How long did it take for you all to feel normal? I'm on day 16 quitting and I have so much craving for anything atm, and my head is dizzy, I have no energy and motivation at all.. I have pain in my back and restless in my legs sometimes. I've tried everything but nothing works for me to feel happy and normal.. I don't feel normal at all, it's like something is missing and starting to feel anxious and I don't want to meet other people or anything I just want to hide...
Feels like before I used kratom, the world was worthless for me and I had no energy for anything... My stomaches have been bad for years and when I used kratom the stomach was fine.. I think the problems I have with the stomach is giving me all the anxiety but I can't heal it.. I've tried so damn much and nothing worked like kratom did...
I want to feel normal without a damn drug... Please ...
How long will I take to feel normal again?? Right now I'm just a lazy wreck with pain everywhere and head is so off and I have no motivation at all damnit...
I'm training and cycling many miles per week but nothing makes me feel happy or normal och motivated fuck..

It kept me up all night. Every 10 minutes this "Panasonic Inverter" decides to make this godawful racket. A loud buzzing. I swear it only does it at night. It doesn't seem to matter what I do to it, what settings I put it on, sometimes even after I turn it off. I've heard it 3 times while writing this, in another room.
I'm in an apartment so, any sort of action that involves ripping into the wall is probably out of the question afaik.
Is there any solution or is this simply part of the operation that whatever unit is in the bedroom has to make a clarion call to hell every time I so much as think about sleeping?

My family and I moved across the US last year for a job from which I was then laid off after 6 months.
Our lease ends in a few weeks, and I just learned that our outstanding balance is much higher than I thought.
Our new lease (back home on the other side of the country) starts July 1st and rent will be due for the new place then.
I have exhausted all credit/loan options during my 5 months of being out of work, and am currently on unemployment at a much lower rate than my previous salary.
I will be starting a new job soon at a rate comparable to my previous salary, but I won’t start getting paid for it until around or after our move-out date.
I had also budgeted for that new income to go into moving (back) across the country and paying rent at our new home, with the understanding that we had a relatively small outstanding balance to pay off at our current location.
I am looking into our current state’s rent relief programs, but there is a chance that that process will take longer than the time left until we move out.
Obviously I’m not getting our security deposit back, and I’ll get a negative remark on my credit report unless I’ve paid in full by the end of the month.
My questions are:
1) Are there other potential negative outcomes of not having paid the balance before moving out?
2) Are there other options for resolution that I should be looking into?
3) Is there any point in trying to pay down the balance at this point versus prioritizing our future needs and stability?

Hey all.
I've been reading Inner Work, have just gotten to the active imagination chapter I think. I'm not too far in the book at all at this moment.
I've been feeling really angry and emotional today. Angry at the fact that there is an ocean unconsciousness that I basically have no control over, but it has A LOT of control over me. Just that alone really irritates me. I know that to move forward in life, I have to respect my unconscious. I have had issues with addiction, to the internet & pornography since I was very young - I know this is mostly a genetic thing for me. It doesn't have too much to do with trauma and deeply rooted habits. Although I grew up in a tumultuous & unstable household, the damage is pretty much done and it's something I'm already "over" in a sense - I just want to live life at this point and I don't care too much to dwell over my past. Not to mention plenty have gone through worse than me and are healthier and happier.
It's like an alcoholic who WISHES they could just go out and enjoy a night with friends without getting wasted and continuing the drink into the night. Or someone with a bad weed habit who wishes they could just smoke a little and enjoy themselves without going off to the deep end. My unconscious, by no means, will ever allow me to stay home alone and relax. I can't boot up a video game, focus on watching a movie, or do something interesting for the life of me. I work, and on my days off, I have to be at the library. It's really painful and it makes me want to cry. I don't know if there's ever a silver lining for addicts in regards to building a normal relationship with their respective habit. It's pretty much a red light, stop sign, avoid at all costs sorta thing.
anyways, how are yall doing?

TL;DR: Expat relative (first time buyer) wants to sign up to new build flat with property management company that rents out with AirBnB. Is this a terrible idea?
Hi,
I'm looking for some straight advice to give to a close family member who is about to pull the trigger on something I think is potentially a bad idea.
For context, they currently live/work overseas earning good money but will likely be moving back to the UK in a year or so.
They have been speaking to a property company in Manchester who essentially arrange the purchase of a new build apartment (currently under construction), then once complete rent it out with AirBnB and manage the whole thing for you (obviously taking fees in the process). This all appeals to my relative who likes the idea of the whole thing being 'hands off', and despite knowing that they'll pay over the odds for what they're getting, sees it as a long term investment that will mean they have a flat paid off by retirement age. They are not looking at this as short term income and are aware that should their be any rental voids, they will have to cover the mortgage from their own pocket, which they can afford. It's worth noting they have never owned a property before.
I am not a landlord and never have been, but have read enough online the past few years to feel that becoming a new landlord these days, particularly with just one property, is not anywhere near as advantageous or advisable as it used to be.
I have tried to dissuade my (somewhat stubborn) relative against the idea for the following reasons, but they have a tendency to not always listen to what might be best for them:

• They'd be better off accumulating their cash abroad, then investing in index funds inside an ISA/SIPP/GIA on their return.
  
• They'd need to consider the tax liability of such an arrangement, i.e. What income tax they might need to pay on the rental income
  
• Additional stamp duty they'd need to pay on this type of property
  
• Mortgage Rates - interest rates are rising which means so are mortgage rates (especially BTL/Holiday Let rates) and no doubt being an expat would mean even less preferencial rates
  
• Property prices could drop - some argue this never happens over the long term, but we're supposedly on the verge of a recession which normally means only one thing for property prices in the near term
  
• Potential rental voids
  
• Maintenance costs
  

There are likely more considerations, but essentially, the whole thing seems massively risky to me and I've advised my relative to at least hold off from the idea until they return to the UK, if not altogether.
Am I right in my thinking? Can anyone give additional reasons why this is a bad/good idea? I appreciate I am providing no numbers here but for the sake of argument, assume that the AirBnB income would generally cover the mortgage each month. It's more the general principles and potential pitfalls that I'm looking for.

Long story short I moved it with a hs friend of mine and I ended up sniffing and stealing his gfs panties. ( I've never found her attractive at all but the tabboo aspect of it turned me on too much for me to handle) I ended up stealing like 25 panties, 17 bras, and a various assortment of general clothes (shirts, shorts, fish nets and lingerie 'also including rave lingerie'). I eventually got caught (not for taking said items but for sneaking into their room and they immediately bought a house and left me to figure the apartment situation 🤷‍♂️. I don't blame them tho I was a gross disgusting human when we lived together. It just sucks that I did that to them and broke their trust. Our mutual friends know and they don't bring it up but now they have to be careful not to invite both of us to things or what they say in our group chat and it kills me that I did this to everyone. I've tried to talk to them (no I don't want or expect them to forgive me I just want them to know I fucked up) but most people know how something like this would go down. I'm just ashamed that I would do this and lost a good friend and need to get this off my chest 😔

I read this book a few weeks ago and it’s still weighing heavy on my mind. Scott Smith dropped two of the heaviest pieces of literature and then fell off the face of the earth. In The Ruins, there were several times I genuinely had to look up from the pages while grimacing because of just how disturbing it was. It wasn’t that the book was overly graphic or trying to just be disgusting, it was just written in such a way that it put a vividly unsettling picture in my mind, a picture that felt real and plausible despite the otherworldly terrors that were happening. The situation described in the book is just so well thought out, it’s such a controlled mess that mimics the way real life would play out incredibly well. The characters all feel real and plausible, and this just makes the scenario all the more terrifying. I highly, highly recommend this book, although I will put a warning because good grief is it a harrowing and crushing decent into hell.

I’ve been suicidal for months now. It’s just getting worse. I desperately want to live, but at the same time I desperately want to die. I was thinking of slitting my wrists, but it takes an hour to die. I figured ODing on Benadryl might be my best option other than drowning myself. What’s sad is that I don’t even want help to be honest…I just want to be dead. A part of me just wants to live in the hospital so I’ll be safe. What do they call that? Institutionalized? Anyway…wasn’t sure where to go with this. My therapist is a pos who’s really dismissive so I don’t want to go to her. My family is super supportive, but idk I feel like they’ll brush it off or tell me “But, you have so much to live for.” “You’re just getting started.” Try to like talk me down or whatever, but that’s not going to do shit honestly. I don’t want to be prescribed more medication. I’m already a fat fuck from these meds that I’ve been on. I have a girlfriend, but I don’t want to tell her about it and scare her away or her make decisions for me. So I’m dumbing down to death. I’m a disabled person who’s schizophrenic and struggling with day to day life and just living in general, but everyone around me expects me to function and be normal how I was before my diagnosis and it just kills my insides and makes me more suicidal. Things are very bleak for me now. Thinking of turning to my doctor…not sure if I will. Eh, hopeless and helpless this all dies down to. Thanks for reading and I’m sorry…

Since we're in for another round of Spider-Verse, I thought it would be fun to see what kind of Spider-People we here would/could come up with. Mine would be something like this...
[WARNING! Potential Cringe Incoming!]
Malibu, California.
Pro surfer Eugene "Flash" Thompson, is chilling with his best friend, Mary Jane Watson. The two have been inseparable since middleschool. Flash protected the shy, but brilliant red head from bullies. While MJ helped the big hearted, but scatterbrained blonde with his schoolwork. For them, life is good.
Today, however they find the beach completely packed with tourists. So Flash decides to go someplace that's always empty. MJ retorts that, that's because it's privately owned, and that this is trespassing. But Flash assures her that the old Oscorp warehouse is long abandoned. And a perfectly good beach is going to waste!
But, when they get to the beach, they spy some suspicious activity at the supposedly derelict warehouse. Going in for a closer look, they find hired thugs loading up barrel upon barrel of hazardous toxic waste. That they plan on dumping into the ocean!
Before they can retreat, a spider crawls out from between the leaky barrels. And bites Flash on the hand, causing him to cry out in pain. Flash tells MJ to run, as he tackles one of the goons to buy time.
But Flash begins to feel light headed, as the electric feeling in his hand spreads up his arm into his body. He blacks out, and after strange fever dreams, awakens to find himself tied to a chair.
One of the goons is on the phone with "the boss" who doesn't sound happy. After he hangs up, he informs his colleague that they're to "dispose of" the interloper. As they approach Flash, he begins to feel a strange tingling, and an overwhelming felling of danger! He strains against the handcuffs. And to his surprise, they shatter like nothing! This equally amazes the thugs, who quickly draw their firearms.
Getting that tingly feeling again, Flash instinctively jumps. Leaping all the way to the roof! Which he sticks to! The goons, now completely gobsmacked, take aim at the freak on the ceiling. Flash puts up his hand defensively, only for white sticky goo to shoot out of his wrists, covering the henchmen.
Flash has no idea what's going on. But he takes this opportunity to jump out the window and run home. After finding Mary Jane, and informing of all that happened, she runs some tests in her lab. And determines that the mutated spider, has somehow combined it's DNA with Flash's. Giving him the abilities of an arachnid!
Flash trains with his new powers for a few days, while MJ keeps an eye on the warehouse with some of her drones. It seems that they're going ahead with the toxic dumping! And have tripled their guard.
Realizing that they are the only ones who can stop it, MJ makes Flash a costume, to conceal his identity .
Meanwhile at the warehouse, "the boss" Norman Osborn shows up. Very displeased that he had to cut short his meetings overseas to get this bungled dumping operation back on track.
Just then, using his webs to create a sail, Flash parasurfs his board through one of the windows! Catching everyone completely off guard. As Flash uses his incredible strength and speed to take down the army of armed thugs. Norman picks up one of their guns. "If you want something done right..." He thinks, as he takes aim at the back of Flash's head.
But just as he pulls the trigger, Flash uses his new found "Spider Sense" to duck out of the way of the shot. "Not today, you old Goblin!" He quips as he kicks Norman back into the stack of barrels. The Billionaire screams in agony, as on of them breaks open. Spraying him with it's toxic contents.
His driver quickly throws a blanket over him, and shuffles him into his limousine. Speeding away, just as police sirens approach, drawn by the noise of the gunfire. Flash decides his work is done. And leaves before the police arrive and question the strange man in the mask.
As they sit, and watch the sunrise over the ocean, Flash tells MJ that their home is truly beautiful. But that there are people--not just Norman--who will exploit, and ruin that beauty if they can.
And now that he has this power, it's his responsibility to protect it. MJ says that they'll do it together. Mary Jane Watson, and Eugene "Flash" Thompson. AKA...
The Radical! Spider-Dude!
[Epilogue]
Norman Osborn lays covered in bandages, and hooked up to beeping medical machines in the master bedroom of his Malibu mansion. He lays, and watches the Daily Bugle News Network. Oscorp stock has taken a hit. But his army of spin doctors, and corporate lawyers have done their jobs well.
All the blame well be laid at "rogue elements" within Oscorp. And of course nothing is traceable back to him.
But before he can get too relaxed, the news shifts to talking about Malibu's newest sensation. The masked hero that calls himself "Spider-Dude".
Norman begins to feel his blood boil at the mere sight of that accursed wallcrawler. Norman gets out of bed, and stalks over to his 90' TV. And smashes it with his fist! Upon seeing his reflection in the now darkened glass of the ruined screen, he begins to frantically tear at his bandages.
His eyes glow a toxic yellow. His features are sunken, with sickly green splotches all over his skin. His ears are pointed. His teeth are like jagged fangs. His finger nails like hardened, razor sharp claws!
At the sight of himself Norman begins to laugh manically. "What was it that boy called me again? Oh, yeah..."
Goblin!
-
So there it is! What's your idea for a Spider-hero/villain/other? And no, it doesn't have to be as long or rambling as mine. A simple idea will suffice. I just had to get that out of my head. Been rattling around for awhile LoL!

M, 33, 73kg 01:26:xx
A: 1:29:59 B: 1:31:59 C: 1:34:59
Background: I've a decent background playing sports since I was kid, and competed in athletics/track up until my late teens in long sprints (400-800m) as I preferred the training despite always having a tendency to do better aerobically in training. I generally kept in shape during my 20s, and had a few spells of getting back in competitive shape for 400m, but always ended up getting injured which would put me out for months at a time and going back to square one. I have a tendency to over-do things which probably contributed to that cycle in hindsight!
During covid I started getting into distance running consistently as a way to spend time outside, but again was hit by the typical new distance runner injuries a few months in from doing too much too soon. Shin splints, and achilles tendinopathy x2. I do not recommend either! I ran a few 5k Park Runs when that became possible and got into the low 19min range fairly quickly before injury hit again.
So, starting from scratch again last October after the better part of 2 years of an incredibly frustrating training->injury->back-to-square-one cycle, this time around I have been very careful about pacing and recovery and lo and behold that's resulted in my longest stretch of injury-free training in years. Funny that, eh?
My training in the lead up to my first ever HM was 90% easy running with a focus on increasing volume towards a target of a trail Ultra (46km) in June (this coming weekend!!) I deliberately avoided doing much in the way of tempo/intervals and just added strides once a week as a way to keep in touch with true speed. The HM was a nice mini-target a few months into my training to see where I was at. Given I had barely done any work at speed I had no idea what I was capable of over HM, and especially given the course was famously hilly (c 250m elevation gain) but having done a 5km on a tough course a few weeks before in 19:25, I decided to have a crack at sub 90 but wasn't very confident I would get it. Volume was up to 50-70km depending on the week, with 5-6.5hrs time on feet and running on 5 or 6 days.
Pre-race: The race itself was fantastic, with an unbelievably scenic route and extremely well organised with shuttle buses to the start in the tiny village of Leenane from a few pre-appointed parking areas. The weather was extremely good for the West of Ireland in April, with clear skies and temps up to 16°C+ in the sun.
I lined up towards the front with the 1:30 pacers and asked what their pacing plan was, as I had pre-loaded targets for a slight neg split on my watch to try avoid blowing up too much. They said they were planning on banking some time in the first half as the route had a big hill from 16-18.5km and would definitely slow people. I'm glad I made the call on the spot to go with them as it turned out to be a good decision. Atmosphere was very positive at the start line, and I felt a good sense of conraderie that I'd never experieneced in my years running track.
The Race: The start gun went boom-boom, we were underway, and about 30 athletes took off ahead of my pace group as we navigated the short downhill through the village before turning left into a decently long climb out of Leenane and into the wilds of Connemara. I felt like I was working to keep up in the first couple k's but HR was OK and I stayed with it.
3-5k's in and I was feeling much better, up at the front of the pace group and in control as we rolled through undulating short climbs and downhills into the middle section of the race. There was plenty of encouragement from the two pacers and we had a nice group of 10-15 working together.
5-10k and I was feeling great. I took at gel at 30mins in with one spare for the hour mark. I noticed I was taking time out of everyone else on the downhills, something I had been working on in my training but it was good to see it in action without any effort.
Around the halfway point the group was down to 3 plus the lead pacer and we were 3mins ahead of target. The pacer at this point dropped back to try help some of the others who needed more help and the three of us started working together. There were some lovely views during the third quarter of the course and I made sure to take on water at the aid stations. Soon it was just me and one other dude working together, we were both feeling strong and we had started picking off people who were struggling to stay with their early pace. It was around this point I made the mistake of not taking my second gel as I was feeling great and I decided I didn't need it.
At around 16k we hit the big daddy climb and it did not disappoint! I was starting to work harder and the pace dropped a little but we were still well under target pace. I was confident now that I was going to smash my targets. 17k, still climbing and we passed a photographer on the road. I knew he picked that spot because of the stunning views but I doubt if many runners were looking their best at that point in the race, least of all me. Nevertheless, onwards and upwards, still passing runners. Then all of a sudden, just as we were about to crest the peak I felt a twang in my right hammer and then a full blown cramp. Shot by a sniper. Sht sht, double-sh*t!! I pulled up, let my comrade go and stretched it out. I don't know how much time I was stopped for but it must have been at least 30s before I shuffled tentatively onwards, adjusting my stride to a flat or kind of heel-strike motion to change up the firing pattern on my stricken hammer. Thankfully I was soon over the top of the hill and was able to cruise into the long downhill before the final 2.5km flat to the finish-line at Maam Cross.
Luckily that was the end of the cramping and I managed to not get passed by any of the runners I had previously overtaken, in fact I finished strong and passed a couple more runners, while being cheered on by a few groups of people on the roadside. Once I had the finish line in sight I pushed as much as I had left and saw the clock just hit 1:26 as I approached, elated.
Official finish time low 1:26 and inside the top 15 finishers in a field of over 1000, which I was absolutely over the moon with. Absolutely smashed it. I got chatting to the guy who I'd run with up until the cramp and he'd done sub 3 in the marathon before but had gone conservative here due to the hilly course. He was training for sub 2:50 in October so I took a lot of encouragement from being able to hang with him for so long.
Overall it was a fantastic experience for me and a race I will 100% return to.
Post-race and next steps: Next up for me is my A-race Ultra (well, mini-ultra). My training has been fairly consistent since this HM at the end of April but if anything my average volume has gone down a little. Despite that, I'm feeling very positive heading into the weekend and don't have any running commitments immediately afterwards. The immediate focus will be some down time before I pick the training up again in the second half of July and probably work towards a sub 80 HM. I think I have it in me to bridge that gap but will require some more dedicated training at goal paces.
Thanks to anyone who read this far, it ended up being a bit of a monster!

Follower Commands
Level Up Thrall: LevelFollowerUpTo 20
Heal Follower: SetFollowerStat HealthCurrent 5000
Show Follower Mele Modifier: GetFollowerStat DamageModifierMelee
Change Follower Mele Modifier: SetFollowerStat DamageModifierMelee 0
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Modify Follower STR: SetFollowerStat AttributeMight 0
Modify Follower VIT: SetFollowerStat AttributeHealth 0
Modify Follower AGI: SetFollowerStat AttributeAthleticism 0
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Player Commands:
Adds Att points to Player: AddUndistributedAttributePoints
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Editing Items Commands:
Changes Light hit dmg: SetInventoryItemStat 0 DamageHealthLight_OnHit 100 0
Changes Heavy hit dmg: SetInventoryItemStat 0 DamageHealthHeavy_OnHit 100 0
Changes Light Stamina Usage: SetInventoryItemStat 0 WeaponStaminaAttackSingleBasic 0 0
Changes Heavy Stamina Usage: SetInventoryItemStat 0 WeaponStaminaAttackSingleSpecial 0 0
Changes Weapon Pen Value: SetInventoryItemStat 0 ArmorPen 1 0 ((1 is 100% armor pen))
Changes stack size: SetInventoryItemStat 0 MaxStackSize 10000 0
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Other Commands:
tfow tfow This cheat enables and disables (toggles) fog of war (FoW) on the map you are currently playing.
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ToggleGrass togglegrass This command will toggle the visibility of grass meaning after executing this command for the first time, grass will be hidden (run it again to show grass again).
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ToggleTrijuicing toggletrijuicing This command will enable and disable (toggle) trijuicing. Although untested, we believe Trijuicing refers to trilinear Anisotropic filtering, meaning toggling Trijuicing off is likely to increase your game's performance.
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ToggleLODLand togglelodland This command enables and disables (toggles) the distant LOD display.
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ToggleSky togglesky This command toggles (enables and disables) the rendering of the sky.

The final is upon us!
The final is streamed for free on DAZN's UWCL YouTube channel, except for in China, Russia and the MENA region. beIN Sports covers the MENA region. UEFA have not provided a broadcaster for China or Russia.
DAZN will have a stream in the local language of each team, plus an English stream if neither team is English.
DAZN have also sub-licensed the final to other broadcasters, though the complete list is at the time of writing, not confirmed. See bottom of post for known information.
All times in CEST. (UTC+2)

Press conferences

2023-06-02 13:45
BARCELONA PRESS CONFERENCE
2023-06-02 15:45
WOLFSBURG PRESS CONFERENCE

Open training sessions

2023-06-02 14:30
BARCELONA OPEN TRAINING SESSION
2023-06-02 16:30
WOLFSBURG OPEN TRAINING SESSION

Countdown show

2023-06-03 14:00
UWCL 2022-2023 FINAL COUNTDOWN SHOW LIVESTREAM

Match

2023-06-03 15:30 (Kick-off: 16:00)
Streams in different languages:

• English
• German
• Spanish

Known non-youtube coverage:
Austria: ORF Belgium: RTBF Croatia: HRT Finland: YLE Germany: ZDF Iceland: RUV Netherlands: NOS Ireland: RTE Norway: TV 2 Poland: TVP Serbia: RTS Sweden: SVT Switzerland: SRG United Kingdom: DAZN 1 United States: CBS Sports Golazo
Spotted others? Let us known.

Previous Next First
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---Success---
​
---Chhay’s perspective---
My husband walks close beside me, to my left, as we climb the stairs to our penthouse in the ODR’s residential wing.
The party in the gymnasium was pleasant.
A little on the cheese platter and dry white wine side but… well… however we both look, neither of us are young men anymore(!)… Perhaps it’s for the best that the careerpath we’re on precludes attending the kind of ragers I went to at uni(!)
I was glad to see the way Zuzu (ever the outgoing extrovert) got to relax at the expeditionary send off party.
Now that they’ve departed, he’s got one less thing on his constantly overpiled plate!
Since the diplomatic nightmare of the discovery of the lost colony right on the edge of the galactic core, the legal nightmare of how exactly to prosecute that murderer from there, the overseeing of the arrangements for the refugees that the Bright Plume brought here, the work that’s gone into all the last minute preparations to the expedition on top of all of his normal duties, he was run off his feet even before all the stress that the assassination attempt caused!
Of course, he’s no stranger to attempts on his life(!)… We first met when I was a lowly nurse, picking shrapnel out of his cheek after a failed bomb plot, afterall! (‘Failed’ in that it only killed people other than the intended targets…)
It still takes a toll though… every time.
He jokes about it… but I see how it affects him.
Luckily, we don’t need protection inside this building… which means that Gamba was able to babysit for us.
The kids absolutely adore their ‘Monkey Uncle’, as he’s happy to selfdesignate, despite Gorillas being Apes, not Monkeys!
Not a distinction that particularly matters in Khmer but, by mutual agreement, we’re raising our kids with English as their primary language at home, so we need to make sure they understand that others might take offence to careless language like that!
At this point, I feel something squeezing my right arsecheek.
I turn my head left to my husbands face, innocently pointed forward. Apparently, he still has a little energy left(!)
“Darling… what’s on my backside?” I ask, wryly.
“My hand, my love.” he says, visibly fighting off a smile.
“And… why is your hand on my backside?”
“Because you have the most pleasant, squeezable backside in the galaxy, dear.” he answers, simply.
“Honestly, I wonder what the Terran public would think if they knew the truth about what a handsy pervert they had representing them in Parliament and Heading their interplanetary relations agency(!)… Can’t even walk up a flight of stairs without giving his husband a grope(!)” I tease.
“Would you like me to remove my hand, sweetheart?” he asks, his lips pursed in mirth.
“I didn’t say that…!” I grin, returning the favour and extending my left arm to his left arsecheek.
“I’d suggest putting the privacy field up tonight… but I really need a full 8 hours…” Zuzu says, with regret.
As we approach our door, I begin saying “Let’s just hope Gamba’s got Chan and Sai to slee…” but break off mid sentence as, before we’ve taken three paces into our home, I realise that something’s wrong…
Both of us release our hold on the other and our heads whip forward to see our lounge in a state of total disarray!
The bottom drops out of my stomach as I spot a pair of black furry legs, ending in two calloused, prehensile handfeet, protruding from behind the sofa.
My heart is pounding and I take a breath to say that we need to call security.
*Clank* is the sound of something heavy and metallic, landing behind us.
*Thunk* is the sound of something hitting the back of my husband’s neck with the force of an executioner’s axe.
*Thud**thud thud thud thud* is the sound of my husband’s head hitting the ground 4m from his body and rolling another few metres.
Before I can scream for help, I’m slammed to the wall with enough force to drive the air from my lungs.
“Be smart, buddy…” growls the mechanical monstrosity pinning me to the wall with a bright red, bulky, metal right arm that doesn’t match the sleek, clawed, durasteel left arm that he’s pointing toward my throat, only red for being covered in my husband’s blood “…there’s no bounty on your head and I’d hate to be forced to make orphans of your kids!”
“*wheeze**cough*…What have you done to them?!” I manage to ask, through the pressure he’s applying to my sternum. I’m trying not to think about what I just watched happen to the love of my life and focus on what matters now!
“Relax. Your kids are safe… Sedated and lying in their beds… I don’t kill kids.”
“What a hero(!)” I spit, defiantly.
The skullfaced abomination does a slight doubletake before mirthfully saying “You’re braver than I expected the draft dodging, pencil pushing boywife of that spineless backstabber to be(!)… Or maybe just stupider?”
My feet are lifted from the ground as he drags me around 30cm up the wall by the front of my shirt, still applying so much pressure that I get friction burns on my back.
“Let’s get some things straight… What’s gonna happen now is; I’m about to pick up that head and walk out of your apartment with it before exfiltrating this compound and leaving the planet… the only question, is whether I leave behind two orphans and a third corpse… or two kids and a smart guy who knows how to follow instructions?… Are you a smart guy?… Or are you a corpse!?”
I don’t want to answer… but I want Chan and Sai to grow up as orphans less…
“I’m smart…” I wheeze, reluctantly.
“Good!” he says, cheerfully, releasing my shirt and letting me fall to the floor where I crumple into a heap.
Casually, he strolls to my Zuzu’s head and picks it up by his hair, his footfalls making heavy *clunks* over the quiet *whirr* of his actuators as he does.
I’m subjected to a horrific view of my husband’s final expression as his head dangles from the hand that killed him.
Returning to where I am on his way back to the door, the murderer stops.
“You count?”
“I what?”
“Can. you. count?”
“I can count…” I confirm, gingerly rubbing the place on my chest where he crushed me.
“Then here’s what I want you to do; lie on the floor, face down, put your hands on top of your head and count to a hundred… slowly!… When you’re done, you can call security… Try moving before then and killing you gets bumped to the top of my priority list, ahead of escaping… Do we understand eachother?”
I nod.
“Do it then!”
I follow the instructions, bracing myself for the possibility of him changing his mind about letting me live.
I begin counting and hear his (suddenly much lighter) footfalls as he leaves.
“One… two… three… four… five… *sniffle* six… seven… *sob* eight…”
---Jackson’s perspective---
I enter the door to the parked craft, serving as our hideout.
A woman with a mohawk of voluminous, curly, red hair, flopped over the side of her scalp, looks up at me with a pair of emerald green eyes.
“Success?” she asks.
In answer, I toss the head onto the table in front of her.
“Jesus, Stetter!” she exclaims, grossed out.
“You gonna certify that, Kara?” I ask.
“Yeah, yeah, you’ll get your bounty, just… don’t toss heads at people!”
Rather than answering, I instruct “Get everyone ready. We’re taking off five minutes ago…”
“You wanna leave right now?” she frowns.
“Of course… we have a ship to pursue…”
---
Support me on Patreon for early access to upcoming releases, including the, now complete, series, Remembrance! R'qali tier patrons can read it before anyone else!
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Dramatis Personae

So, I'm curious if there is anyway to fix a corrupted character save? Let me explain, I was speedrunning the first few quests of the game, killing the dragon and all. (I wanted to get the Ebony Blade, but it wouldn't let me so I decided to do those. (I am playing with Alternate Start.)) Afterwards I went to talk to the Jarl. He spoke to me, and once he started his second half of the dialogue, talking about Lydia and whatnot, the game randomly crashed. I thought nothing of it, Skyrim has done similar things. Although this time around when I go back to load in the game loads but instantly pops up telling me the save is corrupted and cannot be loaded. (Which I find funny as the game did in fact load, but I digress..) The only thing that was off about the game was the clock widget for A Matter Of Time was stuck on my screen even in menus, otherwise everything was the same.
Now, the reason why I am asking is because the entire character save is corrupted, not just a few saves. I know it wasn't because of adding mods because I didn't change anything. I assume it was from the crash. Now it would be a mild annoyance if I am unable to get the saves back as I liked how the character looked, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. This character also only had about 18 hours on it, so it wouldn't be a loss of time either.
Now, I am going to ask again, is there a way to fix the corruption or not? I would also be interested in any reasons why this happened, but I know that my not be possible. I'm also happy to answer any other questions.

Hay as the title implies today is gonna be my first day as car sales men tbh I don't know what I got my self signed up for I'm 18 a drop out and it was by pure luck that I managed to get this job lucky I don't do drugs and have a clean record.let me tell you all how it started I had orientation for a job that I did not like and it felt sketchy as hell they wanted me to come dressed professionally, I bought new pants and button up plus a blazer and new dress shoes for this job hoping this is my ticket out of making food for a living but boy was i wrong and it dosint help that one of the people training me has the soles of his shoes coming off. when I entered I thought this place was gonna be professional but after orientation I figured this job wasn't for me casue I felt it was scam so I'm dressed nice lost in my thoughts scared about my future so I stared looking for job on my phone and visited places that were near or looked professional casue I had no idea what I want to do with my life I had my mom drive me around looking for places and I drove past an automall and thought hay I'm good at talking why not apply the first dealership gave me a website to vist but I wanted to make sure I still can get a job so I visited another one,Before I walked in my mom wanted me to leave my phone so she can use my Hotspot I found no problem with this so I walked into this dealership talked the receptionist and had me sit and wait I see the people who where to interview me but they were busy with something in there office talking about interviewing me but they didn't come out so 30mins went by (thats what i think i did not have my phone lol) and so I'm thinking of leaving casue they don't wanna hire me and I'm about to leave but a person comes up to me and greets me he's the general sales manager and I'm panicking not knowing what to do but he says that I'm dressed nice which I thank him and he tells me to come to his office and we are talking about why I came and if I saw the post for the hire on there website and that they were looking for two candidates to train and I said I didn't I came by pure luck and he tells me that he had me wait to see what I would do and play on my phone and he was happy that I didn't and liked the fact I came in professional wich I felt like didn't and only got lucky and he gives me spiel of this and that saying that he's looking for charismatic people who can hold a conversation and I'm here sweating bullets and thanking the heavens I did not stutter and manage to hold the conversation and he tells me to apply on his computer in which I did, I filled out e-paper work and gave him my ID so he can print while I finished the stuff on the computer I finish and he sends my away telling me to look at my email and do all that while giving me his number and telling me not to call him but text him if I have questions.i went home with so much vigor I completed all the things I needed to do for my new job I even had to do a drug test wich was the first one I ever did.i completed all the things I needed to do yesterday now I have to wait till I can call the dealership and ask if I come in today.sorry for the long post this is the second one I made I'm nervous and can't sleep.
Tldr:help I start today and I don't know what to do pls give me tips and advise I frankly don't know anything about vehicles and I'm incredibly nervous like what clothing should I get and how should I hold my self anything helps :^:

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Chapter Summary:
Shot Heard Across the Galaxy A poor Shil'vati patrol goes looking for that Security Force that just got blasted in the last chapter
First Contact: We jump POV, where Elias gives them "pretty much the exact terms" of their invasion and occupation, turning it back on them.

Shot Heard Across the Galaxy

The summer had clung on by the tips of its fingernails despite the threatening change in season. The dry morning air heated quickly back to what Serenie had grown accustomed to, as if to deny the inevitable unwelcome encroachment of the biting cold night they'd just endured performing riot control in the center city.
Serenie learned some new insults over her comm as a pursuing Captain Goshen had watched the insurgent 'clear a building in a single bound like a retarded kangaroo with viagra in its tail.'" Serenie had never seen a kangaroo, but Earth's nature had fascinated her, and the loose familiarity caused her alone to laugh uproariously at the Captain’s breathless fury.
There were some other matters the Captain had muttered about, such as ‘lies turning truth’ that seemed to elude Serenie’s grasp. One thing that the Captain made certain Serenie did understand was the concept of punishment duty for her laughter. Double-shifts just seemed to be the order of the day, but being sent far afield with these people could hardly be called anything else. The scenery was occasionally something she’d have called nice, if it wasn’t for her present circumstance.
She was stuck with her new podmate, Zell, who it seemed just could *not *shut up.
"Look. All I'm saying is, they're hot. Hotter than the Security Forces 'squad' *we're looking for. *'Squad.' Such a stupid-sounding word."
Serenie's expansive patrol pod had been shattered apart by casualties in the wake of Emperor's attack on Unification Square. The combat patrol had been dropped over twenty feet onto jagged concrete as the overpass they were sprinting across collapsed underneath them into rubble, courtesy of planted explosives. Serenie was one of the only ones to come out with relatively minor injuries and to make a full recovery. She'd even hobbled to the square on a broken leg, just in time to behold the horrific spectacle of the building’s collapse.
Now those cast off shards of incomplete pods had been shuffled and mixed up to serve with some temporarily deployed Shil'vati forces from out-of-state.
Two whole pods made up of the odd numbers from other units, sent to Delaware on punishment duty of their own came together to compose the new team of six out of the hodgepodge. Once Zell had used all her brain to do the math, she announced excitedly: ‘A grateful human boy for each of their rescuers.’
And so the two pods set off with initial enthusiasm, unburdened by much familiarity with one another. That had been three miles ago, and by now the excitement had given way to bitterness over how they were wasting time on a long walk across open, somewhat bleak bulldozed terrain that nature work crews had yet to reclaim, doing Search and Rescue for a bunch of deserters who didn't want to be found at all, instead of rounding up those 'mysterious hot insurgent guys.'
Serenie reflected that at least the razed structures and tall grasses offered a nice view of the vibrant colors the trees were starting to turn. A 'silver lining,' as the more optimistic locals liked to say. 'Well the square was utterly destroyed and you're led by an idiot from a green zone, but at least you're alive!'
The boys here were always upbeat. Then again, they were paid to take their clients' minds off their troubles. And she had to admit they worked better than the stupid Anarevoca. The deep rest in the arms of the man she'd visited while on mandatory medical and psychological leave had done more for her recovery and in then passing the evaluation than anything else she’d tried. She didn’t regret a moment or credit of the exchange, even if the bribes and fees to slip her out and get her the secret rendezvous did her accounts the same kind of damage as she herself had suffered.
She hoped Azraea hadn’t lowered the score just to get every soldier back on the front lines, and switched her line of thought. It did her no benefit to dwell on such things. ‘At least he let me sleep longer than I paid for’, she reflected, remembering the faintly sweet musk of where his shoulder met his neck, and how gently he’d run his fingernails along the back of her head, through her scalp until she fell asleep.
"The insurgents are *not *hot," Serenie muttered. "They're supposedly all too old, too set in their ways to adapt. You know, like, twice your age. You got a father-fucker fetish or something?" Serenie had already had more than an earful of this conversation, and repeating her rent-a-paramour’s comforting words buttressed her conviction. The honeyed sense of validation he’d whispered into her ears was better than dwelling on the possibility that the planet and all the men on it all just outright hated her.
"What, so you got your asses kicked by a bunch of daddies?" At Serenie's stare, her new podmate from New Jersey relented slightly. "Okay, fine. At least admit the *idea *of them is hot. *So *hot.” When Serenie didn’t bite, Zell kept going. “Come on- physically active, mysterious, and just need some love and affection before they realize we aren't so bad, and you win 'em over with -"
"-Yeah, alright, you find one, you try it, you tell me how it goes. If you survive and he’s somehow tolerating even someone like you, then I figure I can swipe him off you."
"Fuck no, we'll share, and you'll be grateful I'm so generous. Seriously, share the insurgency, I say. I can charm 'em so good we'll have peace within the day."
Serenie wondered how Zell had served this long and didn't realize human men tended to be fiercely monogamous. Maybe things were different where Zell served, though Serenie doubted it was.
"That's something I actually wanted to ask. I thought maybe you'd know." Serenie wasn’t sure why Zell might know anything, but it was at least in the area of Zell’s obvious obsessions. "How is 'fuck' an insult? Especially when the humans say words that mean 'fuck you,' but they use it as an insult. But even other forms of it mean ‘get fucked,’ or something."
"You sure it's an insult? Sounds like an invitation, if you ask me. Have you tried asking them ‘when’?"
Just one more addition to the ever-growing mountain of evidence that Zell was an idiot.
The new pod's equally new sergeant was little better, but at least when Sergeant Patmorica interrupted this time, it was focused on the mission. Her comm cut through the half-hearted banter as she made her periodic report at the required interval.
"Command, we've got eyes on a pretty good LZ on the crest of this hill, mark for exfiltration if necessary." Sergeant Patmorica pointed a gauntleted finger to the ridge on the far side of the field. Rote procedure; the last one she'd pointed to would be marked as a secondary. "Got a wide open view of that woods near where the patrol of Security Forces went missing- not seeing much out here in the field. Permission to move into the forest and check for them?"
Data Officer Borzun's voice floated back. "Granted. Relief forces will be en route if you find anything, ETA eleven minutes from Command."
The return signal sounded distant, quieter than normal. Something about that troubled her, but Serenie didn't want to draw the attention of a sergeant eager to prove she was capable of leading a couple pods, or feel she had to prove herself to the red zone veteran. Even more disturbing, Zell looked ready to start talking again.
"How are the other leads looking?" Serenie piped up quickly. At least the sergeant might offer something helpful, even if the information was secondhand.
"Not great. A lot of the people who are *supposed *to be patrolling looking for rebels are responding to the strikes and protests at the prisons, beating up protestors who weren't on any lists, trying to restore some semblance of order," Sergeant Patmorica responded with surprising candor.
"Be a real shame if no one's here. We could be out there helping," Zell picked up the line conversationally as they descended from the crest of the hill near the river, past an old sign that read 'Mister Pasta'. "Instead we're chasing down wayward Security Forces, who probably cut and ran."
"Best lead we've had so far," Patmorica responded.
"Have you heard anything about 'Camp Death'?"
"Just whispers. Nothing solid," Patmorica said, stepping over a half-buried old curb. The work here in leveling the town and returning it to nature had certainly been hurried and half-done. The ridge of the distant trees hadn't expanded outward much at all.
"Supposedly, it's somewhere in the North. We're in the North."
"What, you think Camp Death is actually in the middle of nowhere, somewhere out here? Come on, the town's leveled. There was a bomb that went off literally over there-" Serenie pointed across the rubble of the highway they were walking along. "-Some local shirtless kid pulled a Lieutenant out of the rubble."
"Doesn't seem to have been enough for them to consider saving the neighborhood. Not a chance it's out here; Work crews woulda spotted it."
"Guess the work crews finally got around to really taking the place apart before, you know, 'shit hit the fan.'
Human words were very evocative. Terrible situations lined with precious metals, feces being sprayed about by rapid physical impacts- the mental images they provided, disturbing though they often were, seemed silly enough to bring a smile that had been all too absent on the senior private's face ever since her time in Unification Square.
There used to be some roads here, but all that's been cut off. A bunch of trees, and no structures, no infrastructure, and a bunch of troops? That's just begging for an orbital strike."
"He might have the hostages there. Anywhere might."
The sergeant paused, contemplating something, then jumping into a private comm chat with Serenie, her voice coming through a bit more crisply. "Yeah, alright. Look, I read your file. You had your run-ins. You're still shaken, I understand that, but I need you to not jump at shadows, got that? You get to go on patrol with us, finding some lost boys who forgot how to read a map, and *maybe *lending your local expertise. But I have to weigh that against what you went through. The absolute *last *thing I need is you opening fire because one of the Security Forces guys sneezes, and it sets you off. Are we clear? Not everything's an insurgent. Not everything is done by insurgents."
"Ma'am," Serenie responded. "Understood. I'm cleared as ready for action." Idiot or not, Sergeant Patmorica was still her commanding officer for the time being, and she couldn't exactly relate her late night rendezvous in a red zone and say she was 'all better now.' Confessing such a violation was just *begging *to be written up.
"That's what I like to hear." Something about her answer or stature must have been conveyed while providing the words because they seemed to reassure Patmorica of her readiness. Serenie felt a ray of hope that she was really, well and truly had finally free from the aftereffects.
The rest of the walk along the treeline was blessedly quiet. Five minutes of peaceful walking. No idiots, no stupid orders, no more braggadocia. Even in full kit, Serenie enjoyed nature on earth in all its many mysterious and downright strange aspects. The morning chill felt crisp, and the crunch of dried parched dirt and grasses under her boots felt more alive than the steady beat of boots-on-plate aboard a starship's hull, no matter how large or ambient the white noise supplied.
It was as she reflected on the multitudinal ways the experience was different that she had a realization.
"There's something wrong."
"Is it that we got sent out without a vehicle? 'Cause I think we could have covered all this ground in a few seconds. Honestly, says everything that the Governess shipped us out here, but got tight-fisted with vehicles and equipment."
"No, everyone, be quiet!"
"*You *be quiet, Serenie!" The soldier in front of Zell snapped back.
"Shut up!" She hissed. Sergeant Patmorica spun on her heel. "Private Serenie. What are you-"
"Please, just- just- would you just listen!" A few seconds passed as everyone stared, either obeying or just shocked at the quiet girl's outburst.
"Listen...for what?" Zell finally broke the silence.
"Exactly. Do you hear anything? Birds? See any deer? Where are all the animals?"
"What's your point?"
"I think that we are not alone in this forest."
"Well, we were sent in to investigate where people disappeared to. Duh. It's a good thing if we aren't."
"But where are the animals?"
"I don't know. They migrate, right? Look." As if on cue, a tight formation of flying Canadian Geese passed overhead, honking. "There's your noisy animals right there."
Zell pointed and quipped. “Look sarge, insurgents!” The hand tracked the geese as they flew overhead.
Serenie felt trapped. How had some stranger from out-of-state been promoted to Sergeant and assigned to lead these pods, despite clearly never leading so much as a patrol in a yellow zone? Worse, Patmorica continued her teasing, likely to try and regain some face after her authority being openly challenged.
"Should we call it in? Tell Command: 'it's quiet' or ‘I saw some parrots’? With everything else going on in the state, do you think they'll laugh, or do you think they'll...?" The sergeant turned back to face the forest whose edge they were weaving in and out of, turning to start walking up the steep hill again, as if transfixed by something. "Hold on. I've got some thermal there and- hey, are you Ladies picking this up? I've got an IFF..."
Serenie dutifully reported her readings, grateful to at least get the topic changed. "I've got one friendly- two now. Security Forces standard."
Sergeant Patmorica pointed up the steep embankment she'd been about to start walking up. "I'm reading them as being straight ahead on my map. Confirm?"
This time someone else spoke up, and with all the fresh voices and full helmets, Serenie wasn't sure she could place them all. She was too busy staring at the collection of dead and dried branches lining the bottom of the hill.
What might leave such a large swath or create a clearing? A bear? She'd seen a video of one rubbing their backs against trees, one of the first to return to the state of Delaware, dubbed ‘DelaBear. These were certainly very large, unfamiliar trees. She’d never seen anything like them before, much as she’d never seen a Bear. To her mind, she might imagine such a large furry beast seeking out a suitably large tree, for some purpose or other. But she did not see any tufts of fur stuck in the grass or to the bark. And didn’t they only do that when shedding off their loose fur in Spring?
"It's two of the missing Security Forces," reported the sergeant somewhat spiritedly, leading the way toward the hill, the pod moving forward in her wake.
She crouched low again, taking a step back, eyes following where a serpentine footpath ascended the bluff. It was hard for her to make out if there were any footprints or animal tracks in the parched dirt, until at last she saw one near her own footprint. Conclusive evidence eluded her, but she thought she could make out a boot print, and searched her memory. Was it the pattern of the Security Forces uniforms? Was she just searching for signs and evidence, the conclusion already obvious in her mind?
Then she turned in place, and saw the many trampled grasses behind them, only noticeable once the patrol had reached where they had all converged. There were far, *far *too many to be the Security Forces.
"Zell. Zell! Hold here," Serenie whispered, putting her hand out to block her new podmate's progress.
"What?"
"Trust me."
"Privates! Fall in!"
Patmorica's tone was harsh. Serenie motioned like she was going to comply, freezing in place again the moment the sergeant's back was turned to her again. Something about this place seemed wrong. Where were the others of their 'squad'? And why hadn't they reached out to them on the comms yet?
Zell shook her hand free of Serenie's.
"Zell. Zell!"
Zell ignored her.
"Zell, will you stop thinking of fucking your father and turning your family tree into a circle for one depths-damned minute and listen to me!? Something. Is. Wrong."
"What?" Zell hissed, annoyedly. "I'm not getting in trouble just because you have 'a feeling'."
"There's some sort of structure up top. I'm getting metal readings. Way more than just their plate armor. Sensors are reading weird depressions on the way up, too. I'll relay it to your suits' telemetry. Are you receiving this?"
"How do I do that?" Zell asked, tapping her helmet. "Ah to the depths with it. Could it be caves?" Serenie's dimwitted podmate asked, clearly dreading that the answer potentially might be: 'Yes, now we have to go explore them.'
"Didn't you read your briefing? Delaware doesn't have caves." Serenie had read that first upon deployment, and then wondered where all the bats came from.
"Then what is-"
At that point, her comms dropped off completely, replaced with a sharp whine in her ear.
Communications lost. Signal lost.
"Ma'am, Sergeant? Zell? I've got a suit malfunction- I can't hear you." Serenie called out, pressing the button to retract the mouthpiece of her helmet. Her suit's connection to the satellites seemed to have cut out. Most of her HUD blanked out as she stepped forward to be heard, the device no longer receiving data to sync with the other suits and Command. The Friendly IFF signals had winked out as well.
Everyone seemed to be looking amongst each other, slowly coming closer together to be heard, faceplates retracting so they could speak, or touching helmets so the suit would pick up the vibrations.
So it wasn't just her, then, but her podmates, too. All of them were eyeing the hill, now, Serenie's sinking suspicion catching on. Then, everyone was calling out activity at once, some of them pointing in different directions, clumsily sighting down their rifles without the HUD to guide their targeting reticle.
"Everyone fall back. Rifles up- rifles up! Those are not friendlies!"
Movement from the crest of the ridge, figures pointing down at them, including the long barrels of unusual weaponry, the likes of which Serenie had seen glimpses of before, and again in her nightmares. Voices called out over one another, without a comms system to filter or grant priority.
"Motion! I've got motion!"
"It's an ambush!"
"Identify and surrender now! Lay down your weapons!" The sergeant yelled. There was no answer, but neither side opened fire. "Identify yourselves immediately!" Bellowed the sergeant, again, switching her command suit to loudly project her voice in the local tongue. "Surrender immediately!" Serenie was pulling Zell back. They were vastly outnumbered.
Those low, unmistakable, clipped and precise tones of the Emperor of Mankind that her translator didn't need to pick up had her heart thrumming in her ears too loud to even make out the words, no matter how clearly enunciated they were. She knew what they meant well enough, and her steps backward started carrying her out of the woods on instinct.
For what it was worth, her sergeant didn't balk, and renewed her demands.
"Surrender immediately! Lay down your arms!"
The response was as sudden as it was brutal. Where once Sergeant Patmorica had stood, now there was empty air. Something powerful cleaved her in half, a sharp roar of noise following as the hypersonic round split the air in a deafening thunderclap.
She hadn't quite been vaporized, rather jerked clean off her feet by a sudden and terrible impact, boots leaving the ground and her body separated at the middle, halves toppling to the ground and held together by the just as suddenly exposed entrails. The shock of the impact had surely killed her instantly.
Serenie turned on her heel and ran for her life.

*First Blood *

"Sur-ren-dar!" The call sounded out from the valley below. One of those few words the Shil'vati knew and uttered almost every time we met, often before we'd even begun fighting.
I grabbed the megaphone, irritated that I'd been kept waiting so long for them to show up. "We don't have enough facilities to take you all prisoner. Please elect your bravest, most stalwart defenders of your way of life, and have them step forward into the line of fire for us to dispose of. The remainder of you will be afforded the same kindness as you have given our civilians. As you're unfamiliar with democracy and the concept of 'voting,' we'll give you a moment to conform to our system of governance and culture, whether you like it or not. You get an unreasonably short amount of time to comply."
I tossed the Megaphone back down to Larry, who stared up at me with wide eyes. The sound of wind through the trees was all endured for now, a shocked silence settling in.
"What?" I asked, hefting the railgun up to my shoulder with a shrug and aiming down the sights at the one who continued to bellow threats. It seemed we had a volunteer. "Turnabout is fair play."
I raised an open hand to all those who had watched, and the stunned silence turned to eager discipline, men sighting irons and readying themselves to unleash hell as I lowered my hand slowly, indicating I was to take the first shot.
"The Emperor has given his orders!" He bellowed into the megaphone. "Hold the line! Hold for the signal!"
I squeezed off the first round, letting the railgun round kick- and this time I was braced for it. The shot took the woman right in the midsection, and tore her apart. Screaming and shouting from below- but no signs of an immediate mass surrender.
"FIRE!"
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So for some information, this is a throwaway account for anonymity and this is located in British Columbia Canada.
About 2 years ago a new set of apartments were built in my town and I managed to get one before they were even done building. Since moving in there’s been a whole array of nightmares with these places. To name a few: the kitchen lights overlooking the bar don’t work unless you jiggle around the lightbulbs, the toilet was placed so close to the wall I was unable to tighten the water hose, the elevator has broken down at least 15 times, and of course the newest issue, The fire alarms. We get almost weekly “fire alarm tests” with a minimum of 1 test a month and so we asked about it and the landlords said there’s no end in sight for the fire alarm tests. The reason for this is because there’s not enough voltage in every unit for the alarms to go off as needed (they work in the lower floors but worsen as you go up).They also found a failed booster pack during a routine check which they attempted to fix once but never did apparently. I could honestly write a book on all the stuff that’s wrong with these places but due to the severe housing crisis we’ve been unable to find new rentals despite over 8 months of searching so unfortunately moving isn’t an option. So the question remains, is this legal? It feels insanely unsafe. Residents were not informed whatsoever and the only reason I know all of this is because my landlord told me. In all honesty I like my landlord and it’s honestly not her fault for any of this because she only took over from the other landlords who had to stop being landlords because of legal issues.
Thank you so much for any answers or advice!!!

So, something i cannot find on google is about oiling the underside of things.
Say I have a box and i want to oil it. I want to oil every surface, so both the lid and the underside of the box.
Question 1. How do i oil the lid? Assuming it sits upright when open so any excess oil that exists when oiling the underside of the lid will drip straight down into the box. Just spread the oil on the underside and then wipe off the oil that dripped on the inside of the box?
Question 2. How do i oil the underside of the box, since it will be in contact with the table (or whatever surface) ? One surface of a wood object will have to be in contact with the surface the object sits on. How do i oil the entire object?