"Am I cooked?" Cooked? You could've been marinated, covered in cornflour, deep fried and served, but you won't know until the results come. so sit down, take a deep breath, and tell yourself: I am cooking but not yet cooked. Now continue cooking. Study for the subjects you think you messed up because come on, there are so many components left. Stop pulling all nighters, doesn't matter if you've got the whole syllabus memorised if you can't put that information on the paper. Naps are legal Drink water, eat food, and when I say food I'm not talking about chips and biscuits (don't come for me it's not forbidden but that's not food you heathens). Have a good breakfast. As long as you don't throw up, you're good. Take the water bottle with you to the exam, it's allowed for a reason. Now when it comes to studying, you have to study everything, but not in the same way. You're going to spend more time on what you're bad at at and lightly review what you're good at. And before you say "I'm not good at anything", don't. Here's a fun little method called traffic lights where you just mark down points of your syllabus in red, yellow or green. Green is for you're prepared well for the topic, yellow for meh, and red for disgraceful ignorance. Yes you can use other colours, I'm not racist. (Fun fact: there's an opposite for goods and it's... Bads.) does the consumption of knowledge irk you? yeah me too, anyway, go take a walk outside. I'm serious. Touch some grass, smell the air, remember there's a life outside of your exams. Even if there isn't. Your brain needs more than textbooks and screens, even if you're studying (🤔 are you tho). You're allowed to take a break. A break, not a vacation. Go have a snack, organise some stuff, just don't do things that are hard to come back from, like coming on reddit. Noteless? God gave you youtube and you're noteless? You're not noteless you're hopeless. You can and you will find an explanation for every topic. If you don't understand something don't hesitate to look it up and watch a video. be clear about exam dates and times (I feel like I should've made this post a lot earlier lol) and don't overtrust yourself. You might think you can wake up at 3 AM (I did, this is why everything reads so badly), you think you can do four, but we all know if you burn the midnight oil you can scarcely manage seven. Finally, save the dopamine for last! Study first, everything else at night! You'll always be in the mental headspace to enjoy what you like to enjoy, but you won't be able to focus on studying if you procrastinate it for too long. That's all I have. For my comrades who have computer and physics and literature... Take advantage of the four day gap. This is war, you take every advantage you've got, especially in this economy. Good luck.

1. In Iron Man 1 When Tony Stark 1st Time testing his Mark 2 suite he probably wants to break flying record of SR 71 Blackbird his suite frozen on that height so later he replaced suites material with Titanium and Gold.
2. In Iron Man 2 when Ivan Vanko attacked on Tony Stark in middle of car race. He is used arc reactor energy to damage Tony’s suite and he is almost successfully done that so after that in improvements Tony Stark decided to convert this type of energy to boost of suite power to use against his enemy in battles which we are already seen in The Avengers against Thor fight.
3. In Iron Man 2 Tony struggles to get his suite during car race accident which is performed by Ivan Vanko, So later he implemented suite hand tracking system which we seen in The Avengers when Loki throw Tony from a Stark Tower he gets immediately suite up by tracking system. Later he realised it also not a perfect solution because what if he is not able to wear suite tracking bangles during that Loki’s throw situation so in improvements he injected suite trackers into his arms in Iron Man 3.
4. In The Avengers Tony and his whole team defeated Chittori Army but they were struggled that time so Tony realised his team (Avengers) and even he is not enough to protect earth every time. If they had battle again may be they all (attackers from space) will ready for next time and has much chances to lose against them, So in Iron Man 3 Tony Stark also started preparing self by making his own army with different types of suites with different skills set to fight against bigger enemy.
5. In Captain America Civil War When Rhodey fall from sky because of Vision mind stone laser destroyed arc reactor of War Machine suite and after he fell to directly ground and Rhodey lose his legs, When Iron Man falls near Rose Hills Tennessee (in Iron Man 3) there is cold temperature outside and suite power goes off then he started feeling very catchy cold. So later in improvements he implemented parachute and heater in Spidey’s suite… (We seen this in Spiderman Homecoming)
6. At last in Captain America Civil War during Airport battle when Ant-Man goes into Tony’s suite to make it malfunctioned and Steve Rogers also able to broke Iron Man suite by his shield finally in improvements Tony implemented Nanotechnology to coverup broken part quickly with Nanotech to protect self and also blocked all the holes by using nanotech. We seen this improvements early in Spiderman Homecoming at last Tony Stark showed upgraded Nanotech Spidey’s suite to Peter Parker. After that Tony reveals his suite in Avenger’s Infinity War.
7. In Captain America Civil War when Steve Rogers successfully able to destroy Tony’s Iron suite helmet Tony Stark used Nano-Tech to coverup broken parts of Iron Suites. (We seen this in Avengers Infinity War)
8. In Avengers Infinity War During the Titan battle Thanos used power stone to defeat Tony Stark but Tony created shield around him with the help of Nanotech but shield not able to absorb whole pressure of power stone so later in improvements Tony Stark used Wakanda Technology to create Shield which we already seen it in Avengers Endgame.
9. In Avengers Infinity War during titan battle Tony Stark and his team mates failed to remove Thanos gauntlet (This scene shows how much Thanos is powerful in real) so later in improvements Tony designed gauntlet which can remove infinity stones decided to remove infinity stones from gauntlet in Avengers Endgame.

Hello Fellow Apes,
I want to take a quick minute to write a post about Moocao's post regarding CVS Q1 2024 earning.
https://www.reddit.com/Healthcare_Anon/comments/1cjpur9/cvs_q1_2024_earnings_analysis_earnings_call10q/
It is a great post with many implications taken from the perspective of an investor and someone who is on the front line. We're literally seeing CVS' earning unfold in real time. Additionally, I want to juxtapose it with the things that are being written on WSB because comparisons often serve as a good frame of reference.
https://www.reddit.com/wallstreetbets/comments/1ckq8i2/cvs_got_crushed_so_pntg_may_soa?share_id=vWu2IAVOKrdbdYRsz0UOF&utm_content=1&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1
We often don't know what we're looking at until we have something to compare it to. We're going to start off with Moocao's DD before going to the WSB DD (Sorta)
Starting with Moocao's DD.
CVS reported that their first quarter earnings were negatively impacted by an increase in the use of Medicare Advantage services, which affected their profitability. However, this issue does not stem from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Instead, as a provider of managed care, companies like CVS are responsible for delivering this care to their consumers. The goals of the managed care model include improving cost efficiency, coordinating care, enhancing benefits, promoting preventive care, and managing risk. This model is designed to be cost-effective, focused on preventative care, and capable of delivering high-quality health outcomes. If there is a significant increase in service utilization that is not related to extraordinary circumstances like delayed elective surgeries post-COVID or other exceptional reasons often cited by healthcare companies, it likely indicates a failure in effectively managing the health of the population. In essence, they have reached a point where they must provide necessary care without the ability to further profit by denying services. This situation implies that their management of member health was inadequate, forcing them to address these health issues more intensively now.
CVS reported a revenue growth of 3.7% and an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.31 for the first quarter of 2024. However, they have revised their EPS forecast for the year downwards to at least $7.00. This adjustment is primarily attributed to higher than expected Medicare utilization. Although these figures appear positive, they don't fully reveal the underlying dynamics affecting the company.
Previously, CVS had forecasted a normalization of service use, building upon an already high baseline from the fourth quarter of 2023. However, they have now observed that the current utilization trends are exceeding those of Q4 2023. This might be the first earnings report this season where a company has reported higher utilization compared to the previous quarter, setting CVS apart from others. Most companies noted an increase in inpatient services in January and February, with a decline in March, but none have reported a higher utilization than in Q4 2023 until now. As mentioned, I believe this is just a consequence of their action, and it is one of the reason why they are desperate for CMS to increase the fee for service rate to be higher than the 3.7% increase they will be getting.
Additionally, CVS has increased its reserves to cover any unprocessed claims resulting from the Change Healthcare cyberattack. Both outpatient services and Medicare supplement utilization have remained high in the first quarter of 2024, surpassing previous projections.
Furthermore, Aetna evaluated the CMS final rate notice for Calendar Year (CY) 2025, along with changes to the Medicare Part D plan as mandated by the Inflation Reduction Act. The company concluded that the reimbursement rates are insufficient (CMS doesn't care and the rules are final). Aetna points out that the lower rate increases specified by CMS will significantly disrupt the level of benefits and the range of options available to seniors nationwide which is another way of saying it will punish the consumers by cutting back on benefits and probably denying the shit out of any claim. Consequently, Aetna plans to reduce benefits and will strategically withdraw from certain markets during the bidding process for CY 2025, a move that is in line with trends seen among other players in the market. My bet is they will start withdrawing from poorer areas where the self-managed care of the population is bad. They will probably still still in more affluent areas where people are managing their own care and has more money. Aetna is focusing on improving its profit margins and has decided not to pursue growth in this market segment in CY 2025.
In response to increased utilization, Aetna has established multidisciplinary teams to analyze claims data for specific conditions, geographic regions, or unusual patterns in service use. It's important to clarify that Aetna is well-equipped to identify the reasons behind this increase. By categorizing and reviewing billing codes, they can easily pinpoint which areas are contributing to higher utilization. CVS has attributed the rise in costs to increased outpatient services and higher drug prices. Prominent factors that typically escalate healthcare expenses include dialysis, diabetes, and drugs for multiple coexisting conditions, which are notoriously expensive and difficult to cut back on. Moreover, this situation is compounded by a deteriorating general health among the population, driven by years of inadequate investment in population health management, leading to a critical point where reversing the trend becomes exceedingly challenging.
Additionally, CVS will be using biosimilar drugs to save money while providing "equivalent clinical care." Biosimilar drugs are a type of medication designed to be highly similar to an already approved biological drug, known as a reference or originator biologic. Unlike generic drugs, which are exact copies of chemically synthesized drugs, biosimilars are derived from living organisms and are not identical replicas but are closely matched in terms of safety, effectiveness, and quality to their reference biologics. Biosimilars are developed to compete with existing biological drugs, offering potentially lower-cost options once the original products' patents expire. This might result in higher claim denials, but slower delivery of care. If this is the case, the issues of population health will just get worse.
In the first quarter of 2024, CVS reported a Medical Benefit Ratio (MBR) of 90.4%, marking an increase of 580 basis points compared to the first quarter of 2023. This rise is attributed to increased utilization of services and a decrease in STARS ratings for the year 2024. Specifically, CVS has observed heightened utilization in outpatient and supplemental benefits, alongside rising pressures on inpatient services. The latter is characterized by seasonal patterns in inpatient admissions that CVS has not encountered since before the pandemic.
In response to these financial pressures, CVS is considering the retirement of certain health plans and the introduction of new plans less impacted by Total Benefit Cost (TBC) thresholds. Additionally, CVS plans to recalibrate the pricing on their existing plans to compensate for the eroded margins.
Moreover, CVS/Aetna is prioritizing pricing strategies aimed at maintaining profit margins rather than expanding membership. Despite these pricing adjustments, CVS does not anticipate a significant loss in membership. This expectation is based on the assumption that similar industry-wide pressures will lead to widespread plan price increases, encouraging members to stay with CVS/Aetna. Concurrently, CVS is exploring reductions in benefits as part of its strategy to improve profit margins. Now... what would happen if there are companies that do not experience similar industry-wide pressure? CVS and similar companies with have real competitions!
The other points Moocao made in the post are self-explanatory and I highly suggest you give it a read. I'm only highlighting keypoints and their implications. I don't see how CVS MCR is going to improve when their population health is so bad that they can't even explain it on an earning calls. We know they know. You can't be a company like CVS and fail at projecting population health. Their profit making caught up to them, and now they have to git gud real fast.
Now for the CVS DD from WSB.
I find the post particularly amusing, and I give the author credit for suggesting that home healthcare would solve CVS' problems. However, he is very wrong in his understanding of healthcare companies and home health. Home health care is a solution and will be the replacement for nursing homes. In is a most cost-effective solution. As for healthcare companies, they will first start cutting cost before they explore introducing another product such as home health care. There are companies such as CLOV that does have a home health care, but CVS doesn't have one and will not be exploring one anytime soon. As for PNTG, the crowd went mild after the recent earning a large part of this is because home health margin isn't that great and the new 80/20 rules for HCBS waivers aren't that great, but we're not going to dive into that here.
I just want to highlight the contrast between Moocao DD and the kind of stuff others such as WSB would post. I know that it may look simple, but there are real nuances to the stuff that we write. For those of you who know how to use census track, you can figure out which geographic areas is causing the most pain for CVS. older, poorer, and less educated seniors are the ones causing the high uptick in utilization. If they really want to reduce the utilization, they need to invest more money into improving access to care and education to improve public health.

I am NOT OOP, OOP is u/Free_River_3388
Originally posted to TrueOffMyChest
Previous BoRU
NEW UPDATE MARKED WITH ----
[New Update]: I had a baby as a result of an affair and now his wife is reaching out to me
Trigger Warnings: infidelity, past abuse, mention of abortion, deadbeat father, coercion, manipulation
RECAP
Original Post: January 28, 2023
I (F, 26) had an affair with a married man (M, 42) a few years ago. I had no clue he was married when we first met and hooked up. I obviously looked him up on social media and while he did have photos of his kids on there, there was absolutely no mention or photos of a wife at all. I found out that he was married about a month after we first got together, but he told me it was just a marriage on paper and that they basically lived separate lives and agreed to remain married for practical purposes until the kids were older. They owned a business, which she really ran and he was just financially involved in.
I knew at the time that I probably shouldn’t believe him, but I convinced myself it was true. I was in my early 20s and so attracted to him and I guess almost infatuated with him. He made me feel so good. I know now that I should have ended it immediately, but I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into. I was addicted to all of the attention he gave me, the great sex, the places he’d take me. I felt special. I was so naive.
I got pregnant about a year into seeing him. I had always been so careful with preventing pregnancy, but during my relationship with him I took stupid risks. I was so high in lust with this guy, it’s embarrassing. The things he’d asked me to do…I’d say yes to almost anything, even when I knew it was a bad idea.
I was in love with him, or I thought I was. I hadn’t intentionally wanted to get pregnant. I would of course dream about being his wife and having a family but I knew that wouldn’t be a possibility while he had this arrangement with his actual wife. I didn’t get pregnant on purpose with any intention of him leaving her for me, even if I wished that we could be a real, normal couple. I was surprised by how excited I was to be pregnant with his baby. I wanted that baby once I found out I was pregnant. The thought of carrying this baby of the man I loved was so special to me, but I knew he probably wouldn’t feel the same.
I told him I was pregnant and he told me I couldn’t keep the baby. I expected his reaction, but I was devastated and it hurt me to my core that he didn’t feel the same way I did. He offered to pay, to make a whole weekend of it somewhere exciting (wtf?) and to buy me something special if I’d just please get rid of the baby. He explained that he didn’t want any more kids and that he couldn’t openly be a father to another kid when he and his wife were still pretending to be happily married to the outside world.
I agreed to do what he wanted and we made plans for him to pick me up and find somewhere out of town to go get it done. I was all packed the night he was going to pick me up, but I started to feel really scared and really unsafe about the whole thing. I took my bag and checked myself into a hotel to hide because I couldn’t go with him. I texted him to say I promised to never contact him again and to never name him as the father or go after child support if he’d promise to leave me alone.
At first he tried to sweet talk me into doing what he wanted. When I didn’t cave in, he said some very nasty things to me and that I essentially better never contact him again or show up at his door.
I have a 2 year old now. At times, it’s been difficult, but overall we are thriving as best we can. I have kept my word about not naming his as the father or requesting child support.
His wife contacted me on social media. Well, she’s his ex-wife now. She wants to talk to me. She found out about me and told me that she divorced him 6 months ago. She wants her children to know their sibling and for my child to know his siblings. That’s weird to me.
I haven’t responded back to her yet. I am unsure about how to approach this. How to I respond to this? I wonder if I’m being selfish by not exploring an option for my child to know his siblings, if she’s being genuine about that. If I was married and my husband fathered a child outside of our marriage I don’t think I’d feel the same that she does.
RELEVANT COMMENTS
Comment 1

I didn’t know he was married when we first got together. I acknowledged that I should have ended the relationship as soon as I found out he was married. I allowed myself to believe what he told me, which made it seem not so bad - like this was some sort of agreement he and his wife had. Emotionally, I was already hooked. I’m not making excuses.
I wouldn’t say I was “happy” to bring a baby into this situation. There was a huge mix of emotions. I felt like I was in love with him, so there was a part of me that was excited at first. That feeling soon died, but I felt that I loved my baby still. I tried to do the best thing that I could, which was to remove myself from his life and his family’s life. I just wanted to be able to keep my baby and love my baby. I did not get pregnant on purpose. I wasn’t on birth control. I had been on birth control when I was slightly younger and had a life threatening health complications as a result. He knew I wasn’t on birth control. He loved unprotected sex. I was stupid and I agreed to do it. I would do almost anything he asked sexually. I tried to track my cycle and would tell him when it was probably not a safe time to do it.
His wife isn’t really what I’m afraid of. Whatever she’d want to say to me is probably deserved anyway, and more.

Comment 2

He found out about the pregnancy before I “ghosted” him. And upon finding out I was pregnant with his child, there was absolutely no real discussion about what we were going to do. We were going to do what he wanted to do and he had it all planned out. He threatened me, by text and by phone calls and voicemails, when I told him I was not going to go with him on this abortion vacation he had planned. I begged him to please not force me to do that and he turned mean. I offered to never contact him again if he’d just let me go. After threatening me again, about what he’d do if I didn’t keep my word, he agreed. He has kept his side of the bargain and has never contacted me.

Comment 3

I’ve been assuming that she found out about me in her own, maybe saw something on his phone or computer and has probably known for a while before reaching out to me (if it’s actually her).
I get what some people are saying about siblings and such, but that man is not my child’s dad. He is the dad of his older kids but he’s not the dad of my kid. I’m still young and I hope to have more children one day, and those children would be my son’s siblings. I hope to find a man who loves me and my son and with whom I can have a legitimate relationship. I haven’t been with another man since I ended things with this guy. I actually just went on 2 dates for the first time very recently. I’m not desperate to find a man right now, but I hope to find real love one day.
Those people are not my son’s family. He’s 2 and they’re old enough to drive. So, I do t think they’re missing out on any sort of important relationship right now. I understand wanting to know your bio family, and I feel he can decide that later on when he’s old enough to have a day. Depending on where we are at in our lives at the time, he might not feel a need to know those people.
I don’t plan to lie to my son about his conception, but I don’t think we need to involve ourselves with the man’s ex-wife and teenage children at this time.

 
Update: February 18, 2024
I made a post 3 weeks ago and things have only gotten stranger. I had an affair with a married man a few years ago. I regret it and I will never do anything like that ever again. I knew it was wrong from the very beginning, but he captivated me. I was naive. I allowed myself to believe when he told me they were pretty much just married on paper for the sake of their kids. I got pregnant and while he tried to talk me into getting an abortion I ultimately decided to keep the baby. I have a 2 year old little boy now. I promised this man that I wouldn’t expose our affair and I wouldn’t formally identify him as the father or request child support. I did that because he was becoming very nasty about the whole thing and I felt like due to the mess that I had created and the way I felt by the end of it, a clean break with no involvement with him would be the best thing for everyone. I moved back to where my family is, hundreds of miles from where he and his family live.
About a month ago his ex-wife reached out to me via social media, claiming they had been divorced for 6 months and that she wanted our children to be able to know each other. Now, their kids are teenagers, so I didn’t really think they’d want anything to do with the toddler and the woman their father was having an affair with. It seemed odd to me. After posting here, I sort of decided that I wouldn’t respond to her. I’d just ignore it. She just sent me the one message, so it wasn’t as if she was badgering me about talking to me or meeting me.
On Friday night I decided to message her. I don’t really know why. I think it was really just for my sake so I could have the chance to apologize to her. I told her that I would be more comfortable speaking with her face to face since I couldn’t trust that it was really her. She said she understood. I was too nervous to meet her in person, but we did a video chat. I didn’t know what to expect, if this was all a ploy just to unleash her fury on me or what. I mean, I’d deserve that. She wouldn’t be wrong to feel that way.
It was really her. She told me she discovered our affair when she found communications between the two of us, after our relationship had ended. She told me I’m one of many women he had affairs with over the years and she knew about somebody even before he met me, but she didn’t divorce him at the time. Finding out about my child was the final straw for her. I told her I was sorry for my relationship with her husband and admitted that I knew he was married. She graciously told me she forgives me and that while she harbored a lot of anger towards me initially, she ultimately blames her husband. I’m not blameless, but she chooses to not hate me, essentially. She said she couldn’t have said this 6 months ago or a year ago when she first found out about me, but she has moved past that. She still has anger toward him, in addition to many other emotions surrounding him. She started pouring out her heart to me about their 20+ year marriage and life together and it was very awkward because what do I even say?
Her kids know about me and my son. She says they’re very mad at their father. Somehow I don’t think they’re mad about the fact that he’s not involved with my son’s life. And why would they be mad about that? I would hate me if I were them.
I told her with my son being so little right now, I don’t really feel comfortable with him meeting her kids or being involved with their family. I feel unsure about it and it’s just not something I feel needs to happen right now.
Then she told me her ex husband was in a bad accident 2 months ago. He’s fine now, still not allowed to return to all his normal activities just yet, but will be fine. He is probably the most physically active person I’ve ever met, barely ever seems to sit down, so he must be terribly annoying to be around if he’s not allowed to go go go all the time. She told me he wants to meet my son. Apparently she moved back in with him temporarily when he first came home from the hospital. She said the accident really shook him up and he has been expressing a lot of regret about my son, not being involved, not providing for him.
So now it’s like was everything she said just a lie and he somehow got her to reach out to me on his behalf? And she actually did it? It felt almost like a relief talking to her initially, but then it’s like was any of that true or you were just trying to be his messenger? I don’t even know if that part is true now. Why wouldn’t he just contact me himself?
I’m just feeling so uneasy about the whole thing now.
RELEVANT COMMENTS
Comment 1

I don’t believe I HAVE to involve his teenage children in my son’s life. Maybe when my son is old enough to decide if he wants that.
He is not named on the birth certificate and I do not receive child support from him. I have asked nothing of him, except to let me move away and not try to force me to have an abortion. I basically had to promise him to not contact him, not make him as the father, not request child support.
If he truly wants involvement with my son he can reach out to my directly and he can take the legal route to establish himself as our son’s father.

Comment 2

He did not legally sever his rights. He never established rights in the first place. He has no rights until he goes to court and establishes himself as the father. He is welcome to do that.
Honestly, I wish my son did have a father who was involved in his life and loved him. Yes, this guy has faults, but he has plenty of positive qualities. He is really involved with his older children. I met them many times because they’d be at work with him or he’d have to drop by the office in his way to take them somewhere. He was always doing things with them. They seemed like good kids who really loved their dad. I wish my son could have that experience too. I didn’t think it was an option based on how he behaved when I was pregnant. He wasn’t interested and wanted me and our baby to go away. That’s what I did. And I accepted it.

Comment 3

He is not legally my son’s father at this time. This means that currently he has no legal parental rights or responsibilities regarding my son. I cannot stop him from taking the legal steps to establish paternity if he wishes to do so.
He will always be my son’s biological father. I can’t change that fact. Regardless of whether or not he ever legally establishes paternity, my son will likely be curious about his biological father and who knows, maybe they will establish a relationship one day regardless of legal paternity.
There is no way to say if I will meet a man who may want to adopt my son one day, thus becoming his legal father. It’s something that I think would be nice, but nothing that I’m “intent” on doing. By choice, I’ve only been one 2 dates since my son was born and that was only within the year 2024. I realize that it will not be as simple as signing a piece of paper.

 

----NEW UPDATE----

Update #2 - April 30, 2024 (2 months later)
I posted about this few months ago.
To summarize very quickly, when I was fresh out of college I had an affair with a married man and father. I became pregnant. He wanted me to get an abortion. He had arranged to “take me away” in a “vacation” to get an abortion. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do but I agreed to go along with what we wanted. At the last minute, when he was on his way to come pick me up, I told him I couldn’t go through with the abortion. I just really didn’t feel comfortable about his plan and how he was orchestrating everything. It scared me. I realized at that time how deep I had gone with this mistake, how screwed up the whole relationship was.
He was really mad. He threatened me, said a lot of nasty things to me. I told him if he just left me alone and let me have my baby then I’d leave him alone and wouldn’t name him as the father or seek child support. I moved back home (I was living in a different state when I met him). I kept my word and I did t it name him as the father or seek to establish paternity. I have never sought child support. My child is 2 now.
A few months ago his wife contacted me via social media. At first she made it seem like she wanted my child to have the opportunity to know his siblings. It was sort of weird since the siblings are teenagers. She said she had divorced him 6 months prior.
I agreed to talk to her virtually, not in person. I felt that I owed it to her to apologize for what I had done. I do feel bad about it. But at the end of the conversation I told her that I didn’t feel it was the appropriate time to connect my son with her kids. He’s a toddler and their teens, plus I had promised her husband to stay out of his life. That’s when she told me that he was recently in a bad accident and she had been helping to take care of him. Supposedly he was going to be fine and was fairly recovered at that point, but she said he had expressed interest to meet our child. So she was basically his messenger.
I have not been in contact with her since then. I deleted my social media. I don’t know why, but the whole thing just really made me uncomfortable.
Since I last posted here….
Then, I received a handwritten letter from him. In it, he expressed how he wanted to get to know our son, he wants to be a father to our son, he wants to provide financially for him, he’d like us to come visit him. He asked me to sign a paternity affidavit. I refused to do so. I know he is my son’s father but I’m not going to make this that easy for him. After the things he said to me and threatened me with, he at least has to work for this.
At that point, my parents felt that we needed to meet with a lawyer. All communication from me has gone through a lawyer. I have never responded to him personally/directly.
Now, I have a court order for paternity. I have to present my son to have a specimen taken tomorrow. I already know what it’s going to say.
It’s not that I don’t want my son to have a dad in his life. It’s just…the whole situation is a mess. And he lives a few states away from me. I don’t know what to do. I can’t really do anything. He’s doing things legally. Next, I’m sure he’ll petition for some form of custody or visitation. He’s not married anymore, supposedly, but he’s a lot more established than I am. He has considerably more financial resources. I also know he has all sorts of connections where he lives. Luckily they don’t hold as much weight here in my state but it’s still so scary to me.
I’m a bad mom. I brought my son into this world knowing it was a messy situation. I just got so comfortable with it just being the 2 of us and now I don’t want to give that up.
Relevant Comments
OOP on if the father would be moving closer to her and her son now that he’s divorced from his ex-wife

OOP: To touch on just a few things…
I don’t think he’ll move away from where he lives. He has way too much established there.
He’s in his early 40s. I don’t know how this supposed accident (if that even really happened) has affected him, but he was incredibly physically active when I knew him. He only slept like 4 hours a night, took a 20 minute power nap daily, and rarely ever sat down. He was also HIGHLY involved in his children’s lives. I’d even say overprotective, like a helicopter dad instead of the typical helicopter mom.

Careless_Welder_4048: How did he have time to cheat?

OOP: He only slept a few hours a night and moved at about a million miles a minute. Everyone joked about it. Somehow he always had time to get up at 5 am, go surfing, do some work, take his kids to school, do some work, take his Power Nap, get coffee, pick his kids up after school and take them wakeboarding or some other sort of thing like that, do some more work, be at his kid’s basketball game, and so on and so forth. He literally never ever stopped.
I was just another thing to help fill out his calendar to prevent him from getting bored.

OOP on the father’s relationship with his ex-wife and their children

OOP: I also don’t think he and his wife had much of a relationship, although it wasn’t quite as he described it to me. They lived in the same house but I believe they lived pretty separate lives. He bought her a business to give her something to do and keep her busy. She was there most of the time. They didn’t even go to their kids activities together. He was always the one going. So I think that freed up time too. I don’t think they liked being around each other so she was happy to have him out of the house. She admitted to me that I wasn’t the first affair he had and she knew about most of the time we were together.

 

DO NOT COMMENT IN LINKED POSTS OR MESSAGE OOPs – BoRU Rule #7

THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT OOP

WARNING
This is a long read. TL;DR is that Drake is a creep with a clear pattern of behavior towards minors, and I brought receipts if you want to know more.
This thread is partly based on this thread from 2022
Let me just start off by saying that I'm a certified Drake hater. I've thought the guy was a creep ever since the Millie Bobby Brown video and I'll proudly say with my chest FUCK DRAKE - but I'll still try to remain as objective as possible here, you know my bias now though.
THE 17 YEAR OLD AT SHOW
Drake is performing at a show in Ogden, Denver where he calls a girl up on stage. I really encourage you to watch this yourself, but since I know the majority of you won't watch it, I've described it for you below.
Video starts with her on stage, he asks her name, where she is from, asks the crowd to welcome her to the stage and tells her she looks great. He then asks her to give him two seconds because "I gotta be ready for you". He wipes off his sweat with a towel and proceeds to take her hand, put it on his shoulder, his hand on her hip/back and they slowdance for a few seconds. He spins her around and stop her with her back facing him. This is when it starts to get.. really weird.
Drake says "I told you I like your hair, right, what is it, like herbal essence or something?" while he's caressing her shoulder and smelling her hair. He says something I can't hear properly, puts the mic down and exposes her upper back and neck by pulling her shirt collar down. The crowd goes wild. He then starts kissing her shoulder and neck, putting her arms around her and fondle her breast. The girl on stage looks.. uncomfortable. A few seconds later he picks up the mic again and says "you can't have me carried away again before I get in trouble - how old are you?" She responds "17". The crowd has a mixed reaction - Drake says something that is hard to make out, because of the crowd but when it's clear he says "I can't go to jail yet, man - 17? Why do you look like that? You thick - look at all this!"
It's hard to make out exactly what he says afterwards because of the poor quality (2011 zoomed video at a concert, it's bad..), but he says something about it bringing them (the 17 year old and Drake) to a close and follows it up with "I got one question for you (...) I just want to know if (something about women in Colorado), I should just take one opportunity to take one home?" The girl nods "As a Colorado woman you'd enjoy that?" "Well, listen 17, I had fun - I don't know if I should feel guilty or not, but I had fun. I liked the way your breasts felt against my chest. I just want to thank you." He then puts the mic down again, grabs her hand and kisses it. You might think that was a little over the top, but he then immediately follows it up by putting his hand on her chin and kissing both of her cheeks, her forehead and then on HER FUCKING LIPS. I think he asks her to walk off stage, it's hard to make out, but then he says "It's okay. I'm only 23, I can do shit like that. It's all good, you know what I'm saying" and the video ends.
Addition: I know this girl has said she was not offended, violated, whatever you want to call it, but that's not the point. And I do not mean to sound like a complete dick, but it's not about her - it's about Drake and proving his pattern of behavior over many instances. If you stopped here because she denied it, you completely missed the point.
MILLIE BOBBY BROWN
Now this video was what really made me do a double take on Drake. Now, there's one very important fact to establish here and that is that Millie Bobby Brown at the time of this interview (18. September 2018) is 14 (Born 19. February 2004). I'll quickly transcribe the interview here:
Interviewer: What about your relationship with Drake, tell me about your friendship, how did this all come about?
Millie Bobby Brown: I love him. I met him in Australia and he's honestly so fantastic and a great friend and a great role model. You know we text - we just texted each other the other day and he was like "I miss you so much" and I was like "I miss you more". He's coming to Atlanta, so I'm definitely gonna go and see him and I'm so excited.
Interviewer 2: You and Drake? That's awesome. That's awesome..
Interviewer: What advice does he give you? What does he say?
MMB: About boys he helps me, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah he's great. He's wonderful, I love him.
Interviewer: What's his advice with boys?
MMB: Ehm, you know.. That stays in the text messages.
I'm sure it's obvious what is wrong here and I don't need to spell it out for any of you, but I do have one thing to add. If Drake is giving advice about boys and telling her "I miss you so much" they must have talked for a while. It's not something you say after knowing a person for a week. We are talking months at least. There's 7 months between her birthday and the interview - did Drake already start talking to her when she was 13? It would make sense that Drake was in Australia during their summer (Dec-Feb) for festivals/concerts/vacation. It's probably possible to figure out through social media posts, but I'm not digging that deep.
Millie has only commented on this once which was a few days later in a story on Instagram: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/09/210592/millie-bobby-brown-defends-friendship-with-drake
I don't want or mean to infantilize her, but she was 14. She would have no chance of knowing if Drake actually was grooming her. There's not a chance that she could understand the dynamic at play and why it's wrong at that age.
Drake also defended their friendship on the song Another Late Night when he raps:

Weirdos in my comments talkin' 'bout some Millie Bobby, look
Bring them jokes up to the gang, we get to really flockin'

Ironically enough that very same song is also connected to the next person
BILLIE EILISH
The year after the Millie Bobby Brown controversy Drake gets caught texting a minor again and this time it's Billie Eilish. She does a yearly interview with Vanity Fair, and in the 2019 version she's asked who's her most famous contact in her phone. That's when she reveals she's been texting with Drake and that he's so very nice to her. Billie is at the time of the interview (released 25. November 2019) 17 (born 18. December 2001).
Billie did defend Drake and their texting in an interview with Vogue ~3 months later:

“The internet is such a stupid-ass mess right now,” says Eilish, who quit Twitter in 2018. “Everybody’s so sensitive. A grown man can’t be a fan of an artist? There are so many people that the internet should be more worried about. Like, you’re really going to say that Drake is creepy because he’s a fan of mine, and then you’re going to go vote for Trump? What the fuck is that shit?”

On the song Another Late Night where Drake mentions Millie Bobby Brown, Lil Yachty is featured (one of Drake's gho.. co-writers) and he raps the line:

I let her go, she fine as hell but baby wasn't stylish (Yeah)
She had big tits like Billie Eilish but she couldn't sing (Drip)

Now - I know this is not Drake, I just thought it was a 'funny' coincidence that these two women are connected through their shared experiences with Drake and this song. On another note some might say that Drake should have asked Yachty to omit this line if he really was a friend of Billie Eilish since she has been quite vocal about sexualization of herself and women in general.
BELLA HARRIS
This one is pretty fucking bad in my opinion. Bella Harris is the daughter of Jimmy Jam who's a record producer, songwriter etc. and has been very successful. Through him she's been in and around the entertainment/music business her whole life and met Drake that way.
There's an archive of photos posted here that contains the old IG posts she had with Drake. The first one was on May 5th, 2016 - Bella Harris is born 20. April, 2000. She had just turned 16 at the time. Objectively I think they are defendable since they are all music related - Rihanna concert, Summer Sixteen Tour (ironic name..) and the American Music Awards, but then two years later they reportedly start dating and that makes it really difficult to believe, especially with the last archived photo of them in 2018. Also the same photo that is referenced in this article talking about Drake renting an entire restaurant for an intimate dinner between them. Note that E! have confirmed it and are not backing down on their claim despite Harris denying it on Instagram.
KYLIE JENNER
Ever since the Kanye (also fuck Kanye for the record) vs. Drake beef we (or I at least) became aware of the fact that Drake has had a long relationship with the Kardashians/Jenners and known them for many, many years. In fact Drake performed at Kylie's sweet 16 back in 2013. You know what that Sweet 16 was specifically remembered for as well? Drake kissing Kylie on the cheek in front of everyone, including her then boyfriend Jaden Smith.
That's not out of the ordinary and would be very normal, if it wasn't for the clear pattern that is going on here, because guess what - 6 years later Drake and Kylie reportedly start dating, well.. dating/fucking/whatever you wanna call it. Admittedly this article is easily dismissed as paparazzi journalism and clickbait, but what if I told you that Drake has rapped this:

Yeah, I’m a hater to society/Real shit, Kylie Jenner that’s a side piece/Yeah, I got 20 muthafuckas in’ Kylies.

You probably wouldn't have heard it, since it was on an unreleased track played on an Instagram Live back in 2020, but it does make it seem pretty likely that he did actually hook up with her, especially considering the response Drake posted

“A song that mark ran last night on night owl sound live set shouldn’t have been played,” he wrote, “It’s a song that leaked 3 years ago and got scrapped shortly after. He was just going too deep in the drake/future catalogue. Last thing I’d want to do is wake up having any friends of mine feeling disrespected so I just had to say that to start off the day.”

Kylie was 22 at the time they reportedly hooked up.
HAILEY BALDWIN (NOW BIEBER)
In 2016 there were reports that Hailey and Drake were dating. Apparently they hooked up at a party that Drake hosted, where another attendee is also mentioned that seems oddly relevant:

Drake and Hailey weren't the only ones getting close, with Kylie Jenner and rumoured new boyfriend PartyNextDoor were seen "making out" at the party.
"It was almost like she was trying to make a statement," an insider added.

Now again - there's nothing illegal in a 11 year age difference and dating a 19-year old as 30. It's weird, yes. But again we come back to the pattern. Why do Drake know Hailey? Through their similar friends and friend group (Kardashians/Jenners). How long has Drake known Hailey? Well, when Hailey was 19, she said they had known each other for a long time.
We can actually get even closer with certainty since we know that Hailey attended Kylie's Sweet 16 in August, 2013. Hailey is born 22. November 1996, so she was also 16 at the time. So it's another girl that Drake has known since she was a minor and started dating when he got the opportunity. This is not normal.
Another pattern that Drake also seem to follow is that likes to hook up with his friends girl. We know for a fact that he hooked up with Lil Wayne's girlfriend while he was in prison. He not only rap about it, but also admit it in an interview. It's not really hard to believe that he did the same with Bieber.
CYDNEY CHRISTINE (LIL CC)
Cydney Christine is a beatmaker and model - she produced the Drake song Money In The Grave and in a Complex interview/roundtable she talks about it and Drake.

Really the only artist I reached out to is Drake. I'd never met him, never spoke to him, I don't know why, but he has been following me for the past like 6 years. I don't know why..

This interview was uploaded 17. December 2019, Cydney Christine's is born 21. July, 1997, meaning she was 22 at the time of the interview and 15-16 when Drake started following her. This is somewhat innocent but strange since Drake is 27 at the time. That's not what is really weird though.
In March 2023, Lil CC is on the No Jumper podcast and here she speaks about Drake and having her debut beat being a Drake single.
Lil CC: I played basketball, right, so he really was a fan or not a fan, sorry, supported one of my teammates at the time um..
Adam 22: And this is when you are in high school?
Lil CC: Yeah, in high school. So he was a fan of women's basketball - high school basketball - I was her teammate so he followed me because of her, and I was like "oh shit, bitch, you got Drake to follow me, like what the hell? Like that's so crazy". So he followed me and I lost it - I have to meet Drake, I love Drake, I've always loved Drake, still love Drake.
There's more to the conversation, but the relevant part is here is that it's just very, very strange for Drake to be a women's high school basketball fan. They are 16 at the time. He's a supporter of a 16 year old female high school basketball player as a 27 year old grown adult man. He has not hooked up with her, dated or anything of the sorts that we know of or that she has told - for the record.
AALIYAH
It's not like I have whole section for this, but his obsession with Aaliyah is strange considering everything else. I don't have a lot to contribute here, but if you don't know Aaliyah's story I'd recommend reading her Wikipedia and specifically the section about her personal life. If you think that 'obsession' is too strong a word for how much Drake admires her, I think you should take a look at this Complex article from 2018 and reconsider.
UNCONFIRMED STORIES
(I imagine this section will expand soon and I will continuously update it whenever I find or get sent new information to add here.)

• Back in 2021 Drake was being exposed on TikTok for his 'private Tinder' where one of his guys would go out and the hottest girls in town, interview them and find the one that Drake would like the best.

“He finds the girls and then he interviews them, and out of all the girls he interviews, he picks the one that he thinks is the best,” she continued. “Then, he drives her to Drake’s place, Drake has sex with her, and then he drives her home. So, basically, Drake has his own private Tinder.”

• This girl explaining how her friend was invited by Drake's crew and she was brought along as a +1. No ID check, very young girls. Worth a watch: https://www.tiktok.com/@simonestrauss/video/7365696116085591304
  
• This reddit post - yes I know this is 'so easy to just say', but I think the poster was very right by pointing this out:
  

I'm sure you guys won't believe me, but this is the type of situation where someone vanishing and telling you is the best you'll get.

• This YouTube comment about a girl claiming to be a victim of trafficking in Toronto in 2015 and that Drake had ties in all these circles.
  
• [This video of a girl being interviewed on a podcast](https://www.reddit.com/KendrickLamacomments/1clusye/drakes_a_scout_but_hes_not_doing_it_for_basketball/). She talks about Drake starting to follow her, because he was a "supporter" of one of her friends on the team. This team is women's high school basketball. Watch it. Whole section about Lil CC/Cydney Chrstine now.
  

LYRICS, REFERENCES, TWEETS, PICTURES
(Another section that I imagine will have a lot of additional stuff being added, feel free to share with me and I'll add it.)

• On the song Nice For What Drake raps:

You got a baby Benz, you got some bad friends
High school pics, you was even bad then

• This Tweet

"If amazing was a young bitch I'd be going to jail...cause I'm fucking amazing" - Me

• This image of Drake and Malone from Drake's Instagram that's been deleted now. Malone is infamous for impregnating a 13 year old when he was 20.
  
• On the song The Heart Part 6 Drake raps:
  

Just for clarity, I feel disgusted, I'm too respected
If I was fucking young girls, I promise I'd have been arrested
I'm way too famous for this shit you just suggested

• Also on the song The Heart Part 6 Drake raps:

Only fuckin' with Whitneys, not Millie Bobby Browns, I'd never look twice at no teenager

(DIS)HONORABLE MENTION
I know people say Jorja Smith, and I do agree that dating a 19-year old as a 30-year old man is weird and rather pathetic, but every other girl mentioned is related to minors. Their relationship if you can call it that was for sure toxic, and it seems like Drake was a piece of shit abusing the power dynamic between them. This is taken from the Drizzy subreddit, but I can't provide the source since that gets the post blacklisted as it's temporarily banned because of brigading.

In “Summer Games” Drake also says ”I kept it decent, even the secrets, kept it between you and I”. What secrets exactly? Well in Jaded, Drake says this woman “told him all her insecurities”.
It’s also interesting that the song “Summer Games” is about a woman who broke up with Drake right at the beginning of the summer. Drake and Jorja were dating in April of 2017 which is right before the summer starts and only lasted a couple weeks.

But that's all there is to it. I can't dig up anything else, so unless someone have something credible with sources, I don't think there's good enough reason to add her to the list further up.
FINAL NOTE
If you have anything to add, please post it in the comments and if credible/sourced I'll put it in the post. If I got anything wrong please correct me and I'll edit it. I could not be bothered to add more stuff to the last 2 sections, because this has taken considerable time to get done, so I was hoping to crowdsource a lot of that through you guys.
Please share this anywhere you want. I don't care about credit. If any media outlets wants to use it for their article or whatever, please do - feel free. You do not need to ask permission.

1st Month, 276
Despite their manse being towards the Red Keep, Fishmonger’s square was still a favourite haunt of Lord Vaemond’s. He had been coming here since he was a child and held fond memories of walks with his mother, childish expeditions with Vaella, and lonely wanderings. He was taken by the peddlers, the strong smell of fish and seafood, and the performers. It was the latter of those that had brought him to the square today, but he was not an idle spectator. Today he was a buyer in the market.
There was a troupe that had become regulars in the past moons, and Vaemond had taken to watching one with keen interest. A boy that couldn’t be any older than ten, not the star of the show by any means but entertaining enough. More of a prop to be used by the jugglers and fire breathers more than anything, yet something about him stood out. It wasn’t just his expected agility and balance, though they would come in handy. When the others had their applause, gathered their coin, and left towards the nearest winesink, the boy languished behind for a few minutes. When the troupe would return the following days most would be clean - or clean enough - with bright clothes. The boy’s mottled garbs were in a perennial state of dilapidation, and the grime on his face grew by the day. Clear signs of an orphan.
One night after the performance the Lord of Claw Isle approached the boy.
“You, boy. You have time for a quick conversation?”
The boy balked at being approached, but a quick jangle of Vaemond’s sizable coin purse kept his feet from taking him into the night.
“Might do, m’Lord. What’s it about?”
“You’re an orphan, correct?” Vaemond asked, continuing with his questions. The boy faltered before nodding. “Hm. See my man over there?” He stepped to one side and pointed to Ser Urrel Carcin across the square, red armour shining despite the waning light. The boy nodded. “How many peaches is he holding?”
The boy gave a quizzical look to the Lord. “Scuse me, m’Lord?” Vaemond said nothing, and there was a sigh before the boy he squinted through the dark. “Four. He has three held up in his right hand, and one in his left dangling by his side.
“Good.” Vaemond turned back. “And what colour is my signet ring?” By now Vaemond had covered the ring with his thumb, but if the boy was like any of the King’s Landing urchins he’d have had his eyes on it since he was approached.
“Green, m’Lord.”
“Good. Good.” He nodded at Urrel who crossed the square to join them. “Would you like a hot meal? There is an inn nearby. The food is…passable.” A pair of brown eyes now shone up at him, to which he took as a yes. “Tell me,” he began as they started walking. “Do you know what a fool is?
The conversation had gone long into the night until the boy’s head began to sway through fatigue. The three of them had then made their way up the Hook to the Celtigar manse, with Urrel taking the boy in through the servant’s entrance rather than announcing their arrival to the house. Much had been revealed about the boy in the light and comfort of the inn. He’d been scooped up by the troop three years prior after his mother died of a pox, having never known his father. His wit was quick, as were his hands. His face was less impressive, having a misshapen nose from an accident when younger, as well as pock marks, cuts, scratches, and scars. The Lord of Claw Isle saw all of these as positive traits, though it was not explained why until later in the evening. His ridiculous mottled garb would not be needed going forward, save for the bells on his wrist and the bells on his shoes. Discussion and negotiations, brief as they were, had been concluded. The boy was a perfect fit.
Vaemond called on his daughter early the next morning as she was preparing for the day. Cyrella was running an ivory comb through her hair under the watchful eye of a serving girl who was pointing out missed patches as her father entered with the new fool beside him. Cyrella heard the jangling of bells, though the rest of the boy’s clothes were a plain grey - quite a departure from a usual jester’s outfit, but colour was not needed here.
“Cyrella, I need to speak to you.”
“Good morning to you as well father,” his daughter replied with a smile. Her father’s lack of cordiality was not unusual to her now.
“Good morning,” he replied as he took a seat in the corner of the room. The fool remained in the doorway. “I have someone I’d like you to meet. We have our own fool now. Peaches.”
The boy waved a jingling hand before remembering the girl’s lack of sight and wincing. A nod from Vaemond assured him the mistake was not a dire one. “Hello, m’lady Cyrella.”
“Hello Peaches,” Cyrella replied. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to appreciate your cartwheels much, but it is nice to meet you anyway.”
“He is not for your eyes, Cyrella. He is not even a fool, that is just his…official title.” Vaemond shifted in his seat, uncomfortable at the conversation that was to come. “He is to be your guide, your eyes, and your companion, when I’m not around.”
“Y-you’ll always be around, father. Don’t speak like that.”
“I don’t mean…” He sighed. “Peaches. Bethany. Leave us.” The pair shuffled off with some quiet goodbyes as Vaemond stood and walked to his daughter. “There will be times when I am unable to be by your side, Cyrella. When I am in meetings, or away from the city. When you are sent to ward-”
“What?” Cyrella’s shock was plain to see on her face. “I can’t be sent to ward father. I can’t.”
“I didn’t mean now, Cyrella. Perhaps in a few years.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” she asked, tearful. Vaemond’s heart broke at the sight of his daughter’s pain, and the thought that she might think so little of him that he would wish her gone.
“No, my sweet girl. Never. But it is normal for-”
“Normal?” Cyrella could barely get the word out, such was her distress. “But I’m not normal, father. I’m not normal!” At that she burst into fits of tears, and Vaemond quickly stepped towards her to cradle her head.
“No, you’re not,” he agreed quietly. “You are special, Cyrella. You are quick, intelligent beyond your years, brave, and kind. It would be remiss of me to let your blindness hold you back from the great things you can achieve. I will not always be by your side." A thumb gently wiped a tear from Cyrella's cheek. "Peaches can stay by you to be your eyes and you guide, as well as a friend." If Vaemond could be that person he would drop everything to do so, but it was not possible. He was a Lord working with the Master of Coin, and despite her blindness he was determined that Cyrella be sent to ward. It would give her the best chance, even if the thought of it pained them both...and perhaps her mother most of all.
He coughed away any emotion that threatened to break his voice and stood.
"Finish getting ready, Cyrella. We will spend the day together, you, Peaches, your mother and I. Anything you want." The concession brought a weak smile to the girl's lips and she wiped away the tears. His Lord's duties could wait. He would spend the day by his daughter's side, uncertain of how many they had left together and fearing the day the last one came.

HOW IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THIS TRACK?!?!
"Your New Home" perfectly demonstrates the exact emotions Pomni goes through at the end of the episode and paints an exact picture of every theme, context and implication. The track can be split into 4 stages.
The first stage is the most innocent: a sense of curiosity and processing. Pomni is transported into this impossible world of all these fantastical colours and circus themes that, on its own, trigger a sense of euphoric wonder. Throughout the episode, Pomni had a strong sense of hope regarding the exit door. She refused to believe that she could be stuck in such a world and desperately believed that, if she found this exit door, maybe she could escape. Stage 1 of "Your New Home" takes place in Pomni's mind as she processes the reality that she finds herself in. It's calm because Pomni's initial feelings of hope are still present as she slowly pieces together that her only hope has been crushed. Stage 1 then rises in its dynamic before seamlessly transitioning to stage 2.
Stage 2 of the track represents Pomni's initial feeling of shock, horror and over-stimulation. This part of the song is still in major and can still be considered happy if you take away the context; this is done on purpose. Pomni tends to process trauma with all her emotions. This is why she always laughs whenever she experiences emotions of dread. Stage 2 perfectly replicates the intense feeling of dread mixed with mania and euphoria, but the bright emotions that she feels quickly dissipates, bringing us to stage 3.
Stage 3 of the track represents the intense feelings of anxiety and terror as Pomni's initial manic response dissolves. The dynamics are just about the same as stage 2, if not just a little more intense, but those dark intervals and sustained high notes elevate the suspense of the music until we are met with a very brief window of silence, that can be seen as a deep breath, before spontaneously moving to stage 4: a cinematic major chord representing a scream of horror.
I believe this song perfectly represents what it feels like to have a panic attack. The bright stimulating show-runner themed music mixed with a sense of dread and anxiety is just all too familiar and I believe that the track is just pure genius. Even the ciruc/show-runner themes of the song hint towards the context of the panic attack: Pomni is trapped in a sort of hell where she is forced to perform in a circus for eternity or until she abstracts.
If you haven't already, open Spotify or Apple Music or whatever you use to listen to music and just listen to "Your New Home" with this analysis in mind. I've listened to this track for about 2 hours straight and I honestly couldn't help but tear up from how beautifully horrifying it is when considering both the composition, the production and the context. It is absolutely incredible that such a powerful and vivid story had been perfectly fit into a 1 minute track. I would expect nothing less from this incredibly detailed series.

The Kendrick/Drake rivalry, soft power and the fall of empires
My current hyperfixation is obviously the beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, which has taken to enormous proportions this last week (or days) in the culture, American yes, but not only that. This effort post, it is my attempt to link thoughts that I’ve had while following it, and especially arguments that I have read or heard coming from several people doing their own analyses.

Timeline

Well before the explosion of recent weeks between the two artists, they had collaborated in 2011 and 2012 on several tracks, and Drake, by then already a superstar, had even included Kendrick as the opening act on his tour Club Paradise. From 2013 onwards, however, their relationship tarnished when Kendrick took on several names in the industry with “Control”, including Drake. The majority took it pretty well. Not Drake. Over the several following years, the two have sent sneak disses at each other. Kendrick saw everything that is wrong with the rap industry personified in Drake, the man disgusted him, the very fact that he could exist and thrive made him retch. Drake, with his pop-infused hip hop, always ready to do features with trending artists to surf on the different fashions of the day in the genre, saw his ego swell alongside his success. And he couldn't stand being attacked, he has had beefs with too many people to count. Let's jump to March 2024, where Kendrick responded to J. Cole including him in the "Big Three", Drake, J. Cole, and himself with this line: "Motherfuck the big three, n**a, it’s just big me.” In April 2024, Drake released “Push Ups”, relatively unimportant in this affair, then “Taylor Made Freestyle”. That’s where shit exploded. Drake had used an AI on this track to copy 2Pac's voice, one of the giants of hip-hop. The Tupac Estate threatened him with a lawsuit, forcing him to delist the song. On April 30, Kendrick released “Euphoria” (Drake served as executive producer on both seasons of the series of the same name), a six-minute diss showing the extent of his contempt for Drake, threatening him throughout with retaliation if he didn't stay well above the belt (i.e. keep the family out of it—a social contract softened when Pusha T revealed the existence of Drake's son in “The Story of Adidon” in 2018). May 3, less than 72 hours after *Euphoria, Kendrick released “6:16 in LA”, where he implied that he had a mole in Drake’s entourage feeding him information. The same day, 15 hours after 6:16 in LA, Drake releases “Family Matters” with a music video, in which Drake appeared at the restaurant mentioned in Euphoria, and crushed a van of the same model that Kendrick had used in his early days and which appeared on the cover of his second studio album, “good kid, m.A.A.d city”. He talks about Whitney, Kendrick’s fiancée since 2015, accusing him of beating her, and of being an absent father.

meet the grahams, Not Like Us, BBL Drizzy & The Heart part 6

About fifteen minutes after Family Matters, Kendrick releases “meet the grahams”, a song with a horror movie beat, in epistolary form to each member of Drake's family, Drizzy himself included. Honestly, my mouth was hanging open from the first line “Dear Adonis [...]” (where he addresses Drake's son directly), I couldn't believe it. Imagine for a moment that a man who hates your guts interrupts your family stroll, kneels down in front of your six-year-old child, and says “Dear [Adonis], I'm sorry that this person is your parent” while looking straight into your eyes. The disrespect shook me. In Family Matters, Drake had gone where Kendrick had warned him not to go, his family. But Kendrick had anticipated that angle of attack, and dressed him down in meet the grahams a mere fifteen minutes after the last drop, accusing him of being addicted to gambling, to prostitutes, to drugs, of having a hidden and abandoned second child, of not really being part of Black culture, and even more damning, of being a pedophile, hiding other pedophiles in OVO, and being part of a child sex trafficking ring. I insist, this is not what is expected in your typical beef. Juicy details about cheating, addiction problems, sure, but above all good bars that get people excited and talking. Not allegations of that magnitude. Not a song that makes people widen their eyes and wonder where such visceral hatred comes from.
Less than 24 hours later, Kendrick drops again, with “Not Like Us”, this time a catchy club hit, with an energy the polar opposite of meet the grahams. The level of accusations remains the same, or worse. The difference is that this track had been made to play in clubs, and by its structure encouraged the crowds to harmonize on lines such as “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles”, or “Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A-Minor”. In my opinion, this is the moment when Drake lost the battle for the public’s heart. Everyone was stunned after meet the grahams, not really knowing what to do with this filthy beast, but it seems hard to come back when people are dancing and singing along to a track calling you a pedophile.
Of course, everyone was waiting and is still waiting for solid evidence on these allegations, from Drake sure, but more importantly from Kendrick. Nevertheless, it’s hard not to wonder the why of these damning accusations, and why at this precise moment (the trial of Sean Combs, aka P. Diddy, began in early April 2024 with very similar accusations).
On May 5, Drake released “The Heart part 6”. He responds to Kendrick's allegations, and ends the song without rapping, saying he’s disinterested with continuing this beef. In my opinion, and I think I speak for a lot of the people following the culture even a little bit, this ain’t it. The name of the song, the little sample at the beginning and the first line are the only solid parts of the track. Why say that he discussed and planned the leak about the alleged daughter with his entourage, only to five lines later say that the moles are clowns? Why not show the receipts with phone calls, or screenshots, when that would prove his stroke of genius? Why give Kendrick bullets when he accuses him of being a manipulator? And what’s with that unhinged read of “Mother I Sober”? To say Kendrick has an obsession with child-touchers because he was SAed as a child when he was talking about his mother, who suffered this horror in her childhood and couldn’t see past her trauma ? Going there is the mark of sick mind. Not to mention that even with that stupid read, plucking that string when Kdot accuses him of being a pedo with his full chest ? That’s damning. Or, while the P. Diddy trial is going on—after Weinstein, after Epstein and all these rich sex pests, defending himself from this accusation by saying that he’s too famous and respected? Is he out of his mind? Especially when for almost 15 years he’s been seen as a creep when it comes to girls way too young for him. And besides, why even name drop Epstein or Millie Bobby Brown on his own? The guy fuels the allegations against him when he tries to defend himself.
Not to mention that just before that, Metro Boomin dropped on his Twitter his “BBL Drizzy” beat with a challenge: the best bars win a beat from him, free of charge. Literal stroke of genius when Drake dissed him and told him to stick to doing drums. Malicious compliance at its finest. Thousands of up-and-comers from all over the world rushed into the breach. I was able to hear bars in Japanese, German, or French. To quote Drake, it's no longer 20 to 1, but thousands to 1, with a disstrumental where the diss is baked in. Just like Not Like Us, it doesn’t help him that the beat is an earworm.

Lol, who the fuck cares

Usually, I would say “more power to you” to those who don’t give a single fuck. But this hits different. Kendrick is not only attacking Drake but the entire culture industry (naming Weinstein in meet the grahams and using the word “industry” in every track starting from Euphoria). #MeToo was not very successful. Some wins, but overall, it wasn’t the revolution anyone hoped for. Way too much pushback from mainstream media. Attacking those giants is dangerous. For years, the hegemonic media has been abusing people who point at their attackers, the vast majority of them women accusing men. By asking about their dress, their perceived sexuality, the supposed kickbacks they’d get when blasting their abusers. We’ve seen this with Amber Heard, who, by physically defending herself from Johnny Depp the alcoholic, could not be the perfect victim, even though she fits all the other criteria: she’s white, she’s gorgeous, she’s talented. The list of people who were in Jeffrey Epstein’s Lolita Express has been published and…nothing. Or not much. On the other hand, right now, we have millions of people in all countries sharing tracks calling Drake and his entourage pedophiles, a global culture primed and ready for testimonies, even calling for them, if they exist. Imagine for a moment being someone who has had this kind of experience. Not the sordid details, but the anxiety, the fear of losing the small support network that you've been able to keep, the impossibility of filing a complaint when half the cop population are wife-beaters. Seeing Roman Polanski or Woody Allen parading around with a litany of allegations behind them. Contrast this with a moment when the culture dances while naming your abuser a pedophile, where it dissects his every word, finding filth in everything he says. Where thousands of artists put their best bars on a disstrumental ridiculing him. The court of public opinion is already on your side. It calls for you.

The important things

There is a genocide going on. Several, in fact. As I write, Rafah, the so-called “safe enclave” in which the Gazans have been forced to take refuge by the Israeli occupying army at the start of this phase of an ethnic cleansing that's been going on for more than 75 years, is threatened. Nearly a quarter of the clothing we wear goes through the hands of the enslaved Uyghur people in China. So why talk about a stupid beef between two very rich men? It demonstrates the power of soft power in the structure of global culture. It provides, in what I think a completely unexpected way, keys to possible solutions to all the struggles pitting the small against the powerful. Make no mistake, the soft power that we see with Kendrick and Metro Boomin clowning on Drake is not the one coming from the American empire, but the one from the African diaspora, from those that are still being enslaved in the American prison system, and resonates powerfully throughout the world. I absolutely do not recognize myself in American culture as it is introduced in propaganda blockbusters like Top Gun Maverick or other tools of the DOD to promote the illusion of the American empire. The messy and contradictory culture of hip hop, on the other hand, yes. Its homophobic delusions and toxic masculinity while it worships the ground that 2Pac touched. Tupac Shakur, a theatre kid who did ballet and presented himself dressed like a leather daddy at times. That culture I vibe with. Kendrick's demonstration of the power of cultural circulation at a time when we see the facade of the imperial core collapse, its criminalization of anti-war protests and climate justice activists, while we’re in the middle of public health disasters—no, covid is not over—, humanitarian crises, and climate chaos makes me weep with joy. It’s the only time I’ve laughed out loud and danced in the streets since the beginning of October last year. This is one of the rare moments where I understand with my guts Mariame Kaba when she says “hope is a discipline”. It’s been years since I’ve written this much. So let's diss our so-called elites. Let's dance while calling them murderers. Let's bang on pots every single time they open their mouths. Chuck some eggs their way. Let's stand in the way of cops trying to assault students occupying universities (funny, suddenly they're against territorial occupations, uh?). Let's create safe spaces for those who have the courage, the need, or the opportunity to go further.
I leave you with this incredible bop from Charlie Curlis-Beard using the application that the American government wants to ban: TikTok

HOW IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THIS TRACK?!?!
"Your New Home" perfectly demonstrates the exact emotions Pomni goes through at the end of the episode and paints an exact picture of every theme, context and implication. The track can be split into 4 stages.
The first stage is the most innocent: a sense of curiosity and processing. Pomni is transported into this impossible world of all these fantastical colours and circus themes that, on its own, trigger a sense of euphoric wonder. Throughout the episode, Pomni had a strong sense of hope regarding the exit door. She refused to believe that she could be stuck in such a world and desperately believed that, if she found this exit door, maybe she could escape. Stage 1 of "Your New Home" takes place in Pomni's mind as she processes the reality that she finds herself in. It's calm because Pomni's initial feelings of hope are still present as she slowly pieces together that her only hope has been crushed. Stage 1 then rises in its dynamic before seamlessly transitioning to stage 2.
Stage 2 of the track represents Pomni's initial feeling of shock, horror and over-stimulation. This part of the song is still in major and can still be considered happy if you take away the context; this is done on purpose. Pomni tends to process trauma with all her emotions. This is why she always laughs whenever she experiences emotions of dread. Stage 2 perfectly replicates the intense feeling of dread mixed with mania and euphoria, but the bright emotions that she feels quickly dissipates, bringing us to stage 3.
Stage 3 of the track represents the intense feelings of anxiety and terror as Pomni's initial manic response dissolves. The dynamics are just about the same as stage 2, if not just a little more intense, but those dark intervals and sustained high notes elevate the suspense of the music until we are met with a very brief window of silence, that can be seen as a deep breath, before spontaneously moving to stage 4: a cinematic major chord representing a scream of horror.
I believe this song perfectly represents what it feels like to have a panic attack. The bright stimulating show-runner themed music mixed with a sense of dread and anxiety is just all too familiar and I believe that the track is just pure genius. Even the ciruc/show-runner themes of the song hint towards the context of the panic attack: Pomni is trapped in a sort of hell where she is forced to perform in a circus for eternity or until she abstracts.
If you haven't already, open Spotify or Apple Music or whatever you use to listen to music and just listen to "Your New Home" with this analysis in mind. I've listened to this track for about 2 hours straight and I honestly couldn't help but tear up from how beautifully horrifying it is when considering both the composition, the production and the context. It is absolutely incredible that such a powerful and vivid story had been perfectly fit into a 1 minute track. I would expect nothing less from this incredibly detailed series.

A little idea that I had, Evolved Godzilla in GxK was just way too fucking cool, and I feel he was kind of underutilized. Especially for the extra little additions he had in his design, and in this story I want to put him up against the main threats that Goji himself had previously fought in the Monsterverse, just with his evolved state instead.
Will this be fair? Absolutely not lol, but will it be fun to write? Hell yeah.
Ao3 link if you want to read it there: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54956917/chapters/139311436
No one could have foreseen such a catastrophic event.

Ishiro Serizawa's heart pounded in his chest, threatening to burst entirely as sweat poured from his weary head. He couldn't sit straight upon the metal seat he had confined himself to, no one at Monarch could say otherwise too. The subtle rocking of the aircraft carrier certainly didn't help the pounding sensation in his head either, further adding to the stress placed upon the old doctor's mind. The sleepless nights ever since... it broke out had taken their toll upon the man, his brows furrowing as he clasped his hands together.

He had seen it for himself after all, to say Janjira was an absolute disaster would be the greatest understatement in the past century of human history. They thought they had everything under control, how could they not at this point? They had studied it for a decade without an end in sight, making sure that they could pull the plug on it. The kill field around the spore was capable of outputting enough electricity to power half a damn city...
And it shrugged it off like it was a jolt of carpet static.
In hindsight,he could do nothing but mentally curse himself over their own hubris. Monarch had become another example of mankind prancing its supposed control over the world, and the world was quick to put their arrogance into the ground. Nature came knocking, and its message was one that was echoed through the annals of human history.
Nature was a beast, a beast like no other. No amount of technology, science, religion or whatever else Mankind could conjure would ever be truly able to conquer and tame it. The creature that sprouted from the ancient spore exemplified such a thought like no other. Those deep crimson slits it had for eyes spoke of total and utter malevolence, like the world itself bored back into their souls... seeing red at them playing god.
"Sensei..."
He was broken out of his crushing thoughts upon the soft voice of one Doctor Graham, who was quick to sit beside the Japanese man when she had seen her mentor so deep and stuck in thought. The brit was always a comforting presence to him and to many other people at Monarch. Even if it did little to alleviate the old doctor's stress at the moment, it was something at the very least.
"Ah, Forgive me for my current state... there has been much on my mind."
A dry scoff emanated from the woman upon hearing his words, looking to the side of the doctor's head.
"There's been a lot on everyone's minds as of late."
Her shoulders sagged as she sighed, a finger of hers going up and rubbing one of her temples. The old doctor leaned back a little, looking up at his apprentice who looked no better than him in this state. The bags under her eyes said it all, she too was at the containment site when the creature emerged. They were lucky to have escaped relatively unscathed, the same could not be said for the Brody's.
"Has it been located?"
The old doctor's thick accented voice asked, rearing his head from his palm to look towards his apprentice. The expression on her face said it all, the shake of her head only cemented such a fact. The thought of that creature, being completely left unattended to and free to wreak havoc upon... anywhere for all god knew in the world was beyond horrifying to Serizawa.
"No... but I saw something in the audio readings..."
She paused, standing up and going towards one of the computer screens of the control room they were in. Tapping on the keyboard and bringing up something on the green tinted screen. The old doctor sat down in front of the computer, seeing that it was the audio patterns recorded through the minutes of hell when the creature broke free. He was unsure on what Graham wanted him to see, but she looked over from behind the screen and briefly gazed at him.
"Keep scrolling, before the EMP." She urged, as he complied to her request. Skimming through the readings, just seeing the spikes in audio through the graph made those chilling noises ring out in his ears again, but he kept going.
"This." She pointed and tapped on the screen, an all too familiar pattern to the both of them at this point. The call of the thing. But what really caught his attention was what sat right next to it.

A second call... a response.
Serizawa looked back to his apprentice at the realization of such a thing. It couldn't have been... could it? That second spore...
"A response." He muttered, his eyes wide as he considered the possibility of another MUTO having been awakened. But how? That second spore from the Philippine dig site that decade ago was wheeled off to storage probably far, far away from any source of radiation, unlike the spore in Janjira...At least to his knowledge. Writing this fact down onto his notes, he pondered such a scenario. As if things couldn't have possible gotten even more grim for not only Monarch but the world.
Vivienne went off to talk about with the other personnel present in the room, but quickly the attention of all those present was drawn to something else.
"We've received reports of a nuclear Akula 50, disappeared about 50 nautical miles from Hawaii." The voice of the officer was both heard by Admiral Stenz and the two Monarch scientists in earshot. Instantly that caught their attention, making Serizawa spring up from his seat and Vivienne to look over to face the Admiral. Stenz's gaze upon the two scientists still exhumed an underlying hint of contempt, one that the both scientists picked up on but disregarded for the time being. There were far better things to worry about at the moment anyways.

"A Russian sub's up and disappeared off the coast of Hawaii... could be the Muto." The admiral reiterated their own assumption that they thought of, and the screens behind the Admiral showed that they were about to get their answers soon enough...

---


The depths of the world were a place that human hands had not touched in many millennia. In times immemorial, when man walked alongside their gods... their titans, both lived in coexistence with each other. It was not one without conflict of course, but it was an existence of stability thanks to the efforts of beings were larger than life, to the eyes of men who were but ants to their splendor.
But as time flowed and the great wars began, when the aureate storm came and ravaged the lands, and when the crimson tyrant obsessed over total dominion upon nature...

One stood.

A king amongst the old gods of the world, the one that cheated death. The last one of a once great race, a guardian to all those who sided with his cause, that being the continued stability of nature. But to those that basked in anarchy, spreading it forth like a malignant cancer...
He was a monster.

And as the great wars raged on across the lands, the monster set forth upon innumerable battlefields. The auric wings of destruction found their match against the wrathful king, forging a rivalry etched into the very fabric of the world. The crimson tyrant learned to feel fear in his blackened soul, weeping in the shadow of the God-King.
In the end of it all, the king emerged victorious. But it was not a victory without bloodshed, not only of his enemies and himself but also of those he held dearest to him. The unwavering martyred in his name, The little ones caught in-between the battles of titans, his beloved queen...
Never again, he promised to himself. For all his might he couldn't save them. The queen would return, he knew that she wouldn't just fade away into nothingness like that. But that never erased the sorrow, the pain, the grief on his soul. He may have won the wars in placing the golden death in an icy prison and locking away the crimson tyrant deep below, but he was nearly destroyed in the process.
Defeat was never an option, and the wars had been the absolute closest the lord of the titans was to being gobbled up by the jaws of defeat. As of late the king of the monsters had decided that his form was not sufficient enough to cement his dominance over his enemies. Evolution was in order, to be a proverbial step ahead over what threats lied in wait, threats that he knew would come one day to jumpstart the cycle once more.
Evolve he did, the primordial minerals of the Hollow was something his kind always had been able to utilize, blessed with the ability to draw power from the crystalline materials. That was how they were blessed with their fire after all, but some sources yielded more interesting results. Said sources however were considered taboo to him and his lot, as there was really no telling what could possibly come out of consuming such things, the ones that did try usually succumbed to madness or explosive demises at the hands of volatile energies.
It was a gamble really, but one that ended up paying off. That fucshia-tinted nest of the serpent was quite the deposit of the volatile energy, one that she would never have let go without a fight. She was to be removed and besides, he already had a distaste for Tiamat anyway. Robbing him of the satisfaction of bringing down the rival that had cast him out from his territory long ago, and having the gall to side with the Golden One in the great war, and her being in the way of power that would make his job easier in the future was another thing to add onto the pile.

It was either her life or the world potentially being in jeopardy in the future.
A very easy decision that was to the leviathan.

Now transmogrified in the depths he remained, the crushing pressure of the entire ocean at this level made sure that very little life persevered here, let alone life that was intelligent enough to do anything to pose a threat to him. He rather enjoyed the relative silence, the only things being audible to him was the low churning of the rock all around him and the water rushing against his gargantuan form as he effortlessly glided through the water. Some peace and quiet was exactly what he sought, taking in those magenta crystals was quite the process he had to endure, but one that was worth the time to evolve.
The new form that he wore now was taking some getting used to, it felt like he had put on a completely new layer of skin to replace what once was. The lack of bulk in some areas was something he would have to rectify at a later occasion, but even then he hadn't felt so spry and filled with energy in a very, very long time. The more armored scales all over himself was something that he very much appreciated, the extra plates on his elbows and tail-tip were welcome additions of weaponry to use. Sustenance was in order if he wanted to regain his bulk and his home deep below would be able to quell the hunger he felt at the moment.

The peace ever since the last freeze proved to be a long one, but peace never was a permanent thing especially to him despite how much he would yearn and plead silently that it was. Despite the little ones unearthing him relatively recently, nothing seemed to come of it except for the strange incident at the remote atolls. Whether the little ones wanted to feed him or kill him was something that still eluded the leviathan but he definitely was displeased at seeing the damages that were incurred by the strange cylinder's detonation.
Continuing to trudge through the abyss and back to his home, the thought of him being overtly paranoid about all this crossed his mind. The innumerable sun cycles ever since the deep freeze started by the mother of ice marked a strange and silent point in his existence. At first it seemed too good to be true, but that first millennia going by without incident after the freeze started lulled him into a sense of security. Perhaps he was being overtly cynical about all this, evolving for threats that may never rear their ugly heads ever again. Had the Moth been around, perhaps the two of them could have finally gotten to "living a little." as the queen said to him.
A low grumble escaped the leviathan's throat, unheard to anyone in the depths as those bitter memories reemerged. How much he had wanted to have the "happy ending" that the goddess wanted not only for her, but for the both of them. A true sense of happiness was something that became a rarity to him long ago, when the wars first broke out at the auric death's arrival, it might as well have died alongside the queen in the last stretch of the conflict. He knew she would return, she would never be content to just fade way like that, even if it took millions upon millions of sun cycles for her to return, he would count down each and every day. In the meantime, he would ensure he did her and his own kind proud, continuing to tend to the lands as they always had done. But for now, home was calling.
When she did return, he would make sure that she would never fall to death's clutches ever again.

Come heaven or hell, he would make sure of it.


---

The air was tense upon the carrier, the two doctors watching the screens displaying the body cams of personnel on the ground. If a Nuclear submarine had gone up and missing near a relatively high-populated area like Hawaii would definitely be a cause for concern.

Especially considering there was a two hundred foot tall winged monster on the loose.

The nuclear submersible disappearing alongside the fact that the titan's main source of nourishment being radiation certainly painted a grim picture in their heads... that thing possibly being around, completely free to trample over the isles was a mortifying thought. The possibility of Monarch's secrecy to the public had now completely gone up in flames, but that was secondary to the potential millions that the existence of but one active titan could do. It was a nightmare born straight out of the darkest conceivable timeline to both Dr Graham and Serizawa, the top priority now in this dire situation would be to get a visual on the MUTO, and assess how to deal with it from there.
The men continued to march through the brush, being watched over by the two doctors from the screens, the night vision of the body cameras still doing little to give the clear picture to both of them. The disturbance that was picked up by the military at the very least was being taken completely seriously, both men on the ground and the air force had been called in for this, for a disturbance near Honolulu, combined with that sudden disappearance of that sub on top of the MUTO's escape probably had everyone on edge at the moment.

"We played god..." The old doctor thought to himself. How much he wished he could turn back time, destroy the damn spore the moment it had come to Janjira and nestled itself atop the irradiated wasteland. Nature was certainly giving him and everyone else at Monarch a hell of a lesson in not playing with flames they should never have even stoked in the first place.
"The consequences were bound to rear their heads at us eventually." Another thought ran through his mind, as he wiped the sweat from his weary head. Were they even able to do anything to the creature had they found it? He hated to be pessimistic, but considering the kill field around it's spore didn't even earn so much as a twitch from the thing as it was electrocuted... he had his doubts.

Though now... the prospect of him emerging again became very, very real.

"Gojira..." The old man whispered under his breath, to which his apprentice picked up on.
"Do you think he will come, sensei?" Graham replied back.

Had the tales been true, the old legends of a wrathful king emerging to weed out anything and everything that threatened the natural balance, Serizawa could only pray that forgiveness was something in Gojira's forte. They certainly did not give the King of the Monsters a welcoming taste of the modern world considering the in retrospect, utterly futile attempt on the King's life back in 1954 with Castle Bravo.
The aged man reared his bespectacled head to Graham, a look of uncertainty shining through his eyes.
"If the tales are to be believed... he will come. Nature's power will rise to alleviate the blight we have wrought upon it."
"We can only pray, that he does not consider us among the blighted."
Such words made chills run down Vivienne's spine, when Serizawa spoke in that way, she knew he was being more than serious. Others may have called his reverence of Godzilla as ludicrous, foolish even for placing his faith to tales of ancient 'uncivilized' humans, venerating what was 'just' a big animal. Serizawa saw it differently though, and while she couldn't exactly know why, she too believed in the old man's faith.
"I suppose we'll see." The English woman replied back, uncertain yet cautiously optimistic about it. Had Godzilla emerged due to the MUTOs, he would likely be at very least, focusing on them first and foremost. Whether he somehow knew that humanity was responsible for their reawakening was a scenario that she silently pleaded not to happen.

The eyes of all in the control room returned to the array of screens showing the men finally laying their vision upon something... it was hard to make out from the fuzzy vision of the cameras projecting the image and the nighttime darkness, but there was some sort of vague shape stuck up in the tree line. Was it the creature again? They got their answers quickly, when the group reared their lights upon the shape...
"Looks like we found your Russian sub." The stunned voice of one of the soldiers came over the comms, his camera completely frozen and transfixed upon the vehicle in very much not the appropriate terrain for it.
To everyone's total horror it was indeed the very submarine that was reported missing, stuck dozens of feet up in the tree line and from the looks of things, covered in some sort of viscous substance. Both the people watching from the carrier as well as the boots on the ground were all in utter shock, there could only be one thing responsible for the submersible's current predicament. The searchlights from the choppers above quickly got to scanning the immediate vicinity and from behind the suspended submarine... there was movement.
The choppers reared their way towards the flanks of the submarine, and everyone both watching and on the ground at that moment gasped from the sheer horror. It was not immediately spotted, but now with the illumination upon the side, the abyssal tinted hides of the MUTO once again showed itself... those crimson slits it had for eyes shining at the cameras like the uncaring gaze of a malevolent demon, the almost insectoid creature's dagger toothed jaws had been clamping down and munching upon the nuclear payload of the submarine. Just like they had suspected, these titans fed upon radiation. The question of if this MUTO was feeding just out of hunger or for something else crossed Serizawa and Graham's minds, but their current shock pushed it into the back of their minds.

"Cat's out of the bag now doctor..." The admiral's glare at Serizawa now returned, still maintaining a sense of calm but subtly the Doctor could tell that the current situation had definitely struck a chord within the man.
"No more keeping things under wraps, the public's safety is our utmost priority now." The admiral added, before going off elsewhere in the room as nearly everyone was sent into a complete panic as all hands on deck were sprung into action quickly, for the situation has now reached levels of potential danger that bode a grim outlook upon the local population on Hawaii.
Amidst all the panic now though, the doctors overheard another announcement from an officer manning the Radar...
"Second signature's coming in from the Pacific!"
Immediately, both doctors present knew immediately just who was coming... and just how utterly out of proportion this horrid situation that they already found themselves in had just gotten.

The king was coming.

For decades the great leviathan had remained docile and under the radar despite the uncalled provocation that was the welcoming he had received from Humanity in 1954, but now that Humanity had truly tipped the scales of the natural balance in a way that had never been shifted for countless millennia. Nature's power was to be called upon once more and Serizawa definitely wanted to be one of the first to witness such an event.
He sprung into action, quickly making his way out of the control room and into the busy halls of the manic carrier.
"Where are you going?!" Graham shouted as she followed the old man, nearly falling over due to the sudden rush.
"I have to see this!" Serizawa yelled back, his stride not breaking in the slightest as he practically sprinted for the main deck of the aircraft carrier.

As if History hadn't already been changed enough with the return of a Titan, now the very King of all the Titans was now coming. From the tales he knew of Gojira, while benevolent to the continued safety of the Planet he was also as capable of destruction like no other. As wrathful as he was merciful, for he himself was a true paragon of the two sides of Mother Nature itself, like the oceans as beautiful as they were yet capable of raging like no other...

He could only pray the his mercy graces humanity.

---

He had heard it.

Those familiar calls... reverberating through the murk, immediately being picked up by his senses.
A parasite.

The time of peace and introspection had now passed... and a king's work had to be done. Disorder had dawned upon the lands once more, and his services had been called upon once again.
Effortlessly, the leviathan shifted his course from headed back towards his undersea home and in the direction of the calls. The water around him raged and surged, heralding the king's incoming movements as he began to rise quickly towards the ocean surface from the crushing depths. This new body of his already proved its usefulness, the increased levels of energy that surged all around every ounce of his being giving him far greater speed than ever before. All that much better to address this tumor upon the balance he had tended and watched over from the shadows for all this time.
Rising and rising ever closer towards the water's surface, the moonlight gleaming through the waves that now swelled to be as large as trees to the beast's gigantic body waded past the waves. The adrenaline running through Gojira's veins were much like the very waves that he had kicked up now, driving him further and further as he felt his dorsal plates protruding above the ocean and knifing through the frigid air.
Focusing his eyes forwards and now seeing the deep abyss of the ocean give way to outline of land beneath the waves, he was close to making landfall now. Rearing the still massive bulk of his evolved form further and further towards the surface as he continued to trudge along... the subtle swishing of the air was audible to him, followed by the beating of what seemed to be... wings?
His momentary confusion was only furthered, as beams of light from all around traced over him and the beating and swishing grew louder and more intense as he travelled closer and closer inland. Averting his eyes up above and even through the rough waves he was kicking up, the lights seemed to have been coming from strange creatures that were tracking and following him as he swam.
They were nothing like he had ever seen before, those 'wings' that he had heard earlier spun around in a circular motion atop their strange looking frames, the lights attached to them were more like lamps that the little ones would use though even these ones were nothing like what he knew. What was stranger still, was that he could sense the little ones riding these metallic looking 'birds'. Truly strange creatures they had tamed, or maybe had even created but that was of little concern to him now.

If they still knew who he was, then they would stay out of his way.

Looking forwards once again now, the king was forced to slow down his current pace as what seemed to be an island came into his trajectory. Only upon another momentary inspection... this was no island at all. It was floating atop the water, the metallic material that made up it's land was a hallmark of being made by the little ones, much like the 'birds' that were illuminating him at the moment. It was less of an island and more like a manmade whale, and here too he could sense countless amounts of the little ones within and atop the 'whale'.
Rearing his body down below the waves once more, his dorsal plates narrowly missed ripping straight through the 'whale'. They were not his concern at the moment, and it would do him nothing to cause needless casualties towards the little ones when a potential disaster was running amok on the lands ahead.

Leaving the metal 'whale' behind but still having the 'birds' follow him from above, he picked up speed once more.

Land was ahead now... and a legend would voice his will once again.

2 weeks later Lauren and Greyson drove up to her new home with boxes and whatever she hadn’t sold. Lauren had walked through her empty home and said goodbye to each room wondering if she was making the right decision. The house was pretty much sold already and Lauren reminded herself to keep going.
“Audrey will come around Ma. She really will miss you and she doesn’t want to change. God forbid she tell you right out that she is going to miss you. “ Greyson said. Lauren hadn’t spoken to Audrey directly since she had told the kids she was moving. She had come over at one point to get some furniture and mementos and had been snarky the entire time that Lauren had been in the house. Lauren had had quite enough of it and went to the backyard to smoke until Audrey and her man of the week had taken off. They hadn’t even come out to tell her they were leaving. Lauren had had another good cry after that and then made herself margaritas with her mixer and called Natalie to come over for a good farewell bitch session. They had gotten tipsy and talked about ungrateful kids and sent nice little waves to Grace who huffed at them.
“Well, maybe she will and maybe she wont. She always favored your father and I never told her she had to pick sides but all the same she felt like she had to. The divorce was harder on her than it was you older two.She was only 8.” Lauren said lamely.
“I think Cora and I were just glad you guys weren’t fighting. Dad was great with us but he treated you terribly the last few years you were together and it was just so much easier to not hate him when you guys weren’t around each other. Audrey was definitely his favorite though and any time she came over he just made sure they did everything she wanted because he was afraid she’d hit puberty and would decide she didn’t like him anymore. Like Cora.”
“Well that makes sense. How’s you-know-who?” Lauren asked changing the topic.
“Miranda? Alright I guess. Her mom picked Liam up last night for the weekend so I could help you, says she called a month ago and sounded good. I don’t know if that means anything or not but I don’t think she is going to come back wanting to be Liam's mom. At least not any time soon. I don’t really care, she had him and that was the deal. That’s all I asked for. I’d have supported the other way too but I really hoped she’d just let me keep him. She told everyone who asked she didn’t want kids. Everyone. I kind of wonder if she’ll want to meet him and be afraid to because everyone will expect her to be someone to him.” Grayson drummed his fingers anxiously. Lauren couldn’t understand this arrangement that Grayson and Miranda had. She kept wondering if it wasn’t some form of depression or something but Grayson insisted it wasn’t. He’d had Liam all to himself from day one and never complained.
“You think taking this was too impulsive? The job? I didn’t even do a face to face interview. It was on that skype thing. Eric set it all up. It’s legit but maybe I should’ve driven up first to check it out. Maybe I’m just running scared.”
“Maybe it was but taking risks makes your life exciting. Besides, I hate thinking of you alone in the house waiting for something bad to happen.” Grayson patted her leg. “Besides you said there were discounts on cabins and I’d like that. Plus unlike the last job, if Liam gets sick he can hang out with you when he can’t go to daycare.”
“I would like that.”
They pulled onto a winding dirt road and drove another 10 miles. The woods on each side of the road pressed in on them. It was a nice feeling. It was quiet out here and Lauren appreciated it. She had thought she would be more scared to be alone out here but she found herself looking forward to it now. Settling down and maybe a beer.
The GPS took them toa large sign marked Camp Thellgar in front of a fork in the road, one marked OFFICE and the other marked CAMPING. They turned into the OFFICE fork on the left. A man sat on the porch at the first building they came up to. He shaded his eyes and stood as they approached. Lauren took a shaky breath.
“Does my eye still look weird?” Lauren asked Grayson.
“Nah, the makeup covers whatever is left. It looks a little off I guess but I don’t think anyone would guess why. You’re old, he’ll think you had a stroke more than likely” Grayson teased. Lauren let out a high pitched laugh and took a deep cleansing breath.
“Hi I’m Steven Connor, you’re Lauren Jackson I hope.” Steven stuck his hand out for her to shake.
“I am indeed. Nice to meet you, you look different in person.” Lauren said laughing. He did, he looked older than he had on the computer, tired maybe. Steven shrugged. “This is my son Grayson, he’s helping bring my stuff up for me.”
“Right, good of you to help your momma. Come right in here. This is the main office, just off of what will be your cabin. Initially they were one in the same but years back we decided the caretaker could use some more privacy when we added more cabins in. The cabins have only been part of the deal for about 15 years, before that it was just the tent sites. No electricity on those. They’re a little easier to maintain. This time of year we mainly get people who want to use the tent sites, families out for a day hike. Summer rolls around and you’ll be pretty busy. We hire help from the nearby towns, you’ll let them know what to do but you’ll need someone in the office most of the day. There’s an alarm here that will pop up on your phone, when synced with the app of course, that way you can be out on the grounds. There’s an ATV for getting around a little easier. You’ll be in charge of taking reservations and handling the payment, cleaning up the campsites when they leave, looking in on them to make sure they’re kept up. Same with the cabins. Do a thorough cleaning and dust once a week. Aspen Cunningham, that’s the girl from town, she’ll be up every other day to assist with cleaning out the cabins. Here’s the card for Aspen, the card for a maintenance guy we use, Roger, and my card if you need to get ahold of me.” Steven led her from the office which was a small front room with a storage room behind it. Off of that there was a door with a good lock that led into a small house. It came in by a small half bath and then stairs leading to 2 bedrooms upstairs and a full bathroom. Next to the stairs a door led into a small living room with a few bookshelves and a dated TV, past that a kitchen with a dining area. It was cozy and Lauren was in love immediately.
“The last guy was pretty organized, we have our own binder we put together for new employees, he made his own as well. I skimmed through it, mostly a heads up on common maintenance issues. There’s a copy of maintenance performed on each cabin and site that also goes in the main book that’s stashed in the office.” Steven handed her a heavy worn binder.
“I’ll go ahead and start bringing in your stuff mom.” Grayson said backing out the main front door that didn’t lead into the office. Lauren followed Steven into the office and he showed her where anything she could need to find would be. She watched a safety video that featured Steven’s family, made when Steven was a kid. His smiling face running around in the background.
Grayson hung out for a while after Steven left. Lauren was overwhelmed and felt exhausted. She wandered through her new house while Grayson made her spaghetti. She laid on the bed. It was firmer than she was used to but it was ok.
After they ate Grayson hesitantly left. Reminding her to call if she needed anything, asking if she was sure she wanted him to leave. Lauren had a feeling he would’ve spent the night if Miranda’s mom didn’t have Liam. There was a firepit in the backyard so she got a fire going and sat back watching the flames while she drank a beer. She thought about getting stoned but it felt too new here and she was afraid of freaking herself out. The noises of the woods were relaxing. It felt quiet. Quiet was exactly what she needed.
The next few months went quickly, Lauren got in a groove of checking all the sites in the morning and doing general maintenance. Aspen, the girl who cleaned, came up twice a week not every other day like Steven had said. She was a sweet girl and spent a few hours dusting and vacuuming the empty cabins. Lauren and her got along really well and Lauren was grateful for the company. Summer came and Lauren was busy, she barely left the office it seemed. If it wasn’t reservations, it was families asking for maps of the trails or information on the town below. It was a nice busy. Lauren had expected the cleaning to be worse than it actually was, most people cleaned up after the campsites before they left. Fall came and the people started to slow down, most of the people she saw were people hiking the trails and less camping By November she was slow again.
One day her phone went off alerting her to a visitor in the office. She jumped on her ATV and headed back up. There was a small run down car waiting when she pulled up. Lauren ran her hands through her hair as she entered the door. 4 middle aged women stood waiting patiently.
“Sorry, I was a little further out today, how can I help you? Cabin?” Lauren asked, coming around the desk.
“Where’s Jim?” One woman with darker hair asked.
“Jim? Was he the man before me? I’m afraid he doesn’t work here anymore. Just me, I’m Lauren. Regulars?” Lauren grabbed the binder from underneath the counter and flipped through until she came on regulars. Scanning the list she found a November regular, along with a few other months. “Ok, here we are. It says the Helgas, tentsite 42. Yes?”
“That’s right, what happened to Jim? I'm surprised to see that he’s gone.” The dark haired woman handed over her credit card and tapped on the table anxiously. The other women moved around like they were trying to look as if they weren’t paying much attention.
“Not sure. No one really told me and I didn’t think to ask. I’ve been here since late spring, right before the summer rush. “ Lauren felt like she was being judged by the women.
“We’re particular about our privacy.” One of the women from the back said, trying to sound casual.
“That’s no problem, I won’t need to come by until you leave.” Lauren assured them.
“Jim left the entire area alone. I mean, we prefer to be left completely alone.” She clarified. Lauren was taken aback but nodded. After they left and had driven off she looked back down at the binder.
Helgas
Camp site 42
November Full Moon
December 21
March 21
Require all sites in the area empty. 3 day reservations. Noise level low, some disturbances.
Lauren closed the binder. She’d flipped through it before but obviously hadn’t retained much information. It occurred to her that this wasn’t in the main binder. She picked up the company binder, flipped through until she found regular reservations. Nothing helpful from the last 10 years. She booted up the computer and pulled up the spreadsheet. There it was. Reservations, regular. A list of people and campsites and cabins. The program was designed to automatically block off the areas that were supposed to be reserved. Campsite 42 was not on the list for today. Maybe because it was a full moon reservation and not a specific date? Lauren flipped through December and it wasn’t in there either. She sighed. Lauren went to the main screen and added in the December reservation and it stopped her. Ok. So it's here somehow. Or it wouldn’t have stopped her. But it doesn't show up. It’s hidden. Lauren crossed her arms and dropped her head down. She wasn’t completely computer illiterate but she really didn’t know how to see this. The last guy, Jim? Jim. That guy must’ve done something to the computer system. Why would he have done that? He did all the reservations. Unless he didn’t want the company itself to see. They could log in through the main office and see what was going on up here. There was another location they owned and the computer program was designed to work with that one. Lauren shook her head and sighed. Maybe she could get ahold of Steven and ask about Jim.
Lauren opened Jim’s binder again. There were only a few regulars that didn’t have reservations that showed up in the company system. By the time she was done it was dark outside. Lauren sighed and shut everything down. She locked up the office displaying the note to ring the doorbell. The doorbell that alerted her phone to a visitor that would need checked in. Lauren wasn’t worried about it, not in November. It was warmish for November but still cold. No one hunted up here because it had too many people walking up the trails, further out maybe but they would rent a cabin ahead of time if they stayed up here and on the weekends.
Lauren went into her kitchen and got a jar of chili out of the fridge. Cora had made some and sent it home with her after Saturday dinner a few weeks ago. It was easy to heat up. She got a glass of wine and started a fire in the fireplace to warm the house up. She turned the tv on and laid across the couch until she could smell the chili. She’d had a bus day and found herself drifting off before she’d finished eating so she cleaned up and took herself to bed.
Lauren found herself awake in the forest. Barefoot. It was silent. Completely silent. Lauren cautiously spun around trying to get her bearings. She saw movement off to the right. Her heart stopped, she looked over trying to make sense in the dark. Something moved next to the trees, an animal? Lauren took a step toward it without thinking.
Someone or something stepped out wearing an animal skull. Deer? Lauren couldn’t think through her fear. The clothes were baggy and run down. Like a t shirt over loose black pants tied up with a rope and black cardigan. With a black long jacket.
“Who are you?” Lauren asked, dazed.
“I should ask you the same thing. Where is the keeper?” The thing asked, but it wasn’t said aloud, she heard it in her head.
“I-I don’t know. I just got hired here a few months ago. My friend's friend helped me get the job.”
“Then the Keeper sent you here.” The thing insisted
“I don’t think so, the man before me, I didn’t know him.”
“I see. What did they tell you about this place?” The thing asked, circling her. Lauren realized it was tracing her with a skeletal finger.
“How to take reservations and how to clean.” Lauren murmured, trying not to look as scared as she felt.
“I could tell you.” The thing offered. Lauren felt her anxiety rise up and suddenly felt like she needed to be gone. She shouldn’t trust this thing, whatever it was.
“Um, no thanks.You could-could tell me who you are though.” Lauren said instead
“I’m insulted is what I am. You’ll have to figure out who on your own.” With that he was gone and she was in bed sitting up breathing hard. The raspy voice still echoing in her head.
Lauren blinked. A dream. It was a dream. But it had felt real. She checked her feet and saw that they were clean. A dream.
Lauren’s whole day was off after that. Everything looked sharper almost and she found herself pinching her arm to make sure she was actually awake. She avoided the tent sites circling around with the Helgas but found herself inspecting the rest of them carefully, unsure of what she was looking for. After that she rode down to the cabins and did a quick inspection, checking the windows for torn screens and the doors for any sign of break in, double checking the lock. All good. Lauren was done early and decide to walk one of the trails to shake off the oddness. There weren’t a lot of trails she hadn’t already walked so she picked one of the harder ones and grabbed her backpack with snacks and water.
In the months since moving up here she had grown stronger from the work and the access to trails. Anytime she felt herself slipping into a depressive episode or started thinking too much she would go on a long trail and try to exhaust herself. At some point she had started running in the mornings although had stopped in the last few weeks because of the cold and how long it took the sun to rise. Lauren ran a few miles awkwardly with the backpack and then slowed. There was a not well used trail off to the side. She was certain she was still on the company's property but had not seen this one before so she cautiously went off the main trail and headed down it. It didn’t take long for it to grow darker with the trees overhead. There were still nature noises but they seemed almost muted. Lauren pinched her arm just to make sure, it definitely hurt. She was definitely awake. Lauren pulled her camera out of her bag and began snapping pictures of the area around her, partly to remember where she had come from and partly because she was in awe of the area around her. It was beautiful out here and the trees made her feel small and light. She checked her phone and saw that it was nearing dark. She stopped and drank some water before turning around. Lauren moved at a brisk pace as she headed back and almost missed the flash of light off to her left. But as such she had just managed to catch it and it stopped her in her tracks.
“Hello?” Lauren called out, if it was a hunter she had run into, which she didn’t think it was, not as close to the campgrounds as they were, but if it was she wanted it clear they were dealing with a person. No one answered her though. She hesitantly stepped off the trail and walked toward it. She couldn’t think of anything that would flash out here. Cameras? She wasn’t aware of any out here but it had never occurred to her to ask anyone. Regardless, she should check to see if it was a camera before she asked about there being any. She came to a massive tree. She craned her head back and light hit her eyes so that it was difficult to make out the top of the tree. The branches started low giving her a compulsion to climb upwards. Off to the side of it the roots rose up seeming to form a circle. Lauren took a few pictures of it without thinking. She got as many different angles as possible. She had seen roots that came out of the ground but had never seen one that formed a perfect circle. Lauren looked around and realized that it was dark now, she checked her phone and saw the battery was almost drained. She had been here for 3 hours. Lauren blinked and shook her head. 3 hours? That was impossible. She started shaking and spun around when she realized how silent it was, even for night time.
SNAP
Lauren gasped and took off running. She didn’t think about anything other than heading back in the direction she had come. Adrenaline coursed through her and she felt like she was running faster than she had before. It was dizzying how sharp everything was and how fast it seemed to go by her. She hit the main trail and kept running. She could feel her energy start to dip and she pushed herself harder. By the time she emerged from the woods she fell on the ground sobbing and gasping for air. She grabbed a fistful of grass with one hand and put her other palm to her mouth to stifle the sobbing, screaming sounds she was making. It felt like an hour of laying on the ground trying to collect herself. It was one of the Helgas that found her.
“Are you ok? Ma’am? Guys! She’s out!” Lauren heard the thinner of the group yelling for her friends to come help The 4 of them lifted her to a sitting position and tried to get her to respond. Eventually Lauren started to come to and her breathing returned to normal.
“What happened? “ The dark haired one asked firmly,
“N-n-nothing. I-I-I don’t know. I was in the woods and I heard… I don’t know. I’m so sorry, I have no idea what came over me.” Lauren stuttered. Trying so hard to reign her emotions back in. “Nothing, I just lost track of time there and I guess I got myself spooked. I have quite the imagination. What are you guys doing here? Was there something you needed?”
“We came up to see if you were ok, we were doing a little night hiking and saw you running and we followed you.” The dark haired one said. Lauren thought she was lying but didn’t know why she thought that.
“I could use some wine honestly, would you 4 like some wine?” Lauren felt like she was drunk as she walked back to her back door, the short one linked her arm in Lauren’s and walked with her steadying her.
“Wine sounds nice, we have some back at camp, we could get ours and bring it back.” She told Lauren in a soothing voice. A mom voice.
“Nonsense. I always stock up in town, I have plenty. I’ll get a fire going and-”
“We can get the fire, you get the wine and Addy here will help you bring out the glasses.” The dark haired one gestured to the short one who smiled and headed toward the door to open it for Lauren.
Lauren had 2 wine glasses and used regular glass cups for everyone else. She grabbed a couple bottles of red wine she’d gotten clearanced out after Halloween, the bottle had a blurry outline of trees and Lauren had felt it looked so magical she’d bought 6. Of course it wasn’t her favorite so now seemed like a good time to try to offload a little.
“I’m Lauren by the way, I know that’s Addy, who are the rest of you?” Lauren asked as she and Addy passed out glasses and poured wine in front of the fire.
“I’m Sara. “ The dark haired one said taking a generous drink from her cup
“I’m Therese.” The blond smiled and waved,
“I’m Rian.” The thin one said, pronouncing it Ree-ann.
“Is this a girls trip? I hope I didn’t mess anything up.” Lauren asked, pulling her blanket from the house tight around her. The fire was nice and warm but not warm enough to fend off the November chill.
“You didn’t mess anything up, honestly we were hoping to speak with you anyway. We knew Jim fairly well, I guess as well as you can know someone you only see 3 times a year. He had a pretty good idea of what he’d signed up for when he started but we got the feeling you didn’t and we were curious.” Sara said, watching Lauren’s face intently.
“I guess I don’t. I’m not sure what you mean.” Lauren said, wondering if they were crazy. The witchy types who came out here to dance naked in front of a fire and sing before going back home to suburbs and corporate lives with toddlers and teenagers. Lauren had dealt with those types over the summer but not very many.
“Well how did you get the job?” Therese asked, spinning the wine in her glass like she’d already had a few before they started.
“A friend of a friend. I was looking to make some changes in my life and he thought I would be a good fit here.”
“The Keeper?” Sara asked, leaning forward.
“I don’t think so. He just seemed like a regular guy. Who is the Keeper? “ Lauren asked nervously. The woods looked darker and it occurred to her that she didn’t know if she could beat them back in the house if she wanted to run. Then she remembered the Keeper comment from her dream, now hazy but still there.
“The Keeper doesn’t do a whole lot from what I can tell, not directly I mean. He just keeps information and contacts who he needs. He got Jim hired on, we don’t know much about him, we’ve personally not seen him ourselves. We’re not sure if he changes every so often but as far as we know it’s been the same person always. These woods are full of magic you see and not all of it is good magic. “ Sara explained. “We come out 3 times a year to make a blood sacrifice to Eglas. He or She, is a … something. Hungry mostly. Instead of one person we use 4 or 5 sometimes. Same amount of blood and no one dies. Occasionally one person will donate more for a favor but it’s not often.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Lauren said dumbly.
“He/She said they came to visit you last night. They said that you didn’t know much about your job. Eglas seemed very angry so we came to help you” Rian told her.
“There’s not much to your job. You keep the grounds maintained and then you make sure that we are able to do our work. I don't know what else is in the woods but I know about Eglas. My family has for at least a century come out and offered blood to keep Eglas satisfied. When they started settling the area, they disturbed a lot of spirits. Eglas was curious and found the taste of human blood to be… good I guess. Eglas would go into homes and take people, in the beginning it was a lot. Most families fled the area, but the ones who stayed came to Eglas one night and offered to give him what he wanted if he backed off. Or she, really Eglas has no real gender. It’s a fairy or demon, I’m not sure. Either way, Eglas was satisfied with a person a year but that got old quickly, not a lot of people lining up to do that obviously, they really weren’t getting a lot out of that deal back then, they could farm the land peacefully and that was it. One day a young farmer offered himself but when it came time he talked Eglas into changing the deal, a little from the strongest men in town. Eglas got the best there was and it was willingly. Eglas threw in the part about 3 times a year since the body wasn't included in the deal. That’s the lore anyway.” Sara told her story well, moving her hands and body, changing her pitch like a natural born storyteller.
“I think fairy because it makes the most sense with the woods and the deal making. You don’t have to believe us yet, you will eventually, but we come out here and do our ceremony and leave.” Addy told her.
“That sounds, nice.” Lauren said hesitantly. She drank more and could already feel the events of the afternoon fuzzing away.
“He’ll come to you again tonight, you’ll know who he is now. “ Therese said, smiling nicely.
“And you’ve done your ceremony already?” Lauren asked, trying to see if there were cuts visible. The girls nodded and Addy pulled her pants down showing off a long cut on her thigh. Lauren hissed through her teeth at the sight of it.
“Oh it’s not so bad. It hurts but it always heals quickly like it was never there. “ Addy assured her.
“Jim knew about this? “ Lauren asked, remembering a note in the binder about them being .
disturbing or something
“Yes, he did.. He knew before he started though. It kept him safe. We were a little worried that leaving you to the wolves so to speak, that you wouldn’t survive.” Rian explained.
“I’m afraid I’ve worn myself out. I think I’ll go to bed.” Lauren said, getting up carefully. The women were nice company and Lauren couldn’t think of the last time she had sat around the fire with anyone, but the conversation made her nervous. They looked at each other and nodded.
“We leave early tomorrow but I’ll leave my card on your door, you can call if you need anything.” Sara assured her.
Lauren didn’t get into bed as much as she collapsed into it. Her legs ached already and she knew that she wasn’t getting around much tomorrow. Between the wine and adrenaline wearing off, Lauren was able to fall asleep quickly.
She was out in the woods again. She must be dreaming because she wasn’t hurting.
“Do you know who I am?” The creature asked in her head again. Lauren couldn’t see the creature but didn’t feel the need to look for it either, just stood waiting.
“Eglas.” Lauren answered out loud. There was a chittering sound that somehow sounded pleased.
“Smart woman. I have been watching you.”
“I’d prefer you didn’t.” Lauren said dryly.
“You have questions.” Eglas stated.
“I can find answers.”
“I can give you answers if you ask me. It’s easy.” Eglas encouraged.
“Nothing is ever free and I have no intention of indebting myself to you. Accidentally or otherwise.” Lauren said, making herself clear. Eglas chuckled out loud and Lauren heard a swooshing through the trees. Lauren involuntarily shuddered.
“Have it your way, but you know where to find me.” Eglas said.
Lauren woke up the next morning as sore as she thought she would be. She managed to drag herself out of bed and to the bathroom and pulled on sweats that could pass as clothes. She thought that was the advantage of getting older, no one expected as much fashion wise. Lauren considered sitting on the stairs to go down but pushed through each painful step until she was in the kitchen. Ibuprofen and a freezer meal with a bottle of wine and she headed to the living room. She’d be close enough to answer any visitors if they came but she could sleep on the couch or watch tv. Lauren couldn’t find anything interesting on tv, or not enough to block out the clear dream she’d had last night that seemed to stick to her. When the ibuprofen kicked in she felt good enough to sit up, she looked around the room and noticed the bookshelf was getting dusty again. There were books on the shelf that had come with the place but Lauren had never really looked at them before. After flipping through movie selections and still not seeing anything she could find any interest in she got up and wandered over to the shelf. Reading the titles she figured out why she hadn’t wanted to read them before. History of the area mostly. Then a book about ghosts in the area, that sounded like it could be interesting. When Lauren was a kid she devoured books about ghosts. Next to it was a book without a title, it was slim and blended with the other books well. Lauren grabbed it as well, mostly curious. She settled back on the couch and pulled the blanket around her. The book was interesting, the usual ladies in the woods and drowned men, children warning of danger. Then there was a chapter that mentioned Elgas.
TRANCHLURE
He arose from the mud, hungry,ravenous.
He crept through the trees and on the strange mist observant first.
When the people came and Eglas fed He found a way to satiate the hunger and then slept for years and was awoken
He massacred the nearest town and those who lived in the woods found a way to drive him back into the caves, not dead but mostly sleeping until someone falls into his cavern, never to return.
Was it about Eglas? She didn’t think so.
Lauren went into the office and grabbed the binder that mentioned the Helgas. Even the binder was coded though obviously.
With her limited knowledge though she was thinking that they were groups of worshippers coming to celebrate differently. Lauren wondered if she could order some books on astrology to understand it better.
She opened up another book on fairies, but this had highlighted sections. A recipe for some kind of tea to see fairies. In the side there were some notes on things to leave out around the forest, offerings for the spirits. Lauren traced the handwriting and wondered if it was Jim who had written it or someone else. Apples was what it said.
There was a ring telling her someone was here. Lauren got up again carefully and headed in to the office. A man with a sleepy toddler on his shoulder stood waiting. He looked haggard and nervous.
“Cabin?” Lauren asked softly.
“Uhm, yes please.” He said.
“Any preference? You kind of have your pick this weekend.”
“Something toward the back.”
“Alright, cabin 15, more towards the middle honestly but it branches off so it’s a little more secluded?”
“Yes sounds fine. ‘
Lauren handed him his keys and a small map and sent him on his way, she then hobbled back to her couch. Sighing, she went back to the original book and started a story about a woman who had gotten lost in the forest and run into a sprit offering wishes. A wispy in between soul. Lauren noted that the spirit could be found by a landmark she knew. Slowly she started to doze.
Again she found herself barefoot in the forest.
“Hello again.” He or she whispered in her head
“Hello. Why am I here again?” Lauren asked dreamily.
“Because I am a generous soul. The man came today to ask for a favor from the fairies, he bought his offerings but he failed to realize he had put his daughter in danger. She’s gifted, she’s why he knows to come here. She’s also hit the magician and witches' radar, he needs protection.”
“Ah, and why do you care? There’s always a price.”
“I’ll protect her, for a price, obviously, just a little blood offering. From him if that isn’t clear. I need you to go and tell him my offer before his daughter is spirited away. Awaken now.”
Lauren woke up suddenly, she was annoyed and irate at being ordered around. But she got up and found a card that Sara had offered her the night before. Nervously she rang the number.
“Hello?” Sara answered.
“It’s Lauren, are you far away? “ Lauren asked, wondering how her rational world had changed in such a short span of time.
“Not far at all, maybe a mile.”
“Eglas, came to me, he wants to offer his services to a new camper here.”
“We’ll turn back around immediately.”
A few hours later Rian stood at the office smiling.
“It’s been taken care of, I didn’t realize what you being here meant. You’re the new Keeper.” Rian looked on at her with admiration.
“I don’t think so.” Lauren said firmly.
“You are, whether you know it or not, that’s why you’re here. Eglas might’ve told you that was why he was coming to you but he told us.” Lauren didn’t like the culty feeling she was getting off of Rian right now.
“Well, I don’t know what that means, I’m a caretaker, a well paid caretaker. Not a Keeper for things I don’t believe in. “
“I don't know much about the Keepers, but I have a very strong feeling that you should find the person who sent you here and ask some questions. I don’t know as much as the other girls about the magic in the forest but I do know that the fairies have an affinity for ceremony.”
After a few days of thinking, Lauren finally made a call to Eric. Eric was due up today.
Eric came to the regular front door instead of the office door.
“You’re the Keeper.” Lauren said without saying hello.
“Yes. Jim was a Keeper as well, but he… Well he isn’t anymore. You are up for the position obviously. I’m assuming you brokered a deal for someone out there if you figured it out. Which is accepting the position.”
“I don’t know about any of this. Eglas came and told me a girl was in trouble. I offered protection through another group that I know offers blood sacrifices. I feel like I’m too old to be any sort of Keeper. “
“Well it’s in your blood. That’s part of the reason you were chosen. The night you came to me I had a day of signs, then I heard about Jim. I was thinking of sending another established Keeper to this area and then I saw you. One big sign. I watched you for a few days and then I made the decision to send you up here. You have done very well so far. “
“Is there like a meeting for this? An instructional booklet? “
“I’m guessing Jim left a book of notes behind. He was good about notes in his day and when he realized he was coming to an end he told me he would leave things behind for whoever came next. I’d just look for books and binders.”
“But I don’t understand it.”
“Well you’ll have to learn fast”
“Rian said there was likely a ceremony.”
“There is an introduction. You’ll spill your blood by a great tree that connects all of the mountain. You’ll be recognized and the creatures will know to come to you.”
“What kind of fairy tale is this?”
“The kind that you’re a part of. “
“If it’s in my blood shouldn’t I know something?”
“I guess not.”
Lauren stood in front of the tree on the next full moon, freezing and nervous. The Helgas joined her for emotional support. Lauren held a sharp knife and sliced her hand to let the blood flow over the ground. Energy started from the ground and worked its way up her feet and through her body. With her feet firmly planted it felt as if she came up out of her body and rose above the trees, like looking through a microscope if she concentrated on a certain area she could see everything going on. At first she thought she saw people, but it was much too late for that. They were creatures. They roamed and played. I could see everything.
Welcome to Camp Thellgar

I recently posted about the mbta looking into electrification of their commuter rail system. Digging through the docs I was able to find their requirements. It definitely is a detailed request which is good since it minimizes the chance of something being missed. Being thorough is great since they really seem to want to get this right. This isn't a half assed thing. With this info, what can we deduce from it in terms of companies qualified to meet the requirements? For example is this something keolis could handle or would an outside company be better suited? I can't answer that but also take this time to debate about it. It is a ton of info so it's no surprise things will take a while to make progress.
"MBTA is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to gather views on the potential contractual arrangements to be implemented on expiry of the current contract, and to deliver the Regional Rail concept. The main potential roles which could be procured separately or together as part of a Regional Rail contract or contracts would be: • Passenger service operations • Legacy rolling stock maintenance • New rolling stock provision, maintenance and finance/leasing • Infrastructure management (including O&M and dispatch) • Delivery, finance, and long-term maintenance of major capital works including electrification In response to this RFI, MBTA is seeking input from those who have experience as and are interested in undertaking a role as any or all of the following: • Passenger service operators • Infrastructure managers/Operations and Maintenance • DBFOM/DBFM Investors/Developers • Rolling Stock Maintainers • Rolling Stock Lessors • Rolling Stock manufacturers (OEMs) MBTA is issuing this RFI to engage with the market as a first step in informing the development of its future procurements and contracts. Through this process, MBTA aims to develop procurements and contracts that align with current market expectations and delivery capability, attract sufficient interest during the bidding process, and lead to a modernized railroad. 2. Requested Information (RFI Response): Please provide a response to the questions below. Supplemental material or appendices are not included in that limit. Responses should be submitted RFPresponse@MBTA.com and should address the following. A. Cover Letter (1 page) Please provide a cover letter which includes the name, title, phone number and email of a single contact within the organization or team of organizations responding to this RFI, for the receipt of all subsequent questions regarding this RFI. B. Interest and Experience (3 pages maximum) Please answer the following questions: 1. In what role(s) in a Regional Rail future operating model would your organization be most interested in participating (whether or not such role is described above)? 2. Is your organization interested in that role as part of a joint venture/team or solely under a direct contract? 3. Does your organization have experience in any role of modernization (such as significant frequency or infrastructure improvements) of existing rail services? 4. Has your organization previously been involved in a major project to decarbonize or electrify a new or existing railroad? 5. Has your organization previously undertaken work in an environment with multiple different operators, such as passenger and freight rail operators? 6. Please describe any recent, relevant experience your organization has of performing any of the above role(s). A one-page illustrative summary is sufficient. 7. Are there any contract delivery models that your organization would or would not be interested in participating in? 8. Does your organization have a history of including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or Environmental, Sustainability, or Governance (ESG) commitments as part of contracts? Please attach either your DEI or ESG statements if you feel it is appropriate. 9. Would your organization be interested in sharing your views in more detail at a confidential one on one meeting? 10. MBTA would like to attract sufficient interest in the next contracts to ensure the bidding process provides good value to the taxpayers and the riders. Are there any specific topics (such as risk transfer, asset condition information, project financing, etc.) that may influence your decision to bid, and which you would like to discuss in more detail at the confidential one on one meetings? Additional more detailed questions will be asked as part of the confidential one on one meetings. Example questions can be found at the end of this RFI. C. DEI, ESG statements and Marketing Materials (no page limit) Please enclose any DEI, ESG statements or marketing materials you believe are relevant. 3. Next Steps Upon receipt of responses, MBTA may request more information at one or more in person or virtual one on one meetings with your organization or team of organizations. Responses to this RFI and any one-on-one meetings will be used to assist MBTA to understand current capabilities, market appetite for contract structures and to evaluate the respective merits of moving forward with one or more procurements. 4. RFI Calendar
Procurement Activity Date RFI Published March 15, 2024 Deadline for RFI Responses April 19, 2024 at 2pm EST Request for One-on-One meetings Week Commencing April 21, 2024 Timing for One-on-One Meetings May 2024

5. RFI Format 

Please submit RFI responses in MS Word, or Adobe PDF formats. (MS Word version must be Microsoft Office 2010 or later and Adobe formats must be version 10.0 or greater). Please do not use embedded or nested documents within other documents. 6. Conditions The information and views contained in this RFI are preliminary in nature and are subject to change in the future. Responses to this RFI will not be scored or evaluated in connection with any procurement. Information submitted may be subject to disclosure. Any specific aspects of any response that a respondent believes to be confidential should be marked accordingly. MBTA will endeavor to keep any information marked as such confidential, to the extent permitted by law. MBTA's receipt or discussion of any information related to this RFI or responses to this RFI, does not impose any obligations whatsoever on MBTA. Response Form The below form is provided for your convenience but is not required for the response. 1 In what role(s) in a Regional Rail future operating model would your organization be most interested in participating (whether or not such role is described above)?
2 Is your organization interested in that role as part of a joint venture/team or solely under a direct contract?
3 Does your organization have experience in any role of modernization (such as significant frequency or infrastructure improvements) of existing rail services?
4 Has your organization previously been involved in a major project to decarbonize or electrify a new or existing railroad?
5 Has your organization previously undertaken work in an environment with multiple different operators, such as passenger and freight rail operators?
6 Please describe any recent, relevant experience your organization has of performing any of the above role(s). A one-page illustrative summary is sufficient.
7 Are there any contract delivery models that your organization would or would not be interested in participating in?
8 Does your organization have a history of including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or Environmental, Sustainability, or Governance (ESG) commitments as part of contracts? Please attach either your DEI or ESG statements if you feel it is appropriate.
9 Would your organization be interested in sharing your views in more detail at a confidential one on one meeting?
10 MBTA would like to attract sufficient interest in the next contracts to ensure the bidding process provides good value to the taxpayers and the riders. Are there any specific topics (such as risk transfer, asset condition information, project financing, etc.) that may influence your decision to bid, and which you would like to discuss in more detail at the confidential one on one meetings?
Sample One on One Meeting Questions The questions below are a sample of the questions that will be discussed as part of on the follow up one on one meetings. The questions are divided by potential roles, acknowledging that there will be overlap depending on which roles any given organization is interested in pursuing. General Questions • Do you prefer an unbundled approach? Is this based on any specific experience? • What term do you think the contract should be? • How long would the contract need to last to transfer asset management risk effectively? • How should bonding be structured to give MBTA protection in the most cost-effective manner? Passenger Service Operators • Are you willing to share revenue risk? What control would you need to manage that risk? • Do you think new rolling stock should be procured by the operator? • Where do you see the responsibility split between train operator and OEM/Lessor? • How would you see a relationship with an infrastructure operator working e.g. delay causes? Infrastructure Managers/Operations and Maintenance Providers • Are you willing to assume risk delivering or integrating electrification work? • If so, are you open to being part of a DBFOM partner joint venture or do you prefer project delivery partneintegrator role? • Do you have experience implementing asset monitoring systems and in their use to enable preventative maintenance programs to reduce cost and increase safety? In you experience what approaches have provided best value? DBFOM/DBFM Investors/Developers • What are you views on a P3 approach that includes rolling stock and the necessary electrification infrastructure and support facilities (like RSSOM)? In that case how would you ensure the input of the train operator is cost effectively incorporated in the design/performance requirements? • Do you have appetite for systems integration risk? • What do you believe is best practice to manage the competing needs for track outages for construction and passenger service levels/reliability with a DBFOM project on an operational railroad? Rolling Stock Maintainers • How much appetite do you have for refurbishment work on legacy rolling stock? • How practical/ cost effective would a move to predictive maintenance be with the legacy Diesel fleet? Rolling Stock Lessors • What factors determine whether and how much residual value risk you are prepared to take on a fleet? • If the train operator were the lessee, are you prepared to consider novation to a subsequent operator if the MBTA provided a continued lease guarantee/commitment to act as lessee of last resort? Rolling Stock Manufacturers (OEMs) • Do you provide lease financing or prefer to work with financial lessors? • Do you provide Technical Support and Spares Supply Agreements for long-term contracts (such as up to midlife)?"

Hey all. I recently posted about the mbta looking into electrification of the commuter rail system. Digging through the docs I was able to find their requirements. It definitely is a detailed request which is good since it minimizes the chance of something being missed. Being thorough is great since they really seem to want to get this right. This isn't a half assed thing. With this info, what can we deduce from it in terms of companies qualified to meet the requirements? For example is this something keolis could handle or would an outside company be better suited? I can't answer that but also take this time to debate about it. It is a ton of info so it's no surprise things will take a while to make progress.
"MBTA is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to gather views on the potential contractual arrangements to be implemented on expiry of the current contract, and to deliver the Regional Rail concept. The main potential roles which could be procured separately or together as part of a Regional Rail contract or contracts would be: • Passenger service operations • Legacy rolling stock maintenance • New rolling stock provision, maintenance and finance/leasing • Infrastructure management (including O&M and dispatch) • Delivery, finance, and long-term maintenance of major capital works including electrification In response to this RFI, MBTA is seeking input from those who have experience as and are interested in undertaking a role as any or all of the following: • Passenger service operators • Infrastructure managers/Operations and Maintenance • DBFOM/DBFM Investors/Developers • Rolling Stock Maintainers • Rolling Stock Lessors • Rolling Stock manufacturers (OEMs) MBTA is issuing this RFI to engage with the market as a first step in informing the development of its future procurements and contracts. Through this process, MBTA aims to develop procurements and contracts that align with current market expectations and delivery capability, attract sufficient interest during the bidding process, and lead to a modernized railroad. 2. Requested Information (RFI Response): Please provide a response to the questions below. Supplemental material or appendices are not included in that limit. Responses should be submitted RFPresponse@MBTA.com and should address the following. A. Cover Letter (1 page) Please provide a cover letter which includes the name, title, phone number and email of a single contact within the organization or team of organizations responding to this RFI, for the receipt of all subsequent questions regarding this RFI. B. Interest and Experience (3 pages maximum) Please answer the following questions: 1. In what role(s) in a Regional Rail future operating model would your organization be most interested in participating (whether or not such role is described above)? 2. Is your organization interested in that role as part of a joint venture/team or solely under a direct contract? 3. Does your organization have experience in any role of modernization (such as significant frequency or infrastructure improvements) of existing rail services? 4. Has your organization previously been involved in a major project to decarbonize or electrify a new or existing railroad? 5. Has your organization previously undertaken work in an environment with multiple different operators, such as passenger and freight rail operators? 6. Please describe any recent, relevant experience your organization has of performing any of the above role(s). A one-page illustrative summary is sufficient. 7. Are there any contract delivery models that your organization would or would not be interested in participating in? 8. Does your organization have a history of including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or Environmental, Sustainability, or Governance (ESG) commitments as part of contracts? Please attach either your DEI or ESG statements if you feel it is appropriate. 9. Would your organization be interested in sharing your views in more detail at a confidential one on one meeting? 10. MBTA would like to attract sufficient interest in the next contracts to ensure the bidding process provides good value to the taxpayers and the riders. Are there any specific topics (such as risk transfer, asset condition information, project financing, etc.) that may influence your decision to bid, and which you would like to discuss in more detail at the confidential one on one meetings? Additional more detailed questions will be asked as part of the confidential one on one meetings. Example questions can be found at the end of this RFI. C. DEI, ESG statements and Marketing Materials (no page limit) Please enclose any DEI, ESG statements or marketing materials you believe are relevant. 3. Next Steps Upon receipt of responses, MBTA may request more information at one or more in person or virtual one on one meetings with your organization or team of organizations. Responses to this RFI and any one-on-one meetings will be used to assist MBTA to understand current capabilities, market appetite for contract structures and to evaluate the respective merits of moving forward with one or more procurements. 4. RFI Calendar
Procurement Activity Date RFI Published March 15, 2024 Deadline for RFI Responses April 19, 2024 at 2pm EST Request for One-on-One meetings Week Commencing April 21, 2024 Timing for One-on-One Meetings May 2024

5. RFI Format 

Please submit RFI responses in MS Word, or Adobe PDF formats. (MS Word version must be Microsoft Office 2010 or later and Adobe formats must be version 10.0 or greater). Please do not use embedded or nested documents within other documents. 6. Conditions The information and views contained in this RFI are preliminary in nature and are subject to change in the future. Responses to this RFI will not be scored or evaluated in connection with any procurement. Information submitted may be subject to disclosure. Any specific aspects of any response that a respondent believes to be confidential should be marked accordingly. MBTA will endeavor to keep any information marked as such confidential, to the extent permitted by law. MBTA's receipt or discussion of any information related to this RFI or responses to this RFI, does not impose any obligations whatsoever on MBTA. Response Form The below form is provided for your convenience but is not required for the response. 1 In what role(s) in a Regional Rail future operating model would your organization be most interested in participating (whether or not such role is described above)?
2 Is your organization interested in that role as part of a joint venture/team or solely under a direct contract?
3 Does your organization have experience in any role of modernization (such as significant frequency or infrastructure improvements) of existing rail services?
4 Has your organization previously been involved in a major project to decarbonize or electrify a new or existing railroad?
5 Has your organization previously undertaken work in an environment with multiple different operators, such as passenger and freight rail operators?
6 Please describe any recent, relevant experience your organization has of performing any of the above role(s). A one-page illustrative summary is sufficient.
7 Are there any contract delivery models that your organization would or would not be interested in participating in?
8 Does your organization have a history of including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or Environmental, Sustainability, or Governance (ESG) commitments as part of contracts? Please attach either your DEI or ESG statements if you feel it is appropriate.
9 Would your organization be interested in sharing your views in more detail at a confidential one on one meeting?
10 MBTA would like to attract sufficient interest in the next contracts to ensure the bidding process provides good value to the taxpayers and the riders. Are there any specific topics (such as risk transfer, asset condition information, project financing, etc.) that may influence your decision to bid, and which you would like to discuss in more detail at the confidential one on one meetings?
Sample One on One Meeting Questions The questions below are a sample of the questions that will be discussed as part of on the follow up one on one meetings. The questions are divided by potential roles, acknowledging that there will be overlap depending on which roles any given organization is interested in pursuing. General Questions • Do you prefer an unbundled approach? Is this based on any specific experience? • What term do you think the contract should be? • How long would the contract need to last to transfer asset management risk effectively? • How should bonding be structured to give MBTA protection in the most cost-effective manner? Passenger Service Operators • Are you willing to share revenue risk? What control would you need to manage that risk? • Do you think new rolling stock should be procured by the operator? • Where do you see the responsibility split between train operator and OEM/Lessor? • How would you see a relationship with an infrastructure operator working e.g. delay causes? Infrastructure Managers/Operations and Maintenance Providers • Are you willing to assume risk delivering or integrating electrification work? • If so, are you open to being part of a DBFOM partner joint venture or do you prefer project delivery partneintegrator role? • Do you have experience implementing asset monitoring systems and in their use to enable preventative maintenance programs to reduce cost and increase safety? In you experience what approaches have provided best value? DBFOM/DBFM Investors/Developers • What are you views on a P3 approach that includes rolling stock and the necessary electrification infrastructure and support facilities (like RSSOM)? In that case how would you ensure the input of the train operator is cost effectively incorporated in the design/performance requirements? • Do you have appetite for systems integration risk? • What do you believe is best practice to manage the competing needs for track outages for construction and passenger service levels/reliability with a DBFOM project on an operational railroad? Rolling Stock Maintainers • How much appetite do you have for refurbishment work on legacy rolling stock? • How practical/ cost effective would a move to predictive maintenance be with the legacy Diesel fleet? Rolling Stock Lessors • What factors determine whether and how much residual value risk you are prepared to take on a fleet? • If the train operator were the lessee, are you prepared to consider novation to a subsequent operator if the MBTA provided a continued lease guarantee/commitment to act as lessee of last resort? Rolling Stock Manufacturers (OEMs) • Do you provide lease financing or prefer to work with financial lessors? • Do you provide Technical Support and Spares Supply Agreements for long-term contracts (such as up to midlife)?"

5.6.2024 - Brampton -: 16:00- 21:49
I should be able to wave pff thilis student debt.. all that o get from it .. os lost time.. not education and poor nutrition.. meanwhile being followed around by police and firfighters.. with paramedics spontaneously popping up.

See I thunk forbthem. They want me to speak catholicly or cheistian.. and say some Mark of the Beast nonesense.. but they could ornwould have already made.. the mark of business.

Plus the whole @ScotiaBank Time travel thing is like a play on phonetics.. because id be in brampton have nothing but indians imported.. they could design illnesses to make me #Sihk because id look to clarify samsara.

Plus what is the business..

Construction workers and police are all european .. white and maybe some token melanated person just so my political or genetic opinion could be emulateed or really populated.

There isnt two prime minister or president positions.. but see the mind can be designed to create sufferages.

So its probably the asian and whites in colleges and universities connsulting with idk.. maybe tactics of history.. like I wouldn’t be surprise if these ideas or diverted focuses are just some consulted presence of dark magic or psychology paired with something else?

Because the way I see it the officers .. firefighters .. paramedics are really just out deiving around… taking capital interest from a sector they wouldn’t have a calling for..

Their probably picking and choosing and recording the whereabouts of individuals.

Plus the wauy I see it.. whotes are probably recording inputs from my minds oscillation.. and usong this construction or policing time to develop counters.. so expanding in areas that arent in their interest.. just.. colonialising industries or ideas… but see this is probably intentional.. because what policing and construction sectors mainly composed of?
Communication and Mathematics… so the other side is.. they probably have teachers herding certain races…

See and because id be an obvious identifier.. they wouldn’t want me in those sectors because they know how to take apart openings.. and find themselves in areas id cohabitate.

So this would be intentional.

See because the main componen of white is usually autumn coloured hair tones.. be interacial bonds.. id make a similar composition.. and because the assumption is there are seculatizations in those fields.. like with police.. the taller person doesn’t have to drive or patrol…

Mean while..in construction roles may be based off of seniority amd because this may be based off of how school gaculty manage race graduation rates.. seniority Is a reflection of grade attainment.

[
This data could get skewed in the future because .. darkskins could and would eventually score high markes in the current funneled focus of STEAM ]

But heres the thing.. darkskins still have access to produce individuals of my kind and skin.

This is skewed again because even amongst that regard.. North America can eliminate that breading cycle … and eliminate the ability to have representation and move towards singularity.. but blacks wouldn’t have the resources to manage preservation.. plus with multiculturalism.. other races could take what they please.. but the psychology would be of a conflict of interest.. so a darkskin like Kendrick Lamar could side with asians or east African type women.. but he would have inflicted insight into his hues magnetism.
Kendrick likes Coffee and Cream.


So thi composition and theory would be dead because there isnt any collection of what a person intakes into and for their influences.
However im assuming police and telecommunication comlanoes study individuals.. to make these decisions they can impose and practice in the shadows of politics and within the economy.
See there is also an issue with sight here.. the mind cant be fully protected because they can still disolve an opinion from what they see.. and still can make judgements and decisions.
They would be able to gather details on my skin tone.. Height Relative weight Voice and tone Body type. Colour or fashion choices
So there is data they are gaining from me cohabitating amongts them..
Basically Uoft and following institutions and occupations would have done something to take away my democracy.
Where this goes is how these industries plan on rebuilding or changing life based from their ideals..
In a world decomposed of these systems.. the fundements would be.. how is paper and pens are created.. how are vehicles made from scratch..
Im assuming its questions like these that they circulating towards their influence and power.
3:39 Dixie Road 5.6.2024 Mississauga.
So these industries could have ornsolicit their daughters wearing revealing things.. playing off of thr ecosystem..so using depravity and the lack or presence of to benefit them...
So technically there should be some saction from all this..
See they wouldnt say there is a need for me or God because i dont socialize or its made that I dont socialize with these individuals because they are in a system of schoff.. Black men would gain the benefit of inbedding ill thouhts supported by supports of those in the Police , Firefighter and construction sector.
So even right now with the Hurontation LRT... this would be a long standing support of particular and secularize genocide.. because it would only support a certain race or composition of ethnic representation.. further creating the imbalance of democracy.
See in this sight you could say that id be sided with Indians.. and those that are part of civil engineering maintenance..
[ Leave the project alone. It shoelws I have no say.. but there is solid evidence
That whites in Ontatio know how this system works .
Indians come into the country and whotes position themselves to be buoyed by this race.
See black men would be the dou le minded oppurtunity.
Whotes probably the women.. are into the sectrade selling themselves.. they are trying to conceal well and savings they have...
Its towards the purpose of begging.. but more so to spread inferiority.. because fifa world cup is coming up.. its to that point of seeing that they are the only ones with claims to provisions... meaning they have people who have disolved or taken on an opinion that isnt theirs.
Tactics trying to force me out of comfort..
Taking me away from my work.. moderated colonialism.
Its in the oversight of whites to see to how theyll evolve. With me alive they get a precondition.. with technology data.
They are definaetly talking about it.. its obvious by body languag and locations members within this are stationed.
If i position upon culture and hair.. ud have to build from the ground up.
I think what this is.. is multiculturalism has made a choice..how i may understand it is.. mayne the military isnt enough to maintain secularize societies..
And parts of Ontario have made plans .. 6-12 years in advance of how the future is shaped.. and now others are sourcing parts of the culture as theirs.
[ There is money in culture ] and knowing this others can cross brtween sectors.. through money.. so i can talk about whites and certain oarts of ontario where indians may be more prevalent in the wcononic system like the food sector.
Because most of these races can blend easily and their diets are very similar..
They can bypass political or genetic claims that pursue the fundements of genocide.
Ie.
Whites may be in construction but South Americans and Indians and Middle easterns can blend inorder to appear uniform..
Because there is no unity amongst blacks.. these sectors..
[ Public Service ] Police , Firefighters, paramedics , posible city workers and those in military or who has access to systems that can monitor or follow me.
Because the cukture is not enclosed.. anyone can source from it..
Its clear for them in these sectors to act passive or uncultured.. dressing down.. or trying to assimilate with colors.. Whereing blacks.. to say .. reap or hatvest from blacks and whats left of it... Or grey to denote a pursuit for law .
Or for instance women saying they can dress in panties in public and sports bras.. stating that.. because they own modernity.. they are granting access for younger women to be solicited or chained into the sex or rape trade.. because thats how this society is.. privacy is only earned once infornation is revealed..
I think this is a trend because .. inperfect the closest individuals to the truth or sacredity are those that wear cloth.. cocer what can remain a mystery.
But also those that do not supplement life with falsity or anything synthetic.
Because much of what this is is concealing a true measure.
See thats just a state of mind but..a generational toxin .
5:59
You got to think what is the resolve to all this.. id be in a system where education means what? Imposed illness for publicating rational thought? Occupied by ideas that dont have any place in society..
What id assume is mirrored implications..
This opinion or state of think can only exist if others not membered to the observation prosper or have a position of stability.
Democracy is only reintroduced by the options or .. logical thinking still having the ability to express a free will.
Because money and an economic system Exist this removes the possibiliy of ending samsara .. through use of hanging.. fire arms , incineration... leaving only adaptive measures to carry out death.. ones that can benefit those that are stable or exist under an umbrella.
So - Poison - MAID or oral IV- Sedation
Etc.
[Authors Note] Prototype model..
System still meeds to be moderated and reproof.
Will let this sit for a while.
Biases - OSAP repayments - Prolonged Networks or delayed animation proposals for Breakfast Television and other platforms - Hair damage...Mushrooms not growing - Celibacy energy range is not ideal.. 2 days without excercise
A day if just walking
Would require a component of occupancy.. just a cognitive or hobbyist occupancy

• Also competition or coaching for younger sports.. cardio..

Hello all! I hosted one of the original Stun Gun nerf discussions 2 months ago now, and the animosity towards the gadget grew exponentially from that point onward. Here we are, post nerf, and I can say with confidence that Embark missed the mark. If you remember my sentiment, or for those unfamiliar, my biggest gripes with Stun Gun were it's inequitable punishment of melee, its promotion of bad team-play habits and its overall one-note usage.
My words then still apply now: "I think Stun Gun, in its current state, is unfit. But there has to be a creative avenue that Embark would see that could change everything for the better."
That creative avenue never came. We were given dull changes that solved none of the gripes many people had/still have with Stun Gun while ruining the promise of what could be an excellent tool for Light players. It's been a lose-lose change, so let's talk about why.
Melee is still absolutely cooked by Stun Gun. Not everyone runs evasive dash & not everyone runs charge and slam. Frankly, forced specializations that cannot be changed during matches are not fair or effective solutions to counter a gadget. You also need to have the specialization charged. Riot Shield players have no tools at their disposal to deal with Stun Gun. To have your weapon of choice be shut down entirely by a gadget is an unfair trade and it has not been remedied.
The lack of team-play has also not changed, which in my opinion is/was an even more important issue that affects everyone, not just the player being stunned. As it is now and as it was before: Stun Gun promotes a team-separate, lone-wolf style of play that is incongruent with the team-centric nature of The Finals. As Light's gadget kit has been both developed and re-tooled since launch, it's clear that Embark has no intent to make Light completely separate from the team dynamic. Gateway is for the team, Invis Bomb is for the team, Sonar Grenade & Tracking Dart are for the team. So, with Stun Gun, that intent is ultimately undermined. There are ways Stun Gun could fit into the team dynamic, but with its previous and current iterations it still does not.
With this, the usage of the Stun Gun remains unchanged yet less effective. Stun Gun has lost its Piss & Vinegar against the majority of players while still demanding boring, repetitive gameplay that frustrates your enemies and punishes your teammates. It's comical that this change also managed to leave Melee players cooked. Stun Gun is no longer good at what it did, and is now no longer good at anything since it was not given the opportunity to shine in a new light (no pun intended).
The consensus is unchanged: Light needs help. The build struggled before and it struggles now to find itself as a useful addition to the meta. With Embark's inability (or lack of desire) to thoughtfully incorporate Stun Gun into the team dynamic: they've left Light even weaker than they were before. Stun Gun needs a quality reimagining that allows it to be powerful yet congruent with the gameplay language of The Finals.
Let me know what you think about what I've had to say, whether you agree or disagree I'd like to hear it. Any ideas on how Stun Gun and Light can be thoughtfully boosted into the meta would be appreciated!
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in The Finals.
Chrome.

Hello all! I hosted one of the original Stun Gun nerf discussions 2 months ago now, and the animosity towards the gadget grew exponentially from that point onward. Here we are, post nerf, and I can say with confidence that Embark missed the mark. If you remember my sentiment, or for those unfamiliar, my biggest gripes with Stun Gun were it's inequitable punishment of melee, its promotion of bad team-play habits and its overall one-note usage.
My words then still apply now: "I think Stun Gun, in its current state, is unfit. But there has to be a creative avenue that Embark would see that could change everything for the better."
That creative avenue never came. We were given dull changes that solved none of the gripes many people had/still have with Stun Gun while ruining the promise of what could be an excellent tool for Light players. It's been a lose-lose change, so let's talk about why.
Melee is still absolutely cooked by Stun Gun. Not everyone runs evasive dash & not everyone runs charge and slam. Frankly, forced specializations that cannot be changed during matches are not fair or effective solutions to counter a gadget. You also need to have the specialization charged. Riot Shield players have no tools at their disposal to deal with Stun Gun. To have your weapon of choice be shut down entirely by a gadget is an unfair trade and it has not been remedied.
The lack of team-play has also not changed, which in my opinion is/was an even more important issue that affects everyone, not just the player being stunned. As it is now and as it was before: Stun Gun promotes a team-separate, lone-wolf style of play that is incongruent with the team-centric nature of The Finals. As Light's gadget kit has been both developed and re-tooled since launch, it's clear that Embark has no intent to make Light completely separate from the team dynamic. Gateway is for the team, Invis Bomb is for the team, Sonar Grenade & Tracking Dart are for the team. So, with Stun Gun, that intent is ultimately undermined. There are ways Stun Gun could fit into the team dynamic, but with its previous and current iterations it still does not.
With this, the usage of the Stun Gun remains unchanged yet less effective. Stun Gun has lost its Piss & Vinegar against the majority of players while still demanding boring, repetitive gameplay that frustrates your enemies and punishes your teammates. It's comical that this change also managed to leave Melee players cooked. Stun Gun is no longer good at what it did, and is now no longer good at anything since it was not given the opportunity to shine in a new light (no pun intended).
The consensus is unchanged: Light needs help. The build struggled before and it struggles now to find itself as a useful addition to the meta. With Embark's inability (or lack of desire) to thoughtfully incorporate Stun Gun into the team dynamic: they've left Light even weaker than they were before. Stun Gun needs a quality reimagining that allows it to be powerful yet congruent with the gameplay language of The Finals.
Let me know what you think about what I've had to say, whether you agree or disagree I'd like to hear it. Any ideas on how Stun Gun and Light can be thoughtfully boosted into the meta would be appreciated!
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in The Finals.
Chrome.
​

For years and years I only knew 1 or 2 PIG songs (in addition to the awesome PIG vs. KMFDM EP of course), but I never got around to a proper listen until recently. It's amazing how his newer stuff sounds like an overall evolution whereas a lot of the older stuff sounds like a missing puzzle piece to KMFDM.
After going thru all 12 albums a few times, here's my ranking. Just curious if someone else has heard all 12 too.
​
12. Candy
Although PIG's style is very unique on this cover album, it's just not a style I can get into. I'm not a fan of his slower tracks in the first place, and this goes way beyond that.
​
11. The Gospel
It just seemed like PIG was still trying to find his footing after a long hiatus. There's only a few songs that sticks to me, while the rest suffers from an identity crisis of sorts.
​
10. Praise the Lard
Since I'm not a big fan of the pre-UAIOE era of KMFDM, PIG's first two albums don't appeal too much either. Whereas his debut has a certain rough yet slightly innovative edge, it just became a bit too drawn out on this album for me. "Blood Slicked Highway" is a classic though.
​
9. Risen
I think that this was a better effort than The Gospel. Since it's the same era as "Prey & Obey", it also signified a small leap in PIG's popularity due to the random uptick of fans. It would be a few more years until things became more well-rounded, but this was a step in the right direction in my opinion.
​
8. A Poke in the Eye
PIG's debut album was a lot more chaotic and fearless than any other release by him, but it's for the better. In some ways, I might like this even better than KMFDM's first two albums.
​
7. Sinsation
Although songs like "Painiac" and "Volcano" are superb, there seems to be a bit too much repetition on this album. In any case, it's unfortunate that Nothing Records couldn't push it to the same extent as, at the very least, Prick's debut album. It could've done much better in the US.
​
6. The Merciless Light
PIG's newest album to date has a lingering feeling of acceptance. It's hard to describe, but there's a lot of elements on this album that simply sounds expected, but in a good way (most of the time). This one is about half-and-half for me.
​
5. The Swining
This seems to be the era where PIG finally drove everything home. At this point, every album ranked I like more songs than I dislike on an album. "Blades" is an absolute classic, and although most folks probably prefer one of the later remixes, the original is what I stick by.
​
4. Pigmata
In regards to all of PIG's albums, Pigmata was the one that had to grow on me. At first I hated it, but then it crept up on me. I feel like PIG was trying to introduce some then-modern structures to his songs here, but since he never dived fully in, his style remains in clear form.
​
3. Wrecked
With tracks like "No One Gets Out of Her Alive" and "Contempt", this album was a head-on assault of creativity. It hits all of the right marks, although I wish the three remixes got cut down to just one at the minimum.
​
2. Pain Is God
Despite being a newer album, Pain Is God holds up to the '90s era of PIG. It took a few years for him to reach a certain spot, and it was well worth it when this album came out. The remake of "Kickin' Ass" is quite honestly just an added bonus of flavor when compared to the majority of the other tracks.
​
1. Genuine American Monster
I can understand why some folks dislike this album. Some of the songs are more straightforward in nature, and it might seem a bit more accessible than usual, but I think it works superbly. Whether it's the full-on style of "Prayer Praise & Profit" or the catchy "A Fete Worse Than Death" or the bizarre yet satisfying "Saved (Locust Remix)", the album seems simply well-rounded. Over the past 20+ years, my favorite KMFDM album changes on a random basis, and so the same might happen with PIG (probably Pain Is God or Wrecked at this point). But for now, it's Genuine American Monster.

First
“Ma’am, we’ve got contacts.”
And so it begins. Captain Mary Flowers stood on the bridge of the battleship Indomitable Spirit, surrounded by flashing consoles, hum of machinery and methodical tapping of the bridge crew. Her plush chair seemed to offer even less comfort than usual. The atmosphere on the bridge was simultaneously tense and subdued.
Six colonies have burned so far, the few refugees carrying with them the news of cleansings, orbital bombardments and savage executions of anyone unfortunate enough to get caught.
“We have 97 confirmed transit emissions. Scratch that, 201. 298. Intelligence has finally delivered. Three enemy fleets right on time Captain.”
Her crew was well trained and dependable and after a year of non-stop training she had every bit of confidence in them. Lieutenant Brown was a prime example. He was a skilled sensor tech with multiple recommendations under his belt, as most of the officers had to have to even be considered for a post on a battleship.
“417. Seems I gave Intelligence too much credit. 513.” Brown’s voice began losing its upbeat tone, as the number climbed higher. “814… 909… 1013.” By the end all colour drained from his voice. A silence settled on the bridge as her other officers stopped just to process the information.
With 57 vessels under her command she was already in for a fight against the predicted 3 fleets. Concordat’s ships were much smaller and less defended than humanity’s counterparts, but even then 20 to 1 odds seemed impossible to beat.
“Time before they’re in range?” Her cold icy tone carried across the frozen bridge, breaking out her officers from their stupor. She was glad they were probably distracted enough not to notice how tightly she gripped her chair. She could not afford to tremble. She will not tremble in front of the crew.
“Uhh… range… um…”
“Give me the time Tactical.”
“Missile envelope, 2 hours 23 minutes. Laser 7 hours 47 minutes. Kinetic 10 hours 47 minutes ma’am. They are burning straight for us.”
“Navigation, plot a course around Archimedes, we’ll come around and gather speed. Sensors I want to know which enemy ships are Transports ASAP. Bring us to Yellow Alert.”
“Plotting course around Archimedes aye.” “On it Captain.” “Yellow alert, aye ma’am.”
Give them jobs to do and no time to think of what is to come. That unpleasant duty rests squarely on her shoulders. Although there isn’t much that can be done. With over a thousand ships, the god damned crabs can simply fly circles around her fleet. Fleet Intelligence truly dropped a massive ball.
It made her glad she did not take them up on the offer to join. She was a young engineer then, slowly climbing the ladder, back when she was still with… James. He was so handsome in that marine uniform of his. Young too, just as her. And he could make her laugh hard enough it hurt, while holding her tight in those muscular arms of his.
Then she chose the Navy and he got discharged.
She couldn’t say she regretted it, really. Command is what she truly wanted and where she felt accomplished. Yet, a small part of her wished that was not so, still.
They found each other again too, after over twenty years. A marine turned mechanic, he now owned a few shops down on Archimedes. She met him down at the spaceport while off duty. He was fixing a car on the side of the street, teaching his son. He had a son!
She couldn’t help herself but to talk to them. One thing led to another and well they ended up in bed. And then went out for dinner. Soon enough she was spending her time off duty with the two of them.
Piotyr was a hybrid. A human-wolf genetically modified super-soldier program failure that James had adopted a mere 2 years after they split. She couldn’t quite believe how easily he accepted her. How both of them accepted her. It was silly she knew, but every time she looked at him she couldn’t help but feel kinship. Like she was his mother, his real mother.
She donated her DNA to the project, but so did half the navy, the odds they used her’s and that the resulting hybrid was Piotyr was so infinitely small that it might as well have been impossible. Yet she couldn’t help how she felt.
“Ma’am we’ll be around the planet in 5 minutes. Estimated time for the Laser envelope is 4 hours.”
Now she had a job to do.
“Open a channel to all ships.”
“Aye ma’am, channel open.”
“This is Commander Mary Flowers speaking. You all have heard the stories of what the Concordat does to conquered colonies and you all see the number of enemies arrayed before us. Let me be clear. There is no way out for us.”
She paused for a few moments. Her words needed to sink in.
“There are 13 million souls on the planet below us. Thirteen million lives that the Concordat wishes to slaughter or enslave.”
In three minutes they will come from behind the planet and see what formation the enemy took.
“Our objective is to hold for time. Every second we hold, another life will be evacuated. Every ship destroyed, every crab killed will help the militia hold on longer. And make no mistake, we will give them no mercy. We will gut their fleet like the fish they are.”
One minute thirty.
“The Concordat made the mistake of underestimating us. Let us ensure they pay in blood for every light year they take. Ready the missile salvo. Focus fire on the enemy vanguard. Fire on my mark.”
She smiled. The crabs did underestimate her. Three enemy fleets burned on a direct course for her fleet. Two were spreading out to cover other angles and wouldn’t be able to fire on her. The rest was escorting their Transport ships, massive slow vessels each transporting up to 50 thousand of their warrior caste.
All she had to go through was the 300 ships. Once they were past that, the Transport’s defenders wouldn’t be able to do much, not with the speed her fleet would have gathered by then. If anything was left of her fleet by then.
“Mark.”
The hull shook, as hundreds of Mk.7, grav-drive atomic space-superiority missiles launched, quickly reaching their terminal velocity on their final journey. The 16th Defense Fleet followed behind.
****
Not sure if I should mark it as PI. It is based on the previous post which was a prompt response. So. Let me know if it's any good.

• Lesson video

INTRO

Most computer users outside of the Linux and Unix world don't spend much time at the command-line now, but as a Linux sysadmin this is your default working environment - so you need to be skilled in it.
When you use a graphic desktop such as Windows or Apple's macOS (or even the latest Linux flavors), then increasingly you are presented with simple "places" where your stuff is stored - "Pictures" "Music" etc but if you're even moderately technical then you'll realize that underneath all this is a hierarchical "directory structure" of "folders" (e.g. C:\Users\Steve\Desktop on Windows or /Users/Steve/Desktop on macOS - and on a Desktop Linux system /home/steve/Desktop)
From now on, the course will point you to a range of good online resources for a topic, and then set you a simple set of tasks to achieve. It’s perfectly fine to google for other online resources, refer to any books you have etc - and in fact a fundamental element of the design of this course is to force you to do a bit of your own research. Even the most experienced sysadmins will do an online search to find advice for how to use commands - so the sooner you too get into that habit the better!

YOUR TASKS TODAY

• Find the documentation for the commands we used so far - demo
• Navigate between directories, then create, list, move and delete files - demo

RTFM

This is a good time to mention that one of the many advantages of Linux is that it's designed to let you know the system, to let you learn how to use it. The documentation available in form of text manuals, guides and forums is where you will spend most of your time during this journey.
Whereas proprietary systems have some free documentation, you see much more frequently the use of paid customer support to fix issues or find how a particular task can be executed. Although you can also do this with Linux (Canonical, RedHat and SuSE are examples of companies that offer support in the same fashion), this is most likely not the case. And you are here to learn, so...
Which leads us to the famous acronym RTFM. Reading the manual is the first thing you should do when you're learning a command. We will go through the many ways to obtain that information but if at the end of that search you need more insight, you can always ask a well written question in forums and other communities.
Starting with the man command. Each application installed comes with its own page in this manual, so that you can look at the page for pwd to see the full detail on the syntax like this:
man pwd
You might also try:

 man cp man mv man grep man ls man man 

As you’ll see, these are excellent for the detailed syntax of a command, but many are extremely terse, and for others the amount of detail can be somewhat daunting!
And that's why tldr is such a powerful tool! You can easily install it with sudo apt install tldr or follow this demo.
```bash $ tldr pwd pwd Print name of current/working directory.More information: https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/pwd.

• Print the current directory: pwd
  
• Print the current directory, and resolve all symlinks (i.e. show the "physical" path): pwd -P ```
  

If you know a keyword or some description of what the command is supposed to do, you can try apropos or man -k like this:
```bash $ apropos "working directory" git-stash (1) - Stash the changes in a dirty working directory away pwd (1) - print name of current/working directory pwdx (1) - report current working directory of a process
$ man -k "working directory" git-stash (1) - Stash the changes in a dirty working directory away pwd (1) - print name of current/working directory pwdx (1) - report current working directory of a process ```
But you'll soon find out that not every command has a manual that you can read with man. Those commands are contained within the shell itself and we call them builtin commands.
There are some overlaping (i.e. builtin commands that also have a man page) but if man does not work, we use help to display information about them.
```bash $ man export No manual entry for export
$ help export export: export [-fn] [name[=value] ...] or export -p Set export attribute for shell variables.

Marks each NAME for automatic export to the environment of subsequently executed commands. If VALUE is supplied, assign VALUE before exporting. Options: -f refer to shell functions -n remove the export property from each NAME -p display a list of all exported variables and functions An argument of `--' disables further option processing. Exit Status: Returns success unless an invalid option is given or NAME is invalid. 

```
The best way to know if a command is a builtin command, is to check its type:
bash $ type export export is a shell builtin
And lastly, info reads the documentation stored in info) format.

NAVIGATE THE FILE STRUCTURE

• Start by reading the manual: man hier
• / is the "root" of a branching tree of folders (also known as directories)
• At all times you are "in" one part of the system - the command pwd ("print working directory") will show you where you are
• Generally your prompt is also configured to give you at least some of this information, so if I'm "in" the /etc directory then the prompt might be steve@202.203.203.22:/etc$ or simply /etc: $
• cd moves to different areas - so cd /valog will take you into the /valog folder - do this and then check with pwd - and look to see if your prompt changes to reflect your location.
• You can move "up" the structure by typing cd .. ( "cee dee dot dot ") try this out by first cd'ing to /valog/ then cd .. and then cd .. again - watching your prompt carefully, or typing pwd each time, to clarify your present working directory.
• A "relative" location is based on your present working directory - e.g. if you first cd /var then pwd will confirm that you are "in" /var, and you can move to /valog in two ways - either by providing the full path with cd /valog or simply the "relative" path with the command cd log
• A simple cd will always return you to your own defined "home directory", also referred to as ~ (the "tilde" character) [NB: this differs from DOS/Windows]
• What files are in a folder? The ls (list) command will give you a list of the files, and sub folders. Like many Linux commands, there are options (known as "switches") to alter the meaning of the command or the output format. Try a simple ls, then ls -l -t and then try ls -l -t -r -a
• By convention, files with a starting character of "." are considered hidden and the ls, and many other commands, will ignore them. The -a switch includes them. You should see a number of hidden files in your home directory.
• A note on switches: Generally most Linux command will accept one or more "parameters", and one or more "switches". So, when we say ls -l /valog the "-l" is a switch to say "long format" and the "/valog" is the "parameter". Many commands accept a large number of switches, and these can generally be combined (so from now on, use ls -ltra, rather than ls -l -t -r -a
• In your home directory type ls -ltra and look at the far left hand column - those entries with a "d" as the first character on the line are directories (folders) rather than files. They may also be shown in a different color or font - if not, then adding the "--color=auto" switch should do this (i.e. ls -ltra --color=auto)

BASIC DIRECTORY MANIPULATION

• You can make a new foldedirectory with the mkdir command, so move to your home directory, type pwd to check that you are indeed in the correct place, and then create a directory, for example to create one called "test", simply type mkdir test. Now use the ls command to see the result.
• You can create even more directories, nesting inside directories, and then navigate between them with the cd command.
• When you want to move that directory inside another directory, you use mv and specify the path to move.
• To delete (or remove) a directory, use rmdir if the directory is empty or rm -r if there still any files or other directories inside of it.

BASIC FILE MANIPULATION

• You can make new empty files with the touch command, so you can explore a little more of the ls command.
• When you want to move that file to another directory, you use mv and specify the path to move.
• To delete (or remove) a file, use rm.

WRAP

Being able to move confidently around the directory structure at the command line is important, so don’t think you can skip it! However, these skills are something that you’ll be constantly using over the twenty days of the course, so don’t despair if this doesn’t immediately “click”.

EXTENSION

If this is already something that you’re very familiar with, then:

• Learn about pushd and popd to navigate around multiple directories easily. Running pushd /valog moves you to to the /valog, but keeps track of where you were. You can pushd more than one directory at a time. Try it out: pushd /valog, pushd /dev, pushd /etc, pushd, popd, popd. Note how pushd with no arguments switches between the last two pushed directories but more complex navigation is also possible. Finally, cd - also moves you the last visited directory.

RESOURCES

• Difference between help, info and man command
• GNU Texinfo
• Explore the Linux file system
• Linux File System
• Simple Terminal Commands on Ubuntu
• Solaris Unix Commands

PREVIOUS DAY'S LESSON

• Day 1 - Get to know your server

Some rights reserved. Check the license terms here