Intro: For your distinguished service to the crown, you’ve been assigned the difficult and dangerous job of slaying a dragon purported to have slaughtered a village on the outskirts of the kingdom. It’s a job you should be able to handle, and you’re not too scared… now, if only the whole thing felt less wrong…
Summary: Listener meets a new acquaintance who befriends her, and offers to guide her where she needs to go. They face a danger together, and she learns that he is not what he seems.
Go ahead and monetize, it's fine. Word count is about 3800.
If you fill this or plan to fill this, please notify me. Please don't make edits without asking first.
TWs: Running deception, combat, discussion of mass murder (dragon burning places to the ground), possessiveness, forced sleep
Line breaks represent the listener talking or space where no one talks and should be short pauses, words within {brackets} represent the speaker’s tone or sfx. At ellipses, the speaker trails off, and at dashes, he is either cut off abruptly by the listener or by himself.
Author’s Note: And also the flipped version, for the draconic gentlemen out there!
If you want to read this somewhere other than Reddit, it's also here.
F4M version here.
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{internal monologue} {disgusted} Ugh, those damn livestock merchants charge more every time. Gouging bastards, {rationalization} but I do need them to stay silent. If the town finds out how much food I have to purchase every month, it’ll only end badly. Besides, it’s not like even this much bribery makes a dent in my hoard. I should really just be glad I haven’t met any merchants with integrity, that wouldn’t end well. Good thing it’s a vanishingly rare trait these days… {annoyance} wait, no, that’s not a good thing, what am I saying? It’s sad… but it does make my life easier. Well, that’s a hell of a conundrum. {sigh} {bored} Not one I haven’t dealt with before, though. Have this conversation with myself every time. Oh, well. What matters is the food’ll be delivered soon, I don’t have to go into hibernation, and the merchants won’t talk. Anything else I wanted to do before heading home? Hmm… I think I wanted to stop at the spice merchant, see how much- {interest} HELlo. Who is that?
{curiosity} What would a knight be doing here? I mean, I suppose the goblin raids have been getting more brazen, but the town guards seem to have it handled, I haven’t even needed to get involved yet. I guess she could be here about that, but it doesn’t feel right. Maybe she’s just passing through? Well, best way to find out is to go talk to-
{quiet} Oh, damn. That’s- oh, damn. Fuck, she’s hot. {forced calm} Okay, composure. You are an all-powerful dragon. You will not be thrown off your game by one mortal, no matter how shiny her armor is. And it’s only her armor you’ll be looking at, right? Right. Ignore that beautiful face, you just need to find out what she’s doing here, not-
{suspicious} Wait. Who’s she talking to? {upset} The spice merchant? And he’s BLUSHING? Uh-uh. No. Not gonna fly.
{out loud} {sickly sweet} Hiiiii, hello! It’s me again, I’m here to pick up some- Oh? Who’s this? A new friend?
Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were having a conversation. Please, continue. I can wait.
{cough}
Oh, no, don’t mind me, just looking at… cumin. My, this smells awfully strong.
So sorry to barge in again, uh, I would like to buy these.
Are you leaving? Well, it was lovely to meet you.
{internal monologue} Okay, let me just finish up here, and I can go talk to her.
{pleased} Hah! Look frustrated, spice sleazeball. Serves you right. {confused} Wait, do I know your name? Have I ever asked your name? Eh, doesn’t matter right now, I don’t need to know everyone in the village. {disgust} Especially not someone who flirts with- {confusion} Wait, what am I doing? I don’t have any claim over some random knight, why am I acting like this?
{frustrated noise} Figure out internal dilemma later, find human now. Where’d she go?
Agh! Curse this mortal form’s short legs, I can’t see- wait! Shiny!
{out loud} Hey! Hey! Wait up!
{out of breath} Whew… Thought I was gonna… gonna lose you… for a minute.
Thanks. Only need… a few seconds…
{composed} Hi. I’m Typhon. Sorry to chase after you like that, but I realized I didn’t catch your name?
Oh, that’s a lovely name. It suits you.
{pleased} Oh, flatterer. {internal monologue} She’s smooth, isn’t she? I was expecting all armor, no brain. I understand why the spice merchant was blushing now, I guess. {out loud} I just wanted to ask you… uh, I wanted to ask you what you were doing at the spice merchant’s? Usually passers-through don’t stop there when they can get their salt cheaper elsewhere.
Oh, that’s interesting! I didn’t know you could find that here.
Oh, no, I don’t spend very much time there. I mostly go in, buy what I need for my next few weeks of meals, and leave. Other places to be. More important places.
{laugh} Well. You certainly know the way to a man’s heart. {internal monologue} A knight with both manners and a sense of humor… who’d have thought?
{out loud} Wonderful. So, what brings you to Wylgrith? It’s not a large settlement by any means, and well out of the way of… everything, really. What reason would a mighty royal knight have for stopping by? Were you sent to handle the goblins that-
{stunned} …Say what now?
The dragon? You were sent to kill the DRAGON?
Can you… not?
{off-balance} I mean- uh- Well, I don’t see why you would, do I? After all, the dragon hasn’t been seen or heard from in years, right? And even before that he didn’t harm any humans for decades. He-
I- uhhh… I guess I’m guessing he’s a ‘he?’ I did see him once, flying overhead, though, and he looked like a boy dragon. Kind of stocky.
I… suppose ‘it’ works as well, yeah. {quiet, sad} A little hurtful, though…
{back on track} Nothing, nothing. So, why are you killing the dragon, again? I don’t think… it… has even harmed a human in living memory.
{sputtering} What? No it didn’t!
I- I think I would know if it burned down a village. I mean, this place is still standing, right?
A different- Well, I’m sure he wouldn’t have done anything like-
{quickly} No, no, I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve met the thing, right? But it hasn’t burned down this village, so why would-
{tentative} Oh. They said that?
Right to the king?
Right in the middle of court, where everyone could hear it?
{sad} I guess that settles that, then. The dragon needs to die.
{internal monologue} Damn. What a waste of such a beautiful knight. There’s no chance she could possibly beat me on her own, so she’s going to end up- wait, on her own?
{out loud} {confused} And the king sent you? Alone, I mean? No army, or squad of knights, or cadre of mages? Why would he do that?
{awed} Oh. Oh, that is a very magic sword.
Well, no, I haven’t. But- but you can just tell, can’t you? It’s glowing! And it’s covered in some kind of weird letters, those have to be magical, right?
{internal monologue} {hesitant} Okay. That’s somewhat worrying. Even with all the useless sigils and that pointless glow siphoning its energy, I can feel the power rippling off that thing. Where did she ever find- No, that doesn’t matter. Could it level the playing field? Give her a chance? Hard to tell, I think, my senses in this form aren’t as-
{out loud} I’m sorry, what? I was distracted. Uh- it’s a very pretty sword.
{taken aback} That’s- that’s a good name for it. Very dangerous-sounding.
{internal monologue}{stressed} ARE YOU KIDDING ME? FANGBANE? SHE FOUND FANGBANE? HOW IN THE- {forced composure} no, I’m calm, I’m calm, it’s fine. It’s not worrying at all that she has the most dangerous dragon-slaying sword ever forged. Wow, this very quickly went from “I don’t want to fight her, I don’t want to kill her” to “I don’t want to fight her, I don’t want to die.” Okay, time to nip this in the bud.
{out loud} Wow, it’s done that much? I never would’ve guessed that, it looks much too fancy for that. So… you can actually kill the dragon?
{hesitant} You’re right, I suppose. If it burned a village, it does deserve that. Well… {resolve}Do you know how to find its lair?
No, it’s not. If it was, everyone would be constantly in there robbing the hoard, wouldn’t we? Everyone knows that the lair is somewhere on the mountain, but no one knows where.
{triumph} Yes. Except me. And I’ll guide you there.
{reasonable} We already agreed, right? If it burned down a village, killed that many people, it needs to be put down. I want to help with that, and besides, you need someone to take you there. You’ll never find it on your own, so you can’t be too choosy about who you bring, can you?
I like hiking, and the mountain isn’t dangerous if you’ve known what you were doing since you were a child. I found it once, but I ran immediately, because I didn’t want to risk angering the dragon. I think I can find it again, but it’ll be a long trip. Three days at minimum.
{internal monologue} {satisfied} Perfect. A few days wandering in the forest should discourage her, maybe I can even convince her I didn’t burn any village. {confused} Why would she have been told… {moving on} Doesn’t matter right now. What matters is getting her off my trail, and maybe getting to know her in the meantime… {upset} No! Stop that! Bad Typhon! She’s literally trying to kill you. She is not a prospective mate, she isn’t even another dragon!
{sigh} {wistful} She is gorgeous, though, especially when the light catches her armor like that… No! Stop!
{out loud} {serious} We should set out soon, then. Do you have enough provisions for the trip?
Good, good. No time to waste, come on.
You’re hunting a dragon. A dragon. Don’t you think it might be wise to move before he- it catches wind of your presence?
Let’s go, then.
{some indicator of a time skip}
{amused} What, don’t tell me you’re getting tired? We’ve only been hiking for a couple hours today, aren’t you supposed to be a big, strong knight?
You could take off the armor, if it’s that hot.
{concession} All right, your decision. And I suppose wearing the armor was helpful when the tangler tree tried to grab you. Fine, we’ll stop for a bit.
How much is left in your waterskin?
Good, good. Mine’s pretty full, I haven’t felt thirsty in a while.
No, we’re definitely going in the right direction. {grasping at straws} I recognize… uh, that rock! Yeah. See how it kinda looks like a bear, if you tilt your head?
Really? Well, I see it. Anyway, I remember seeing that before. We’re about a day’s walk away from the lair, I’m almost certain.
You know, you never asked why I decided to hike in a random direction for three days. {internal monologue} {pleased} I have such a good story for it, too. It’ll leave you crying, and then maybe I can-
{out loud} {taken aback} You do?
What? You’re a royal knight, one of the most honored positions in the land. Why would you feel the need to escape?
{internal monologue} What? What was that? There for a second and then gone, was that… a crack in the charming exterior?
{out loud} No, no, I understand the feeling. I just… didn’t expect it from this quarter. Is something wrong at court? Are you-
{inner monologue} {protective} Oh… Oh her eyes… So sad… What did they do to you, my knight?
{out loud} Please, anything you can-
{confused} What? What’s wrong?
No, I’m not going to shush, we’re talking, and-
{muffled} Mmph! MMMMPH!
{inner monologue} {angy} This presumptuous human dares lay her hand on ME? I don’t care what might be inside her, I’m going to make it outside- {considering} Wait. What’s that noise?
That doesn’t sound like- oh. Oh, those are goblins. And she wanted me to be quiet, and now they heard us, and- oops. Why did I not sense them coming? Goblins wouldn’t know stealth if it snuck up behind them and ripped their legs off, I should’ve heard them from miles away. This doesn’t make any sense… Oh, well. I suppose it doesn’t matter, in the grand scheme of things. Just a few more goblins to kill. If she’d just let go of me… wait, but I don’t want to reveal myself. That makes this much more difficult. Can I kill all these green idiots in my human form? {concerned} Oh, wow, that’s… a worrying amount. Where are they all coming from? All right, I think I can take- wait, what? Human? What are you doing?
{out loud} Why are you getting in front of me? That is far too many goblins for any human to handle, we need to run!
{internal monologue} {flustered} Wha? What does she mean by that? And why does she have to be this lovely as she says it? That’s unfair!
{out loud} No- you can’t-
{internal monologue} {upset} Oh, the stupid, brave, self-sacrificial idiot! She’s gonna get herself killed if I don’t help her- wait, what?
{taken aback} She’s- oh, wow, that’s quite impressive. That’s- wow. I’ve never seen a human fight like that.
{confused} Huh? Why’s she looking back… Is she angry? What?
She’s yelling something… She wants me to run? Wha- {realization} OHHHHH- She thinks I’m in danger, and she’s trying to protect me! She wants to- {touched} aw. That’s the sweetest thing… My heart- {serious} I need to keep this knight alive.
{realization} Oh! I have to pretend to be running, yes. I can’t help her here, much as I want to. Besides, it looks like she has it handled. Those goblins aren’t laying a claw on her, somehow. Guess it was a good decision to wear the armor.
{planning} I’ll come back for her later, and she can be happy that she kept me safe, and maybe I can use that to find out what’s wrong with her, oh, looks like she’s just about finished with those- {shock} wut.
What is that.
That’s a- that’s a freaking hellhound! What in the Low Realms is a hellhound doing here?
{protective} Okay, no, unacceptable. I am not risking my treasure- {concerned} the human. The human! Why did I just think of her as- never mind, time for that later.
{whoosh sfx}
{roar}
{desperate} Oh no, please don’t let me be too late…
{out loud} {furious} Stay away from my human!
{crunch sfx}
{triumph} Hah. That’ll teach you.
Did you get the last of the goblins, lady kni- {wary} What are you doing.
Put that sword down, please, I’m not your enemy.
Okay, no, no, calm down, there’s no need to get worked up.
This isn’t helping anything, can we just talk?
{upset} OW! All right, this has gone far enough
{magically resonant} Sleep.
{sigh} {fading out} What am I going to do with you?
{some indicator of a time skip}
{cordial} Good morning, lady knight. As promised, I brought you to my lair.
Oh, yes, you must be confused.
{whoosh sfx}
There, is that better?
{resigned} Yes. It was me the whole time.
No, it wasn’t. If it had been a game, you would be dead right now. Instead you’re alive, unharmed, even unrestrained, in the middle of my hoard.
Or didn’t you notice?
{amused} Yes, I thought that might get your attention. Being surrounded by enough gold to fill a palace ten times over generally does the trick where humans are involved, or so I am informed.
{annoyed} Fangbane? The sword that slew more of my kind in two years than any other managed in thousands? You want it back?
Tch, no, but I would’ve if I could. That butcher’s blade should’ve been melted down long ago. Alas, it was impervious even to my fire.
I thought that was clear: no, you can’t have it back. You can have another sword, even a magic one, but not that atrocity forged in steel.
{considering} That would seem to be the question of the hour, yes. “What are you doing here.” Well… why don’t you tell me? You were sent to kill me, that much is clear. But much more isn’t. I would like… an explanation.
{annoyed} Oh, come on. You’ve been interacting with me for days now. Do I really seem like the type of person who burns down villages at random? That excuse is worthless… and… {suspicious} I think we both know it. You were sent here for some other reason. What was it? Tell me, before I grow cross.
Oh, I believe they didn’t tell you. But, though I think you like to pretend otherwise, dumb is one thing you are not. You know more than you’re saying, so answer me. Please. Why does the king want me dead?
{stunned} That’s- that’s it? Of all the petty, arrogant, stupid- I’m not even going to bother trying with that. {snort} And humans use dragons as symbols of greed.
{explaining something obvious} Yes. Because I like gold, its color, its luster. And because I enjoy living comfortably. {disgust} Not just… to have more than others.
Even if you don’t want to concede the difference, surely it does not escape you that I earned all of this, not just killed its old owner and stole it.
{offended} Of course I did! The very idea of taking something unearned… ugh.
{considering} You really know so little of my kind…
All of this, though… brings us back to you. You were sent here, presumably because you’re the kingdom’s best knight, the one with the highest chance of victory. You weren’t given any backup because there’s only one Fangbane. And you were fed a lie about me slaughtering innocents to make the job go down easier, but something in you knew that it was a lie. Tell me, am I hitting the mark with these?
So, my question becomes… why didn’t you? You had me at the point of your blade, and with a sword like that and skills like yours, you could’ve done it. If you wanted me dead, I would be, draconic magic and might notwithstanding. Instead, all I have is a scratch on my snout- {venomous} yes, that is the scar on my nose. Injuries do carry over, thank you so much for noticing.
{curious} And now you’re sorry. I don’t think I understand you at all, no matter how hard I try. Please, answer me. I want to.
Wha- {sigh} {exasperated} Well, if you were so certain it was a lie, why come here in the first place? If you felt you were given unjust orders, you could’ve just left the kingdom. Plenty of other places need knights, and there’s always work to be found as a sellsword. You risked much to gain… nothing, as best as I can see.
{dangerous} He… he what?
The king threatened to…
{cold} No. No, that is unacceptable.
No one threatens my human.
Yes, my human. I- {sigh} {warmer} I believe an explanation is in order. You see, I finally figured out what I’ve been feeling these past few days. At first, I thought it might be love, and, well, I suppose it is, of a kind: hoarding instinct. I feel hoarding instinct when I look at you. I saw you for the first time, and something in me just knew. You are the most precious treasure in this entire cavern, and I need to protect and keep you until the end of time, like the work of art you are.
{worried} Ohh, that’s not a good expression. Did I say something wrong? Come on too strong? I promise, living here won’t be bad at all, it’s quite a comfortable lair, whether I’m in human form or dragon. I maintain a good relationship with the villagers, too, so we can even go down to Wylgrith on day trips, as long as you don’t try to leave. You understand the importance of that, I trust.
{calming} No, no, don’t get all worked up. There’s no need to do something we’ll both regret.
Please, calm down. We’re both rational people, let’s discuss this as such.
{harder} Human, I don’t want to put you to sleep again. Don’t make me.
{pleased} Good, that’s much better. Now, what are your objections?
Mhm, mhm… {logical} Well, in point of fact, no, you don’t have a home anymore. If you go back without proof of my demise, the king will have you executed, will he not?
As I thought. So there’s nowhere else for you to be. As to your next point, of course I won’t keep you as a pet, you’re a sentient human. You have your own free will, thoughts, ideas, desires, the whole package. You would never be a pet. You will be my treasure. Very different thing, and it means I will want to keep you close, keep you safe, and stare at your radiance for as long as draconically possible.
{considering} Well, no, I haven’t heard of this. A living part of a dragon’s hoard? I believe it’s unprecedented, since nothing but gold lasts forever. Nevertheless, we’ll figure something out, we can make it work. And this doesn’t reflect strangely on me, you needn’t worry. I am one of the eldest dragons of this age, the young are used to my… peculiarities by now.
{pleased} Ah, yes, I wondered when we would get to that point. No, as a matter of fact, the king will not be sending other knights, or mages, or armies after me. I will not be killed like that, and you will not be reclaimed by them. And do you wish to know why?
{colder than ice} Because I am going to burn this kingdom to the ground. {amused} Naturally. I could overlook the attempt on my life - it brought me the most precious treasure I have ever known, after all, - I could forgive the use of Fangbane, since now I can make sure it never harms one of my kind again, I could even somewhat tolerate the blatant lies spread about me as flimsy justification. {angry} What I cannot accept, however, is what they have done to you. Threats on your life, on your body, on those you protect, promises of execution, forcing you to stain your soul against your will… no. No one is permitted to harm my human and live. This will, I admit, be something of a first for dragonkind, actually killing humans instead of protecting them is practically unheard of. I may even face repercussions from my kind for this. I find it hard to care, though, these ones are only getting what they deserve, for their actions or their complacence.
Now you’re getting upset again. {soothing} Don’t worry, this isn’t a sign of my outlook changing. I still have no desire to harm humans, and the village is perfectly safe.
We were communicating so well a second ago, if we could return to that, I would be grateful.
I promise you, this shouting and carrying on is nothing but counterproductive.
{tired} Lady knight, if you are not capable of being objective, I will be forced to- oh, forget it.
{magically resonant} Sleep.
{gentle} {slowly fading out} I truly am sorry to do this to you, but I can’t have you fighting me on this. I don’t want you to be upset at me, treasure, so, by the time you wake, the cause of this contention will be gone.
Shh, shh. It’s okay. It’s just a simple sleep spell, you’ll wake up comfortable and well-rested.
There. It will all be fixed before you awaken. Don’t worry, my treasure, nothing will ever harm you again.

Intro: For your distinguished service to the crown, you’ve been assigned the difficult and dangerous job of slaying a dragon purported to have slaughtered a village on the outskirts of the kingdom. It’s a job you should be able to handle, and you’re not too scared… now, if only the whole thing felt less wrong…
Summary: Listener meets a new acquaintance who befriends him, and offers to guide him where he needs to go. They face a danger together, and he learns that she is not what she seems.
Go ahead and monetize, it's fine. Word count is about 3800.
If you fill this or plan to fill this, please notify me. Please don't make edits without asking first.
TWs: Running deception, combat, discussion of mass murder (dragon burning places to the ground), possessiveness, forced sleep
Line breaks represent the listener talking or space where no one talks and should be short pauses, words within {brackets} represent the speaker’s tone or sfx. At ellipses, the speaker trails off, and at dashes, she is either cut off abruptly by the listener or by herself.
Author’s Note: God, this took way too long to write. A couple months, if you count when I had the idea and when I wrote the first few sentences. Well, it’s here now, and I hope it’s not too disappointing. Prequel series go!
If you want to read this somewhere other than Reddit, it's also here.
M4F Version here.
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{internal monologue} {disgusted} Ugh, those damn livestock merchants charge more every time. Gouging bastards, {rationalization} but I do need them to stay silent. If the town finds out how much food I have to purchase every month, it’ll only end badly. Besides, it’s not like even this much bribery makes a dent in my hoard. I should really just be glad I haven’t met any merchants with integrity, that wouldn’t end well. Good thing it’s a vanishingly rare trait these days… {annoyance} wait, no, that’s not a good thing, what am I saying? It’s sad… but it does make my life easier. Well, that’s a hell of a conundrum. {sigh} {bored} Not one I haven’t dealt with before, though. Have this conversation with myself every time. Oh, well. What matters is the food’ll be delivered soon, I don’t have to go into hibernation, and the merchants won’t talk. Anything else I wanted to do before heading home? Hmm… I think I wanted to stop at the spice merchant, see how much- {interest} HELlo. Who is that?
{curiosity} What would a knight be doing here? I mean, I suppose the goblin raids have been getting more brazen, but the town guards seem to have it handled, I haven’t even needed to get involved yet. I guess he could be here about that, but it doesn’t feel right. Maybe he’s just passing through? Well, best way to find out is to go talk to-
{quiet} Oh, damn. That’s- oh, damn. Fuck, he’s hot. {forced calm} Okay, composure. You are an all-powerful dragon. You will not be thrown off your game by one mortal, no matter how shiny his armor is. And it’s only his armor you’ll be looking at, right? Right. Ignore that beautiful face, you just need to find out what he’s doing here, not-
{suspicious} Wait. Who’s he talking to? {upset} The spice merchant? And she’s BLUSHING? Uh-uh. No. Not gonna fly.
{out loud} {sickly sweet} Hiiiii, hello! It’s me again, I’m here to pick up some- Oh? Who’s this? A new friend?
Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were having a conversation. Please, continue. I can wait.
{cough}
Oh, no, don’t mind me, just looking at… cumin. My, this smells awfully strong.
So sorry to barge in again, uh, I would like to buy these.
Are you leaving? Well, it was lovely to meet you.
{internal monologue} Okay, let me just finish up here, and I can go talk to him.
{pleased} Hah! Look frustrated, spice skank. Serves you right. {confused} Wait, do I know your name? Have I ever asked your name? Eh, doesn’t matter right now, I don’t need to know everyone in the village. {disgust} Especially not someone who flirts with- {confusion} Wait, what am I doing? I don’t have any claim over some random knight, why am I acting like this?
{frustrated noise} Figure out internal dilemma later, find human now. Where’d he go?
Agh! Curse this mortal form’s short legs, I can’t see- wait! Shiny!
{out loud} Hey! Hey! Wait up!
{out of breath} Whew… Thought I was gonna… gonna lose you… for a minute.
Thanks. Only need… a few seconds…
{composed} Hi. I’m Tiamat*.* Sorry to chase after you like that, but I realized I didn’t catch your name?
Oh, that’s a lovely name. It suits you.
{pleased} Oh, flatterer. {internal monologue} He’s smooth, isn’t he? I was expecting all muscle, no brain. I understand why the spice merchant was blushing now, I guess. {out loud} I just wanted to ask you… uh, I wanted to ask you what you were doing at the spice merchant’s? Usually passers-through don’t stop there when they can get their salt cheaper elsewhere.
Oh, that’s interesting! I didn’t know you could find that here.
Oh, no, I don’t spend very much time there. I mostly go in, buy what I need for my next few weeks of meals, and leave. Other places to be. More important places.
{laugh} Well. You certainly know the way to a woman’s heart. {internal monologue} A knight with both manners and a sense of humor… who’d have thought?
{out loud} Wonderful. So, what brings you to Wylgrith? It’s not a large settlement by any means, and well out of the way of… everything, really. What reason would a mighty royal knight have for stopping by? Were you sent to handle the goblins that-
{stunned} …Say what now?
The dragon? You were sent to kill the DRAGON?
Can you… not?
{off-balance} I mean- uh- Well, I don’t see why you would, do I? After all, the dragon hasn’t been seen or heard from in years, right? And even before that she didn’t harm any humans for decades. She-
I- uhhh… I guess I’m guessing she’s a ‘she?’ I did see her once, flying overhead, though, and she looked like a girl dragon. Kind of slender.
I… suppose ‘it’ works as well, yeah. {quiet, sad} A little hurtful, though…
{back on track} Nothing, nothing. So, why are you killing the dragon, again? I don’t think… it… has even harmed a human in living memory.
{sputtering} What? No it didn’t!
I- I think I would know if it burned down a village. I mean, this place is still standing, right?
A different- Well, I’m sure she wouldn’t have done anything like-
{quickly} No, no, I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve met the thing, right? But it hasn’t burned down this village, so why would-
{tentative} Oh. They said that?
Right to the king?
Right in the middle of court, where everyone could hear it?
{sad} I guess that settles that, then. The dragon needs to die.
{internal monologue} Damn. What a waste of such a handsome knight. There’s no chance he could possibly beat me on his own, so he’s going to end up- wait, on his own?
{out loud} {confused} And the king sent you? Alone, I mean? No army, or squad of knights, or cadre of mages? Why would he do that?
{awed} Oh. Oh, that is a very magic sword.
Well, no, I haven’t. But- but you can just tell, can’t you? It’s glowing! And it’s covered in some kind of weird letters, those have to be magical, right?
{internal monologue} {hesitant} Okay. That’s somewhat worrying. Even with all the useless sigils and that pointless glow siphoning its energy, I can feel the power rippling off that thing. Where did he ever find- No, that doesn’t matter. Could it level the playing field? Give him a chance? Hard to tell, I think, my senses in this form aren’t as-
{out loud} I’m sorry, what? I was distracted. Uh- it’s a very pretty sword.
{taken aback} That’s- that’s a good name for it. Very dangerous-sounding.
{internal monologue}{stressed} ARE YOU KIDDING ME? FANGBANE? HE FOUND FANGBANE? HOW IN THE- {forced composure} no, I’m calm, I’m calm, it’s fine. It’s not worrying at all that he has the most dangerous dragon-slaying sword ever forged. Wow, this very quickly went from “I don’t want to fight him, I don’t want to kill him” to “I don’t want to fight him, I don’t want to die.” Okay, time to nip this in the bud.
{out loud} Wow, it’s done that much? I never would’ve guessed that, it looks much too fancy for that. So… you can actually kill the dragon?
{hesitant} You’re right, I suppose. If it burned a village, it does deserve that. Well… *{resolve}*Do you know how to find its lair?
No, it’s not. If it was, everyone would be constantly in there robbing the hoard, wouldn’t we? Everyone knows that the lair is somewhere on the mountain, but no one knows where.
{triumph} Yes. Except me. And I’ll guide you there.
{reasonable} We already agreed, right? If it burned down a village, killed that many people, it needs to be put down. I want to help with that, and besides, you need someone to take you there. You’ll never find it on your own, so you can’t be too choosy about who you bring, can you?
I like hiking, and the mountain isn’t dangerous if you’ve known what you were doing since you were a child. I found it once, but I ran immediately, because I didn’t want to risk angering the dragon. I think I can find it again, but it’ll be a long trip. Three days at minimum.
{internal monologue} {satisfied} Perfect. A few days wandering in the forest should discourage him, maybe I can even convince him I didn’t burn any village. {confused} Why would he have been told… {moving on} Doesn’t matter right now. What matters is getting him off my trail, and maybe getting to know him in the meantime… {upset} No! Stop that! Bad Tiamat! He’s literally trying to kill you. He is not a prospective mate, he isn’t even another dragon!
{sigh} {wistful} He is handsome, though, especially when the light catches his armor like that… No! Stop!
{out loud} {serious} We should set out soon, then. Do you have enough provisions for the trip?
Good, good. No time to waste, come on.
You’re hunting a dragon. A dragon. Don’t you think it might be wise to move before she- it catches wind of your presence?
Let’s go, then.
{some indicator of a time skip}
{amused} What, don’t tell me you’re getting tired? We’ve only been hiking for a couple hours today, aren’t you supposed to be a big, strong knight?
You could take off the armor, if it’s that hot.
{concession} All right, your decision. And I suppose wearing the armor was helpful when the tangler tree tried to grab you. Fine, we’ll stop for a bit.
How much is left in your waterskin?
Good, good. Mine’s pretty full, I haven’t felt thirsty in a while.
No, we’re definitely going in the right direction. {grasping at straws} I recognize… uh, that rock! Yeah. See how it kinda looks like a bear, if you tilt your head?
Really? Well, I see it. Anyway, I remember seeing that before. We’re about a day’s walk away from the lair, I’m almost certain.
You know, you never asked why I decided to hike in a random direction for three days. {internal monologue} {pleased} I have such a good story for it, too. It’ll leave you crying, and then maybe I can-
{out loud} {taken aback} You do?
What? You’re a royal knight, one of the most honored positions in the land. Why would you feel the need to escape?
{internal monologue} What? What was that? There for a second and then gone, was that… a crack in the charming exterior?
{out loud} No, no, I understand the feeling. I just… didn’t expect it from this quarter. Is something wrong at court? Are you-
{inner monologue} {protective} Oh… Oh his eyes… So sad… What did they do to you, my knight?
{out loud} Please, anything you can-
{confused} What? What’s wrong?
No, I’m not going to shush, we’re talking, and-
{muffled} Mmph! MMMMPH!
{inner monologue} {angy} This presumptuous human dares lay his hand on ME? I don’t care what might be inside him, I’m going to make it outside- {considering} Wait. What’s that noise?
That doesn’t sound like- oh. Oh, those are goblins. And he wanted me to be quiet, and now they heard us, and- oops. Why did I not sense them coming? Goblins wouldn’t know stealth if it snuck up behind them and ripped their legs off, I should’ve heard them from miles away. This doesn’t make any sense… Oh, well. I suppose it doesn’t matter, in the grand scheme of things. Just a few more goblins to kill. If he’d just let go of me… wait, but I don’t want to reveal myself. That makes this much more difficult. Can I kill all these green idiots in my human form? {concerned} Oh, wow, that’s… a worrying amount. Where are they all coming from? All right, I think I can take- wait, what? Human? What are you doing?
{out loud} Why are you getting in front of me? That is far too many goblins for any human to handle, we need to run!
{internal monologue} {flustered} Wha? What does he mean by that? And why does he have to be this handsome as he says it? That’s unfair!
{out loud} No- you can’t-
{internal monologue} {upset} Oh, the stupid, brave, self-sacrificial idiot! He’s gonna get himself killed if I don’t help him- wait, what?
{taken aback} He’s- oh, wow, that’s quite impressive. That’s- wow. I’ve never seen a human fight like that.
{confused} Huh? Why’s he looking back… Is he angry? What?
He’s yelling something… He wants me to run? Wha- {realization} OHHHHH- He thinks I’m in danger, and he’s trying to protect me! He wants to- {touched} aw. That’s the sweetest thing… My heart- {serious} I need to keep this knight alive.
{realization} Oh! I have to pretend to be running, yes. I can’t help him here, much as I want to. Besides, it looks like he has it handled. Those goblins aren’t laying a claw on him, somehow. Guess it was a good decision to wear the armor.
{planning} I’ll come back for him later, and he can be happy that he kept me safe, and maybe I can use that to find out what’s wrong with him, oh, looks like he’s just about finished with those- {shock} wut.
What is that.
That’s a- that’s a freaking hellhound! What in the Low Realms is a hellhound doing here?
{protective} Okay, no, unacceptable. I am not risking my treasure- {concerned} the human. The human! Why did I just think of him as- never mind, time for that later.
{whoosh sfx}
{roar}
{desperate} Oh no, please don’t let me be too late…
{out loud} {furious} Stay away from my human!
{crunch sfx}
{triumph} Hah. That’ll teach you.
Did you get the last of the goblins, sir kni- {wary} What are you doing.
Put that sword down, please, I’m not your enemy.
Okay, no, no, calm down, there’s no need to get worked up.
This isn’t helping anything, can we just talk?
{upset} OW! All right, this has gone far enough
{magically resonant} Sleep.
{sigh} {fading out} What am I going to do with you?
{some indicator of a time skip}
{cordial} Good morning, sir knight. As promised, I brought you to my lair.
Oh, yes, you must be confused.
{whoosh sfx}
There, is that better?
{resigned} Yes. It was me the whole time.
No, it wasn’t. If it had been a game, you would be dead right now. Instead you’re alive, unharmed, even unrestrained, in the middle of my hoard.
Or didn’t you notice?
{amused} Yes, I thought that might get your attention. Being surrounded by enough gold to fill a palace ten times over generally does the trick where humans are involved, or so I am informed.
{annoyed} Fangbane? The sword that slew more of my kind in two years than any other managed in thousands? You want it back?
Tch, no, but I would’ve if I could. That butcher’s blade should’ve been melted down long ago. Alas, it was impervious even to my fire.
I thought that was clear: no, you can’t have it back. You can have another sword, even a magic one, but not that atrocity forged in steel.
{considering} That would seem to be the question of the hour, yes. “What are you doing here.” Well… why don’t you tell me? You were sent to kill me, that much is clear. But much more isn’t. I would like… an explanation.
{annoyed} Oh, come on. You’ve been interacting with me for days now. Do I really seem like the type of person who burns down villages at random? That excuse is worthless… and… {suspicious} I think we both know it. You were sent here for some other reason. What was it? Tell me, before I grow cross.
Oh, I believe they didn’t tell you. But, though I think you like to pretend otherwise, dumb is one thing you are not. You know more than you’re saying, so answer me. Please. Why does the king want me dead?
{stunned} That’s- that’s it? Of all the petty, arrogant, stupid- I’m not even going to bother trying with that. {snort} And humans use dragons as symbols of greed.
{explaining something obvious} Yes. Because I like gold, its color, its luster. And because I enjoy living comfortably. {disgust} Not just… to have more than others.
Even if you don’t want to concede the difference, surely it does not escape you that I earned all of this, not just killed its old owner and stole it.
{offended} Of course I did! The very idea of taking something unearned… ugh.
{considering} You really know so little of my kind…
All of this, though… brings us back to you. You were sent here, presumably because you’re the kingdom’s best knight, the one with the highest chance of victory. You weren’t given any backup because there’s only one Fangbane. And you were fed a lie about me slaughtering innocents to make the job go down easier, but something in you knew that it was a lie. Tell me, am I hitting the mark with these?
So, my question becomes… why didn’t you? You had me at the point of your blade, and with a sword like that and skills like yours, you could’ve done it. If you wanted me dead, I would be, draconic magic and might notwithstanding. Instead, all I have is a scratch on my snout- {venomous} yes, that is the scar on my nose. Injuries do carry over, thank you so much for noticing.
{curious} And now you’re sorry. I don’t think I understand you at all, no matter how hard I try. Please, answer me. I want to.
Wha- {sigh} {exasperated} Well, if you were so certain it was a lie, why come here in the first place? If you felt you were given unjust orders, you could’ve just left the kingdom. Plenty of other places need knights, and there’s always work to be found as a sellsword. You risked much to gain… nothing, as best as I can see.
{dangerous} He… he what?
The king threatened to…
{cold} No. No, that is unacceptable.
No one threatens my human.
Yes, my human. I- {sigh} {warmer} I believe an explanation is in order. You see, I finally figured out what I’ve been feeling these past few days. At first, I thought it might be love, and, well, I suppose it is, of a kind: hoarding instinct. I feel hoarding instinct when I look at you. I saw you for the first time, and something in me just knew. You are the most precious treasure in this entire cavern, and I need to protect and keep you until the end of time, like the work of art you are.
{worried} Ohh, that’s not a good expression. Did I say something wrong? Come on too strong? I promise, living here won’t be bad at all, it’s quite a comfortable lair, whether I’m in human form or dragon. I maintain a good relationship with the villagers, too, so we can even go down to Wylgrith on day trips, as long as you don’t try to leave. You understand the importance of that, I trust.
{calming} No, no, don’t get all worked up. There’s no need to do something we’ll both regret.
Please, calm down. We’re both rational people, let’s discuss this as such.
{harder} Human, I don’t want to put you to sleep again. Don’t make me.
{pleased} Good, that’s much better. Now, what are your objections?
Mhm, mhm… {logical} Well, in point of fact, no, you don’t have a home anymore. If you go back without proof of my demise, the king will have you executed, will he not?
As I thought. So there’s nowhere else for you to be. As to your next point, of course I won’t keep you as a pet, you’re a sentient human. You have your own free will, thoughts, ideas, desires, the whole package. You would never be a pet. You will be my treasure. Very different thing, and it means I will want to keep you close, keep you safe, and stare at your radiance for as long as draconically possible.
{considering} Well, no, I haven’t heard of this. A living part of a dragon’s hoard? I believe it’s unprecedented, since nothing but gold lasts forever. Nevertheless, we’ll figure something out, we can make it work. And this doesn’t reflect strangely on me, you needn’t worry. I am one of the eldest dragons of this age, the young are used to my… peculiarities by now.
{pleased} Ah, yes, I wondered when we would get to that point. No, as a matter of fact, the king will not be sending other knights, or mages, or armies after me. I will not be killed like that, and you will not be reclaimed by them. And do you wish to know why?
{colder than ice} Because I am going to burn this kingdom to the ground.{amused} Naturally. I could overlook the attempt on my life - it brought me the most precious treasure I have ever known, after all, - I could forgive the use of Fangbane, since now I can make sure it never harms one of my kind again, I could even somewhat tolerate the blatant lies spread about me as flimsy justification. {angry} What I cannot accept, however, is what they have done to you. Threats on your life, on your body, on those you protect, promises of execution, forcing you to stain your soul against your will… no. No one is permitted to harm my human and live. This will, I admit, be something of a first for dragonkind, actually killing humans instead of protecting them is practically unheard of. I may even face repercussions from my kind for this. I find it hard to care, though, these ones are only getting what they deserve, for their actions or their complacence.
Now you’re getting upset again. {soothing} Don’t worry, this isn’t a sign of my outlook changing. I still have no desire to harm humans, and the village is perfectly safe.
We were communicating so well a second ago, if we could return to that, I would be grateful.
I promise you, this shouting and carrying on is nothing but counterproductive.
{tired} Sir knight, if you are not capable of being objective, I will be forced to- oh, forget it.
{magically resonant} Sleep.
{gentle} {slowly fading out} I truly am sorry to do this to you, but I can’t have you fighting me on this. I don’t want you to be upset at me, treasure, so, by the time you wake, the cause of this contention will be gone.
Shh, shh. It’s okay. It’s just a simple sleep spell, you’ll wake up comfortable and well-rested.
There. It will all be fixed before you awaken. Don’t worry, my treasure, nothing will ever harm you again.

Data-Miner Gego stared at the results of the analysis, still in disbelief that this wild theory had borne fruit and stood up to scrutiny again and again. But now, here before him in data as clear as even the youngest apprentice could see, was evidence, clear and unshakable:
Humans were not what they promised themselves to be.
Feeling slightly nauseous with anxiety, he keyed in a request to meet with the diplomat’s office as soon as possible.
As the diplomat looked over his latest treaty proposal, there was a faint sound of horns in harmonious blaring, signifying someone had requested permission to enter. Glad for any distraction from the monotonous paperwork, he activated the intercom, saying “You are recognized and accepted. Please enter.”
As the crouched and scrabbling shape stepped into the doorway, diplomat Hale-he mused again how interesting it would be if the if their ancestors could have heard such a magnificent call for a mere diplomat. Previously, such a grand instrumentation would have been reserved for a high chieftain or king, and yet here was Hale-he, a diplomat to be sure, but certainly no ruler of any stripe, heralded by a song that would bring envy even to high lords and minor rulers in ages past.
The individual sat before him, and Hale-he could tell by their coloration and the shape of their antenna they were a scientist or engineer, someone likely far more familiar with numbers than he was. Hale-he, while now taking on the rich purple hues of a diplomat, had the underlying color of brilliant crimson, a mark of his near-decade of study as a historical scholar and graduate before his appointment into diplomacy.
“What do you have for me? Gego, I believe?”
The other individual nodded, crossing his pinchers in a sign of deference and respect. “I am sorry to disturb your appointment, but I have important information regarding humans.”
“Ah yes, humans,” said Hale-he, feeling a degree of relaxation and comfort at the mention of the gregarious and affable people.
Humans had taken quite some time in venturing out to the stars, but their planet was located such that a number of major trade routes passed quite near to their system. Several species had reported contact with them before humans had in turn reached out and started to make contact of their own. But from all reports, they were kind, clever, and selfless to a fault, with no recent instances of conflict despite a very violent early history. They were renowned for having an impeccable record of interspecies relations.
“I'm actually in the process of framing a new trade treaty with some of their inner-system human colonies. I believe the primary planet in question is called Mars, but they also have gas refineries and extractors above their gas giants, and several mining operations set up on a number of moons and their asteroid belt.”
“Yes, I have seen the newscast about how much this treaty is expected to aid both species,” said Gego. There was an odd note of apprehension Hale-he could detect in their chittering voice. “There is some invaluable context that I believe needs to be put to light.”
“Context? What do you mean, ‘context?’”
“Well, you are aware that we, the Civicor, first met humanity when a trade ship fell off course and crashed upon Earth?”
“It is a well-known accident. Some manner of navigational mishap; Thankfully, our propulsion systems are far more accurate today.”
“This is true, but are you also aware the Bayons have a remarkably-similar story related to their first contact with humanity as well? A military scout vessel, intending to regroup with the bulk of their fleet and engaging the Dendite menace, and they were likewise drawn off course, spiraling to crash onto Earth as well.”
“I remember the stories that time hypothesized that it was Dendite sabotage, even though it was unlikely for such a minor and inconsequential vessel,” said Hale-he. “Other than that, I’m unfortunately not familiar with their own reports on it.”
“But our two species are but a few from over a dozen first-contact reports with humanity. All stemming from engine failures, navigation failures, and crashes or forced landings of ships that lost control and arrived on Earth.”
“Well,” said the diplomat, starting to see the shape of the data-miner’s point, “Warpspace travel.has always been an inexact science at times, and was even less accurate decades ago. It's possible you are reading too much into a handful of coincidences.”
The data-miner rubbed their eyestalks, feeling exhaustion creeping in for how much frantic effort they had put in over the past three-day cycle. “Yes, but to borrow an idiom for the humans, ‘Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, but three times is a pattern,’ let alone a solid dozen instances within barely a fifty-year timespan. Even the most heavily-trafficked routes past the most dense or erratic planetoids have only achieved a third of that number.”
“You're asking me to disrupt peaceful and productive diplomatic ties with humans by suggesting they were responsible for these instances. Are you truly suggesting that this was intentional from humanity's part?”
“I am.”
“That may be, but we will require more proof than mere happenstance, unlikely though it may be.”
“I have additional data as well.” Gego was the most proud of this next part, and he carefully pulled up the diagrams and charting maps. A vibrant animation appeared onscreen of what appeared to be a rainbow-colored and spiked disc, surging and shaking on the screen. “This is the analysis of the gravitational field irregularities within a quarter of a solar year of Earth's primary star.”
The diplomat looked nonplussed at the diagram. “I would assume the fluctuations here are not ideal?”
“No indeed. They could be likened to a reef within a shallow sea, permitting transit in the calm regions but damaging and disrupting ships passing through a rough space. I have reached out to several of the shipping guilds for more details, but initial reports back support this theory, with several commenting that the route passing near to Earth is highly undesirable amongst experienced pilots due to the rough effects it has on engine stability and wear and tear.”
The diplomat looked over the diagram further before attempting to wave it away dismissively. “But who’s to say that this isn't a natural phenomena of Earth’s system? There are many regions of space that are disruptive or dangerous to travel through in warpspace, so what would make Earth's patch of turbulence unique?”
“The fact that they can turn it on and off at will.”
The diplomat coughed violently as the surprise dislodged the piece of fruit pulp he was eating out of his primary digestion sack and instead into the top of his gas exchange organ. “What in the three spheres do you mean they can turn it off?”
Gego grimaced this time as he keyed in some commands to the report. This time the disc figure that was pulled was much grainier and blocky, fine measurements now showing as wide swaths. “This was reverse-calculated from a series of gravimetric scans done across that entire arm of the galaxy.”
Even with the poor resolution, the diplomat could still see that this was a wildly chaotic and dangerous gravitational field. “It looks the same.”
The data-miner nodded. “Yes, but watch here: It's hard to tell, but this readout is actually playing in reverse, stepping backwards through time. We're about to hit 76 years ago.”
“What's so important about 76-” The diplomat cut off, words caught like fruit pulp in his throat as the image abruptly stilled. The disc depicting the gravitational field was now still and smooth as a windless pond.
“So it just started one day?”
“Indeed, Diplomat Hale-he. And furthermore, this beginning of the turbulence was a mere month before the first vessel lost controlI and was forced to make an emergency landing on Earth.”
The possibilities were rapidly narrowing, but Hale-he was still in favor of exploring whatever possible shred he could find to avoid confronting the dawning reality about humans.
“Well, while things of this nature are highly irregular, I presume, I'm still not convinced that this shows they can activate it at will.”
“I know, Gego said, “Which is why I wanted to show you that data before I show you this.”
The gravitational field display became the ragged tumultuous ocean of currents and surges, and this time in the higher detail that told Hale-he this was more recent readings. “I'm sure you saw the announcements a fortnight ago that humanity had tested their first faster than light engine they had made themselves, rather than trading for, and successfully made a jaunt out to the furthest planetoid in their star system and back without incident?”
“Yes?” the diplomat said cautiously.
“I received this data from a colleague, who was concerned there may have been an instrument malfunction to produce such data as I’m about to show you. She checked and validated it herself. It was fully accurate and reliable, which makes it all the more troubling. I don't think she realized the cause of what she was seeing, but unfortunately the timing of it adds up too perfectly.”
The data-miner continued quietly recalling “I believe at this point we're at 30 seconds to launch the human’s test flight.”
Hale-he let out an involuntary gasp of breath as the gravity field abruptly stilled again, perfectly smooth simultaneously across the entire spread of it.
Grimly, the data-miner said “Here we had the jump,” and after a short pause continued “-and the return.” A few seconds later and the field abruptly resumed its turbulence.
The diplomat was still in shock, staring at the gravimetric readout, when Gego said “That's also not the most concerning part, either. This was supposed to be humanity's first faster-than-light capability of their own they were testing here; Isn't that right?”
“Well of course,” replied Hale-he. “It was on all the new stations. A great achievement for a species that had been slow to achieve that milestone.”
“I would remind you then that the readout here is half a light-year in diameter.”
The diplomat scrunched his eyestalks in confused concentration, trying to understand what the other alien was implying, when suddenly it hit him. “Yet they were able to disrupt such a large region simultaneously, and stop it equally quickly?”
Gego nodded. “Whatever means they have at causing such a disruption is certainly faster-than-light, and immensely wide-ranging. If it was slower and confined to a small area, I might have some theories as to how it could be accomplished, but this size, this scale and the speed? I have no idea. It is beyond anything our sciences and technology can produce, or that of any other known species.”
The diplomat sat back, stunned. “By the Spheres.” He glanced up at Gego. “What do you propose we do with this information?”
The data-miner waved an arm. “Perhaps we can get to the bottom of this: Go to humanity with the information we have. Tell them we want the secrets of this technology and the power sources that feed it, as it far eclipses anything we can currently achieve. Tell them that we will expose these findings to the rest of the space-faring civilizations of the galaxy if they continue to hold back.”
The diplomat’s eyes widened, before after a long moment he said “I see. Well, I still need to get to my duties and figure out how to handle this. You are excused, and a reminder to keep the strictly confidential while I inform the appropriate other parties.”
Gego bowed in deference before leaving the office. After he left, Hale-he leaned back in his saddle chair and groaned. The idiot had uncovered humanity possessed the capability of affecting a wide chunk of space at a power and complexity unheard of among any other known species, and his first suggestion was to blackmail them? The diplomat rubbed his head trying to make the sudden headache go away.
A few thoughts were coming to mind, snippets that had been dismissed in the moment, but now he couldn't shake them as he was reminded of the first species that had ever encountered humanity, and the comments by their scientists. They had said that humans were curiously disinterested in their warpspace drivers, despite not having faster-than-light capabilities already.
Then the second species that encountered humanity had mentioned that a child of one of the diplomatic party had become separated from the group, and accidentally come in contact with and ingested some Earth flora. It wasn't something toxic or dangerous to humans, but the physiological makeup of that species reacted poorly with alkaloids in the flora and would have resulted in a swift and painful death if left untreated. But instead, the humans had administered a series of emetics and alkaloid-binding treatments, something they said was common in the case of an accidental poison ingestion, The diplomat remembered reading a footnote from the inhuman physician at the time that this particular blend of neutralizing agents was not something commonly found in human medical kits, and in fact was uniquely suited to their own species’ biology.
Both had been written off as flukes, interesting anecdotes at most, but now the diplomat began to see the greater shape of it, as a species that cared not for faster-than-light travel, for they'd doubtless already achieved it, mastered it, and discarded it as uninteresting at some point before. A species, who upon supposed first contact, had comprehensive medical and anatomical knowledge of their guests sufficient enough to save a child in mere minutes from otherwise certain death.
All this from a species that had befriended and gregariously hosted every alien ship that had come astray upon their planet, and offered nothing but support and friendship to both waylaid travelers and their subsequent diplomatic summits, despite seeming to lack the ability to travel outside of their own star system. A species that was confident, at a basal level that Hale-he was only just now beginning to truly understand.
He opened a communications missive, addressed to all the other diplomats of similar station amongst the other species humanity had made contact with.
”Greetings to my fellow ambassadors. * *I come bearing difficult news regarding humanity: * *They are not what they appear to be. * *Yet, I believe it is of the utmost importance that we continue to pretend that they are, * *For fear that otherwise, we will learn who, or what, they truly are…”
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it's me again! hello! sorry if i'm annoying at this point!
but anyways, here's the sitch, the scoop, the vibe: i definitely was experiencing extreme mental and physical hunger a few weeks ago; however, due to my life circumstances at the time (alone at uni, limited pantry, and wanting to protect the progress i'd made, knowing i am not at a point where i could honour the hunger without compensating unless i have support systems with me) i did not honour it. i have been eating a very "normal" amount of food, but not a recovery amount and not as much as i want (i'm medically stable enough to be out n about, so no worries there). i've noticed in the time since the worst of the mental hunger, even though my intake has dropped a bit, i'm less fixated and, honestly? i'm scared i somehow missed my opportunity to eat anything i want and have my body be able to handle it. i'm nervous that i somehow missed out on the freedom, joy, and rewiring that honouring eh can bring (obviously, it brings a lot of hell, too, but bear with me) and that, even though i'm going home for the summer and planning to make the jump to all-in, i missed my opportunity.
i have no idea if that makes any sense and i'm so sorry if it's annoying or a dumb question. i just tend to see a lot of people going all-in when they've been in recovery for a few weeks or a month, and i've been at a "normal" intake mostly consistently for closer to three. i don't know. i feel guilty for even wanting to honour the eh and i'm wondering if anyone has insight on making the transition to all-in a little bit further into recovery than right away. did your hunger get more intense in the first bit after you started honouring it? i feel like that's what happened but instead of getting worse when i started eating a bit less, it got a bit more muted; could this be due to that decrease or did i really just "miss it"?
as always, thank you so much for getting through the word soup and please alert me ASAP if anything about this is triggering; my goal is genuinely full recovery for myself and to encourage others who are in the same boat, so my last hope is someone gets hurt.

Hi everyone - I'm hoping for some quick recommendations of where to start my search for a family camper. We are young, active family, with three kids aged 6 and under. We live in the mountain west and camp one to three times per year in off-grid sites (1-3 nights each trip), and another two to three times per year in maintained National Park or State Park type sites (2-4 nights each trip). All in all, about 10-15 nights of camping annually.
While my wife and I previously tent camped frequently, as we are getting older, we appreciate more luxuries, a true bed, and honestly, the safety of a hard sided trailer. We have never owned one before - but have spent one trip in a rented trailer.
Our goal is not to have the most luxurious, largest camper. Our preferences / wish list for a camper are here: - Sleeps 2 adults AND 3 kids in some fashion (fine with 3 kids piled onto a queen bed) - Ease of use - simple, but nice. Don't need tons of bells and whistles. Basically, to us a trailer is a glorified, comfy tent. Protection from elements, comfortable beds, usable living space on rainy days, sound insulation from neighbors, protection from bears/wildlife. - Quality - not having to fix or worry about tinkering with complex, high-maintenance systems, while being nice for the money - good value. - Solar capacity would be nice - I prefer as much as possible vs. fuel powered appliances, etc. - Minimal bathroom is fine. - A full, luxury kitchen is not necessary either. Generally make due with cold, camp stove based and/or fire based meals. - Dirt road capable - but not doing anything overland/expedition-ey.
Looking for scour the used market to find something in the $16k-$25k range - could stretch to $30k. Don't necessarily need new - but needs to be in great condition (likely 2018 or newer).
Tow rating of my vehicle is 6500lbs... but would love if this was <4500lbs, even <4000lbs.
Looked at: ALiner Evolution 15, but seems kind of expensive for what it is. Rockwood Geo Pro G19BH or G20BHS, seem like a reasonable choices - might be overkill. NoBo NB19.8 - again, overkill and significantly heavier than GeoPro.
Thanks in advance! I appreciate your help!

From a former board member:
Good afternoon!
To all my fellow Ithaca residents, please make sure to take to the polls today, to vote in the Ithaca City School District Board of Education election. If you believe in public education, making sure our students, teachers and support staff are getting the resources and tools they need to thrive and succeed, you will make time to get to the pools, between 12pm and 9pm. If you don’t have access to transportation, I am happy to transport folks (send me a message on Facebook or email)
As many of you know, I spent 6 years on the Board of Education, until I made the difficult decision to resign two years ago. After receiving many Facebook messages, text messages, and phone calls in the past 24 hours from friends and community members asking me who they should vote for and if they should vote yes/no to the budget, I have decided to share my thoughts publicly so I can get back to my 9-5 job for the day . As a single mom of three and a homeowner, I empathize with the sentiment of people feeling like they can no longer afford to rent or own a home in Ithaca. However, Ithaca has been becoming unaffordable for quite some time, I say this as someone who has lived in this community for 21 years. This feeling did not start with our assessment that increased this past year or the rollout of the BoE budget. Voting NO to the budget will not change your assessment, it will not “stick it” to administrators, who will get their raises along with other unionized ICSD employees as part of contractual negotiations. Voting NO will punish and hurt children, teachers and supporting staff. Teachers and support staff will have less resources and support to educate and inspire our children if we have to adopt a contingency plan. And our most vulnerable students will suffer the most. “How a society treats its most vulnerable is always the measure of its humanity” – Ghandi. In this context, how ICSD cares for and educates its most vulnerable students is an indication of how well the school district fares in educating its school community.
As we have all read about four of our schools losing “Good Standing” status with NYSED, and our Black and Brown students feeling the impact of this the most; how can we as a community in good conscious, say that we will provide our children, our future leaders with less than they deserve to overcome the many obstacles that the pandemic has created. For all the caregivers, educators, mental health workers out there, we all know - no one is okay! Some of us were not okay before we were forced into a few years of isolation, so to expect our educators to be able to reconcile the damages that the pandemic created with fewer resources is setting our educators up for the impossible. And yes, taxpayers should not have to bear the weight of this alone when we live in a town with college/university campuses. So instead of glorifying the problem, why don’t we talk about structural solutions? How many of us know Anna Kelles and Lea Webb personally, socially or professionally? Why don’t we bring in our state representatives to help us think about structural long-term solutions of state aid and university contributions? And while we are at it, invite Governor Kathy Hochul who sits on the Board of Trustees of Cornell University to this conversation; why are we not thinking strategically about those who hold power to shift this paradigm? I know this will take time, and folks are concerned with the now.
What can we do now? We can do an inventory of what ICSD offers and provides our students and staff from academics to extracurricular activities. We can ask the questions of, what is the district allocating funding for and is it effective and for whom? The district has an Evaluation Officer, we need to hear from her on what are the impacts of our initiatives, programs, and the curriculum offerings. Our teachers and support staff have unions and union leaders. We need to hear from the union leaders, not just during budget season or when chaos is amiss, but throughout the academic years so we know how best to support teachers all year long.
I will be voting yes to the budget. Yes, it is a huge increase. But guess what folks? We have 12 schools in our very small city, and we are living during a time of high inflation so the services needed to support all these 12 schools have increased. A typical classroom in our building has many adults. I bring this up because I constantly hear the comparison of salary of ICSD teachers to teachers outside the district who are making more than ICSD teachers. 9/10 times these teachers in other districts are making more money because they don’t have co-teachers, teachers assistants, teacher aides, 1:1s, etc. I am in NO way making the argument to have less support in the classroom or to eliminate positions, I am pointing out that our district has a larger supporting staff than many other districts. Teachers and supporting staff deserve a HIGHER wage without question. But this is not an ICSD only problem, this is a nationwide issue. Our country has not put anywhere near enough funding into public education that is needed. And this is not an excuse for the Board or the highly paid administration team. But we have to be real about what are the root causes vs. symptoms of the problems. Give this article a read if you have time: Schools are bracing for widespread teacher layoffs. Here’s why CNN Politics
Now the tricky part of this post, who I am voting for. I am going to be brutally honest because that is just who I am. After attending the public forum with all seven candidates, I left with very very strong opinions of what I witnessed and heard. I plan to vote for Barry Derfel, Moira Long, and Eldred Harris. I know Barry Derfel very peripherally from sitting on the BoE, as well as when I worked for the Multicultural Resource Center, and he was supporting teachers with culturally responsive teaching as well as participating with the Talking Circles initiative. What I know of Barry, is that he is a supporter of equity and inclusion, meaning NO CHILD GETS LEFT BEHIND. Barry has been a teacher, an administrator, and is a parent – he understands the many facets of public education and how we are thriving as a district and how we are failing as a district. Two truths can stand side by side.
I was on the BoE with both Eldred and Moira during my tenure, and it was not always cordial and a walk in the park between us. But what I can say, is that in those behind the door conversations, heated debates, I rarely ever questioned their commitment to children and teachers and support staff. Moira has always championed for teachers and retirees; she understands their plight and struggles as a former teacher herself. Eldred and I both grew up in NYC (though he is my senior by maybe a couple decades) and understand the struggles of being hyper visible yet unseen, overcoming adversity, attending underfunded schools, and taught by teachers who were tasked with the impossible. I know Eldred to be someone who is going to champion for what is best for every child, someone who is going to tap into their radical imagination to think of another way forward, someone who has institutional knowledge and knows how far the district has come, and someone who is willing to ask the hard questions.
I’m going to close this long monologue by saying I believe in creating space for new voices at the table. However, some of these new voices are advocating for changes that will hurt specific populations of children, like candidates who are advocating to bring back policies such as "tracking", while research shows tracking has a disparaging outcome for students and frankly is a racist policy. I said it. There are also candidates who have flip flopped on their support of the budget, telling ITA they would vote yes and after receiving the teacher’s union endorsement telling community members, they would vote no for the budget. Misleading your constituents is never a good sign and not a good way to build community trust and engagement. If I had to vote for a fourth candidate, it would be Todd Fox. He was honest and transparent about his talents and his lack of knowledge of the processes within public education. However, he spoke with passion and authenticity when speaking about his experiences in the school district as a student, and the support he wished he had as a former ICSD student. What I hope for in a school board member, is someone is not afraid to ask the hard questions, someone who listens with compassion and empathy (even if they disagree), someone who takes the time to get to know their constituents and can be honest with themselves and their fellow board members when they are individually or collectively are missing the mark. And most importantly, someone who is is always thinking about equity, and who is at the table and who is not. Our district is in need of school board members who are looking beyond what their individual child needs and instead is looking at what all of our children need in order to receive an equitable education that allows them to more than survive but to thrive within ICSD.
(excuse my typos I don’t have the energy to edit this another time, apologies)
Nicole LaFave
Nicole LaFave Interim Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Office of Diversity and Inclusion Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management Cornell University
Edited to add that I’m not the author, just sharing.

I’m gonna lay out the whole context here, and it’s 2 years long so bear with me. A TL;DR isn’t really possible as there’s so much important context to whether or not IATA.
We’ve been married almost 10 years and she’s from overseas. She came here through our marriage. We were happy and doing extremely well for ourselves.
The problem started to 2 years ago. My friends wedding. Afterward we went out and then went to another friends house to continue partying. At the party one of the wedding guests started having a pity party about how he’s depressed because all these happy couples are around and he’s single.
For context. This guy is weird. He’s disrespectful to women, capitalizes on captive audiences (waitresses most often), and is overall a loser. He’s got a good job but that’s about it.
My wife, listens to his sob story and says “I have a sister!” and immediately starts FaceTiming her sister. This is something I’ve said isn’t okay. We’re not tinder, and we’re not matchmakers.
Beyond that her sister has a history of treating her poorly. She constantly told my wife she’s stupid growing up, well into adulthood. She blocked my wife for a whole year because my wife called her and told her not to go on boats with men she doesn’t know. Told my wife to live like she doesn’t have a sister. For a whole year I consoled my wife a couple times a week.
Anyways we were both drunk and with people so I’m not gonna start a fight right there. I figure I’ll talk to her about it maturely later. So I do. In the meantime, I switch to speaking Arabic with her sister and tell her this isn’t okay and isn’t what she wants.
Her and my wife to this day claim I was happy and supportive. They claim I was too drunk to remember. But there’s a few things wrong with this. I drove home, I take drinking and driving VERY seriously and would never, ever do it. In fact, if I know I’ve drank too much, I’ll hand my keys to a friend before the liquor starts hitting, just to avoid any possibility of making that bad decision.
Secondly, I switched to Arabic. I’m white. Arabic is a language I learned. When I speak it, I speak it very, very deliberately and remember the conversations perfectly. I know exactly what I said.
Anyways, when I talk to my wife later, I’m told how it’s wrong to prevent her from helping her sister and how her sister really likes this guy. A guy she talked to for 5 minutes. I told her it’s wrong to think of it as “helping” her sister in the first place and that her sister is a grown woman who can find her own partner.
So my wife says “okay I’ll tell my sister to stop talking to him”. That was the end of it. Or so I thought.
A few weeks later I’m at a different event and this guy let it slip they’re still talking. Immediately I’m upset and text my wife about how she lied to me.
She said her sister was really falling in love with this guy and separating them would be wrong. She said she did tell her sis to block him but when her sis went into a depression she told her she can unblock him and talk to him, behind my back.
Upset I told her we need to talk about going behind my back and how disrespectful of my boundaries this whole ordeal was. She said “it’s okay I’ll tell her to block him again”.
Over. Or so I thought for the next few months. A few months later I again am at an event with this guy and this time he’s smart enough to lie about them talking. But I’m a salesman and a bullshitter. You can’t bullshit me unless I trust you. I knew immediately he was lying but I let it go. I did ask my wife and she said no they’re not talking. So I believed her.
Well, a year and a half goes by. In that time her sister and her fought about how her sister could come to the US. We said we’d help her but it’s a lengthy process. At the time I had little animosity toward her sister and would’ve loved to see her come here and be near my wife again. She wasn’t happy with that and said it takes too long. This is her sister’s mindset.
Anyway. Her sister gets a B1 visa in the meantime, temporary business visitor and wants to come visit my wife. Lies through her teeth about her intentions to the immigration officer, telling them she wants to stay 90 days. They approve her for 60.
So we file for an extension ASAP so she can visit for 3 months. Staying with us the whole time. I wanted her to have fun on her visit so I arrange for my friends and I to go out. This guy shows up. She talked to him and told him our plans.
Immediately they disappear into the casino and come back holding hands and all kinds of PDA. I’m fuming because I know she’s a conniving word I won’t say here. I don’t say anything though and we go through the night and I let it go so I can have fun.
The next day he’s picking her up from my house and they’re out for the whole day. The next time my wife is off work, same story. Well, I thought you were here to visit her? And that’s where I put my foot down.
I got told it was wrong to try and control her, wrong to try and separate them, etc. etc. etc. Finally she blocks his number and he calls from a separate number. I turn off her SIM card because I’m not gonna support her going behind my back in my own home. He calls me and tells me he really loves her and just wishes I’d accept it.
I tell him very plainly I will never, ever accept it because it all stemmed from him, her, and my wife going behind my back. Primarily my wife, as she’s the only one of the three I should be able to trust is telling me the truth.
At this point, I feel as if my wife had an emotional affair, although it’s with her own family. She repeatedly chose to go behind my back, against a boundary I had told her repeatedly before this situation at my friend’s wedding after party ever transpired. If that’s not an emotional affair, I don’t know what is.
So I tell him bluntly to not call me anymore and I’m not going to change my stance, and his feelings don’t mean shit to me. He started to give me a sob story about how we’re friends and he I should be happy for him and I cut him off and told him to save his breath.
My wife is upset at me for how I talked to him. Another emotional affair. Trying to protect the feelings of this dude.
The next day, while my wife is at work I’m eating lunch at our dinner table and studying schoolwork her sister comes to the table and starts talking to me about this guy asking if I talked to him and I tell her plainly I did and what I told him.
She goes into a story about how she really loves him, she’s an adult woman and I shouldn’t be intervening etc. I told her I agree I shouldn’t ever have been involved and neither should my wife. I told her to save her breath with any talk of her feelings because I don’t care. She started crying telling me I’m cruel etc.
I told her at this point I’m done being nice. I’ve been lied to for 2 years and it’s over. I’m done being my laid back self and I’ve been pushed repeatedly and I’m standing up for my marriage and my boundaries.
I did turn her SIM card back on so she could call my wife and I, her hosts.
The next morning I wake up to my wife in tears calling me to her sisters room. Her sister is bawling her eyes out and packing her bags to go home. I talk her sister into coming for a car ride with my wife and I to talk things out.
Immediately in the car my wife starts berating her sister about how she’s selling her for a man and a whole host of other things. I calm my wife down and tell her that’s not okay to say to her sister. Because against what they thought I don’t want and would’ve never wanted this to cause a separation between them. I know how much my wife values family.
In the car her sister tells me she really loves this guy and that she can see them being a family one day etc. etc. etc. I tell her plainly don’t ever bring him around my house, if they do marry and have kids, don’t ever bring them around my house, and don’t consider me her brother in law because I will never do anything for her again after she goes home.
My wife is shocked, she’s shocked and they both wonder how I could be so cruel. I said I’m over it. I’m over hearing about this guy, I’m over being used, and I will never again trust her. She said she understands and resumes talking to this guy.
A few days later we’re in the car going to a family event with my family and I get asked if he can come. I said no, very politely. I said no, he’s not part of my family. I was told how terrible I am, and my wife and her sister both jump out of my car in a bad part of Chicago, an area neither of them know.
My wife calls my family and tells them I kicked them out of the car. So my family starts blowing up my phone screaming at me. Once I explained the situation my family said they’ll come pick them up but I hung around and kept driving by to make sure they were okay. Eventually my wife calls me and says they’ll get in.
So I pull over and they open the doors and my wife goes “I’m scared I don’t feel comfortable getting in the car with you”. So I drive away pissed off. This is a 85,000 car in a bad part of the city where carjackings happen every other day.
I go park somewhere but keep an eye on them to make sure they stay safe. A homeless guy passed them and my wife calls me to come get her. So I do and we go home.
Again her sister packs her shit and cries that she’s going home. I tell her to relax, sleep on it and we’ll talk in the morning. She does eventually and in the morning she decides she’ll stay.
A week goes by and I hear nothing about this guy from her. My friends and I all joked about him and made light fun of him. He caught wind of it and cried to my wife’s sister who told my wife, who came to me and aggressively told me to stop and leave them both alone. I got pissed off because this was a private convo between me and my friends and if he heard it and got his feelings hurt it’s on him.
This spiraled into a huge argument with me, my wife, and her sister. In the argument I asked her sister plainly if she planned to leave at the 90 day mark. She said no.
So I kicked her out of our house. Her and my wife went for a walk and I yelled out the front door to get her shit to the curb before the walk before I do, because if she doesn’t do it herself it’ll be thrown on the wet ground. They both thought I was joking before then I assume. Her sister comes in and packs her stuff and gets out. I said if you plan on staying here illegally it won’t be in my house. If the choose is between here or the streets, it’ll be the streets.
She went to stay with the boyfriend and his parents. His parents must not have liked her too much because within a couple weeks they made them both move out.
This was in January of this year.
Since then, I’ve been repeatedly goaded into accepting this. My wife has tried to get me to visit her sister, etc.
It came to a head recently at a wedding we went to for another friend. Her sister and this guy were there. I didn’t say a word to either one the entire night and all was fine.
Except my wife spent the whole night at their table because he wouldn’t dance or do anything to have fun. She can’t handle the idea that her sister might find something she doesn’t like about this guy. She has to be there just in case the relationship goes on life support.
This pisses me off, obviously. She’s more invested in their relationship than she’s been in ours for the past 2 years. Grown adults.
Well, today she was going to her sisters house. She had 2 bags. An ulta bag and a discovery bag. I asked what that is, and she said it’s for her sister. She pulled out taco shells and said it’s just small stuff she wants her to try. But I could see through the bag and saw beauty products. I’m not an idiot.
I looked in when she went to the bathroom and saw a fucking armoire full of shit. I looked at the receipt. $300. I was fucking livid.
I continued getting ready for work and said “her husband can’t buy her that?”. It’s confrontational, yes. But I said it politely, and was open to talking about it.
I get met with immediately hostility. I never raised my voice but I made it very clear I wasn’t being nice about this or anything anymore.
I told her “maybe she could pay you back and find you a new husband”. I’m going to give her a choice. Me or her sister now. Because this has gotten fucking ridiculous.
We pay for her to come here. She hired an immigration lawyer apparently, but doesn’t have money to pay me back for the flight or even pay for the Ubers they take or anything. My wife is trying to make up for this losers shortcomings. He’s too much of an idiot to see that her sister is using him.
By the way, this isn’t her first fiance. It’s not even her first western fiance. She’s been engaged to at least 3 different guys. One from France, another from Belgium, and a third from Canada before this guy. She was looking to immigrate. He’s a fucking idiot though so, oh well.
My wife’s sister is very materialistic. My wife is fortunately down to earth but is so far up her sisters ass because she thinks if she doesn’t do everything her sister wants that her sister will cut her from her life again. Which is exactly what would happen.
I told her that’s on her sister. I’m not asking her to never talk to her sister. I’m asking her to stop treating her sister like she’s a child and putting their relationship before ours. Stop bending over backwards for a grown woman who will throw you away the moment you’re inconvenient.
But it’ll never happen it seems and it’s the reason I’m strongly considering divorcing her. I’m over this fucking shit. Oh, and by the way, my wife claims that she’s scared of me etc. now when she tells the story to other people.
I have never and would never hit my wife. I’ve never given her any reason to be afraid of me. So to put that out there on me is absolutely fucking bullshit and I’ve lost all trust in her.
AITAH?

i currently go to portland yoga collective and i think they're great but as someone who enjoys being challenged in yoga it just leaves me wanting more. my fav teacher there is liz as she's probably the closest to power vinyasa at that studio but she only teaches three times a week.
i tried portland power yoga once; needing to synchronize your movement to everyone else in class left me annoyed lol.
i enjoy heated and non heated yoga but all i really want is a challenge from a yoga studio that doesn't just do the same sequence of moves for every class either. for reference my favorite yoga studio is west side yoga in providence, ri if that at all helps.
so yeah any recommendations for a challenging vinyasa or power vinyasa studio in or around portland would be greatly appreciated!

WWYD, Hello all, this is my first post in here so bear with me as it might be long and very detailed. My ex-husband and I have three kids together. I am currently in a relationship and have been for a few years. We live together and it’s a completely different relationship that I’ve ever had. There’s been a lot of me giving in as i did during my marriage. I was a severe people pleaser all my life, caving in to more than i ever should have to too many people. This year has been the first year that I really have stood up for myself when it has come to anyone in my life. It took me 5 years to leave my ex-husband. Our whole relationship was rocky. We, of course did have good times. My parents were split up when i was 3 and they both also had rocky relationships after. Along with that , my dad chose when to be present in my life. Due to all that, I was very committed even though even before our marriage, many people told me to break up with him. We had our first child, two years before we got married. Fast forward to Marriage, 3 kids total, and were currently in marriage counseling. I had already had one foot out the door. One of my breaking points during marriage counseling is him lying to our counselor. That was basically the end of the road for me. My kids were suffering and saw everything going on and it was just time for me to strengthen up. Divorce starts and that was hard enough. I’ll save the headache on that one. He took nothing, but his clothes and he signs a dissolution of divorce because he wanted nothing more to do with me. We figure out custody of the kids, I did not file for child support as i agreed not to due to the amount of money he was making. Due to me having epilepsy and not having my license, He would pick up and drop off the kids at my house. I really tried to have a nice coparenting relationship, caved over so many things and so much more. Fast forward so much has happened between then and now. Everywhere from my kids have been in therapy due to issues that have been caused by him, them being scared at the first place he lived, and so much more. My number one thing I have done is severely work on myself, so much so that after he split, I was able to get my license for the first time in my life at the ripe age of 34. Now, I’ve had my issues too, i am definitely not perfect. I met my boyfriend randomly the same time during my separation and divorce, waited 6 months for my kids to meet him. When my ex found out about him, sometime even before then, my ex would cause issues at pick up and drop off including to using his car to kick up dust on my boyfriends car, stalk my house when he would go out of the way to drive by it at midnight when he didn’t have the kids. Made racist and rude, sexual comments in front of the kids. I caved so much, so much more than I should have. I went to file child support, he gets the papers in the mail, begs me to stop it, so i do. Child custody, same thing. Wow, I didn’t know i would be typing this long, lol, but I have been meaning to post in here ever since I found this group and this seriously feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders since I’m finally posting. I update him on everything about the kids even though each teacher have communication apps and he gets them on Tuesday until 5. He doesn’t have our kids do their homework so they have to do it when they get home, I still do everything for them, of course he used to have to take them to all their appointments, I do give him that when it came to our oldest, he took so much pride in being her dad, but also turned her against me when she was 3, he also does take our youngest to speech. He isn’t in the best financial situation, hell none of us are these days, so I’m really trying to not file child support or child custody, but im at the point where having everything through the courts is going to make everything just ease some anxiety, I can’t be around him without shaking. We’ve been doing better at drop offs and pick ups, we meet half way now, he pays me once a week, a total of 600 a month. I struggle financially. I get less than 1200 on SSDI. Now, My kids absolutely love my boyfriend, he lives with us now. My oldest want to call him dad, but knows her siblings will tell their dad. When I ask him about Child support, He will tell me to have my boyfriend help me pay for things, which when it comes to house bills, he does help, when it comes to the kids though, I really try to make sure I can cover everything. Unless, it’s something at his house, I pay for everything even school items. But the clincher here is, he wants my boyfriend to do nothing with our kids and frankly, i am tired of hearing it. My boyfriend really wanted to try to patch things up with him ( he expressed it would be nice that we all could come together for the kids) since years have gone by, but my ex stated, “I don’t trust you with the kids, and I trust him less.” My boyfriend is really involved in the kids life, including school, but when it comes to school visits for things, he doesn’t go to avoid unnecessary drama. We went to my oldest’s band concert, it was a Tuesday so he had them, I had picked up my daughter to take her to band after she was picked up by him. She called me, he was yelling at her on the phone, cursing at her, after he cursed at her in front of her teacher just minutes before . This was after the 3rd time being over 20 minutes - 1 hour late to pick up our kids. One day he forgot about them. So band concert, My 2nd child wanted to come sit with my boyfriend and I my 3rd stayed with dad. My second has ADHD and OCD and her anxiety is very stressful for her. He told her, “if you go sit with your mom, you have to stay with her.” Well, while that might have been the best idea, although, she has done it all the time with each concert, she started breaking down crying and shaking in anxiety because her dad told her that and she missed her dad and wanted to go sit with him. He just kept staring over at us until our daughter played. When done, never asked why she was crying or if she was okay. Kind of just ignored her which again broke down in the car on the way home. She is extremely sensitive that even though there’s issues with dad, she tries to see past it because she does love him, as do all my kids. My oldest states that she doesn’t want to shorten the days because she’s scared of what he will do or take it out on them. There’s days she doesn’t want to go because how he acts sometimes. Things she expresses to me, she no longer wants me to address to her dad because he has yelled at me in front of the kids at pick up or drop off when addressed, he will completely lie through text or phone calls. She tells me that no matter what she will go to protect her siblings. Unfortunately, I feel the same way. I fear he will cause issues all over again. Thank you for the long read. I really do appreciate it. I apologize for the grammatical errors lol 😂
​
Also, the day he yelled at our child the day of her band concert, I asked if he apologized and she said nope. He did although say,
Ex: I apologize
DD: for what?
Ex: for being a bad ass dad. *face palm*

I now have three variations of this concept. The first (equal weight) has been given some discussion here already, but I'm still looking for more digging into the minutiae of things.
TL;DR is that I'm knocking around the idea of equal weighting (I'll address the other two variants in a minute) short vol, extended-duration treasuries, gold, and trend following. I've also reweighted it to maximize Sharpe over the test period and in risk parity weighting to give high/medium/and low vol options to the concept. Backtests of all three against the S&P over the lifetime of available data here. These charts are inflation-adjusted.
Component funds would be SVIX, ZROZ, IAUM, and DBMF. A summary of the logic behind each of these choices is in the OP linked above, but I will put it here:

• SVIX - the primary driver of returns. This is a constant short vol exposure, doing basically what XIV used to do (short VIX futures), but not exposed to the same rebalancing risk. You would still expect this fund to lose half or more of its value in a matter of days every now and then. That's a feature. Think of this as a highly leveraged equity position without the risk of a grinding bear market like 2000-2002 causing you to rebalance continually into a losing position. The one sticking point I have with this fund is that it could still delist at the bottom of a deep drawdown, but you can change that out for something like UPRO if that happens. Not an ideal solution, but it won't blow your account up either.
  
• DBMF - trend following managed futures to introduce a more or less all-weather diversifier with positive skewness into the strategy.
  
• ZROZ - the longest end of the treasury curve for a huge helping of duration risk to keep you afloat during deflationary environments like 2008.
  
• Gold (IAUM used above) - a large contribution of volatility in an uncorrelated manner to the rest of what's here, and will help you out during and immediately after periods of monetary expansion. In environments where ZROZ is unhelpful (like the last couple years), gold should fare much better.
  

What would cause this strategy to fail? It even would have weathered the '70s just fine with gold and trend doing so well.

Welcome prospective citizen of the stars!

Use my code STAR-F3V9-NVLK when signing up (or click this link: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/enlist?referral=STAR-F3V9-NVLK ) to nab an extra 5,000 of the game's currency UEC when the game is eventually finished (as well as after wipes, like the most recent one which happened for 3.18). Note that you cannot add a code after creating your account!
Bonus? What bonus?!
The bonus stuff happens once you have spent at least USD40 in the pledge store; for example, in case there is a referral bonus going on when you go past that USD40 spend, using my code here would also let you get in on that if you pass that threshold during that period. Doing it any other time will still land you that 5,000 UEC, but it's usually a neat bonus and it'd be a shame to miss out on it :)
The most recent bonus ended on the 2nd of May, so there may well be a bit of a wait until the next one. There is usually one during the two large events each year, including Invictus, however since the most recent one was, well, so recent, there is not one for Invictus this year. You can always create an account with my code, and give me a poke here to send you a note when it's on (i do this for free-fly events as well, read on for that).
Free Fly Time
But! Don't spend until you're ready. Invictus Launch Week (or fortnight as it happens) is currently happening, which means the game is fully and entirely free to try out until the 29th of May. The full details are over on the ILW mini site, but the short of the long is: If you are wanting to try out the game, always do that first, before paying. It also shows the game at its roughest (because of the influx of new people), so if you can deal with how the game runs then, you'll be ok when it runs better. Importantly, until you're pretty sure you want to get in, don't spend.
To try out the game (why you're here), all you need to do is sign up for an account, and then download the client, log in, download the game itself, and then launch it. No codes or anything, just that. Click here to use my code https://robertsspaceindustries.com/enlist?referral=STAR-F3V9-NVLK and then just follow the instructions on the site to get the client, and don't sleep on the little helpful things in the client - while the game is downloading, check out the guides and such there, perhaps even find youself an actual guide, which is other players who are volunteering to show new people around.
Invictus Launch Week is a now two week long celebration of all the military focused ships in the game (nominally at least), and not only will get have an Avenger Titan (the wonderful space penguin) to fly around with for the duration of the event, but you can get a free short-term rental of a whole pile of ships, by going to the Bevic Convention Center in Area 18 on the planet of ArcCorp in game and pick from any of the ships that are on the daily list, which then will become just as though it was your own ship, for 48 hours. If you need guidance, just ask in global chat in game, someone should be able to help you out (though remember, many will be new, just like yourself, be patient and don't be that gamer). The schedule of what ships are available when can be found here, along with links to more information on the whole event itself, including more specific details on how to get there, and how to rent things and so on: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/19914-Invictus-Launch-Week-2954-Schedule
A fun little detail is, too, that if you attend the convention in-game at least three different days (that is, as the game counts it - they roll over 1600 UTC, so keep that in mind), you will get both a badge over on Spectrum (CIG's bespoke communications platform, with both forums and chat), and a Medivac Beacon, which is a hand gadget that you can use for, well, making yourself known as either in need of or being a supplier of medical assistance when out and about.
What Do?
If you do decide to pledge now, however: As a new player, you will likely want to hop on and actually do the tutorial that has (finally) been added. It's a fairly short one, but it'll get you familiar with the basics of the game (on-foot navigation, interaction, flight controls, that sort of stuff), and you even get a set of armour and a bit of cash at the end of it. In short, simple, but worth your time. You can also use the Guide system, which you can find over on Spectrum once you've signed up: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/spectrum/guide - sometimes there's little bonuses for doing that as well, but it's always useful, as it's a real person, who plays the game, who is there to help you work out how to do things in the game.
For the moment, the servers seem to be pretty happy, but as the game is still in development, there's going to be bugs, sometimes light, sometimes extreme. So while the general gameplay is decently smooth, of course the old "it's an alpha" always applies, and you should always treat this game as one to make sure your expectations are at the correct level for jankiness. That said, you just might be able to have some outright gameplay type fun out in the big sandbox that is out little star system of Stanton.
In addition to Invictus Launch Week itself (and DefenseCon, the Drake "we are not down with the UEE" counterpart to ILW - lore stuff ;) ), the game is also currently playing host to a huge new chain of missions, which can arguably be done solo (according to some), but which are outright amazing with other people. There's even permanent bonus gifts for you if you complete the chain! I won't go into it too deeply here, but the page here has all the information you need to take part, and as you will see, it's quite a lot: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/19753-Overdrive-Initiative
What Game Package To Get
Most importantly, when picking what to get: Anything called a "starter pack" will get you in the game, and spending more doesn't equal a better ship. Specifically, don't get something called a Standalone Ship, as that will not include game access. It says as much on the store, but there is a lot of text, so it bears pointing out here.
Right now, one of the two largest sales of the year is going on, which means there is a sale on two specific starter packs as well, and either of the two will do you very well as a starter: The Aurora MR Invictus Starter Pack is 10% off the usual price, and the Avenger Titan Invictus Starter Pack is a full 25% off, which lands it as an absolutely amazing value for the cash. Both of these come with a nifty paint as well, as well as a bit of extra starting cash, and longer insurance than the default (though do note, insurance currently doesn't matter, that's going to be more a thing later on, though CIG's word on the topic is also that you'd never completely lose anything you spent cash money on).
Either of the two will do you just fine, but the Titan is one of the best small ships in the game, outright, and would be my recommendation in general. That one can be found here: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/pledge/Packages/Avenger-Titan-Invictus-Starter-Pack-Warbond
If you want the cheapest option to get the game, forever, the Aurora pack should be your pick. It also is genuinely not a bad ship at all, and there is essentially nothing you can't try out in the game, outside of perhaps cargo running (though even with the Titan's larger capacity of , that still would be just dipping your toes rather than actually doing it as a career). The Aurora pack can be found here: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/pledge/Packages/Aurora-MR-Invictus-Starter-Pack-Warbond
Don't forget that you can buy any ship in game, including that Titan (minus perhaps the fancy paint).
Definitely don't spend until you're ready, though - especially given it's Invictus, where you'll be able to try out a whole pile of ships, including the Titan Avenger, which will be your ship during the free-fly.
Thanks!
Thanks for you consideration, and o7 to all our new citizens from captain leinir! If you need any help, feel free to give me a poke here, and i'll be happy to try and help you (we can even do the guide thing) - in particular the basics of the game and its quirks, or if you need help working out which starter pack to buy in the pledge store.
So either use my code STAR-F3V9-NVLK when signing up, or just click right here to create a new account: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/enlist?referral=STAR-F3V9-NVLK

Ever-shifting Short Seller Claims

The short sellers attacking RILY in 2023-2024 have been relentless (currently 57% of float sold short per FinViz), with an ever-shifting list of wild accusations.
It's sickening to watch them compile a never-ending list of baseless wild theories and claims to support their short positions, which are demonstrably false. But as each is proved false, they pivot to new claims, and/or change the goalposts.
The sheer volume of shifting claims makes it hard to track how despotic they are with their "platform," and how many falsehoods they've spun. Even for someone who watched it in real-time, for almost a year

Compiled & Debunked

Sunlight kills vampires. To that end, I've compiled a list of (i) claimants (ii) claims (iii) reality (iv) definitive source proving reality.

Why Did They Target RILY?

One of the most vocal short sellers, Nate Koppikar (who also introduced Marc Cohodes to the "opportunity") has a fund Orso Partners. Based on their SEC registration document, this is their investment thesis:
"The Account’s investment objectives are to achieve capital appreciation primarily by identifying and selling short marketable equity securities of underfollowed and complex companies with misleading or corrective disclosures through a research-intensive process. The Account employs a short-biased investment strategy with an emphasis on primarily small to mid-cap companies that are underfollowed and complex (i.e., companies with market capitalizations of less than $5 billion which the market does not yet have a wellformed bull and/or bear perspective)."
RILY fits their description. The icing on the cake was the relatively large market cap, and the relatively small float. Given extremely high insider ownership (32.9% of shares per the proxy), and limitations on when and how insiders can trade, the "free float" of the stock (i.e., the shares that regularly trade) is very small for the size of the company. Moreover, the setup would only get better - given insiders have consistently used their free cash to buy additional shares hand-over-fist (further reducing the float).
That meant, with relatively small amounts of capital, the short sellers could shove around the stock price. That ability to move price opens another profit avenue - taking large derivative positions (buying puts, and selling calls), and shoving the price (or allowing it to drift up) to profit all along the way. It looked so good, the stock has been the highest-shorted on the US indices for several months. Even after the release of the 10-K, shares remain "hard to borrow" with elevated borrow fees.

Debunked Claims

The claims made by vocal short sellers could fill a book. Most were outrageous and fanciful when they were proposed. Virtually all have objectively debunked. This isn't a comprehensive list, as their claims are too numerous and varied. But it paints an illuminating picture.
With a track record this poor, one would expect the short sellers to exit - rather than continuing to spin new narratives. Perhaps the continued attacks are their exit strategy to avoid bankruptcy... Well, #Bullish.
With the highest short interest of all US stocks (albeit likely decreased from the highs of ~76% of the float), I think this is more than ripe for a return to fair value - or well above, if a short squeeze occurs.
Note: this sub disallows image posts. There is a similar post in the RILYStock sub which contains virtually all source images for the claim in the comments (too many images to embed in the post). The source images are illuminating.
Note that the list below deliberately excludes three types of posts/claims from the short sellers:
A) Juvenile personal attacks and attempts to character assassinate and dox a long list of people (RILY CEO, RILY new hires, RILY clients, Marcum the auditor, Marcum's lead audit professional, any firm or individual publicly posting a bull thesis on RILY, etc.).
B) Those that make no objective claims, but simply exist as a product of malicious degeneracy (like pictures of roasted pigs in ovens labeled Bryant Riley the CEO, photoshopped pictures of the CEO in prison chains next to convicted felons, video of an obese woman barely able to walk being gored by a bull labeled Mrs. Riley the CEO's wife, etc.).
C) Those that are impossible for short sellers to know, and impossible to objectively verify (e.g., Marc Cohodes claiming a single RILY trader front runs the CEOs personal short trades in front of clients taking following the firm's bullish advice on those stocks, to guarantee profits).

Claimant	Claim	Reality
1) Wolfpack	Wolfpack “RILY will record investment losses of up to ~$700 million in 2023” FALSE 10-K	FALSE
2) Wolfpack	“new loan to CORZQ will work out just as badly as the last and end in default (again) before June 2023”	Repaid in fullFALSE , early, on 1/6/2024.
3) Wolfpack	“The coupon rate on RILY’s seven issues of baby bonds ranges from 5% to 6.75%, which we believe to be far too low to compensate investors for the existential risk that accompanies these securities.”	Full redemption FALSE of May 2024 came early. Far more than sufficient cash to cover debt payments.
4) Wolfpack	“According to our analysis, 4 of RILY’s largest 7 corporate borrowers with outstanding loan balances of $295.3 million are at a high risk of default, or in the case of CORZQ, is already in default.”	Core Scientific IncExela Technologies Arena Group Holdings FALSE a. . repaid early and in full ($111MM of the “risk”) b. repaid term loan in full ($55.8MM of the “risk”) c. debt retired in full ($99MM of the “risk”). Publicly disclosed in the most recent 10-K for each company (search for "Riley" in the filing)
5) Wolfpack	“RILY’s NAV is Far Below the $1.1 Billion Minimum NAV Requirement That Is Required for the Nomura Credit Agreement Putting RILY at Risk of Collapse in 2023”	is in full compliance FALSE RILY with the Nomura credit agreement. Moreover, reflecting the strength of the relationship, Nomura even granted a no-fee extension when the 10-K filing was delayed. Also see 10-K for current status.
6) Wolfpack	“Over $200 Million of the Goodwill and Intangible Assets on RILY’s Balance Sheet is Attributable to its Telecom Rollup, which is Centered on Dial-up and DSL Internet:” - criticizing them as dying businesses with no value	extremely valuableFALSE Segment is . From just 2020 to 2023, the communications segment has returned over $212.2MM in adjusted EBITDA.
7) Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear) + Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Various	RILY committed fraud with loans and closing the FRG acquisition. "The fact $RILY closed the FRG deal while hiding the Kahn loan - an all PIK defaulted loan backed by $FRG shares - is a Hall of Fame worthy act of fraud. I thought after Enron/Sarbox we couldn't have something like this happen in US markets."	FALSE A law firm led an internal investigation, and an independent external investigation both found “The review confirmed what the Company previously disclosed: that the Company and its executives, including Bryant Riley, had no involvement with, or knowledge of, any of the alleged misconduct concerning Prophecy.” “The results of the independent investigation confirmed that the Company and its executives had no involvement with, or knowledge of, any of the alleged misconduct concerning Mr. Kahn or any of his affiliates. This independent investigation was conducted subsequent to the Company's February 22, 2024 disclosure of the internal review performed with the assistance of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as outside counsel.” Also see 10-K
8) Marc Cohodes (AlderlaneEggs), ParrotCapital, Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Various	The 10-K will never be filed. They can't produce audited financials.	Audited 10-K FALSE was filed. Delay was due to Audit committee fulfilling its responsibilities and proactively conducting investigations (internal and external).
9) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs) + Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear) + Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate) + ParrotCapital	Sullivan and Cromwell knew about Massive Fraud, and did a "sham investigation"	Sullivan and Cromwell FALSE is one of the most respected law firms, in the US and worldwide. "Sullivan & Cromwell continues to lead all law firm advisers in announced and completed global deals in 2023, according to Bloomberg and LSEG. The Firm advised on global announced deals totaling more than $345 billion, representing a 12.1 percent market share, per Bloomberg, and on completed global deals totaling more than $431 billion, representing a 16.9 percent market share, per LSEG." They're not compromising themselves for a relatively small client.
10) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs), Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear), Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Parrot Capital	Marcum is enabling Massive Fraud	MarcumFALSE is a respected audit firm, and 13th largest by revenue. "Marcum LLP advanced into the Top 15 in the 2023 Vault Accounting list of top-ranked accounting firms. Marcum climbed six levels to the No. 13 ranking overall and earned a ranking of 14 in prestige. The Firm also won Top 20 rankings across all Practice Area, Quality of Life, and Diversity categories, including several new classifications added this year."
11) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	Nomura is enabling Massive Fraud	NomuraFALSE is a global financial services company, and the oldest brokerage firm in Japan. They operate in a highly regulated industry. They're not putting themselves on the line for a relatively small client.
12) Parrot Capital	"The list of $RILY enablers is massive: Marcum LLP, Sullivan and Cromwell, Seeking Alpha, Holbrook Holdings, $AX Axos Bank, Many, many more."	FALSE There's no global conspiracy whereby these companies - all respected law firms, auditors, banks, and media outlets - are collectively colluding to enable RILY to commit fraud. Requires only two brain cells and one functioning synapse to know there's no grand collusion cabal between these disparate companies.
13) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs), Jonathan Weil at WSJ	Franchise Group shares used to secure Kahn loan: "It is unclear whether Kahn pledged the same shares twice—to both Prophecy and B. Riley."	stated by the company UCC search FALSE As , Simple disproves this. UCC # 202302295747
14) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	“Bryant Riley is on the Road, telling people the ‘audit partner at Marcum left’ and that ‘I have made mistakes’ “	hit the 5yr SEC ruleFALSE Marcum audit partner was working on the audit the whole time; the original audit partner had , so he was never working on this year’s audit.
15) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"So it turns out James La Rocca was Fired by MarcumLLP If nothing was wrong with prior $RILY Audits, why is he gone? This will be great in discovery of what exactly went on.	hit the 5yr SEC ruleFALSE Marcum audit partner was working on the audit the whole time; the original audit partner had , so he was never working on this year’s audit.
16) Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear)	“So Bryant Riley did disseminate MNPI back in March” in response to Cohodes claim that he told people the Marcum partner left	5 consecutive yearsFALSE Cohodes claimed Bryant Riley was telling people the Marcum auditor left. Koppikar called that disseminating MNPI. Cohodes statement was false (and thus Koppikar's derivate claim is also false). A different auditor worked on RILY, as Marcum follows the SEC rules; the lead auditor can only serve the client for . As such, Koppikar’s derivative claim of disseminating MNPI is false.
17) Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear)	“He appears to still not be familiar with the voting interest model of consolidation… why is a life science and tech partner signing an extremely complex investment company / broker dealer audit ???” i.e., auditor is unqualified	Marcum is a highly respected auditorFALSE The auditor is fully qualified. ; they don't hire unqualified people, or assign them to clients they're unqualified to audit. RILY is continuing to use Marcum as the 2024 auditor.
18) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"Now that the $RILY dividend is going away, this omission is serious stuff"	reduced 24Q1FALSE The dividend did not go away. It was from $1.00/share to $0.50/share, to allow them to opportunistically allocate capital. 23Q4 and

There are too many source images for the claims above to embed in a reddit post, and this sub doesn't allow images in comments. Images can be seen on a version of this posted to a sub that discusses RILY in the comments (~55 images). All claims can be sourced on the various social media venues and websites utilized by the short sellers. Other sources include: https://wolfpackresearch.com/research/rily/ and here https://friendlybearresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/RILY-Analyst-Day-Questions-12_11_13-Final.pdf and https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2cpgaejc45gocvoqb1ngg/corner-office/how-b-riley-garnered-the-biggest-short-interest-of-2023 and https://www.wsj.com/finance/how-an-unremarkable-deal-became-a-big-threat-to-a-small-investment-bank-f819a169 . https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/304196 form ADV. This is not financial advice. All claim summarizations reflect my interpretation of the short seller claims, and should be verified against original sources, along with all counters.

,,To the angel of the church of Ephesus write: Thus says He who holds the seven stars in his right hand, and who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks: I know your works, and your labor, and your patience, and that you cannot bear evil, and you have tried those who they say they are apostles, but they are not, and you have found them false; And you endured a lot, and you have patience, and for my name you worked hard, and you did not stop. "
Rev. 2:1-3
Here, in the second chapter, we have the revelation of Jesus that John wrote to the church of Ephesus. Ephesus is a city that was driven to idolatry and the glorification of false gods, and the symbolic meaning of saying Ephesus is "desired".
"Write to the angel of the church of Ephesus" this angel is the preacher of the church in Ephesus and we have seen that before, otherwise the meaning of the word angel in Greek is herald and that is in fact the purpose of preaching "the announcement of news or revelations" that arrived as we have seen in the first chapter from the Lord Jesus Himself.
Based on the record, "The secret of the seven stars that you saw on my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven lampstands which you saw are seven churches."
Rev. 1:20
we can say that this was an encouragement to the preacher in the church in Ephesus and to all the other preachers who preached the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Revelation sent through John. The same is the case with the preachers today and this is an encouragement to them because they are proclaiming the word of God and not their own science and exactly that's why Jesus addresses everyone and says that he holds them in the right hand of his power and authority, "Thus speaks the One who holds the seven stars in his right hand"
This speaks of the great importance of preachers who should convey the revelations of God recorded in the Bible and that is why they are called "stars" and the church is called "golden luminary".
,,and what walks in the middle of the seven golden candlesticks: "Since Ephesus was under the influence of false gods, the preacher and the church to which Jesus addresses should be of good material, and Jesus himself is in the middle of the church and He knows what is happening because He sees everything and everything knows.
The "seven golden candlesticks" say that Jesus spoke to seven addresses, and here we are talking about seven churches, and sent to the churches that are in Asia: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea"
Rev. 1:11
These were local churches that functioned independently of each other but were united in the love of Jesus Christ and each had its own preacher and the head was the Lord Jesus:
,,...and Christ is the head of the church, and he is the savior of the body."
Eph. 5:23
At the center of those churches was the Lord Jesus and even today it should be the Lord Jesus Christ and not a man because the Lord is the savior, it says:
"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
Matt. 18:20
"I know your works" clearly says that Jesus knows what is happening in the church and, of course, what the preacher and church members are doing because it further says, "I know your works and your labor". The members of the church in Ephesus worked hard and tried to would do something for the Lord. In addition to the work they had and the effort, another quality of the members is mentioned here, and your patience". Although they lived in difficult and dangerous times, the church in Ephesus was patient and resisted the pressures that were definitely there lived differently from other Jews and did not want to continue living the way they were probably recommended by the rabbis and tradition, but lived according to the new higher standards of Jesus Christ, and that bothered the religious leaders a lot,, And you endured a lot, and you have patience, and for my sake you labored, and you did not stop."
We further read that false apostles came to them with their teachings, but they did not receive them before checking and when they saw that they were bringing another doctrine, they did not receive them into their church, and that you cannot bear the wicked, and you tried those who say that they are apostles, but they weren't and you found them false". And they could recognize them because they were true believers, they knew what it means to be a disciple of Jesus who works for the Lord. It is written about them:
"And this was known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear entered all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was glorified. And many of those who believed came and confessed and told what they had done. And many of those who cast spells, gathered their books and burned them in front of everyone; and they calculated and found that they were worth fifty thousand groschi. Thus the word of the Lord grew healthily and prevailed."
Acts 19:17-20
The apostle Paul warned about false apostles, but it was necessary for the church in Ephesus to know God's word well in order to recognize the real ones from the false apostles. Paul warns:
"Take care, then, of yourselves and of all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has appointed you bishops to shepherd the church of the Lord and God, which he acquired with his own blood; For I know this that after my departure grievous wolves will enter among you who will not spare the flock; And among yourselves there will be men who will speak perverse doctrine to turn away the disciples after themselves."
Acts 20:28-30
And the apostle John writes about this:
"Kind! Do not believe every spirit, but try the spirits to see if they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world."
1 John 4:1
And we read about who those false prophets were in the sixth verse.. But this is what you have that you hate the actions of the Nikolini, which I also hate." so there were the Nikolini who were a "sect" founded by a man called Nicholas, who was probably from Jerusalem. Misconceptions practiced by the Nicolaitans: they tried to divide the church into priests and laymen, that is, into those who rule and those who are submissive. This was already a practice that was applied in some churches because the apostle Jovan writes:
"I wrote to the church; but Diotrephes, who wants to be the oldest among us, does not receive us."
3 John 1:9
and secondly, they taught and practiced that a sin after conversion is not a sin, and the apostle Paul fights against this, saying:
"So what are we going to say? Shall we remain in sin that grace may multiply? God forbid!"
Rom. 6:1
Here we see that Satan tried to corrupt the church in Ephesus, but the church recognized the false teaching and rejected such teachings, and that is why the Lord Jesus praises them and adds, "which I also hate". Here the church harmonized its way of life and glorifying God with the will God's, and that is exactly what God wants each of us to do, because we received God's revelation in advance, and everything we need to know is said there.
"Because I believe in God that it will be as I was told"
Acts 27:25

There’s a lot to learn when you’re new to RVing. After purchasing your RV and equipping it with the right gear, the last thing you want is to feel overwhelmed trying to select where to camp. So we asked the question: what are the best RV trips for beginners?
Of course, we have our own opinions, but we wanted to see what the RV community felt. We asked experienced RVers which destinations or campgrounds they would recommend for beginners. With over 150 replies, here are the top five answers:

1. Somewhere close to home
2. State parks
3. Good Sam Campgrounds
4. Your backyard
5. National parks

(Runner-up: Wal-Mart parking lot).

Why Stay Close to Home on Your First RV Trip as a Beginner?

The overwhelming majority of experienced RVers recommended sticking to somewhere close to home as a beginner. Their reasons were practical:

• You know where to go (home or familiar stores) if you forget supplies.
• You’re not far from your community if you need help.
• If something breaks down, towing your RV back to your house won't take long or cost too much.
• You do less driving and more time getting familiar with your RV.
• You won’t hurt your wallet on gas expenses if you overpack (which most first-timers do!)

Boondocking in your backyard is a great way to learn about your RV and its systems. Just remember: Depending on your RV, you’ll need potable water, a way to empty your holding tanks, and a proper power supply – 30 or 50 amps.

Which Locations Make For The Best RV Trips for Beginners?

We collected specific recommendations for those who want to venture out while staying close to home. These came directly from experienced RVers nationwide who were willing to share their favorite destinations for RV newbies.
Because we don’t know where home is for you, we organized this list of the best RV trips for beginners and organized them by region.

The Best RV Trips for Beginners in the Northeast

Bayley’s Camping Resort – Scarborough, Maine

Park Features:

• 512 full hookup sites
• 75’ pull-thru sites
• 44’ back-in sites
• Weekly entertainment schedule
• Recreation facilities
• Pools, restaurants, camp stores, and an arcade

Learn more or Book now.

Kennebec River Campground – The Forks, Maine

Park Features:

• Six secluded RV sites with electric hookups
• Full restaurant and brewery with deck seating
• Swimming pool and hot tub
• Bathhouse with hot, running water
• Easy access to the Kennebec River
• Base camp for whitewater rafting, snowmobiling, and other Maine adventures

Learn more or Book now.

Gettysburg Battlefield RV Resort – Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Park Features:

• 250 RV sites
• 60’ maximum RV length
• Battlefield reenactment grounds, Olympic swimming pool, and stocked fishing pond
• Game room, general store, and ice cream parlor
• Canoe, kayak, and paddle boat rentals
• Themed activities, nature trail, and laundry facilities

Learn more.

Quechee / Pine Valley – Hartford, Vermont

Park Features:

• Full hookup RV sites (30 and 50 amp service)
• 85’ maximum RV length
• Off-leash dog park and activity field
• Bike, canoe, and banana bike rentals
• Heating swimming pool (open 5/27 to 9/5)
• Saturday hay rides, playground adventures, and family fishing at the pond

Learn more or Book now.

Cherrystone Campground – Cape Charles, Virginia

Park Features:

• Open seasonally from 4/1 to 10/31
• 181 full hookup 30 amp sites (87 wateelectric only 30 amp sites)
• 121 full hookup 50 amp sites
• Private beach, beach entry pool, and two Olympic-sized pools
• Lazy river, mini golf course, and four fishing piers
• Daily shuttle service into Downtown Cape Charles

Learn more.

Holiday Trav-L-Park – Virginia Beach, Virginia

Why They Recommended: “The place is pretty big (but tight, please know HOW to drive). It has seven pools, a bar, a restaurant, laundry, concerts, and a little trolley that will take you to the beach for even more entertainment.”
Park Features:

• 700 RV sites (full hookup and wateelectric only)
• Wooded, partly shaded, or open site locations
• Maximum RV length varies by site type
• On-site laundromat, Safari Cafe, and eight tiled comfort stations
• Trolley from the cafe to the beach and beyond
• Dog park, bike path, and convenience store

Learn more or Book now.

Virginia Beach Holiday – Virginia Beach, Virginia

Why They Recommended: “They just put in a lazy river and a brand new pool. It’s state-of-the-art!”
Park Features:

• Full hookup sites with 50, 30, and 20 amp compatibility
• 45’ maximum RV length
• Two heated pools, a lazy river, and a splash pad
• Trolley stop for exploring the nearby Virginia Beach waterfront
• Community bonfire, dog park, and electric vehicle charging station
• Bicycle, golf cart, and pedal cart rentals

Learn more or Book now.

New River Gorge Campground – Lansing, West Virginia

Park Features:

• Full hookup RV sites (30 and 50 amp)
• Views of ponds, sunsets, and nightly firefly displays (seasonally)
• Catch-and-release fishing
• Hiking and biking trails, swimming, and kayaking nearby
• Nearby rock climbing, rafting, and horseback riding

Learn more.

The Best RV Trips for Beginners in the Southeast

Wind Creek State Park – Alexander City, Alabama

Park Features:

• 586 campsites with wateelectric hookups
• 157 waterfront campsites and 268 full hookup sites with sewer
• Two laundry facilities at the marina and a bathhouse
• Archery range, fishing, and mini golf course
• Boat rentals, horseback rides, and zipline canopy tours
• Sunday services, swimming area, and outdoor pavilions

Learn more or Book now.

Everglades Isle – Everglades City, Florida

Park Features:

• 59 full hookup RV sites (30 and 50 amp)
• Concrete pads (waterfront and inland) with daily trash service
• Clubhouse laundry facilities and complimentary Wi-Fi
• Luxury clubhouse with drinks, food, billiards, movies, and more
• Fitness center, office space, and veranda seating
• Lounge area, salon, and spa

Learn more or Book now.

Orlando / Kissimmee – Kissimmee, Florida

Why They Recommended: “Orlando has the best prices all year round! It’s in close proximity to Universal Studios, Disney, Disney Springs, lots of attractions, several grocery stores, and restaurants. Target even ships deliveries there.”
Park Features:

• Full hookup RV sites with 134’ maximum RV length (30 and 50 amp)
• Bike rentals, mini pocket park, and access to the public bus service
• Dog park, outdoor pavilion, and fitness center
• Heated swimming pool, hot tub, and sauna (open year-round)
• Electric vehicle charging station and taxi service
• Jump pad and playground for the kids

Learn more or Book now.

Fisheating Creek Outpost – Palmdale, Florida

Why They Recommended: “The lots have much more space than most parks. You are not three feet from your neighbor.”
Park Features:

• 18,000+ acre wildlife management area
• 48 full hookup RV sites (5 of which are ADA-accessible)
• The swimming area at Depot Lake
• Large pond with two islands near the Camp Store
• Canoe rentals and Riverside Cafe (open seasonally)
• Large screened recreation area with central bathhouse

Learn more or Book now.

Big Lagoon State Park – Pensacola, Florida

Park Features:

• ~75 campsites (some RV or tent, some tent-only, some RV-only)
• 40’ maximum RV length
• Swimming, boating, fishing, and paddling
• Biking, stargazing, and geocaching
• Access to the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail
• Boat launch, playground, and amphitheater

Learn more or Book now.

Jetty Park Campground – Port Canaveral, Florida

Park Features:

• 358 total sites (variety of water-only and wateelectric hookups)
• Bathhouses and communal fire pits.
• Views of rocket launches from Canaveral Air Force Station
• Shuffleboard courts and horseshoe pits
• Daily arrivals and departures of cruise ships and submarines
• Camp store and nearby fishing pier

Learn more or Book now.

Smith Ridge Campground – Campbellsville, Kentucky

Park Features:

• 80 campsites (62 with water and electric hookups)
• Flush toilets, showers, fire rings, and potable water
• Kid’s playground and easy access to miles of hiking trails
• Frisbee golf course, boat ramp, and swimming beach
• Fishing pier, marina, and picnic areas

Learn ore.

Mountain Stream RV Park – Marion, North Carolina

Park Features:

• 44 full hookup sites (30 and 50 amp)
• 45’ maximum RV length
• Access to Buck Creek along two edges of the campground
• Five miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway
• Dog park, kid’s playground, and outdoor pavilion
• Camp store and bathhouse with showers and toilets

Learn more or Book now.

North Myrtle Beach RV Resort – Little River, South Carolina

Park Features:

• Oversized full hookup sites and a fully-stocked camp store
• Views of the nearby Intracoastal Waterway
• Swimming pool with a slide and splash pad for the kids
• 60-slip boat dock with observation deck
• Live music every weekend during the summer
• Food and drinks on the water at the Tiki Bar and Grill

Learn more or Book now.

Myrtle Beach State Park – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Park Features:

• 140 standard water and electric campsites
• 138 full hookup sites
• All sites are located about 300 yards from the beach
• 30-40’ maximum RV length
• Beach access for pets and bikes is restricted to certain time periods (see site for more info)
• Nearby access to birding, fishing, swimming, hiking, biking, horseback riding, and more

Learn more or Book now.

PirateLand Family Camping Resort – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Park Features:

• 748 full hookup sites
• Access to free Wi-Fi and daily trash pickup at each site
• Gated entrance with 24/7 patrol crew
• Eight climate-controlled bathhouses with toilets and showers
• Fully stocked camp store, outdoor chapel, and laundry facility
• On-site water park with Olympic swimming pool, lazy river, and more

Learn more or Book now.

Ocean Lakes Family Campground – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Park Features:

• 859 full hookup sites with free Wi-Fi
• 649 concrete pad sites with 45’ maximum RV length
• 19 total beach accesses
• Three-acre family fun center with game center, mini golf, swimming pool, and more
• Volleyball, shuffleboard, and basketball courts
• Nearby Ocean Lakes Nature Center Discover Lab with more than 10,000 shells and fossils

Learn more or Book now.

Anchor Down RV Resort – Dandridge, Tennessee

Park Features:

• 170 concrete full hookup sites
• All sites at least 50’ long by 18’ wide (sites differ by type and location)
• Basketball, gaga ball, pickleball, and volleyball courts
• Boat, jet ski, and golf cart rentals
• Leash-free pet park, beach area, and campground cafe
• Saltwater kiddie pool and large pool with waterslide (open Memorial Day to Labor Day)

Learn more or Book now.

Cherokee Dam Campground – Jefferson City, Tennessee

Park Features:

• 44 total sites (39 with water and electric)
• Views of the lake and mountains from nearly every site
• Sites require a two-night minimum stay
• The use of a water pressure regulator is highly recommended
• Nearby access to swimming and birdwatching
• Large public boat ramp nearby

Learn more or Book now.

Melton Hill Dam Campground – Lenoir City, Tennessee

Park Features:

• 61 total sites (35 with water and electric)
• Sites require a two-night minimum stay
• Two bathhouses with showers and flush toilets
• Designated swimming area
• Canoe and boat ramp access
• Free dump station access

Learn more or Book now.

Camp Margaritaville RV Resort and Lodge – Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Park Features:

• Full hookup concrete campsites
• Complimentary Wi-Fi and cable TV
• Nearby Fin City Entertainment Center with arcade, bowling, billiards, and more
• Nearby pool recreation area with water slides, lazy river, and kid zone
• Pet park, camp store, and kid’s playground
• Live entertainment, breakfast buffet, and barestaurant

Learn more or Book now.

Little Arrow Outdoor Resort – Townsend, Tennessee

Park Features:

• Luxury and standard full hookup RV sites
• Luxury sites with outdoor sink and cabana
• Standard sites with paved patios and fire rings
• 24/7 coffee lounge with playroom and movie/book exchange
• Zero-entry pool with grottos, hot tub, and splash pad
• 1-2 miles of quiet, peaceful hiking trails

Learn more or Book now.

The Best RV Trips for Beginners in the Midwest

Sycamore Springs Park – English, Indiana

Park Features:

• 30 and 50-amp sites with a 55’ minimum site length
• Full hookup, wateelectric, and primitive camping available
• Free firewood and fire pits on all sites
• Modern restrooms and shower houses
• Family-friendly camping with no alcohol allowed on the grounds
• Fishing, hiking and picnicking available

Learn more or Book now.

Lake Rudolph Campground and RV Resort – Santa Claus, Indiana

Park Features:

• Open season 5/1 to 10/31
• 146 full hookup 50-amp sites
• 110 full hookup 30-amp sites
• Gem mining, golf cart rentals, and take-out dining
• Swimming pool, dog park, and water park
• Free shuttle service to the theme park and water park

Learn more.

Grand Haven State Park – Grand Haven, Michigan

Park Features:

• 48-acre park with Lake Michigan to the west and the Grand River to the north
• 174 paved campsites
• Steps away from the beach and the river
• Scenic views of the Grand Haven pier and two lighthouses
• Boardwalk along the Grand River for fishing or walking
• Accessible playground, picnic area, and modern restrooms

Learn more or Book now.

Otsego Lake State Park – Gaylord, Michigan

Park Features:

• 155 campsites (split between the North and South campgrounds)
• Half-mile sandy beach with designated swim area
• Kayak, paddleboard, and canoe rentals for day-use
• Nearby access to the Iron Belle Trail for hiking, biking, and snowmobiling
• Fishing pier and boat launch
• Designated beach area for metal detecting

Learn more or Book now.

Itasca State Park – Park Rapids, Minnesota

Park Features:

• 223 drive-in campsites in two campgrounds (160 electric-only)
• 60’ maximum RV length
• Seasonal dump station available in the Bear Paw Campground
• Interpretive exhibits and year-round naturalist programs
• Two-hour excursion boat tours of Lake Itasca
• Nearby restaurant and cafe (open seasonally)

Learn more or Book now.

Silver Dollar City Campground – Branson, Missouri

Park Features:

• Full hookup sites (30 and 50 amp)
• Picnic table and fire ring at each site
• Kid’s playground and swimming pool (open 5/28-9/5)
• Nearby theme park, water park, and dinner cruises
• Clubhouse with supplies and an air-conditioned lounge with Wi-Fi
• Complimentary shuttle service into Silver Dollar City

Learn more or Book now.

Lake Mcconaughy State Recreation Area – Brule, Nebraska

Park Features:

• Seven developed campgrounds
• Reservable and first-come, first-served campsites
• Reservable beach camping in 17 designated zones
• Reservations required 5/20 to 9/10
• Archery range, swimming, and playground
• Boating, fishing, and hunting

Learn more or Book now.

Mt. Gilead Holiday – Mt. Gilead, Ohio

Park Features:

• 150 acres of walking trails
• Dog park, playground, and fishing ponds
• Golf driving range
• Zero-entry swimming pool (open 5/26-9/4)
• Golf course rentals, sand volleyball, and ‘The Bonfire Bar’

Learn more or Book now.

The Best RV Trips for Beginners in the South

The Woodlands RV Resort – Heber Springs, Arkansas

Park Features:

• 71 full hookup sites
• Five minutes from beaches, boat ramps, restaurants, and a golf course
• Easy access to hiking and biking trails
• Swimming pool, playground, and fishing pond
• Bathhouse, laundry room, and dog run coming soon

Learn more or Book now.

Sarah’s Seaside RV Oasis – Grand Isle, Louisiana

Why They Recommended: It’s the most laid back!
Park Features:

• Full hookup sites (30 and 50 amp)
• Family and pet-friendly
• Walking distance from restaurants, shopping, and bars
• Renowned for nearby world-class fishing and birdwatching
• Seasonal events like holiday decorating contests, seafood boils, movie nights, and more

Learn more.

The Best RV Trips for Beginners in the Southwest

Mather Campground – Grand Canyon Village, Arizona

Park Features:

• 327 primitive campsites with fire rings, a cooking grate, and a picnic table
• Flush toilets and drinking water spigots throughout
• Free dump station at Camper Services nearby
• Generators not permitted in Pine Loop (sites 265-319)
• Easy access to a paved walking and biking trail leading to overlooks and the visitor center

Learn more.

Tucson Lazydays – Tucson, Arizona

Park Features:

• 360 full hookup sites
• 73’ maximum RV length
• Pet-friendly sites, dog park, and dog wash available
• Two swimming pools, a hot tub, and a sauna (open year-round)
• Mini golf, bike rentals, workout room, and more

Learn more or Book now.

Caballo Lake State Park – Caballo, New Mexico

Park Features:

• Seven full hookup sites
• 98 water and electric (30 amp) sites
• 10 water and electric (50 amp) sites
• Three boat docks and two boat ramps
• Playgrounds and visitor centers with interactive exhibits for the kids
• Fishing, swimming, hiking, horseback riding, and more

Learn more or Book now.

The Best RV Trips for Beginners in the Northwest

Coloma Resort – Coloma, California

Park Features:

• 43 full hookup sites
• 45’ maximum RV length
• Sewer hookups are available at off-river sites only
• Calendar of naturalist-led activities available (summer months only)
• Exclusive riverfront access with nearby kayaking, tubing, and rafting
• Swimming pool and children’s playgrounds
• Wireless internet throughout the campground

Pro Tip: You must cross the Mt. Murphy Bridge to reach this campground. Here are the height and weight restrictions for that bridge:

• Max Height: 13' 6
• Max Weight for 2 Axle vehicles: 12 Tons (24,000 pounds)
• Max Weight for 3 Axle vehicles: 19 Tons (38,000 pounds)

Learn more or Book now.

Arrowhead RV Park – Cascade, Idaho

Park Features:

• 116 full hookup sites
• Easy access to the Payette River for fishing or paddling
• Shuffleboard and horseshoe pit for family entertainment
• Communal firepit on the edge of the river
• Recreation room with books, board games, and movies

Learn more or Book now.

St. Mary / East Glacier – St. Mary, Montana

Why They Recommended: “Beautiful views right from the park!”
Park Features:

• 75’ maximum RV length
• 30 and 50-amp sites
• Large hot tub, pool, and sauna (seasonally)
• Kayak rentals and easy access to the Lower St. Mary Lake & River
• Dog kennels and dog walking service (for when you want to explore nearby Glacier National Park)

Learn more or Book now.

Cape Blanco State Park – Port Orford, Oregon

Park Features:

• 52 electric hookup sites with water
• Easy access to wildlife viewing, fishing, and horse trails
• Beach access and hiking trails
• Flush toilets and hot showers
• Lighthouse and Hughes House for historical tours

Learn more or Book now.

Seven Feathers RV Resort – Canyonville, Oregon

Park Features:

• 182 full hookup sites
• 60’ maximum pull-thru size
• 55’ maximum back-in size
• Hotel and casino across the street
• Indoor heated pool and hot tub
• Fitness and media centers

Learn more or Book now.
Want to add your advice to our poll? Click below to join the conversation!
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Which destinations would you recommend for first-time RVers? Share your tips in the comments below.

We are doing our end of year Cub Scout picnic/get together on Sunday, June 2. We will be handing out final awards for the year and scouts have to be finished earning them by May 31.
I'm currently the Bear Den Leader, and I'll be moving to the Webelos Den Leader in June. Since this picnic also counts as a Pack Meeting and we'll be giving out awards for the year that just ended, can this picnic be counted as one of the three Cub Scout activities needed for the "Summertime Fun" Webelos award? I wasn't sure if we can double dip or not. It's no big deal if we can't, I'm just trying to follow the rules on that one.
Thank you!

Highlights of the Field Work
At the Desmaraisville South and North Properties, the field work is scheduled to commence late May 2024. The field programs will consist to: 1) evaluate several gold showings located within or at vicinity of the Opawica-Guercheville and the Wedding-Lamarck corridor of deformation where previous exploration works have returned very high-grade gold intersections in drilling and channel sample with values of 234.0 g/t over 0.4 m and 582.0 g/t Au over 0.53 m respectively, 2) map and sample outcropping areas with potential near surface gold bearing structures on both properties, 3) assess low-density circular features (Bouguer anomalies possibly corresponding to late felsic intrusions like the O’Brien Syenite Intrusion) interpreted from the high-resolution airborne gravity survey, 4) evaluate OreVision® 2D IP conductors and resistivity anomalies at the Desmaraisville South Property and 5) map and re-sample old gold bearing trenches to better assess their gold potential (Figure 1). Any positive results from these programs will help the Company to better focus and prioritize its diamond drill targets. The proposed 9,000 m drill program will commence later this year.
​
About Bonterra Resources Inc. Bonterra is a Canadian gold exploration company with a portfolio of advanced exploration assets anchored by a central milling facility in Quebec, Canada. The Company’s assets include the Gladiator, Barry, Moroy, and Bachelor gold deposits, which collectively hold 1.24 million ounces in Measured and Indicated categories and 1.78 million ounces in the Inferred category. In November 2023, the Company entered into a earn-in and joint venture agreement with Osisko Mining Inc. for the Urban-Barry properties, which include the Gladiator and Barry deposits. Over the next three years, Osisko can earn a 70% interest by incurring $30 million in work expenditures. This strategic transaction highlights Bonterra’s dedication to advancing its exploration assets, marking a significant step towards development.

I replaced the ball bearings in my bicycle's freehub recently and decided to take a spontaneous ride through the eastern German countryside to see if my repair had been worth the time. As I set out, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the flowers were blooming. It was a Sunday, so everyone and their grandmother was out cruising on their cumbersome E-bikes, their knees jutting out to both sides due to saddle heights optimized for pulling on the throttle instead of pedaling. This had the added benefit of taking up as much space as possible on the roadway. After self-righteously overtaking a group of beer-gutted mountain bikers, I was humbled by the sound of a wrench falling out of my saddlebag onto the cobbles that had shaken it loose. The group passed me by as I paced, head hung low, looking for the wrench. Another E-biker traveling in the other direction kindly stopped to help. After a short while, my wrench now found and firmly fastened, we went our separate ways.
Villages are often compact in Germany - you will breeze through wide-open fields and sparsely-developed forests before jarringly entering a 9ft-wide gauntlet with nothing but gapless concrete-colored house walls and wooden entrance gates on either side of you until you have made it through. That, and light-blue AfD (Alternative for Germany) election posters hung about 6-10ft up on lightposts. Going through these villages, you get the impression that the AfD is the established party and the others are the newcomers. I saw a single Die Linke (The Left) poster ("Those who must flee should find refuge!") on the ride; 70% were from the AfD and most of the rest were single-issue parties (animal rights, antisenescence research) or the glowie WerteUnion (Values Union). The AfD's slogans seemed to stick to a three-concept guideline: "Make construction easier!", "Agriculture instead of solar parks!". Another stuck out to me: "Re-imagine Europe!". I am a voteless immigrant along for the ride.
I did some reimagining of my route as my legs began to cramp, and I headed for the nearest city with a train station. I got on the Deutsche Bahn going home with two minutes to spare. By chance, a friend returning from a camping trip was also on the train, so I sat with him. I used to take the same train multiple times per month to visit my girlfriend years ago. Some things had changed: now an autistic German man will mutter something about coffee as he walks by - if you are quick, you can buy some. His son, sitting beside of the mobile coffee stand across from us, gave excited commentary to my friend's camping stories between playing something on his phone and secretly downing packets of sugar from the stand. A burly German woman checked our tickets - now, an even burlier, Central Asian bearded man with a security vest stood close behind her and watched for sudden moves. The Indian students and leopard-printed Eastern European women we shared the car with didn't make any trouble.
After another connection, I made it to my stop, got some American-style fried chicken from a Syrian restaurant and got a beer from a kiosk. The friendly tattooed German guy who used to work here has been replaced part-time by a disinterested Arab who can't be arsed to tell me the price out loud. Finally, I sat down to eat at home, but my enjoyment was interrupted by the angry buzzing of a Japanese hornet flying into the kitchen.

Today, we explore a path to inner peace by cultivating wholesome thoughts. In our journey of self-discovery and spiritual growth, the teachings of the Patanjali Yoga Sutras offer profound insights. Today, let us explore a powerful passage that speaks to the importance of our thoughts and their impact on our lives.

Understanding the Impact of Our Thoughts

“We ourselves may act upon unwholesome thoughts, such as wanting to harm someone, or we may cause or condone them in others; unwholesome thoughts may arise from greed, anger, or delusion; they may be mild, moderate, or extreme; but they never cease to ripen into ignorance and suffering. This is why one must cultivate wholesome thoughts.”
This passage offers a deep understanding of the nature of our thoughts and their inevitable consequences. Let’s break it down and explore its wisdom.

Acting on Unwholesome Thoughts

Firstly, it acknowledges that we might act upon unwholesome thoughts, such as wanting to harm someone. These unwholesome thoughts are detrimental not only to others but also to ourselves, leading to negative consequences.

Influencing Others

Moreover, we might cause or condone unwholesome thoughts and actions in others. This means we bear responsibility not only for our actions but also for the influence we have on the actions of those around us. Encouraging or approving harmful behavior in others is just as damaging.

Roots of Unwholesome Thoughts

Unwholesome thoughts often arise from three primary sources: greed, anger, and delusion. These are powerful forces that can cloud our judgment and lead us astray. Recognizing these roots helps us to understand and address the underlying causes of our negative thoughts and behaviors.

Varying Intensities

These negative thoughts can be mild, moderate, or extreme. Regardless of their intensity, they all have the potential to cause harm. Even mild unwholesome thoughts, if left unchecked, can grow and lead to greater suffering.

Inevitable Consequences

The Sutras remind us that unwholesome thoughts never cease to ripen into ignorance and suffering. This means that negative thoughts and actions inevitably lead to a state of ignorance and suffering, affecting our spiritual and emotional well-being.

Cultivating Wholesome Thoughts

Given the harmful nature of unwholesome thoughts, it becomes clear why it is essential to cultivate wholesome thoughts. Wholesome thoughts are those that promote well-being, kindness, compassion, and wisdom. By nurturing positive thoughts, we create a foundation for a more peaceful and harmonious life.

Practical Steps to Cultivate Wholesome Thoughts

1. Mindfulness Meditation: Regular meditation helps us to become aware of our thoughts and observe them without judgment. This awareness allows us to recognize and transform unwholesome thoughts.
2. Positive Affirmations: Repeating positive affirmations can help to reprogram our mind towards wholesome thinking.
3. Acts of Kindness: Engaging in acts of kindness and compassion towards others fosters a positive mindset and reinforces wholesome thoughts.
4. Gratitude Practice: Cultivating gratitude shifts our focus from negative to positive aspects of life, enhancing our overall well-being.
5. Self-Reflection: Regular self-reflection helps us to identify the sources of our unwholesome thoughts and address them effectively.

As we continue on our path of yoga and self-discovery, let us remember the power of our thoughts. By consciously cultivating wholesome thoughts, we can transcend ignorance and suffering, and move towards a state of inner peace. Today, we explore a path to inner peace by cultivating wholesome thoughts. In our journey of self-discovery and spiritual growth, the teachings of the Patanjali Yoga Sutras offer profound insights. Today, let us explore a powerful passage that speaks to the importance of our thoughts and their impact on our lives.
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