have learned you can't trust everybody. So 1/21/24 I purchased ($145 + $12.30 delivery) a cream w/ black Marc Jacobs Tote medium size medium bag from Linda Gavilan for $145. Then 1/27/24 bought ($26 + $13.50 delivery fee) a black w/white Marc Jacobs Tote medium size bag from Amani Azzam, Also 2/4/24 bought ($158 + $7.99 delivery) a pink leather Marc Jacobs Tote medium size bag from Monay Carter. Monay Carter and Linda Gavilan are the same people! She sets up multiple names to sell fake purses. I was so excited to have purchased these bags and left a 5 star review on all three. I did not think of checking authenticity because Mercari states they do not sell fakes. Fast forward to 2/11/24 I went to Nordstrom searching for a gift for Mother's Day. I looked at their Marc Jacob bags and thought that there is a big difference in their Tote bag compare to mine. Fast forward the sales rep. told me that my bag was FAKE. I was devastated because It was the first MC Tote bag I ever had and never thought to look at the bag for inauthenticity. When I got home I checked the other MC Tote bags and realized they were Fake too. I immediately messaged Mercari. They said there was nothing they could do because it's been passed the 15 days they give allow to return an item after purchase. A second email to them told me to get a certificate on authenticity and pics. She said send them to me within 15 days. I explained it was going to be $15 to get that certificate and would they be paying. She said no they would not pay for the certificate. So I emailed them the certificate and pics. Mercari sent me a message that they could not do anything after 15 days. I said the 2nd rep I emailed told me with the certificate and pics on the pink they could. I called and spoke to a girl named Mitch and she said the same. I explained I didn't return because I didn't think I could get a fake on Mercari and I just found out they were fake. Basically was told there is nothing they can do. Does anyone know if there is anything I can do further?? I am heartbroken!

I have had good and bad experiences off this forum but I won’t give up! So here’s me : Hiya! I’m just ust A femboy looking for a serious ltr , so I’ll get to the point 🤗. I’m not here for the games , or ghosting . I’m here for something long term. Dating apps don’t work for me sadly.
Located: Texas.
Willing to move to another state or have my future partner live with me .
Appearance :
A thick black femboy who loves dressing up sometimes . Height : 5’3. I wear glasses to read manga . My style is mostly goth/casual clothes from mostly anime shirts and chokers.
💙My hobbies:

• Anime : Some of my favorites animes are Tokyo ghoul , Sword Art Online , Yuri on ice , Future Diary, JJK, MHA, Yaoi(Love stage , Sasaki and Miyano)
• Manga : I’ve completed so many mangas from yaoi , Ouran high school host club , berserk , ect .
• Cosplay : I’ve done Pokémon & a Tokyo Ghoul cosplay before .
• Anime cons: I’ve been to at least 11 anime/Comic cons.
• Dueling (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
• Pokémon
• Yaoi
• Pc gaming
• Overwatch. I love this game have over 500 hrs .
• Marvel/DC
• Tv drama : The Vampire Diaries , Supernatural, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The 100.
• Horror- big fan of tv shows , movies like AHS
• Consoles I have are : Ps5, Nintendo switch , psp, ps vita, Nintendo 3ds , wii, gameboy , ect .

🩷What im looking for in a Relationship🩷

• [ ] Monogamous
• [ ] Single
• [ ] Loyalty
• [ ] Communication
• [ ] No kids
• [ ] Open-minded
• [ ] Common interest : Nerdy (Anime, Games, Star Wars or anything nerdy)
• [ ] Sure on what you want
• [ ] Mature
• [ ] 21+ in age : no exceptions .

▶️MY TYPE:
TALL (taller than my own height) , very communicative, masculine(mostly beards and body hair) gamers/anime nerds. These are just preferences not a deal breaker .
✅Ps: for compatibility reasons I’m a 100% bottom.
IMPORTANT : If you made it this far, please message me an introduction about yourself. This is extremely important as it tells me alot about you. I won’t respond to a simple message. If you can’t make the effort , I won’t waste my time honestly .

Prices FIRM - CashApp/Venmo/PayPal Friends & Family
Disney/Marvel titles are split codes. Only redeem what you pay for. Thank you.
12 Years a Slave (2013) (MA/HD) $3.25
13 Hours: Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (Vudu/HD) $1.75 (iTunes/4K) $3
2 Guns (2013) (MA/HD) $4.75 (iTunes/HD) $3.50
22 Jump Street (2014) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.25
355, The (2022) (MA/HD) $5.50
47 Meters Down (2017) (iTunes/HD) $4.25
47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $4.75
65 (2023) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $5
A Hologram for the King (2016) (Vudu/HD) $5
A Man Called Otto (2022) (MA/HD) $5.75
A Most Wanted Man (2014) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
A Vigilante (2018) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.50
Ad Astra (2019) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $4.25
Adventures of Tintin (2011) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014) (MA/HD) $4.75
Alien Collection 1-6 (MA/HD) $18
Alien: Covenant (2017) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.25
Aliens (1986) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $6
All Eyez on Me (2017) (Vudu/HD) $2.50 (iTunes/HD) $1.75
All The Money In The World (2017) (MA/HD) $3.75
Aloha (2015) (MA/HD) $2.50
Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel (2009) (MA/HD) $5.50
Ambulance (2022) (MA/HD) $3.75
American Hustle (2013) (MA/HD) $3.75
Amsterdam (2022) (MA/HD) $4.75
Anastasia (1997) (MA/HD) $6
Anna (2019) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $4.25
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) (MA/4K) $7.50 (iTunes/4K) $6 (GP/HD) $3
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) (MA/HD) $6.50
Antz (1998) (MA/HD) $5.50
Apocalypse Now (Theatrical, Redux & Final Cut) (Vudu/4K) $6.50
Apollo 11 (2019) (MA/HD) $5.50
Arnold Schwarzenegger 6-Movie (Vudu/HD) $13.50
As Good As It Gets (1997) (MA/4K) $6.50
Asteroid City (2023) (MA/HD) $6
Atomic Blonde (2017) (MA/4K) $4.75 (iTunes/4K) $3.50 (MA/HD) $2.25
Avengers: Endgame (2019) (MA/4K) $4.50 (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $1
Avengers: Infinity War (2018) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $1
Awkward Moment (2014) (MA/HD) $4.75
Babylon (2022) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $7.50
Babylon 5: The Road Home (2023) (MA/HD) $3.50
Back to the Future (1985) (MA/HD) $4
Bad Boys for Life (2020) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $3.25
Bad Guys, The (2022) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4
Bad Moms (2016) (MA/HD) $3.25 (iTunes/HD) $2.25
Bad Times at The El Royale (2018) (MA/HD) $5.25
Bambi (1942) (MA/HD) $5.75 (GP/HD) $4.25
Bambi II (2006) (MA/HD) $5.75
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Barbie (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
Batman, The (2022) (MA/4K) $3.50
Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham (2022) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $5.50
Battle of the Sexes (2017) (MA/HD) $4
Battleship (2012) (MA/4K) $4 (MA/HD) $1.75 (iTunes/4K) $3
Beast (2022) (MA/HD) $5.50
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) (MA/HD) $5 (GP/HD) $3.50
Ben-Hur (2016) (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Between Worlds (2018) (Vudu/HD) $5
Beverly Hills Cop (1984) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $4.25
Beyond the Reach (2015) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Big George Foreman (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
Birds of Prey (2020) (MA/4K) $3 (MA/HD) $1.50
Birth of the Dragon (2017) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.25
Black Adam (2022) (MA/4K) $6.50
Black Adam (2022) (MA/HD) $2.50
Black Panther (2018) (MA/4K) $6 (MA/HD) $4.25 (GP/HD) $1.75
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $2.75
Black Widow (2021) (MA/4K) $6.25 (MA/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $3
Blacklight (2022) (MA/HD) $3.75
Blindspotting (2018) (Vudu/4K) $4.75 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Bloodshot (2020) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $3.50
Blue Beetle (2023) (MA/HD) $6.50
Blumhouse's The Craft: Legacy (2020) (MA/HD) $7
Bob's Burgers Movie (2022) (MA/HD) $3.25 (GP/HD) $2.75
Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023) (MA/HD) $5.25
Book of Henry (2017) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.50
Book of Life (2014) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Boss Baby (2017) & Family Business (2021) (MA/HD) $5.50
Boss Baby (2017) (MA/HD) $1.25
Bourne Collection 1-5 (MA/4K) $25 (iTunes/4K) $18 (MA/HD) $14
Breach (2020) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.25
Breakfast Club (1985) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.25
Breaking In (Unrated) (2018) (MA/HD) $4.75
Breakthrough (2019) (MA/4K) $6
Brian Banks (2019) (MA/HD) $3.50
Bridesmaids (2011) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $3.50
Bridge of Spies (2015) (MA/HD) $5 (GP/HD) $3.50
Brooklyn (2015) (MA/HD) (iTunes/4K) $5.25
Bullet Train (2022) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $3.50
Buttons: A Christmas Tale (2018) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
Call Me by Your Name (2017) (MA/HD) $5
Call of the Wild (2020) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $1.50 (GP/HD) $1.25
Candyman (2020) (MA/HD) $4.75
Captain America: Civil War (2016) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.75 (GP/HD) $2.25
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) (MA/4K) $8 (MA/HD) $6 (GP/HD) $4.50
Captain Phillips (2013) (MA/HD) $4.50
Card Counter, The (2021) (MA/HD) $4.75
Carrie (2013) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Case for Christ, The (2017) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
Celebrating Mickey (2018) (MA/HD) $5.25
Central Intelligence (Unrated) (MA/4K) $6.50
Charlie's Angels (2000) (MA/4K) $6.50
Charlie's Angels (2019) (MA/4K) $6.50
Child's Play (2019) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $6.50
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) (Vudu/HD) $6.75
Christopher Robin (2018) (MA/HD) $4.75 (GP/HD) $3.50
Cinderella (1950) (MA/4K) $7 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $5.75 (GP/HD) $3.75
Cinderella 'Camila Cabello' (2021) (MA/HD) $4.50
Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2002) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $5
Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $5
Clerks III (2022) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Clifford the Big Red Dog (2021) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Cocaine Bear (2023) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $5.25
Collateral (2004) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $7.50
Commuter (2018) (Vudu/4K) $5.75 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2.25
Concussion (2015) (MA/HD) $2.75
Contractor (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.25
Counselor (2013) (MA/HD) $3.25
Countdown (2019) (Vudu/4K) $5.75
Creed III (2023) (Vudu/4K) $6 (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Croods (2013) (MA/HD) $3
Cruella (2021) (MA/4K) $5.50 (MA/HD) $3.50 (GP/HD) $2.50
Da Vinci Code (2006) (MA/4K) $6.50
Daddy's Home 2 (2017) (Vudu/4K) $4.25 (iTunes/4K) $2 (Vudu/HD) $2.25
Dances With Wolves (1990) (Vudu/HD) $6
Dark Waters (2019) (MA/HD) $5.75
Dawn of The Planet of The Apes (2014) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $3.75
DC League of Super-Pets (2022) (MA/4K) $7
Dead Man Down (2013) (MA/HD) $4.50
Deadpool (2016) (MA/4K) $6 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $1.75
Death on the Nile (2022) (MA/HD) $5 (GP/HD) $3.50
Death Wish (2018) (Vudu/HD) $2.25
Dentist Collection 1-2 (1996-1998) (Vudu/HD) $5
Detective Knight: Independence (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Detective Knight: Redemption (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Detroit (2017) (iTunes/4K) Ports to MA $4.50
Devil's Due (2014) (MA/HD) $3
Devotion (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) (MA/HD) $4.25
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017) (MA/HD) $2
Die Hard (1988) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $4
Disaster Artist, The (2017) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Django Unchained (2012) (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) (MA/HD) $2.75 (GP/HD) $2
Dolittle (2020) (MA/HD) $3.25
Don't Breathe (2016) (MA/HD) $5
Downsizing (2017) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.25
Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) (MA/HD) $3.75
Dr. No (1962) (Vudu/HD) $6.75
Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) (iTunes/4K) $5.25 (MA/HD) $5
Draft Day (2014) (Vudu/HD) $3.25 (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Dredd (2012) (Vudu/4K) $6.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
Drive (2011) (MA/HD) $5
Duff, The (2015) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Dumb Money (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) (Vudu/HD) $5
Easter Sunday (2022) (MA/HD) $6.75
Elemental (2023) (MA/HD) $5.75
Elvis (2022) (MA/4K) $5.75
English Patient (1996) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.75
Epic (2013) (MA/HD) $2.25 (iTunes/SD) $1.25
Equalizer 3 (2023) (MA/HD) $5.75
Escape from L.A (1996) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Escape from Planet Earth (2013) (Vudu/HD) $4.25
Eternals (2021) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $4.25 (GP/HD) $2.75
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) (Vudu/4K) $6.50
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Evil Dead Rise (2023) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.75
Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $3.50
Exorcist: Believer (2023) (MA/4K) $7.50 (MA/HD) $6.50
Expendables 1-3 (Vudu/4K) $15 (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Extreme Prejudice (1987) (Vudu/HD) $5
F9: The Fast Saga + Director's Cut (2021) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $4.75
Fabelmans (2022) (MA/HD) $5.50
Fahrenheit 451 (2018) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $3
Fall (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $6
Fantasia (1940) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $5
Fantasia 2000 (2000) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $5
Fast & Furious Collection 1-8 (MA/4K) $23 1-9 (MA/HD) $10
Fast X (2023) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $5.50
Father Stu (2022) (MA/HD) $5.25
Fatman (2020) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.50
Fault in Our Stars (2014) (MA/HD) $1.50
Fences (2016) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.75
Five Nights at Freddy's (2023) (MA/HD) $6.50
Flash, The (2023) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $5
Footloose (2011) (Vudu/HD) $5 (iTunes/HD) $3.50
Forrest Gump (1994) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Fox and the Hound (1981) (MA/HD) $6.25 (GP/HD) $4.75
Foxcatcher (2014) (MA/HD) $3.75
Frank & Lola (2016) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.50
Frozen (2013) (MA/4K) $5.50 (MA/HD) $3.50 (GP/HD) $1.50
Fury (2014) (MA/4K) $6.25 (MA/HD) $3.25
Future World (2018) (Vudu/HD) $4
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.75
Gangs of New York (2002) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.25
Garfield (2004) (MA/HD) $6.50
Gate, The (1987) (Vudu/SD) $3.75
Ghostbusters (1984) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $3.50
Gifted (2017) (MA/HD) $4.50
Girl with All the Gifts, The (2016) (Vudu/HD) $5
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) (MA/HD) $6
Godfather Part II (1974) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.50
Godfather Trilogy (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $14
Gods of Egypt (2016) (Vudu/HD) $2
Goosebumps (2015) (MA/HD) $4.75
Grace Unplugged (2013) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Gran Turismo (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
Green Knight (2021) (Vudu/4K) $5.25
Grey, The (2012) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.50
Grizzly Man (2005) (Vudu/HD) $5
Groundhog Day (1993) (MA/4K) $6.50
Grown Ups 2 (2013) (MA/HD) $5
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) (MA/HD) $4.25 (GP/HD) $1.25
Half Brothers (2020) (MA/HD) $5.75
Halloween Ends (2022) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $4.25
Hateful Eight (2015) (Vudu/HD) $2
Heat: Director's Definitive Edition (1995) (MA/4K) $5.75 (MA/HD) $4.75
Heaven is for Real (2014) (MA/HD) $2.50
Hercules (2014) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.50
Here Comes the Boom (2012) (MA/HD) $4
Hereditary (2018) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Hitman (Unrated) (2007) (MA/HD) $6
Hitman's Bodyguard (2017) (Vudu/4K) $5.75 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.25
Holiday Inn (1942) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.75
Holiday, The (2006) (MA/4K) $6.50
Holmes And Watson (2018) (MA/HD) $3.50
Hook (1991) (MA/4K) $6.50
Hop (2011) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3
Hot Fuzz (2007) (MA/HD) $3.50 (iTunes/4K) $4
House of 1,000 Corpses (2003), Devil's Rejects (2005), 3 From Hell (2019) (Vudu/HD) $6
How High (2001) (MA/HD) $6.50
Howard the Duck (1986) (MA/4K) $7
Humans, The (2021) (Vudu/HD) $6.25
Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $5
Hunger Games Collection 1-4 (Vudu/HD) $6
Hunt, The (2019) (MA/HD) $5.50
Hurricane Heist (2018) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $3.50
I, Tonya (2017) (MA/HD) $5
Ice Age (2002) (MA/HD) $4.25
Ice Age Collection 1-5 (MA/SD) $16
Identity Thief (2013) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $3.50
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) (MA/HD) $6
Indiana Jones Collection 1-4 (Vudu/4K) $24 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $20
Indivisible (2018) (MA/HD) $5
Inferno (2016) (MA/HD) $3
Infinite (2021) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Inside Out (2015) (MA/4K) $5.75 (iTunes/4K) $4 (GP/HD) $1.50
Insidious: The Last Key (2018) (MA/HD) $5.50
Insidious: The Red Door (2023) (MA/HD) $5.25
Instructions Not Included (2013) (Vudu/HD) $3.75
Insurgent (2015) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $4 (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Interview, The (2014) (MA/HD) $3.25
Iron Man (2008) (MA/4K) $7.25 (iTunes/4K) $7 (GP/HD) $3
Iron Man 3 (2013) (iTunes/4K) $3 (MA/HD) $2.25 (GP/HD) $1.50
Iron Man and Hulk: Heroes United (2013) (MA/HD) $5 (GP/HD) $4
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016) (Vudu/4K) $5.25 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2.75
Jacob's Ladder (1990) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Jason Bourne (2016) (MA/4K) $5.25 (iTunes/4K) $3.50 (MA/HD) $3
Jaws (1975) (MA/4K) $5.75 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $4.50
Jaws (1975) Jaws 2 (1978) Jaws 3 (1983) Jaws: The Revenge (1987) (MA/HD) $15.50
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.50
Jerry Maguire (1996) (MA/4K) $6.50
Jigsaw (2017) (Vudu/4K) $4.75 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2
Jingle All the Way (1996) (MA/HD) $6
Joy (2015) (MA/HD) (iTunes/4K) $5
Jungle Book 2 (2003) (MA/HD) $6.50
Jungle Cruise (2021) (MA/4K) $5.50 (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $3
Jurassic Park: The Lost World (1997) (MA/4K) $6.50 (iTunes/4K) $3.50 (MA/HD) $2.75
Jurassic World Collection 1-6 (MA/HD) $11
Jurassic World: Dominion + Extended Cut (2022) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $3.75
Justice League: War World (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
Kandahar (2023) (MA/4K) $7
Karate Kid (1984) (MA/4K) $6.50
Kick-Ass (2010) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.25
Kid, The (2019) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $4.75
Killerman (2019) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.75
Kimi (2022) (MA/4K) $6.75
King's Man (2021) (MA/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $3.50
Knives Out (2019) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5
Krampus (2015) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.75
Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure (2001) (MA/HD) $7 (GP/HD) $5.50
Last Duel, The (2021) (MA/HD) $5.25 (GP/HD) $4
Last Full Measure (2020) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.25
Last Vegas (2013) (MA/HD) $3
Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023) (MA/4K) $7.50 (MA/HD) $7
Last Witch Hunter (2015) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.50
Last Word (2017) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.75
Leap! (2017) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.25
Life (2017) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $2.50
Lighthouse (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Lightyear (2022) (MA/4K) $4.75 (MA/HD) $2.50 (GP/HD) $1.75
Lilo & Stitch (2002) & Stitch Has a Glitch (2005) (MA/HD) $9.50 (GP/HD) $5.50
Lion King (1994) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $2.75
Lion King 2: Simba's Pride (1998) (MA/HD) $6.25
Little Mermaid (1989) (MA/4K) $7 (iTunes/4K) $5 (GP/HD) $3.25
Little Monsters (1989) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Little Women (2019) (MA/HD) $5.50
Lone Ranger (2013) (MA/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $2.50
Lone Survivor (2013) (MA/4K) $6.25 (iTunes/4K) $2 (MA/HD) $1.50
Looper (2012) (MA/HD) $2.75
Lords of Salem, The (2012) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Lost City, The (2022) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5
Love Actually (2003) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5
Lovebirds (2020) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.25
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022) (MA/HD) $4.25
M3GAN + Unrated (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) (MA/HD) $6.50
Marksman, The (2021) (MA/HD) $5
Marlowe (2023) (MA/HD) $6.50
Martian - Extended Cut (2015) (MA/4K) $7.75 (MA/HD) $5.25
Martian (Theatrical) (2015) (MA/4K) $7 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $3
Mary Queen of Scots (2018) (MA/HD) $6
Maze Runner (2014) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $5.25
Meg 2: The Trench (2023) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $5
Memory (2022) (MA/HD) $4
Men (2022) (Vudu/HD) $5
Men in Black Collection 1-3 (MA/HD) $14.50
Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Menu (2022) (MA/HD) $5.50
Mickey & Friends 10 Classic Shorts - Volume 2 (2023) (MA/HD) $6.25 (GP/HD) $5
Mickey & Minnie 10 Classic Shorts - Volume 1 (2023) (MA/HD) $5.25 (GP/HD) $3.75
Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) (MA/HD) $6 (GP/HD) $4.50
Midnight Meat Train (Unrated Director's Cut) (2008) (Vudu/HD) $5
Midsommar (2019) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016) (MA/HD) (iTunes/4K) $3.75
Million Dollar Arm (2014) (MA/HD) $4 (GP/HD) $3
Minions (2015) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.50
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) & Minions (2015) (MA/HD) $7.25
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $5
Moonfall (2022) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $4.75
Morbius (2022) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $3
Mortal Engines (2018) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $3.50
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2014) (MA/HD) $3.25
Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match (2023) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $5.50
Mother! (2017) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
Motherless Brooklyn (2019) (MA/HD) $3.75
Mud (2013) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3
Mulan (1998) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $5 (GP/HD) $3
Mummy, The (2017) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.75
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $3.75
My Fair Lady (1964) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
My Girl (1991) & 2 (1994) (MA/SD) $6.50
Natural, The (1984) (MA/4K) $6
Never Grow Old (2019) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
New Mutants (2020) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $5 (GP/HD) $3.25
Night at the Museum 3-Movie (MA/HD) $11.50 (MA/SD) $8
No Country For Old Men (2007) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
No Hard Feelings (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
No Time to Die (2021) (iTunes/4K) $3.50
Noah (2014) (Vudu/HD) $1.75 (iTunes/HD) $1.50
Nope (2022) (MA/HD) $5
Nope (2022), Get Out (2017) & Us (2019) (MA/HD) $9
Northman (2022) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $3.75
Notting Hill (1999) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.75
Nun 2 (2023) (MA/HD) $6
Oblivion (2013) (MA/4K) $7 (iTunes/4K) $3.50 (MA/HD) $2
Old (2021) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.25
Oliver! (1968) (MA/4K) $6.50
Olympus Has Fallen (2013) (MA/HD) $5
Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood (2019) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $4.25
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023) (Vudu/4K) $7
Oppenheimer (2023) (MA/HD) $7
Other Guys, The (2010) (MA/4K) $6.50
Other Woman (2014) $4.25
Ouija (2014) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Outfit (2022) (MA/HD) $7
Over the Hedge (2006) (MA/HD) $6.50
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) (MA/HD) $2 (GP/HD) $1
Pacific Rim Uprising (2018) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.25
ParaNorman (2012) (iTunes/HD) $5
Parasite (2019) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $4.50
Patriot Games (1992) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5
Patriots Day (2017) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Paul (2011) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.25
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (2023) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $6.50
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Peppermint (2018) (iTunes/HD) $2
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) (MA/HD) $2.25
Pet Sematary (2019) (Vudu/4K) $4 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Pete’s Dragon (2016) (MA/HD) $6 (GP/HD) $4.25
Peter Pan (1953) (MA/HD) $6 (GP/HD) $4.50
Peter Rabbit 2 (2021) (MA/HD) $4
Philadelphia (1993) (MA/4K) $6.50
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $2.75 (GP/HD) $1.50
Pitch Perfect Collection 1-3 (MA/HD) $11.50
Plane (2023) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.50
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $5
Planet of the Apes 1-3 (Newer) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $10
Pocahontas (1995) (MA/HD) $6.25
Poms (2019) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Pope's Exorcist (2023) (MA/HD) $5.75
Power Rangers (2017) (iTunes/4K) $3 (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Predator (2018) (MA/4K) $5.75 (MA/HD) $3.50
Prey for the Devil (2022) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.50
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) (MA/HD) $6
Prince of Egypt (2002) (MA/HD) $5.50
Purge, The (2013) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.75
Puss in Boots (2011) & The Last Wish (2022) (MA/HD) $10.50
Puss in Boots (2011) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $5.50
Quantum of Solace (2008) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
R.I.P.D. (2013) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Rampage (2018) (MA/4K) $6.50
Ratatouille (2007) (MA/HD) (iTunes/4K) $7.50
Rebel Without a Cause (1955) (MA/4K) $7
Red Dawn (2012) (Vudu/HD) $5.25 (iTunes/SD) $2
Red Sparrow (2018) (MA/HD) $3.75
Reservoir Dogs (1992) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5
Revenant, The (2015) (MA/4K) $5 (iTunes/4K) $3.75
Rhythm Section (2020) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4
Ricki And The Flash (2015) (MA/HD) $4.50
Riddick Collection 1-3 (Unrated) (MA/HD) $13.50
Rio 2 (2014) (MA/HD) $2
Rise of the Guardians (2012) (MA/HD) $3
Robin Hood (2010) (MA/4K) $6
Rock the Kasbah (2015) (MA/HD) $6.50
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) (MA/HD) $5.25
Rudy (Director's Cut) (1993) (MA/4K) $6.50
Rumble (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Russell Madness (2015) (MA/HD) $3.75
Saint Maud (2020) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Same Kind of Different as Me (2017) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2
Savages (2012) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $2.25
Saw Collection 1-7 (Vudu/HD) $9.75
Scary Movie Collection 1-3 (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $13.50
Scoob (2020) (MA/4K) $3.25
Scream 5 (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5
Scream 6 (2023) (Vudu/4K) $7 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $6.50
Scream Collection 1-3 (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $13.50
Secret Headquarters (2022) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.50
Selma (2015) (Vudu/HD) $2.75 (iTunes/HD) $2.25
Semper Fi (2019) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.25
Seriously Red (2022) (Vudu/HD) $6
Shape of Water (2017) (MA/HD) $3.25
Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) (Vudu/HD) $3.75
Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $3.75
Sick (2023) (MA/4K) $6.75
Silent Night, Deadly Night: 3-Film Collection (1989-1991) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Sixteen Candles (1984) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.25
Skyscraper (2018) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $1.75
Sleepy Hollow (1999) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.75
Smile (2022) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $6.25
Smokey and the Bandit (1977) (MA/4K) $6 (MA/HD) $4.50
Smokin' Aces (2007) (MA/4K) $6 (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017) (MA/HD) $3
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937) (MA/HD) $6 (GP/HD) $3.75
Social Network (2010) (MA/4K) $6.50
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) (Vudu/4K) $6.25 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) (Vudu/4K) $6 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Soul (2020) (MA/4K) $6 (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $2.25
Sound of Music (1965) (MA/HD) $5.50
Space Between Us, The (2017) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
Spectacular Now (2013) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Spell (2020) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $5
Spider-Man Collection 1-8 (MA/HD) $26
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) (MA/4K) $6.25 (MA/HD) $3.50
Spirit Untamed: The Movie (2021) (MA/HD) $5.50
Star Trek Beyond (2016) (Vudu/HD) $1.75 (iTunes/4K) $3.25
Star Trek Collection 1-3 (Vudu/HD) $9.50 (iTunes/4K) $13.50
Starship Troopers (1997) (MA/4K) $6.50
Still Alice (2015) (MA/HD) $3.25
Straight Outta Compton (Unrated Director’s Cut) (2015) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Strange World (2022) (MA/HD) $5 (GP/HD) $4.25
Studio 666 (2022) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $6.25
Suburbicon (2017) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
Super Mario Bros Movie (2023) (MA/4K) $7.25 (MA/HD) $5.50
Super Troopers (2002) (MA/HD) $5.50
Superman: Red Son (2020) (MA/HD) $3.50
SW: A New Hope (1977) (MA/4K) $7 (GP/HD) $3.50
SW: Empire Strikes Back (1980) (MA/4K) $7 (GP/HD) $3.50
SW: Rise of Skywalker (2019) (MA/4K) $6 (iTunes/4K) $4.75 (GP/HD) $2.25
Sword in the Stone (1963) (MA/HD) $5.75 (GP/HD) $3.25
T2 Trainspotting (2017) (MA/HD) $7
Talk to Me (2023) (Vudu/4K) $6.50
Tar (2022) (MA/HD) $5.75
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) (Vudu/4K) $7.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $6.50
Thanksgiving (2023) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $5.50
Think Like a Man (2012) & Too (2014) (MA/HD) $8.50
Thor (2011) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $7 (GP/HD) $3.50
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $3.25 (GP/HD) $2
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) (MA/HD) $3.50
Ticket to Paradise (2022) (MA/HD) $5.75
Till (2022) (iTunes/4K) $6.50
Titanic (1997) (Vudu/4K) $6.50 (Vudu/HD) $4.75 (iTunes/4K) $6
TMNT Out of the Shadows (2016) (iTunes/4K) $4
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) (MA/4K) $5.75 (iTunes/4K) $4.50
Tomorrowland (2015) (MA/HD) $5.50 (GP/HD) $3.50
Top Gun: Maverick (2022) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Total Recall (1990) (Vudu/4K) $5 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Toy Story 1-4 (MA/4K) $23 (iTunes/4K) $21 (GP/HD) $11.50
Transformers 1-5 (Vudu/4K) $25 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $23
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) (Vudu/4K) $7 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $6
Trauma Center (2019) (iTunes/4K) $3.25
Trolls (2016) (MA/HD) $1.25
Trolls Band Together (2023) (MA/HD) $6.50
Trolls Collection 1-2 (MA/HD) $5.75
True Story (2015) (MA/HD) $5.25
Tully (2018) (MA/HD) $5
Turbo (2013) (MA/HD) $2.50 (iTunes/SD) $1
Turning Red (2022) (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $2.50
Turning, The (2020) (MA/HD) $5.25
Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.75
Uncharted (2022) (MA/4K) $5.25 (MA/HD) $3.25
Uncle Drew (2018) (Vudu/4K) $6 (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3
Under the Skin (2014) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Underwater (2020) (MA/HD) $5.50
Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) (MA/HD) $2.25
Unfinished Business (2015) (MA/HD) $4.50
Unhinged (2020) (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Usual Suspects, The (1995) (Vudu/HD) $6
Vertigo (1958) (MA/HD) $4.75
Victor Frankenstein (2015) (MA/HD) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Violent Night (2022) (MA/HD) $5.75
Visit (2015) (MA/HD) $4.50
Vivo (2021) (MA/HD) $4
Vow, The (2012) (MA/HD) $3.25
Voyagers (2021) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.25
Walking with Dinosaurs (2013) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Warcraft (2016) (MA/4K) $4.50 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.25
Watch, The (2012) (MA/HD) $4
Weird Science (2008) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5.75
Whale, The (2022) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
When the Bough Breaks (2016) (MA/HD) $4.50
Where the Crawdads Sing (2022) (MA/HD) $3.75
Whiplash (2014) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $5.50
White Christmas (1954) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.50
White House Down (2013) (MA/HD) $3.25
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (2022) (MA/HD) $4.75
Widows (2018) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $2
Witch, The (2016) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Wolverine (Unrated) (2013) (MA/HD) $3.25
Woman King (2022) (MA/4K) $5.75 (MA/HD) $4
Wonder Park (2019) (Vudu/HD) $3.50 (iTunes/4K) $2.25
Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (2019) (MA/HD) $3
World War Z (2013) (Vudu/HD) $3.25 (iTunes/4K) $4.50
X (2022), Hereditary (2018), Witch, The (2016), Green Room (2015), It Comes at Night (2017) (Vudu/HD) $13.50
X-Men (2000), X2 (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) (MA/HD) $12
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) (MA/HD) $7
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) (MA/HD) $6
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.25
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) (MA/HD) $7.50
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (2017) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.25
Yesterday (2019) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.75
Zombieland (2009) (MA/4K) $7.25
Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) (MA/4K) $7.25 (MA/HD) $5.25
Zookeeper's Wife, The (2017) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4
Zootopia (2016) (MA/4K) $7.25 (iTunes/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $3.25

I play demanding games and am considering upgrading from my current 16-inch computer, although 18-inch models are quite expensive. A prime example of the games I play is Star Citizen. I'm questioning whether GPU upgrades are essential and if they will be long-lasting. The Omen 17 appears to be the best choice, unless it is determined that the 4090s are excessively powerful for the price increase.
Legion 5i 4070 or Predator Helios 16 4080 Is the GPU jump worth the extra $300? That's the only difference.
Omen 17 Seems like a killer deal. But are gpus above the 4080 actually worth the extra chunk? I am mainly between this one and the above 2.
Alienware M18 is the 7900m comparable to the 4090? for this laptop it's a significant price drop
Predator Helios 18 Just wanted to make sure that I should stay away. Seems overpriced and it's a 2024 which means it's overpriced