Chapter summary for lightning thief

Home of the Thunder

2010.05.07 01:02 Home of the Thunder

Subreddit of the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Hockey Team
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2013.03.19 07:08 Kai_Daigoji The Mecca of bad history

Badhistory is your one-stop shop for casual dissertations on the historicity of everything from bestselling books to zero-budget adult films!
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2010.01.18 13:20 dem358 Sharks are awesome!

sharks is now open
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2024.05.19 17:45 raquel18ls The Starset lore part IV: A Brief History of the Future

Hi, guys! I'm back. I've just finished reading Starset's new novel, A Brief History of the Future, and i really needed to share it.
Some of you may know me from my previous posts on the Starset lore:
Now that I've read this book, I want to sum up what we have now. Keep in mind that, for obvious reasons, this post is all spoiler content. If you plan to read the book(s) I encourage you to do so, because I'm unveiling some of the main "plot-twists" in the second book. I won't be writing a literal summary of the book's plot (I will focus on the content more than in the "drama" -in fact, I will start at the end), but key elements of it will appear. Also, I'm taking for granted you are already familiar with the contents in The Prox Transmissions -if not, I recommend you reading my post or just dropping this post altogether and go read the book!
If you have already read the books, don't plan to read them or don't care about the spoilers, stay with me along this long post because you will discover much about Divisions, Horizons... and what's coming next!!
Let's go then!
In a unknown year the novel starts in a world dominated by a state called the New East. it's not explicit in the book, but we have reasons to identify the New East with China: it is a current superpower and the powerful people in control have Chinese names. This state is governed by a Governing Committee, composed by Ministers that stay in charge for 5 years, with an exception: the Minister of Security, also known as MinSec. He is the head of the New East's secret police and he is to remain in charge for life.
Prior to 2024, Aston Wise (remember he was one of the protagonists of the previous novel!) is locked up by the US Government. They force him to create the BMI and its Architecture. In 2024, as I have said, the New East manages to obtain it and the big war starts. This part of the story is also explained deeper in a video (called "Initial Debriefing", available in Starset's YouTube channel since September 9th, 2021), with some minor incongruencies:
In the year 2010, the US Defense Advance Research Projects Agency -or DARPA- began work on a neural link system known as the "Brain Machine Interface" developed under the highest levels of secrecy. This technology was to be used in covert espionage campaigns with the goal of giving the US a major advantage in the ever-growing cyber warfare battlefield. The intention was to use the "BMI" on unsuspecting foreign agents, giving US Intelligence a remote line into their minds. Launched in 2020 to great success, the BMI provided a window into the intentions and secrets of numerous potential adversaries. Then, in 2021, a botched operation allowed this technology to fall into the hands of an undisclosed state who would then use it agains the US itself for over a decade. This state -which came to be known as the New East- used this technology to syphon intellectual property and assert control over the US, allowing it to rise swiftly as a global superpower. In the early 2030s, the crippled US launched an attack to the New East. This was quickly thwarted. However, as the New East was fully aware and prepared, in the end, the US and its allies capitulated and became known simply as the New West. Citizens of the New West, now mostly impoverished laborers, were offered BMI implantation -sold on the wonders of its amazing benefits. Eventually though, all were made to comply. Only then did the true goals of the New East become apparent.
The New West is a de facto and de iure protectorate. The New West has its own local police -that dealt with murder and robbery-, but the military and, most important, the Civil Authorities (CA), are controlled by MinSec -focused on thought crime.
Soon after the end of the war, some people were drafted for the reclamation in Virginia by the New East army. This was a forced-labor suicide mission because it was a fallout zone. The goal was the recovery of documents from the US, such as blueprints for advanced weapons and intel. Those who survived, developed NeuroTIDS (neural tissue interface degeneration syndrome) because of the radiation.
Once in control of the US (now New West), the New East implanted into all citizens the BMI. Now, people deal with three layers of reality: unaltered reality (UR), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Considering the BMI, there are three states:
(There also exists the Everything Machine in this storyline. Indeed, people ate only printed food, as real food as reserved for the New East).
On top of this, there’s an intelligent algorythm or artificial intelligence in the Architecture, called the Overseer. It is capable of detecting thought crimes by accessing a person's sensory input and also altering their perceptions (for example, blurring texts from banned books). When a thought crime is detected, CAs intervene and turn the perpetrator into a supplicant. Supplicants are stuck in VR prisons while their bodies wander in the streets or are collected and put into "corrals". See an example of a supplication facility in Where the Skies Ends music video.
The protectorate of the New East upon the New West is mantained thanks to the Quantum Comunicator, which keeps both connected and also connected to the Architecture
On the other hand, there's a rebel network still in function. They manage to meet and develop their plans by modding their BMIs, so that they become undetectable under the eyes of the Overseer. Their plan is to trap the MinSec and use their credentials to get access to the Architecture and destroy it from the inside.
(In Manifest music video you can see examples of people frosting, people supplicated, the modding minor surgery, the rebels, the CAs using their "freezing" weapons and supplicating civilians and a bigwig from the New East, maybe the MinSec himself).
Also, it is said that the New East didn't manage to conquer all the Old West (US) territories. There's rumours about the socalled Western Territories, free land where some former rebels already live, though its real existence it's in never confirmed in book. In The Breach music video we can see how a family leaving in the New West takes the opportunity of escaping into the Western Territories during some sort of shutdown.
The New West capital is established in Philadelphia, where the events in A Brief History of the Future are set. Here's the Quantum Communication Center and the New West Center for Advanced Innovation (CAI), where the most brilliant programming students are sent to develop their skills and work for the New West/East. One of this students is one of the protagonists of this book, Thomas Bell (again, someone whose name we are already familiar...), who quickly proves to be the best one and gets to be chosen as the Director's assistant. Eventually we get to discover the Director is Aston Wise and later on we find out he is the Architect himself.
A feature or app of the BMI that will reveal crucial to the plot is the Shadowcast: one can frost but, instead of being conscious in a VR, "enters" inside a celebrity's mind for an hour and experiences all they are experiencing live (the user is passive and can only perceive, but not intervene or influence the shadowcast celebrity into doing anything). You can see an example of this in Symbiotic music video, where the user is finally able to successfully Occupy the body of the celebrity. In the book, when this happens, the person occupied has their BMI turned purple.
In the book, Occupation will be a tool used by Bell and Wise, but also by the government, in an attempt of using the supplicated bodies to their own purposes. The original project launched by the New East and commissioned to the Director of the CAI (Aston Wise), was called by Wise himself 'Project X'. New East wanted to present it to the citizens as a way of emancipating from work: while working, you can let yourself be occupied by the Overseer, who wil perform your job while you can be having fun in VR. In Icarus music video you can see an ad made by the New East to promote the "benefits" of this technology (called Werk here); the other ads are based on previous BMI technology (AR, VR and Shadowcast). (Fun fact: have you noticed that the actor in 3:12 is the same from the Ricochet music video?).
As I said in the beginning, it is not my goal to sum up the book's plot and even though I have already spoiled you much info and some plot-twists, I'm not telling you here how the story of the protagonists develops and how it ends. However, I can't refrain from telling you this: the last page of the book has a QR that redirects to a video that has me really excited.
In the video, we see a man. He tells us it is 2048. In spring 2026, the New East took over the US. But... guess who's back! Oh, yes, the Order! Or rather they were there all along. In fact, the man who's talking to us is Stephen Browning! On July 4th of 2026, after the New East invasion, the Order tried to launch a spacerocket to get to "a lonely planet" (Prox!), but it was intercepted by the New East and then the army destroyed their base, so they lost all hope in a future on another planet. However, they managed to hide a "time mechanism" (I guess the same they had in The Prox Transmissions) and, finally, sent a message to 2024, warning us about this future that awaits us. Then he sais:
Dear Order friends, the time has finally arrived. We're headed to space. We're going go Prox.
This announcement matches Starset's video from six months ago ("It begins. And it ends. Now."), where we see images of astronauts and spacerockets, evoking space travel. Wow! Did you miss that "space-y" aesthetic, plots and sound from Transmissions and Vessels? Because it sounds like we're getting them back! Note that at the end of this video, the three dots of the BMI are occupied by three symbols:
It also matches the music video for Starset's last single, Brave New Word! And there's more news: the end of the video linked in A Brief History Of the Future ends with a "to be continued in Spring 2025".
So... Again, there are some questions left unanswered (and I love that!): How are both books linked? Are they the same Aston Wise and Thomas Bell, but in an alternative timeline? From where will the story continue? (The Order in 2048 colonising Prox?). I'm soooo excited to learn what's coming next and to listen Starset's next album (I love Brave New World).
Let me know about your impressions, opinions, theories... feel free to add any info I could have missed, to correct any piece I could be mistake about, etc. Thank you so much for your attention (I literally created this account only to write these Starset lore posts I feel very invested to and English isn't even my first or second language), I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful!!
submitted by raquel18ls to Starset [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 17:20 Wintergreen747 Pokemon Tale of Rusk!

my story is called ‘Pokémon: Tale of Rusk’
summary: Falling from the sky, our hero Rusk Matton. He begins his journey plummeting from his home to high above Lake Verity, only to be saved by the Lake Guardian itself. soon after for his heroic deed of the day he saves the professor from a Team Galactic grunt that had attempted to steal his research and is given the chance to work as a sponsored trainer and his very own partner pokemon.
I’ve just reached ch 9, and im sitting at 49,337 words total so far.
its posted under my handle, theironcrafty on both ao3 and fanfiction.net
edit: oh and the posting dates arent set as i work fairly often, leading postings to be a bit more sporadic than i’d like. ideally i’d be posting two chapters a month, but it’s generally a chapter a month.
submitted by Wintergreen747 to pokemonfanfiction [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 16:51 Obvious_Ad4159 Twice Awoken (Pilot chapter)

It has been 20 years since the first calamity struck Earth. A massive wave of solar radiation from a nearby star known as Prometheus 673B showered our solar system in 2025. Electronics have been rendered useless for months, giving humanity the glimpse of what life was like long before. But that was merely temporary. The true effect of the solar flare came in the form of an illness, that afflicted roughly 10% of the current population. Unlike anything we've ever seen, the illness did not kill, rather enhanced the afflicted. For the first time in human history, the term Esper was used seriously. Dubbed the Awoken, those afflicted with illness that stemmed from the solar flare of Prometheus, gained the ability to manifest their own thoughts into reality, with varying degrees of success. At first, nations and laws, society as whole, was not prepared to deal with these new humans and their abilities. Crime ran rampant for a while.
Five years after the incident, the world banded together in a unified front, known as the AMA, The Awoken Management Agency, a world wide agency tasked with handling and controlling the Awoken, allowing humanity to once more function as a whole. Satellites have been sent out as far Earth's gaze into space could reach, to watch our for any other potential cosmic events that may occur, like the one that happened with Prometheus back in '25.
Now, 20 years since the first incident, the satellites have picked up another major cosmic event on the horizon, this time coming from the Aquila constellation. Is humanity ready to withstand whatever cosmos has prepared for it?
[]
"Kenji. Wake up! You'll be later for your lectures, again."
The young man groaned, slowly turning to his side in bed, looking at his mother that stood at the doorway. "I'm up, I'm up."
Yawning and stretching, he sat up in bed, running his fingers through his hair, before turning to check the small clock on his nightstand.
"Wha? Late? Mom, it's only 8. Lectures don't start until 10." He sighed.
"Oh well. No need to cut it short, right? Plus, I've made breakfast." His mother replied and went back downstairs.
[]
AMA Information Database:
Kenji Aoto. Age: 21 Category: Type 1 Awoken Ability: Embodiment. The unique ability of Kenji Aoto, unlike other Awoken of the same type, allows him to alter his own body based on how he feels. Most Type 1s change their environment around them, rather than themselves. Type 1s are classified as such for having abilities that considered non dangerous to the general non awoken population.
[]
"We've got a lot of promising talent this year huh?" Nathaniel said to his daughter, as the two looked down at the auditorium full of students. The dean of the university was preparing his usual welcoming speech, as the assistants tried to quiet down the murmurs of the students.
"Yeah, we sure do." Clara smiled, not taking her eyes off the scene. "Quite a good number of Awoken too."
"Anyone interesting in particular?" Nathaniel asked.
"No, not really. They all have the standard abilities you would expect out of a type 1. Same level of control to boot." She responded.
"Well, I look forward to being their professor." Her father smiled, inhaling deeply. "The smell of youthful energy, so amazing. I can still remember your first day as a freshman."
Clara blushed a bit, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow. "Shouldn't you be down there giving your speech, Dr. Offset?"
Nathaniel rubbed the back of his neck with a slightly embarrasses laugh to boot. "Oh don't call me that. Ahem, yeah. I'll be going now. See you later for lunch?"
"Of course dad." Clara smiled, giving her father a little wave as he left the teacher conference room.
[]
AMA Information database:
Clara Harris. Age: 32 Category: Non-Awoken (regular human) The lead ambassador for Awoken rights and unification in the AMA. Daughter of the lead researcher in Awoken development and the head teacher of the Awoken department in Nagoya University, Japan, Nathaniel Harris.
Nathaniel Harris. Age: 55 Category: Type 2 Awoken Ability: Offset. Acquired during the first Prometheus flare, the ability of Dr. Offset (he thought the name was cool when he was in his 20s), allows him to offset numerical values. Though touching an object is not required to use the ability on it, the potency of the ability greatly improved when he has direct contact with it. This also extends to, in theory, numerical values pertaining to objects and their position in space, relative to Nathaniel. Meaning he can move objects or parts of them relative to where he's standing, by changing their coordinates, however there were no recorded instances of him doing so. Examples include: Increasing or reducing the temperature of a beverage by direct contact. Increasing or decreasing friction on a surface of an object temporarily by touching it.
In his youth, Nathaniel attempted to become a sort of hero, once his powers kicked in, but due to the very low potency of his abilities, he never really managed to make the cut as one, despite being a type 2. Type 2s are classified as such due to having abilities that could be considered dangerous, powerful or harmful for the general non awoken population.
[]
Location: Russia, Siberia. Time: 22:37 Facility: Maximum security prison for Awoken criminals in Russia, cell block 5.
Theodore laid in his bunk, staring at the ceiling. Each of his breaths released a soft cloud of vapor, that commonly occurs when someone is in a cold environment. In his case, the vapor was a byproduct of his ability, rather than the cold cell we was in. A thug with a love for violence, turned bank robber when his abilities fully developed, Theodore terrorized Russia and the neighboring countries. It wasn't until the AMA was finally assembled and operational, that he was arrested and sentenced to multiple life sentences in this highest security prison that Russia had at a time.
Even after being sent behind bars, he kept up his antics, becoming a nightmare for the guards and inmates alike. No man that was placed in a cell with him would last more than a few days before demanding transfer. Some even lost their lives to the former thugs whims, before their transfer requests could be approved. Hence Theodore has been placed in solitary, a cell designed with all the tech necessary to nullify his ability. There he spent the last 10 years of his life.
Despite being a type 1, an awoken with abilities that were not classified as dangerous to the general population, Theodore managed to use them to their fullest extent. His blessing of temperature manipulation, was a curse to everyone around him.
He looked outside, at the night sky, through his small cell window. Apparently, there was a big stellar event, similar to the one 20 years ago, that gave him the powers he now has. He heard guards and other inmates talk about it, how AMA is now prepared for such an event.
Theodore closed his eyes, imagining what this aurora would look like. The memory of that night, when Prometheus 673B's flare struck earth still fresh in his mind like it was yesterday. The otherworldly mixture of reds and yellows and greens. Like a primordial fire that was lit across the night sky.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps outside his cell snapped him out of his memory.
"Huh?" He adjusted in bed, to see who was outside his cell.
A man, in a white cloak with golden details, stood outside his cell. Theodore was confused. The man was not one of the guards, he was bare footed and did not wear any uniform. And no way he was one of the other inmates, no one had the capabilities to leave their cells without being let out.
"Hey, who the hell are you? How did you get here? The guards letting us out or something?" The criminal walked over to his cell door. The bars were made of material that could withstand sudden changes in temperature without bending or breaking, preventing him from getting out.
The man said nothing, he didn't even turn towards the convict, he merely stood there, hood covering his as he looked up at the night sky through the decorative windows on the buildings roof.
"Hey asshat! I asked you a question. How the fuck did you get out of your cell? C'mon man, don't be a dick, let me out too." Theodore grabbed the bars and rattled them.
The cloaked man finally turned towards him. The convict was stunned, only for a second. The man has a beard and long hair, both as white as his cloak. But his eyes, they were as blue as the midday sky. He could have sworn energy seemed to pour out of them. Before he could say another word, the figure before him extended his hand at him, and with a snap of his fingers, a bold of lightning struck Theodore square in the chest. The convict was send flying, back hitting the wall opposite the cell doors.
[]
Location: Brazil, San Paolo. Time: 16:37 Facility: Remodeled Taubaté Prison, cell block 3.
Vitor sat on the bench press, just finishing a set, looking over the prison yard. Even behind bars, his connections did not dwindle. A former petty drug dealer, Vitor Alves quickly rose to power and influence once his powers awoke. He employed other Awoken with criminal tendencies as his own personal task force to drive all other competition into the ground. Once he held the entirety of San Paolo's drug empire in his hand, he set his sights farther. We wanted the entire city for himself, believing that no one could challenge his claim to that right.
With the help of the AMA, the Brazilian government swiftly put his plan to rest, and Vitor behind bars. The fight between the Awoken under Alves and the AMA/Brazilian forces was indeed a bloody one and resulted in a good number of civilian casualties. The drug lord was sent to Taubate, where he would spend the rest of his life. The prison was remodeled, per AMA standards, to be fully equipped and capable of holding Awoken criminals.
Despite having powers of temperature manipulation, capable of increasing temperature to lethal amounts, Vitor did not believe that to be his strongest ability. Money, influence, connections, those were real power, what truly carried him to the top of the criminal world.
Even now, as he sat on the bench press, doing a few reps before looking over the yard, Vitor was not powerless in the outside world. He waited on his informant, his connection to the outside, to appear so he could delegate orders to what was left of his followers and empire on the outside.
He wasn't sure if it was something he ate, or the heat from the pounding sun. Maybe it was even that sky flare that he heard AMA guards mention. Something indeed felt off, his vision seemed a bit blurry. As if the entire prison courtyard was moving slowly right before him. But the informant should be there soon, so Vitor decided not to go back to his cell just yet.
The other inmates, guards, even the basketball that the inmates played hoops with, suddenly slowed down to a halt. Through the statue like crowd, a single figure moved over to Vitor. His feet were bare, his body and face hidden behind a hooded cloak. The drug lord could only see his white beard and his eyes, as they seemed to be glowing a faint blue glow. Before he even got a chance to speak, the man extended his hand towards him and with a smirk, snapped his fingers, sending a bolt of lightning straight into the mans body, causing Vitor to fly several feet and collapse on the ground.
[]
"Ugh... What the fuck man?" Theodore cursed, as he regained his consciousness. Slowly, he got up to his knees, his head pounding like he was struck by a hammer. The cell felt colder than before. Looking around, he saw the entire cell frozen, every surface covered by a thick layer of ice. Bed, toilet, the cell doors, frozen solid. And the ice shifted. With every movement of his hands, the ice followed.
"Could it be?" The inmate whispered, focusing his mind, channeling his ability. Ice began to form in the palm of his hand, morphing freely. With a single wave of his hand, the frozen bed shattered into bits and pieces. Theodore inhaled, getting up to his feet, head still in pain. But the realization was crystal clear. He could now freeze things without having to touch them, manipulate what he froze, as well create ice out by freezing the water in the air. With a grin plastered across his face, Theodore thanked the mysterious man, of who there was not a single trace left, and decided that he's busting himself out of prison.
[]
"WARNING! WARNING! WARNING. PRISON BREAKS DETECTED ACROSS MULTIPLE AMA FACILITIES!" Blared the system on screen at the Awoken Management Agency in Nagoya. Other HQs across the globe received the same warning.
"What the hell is going on?" Clara said, running into the monitoring hall.
"I don't know. Prison breaks, across multiple locations world wide." Kaito replied, his eyes not leaving the monitors as he fired up the surveillance drones on the impacted locations.
"The main facilities that were absolutely totaled are Siberia and San Paolo." He continued.
"Think it could be?" Clara asked.
"Not possible. The protection against solar flares was at full power. Not a single particle should have hit the ground. I mean, we didn't lose any tech, unlike last time." Kaito shot her question down, pulling up the drone feed of the two prisons.
Taubate was in flames. The entire facility seemed to be entirely engulfed in a raging fire. The Russian counterpart held no better either. The entire prison was torn apart by massive glacier like formations, that seemed to jut out of the ground.
Clara, Kaito and other technicians presents stared, slackjawed, at the live drone feed. Something like that was not possible, no Awoken held that level of power. Not even if multiple Awoken united, could they produce that level of destruction across such a large area.
"Wait wait! What's that? Zoom in on one of the glaciers!" One of the technicians said, pointing at the big monitors.
Kaito's fingers flew across the keyboard, as the drone moved closer and the video on screen zoomed to its maximum. On one of the glacier formations, sat a man, clearly an inmate based on the jumpsuit he was wearing.
"Running identification." Chimed the computer.
"Inmate 4012: Theodore Ivarovski. Age: 36. Category: Type 1 Awoken. Ability: Low drop. His ability allows him to significantly drop the temperature of anything he touches, almost instantly."
"He's a type 1. No way in hell that he could pull of something like this." Clara said, eyes glued to the screed. "He must have re-awoken, there is no other explanation."
"Clara, in the last 20 years since the Prometheus, there was never a single instance of that happening. Some Awoken do push their abilities past the initial capabilities, but that's usually the end of it. It's a conspiracy theory." Kaito mumbled.
"Then how do you explain THAT?" She said, pointing at a massive piece of ice that was quickly forming above Ivarovski, before being sent flying towards the drone and cutting off the live feed.
[]
(Howdy y'all. This is a bit different from my usual write style, with a more manga like story/narration instead of the standard story/novel format I do. I hope you like it, I came up with it months ago, but due to time constrains with work I haven't gotten around to writing it. Based on how it's received, I may continue this along side Sand & Steel. You can read S&S on here:
Royal Road
Wattpad
Scribble Hub
Hope y'all have a nice day.
-M.W.A.)
submitted by Obvious_Ad4159 to HFY [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 16:17 Rusted-1 ARK 8 Chapter 20-Old gods, new hope

ARK 8 Chapter 20-Old gods, new hope
\"What's a cult? It just means not enough people to make a minority.\"- Robert Altman
HELLO EVERYONE! I'M BAAAACCKKKKK! Sorry, it's been a while, college and all. Now that I'm Back from college, I should post more regularly. The story shall continue! I might be a bit rusty, but I'm definitely getting back into the swing of things. Hope you all enjoy it.
This fanfic is based on the fanfic The Isolationists, by Seeyouon_otherside, and a continuation of the stronger_together series. Constructive criticism is appreciated.
Time Since First Contact: Y:0 M:1 W:0 D:0
Memory transcript: Commander Fango Feral, Tiwond of the Enforcers.
“Again,” I told Sunclick. He nodded as the security feed from the incident at the mall played once more in front of us. My niece Canilia Lieutenant Feral, Sunclick, along with the commander lieutenants of each district, all observed what was happening on the screen in front of us, from the human known as Sixer interacting peacefully with a couple, then that brat, who came out of nowhere, who was chasing some poor Zeyzell, then Ashina, who came out of the bathroom and slammed the brat on the ground. Then he and his friends left only for the brat, who disappeared before he left the door. “And his friends have no idea where he went?” I asked one of the commander lieutenants.
“No, sir. My husband was one of the people on that recovery team, and after heavy interrogation of the kids' friends, he simply disappeared. He left his friends completely abandoned and confused. They don’t know where he went. It was like he just vanished.” One of the commander lieutenants spoke up.
“Thank you for the confirmation,” I told him. He swished his tail in acknowledgment and then started talking to the others as they bounced theories and questions off one another. Leaving me and my niece to ourselves, my niece stepped forward.
“Sir, I understand this is personal for you, especially since it involved Ashina.” my niece told me.
“Thank you for understanding that. You don’t have to call me sir. You are my niece.”
“I know, it's just a professional courtesy.” She responded flatly.
I nodded. “Thank you. I know you and her didn’t always get along, especially after her parents died, but I’m glad you, too, have become such close friends after we let her in under our roof,” I whispered to my niece. Looking at my niece's face, I wished I could take off that gas mask to see her smile. However, I knew what was under it, and any real chance of her being truly happy was most likely long, long gone. Ever since she lost her gift, she has been bitter and angry, focusing solely on protecting others from the same fate that befell her. Wait a minute, isn’t the staying human Dominic staying with her? “Canilia, how are things with that human? You don’t talk about him much.”
She was silent. Then I heard a weird, cracking sound. It was very faint, but I could hear it as she was right next to me. It was coming from her mouth. I know that cracking sound. It’s what’s left of her cheek, curling into a smile. A Small one, but a smile nonetheless. “He is very kind to me. He likes hugs, he likes to talk, and he likes to listen. I like that he likes to help me, although I have yet to show him this.” She gestured to her stomach, where her gift once was. I nodded. She was...happy...
I nodded to Sunclick, who then took over the conversation so I could talk to my niece. He drew the attention away from us, allowing us to speak. “Do you think the aliens will be able to help you reclaim your gift?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I sure hope so, another thing, however.” She spoke much more quietly. “ I’ve been staring at the neighbors' kids again. I don’t know how long I’ve been doing it, but Dominic’s caught me doing it twice. He knows something, and he will think less of me when he finds out.” She hung her head with despair. With all my heart, I wish I could reach out, grab her by the head, and yell at her that losing your gift isn’t a sign of dishonor. She was wounded in combat. None of it was her fault, and that she should forgive herself. But I know that wouldn’t work, she’s too stubborn like me, one of the few traits. I wish she had never gotten it from me. If my sister was here now, she would kill me.
“What has he done about it?” I asked. “When he saw you looking at the little ones.”
She moved a little bit, causing her power armor to creek, then looked back up at me with the sort of, well, I don’t know, I've never seen that look in her eyes. It was like Hope and joy, but more. “He knows something is wrong. It’s his medical training that tells him it and his instincts, he’s actually baked a few meats for me, and sometimes when I snap out of it, there’s a blanket over me and a hot cup of…coco, I believe he calls it next to me. He is an excellent caretaker.”
I couldn’t help but smile. She finally found someone who isn’t intimidated by her, who is willing to care for her that isn’t me. I felt an odd pride at that, but I’ll take that pride.
“Is the great Canilia Feral Smiling? Oh, I never thought I would see the da-.”
My niece and I turned at the same exact time. Our combined staring rivals that of any sun's power, with how intense our staring was at the damned soul who dared make a comment like that at her. The moment our eyes landed on the poor soul, he shriveled faster than a drumling that was absorbed into a flesh pit. He quickly hung his head and scurried out of the room to the laughter of the other lieutenant commanders. I turned back to Sunclick, who was having a bit of a chuckle of his own, he looked up at me and gave him the thumbs up, and I returned the gesture. “Have the scanners picked anything up? The cameras, have they picked anything up about this person?” I asked him, the laughter quickly leaving the room as we returned to full seriousness mode.
“Sorry, commander, nothing, we’ve picked up absolutely nothing about this guy. We’ve run background checks, and we believe a few leads and we have some units out there checking out all the leads, however, will take some time as there are quite a few, and we don’t really know much about this kid. There are almost no files on him. The only thing we have turned up is a birth certificate and seventeen residences, which cannot be right. However, we did find something rather interesting. After talking to some of the people on the scene, we were able to discern a possible motive, which gave us a very good lead. Then, looking into that motive, we found a few of these.” Sunclick pointed to a stack of extremely old newspapers, the ones the type that came right after the third unification war, when hyperpaper was very rare, and the plants that needed to be used in hyperpaper production were almost all wiped out during the war, and these are made on type of cloth to save hyper paper. I walked over and picked one up, looking at the article that was circled. It read, “Boy's mother, abducted by aliens? Fact? Or postwar terrorist?” I looked at Sunclick.
“I remember the post-war terrorist, and I put a few down myself.” My niece spoke out loud as she looked over my shoulder. One of the lieutenant commanders came up, picked up the newspaper stacks, and started handing them out to the others.
“Sunclick, I trust your judgment, but can you explain…this?” I asked him. His eyes lit up like a Titan bug after it had ingested a bunch of parasites that were making their way out of its body.
“I would love to! You see, this kid, for whatever reason, believes that aliens abducted his mother. Now, post-war terrorists were common, and they are running around, and it might even be true that a post-war terrorist kidnapper killed his mother. However, the body was never actually found like most terrorist killings. After the war, there was so much confusion because people didn’t know what to do, and many were still bitter that we had won. For whatever reason, this kid got this idea into his head that aliens had kidnapped his mother, which everyone was kind of obsessed about, even more so that there are some literally living among us. Much to everyone’s delight, I must say. However, with that single statement, that single line, and what witnesses told us at the scene. We have a much more narrow view of who this kid is, the only problem is, that the kid was never properly documented. He’s a ghost in the system. The good news is his friends have been more than helpful, as they didn’t realize he would go that far. They've been telling us everything about him, but after some digging, it turns out they know just as much as we do, next to nothing. Either this kid is extremely paranoid or…” Sunclick went silent.
“Please, Sunclick, tell us.” my niece asked.
He took a deep breath. He shifted nervously in his seat. “He’s a part of the cult of the old God.”
The emotion and general vibe of the room immediately shifted when the cult of the old god was mentioned: those rat bastards. “Do you think they moved up this far north?” I asked him.
“Honestly, I think so, I’ve been working with some of the lesser district managers since all of you guys have been busy with the aliens, which I don’t blame you for. They’re pretty freaking awesome. However, since their arrival, the cult of the old God activity has practically tripled twenty-fold. It’s insane what they’ve been pulling off, from stealing military equipment to assassinating low-level political members-"
"WHY IN THE OLD VOID WAS I NOT MADE AWARE OF THIS!?!" I screamed. Everyone in the room winced except my neice. Sunclick, who had received the full force of my explosive outbursts, had his ears pinned on his head and looked somewhat afraid of me now. I sighed and motioned him to continue. "Please continue."
"....uh sorry...I was going to tell you eventually, as things are out of hand, which is probably about right now. However, you were busy with the aliens and...never mind, it's not important now. If this kid is a part of the cult of the old God, they’ve gotten extremely bold, and they will become a major problem for the aliens. Their whole goal is to purify the planet and kill the great protector so that their own God, the old God, the one who came before the great protector, can reign again, and we can expand past the red lightning veil and enter the greater galaxy. These aliens represent a massive threat to that ideology. Now they know there’s another life out there, other empires, they will see the aliens as a huge threat. This means they’ll be number one on their bucket list to take out, and if they do that, the aliens could turn against us, seeing us as all hostile, which is not happening at all, considering just how nice they’ve been, they’re also extremely cuddly, I mean, have you seen the way they-.”
“Sunclick, I understand you enjoy discussing advanced science with humans, but we need you to focus.” One of the commander lieutenants said. Sunclick stopped and nodded.
“Right, right, sorry. As I was saying, the aliens represent a massive threat to their organization. However, this attack could’ve been a totally one-off situation where some random member decided to prove themselves. However, it also could have been something to test the alien's reaction to one of their own getting attacked. The aliens were mad, sure, but they trusted us to keep them safe. The aliens themselves didn’t do much other than send down more equipment for us and some of their own people to monitor the situation.” Sunclick finished.
I nodded my head. “Thank you, good work as always.” he smiled and nodded as his ears returned to normal, then returned to his computer. I looked back at the lieutenant command, who had the Zeyzell and citizen who were assaulted under her watch. “How are the two that were assaulted?”
She grimaced. “Not great, I'm afraid. The Zeyzell has been having regular panic attacks, and the citizen has refused to come out of their house in the past two days. They’re too scared for their Zeyzell counterpart. The two have become great friends, which is good for AR, though.” She said,
“AR?” I asked.
“Sorry. Many of the grunts have been using it, and it’s very catchy. It’s called alien relations, AR.”
I nodded and turned back to the screen as the scene played again. It was the kid, limping off out of the door, who would then disappear from his friend's arms. I glanced up at the screen a little higher, and that’s when I noticed it. A camera is not connected to the system, barely a pixel on the screen. It’s a private camera. How did we not see that? “Sunclick, look up top of the ceiling on the screen,” I told him. He looked up, and his eyes went wide.
“It's a private camera! How could we miss that?” he said out loud.
“Not important right now. Can you get access to it?” I asked him. This is the chance I've been waiting for to get this person who would dare assault the alien who's making my daughter so happy.
“Yes, sir, I can do that!” he proudly exclaimed. After a few quick taps on his computer, multiple connections, errors, and unknown errors, he punched the computer and got a connection. The tape played this time from the front. The angle was a bit weird, so we couldn’t get a good look at the kid's face, But it was what was around his neck that mattered.
“I’ll be damned, a pendant of the cult of the old God.” my niece said as we all looked at it in surprised silence. “ I’m gonna have fun tearing that kid apart.” She said as she flexed her power armor claws. I looked at the pendent in silent anger. "Bold of the kid to wear it around in the open like that." She said aloud, and we all agreed.
I turned around to the face of other lieutenant commanders. “This is what we’ve been preparing for. You know the drill: get your districts, alert every enforcement office if possible, and get the enforcers on the streets. Get everyone on higher alert. I want more patrols, and I want everything more. Not enough to alert the population that something is happening yet, just more than usual.” They all nodded and streamed out of the room. I turned to leave. However, an open door caught my eye. I turned and walked through it to see my niece standing on the balcony overlooking the city. I wandered out myself, power armor slightly clanking the entire time, the metal hitting the cold, polished concrete of the floor. I also looked at the sprawling metropolis we had built from this hell hole of a planet, its towering walls lined with guns and cannons to keep out the beasties. I walked up beside her and saw that something was in her hands. “What do you have there?” I asked her.
I looked at it closely, and it seemed to be some sort of scarf. I didn’t recognize the design or patterns. “Dominic made this for me. I don’t exactly know why. He just kind of did. He didn’t ask for anything in return. He just gave it to me. He said he didn’t want me to get a cold.” She brought the scarf to her neck, which was a perfect fit. She tied it around just underneath her mask, and when she was finished, she let out a puff of steam from her mask.
“It's a perfect fit,” I replied, smiled, and looked back out over the city. Looking over it, I thought about our history, the feral's bloodline, and how we have served as the world’s protectors for so long. Now, it was threatened because only two ferals were left: me and my niece. Now, we have aliens to deal with. They seemed nice so far…
I leaned a little farther over the railing. A glint of metal in the sky caught my eye and I looked up to see one of the Zeyzell transports coming down, most likely More Humans. I tracked it with my eyes as it landed in one of the newer landing pads with a loud clang, the landing gear hissing as it landed, and saw a large number of my people standing around there waving signs that said “Welcome!” and “Hello new friends!” and other signs that said similar welcoming messages. I smiled and looked over at my niece. “How has the city’s morale been since the aliens have come here?”
She quickly opened her wrist computer and typed minor keys on the tiny keypad. I still don't understand how she can use that, the screen is so tiny. “From last time, when it was already an eighty percent increase, an additional twenty-three point four percent.”
I smiled even brighter and looked back down. The Zeyzell transport landed, and everybody cheered, and then the door opened as the Humans and a few Zeyzell came off the transport. My people began shouting names. Most likely for exchange partners. Immediately, the aliens again answered the calls and ran to their new friends. Many embraced in tight hugs and made what I assumed were happy noises based on how their mouths moved, as I could hear very little from up here. A few of the humans even started crying as soon as they embraced the larger frames of my species, practically melting into the "floofy fur" as the humans called it, of our fur. I even saw a pup leap from its mom and “run,” although it was more of a quick waddle over to a human and embrace them, making happy beeping sounds the entire time. The human held them so gently as if they were afraid to break. Then, he immediately started to cry uncontrollably.
However, with all of the joy and happiness down there that I so loved, I was a bit disturbed by the crying. What in the world could they have gone through that would make something like a simple hug so unique? No, it wasn't the hug itself. I thought about my time on board the ARK ship and what I had seen. I have seen many humans embracing each other and hugs, giving each other kisses or their equivalent of it, I've also seen them embracing and hugging Zeyzell. I was also aware of a lot of inter-species couples and marriages on board the ARK ship. I thought about it very hard, deciphering everything that I had learned on board the ARK ship, in addition to the information that was sent to us very early on, and-... then it clicked. “They aren't crying because they're being shown love…”
“What?” My niece asked.
I turned fully to her. “They are not crying because they're being shown love. They are crying because another species is showing them love. They're being shown that someone cares about them other than their own species and the Zeyzell.” I turned back to the landing pad and the ship was leaving as all the aliens had found the people they were looking for and were being carried back to cars, walking alongside them, or simply sitting and talking and sharing a meal. As I stood there, it was as if I could feel the emotions coming from the humans: the joy, the happiness, and the sheer love of being accepted. I couldn't explain it, but I felt as though we shared a deeper connection with humans than we initially thought.
“Do you feel it?” my niece asked. I looked at her and nodded. “I can feel the joy, happiness, and love they are feeling right now from all the way over here.” I nodded my head.
“I think whoever or whatever they were running from was another alien species, based on the information I gathered from the ark ship, the reactions and emotions of the humans down there, and the information I sent to us early on. I had theories before that it was another species they were running from; I know many other people thought that, too, But I think this almost confirms it: they are definitely running from someone. Or were, but now they feel safe here.” I told her as I gestured to all the people below us.
My niece nodded. “When I get home, I'm going to give Dominic a big hug.” We remained silent for a time. Just watching the beautiful scene before us as the snow fell slowly and lightly, the trees swayed in the breeze, ever so slightly bending. The wind made a howling noise as it whipped through the tight streets and architecture of our building. I breathed in and let it out, letting my breath turn to steam. I reached out and let the snow fall onto my hand. I brought my hand close, but the snowflake had already melted. My gaze returned to the Humans and Zeyzell, enjoying the snow alongside my people.
I turned to my niece. “Our planet may be trying to kill us in over a thousand different ways, but it’s beautiful, huh?”
My niece sighed and looked at me. “Yeah, and it’s going to get a lot better now that we have friends, or lovers for some, from beyond the veil.” I nodded and looked back at the snow that now danced in my vision as the Humans and Zeyzell departed with my people. I sighed, and we both returned inside to see Sunclick waiting for us.
“You can go nerd out with the humans now,” I told him.
‘“Thank you, sir!” He shot out of the room and down the hall. I smiled and turned back to my niece.
“Do you want to grab something to eat? The snow is great right now.” I asked
“Sure. However, before that, we should warn the aliens about the cult, huh?”
“Oh, definitely,” I told her. I smiled and we walked over to the communication system connecting us to the Aliens.
First/Previous/Next
submitted by Rusted-1 to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 16:11 Kmineh Small Town Name Ideas!?

Okay so I have been thinking for days for a name for a town name for one of my future story’s and since I need helping coming up with a name I’m asking y’all and so ima give you guys a brief summary of the story.
The time will be set in the 1890s, during that time they where using wagons and horses as transportations. So it will start off with a girl, (haven’t came up with her name either ;-;) she was born in the said town and learned how to ride a horse at an early age, but she did something which resulted in bed parents sending her to boarding school in the city. After 6 years (She was 9 when she was sent to boarding school so now she is 15 when she returns.) she returns.
Thats the main reason the whole story will start, I know it sounds kinda boring but let me cook! Jk, but to give you guys a better idea it’s gonna be similar to the show, Spirit Riding Free. its gonna have chapters where the characters go on random adventures and do stupid stuff like that. I would really appreciate it if y’all help me out, and thank you!
submitted by Kmineh to u/Kmineh [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 15:30 xiaolii [H] Lots of Games [W] Trade for Games or Paypal (EU)

Last Updated List: 19/05/2024
 
I'm primarily looking to trade for games from my wishlist, otherwise I am also open to selling them. I am not interested in games I already have and all games I'm getting are for me and activated on my own account. Other than that feel free to offer your list of Steam games and something I may not have and fulfills my criteria I could/would be willing to trade for it/them.
If you're either trading or buying please state the game(s) you are interested in and your offer (game(s)/list/price).
 
Info:
 
I kindly ask of you is to be reasonable when making offers to make it a fair trade for both of us.
Let's have a good exchange/trade!
 
List of games:
submitted by xiaolii to GameTrade [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 15:30 xiaolii [H] Lots of Games [W] Trade for Games or Paypal (EU)

Last Updated List: 19/05/2024
 
I'm primarily looking to trade for games from my wishlist, otherwise I am also open to selling them. I am not interested in games I already have and all games I'm getting are for me and activated on my own account. Other than that feel free to offer your list of Steam games and something I may not have and fulfills my criteria I could/would be willing to trade for it/them.
If you're either trading or buying please state the game(s) you are interested in and your offer (game(s)/list/price).
 
Info:
 
I kindly ask of you is to be reasonable when making offers to make it a fair trade for both of us.
Let's have a good exchange/trade!
 
List of games:
submitted by xiaolii to indiegameswap [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 12:26 _Iskandar__ Looking for beta readers/editors/critics

Looking for beta readers/editors/critics
https://preview.redd.it/0cqxmqc91d1d1.png?width=576&format=png&auto=webp&s=01271dd9bd0e35a13d0e978cd75f1ddc3e6a9dca
Human Lord will be launched on June 6th on Royal Road. This is my 6th try at writing a novel.
The last one made it to the all-category rising stars list and is still there. I've dropped it because the genre is very niche.
This time, I'm writing a dungeon-building tower-climbing system-apocalyptic dungeon core story.
As a beta reader, you'll get to read the chapters sooner than the people on both RR and Patreon.
Also, what do you think about the cover and the synopsis? Any thoughts?
Here's the summary:
Demons, otherwise called keepers, and Humans, otherwise recalled seekers, warred since the beginning of ages.
Kaniel, too, was once a human - a regular one. Yet after transmigrating from Earth, he became a demon, an irregular one at that.
Lawyer - XXX Dungeon Points
Linguist - XXX Dungeon Points
Lieutenant - XXX Dungeon Points…
He could summon no dwarves, no goblins, nor even mere slimes - humans only. And so begins the tale of the Human Lord, neither a demon nor a human - equally despised by all, his dungeon being hunted by both.
To prepare for resistance against the onslaught of the world before the pandemonium began, Kaniel started from humble origins - his first goal being to infiltrate the empire and climb the Flame Tower while challenging its floors in search of runes, resources, and relics.
Demons underestimated this demon. Humans underestimated his humans.
In the present, in presence, he was Obstruction - an unassuming dungeon master.
In the past, he was Kaniel - an unassuming adrenaline addict, a fighter, a gamer, and a part-time revolutionary.
And in the future, far, far away, he was hailed as…
The Demon Lord of Perseverance.
submitted by _Iskandar__ to ProgressionFantasy [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 12:25 _Iskandar__ Looking for beta readers/editors/critics

Looking for beta readers/editors/critics
https://preview.redd.it/dzuuw0t61d1d1.png?width=576&format=png&auto=webp&s=167c42fdc9f828d2315ff06e884c637a860b273f
Human Lord will be launched on June 6th on Royal Road. This is my 6th try at writing a novel.
The last one made it to the all-category rising stars list and is still there. I've dropped it because the genre is very niche.
This time, I'm writing a dungeon-building tower-climbing system-apocalyptic dungeon core story.
As a beta reader, you'll get to read the chapters sooner than the people on both RR and Patreon.
Also, what do you think about the cover and the synopsis? Any thoughts?
Here's the summary:
Demons, otherwise called keepers, and Humans, otherwise recalled seekers, warred since the beginning of ages.
Kaniel, too, was once a human - a regular one. Yet after transmigrating from Earth, he became a demon, an irregular one at that.
Lawyer - XXX Dungeon Points
Linguist - XXX Dungeon Points
Lieutenant - XXX Dungeon Points…
He could summon no dwarves, no goblins, nor even mere slimes - humans only. And so begins the tale of the Human Lord, neither a demon nor a human - equally despised by all, his dungeon being hunted by both.
To prepare for resistance against the onslaught of the world before the pandemonium began, Kaniel started from humble origins - his first goal being to infiltrate the empire and climb the Flame Tower while challenging its floors in search of runes, resources, and relics.
Demons underestimated this demon. Humans underestimated his humans.
In the present, in presence, he was Obstruction - an unassuming dungeon master.
In the past, he was Kaniel - an unassuming adrenaline addict, a fighter, a gamer, and a part-time revolutionary.
And in the future, far, far away, he was hailed as…
The Demon Lord of Perseverance.
submitted by _Iskandar__ to litrpg [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 11:11 Chickty Villain Hatsume Fic

Of Guile and Gadgetry
Summary: Hatsume Mei was a villain all along, using U.A. as a stepping stone toward her ultimate goal of world domination. The problem? Nobody ever takes her seriously! Every time she hints at her grand plans, everyone brushes it off as "Mei being Mei". To make matters worse, she suspects someone is trying to sabotage her, but she can't for the life of her figure out who.
After a lot of procrastination, I finally got done writing chapter 1 of this fic. I was honestly tempted to make it a one-shot but I decided against it. Would also like some critique/feedback.
submitted by Chickty to BokunoheroFanfiction [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 10:31 NovaFrogster Basorexia - A slow burn that's buuuuurning

Basorexia - A slow burn that's buuuuurning
Rating: E (not for smut)
Genre: Angst
TWs: depression, suicidal thoughts, suicides, Eating Disorder (not anorexia), death, psychological and physical violence, drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes.
Summary: In the aftermath of the war, all marked Death Eaters are imprisoned in Azkaban for a minimum of fifteen years.
After a hard fight, Harry Potter and Blaise Zabini managed to get some of the Death Eaters released under certain conditions. One of these conditions is that they must marry a Muggle, a Squib or a Muggleborn.
Draco Malfoy, locked up for the past seven years and abused by vengeful wardens, is freed and finds himself married to Hermione Granger, who will take him in at her farm in the Pyrenees, where she fled to try to rebuild her life.
But war and imprisonment have left their mark on all of them and between anxiety, agoraphobia and post-traumatic stress, they will have to relearn how to live and not just to survive.
Other details: there's a dog!!! and horses!!! cottage core +++ and it's a multi POV ❤️
https://archiveofourown.org/works/41484831/chapters/104036577
Art by Rosetta 🥰
https://preview.redd.it/a003o0sqgc1d1.jpg?width=2576&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03b5491f3e824766d926514b6cecd742df1d0da7
submitted by NovaFrogster to Dramione [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 10:28 Vast-Passenger1126 [Schedule] The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker

Shalom friends! Back in January, we read The Golem and the Jinni and we loved it so much that we decided to continue the series. So for those of you who need to find out what happened to Chava and Ahmad, we'll be starting the second book, The Hidden Palace, in June.
In case you missed the first book and want to get caught up, you can find the original schedule with links to all discussions here. You can also read the Goodreads summary for The Hidden Palace if you'd like a preview of what our golem and jinni will be getting up to this time around.
Here is the schedule:
Jun 5 - Start through Chapter 5 Jun 12 - Chapter 6 through Chapter 10 Jun 19 - Chapter 11 through Chapter 15 Jun 26 - Chapter 16 through Chapter 18 Jul 3 - Chapter 19 through End
Hope to see you in June! 🧞 ✨
submitted by Vast-Passenger1126 to bookclub [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 10:06 ZestycloseMenu2608 Posting my fic🫶

You may remember that I posted a fic here not too long ago, well.. I sorta deleted that one to make room for what I believe is a much better version of it. I was very unsatisfied with the first version and I think completely rewriting it all was best in the long run. It's set solely in Arlathan now. So here it is!
Summary:
Fen'harel is said to be a being of his own creation much like June, for no one is sure where he came from. one day he wasn't and the next he was. In the short amount of time since his appearance, he made a mark on the world and snuck into the Evanuris' good graces with surprising ease. The Moon is a sentient being made by Mythal, one of her very first creations. The Moon is friendly with the Evanuris and close with a select few so when she sees Fen'harel work his way into the ranks she isn't sure what to make of him, avoiding him and his sharp wolfish smile. So today, of course, the first day in many years she agrees to go hunting with Andruil it is Fen’harel who is tagging along with her.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/56012524/chapters/142256221
submitted by ZestycloseMenu2608 to Solasmancers [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 09:18 Pistallion Can someone explain what happened in chapter 16 in TLtL

I just read chapter 16 in Too Like the Lightning and, without spoilers, explain what literally happened in the chapter because it was super confusing.
How I understood this is that there was a security drill (for some reason I don't know or understand) and then while this drill was happening, Jedd Mason, who seems like a super important character (and from what i understand is the son of a Mason who are the head of one of the main Hives), came to the house. It seems like the Cannner Device was spotted here (I think) or at least signals have suspected it to be here.
Jedd is looking for Dominic for some reason. And then mentions that Mycroft is working for Jedd as well... but Mycroft as the narrator says he isn't?
Idk this book is crazy difficult but I'm really loving it. Also a quick explanation of who the bash mates are would help too lol. I kinda know Sniper is the human doll wierdo and Thisbee is like Mycroft's confidant/lover or something. And I know Caryle the senseer. But Cato and Okham I'm not sure of.
Anyways thanks in advance. I'm going to bed so hopefully I'll understand more tomorrow before I read more lol
submitted by Pistallion to TerraIgnota [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 08:37 Designer-Training682 My personal ranking of all the routes in the "Princess Evangile" VNs ( All 4 routes from the original will get mixed with their Epilogues in W Happiness )

https://preview.redd.it/wxs9xm7knb1d1.png?width=1140&format=png&auto=webp&s=e54a0e5c3105a47293be0284a119d6379b3fc792
9th: Rise
Rise Route in the original is really good, but her Epilogue is so underwhelming IMO, so sadly, she is ranked the lowest.
8th: Konomi
SEKKUSU ! I will be honest... I never saw Konomi as a suitable love interest for Masaya. I've always seen her as a cute, little sister... The route... is fun... not gonna change my personal view on Konomi but it's serviceable. Also her chanting "Sex ! Sex ! Sex !" alone in her room will always be funny to me. However, the reason why Rise lost in this route is SO STUPID ! Masaya gone back to square one ! The students saw him as the Seductive Serpent, because he's dating a girl who's younger than him... EXCUSE ME ?! Isn't Ritsuko younger than him but somehow Rise still won in Ritsuko's route ?!
7th: Ruriko
The moment Masaya punched Ruriko's fiance in the original, I know Ruriko is gonna be a great love interest. Their dynamic is great, a hard-working, used to be poor, jack of all trade Masaya and rich, kind, naive, Ruriko. Though it sucks that we just know Rise lost in this route with no explaination whatsoever. Overall, a great route, just not as good as others.
6th: Tamie
This route is a great change of pace. With the first chapter dedicated to the "Fun, Lightning" tour, 1,5 chapter dedicated to Tamie regaining her memories, it's an unique route. And her personality grew on me.
5th: Marika
A Romeo and Juliet kind of route. Seeing Marika's true self under a more casual, natural lense... it's such a good feeling, and hey.... this route managed make me stop hating Marika's grandmother and make hate the other students SO MUCH. And I love how Masaya gave the Headmistress a final "F*ck you" before leaving Vincennes.
4th: Mitsuki
The "Enemy-to-Lover" route I originally looked for when I first download the "Princess Evangile" VNs. Mitsuki is definitely really unlikeable in the first 12 chapters of the original, but she redeemed herself. The route is definitely great, seeing her being more confident and... beating Rise is great... in its weird way.
3rd: Ayaka
Ayaka's journey is consistently good, which is great ! Love seeing Ayaka being more mature, Ayaka and Ritsuko somes loves each other more, the Headmistress having a true 180 change and Ayaka's family being so happy at the end... It's just heartwarming.
2nd: Chiho
This... is surprising... I consider Chiho's route the worst in the original... Her epilogue though... it's just so good... Childhood friends is another romance trope that I love beside Enemy-to-Lover... But once you read it, it's just heartwarming, Masaya helping Chiho's family, AND the final scene... They worked it out... all the way... Seeing Masaya now is married and having a beautiful wife and a cute little girl... I sobbed... I did...
1st: Ritsuko
What can I say ? Seeing Ritsuko being so passionate about her relationship with Masaya... plus their wedding scene... it's awesome.
THAT concludes my Princess Evangile journey... NEXT STOP: "THE FRUIT OF GRISAIA !"
submitted by Designer-Training682 to vns [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 08:21 idlechat [2024 Read-Along] Week 20, The Silmarillion - Quenta Silmarillion - Of Maeglin (Chapter 16)

[Eöl] shunned the Noldor, holding them to blame for the return to Morgoth, to trouble the quiet of Beleriand; but for the Dwarves he had more liking than any other of the Elvenfolk of old.
Welcome one and all again to the 2024 Read-Along and Discussion of The Silmarillion here on tolkienfans. For Week 20 (May 12-May 18), we will be exploring The Quenta Silmarillion (The History of the Silmarils) chapter 16, "Of Maeglin."
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Aredhel, the daughter of Fingolfin, resided awhile in Nevrast with her brother Turgon, but later went with her people to dwell in the hidden city of Gondolin. However, she soon wearied of her hidden life in Gondolin and was permitted to set out purportedly to visit with Fingon in Hithlum with three lords of the household of Turgon. Upon reaching the Ford of Brithiach, she commanded her companions to instead turn south in the hope of passing through Doriath to eventually find the Sons of Fëanor, "her friends of old".
Upon arriving at the borders of Doriath, they were refused entry by King Thingol. And so Aredhel and her companions instead sought the dangerous route between the haunted valley of Ered Gorgoroth and the northern edge of Doriath. This passed through the land of Nan Dungortheb, where Aredhel was separated from her companions. They searched but could not find her, and barely escaping death themselves returned to Gondolin to share their tale, and there was great sorrow at the assumed fate of Aredhel.
But Aredhel, having lost her companions, continued on and eventually arrived in Himlad, where she was welcomed by the people of Celegorm and waited for his return. There for a while she was satisfied, but as the year lengthened, she took to riding further afield, seeking new and unknown paths and fields. By chance, she crossed into the forest of Nan Elmoth, where dwelt Eöl, who was named the Dark Elf. In earlier days, he was of the kin of Thingol, but he had left Doriath and fled to the shadows of Nan Elmoth. He loved not the Noldor, but learned from the Dwarves much skill of metalwork, and was often a guest to the halls of Nogrod and Belegost. He espied Aredhel from afar and desired her, and ensnared her in enchantments so she could not find the way out, but instead came deeper into Nan Elmoth. Being weary, she finally came to the halls of Eöl, and he welcomed her, and took her for his wife, and it was a long time before any of her kin heard rumour of her again.
Though at Eöl's command she was required to shun sunlight, it is not said that she was completely unwilling to their union, and in the darkness of Nan Elmoth was born their son, who, in her heart, she named Lómion, which means "Child of the Twilight" in Quenya. But Eöl gave him no name until he was twelve years old, at which time he named him Maeglin, that is "Sharp Glance".
As Maeglin grew to full maturity, he resembled, in face and form, one of the Noldor. But speaking few words, except in matters important to him, he resembled his father in mood and spirit. Often he went with Eöl to the cities of the Dwarves, and learned much from them, especially the craft of finding ores and metals in the mountains. Yet he loved his mother more and would often listen to her tales regarding the Noldor, and the valour of the House of Fingolfin, while Eöl was abroad.
In speaking of her kin to Maeglin, Aredhel desired to see them again, and these tales stirred also in Maeglin the desire to see the Noldor. But upon revealing his inner wishes to Eöl, his father became infuriated, and threatened to bind his son if he would associate with the Noldor. Maeglin became cold and silent, and no longer went abroad with Eöl, and Eöl mistrusted him. One midsummer, Eöl went away to a feast in Nogrod. During this time, the desire grew hot in the heart of Maeglin to leave Nan Elmoth and look upon his mother's people and to seek the city of Gondolin. Seeing this, Aredhel was glad and they departed, telling Eöl's servants they sought the sons of Fëanor.
However, Eöl returned earlier than anticipated and found his wife and son two days gone. He set out immediately in wrathful pursuit. On entering Himlad, Eöl was ambushed by the riders of Curufin, and was taken to their lord. Curufin mockingly asked Eöl what urgent matter brought him to his land, and Eöl told him that he wanted to join his wife and son on their visit to him. Upon learning from Curufin that they turned westward, travelling along the northern fence of Doriath, Eöl asked leave to discover their purpose. Curufin instead coldly bid him go back to Nan Elmoth.
Thus Eöl rode off in haste, full of shame and anger. He perceived that Aredhel and Maeglin were heading towards Gondolin and rode after them. As the two arrived at the Outer Gate of Gondolin, they were received joyfully and passed inside the Hidden Kingdom, where Turgon listened with wonder to the story of his sister, and gave Maeglin the highest honour in his realm. Eöl watched them from afar and followed them to the city, but was taken in by the Guard, and was brought before Turgon after claiming to be husband and father to Aredhel and Maeglin. Aredhel confirmed this and Turgon welcomed Eöl as his kinsman, giving him leave to stay in Gondolin. But Eöl insulted the King, and bid Maeglin to "leave the House of the slayers of his kin, or be accursed". Maeglin did not answer.
Turgon then set a choice before Eöl and Maeglin of either abiding in Gondolin, or dying in Gondolin. Eöl stood a long time in silence, before he abruptly took a spear from under his cloak and threw it at Maeglin, crying "the second choice I take, and for my son also! You shall not hold what is mine!" But Aredhel came between the spear and Maeglin, and was struck. Eöl was restrained, set in bonds and led away. However the tip of the spear was poisoned, and Aredhel died in the night. Eöl was brought before Turgon and no mercy was shown to him; he was led to the Caragdûr, a precipice upon the northern side of the city, to be cast down. Maeglin stood by in silence, and Eöl cried out "so you forsake your father and his kin, ill-gotten son! Here shall you fail of all your hopes and here may you yet die the same death as I". And he was cast over the cliff-edge. Thus ended Eöl, Dark Elf, of the shadows of Nan Elmoth.
Maeglin grew great in stature in Gondolin, and was high in the favour of Turgon. He rose to be mighty amongst the Princes of the Noldor, and was the greatest other than Turgon in the realm of Gondolin. And yet not all things went as he would have liked, though he did not reveal his heart. For from his first days in Gondolin, he loved Idril Celebrindal, his first cousin, and desired her, but without hope. For the Eldar did not wed with kin so close, and further, Idril loved him not at all. Maeglin's love turned to darkness, and he sought more to have his will in all matters, no matter the cost to him, if it might grant him more power.
And so it came to be that in Gondolin, at the height of all its bliss, majesty, and beauty, a dark seed of evil was sown in the heart of Maeglin.[1]
Of Maeglin at The Lord of the Rings Wiki: This chapter introduces Maeglin, and his father Eöl, and tells the history of Maeglin's life from his birth to his becoming a citizen of Gondolin. Also in this chapter is the death of Eöl.
Chapter discussion at Entmoot TolkienTrail.
Chapter discussion at The Barrow-Downs.
Questions for the week:
  1. Eöl is described as grim -- "his eyes could see deep into shadows and dark places." Does this just mean his eyes have adjusted to life in the dark, or is there also a hint of his being able to see beyond what is there, in a "foresight" or "farsighted" kind of way?
  2. Maeglin and Eöl argue because Eöl won't let him see his mother's kin which causes a major rift between the two. Why did Eöl object?
  3. What is significant of Maeglin's given name of Lomion, i.e. "Child of the Twilight" by his mother, Aredhel, but at age 12, Eöl named him Maeglin, i.e. "Sharp Glance".
  4. Why did Eöl have more liking for the Dwarves "than any other of the Elvenfolk of old."?
For drafts and history of this chapter see The War of the Jewels, "Part Three: The Wanderings of Húrin and other Writings not forming part of The Quenta Silmarillion", Chapter III, "Maeglin)", pp. 316-339.
For further history and analysis of this chapter, see Arda Reconstructed (by Douglas Charles Kane), p. 155.
Be sure to have your copy of The Atlas of Middle-earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad on hand as you go through this chapter.
Some Tolkien-related hangouts on YouTube (relevant to this week):
The Silmarillion Reader's Guide at Tea With Tolkien.
The Silmarillion Reader's Guide by askmiddlearth on Tumblr.
Quettaparma Quenyallo (QQ) - The most extensive list of Quenya words available on the internet, by Helge Fauskanger, 1999-2013.
Tolkien Collector's Guide - Guide to Tolkien's Letters
A (Hopefully) Light Guide to the Silmarillion — Or What I Wish I’d Known Before Reading It by u/Ok_Bullfrog_8491/
The Definitive Family Tree of the Tolkien Legendarium by u/PotterGandalf117
Wikipedia - The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Announcement and Index: (Take 2) 2024 The Silmarillion and The Fall of Gondolin Read-Along
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2024.05.19 07:56 justyouraveragechaos Is this a good AO3 Fanfic Summary?

I've made a few posts about my AO3 fanfic that's a reverse season 2 scenario title "Rocky New Beginnings." I'm just now realizing that the chapter summary might not be all that enticing. What's some feedback you could give based on this summary? Be as critical as you'd like, this is my first fanfic.
After switching bodies to escape Heaven and Hell's wrath concerning their thwarting of Armageddidn't, Aziraphale and Crowley navigate their Rocky New Beginnings.
Beelzebub shows up at the bookshop with no memories and Aziraphale and Crowley must decide how to handle this complicated situation. The Ineffable Husbands embark on a journey that includes watching Rocky Horror Picture Show together, watching Pride and Prejudice in a fort, slow dancing to the Velvet Underground, binge watching The Golden Girls, making breakfast for each other, sleeping in each other's arms, decoding Beelzebub's mysterious memory loss, fighting hell, fighting each other, and fighting for their love.
How will Aziraphale and Crowley navigate their undefined relationship, an amnesiac demon, and the looming threat of Heaven and Hell?
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2024.05.19 05:12 Time_Peak4303 The Reds and the Blacks - Alicent I

Title: The Dance of the Dragons: The Reds and the Blacks
Author: ForWithinThisHollowCrown (me)
Category: AU, OC
Language: English
Length: 3,830
Status: Ongoing
Link: Ao3
Keywords: Court Politics, Arranged Marriage, Political Alliances, Childhood Friends to Enemies, Family Issues, HotD, Blacks/Reds, Greens/Blacks, Hightower, Velaryon, Lannister
Rating: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Summary: Faced with failure in the attempt of making his daughter Queen, Ser Otto Hightower is left with no other choice than to turn once enemies into allies, and Princess Rhaenyra struggles with the uncertainty of her own destiny in light of the tragedy that has occurred. Meanwhile Prince Daemon finds himself trying to recover his own standing and Lord Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake, will stop at nothing to see his blood on the Iron throne yet when desperate times call for desperate measures their is little left to be desired. In the end, only one can sit the throne yet will it be the Delight or the Rogue none can know for sure. However in this game you live or you die, their is no middle ground.
Additional Thoughts: Essentially an AU where King Viserys chooses to marry Laena Velaryon but only has daughters thus making the Dance is between Rhaenyra and Daemon. More so based off the show but contains book elements. This is generally written to be unbiased to both sides (POV format), but I'm generally pro-Green, so please make of that what you will. Also this is still in the very early stages.
submitted by Time_Peak4303 to AsoiafFanfiction [link] [comments]

2024.05.19 04:59 man_mel Domain-Driven Design and mathematical modeling

The article will show analogies between Domain-Driven Design and mathematical modeling

Mathematical modeling

Students are introduced to mathematical modeling in a school. Roughly speaking, it is the translation of a problem from informal human language into the language of mathematics for subsequent solution.
(1)
John and Bob ate three apples at dinner. John ate twice as many as Bob. How much did each eat?
(2)
Let x be the number of apples that John ate Let y is the number of apples that Bob ate.
Then:
(3)
x + y = 3 x = 2 * y
Solving the system of linear equations:
x = 2, y = 1
(1) - problem statement in the domain area
(2) - mathematical modeling
(3) - mathematical model
Another example from the world of physics - we need to calculate how much fuel is needed to fly to the Moon and back. There are Newton's Laws of motion of celestial bodies, there are data on fuel, the vehicle, the mass of the Earth, the Moon, the Sun, the calculated trajectory and other information.
The whole power of the mathematical apparatus is the absence of semantics. It doesn't care whether it's counting apples or the trajectory of a rocket. It is a formalized system that operates with soulless symbols according to established rules. Arithmetic has its own rules, algebra has its own rules, Euclidean geometry has its own rules.
The achievements of the natural sciences depend on how accurately and completely they construct mathematical models for their problems. If the mass of the moon is not specified, it will be impossible to give an answer to the above problem. On the other hand, if the proposed trajectory is mathematically unattainable, physicists will have to change it.
A mathematical model is a general projection of the problem to be solved from the physics side and the math side into some "common" space.

Domain-driven design

This methodology was proposed 20 years ago by Eric Evans in his famous “big blue book”: Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software
For many, DDD is when if you are, for example, making an online store, you must have Product, ShoppingCart, etc. classes, i.e., entities in the code must correspond to business entities. This is not really about DDD.
The main goal that Eric Evans set when creating his methodology was to enable you to create a program architecture in such a way that you can satisfy the client's requirements with maximum probability and build a clear, maintainable and extensible system. Get a quality and successful program product.

Comparison of design methods

DDD is mainly aimed at complex non-typical tasks with vague/varying requirements, to minimize the risks of spending a lot of time and money and not getting something usable in the end.
In cascade development (waterfall), the client gives clear requirements to the business analyst, the system architecture is built according to them, and programmers make code according to it.
In agile development (agile, XP, iterative) the client gives general requirements, a prototype of the system architecture is built on them, programmers make code on it, the system is shown to the client, corrections are made, the next version is released, etc. in a circle.
In case of DDD the joint work between domain area specialists and programmers goes all the time of development. The link between them is the domain model and ubiquitous language. For the first few chapters of the book, Eric Evans talks only about them and their importance.
The main point of the domain model is to be a constant projection of the problem being solved from the client side and the developer side into some common space. Everything in the domain model should be reflected in the program architecture. And vice versa - if a programmer discovers that some business rule cannot be applied or it is better to do it differently, he is obliged to open a discussion about it and initiate changes in the domain model, without making attempts to simply code it in “the right way”.
The domain model itself lacks semantics, it is written using UML diagrams and formal documentation. Semantics is given to it by a ubiquitous language in which the whole team (including the client) communicates. Each term of the domain model must be understood equally by all participants.

Parallels

Analogy to the space flight example above: - math model = domain model - physics = ubiquitous language - mathematical apparatus = software development - mathematical modeling = domain model development process
From this we can draw the corollary that just as in the first case, mathematicians' deviation from the supplied mathematical model will easily lead to wrong/unnecessary results, so in the second case, developers' deviation from the domain model can lead to failure in the end.
In his book, Eric Evans gives the following real-life example. Internet Explorer used to save “Favorites” as files with names corresponding to page names. When the user tried to specify his name, he sometimes got an error “Invalid file name”, although it was not obvious what files had to do with it. This was because the developers were using their own model and the client wanted something different.

Summary

Thus, there is a strong idea of mathematical modeling behind DDD
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2024.05.19 04:13 micahwillarthy They Nuked America For World Peace pt 3

Chapter 3
Hurricane Georg.
Our first contact with the new world was a colossal hurricane. Veins of lightning shattered through the black, swirling clouds. I had just tried to calm the nerves of the ship when I saw Suri sitting in the hall beneath the control room.
She was in a lounge corner with her suitcase opened and her supplies scattered across the small table. The little light from the window illuminated her drawing for me to see over her shoulder.
The black and white sketch began at the bow of the ship. The figure of a man in facing the open ocean. Ahead of him, the familiar despair of Hurricane Georg. The man had his back towards the artist, but his stature sailed through the fierce storm without worry. His gaze only in the beautiful sight of home on the other side.
Her pencil began to etch the details of his crewmans jacket, "You have a gift, Suri. Truly, you do."
She was ahead of me, she did not jump or gasp as I had expected, "Thank you, Capi. I saw you in the reflection. Im hard to get the jump on."
"Then this shouldnt surprise you," I smiled and approached her table. "My capi stars are on the right side, "I stepped back and tapped my shoulder."
Disappointment inked her face, darkening her mood, "Dam."
I laughed and pulled up a chair. She had captured the view from the window perfectly and I made a point to tell her. As we talked the storm outside began to fade. The world around us was healed and the worries of yesterday had never existed.
Her eyes were near black, in color, and her skin was incredibly warm. Physical characteristic were useless to determine where a person was from, but 500 years ago, she would have fit at home with the people of the Middle East. Had I been a different man, her beauty and brain would make a perfect partner.
The longer I stared, the darker the world around us became. Until she broke my gaze and looked shocked at something through the window.
"Did you see that?"
"No, what was it?"
"I-Im not sure..." her face drained of color as the harsh rocking of the storm was interrupted by something else. Suri and I were flung off our chairs onto the floor, her supplies pelting us as they flew through the air. I tried to stand, but my legs were too soft to make it easy.
I struggled to a kneel using the bolted-down desk. Suri gasped and I looked down. The longer I looked, the itchier it became. Once more the world grew darker and I only had enough energy for a simple joke.
"Mr. Morgs was right about those things."
"Gud morning, Capi!" Ennay cheered from the wall-mounted screen.
I struggled to sit myself up. I was in the infirmary, only Ennay was there to greet me. My jacket was gone. All I had on was a white t-shirt and grey shorts.
"Officer Angelhart had your attire taken to be cleaned," Ennay chimed in, "Today is Wednesday, sir, 4:13am. Its the morning after you lost consciousness."
I thanked him and asked him to catch me up on the happenings in the passed half day.
"The reality is unclear, Capi, but Helmsman Archer believes we were attacked by a... a sea monster, sir."
"Archer? Hes no storyteller. Why?" I swung my legs over the bed, "get him down here or tell him im on my way."
Ennay surprised me with his fast response, "No. Sir, We had a breach. Ms. Aziz told the Doctor you had severed and artery during a spell of turbulence. The New Horizon had actually made contact with something what breached the hull. Damage Control responded in 4 minutes and were quick to contain flooding. However, we sustained a second breach."
Before he could continue, I dropped back onto the bed, "Whats the status?"
"On the New Horizon? Operational. A few sections had to be permanently sealed until we are out of this storm."
"And Damage Control?"
Ennay did not respond as quickly as he had been. It felt like an eternity before he told me, "6 casualties," the room fell completely silent. I couldnt even hear my heart beating, "5 fatalities. Sergant Franccigo Blanco is recovering in Infirmary 4C. He is unconscious, but has sustained gruesome wounds. Officer Angelhart declared a S.O.E. to assume your position. Otherwise,..."
"Yes, yes, the prosthetics. I hate that system."
"Well, sir, you are able to disable it."
"What?"
"Its not a very common scenario, but since we are not in International Sea, the law requiring your presence does not necessarily need to be enforced."
I sat back and thought for a second, "Ill discuss it with Dr. Mally. Where are they all?"
"Dr. Mally is in Infirmary 4C with Sergant Blanco. Officer Angelhart is your office filling out an incident report for both your accident and the breaches."
"Thank you, Ennay. Tell Max I am on my way and then let Dr. Mally know I will meet her shortly."
"Of course, sir."
My office was silent except for the fan gently spinning from the ceiling. Across from me was a young man, mid-twenties, with dusty blond hair. His uniform was perfect, he has even removed his hat on the perfect beat upon entering the room.
The appearance and demeanor any ship captain would be beyond proud to accept on his ship. It had just been dumb luck that he had lost both of his eyes to shrapnel sealing off the lower corridors during the state of emergency yesterday.
I poured Mr. Blanco a drink, 2444 Geoff Russel - The Hearty Mans Drink. I needed to finish the incident report, but Id never ask a man to relive what he had without a bit of buzz to his bite.
"So, Sargent Blanco, I-"
"You can call me, Fran, Capi."
"And you can call me Santago, for tonight anyway," I continued my questions. I tried my best to stay shallow and not dive deep into the pain Fran had endures just hours ago.
We talked about the 5 fatalities.
"Did you... see... them die?"
The gauze replacing his eyes stared at me, blankly. His face was uncanny, unhuman. Like the man inside may actually have been a 6th dead body.
"No," he quickly took a drink, "I did hear them, though. They yelled and screamed for me to open the door. I- I couldnt see. I thought the sea water had poisoned me somehow. I kept rubbing and rubbing my eyes hoping to get whatever radioactive stuff out of my head..." He took a breath. He was remarkably calm. Agitated, of course. But calm.
He continued, "I looked through the window on the bulkhead and the last thing I saw was Aleks staring back at me. His eyes were... he was calling out for me, I am sure of it. But something got him and he was sucked out."
"I am so sorry, Fran," I tried to write as quietly as possible to not remind him of the formality, "Do you know what got him?"
He finished his glass. As he set it down, he missed the table. The cup did not shatter, but it had jolted Fran from his memory. He lost his composure.
He started yelling at me about a horrific beast he had seen. How Aleks, Private Aleksander Igorsen, had been encased in blood and black sludge. He swung his hands wildly at the table in a rage, but had only managed to knock over a lamp.
Pity does not begin to describe what I felt watching him. Like a bleeding animal continuing to run from the wolves despite not knowing he was already surrounded. In him, I saw death. I saw anger. I saw fear. I saw what he was feeling imaging the creature that killed his men.
I grappled with him, trying to make my location known and always talking to him. I was not some monster from the unknown blackness set on hunting him and he needed to know that. He continued to struggle until I had completely engulfed his whirlwind into a hug. The screams turned to cries and then to whimpers.
After some time, I dismissed him back to his room and instructed Ennay that he was on suicide watch. Sergant Franccigo Blanco had earned a promotion or a permanent dismissal, whichever he wanted, but I needed him to take time to himself before I reminded him where we are.
The storm was intense, but at least it was consistent. By Katzs reckoning, we are approaching the halfway point of this hurricane. We had entered it 51 hours ago and Katz had said we are another 50 away from clear skies.
Unfortunately for all of us, Katzs theory was not seen through.
It began with our solar panelling being severed from their operating power banks. That was not a major issue, hydropower was our primary source. The issue arose when the New Horizon began to spin.
I had radioed the Helmsman demanding why we are weighing anchor, but the anchor was still resting above water. He said no one dropped the anchor. Something else entirely had us. We rushed to every window, every pane of glass to search for whatever it was that was stopping us.
Ennay spoke out, "Capi, Major Gorlammi has spotted our snag at 129 degrees. Nearest viewpoint is Residential Room L3D, assigned to L-"
I ignored the rest, I needed to see what was in that window. Luckily for me, Lucy Partridge was not home. I burst through the door and, for the first time, I saw a behemoth of a serpent-like creature sticking out of the water. I could not see a head, nor tail. I also had no idea if what I saw was the body or an appendage connected to some inconceivably large beast.
After enough time, I manage to figure out one of the ships heavy guns had pierced the creature and was holding us together. Our best bet was to either rotate the gun and hope its dislodged or to remove the gun entirely.
I relayed this information to Ennay to alerted the Gunner Teams and Damage Control. Yet, none of them would be given the chance. In the distance, silhouetted by sparks of lightning the size of the ship, I saw the head of the creature. It must have been miles away, but the size was unparalleled. Its head leaped from the water and swiveled back towards us. It was like a colossal eel. Flashes of light showed through its skin like veins until it sent a surge into the gun and into the ship.
The lights went out across the boat. The only light was the occasional flash from outside. It was completely dark, but I knew it was still coming for us.
I ran out of the quarters as emergency lights slowly burned. The hallway must have been 100 feet long before Id reach the staircase, but when I was halfway through, my feet left the ground.
I felt weightless for a moment. The lights burned out and all around me was darkness. My heart was incredibly slow or maybe time had slowed. I felt the doorframe to Mrs. Partridges room snap against my elbow. There was no pain. I didnt even feel pain when glass cut across my back as I was hurled through the shattered window.
I crashed into the water, it must have been hundreds of feet below me. I was in shock. I looked around and all I saw was darkness. Then, suddenly, all I saw was light. The eel sent a pulse through its body and for the first time I saw the monster entirely. It surrounded the ship above water, coiled all about the waves, and entangled the entire ocean as deep as I could see.
This is not a colossal eel surviving a hurricane.
This colossal eel is the very being causing the hurricane.
A cosmic terror named Hurricane Georg.
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2024.05.19 04:12 _ObsessiveCoder Short I restart before getting too far?

I am in the middle of chapter 2 of BG1 EE. I also intend on playing the whole saga with the same character and some of the main companions before jumping into BG3.
I am playing the retro games on IOS if it matters.
I am a gnome and fightethief with a chaotic good alignment.
My question is about ability scores. Strength, dexterity, constitution, and charisma are at 18. Intelligence is at 16, and wisdom was my dump stat at 2.
It thought this was fine until I noticed I have no lore. All I know is lore lets you identify items, and I’d like to do that.
I’ve learned that charisma is the most popular dump score, but chose to max it for the conversations
How much will this effect me in the future games, and should I reroll and balance out intelligence and wisdom?
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2024.05.19 04:02 Awesome_Bronana War of the Monsters Advanced Techniques

I remember the first time I played War of the Monsters on the PS2 was when my dad brought home a copy of the game and played with me and my siblings. I grew up watching monster movies and instantly loved this game. It has been 20 years since I have first played this, I decided to write this guide in advanced tricks and techniques that I have developed from my experiences playing this game. I hope you enjoy this read and that It increases your appreciation of this hidden gem.
There are many guides online that cover combos, tactics, item placements, boss guides, level guides, cheats, etc. This is not one of those. This will cover more niche and advanced techniques that you can use to enhance your capability in your gameplay.
This guide will be written with the assumption that the control scheme is set at control 'B' which you can set in the pause screen during a game. (I think most people have it set at 'A') It shouldn't effect how these techniques function but something to keep in mind.
This is a work in progress and I will edit this thread as I come across new info and insights into the game.
Glossary: Movement Special Attacks Rage Utility Map Awareness Advanced Combat
\\\\MOVEMENT////////
The monsters in the game have varying movement speeds (running, climbing), jump heights, and flying speeds. However even with the slowest monster you can work around the lack of speed with enough practice utilizing the following methods and the environment to your advantage. Little is more scary than a slow monster like Agamo zooming around your foes mwahaha!
The Dashing Mechanic<<<
As listed in the instruction manual, this allows your monster to sprint at the cost of energy by double-tapping and holding the foward button until expended or pressing the ram button.
Launching<<< You can use the ram button to launch yourself off buildings, ramps, and rock formations to get extra height quickly (a mechanic that the mini game 'Big Shot' is soley based around).
This is particularly useful in maps like baytown where theres a lot of verticality in the environment.
Super Fast Flying<<< This ram mechanic is especially useful for flying monsters like Preytor and Raptros. Executing the dash-ram in conjunction with holding 'x' right after ramming while on the edge of a building or flat surface will result in a blisteringly fast flight speed that gives you better movement and height. Preytor is super fast with this method while Raptros has better airtime and control, though the speed difference is minor. Raptros is my prefrence due to the better airtime, control, and Projectile damage.
Firing projectiles while flying<<< Raptros and Preytor both have the ability to capitalize on their aerial advantage by firing projectiles mid glide. You can accomplish this by performing the glide holding X and while holding glide tap the □ button to fire. This takes energy though so maintaining altitude is key. the most effecient way to do this is to execute the dash>ram>fly combo to get extra speed, glide up over your opponent and lock-on to them to spin like a vulture firing down on your target.
Lock-On Steering<<< You may notice that while dashing, your ability to steer your monster is stiff. This technique will allow you to navigate around all those tight corners on a dime while dashing! This is more tricky to execute because it is depenent on where your opponents are located around you. This is indicated on the HUD as these numbered circles that show the health status of your opponents.
While sprinting using the dash, hold the lock-on button to force your monster to take a tight turn in the direction of the closest target. This is great for adjusting after missing your target.
For simply turning tight corners, simply tap the lock-on button instead while the opponents icons are on the side you want to turn.
There is a brief charge up before a dash, if you time your lock on just before the dash activates, you can pull up to a sharp 180 degree turn on your opponent if you missed the first dash-ram.
There is some wiggle room in the timing to play around with and practice your navigation using this technique.
Building Hopping<<< Every monster has different climbing speeds, some are fast like Kineniclops and Preytor, some are slow such as Agamo and Togera.
Building Hopping is the simple action of jumping while climbing a building. Repeating this cycle of (jump+grab+jump+grab+jump) will do two things:
  1. It will add more speed to slower monsters climbing
  2. It will reduce your contact to the building by about 80% and greatly reduce the chance of getting knocked down when an opponent is throwing projectiles.
\\\\SPECIAL ATTACKS////////
Every monster has two special attacks at their disposal under two categories; Close range and Long range. This chapter will cover the expansive utility of both types.
Short Range Special<<< Despite the differences in the vibrant animations, all monsters share the short range special attack in common. The only difference between them as far as I can ascertain Is the the time it takes to start up the blast (Ultra V being almost instant and zorgulon Taking 1.5 seconds). The purposes most common is to give yourself space when surrounded or cornered, and to have a quick and strong offense to your opponent knocking them down. However there is more utility in this attack when you think of this as a defensive move.
Invincibility Frames<<< The short range special attack gives you about 2-3 seconds of invincibility frames meaning almost nothing can damage you aside from falling buildings. This is excellent as a defense against thrown objects, explosives, lightning, short and long range special attacks, and environmental hazards.
Long Range Special<<< Every monster has a unique long range special attack that has different effects and ranges. There is more nuance in how you can utilize these attacks, so I will cover each monsters long range special individually so you can make the most out of these attacks:
  1. Raptros' Fire Breath Raptros has a unique advantage in regards to how he uses this attack. He can activate it on the ground AND while mid-flight. Additionally, he can fire his projectiles while using his fire breath to squeeze in extra damage (There is a weird glitch where doing this turns the flame invisible, but the effect is still active). This also hinders opponents and catches them on fire.
  2. Togera's Atomic Breath Similar to 'Raptros's Fire Breath' Togera's Breath has similar range and hinders opponents. The difference is that it deals more damage. You can also fire his projectiles while using his breath for pretty nasty damage.
  3. Preytor's Flying Leeches Leechs not very damaging by itself, it is a decent threat if you can manage to chain up multiple specials around the map. (Ex. In Metro City there are multiple red orbs, 50% energy, around the buildings and streets where you can chain at least 3 leeches). There are two minor benefits from the leeches: A. It gives the opponent something else to target or focus on A.I. or human B. Can't be blocked unless intercepted by thrown object or shot projectile, or using a special attack, thus resulting in multiplying damage stacks if chained. You can also spread the leeches out by locking on different targets while sending them.
*This Special attack is really best used in situations where the opponent won't have time to stop all of the leaches (preferabally up close) followed up with your own projectiles or thrown objects or follow up advances.
  1. Congar's Sonic Roar Similar range to Raptros and Togera's Breaths, and Considerable damage and launches opponents far. It can reach through some buildings for full effect. You can also tilt congars head around to spread the roar around to get a wider spread. Opponent can block this attack or counter with a short range special.
  2. Robo-47's Atomic Missile The most immediately damaging special in the game by far. It also launches opponents far like congars roar. It is very versatile at close range and long range. You can choose to fire quickly or wait to lock on the target for a more likely hit. You can tilt his head down to shoot the ground for a damaging 'short range' blast. You can also cancel the missile by pressing the block button for later use. It cannot be blocked unless opponent uses short range special or dodges.
  3. Agamo's Head This special is unique in it can be used to farm for more energy considerably fast while weilding it, which in turn stocks you with an additional special when you are ready for the next head or short range attack. Creating an efficient cycle of banking more special attacks. It is damaging and knocks opponents down upon a confirmed hit. It also can be used as a bomb by pressing the long range special button a second time. This isnt great for throwing at enemies from a distance as an explosive, launching opponents. The head when thrown is also super bouncy and ricochets damaging buildings and knocking down opponents all the while gaining you energy.
  4. Magmo's Eruption This special launches a barrage of fireballs at an opponent and juggles them into the air with good damage followed up with some decent fall damage. This can be paired with a second erruption when chaining with a second special pickup on the map. You can tilt magmo's head up first before locking on an opponent to send the fireballs over obstacles and tyen lock on to your opponent have a better chance to reach them.
  5. Kineticlops's Lightning storm This is great for crowd control and anti-air with good range. The storm electricutes all nearby monsters in range and launches them upward. This is nice for discouraging flying enemies. You can also flick the lighting up and down for flavor just to show off but it won't do much damage.
*Its also nice using this special following a one-two combo of shocking an opponent with a power generator and throwing for a double shock.
  1. Zorgulon's UFO Swarm Arguably the weakest of the long range specials, but it is still is fun to use and can be used in creative ways. If you lock-on a target while executing this special (provided they are not behind cover) you will fire this device that hover above the target that calls in ufos to harrass the opponent. The damage is varied based on how many shots are managed by the ufos and when the device is destroyed. There is a charge on the device that when run out releases the ufos and ends the special. This can be shortened if you damage them in any way. Another use is to place them in an area of interest, such as locations with resources like health, energy, or powerups. It is more defensive and punishes opponents for going where you don't want them to go. You can also grab these ufos for a weapon to attack with, gaining more energy or even fire their lasers at the opponent. while not practical is fun.
  2. Ultra V's Grapple Cable This special does minor damage but can grab and pull an opponent across the map to you and stuns the enemy for a few seconds. This can be really nasty since it allows you options to set up a combo, launch them with a 360 kick, pull them into environmental hazards (bottomless pits, radioactive waste, powerlines, steam, tsunamis, falling buildings). It can be use up close for an easy stun or to take opponents away from reaching resources such as Health, Energy, or powerups. At long ranges it is best used at highground where line of sight is less blocked by obstacles. You can also send the grapple while holding any object for extra damage. The fan favorite method is to use explosives (gasoline truck, airplanes, fuel tanks) for an explosive combo! even if you miss with the grapple the impact of the explosive will hit the opponent if close enough. You can also use the grapple to damage buildings to knock opponents off the walls.
\\\\Rage Utility//////// Rage is an interesting mechanic that I think some people overlook as not that useful. It Is available once you collect enough energy that you energy bar flashes, and makes it so your following actions are more effiecient than standard usage. Instead of your energy being used up quickly it is unlimited until the rage runs out. I have not tested if Rage increases your damage output. I have focused this as more a tool for various tactics I came up with.
sprinting with rage<<< using the dash usually expends energy really fast. however with Rage, you can extend the time you can continue you sprint significantly. you can Also dash-ram infinitely until expended, which is scary when used in conjunction with the lock-on steering technique.
Firing projectiles with rage<<< Every monster has projectiles that have unique behaviors, have varying damage and cost. Every monster in general benefits from using rage to shoot more projectiles, the difference is in how you position yourself to shoot them effectively.
Flying monsters can use this to fire even more projectiles while in mid-flight without worrying about losing stamina, the unlimited energy also gives room to reposition the monster if more altitude is needed the damage is also decent from both of them.
Robots like Robo-47 and Ultra V have similar projectiles that pepper small damage but are very rapid. The faster you mash the □ button, the faster the firing rate. when using rage you can catch opponents with little cover and barrage them with a volley of lasers/bullets.
Kineniclops's projectile is unique that it is the slowest but has the most heat seeking property. You can shoot a lot with little cost and it deals decent damage especially if you can land multiple hits with them. with rage you can create an army of these lightning balls at some highground or running and jumping approaching them from different angles makes it hard for them to avoid the stacks in damage.
\\\\Map Awareness//////// This section will cover Map awareness and how to take advantage of the abundant resources in your game. knowing the layout of the map as well as intimately knowing the placement and respawn time of your resources will aid you so much in how you decide to approach the following setups we are about to cover here.
Resources<<< Resources are defined as anything on the map you can pick up that aids you (Health, Energy, Powerups, Items). The location of Health, Energy, and powerups on each map is static, though consistent and respawn after a period of time. Items However can both be static (pieces of a building, rocks, water towers) and dynamic (moving items like cars, helicopters, trains).
chaining resources<<< This is a series of actions that utilizes multiple resources for a desired outcome. (ex. gaining health/energy/damage).
For example, chaining a power transformer lightning bolt+throwing the transformer+radio tower spear impale+gasoline truck = a chain resulting in big damage to your opponent there are many combinations you can chain together with items its devistating when you know exactly when and where an item will be so you can in rapid succession throw items to juggle them from a distance.
chaining specials<<< For example, it is possible to set oneself up to use at least three specials in succesion easily in a map such as atomic island where the reactor in the center can recharge your special rapidly. Think of the possibilities with this alone, thats 3 to 4 flying leechs from preytor at once, 3-4 nuke missiles from robo- 47 and so on. Other maps have instances where if you have a special in stock you can position yourself next to another red orb or 50-100% energy and use a special of your choice and follow it up with an additional special that you subsequentally grab.
\\\\Advanced Combat//////// There are guides out there that cover the specific combos you can pull in sequence and I have a few quick tips to increase your combos, and increase your lethality.
Combo canceling<<< Each monster has varying speeds in execution and amount of hits they cam perform before they end with a launching strike. What I suggest when pursuing higher combos is to simply tap the block button before the launch. Speed is key here so results may vary. such as congar who is more combo focused with fast punches. You can unleash a lot of hits and tap the block button, the follow up with more hits. there is a chance that the opponent will have time to block so it takes practice.
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