#Cheap Solid State Drive

[international234]

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[the-demon-prodigy]

thoughts on the role of the protagonist in bungo stray dogs

today im talking abt the protagonist stuff i see in the fandom all the time! i'll only be talking abt dazai and atsushi here, but anyway dazai would NOT make a good bsd protagonist, not personality wise nor thematically.

first of all, the story of bsd is about people who are lost, who dont know how to live. atsushi is the best fit for that thematically because he starts the story at the very bottom: just kicked out of the orphanage, no friends, etc etc. by the time that the story takes place, dazai has already gotten a good chunk into his little healing journey so its not a good idea for him to be the protagonist because part of him is no longer a "stray dog" thematically.

another thing is that the story could not follow pm dazai, this is because the story of bsd at the end of the day is partially abt the strength of perseverance and hope and its a story about choosing to do the right thing, it would be thematically contradictory for it to follow pm dazai. anyway atsushis personality also fits because he is honest, uncertain, yet he is also determined. he has a stronger connection to the shows themes overall.

also, dazai wouldnt be a good protag simply because the story would be too simplified. dazai views the world in a very complicated way, which would muddle the story, but he also solves everything too easily which would remove the stakes.

as the author himself stated, dazai fits best into the mentor role because he is a living representation of the eventual success that comes to a person if they ig apply the overall themes of the story in their life? hes kind of a success story at the point of the current story and i feel like the story also sorta needs that solid proof of how strong its themes can be like i just mean like the story needs someone who's already gone through a mostly complete arc to reinforce its themes and their actual relevance. and dazai also likes being secretive so hes cuter as a mentor idk also atsushi needs guidance and i cant think of anyone else who could do that for him you know??

also a lot of the story parallels fall apart if atsushi isnt the protag bc the parallel between dazai and chuuya is strengthened by the one between akutagawa and atsushi and vice versa.

also a character like dazai who has a lot of connections and fits in a lot of places in the plot is best in a secondary role because they can guide/push the story along with their influences but they dont drive the story firsthand because if they did then it would be cheap/not really earned and bsd is partially abt thriving after making an effort. in conclusion, atsushi is a good, thematically sound protagonist, and as much of a good character as dazai is, he doesnt fit into the protagonist role

[ashwhowrites]

Request for fluff? You got it, darlin!

I'd like to request a fic with Steve surprising Reader at college. For whatever reason, she wasn't able to make it home for Thanksgiving break (plane tickets, bad weather, exhaustion, etc). So he decides to go to her, because why not? Her roommate went home so he just stays with her in her dorm and they eat cheap Ramen and make waffles for Thanksgiving.

So cute! Definitely

Not sure why most of my fluff ends in allusions to sex

"I can't make it home. I can't afford to fly and I don't have a car to drive. I'm sorry" Steve felt himself deflated at her voicemail. Sadness filling him as his girlfriend canceled their thanksgiving plans. She was at college, states away and he hasn't seen her since summer. Which was way too long not to see his girlfriend. Steve didn't have a close family, so his thanksgiving was going to be him alone in his room eating junk food while he missed his girlfriend.

But it didn't have to be that way. Steve wasn't going to wait to see her until Christmas, he wanted to see her now. He had a car, and he had money. That was the only two things he needed to go to her. He packed his bags, throwing in random clothes.

Throwing his bags in the car, yanking out a wrinkled map, he planned his road trip. He was about to call her, tell her that he was coming to her. But maybe surprising her would be better.

Smiling to himself as he started his car, hitting the open road

~~

Y/N was cleaning up her roommates mess, brain over thinking in many different directions. She called Steve hours ago with the bad news, and he never called her back. She understands he was upset but she wished he'd at least called. She felt guilty enough as it was. Knowing both of them would spend Thanksgiving alone, she didn't want him to be upset with her on top of that.

She moved to the door when there were rapid knocks. Quickly opening the door, to see her boyfriend.

"STEVE?" she squealed, not waiting a second and jumping in his arms. He held her thighs as she wrapped herself around his waist.

"god I missed you" he groaned, wrapping his arms tighter around her. Squeezing her as hard as he could without cutting off her air supply.

"what are you doing here?" She asked, removing herself from him, allowing him to walk in her small dorm.

"I wasn't going to sit at home all sad when I could just make my way to you. I want to be with you" he said, throwing his bag on her roommates bed

"that's so sweet" she awed, throwing her arms around him and kissing his lips. Steve kissed back in seconds, loving the way his body relaxed as he moved his lips against hers. He missed her lips, her kiss, and just her.

"I kinda don't have any food for a big thanksgiving dinner" she laughed, opening her cabinet

"what are you talking about? Ramen noodles? cheese itz? Potato chips? That's a solid dinner right there" he gasped out.

She rolled her eyes at his sarcastic comment, grabbing the noodles and snacks

"oh definitely. Best thanksgiving ever" she joked

Steve wrapped his arms around her waist as she filled the ramen noodles with water

"as long as I'm with you, it's definitely the best thanksgiving ever. No matter what we are eating" he confessed. Kissing the back of her neck

"holidays make you so lovey" she teased. Placing the noodles in the microwave as she turned around in his arms

"I brought waffles for breakfast, but we could always eat them now" he said, Eskimo kissing her nose

"can never say no to waffles"

~~

The two sat cuddled on her bed. Eating their noodles and sharing a plate of waffles. Watching random reruns of tv shows to fill the silence

"chip me" Steve said, swallowing his mouthful of waffle

"nasty" she teased, throwing a chip in his mouth. His teeth nipping at her fingers with a wink

"I love you" he whispered. Pecking her lips

"you taste like syrup and chicken flavoring" she faked gagged. Laughing as he frowned

"shut up and kiss me"

~~

Once they finished their meal, she cleaned it up. Watching as Steve yanked off his shirt and pants. Climbing into her small bed in just his boxers

She changed into a shirt of his that she stole, wearing underwear underneath as she slipped next to him. Smashed against him in the small bed

"you know we didn't have dessert" she thought outloud, turning her head to face him

"I have a few ideas" he smirked

She watched confused as he moved down the bed

Face heating up as he disappeared under the covers

"Steve what are you do-oh god...fuck"

Steve definitely had his thanksgiving dessert.

[polarized-here]

Can I get some more Astor backstory? (Also I think she’s really cool and I love their hair sjfhjsjfjkskfk)

GWAHH THIS IS A LONG ONE!!! Some things like details and lore lore. Drop will be erm. Skipped for convenience but they’re so Mary sue core I love her sm…

Their parents were workers—particularly federal agency workers in the specific agency designated for heroes, internships, and training, etc etc. (can you tell I’m yapping since idk what abbreviation I’ve decided on yet?) problem was, there’s some civil unrest bubbling up a lot. And some workers—like her parents were apart of specific groups targeting the government to hopefully instill some change.

They were accused of treason—and sentenced to death.

Their child—Astor had just been born at this point—so Astor was officially taken in, a ward of the national government—and well.

Astor was a powerless kid. He had no powers. So. Even if it wasn’t the most morally acceptable, why not seize this opportunity, no? So even if the higher ups hadn’t approved of it, and those who originally worked on the project were executed for playing God, and successfully committing some extreme form of blasphemy—they managed to give Astor his powers.

Thunder manipulation—where strong weather needed to be in the air to use his powers—to him mastering his ability to now summon electricity at will. But since that blessing wasn’t really theirs, her hair stays the solid blues to distinguish that. When in use and not in use. They were at first just an interesting generator—or transformer for electrical products, until some realized the opportunity they had—and tried training her to become a hero.

Naturally, the idea of being a state sponsored celebrity when they’re still grieving what happened to them in that laboratory was enough to drive them mad enough to escape. And soon he was on the run, until he managed to find a small and quaint city to hide out in. With a notorious hero patrolling the streets, Sahara after she wanted a break from the big city life to patrol less well kept cities—hopefully to keep it safe.

Somehow, that was her first decision in her life that felt right. As if she did the right thing.

-

A small note, Astor/Nexus’ costume is literally an old Halloween costume he snatched off the shelves during… December.

The shop was scratching at the bottom of the barrel, trying to get rid of their old Halloween costumes that never sold. Something something they’re all cheap and look bad.

But yeah!!! She’s so GRRRR he needs to sit on a bed mattress and sleep comfortably!!!!!!

[ejacutastic]

side note, don't listen to anyone who tells you to skimp on hard drive/solid state drive brands and get something cheap. these people are not your friends.

[psycheterminal]

Ask response:

"If you answer this ask (you don't have to), can you block my name? I'd rather be anonymous, but I wanted to ask if you know of any good places to host media like Discord? Or just place where you can leave and label the stuff? Because I have discord servers that contain my own story ideas and pictures to go alongside it, and while I can store it all on a USB, I'd rather have it all in one place where I can access. Sorry, I know I'm not really phrasing this well, but do you know of anywhere you can store ideas, text, pictures, links, etc, that are simple and easy to use? Like I can load it up, log in, or whatever place a picture I have for a certain story full HD, and it stays there forever until I delete it never looses its quality or the text I place can be edited and added to"

My apologies for the inconvenience of not having anon asks on, I got hazed by some people back in the Homestuck days and once was enough. Some people are cruel cowards and I won't subject myself to such harassment again.

There's several. I recommend using multiple sources:

Google Drive. Basic space is free, but it's Google. Storage is at least cheap, if you need more. I won't link this.

Dropbox. The OG online storage backup. Cheap.

OwnCloud. It's simple to get up and running. There's a cool markdown text app called qownnotes that can hook into this, too!

Github and its competitors. You can make a repository with all your stuff and folders, mark it private.

Use a wiki service. There's a few FOSS wiki solutions! DON'T USE FANDOM!!

Neocities. If you pay 5$ a month, you're doing a good deed and you can make your own funky website, too.

Archive Of Our Own, aka Ao3 for your text. You can set it to only you can see it! If you have hosting space, you can actually fork the software for it! It's an archive! It's what it's for! It has an original work section!

BACK UP YOUR STUFF LOCALLY! Big local storage has gotten way, way more affordable. You can get a 2 tera solid state external drive for under 120 dollars, a spinny disk external drive for under 70$. If you don't want to use Amazon, check out Best Buy or a local computer shop for options.

You're most likely gonna use money. I know money's really, really tight for a lot of people and the situation just plain sucks. I can't do much but offer options for people to ponder.

My recommendation is to back up your stuff to a physical location, and to rent online storage space with multiple vendors. If you don't mind using google for now, use both GDrive and Dropbox for simplicity. If you don't mind doing more and learning some things, use Dropbox with OwnCloud, and post your text to Ao3.

I do NOT recommend Imgur for photo backup.

I do NOT recommend Apple services unless you already have an iPhone/Mac device.

[dearheart42regenerated]

(MORE MOTORCITY UNIVERSE WORLDBUILDING HEADCANONS 'CAUSE MY BRAIN WON'T SHUT UP)

from the episode "Vega":

"I heard everything outside Detroit was a wasteland." "Seems like that's just a story Kane uses to keep us from leaving."

from page 3 of the early Motorcity series bible:

the most effective lies often have just enough truth included to make them believable.

assuming that the universe of Motorcity exists in a post-apocalyptic/post-nuclear war future (all the aesthetics and environmental clues we see in-show point to this being the most likely theory IMO)...Kane's story has a solid grain of truth in it. the world outside of Detroit - really, planet Earth as a whole - is probably BIG messed-up. I imagine only a few places were hit by nuclear destruction (otherwise humanity would be, ya know, totally dead by now), but everywhere else has been badly affected by climate breakdown for nearly a century: brutal storms and flooding, boiling heatwaves, resource scarcity, etc...so yeah, there's a lot of wasteland and it ain't pretty!

the ACTUAL lie in Kane's story is that "there's nothing worth it out there".

in the aftermath of climate change, political chaos and "Doomsday", humanity did what it's best at: adapted. there are places ALL OVER North America and the rest of the world where civilization is still going and thriving, mainly in the form of big city-states and smaller colonies scattered around. the US government as we know it doesn't exist anymore, so these places all pretty much govern themselves and trade with each other to get what they need.

since sharing and trading resources is so crucial, being a trucker has become the most vital and dangerous job that exists in this world. they have to drive the big rigs and transport cargo through miles of irradiated land, nasty weather conditions, and cutthroat raiders looking for a target. most truckers are neutral/good guys just wanting to be paid fairly, but some are corrupt and easily bribed...a few of them are directly on Kane's payroll.

(Kane and his R&D department have been using those connections to secretly steal a LOT of ideas and tech prototypes from other city-states, and creating their own cheap twisted knock-off versions. the Safe-T Suit was one of them.)

truck-stop colonies are always neutral, peaceful territory, because those are the places that help maintain the big rigs and keep the flow of goods steady. there's a code among truckers, nomads, citizens, and even raiders - DO NOT FUCK WITH TRUCK STOPS. if you attack those places, a "Hunter" will hunt down who you are, snap your identity and spread word of your crime, and nobody will ever house, trade or work with you again and you're as good as dead! you will not be missed! bye asshole!

Capri Chilton just so happens to be a mechanic at one of those truck-stop colonies. the truckers all have a big soft spot for the clever, smart-mouthed biker chick who gives them free donuts and takes such good care of their wheels, so she gets to hear alllll the stories and rumors and gossip about what's happening in the world.

(one day, she's going to hear a rumor that will change her life...and send her speeding all the way back to Detroit on her Harley-Davidson with a new fire in her eyes.)

[pixlh3art]

i'm recovering from surgery and therefore off my adhd meds so fuck it

Here's 4 Things That I, a Former Computer Technician, Wish Everybody Knew About Technology

I'm not a major expert or anything, but I'm certified for repairs for two of the biggest laptop manufacturers out there, have done not only several in-warranty repairs for those companies, but have also done a few at-home "sure babe I'll replace your laptop battery" repairs for friends/partners. I am also my whole extended family's designated tech support person for all things software. Here we go!

1. When you spill liquid on a device, turn it off, LEAVE it off, and bring it to a technician. Liquid damage to devices does not occur at the moment of the spill, but when electricity goes through wet/corroded transistors. It is NOT a good thing if the device "suddenly works later."

2. Every device that you have that can be used and also move at the same time (laptop, tablet, phone, etc.) has what's called an "SSD," or "solid-state-drive" for its storage. "Storage" is what you actually keep saved on the device, which is different from "memory" (a computer's ability to multitask). SSDs are great, but there's one thing to keep in mind: they really really REALLY don't like being filled to the brim. When they get too full, they essentially lose the ability to actually make any more space, even when you delete something, and that causes all kinds of software issues. Most good SSDs are programmed to prevent this, but you can still manage to screw them up if you try hard enough. Treat every SSD like it's maybe 5GB smaller than it says it is.

3. Turn your devices off every once in a while. Like, idk, maybe once a week. It's good for them. And no, restarting doesn't count, I mean turn them fully, fully off. If you're unsure as to the difference, let me put it this way: imagine you always got 8 hours of sleep, but only 2 hours at a time. Yeah - that's what only ever restarting is like. Turn your phone and your tablet and your computer fully off every now and again. It doesn't have to be for long or anything, just has to be a full shutdown.

4. If you lose the charger for your laptop, do some google research and find out the exact specifications of the charger your computer has - specifically, the wattage. I highly recommend going to the original manufacturer to buy your replacement. I know that a lot of laptop chargers can be hella expensive, but trust me, buying a cheap Amazon charger will become a MUCH more expensive problem later. If you can't get the original charger from the manufacturer, or if you can but it'll ship way too late, at least try to compare the price that they sell it for to what you purchase elsewhere - if it's anything more than like 10$ cheaper than what the manufacturer is charging, then it's suspicious.

TL;DR: if you spill liquid on something turn it off and bring it to a technician no matter what, treat every device's storage like it's maybe 5GB smaller than it says it is, turn your phone off every once in a while, and if you lose your laptop charger buy the replacement directly from the manufacturer.

People who repair devices for a living will thank you.

Oh! And back up your data. Please. I literally don't care how, just do it. Seriously.

[murumokirby360]

My first Samsung non-genuine item (w/ my Paper Dolls) [Nov 30th, 2023]

DeviantART Version → [CLICK ME!].

Hello. It is time to share my first experience encountering fake memory storage, particularly "Samsung". I've already tackled a "non-genuine Samsung 870 EVO Solid State Drive", from October 2023. ☝️😮 Now, let's tackle the micro-size memory format of the "non-genuine Samsung EVO Plus SDXC TF Card", and find out what are the details between their "Genuine" and "Fake" Samsung Micro SD Cards, like the SSD before. 🙂

BTW: If you haven't seen my aforementioned "fake Samsung SSD", then please click here. ↓ • My FAKE Samsung 870 EVO Solid State Drive Review [feat. my Paper Dolls] (Recorded: Oct 13th 2013)

So, without further ado, let's get started:

1st Image: ↑

• Alright so, on your left was my genuine Samsung EVO 64GB Micro SD card 👈, which is still functional after 8 years inactive. And this is actually my expandable storage for my old Samsung Galaxy S4 phone [GT-I9505] 📱, which went blacked out the touch screen, in August of 2020. Man, I missed that phone, so much. Then again, my phone was already ancient, as all smartphone brands of this 2020-ish have improved their specs, memory, features, and more than before. And on your right was my first non-genuine Samsung brand of Micro SD Card; the 👉 EVO Plus 128GB, old version. This thing was ordered on Jun 27th, 2020 (from Lazada PH 🇵🇭🛒🌐) for ₱ 378.50 [CLICK ME!], and you can see why there are some red flags on this old EVO PLUS wannabe. 🟥 Also, as of 2023, it was already out of stock, permanently when the new looked Samsung flash memory cards was out on store shelves, both physical and digital. Not to mentioned, new security features was added to prevent counterfeit ones. So, let's bring down the details between these two Micro SD Cards, shall we?

• First: the letters. They're both identical to "Samsung" brand 🔠, but don't mind their colors and their quantity of memory sizes, as well as others. Since I don't have the original 128 GB of an old EVO Plus, I'm settle in with my owned 64 GB EVO. 🟩👍 The new EVO Plus, BTW, and other Micro SD cards have already improved their appearance, since 2021. However, that's where their identical end because on the fonts of "128 EVO" we're bold over the genuine counterpart's thin fonts. 🟥👎 Also, the "Samsung" brand on the fake one was slightly different from the genuine one. 🟥👎

2nd Image: ↑

• Second: the materials. Genuine Samsung micro SD cards had a distinct while line, both old and new appearances. Making it their signature unique look 🟩👍 compared to the rest of the memory brands and counterfeit ones on the same format size. And speaking of, this counterfeit Samsung Micro SD card didn't have that unique appearance, as you could see a solid black line was spot on right through our eyes. 🟥👎 As for their materials, they're both identical albeit the fake one was used as a cheap generic one 🟥👎 instead of Samsung's genuine material circuitry process.

3rd Image: ↑

• Third: the numbers/codes. Another Genuine Samsung micro SD card was the numbers codes facing different approaches (rotating upward) compared to the counterfeit ones. 🟩👍 And for the latter was using generic number codes, that already existed by numerous copycat micro SD card clones. Or something... 🟥👎 I mean, c'mon. Take a look at your right side. We've already seen it, many times, if you're a memory SD card enthusiast (of course). Unlike the Samsung memory brands they create and generate different unique number codes per memory card, and even serial numbers to prevent fake versions of their memory brands. And uhh... Did I mention, that Samsung's flash memory cards are "Made in Philippines"? 🇵🇭🟩👍 Heck yeah! #PusoPinoy, baby! 😁❤️💙💛 If you see that via the microscopic device, you know that your purchased Samsung EVO micro SD cards are 100% Genuine! Though, sometimes they're "Made in Korea" 🇰🇷 (more specifically "South Korea"), so that counts, too. 🙂🟩👍

1st & 2nd Screenshots: ↑

• And Finally: Transfer read/write speed test & Experience used. A genuine flash memory card brand from the likes of Samsung, Sandisk, Lexar, and many more can deliver a fairly high speed/write rate. From a standard 100 MB/s to a massive 200 MB/s, the latter was for 1TB (to sometimes 2/4TB) SDXC cards (which are very expensive price tags). No matter what you choose, that depends on your budget. But at least, the quality of the flash memory brand could satisfy your experience, and their lifetime could last long. But, what about the fake ones? Could they have the same quality treatment? Well, as you can see, using the trusty "Crystal Disk Mark" software and my trusty UGREEN USB Card Reader plugging through the USB 3.0 port 🪟 🖥️, the counterfeit Samsung EVO Plus (128GB) didn't pass the potential transfer speed. 🟥👎 Only a "Genuine" EVO Plus of Micro SD cards should deliver "Up to 100MB/s Read and 60MB/s Write speed with Class 10 and U3 compatibility". And speaking of, my Genuine EVO 64GB passed the quality speed test, and according to their official website, it delivers "Up to 100MB/s Transfer speed with Class 10 and U1 compatibility". Sure, it may not deliver the 100 MB/s given that my old EVO marks 8 years of functionality, but it's good enough for me to transfer my precious files onto my EVO SDXC card without a single corrupt file (as of 2023). 🟩👍 On the other hand, the fake one had already suffered corrupted files in any format, since October of 2023. 🟥👎 My mom was using it, and she was devastated by lost snapshots. So, she decided to buy a different brand with an equal standard quality as my old Samsung EVO.

4th Image: ↑

• So, you two. Did you see who is the legit Samsung memory card brand? And their saying "Yes, it is the orange card one!" Indeed it is. 😁

Overall:

• After we've seen some differences and a short speed test, it concludes, that this Samsung 128 GB EVO Plus Micro SD Card was a wannabe memory card brand, or as I said a "non-genuine" one. So, the question was, did I refund my E-Cash after showing off some red flags on that fake Micro SD Card? 🤔 Well, yes! It was a success 🙂, and I decided to buy a different decent brand called "Strontium". As of today, I'm still using the 256 GB on my Honor 8C phone [CLICK ME!], and my 64 GB now acting as a thumb drive with my trusty card reader! (UGREEN) Without hiccups or a single malfunction on these two, whatsoever. 😊 So, as I said before and I could say it for counterfeit items, "Never judge an item by its seller". ☝️😯

Well, that's the end of my topic. The last topic will be something to save. Coming this December of 2023. 😊

Tagged: @lordromulus90, @bryan360, @carmenramcat, @leapant, @paektu, @rafacaz4lisam2k4, @alexander1301

[snarp]

I wrote this "How To Pick Out A Cheap Laptop In Early 2023" tutorial for my parents' law office; there's some task-specific stuff in there, but it may be useful for other people.

DON'T SPEND MORE THAN $500 - You can generally meet all of the guidelines below for under $400.

YOU NEED WINDOWS 10, NOT WINDOWS 11 - Avoid buying Windows 11 PCs or upgrading existing PCs to Windows 11. If a PC uses Windows 11, turn it off whenever it is not in use. As of right now (early 2023), Windows 11 is still only really intended for use in places with 100%-consistent high-speed internet access. The office's internet connection (like most places in Appalachia) can't handle this, so Windows 11 computers are likely to slow the whole network to a crawl. (There are a few things you can do to make this less of a problem, but they're not practical for the office (time-consuming, have to be re-done regularly, will stress everyone out).)

YOU NEED AN ETHERNET PORT - Since spotty wifi is a problem in a lot of places, buying a laptop with no ethernet port is a bad idea. (Also, laptops WITHOUT ethernet adapters aren't generally designed for heavy daily use - they can break easily.)

YOU NEED BOTH AN HDMI PORT AND AN SVGA PORT - The vast majority of TVs/projectors use either HDMI or SVGA ports; some recent laptops are missing one or both. This makes it very hard to, for example, give PowerPoint presentations in old courthouses.

YOU NEED A (SMALL) SSD DRIVE - Computers with SSDs (solid-state drives) can turn on and open files MUCH faster than those with HDDs (hard disc drives). SSDs have less storage space than HDDs, but that doesn't matter for the office's purposes - 256 GB is more than enough.

YOU NEED AT LEAST 8GB OF RAM - Preferably 16GB.

YOU DON'T WANT A "BUILT-IN BATTERY" - This just means "battery that can't be replaced." Laptops like this are designed to be disposable, so they always have a lot of other problems.

YOU NEED AT LEAST TWO USB-3 PORTS - Some recent laptops only have USB-C ports (the tiny ones), not the normal, rectangular ones (USB-3 and -2). USB-C-only laptops are intended as fashion accessories - they're not meant to be used for daily work, and (as above) always have a lot of other problems.

YOU WANT AN INTEL CORE i5-EQUIVALENT-OR-BETTER PROCESSOR - This isn't as big a deal as the RAM or SSD, but i3 processors slow down a lot of stuff.

YOU PROBABLY NEED A CD DRIVE - Many recent laptops don't have CD drives, but there are going to be times when you need them. (If necessary, you can buy a USB CD drive.)

BLUETOOTH ISN'T ACTUALLY VERY IMPORTANT - You can get a USB plugin if you need it, but you probably won't.

YOU DO NOT WANT A MACBOOK OR ANY OTHER APPLE PRODUCT - For too many reasons to list.

YOU DO NOT WANT A CHROMEBOOK - Even worse than MacBooks.

LINUX LAPTOPS ARE USUALLY FINE BUT YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE THEM - You'll end up needing to install Windows 10.

[international234]

Get the best solid state drives at Gold SSD. Our selection of cheap SSDs offers great value for money while delivering top performance. Shop now and get the most out of your computer with our range of reliable and high-speed solid state drives.

[multimagical]

The Ghosts of Melbrew

Book 1 of 12 in the Multimagical Series by Lillian R.S.

Masterlist

Chapter 1 - "Welcome to Melbrew"

6,025 words

My wattpad / main: @lillianrs

Friendly criticism is welcome for future reference!

Continue reading below the cut, and enjoy! <3

●●●

     It's a dark evening as I begin writing this book. A night where the trees creak outside my windows, with harsh, howling winds in the forlorn wilderness. I'm not sure what finally possessed me to tell this story after all this time, but one thing I've learnt is that you should always trust your gut. So, I'm going where the keys take me, as I trace through my memories.

     It began back when I was only sixteen. So young, so unprepared, so naive, almost innocent. Nothing could've possibly warned me for the journey that lie ahead, for the things I've seen and the places I'd been. For then, in only my teens, my life changed in more ways than I could've ever imagined. I wasn't prepared to have my reality turned on its head, I wasn't prepared to see the truth, and I most certainly wasn't prepared to see the things that were not meant to be.

     I've stayed in this town my whole life. I've seen faces come and go, and am good friends with the ones who've stayed. This place is different than it once was, but it still has some traces of its cursed past, though now faded from time. Somedays it feels strong, like I can feel it through the roots in the Earth. Yet other times it feels distant, and unwilling to show.

     I've experienced a lot in my life, yet nothing has ever compared to the things that I had seen at the young age of seventeen. No one ever believed me, believed us. We never maintained solid proof, all of our camera evidence was destroyed during the ritual, but us seven know the truth... well, us seven, and the others silently involved who now refuse to acknowledge it. But those are all faces who have gone, to where, I'm not sure.

     So, I suppose I'm here now, the next Robert J. Wright, the next Lord Lutho, the next Jane Howell who will become a mere conspiracy in the darkest corners of a library, waiting to be discovered, and inspire the next generation of those who seek the truth. I work at the school now as the librarian, and I take responsibility in preserving the stories here. Though I feel that now in my present, the whispering warnings we've heard long ago are to soon reign true... I just hope that the message can reach others, before it's too late. There's only so much we can do.

--------

     My parents and I had to move across the country when I was sixteen years old. They are both photographers, and had gotten a job offer from a studio in Metalwood City. This studio in particular wanted them to focus on photographing both rural and urban life for usage in magazines and websites. Though we couldn't do this where we had previously lived, as the job specifically required the photos to come from the state of Washington. It had a much better pay than their previous job, and my parents were up for a change of pace, so they took them up on the offer.

     Metalwood was a short 40 minute drive from a small rural town called Melbrew. Living there was extremely cheap, and my parents figured that they could run between the town and city for their pictures. Unfortunately, they were unaware that cheap living often comes with a different type of price to pay.

     This town was founded by two brothers with the last name Melbrew, of course. It lay near the west coast of Washington state, with only a fifteen minute drive to the Pacific ocean. It was kind of in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by lakes and forest on all sides. That was the extent of my knowledge at the time of moving. I wondered if it would even be worth it to live there, but that decision wasn't mine to make. I never got to have a say in much.

     My parents had sprung the moving announcement on me out of nowhere, leaving me with only a few weeks left before the move, the process started immediately. I was mad and upset, but I knew that there was nothing I could do to prevent it. I had to suck it up and go along with it, however sad it may have been. It was hard.

     I enjoyed the last few weeks with my friends the best I could, however good it would be to say a final goodbye to people you would probably never see again. We all promised to stay in touch, but does anyone really? I'll move on and make new friends, and they'll soon forget about me, only to be brought up occasionally with a "Hey, remember Emmy?". It's not sad, it's just realistic. But sticking to the positives, they weren't really the best of friends anyways.

     My last day was depressing, but also quite terrifying, considering I would be moving all the way from western Pennsylvania to the state of Washington. That was on the complete other side of the country!

     My nerves those final few days were dreadful, I remember them all vividly. The rapid heartbeat, the feeling of leaving everything I've ever known behind... It felt like a clock was ticking down to my death and rebirth. In a way I felt I was dying, as overly dramatic as that sounds. I would be leaving everything and starting again, but as scary as the thought was, it also excited me. The death was the hard part, the afterlife is the easy one.

     It took us a about a week to get there, as we had to drive the whole way, but I'm not going to get into the whole moving process as it isn't important. Lots and lots of feilds out in the rural parts of America. Day after day, hotel after hotel. It was almost surreal and creepy, especially at night. A part of me almost wished we had stayed in some sketchy motel that's the only thing on a stretch of road. Now that's where the fun is!

      I sighed a breath of relief when I was finally told that we were almost there. Slowly the wheat feilds turned to forests and trees, that's all there was, just trees. After a few minutes a giant wooden sign appeared, reading, "Welcome to Melbrew". The letters were faded and it was hard to read, but still ledgebale nonetheless.

     I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned off my music as curiosity took its hold on me. Rolling down my window, I stuck my head outside and let the wind and rain hit my face. The smell of water and pine was strong in the air, and the town was rather grey. The clouds in the sky paired with the looming trees blocked quite a bit of sunlight, it was rather gloomy.

     The forest was now less dense as houses stood next to each other, all with their own areas, lawns, and garages, decently spaced apart from each other. Before I knew it, we were pulling into a driveway. With the car now in park and silent, raindrops could be heard pounding against the roof. Of course now is when it begins to pick up and pour!

     It rained for a full two days after we got there, which made moving in much harder than it already was going to be. We didn't have very much stuff though, as taking too much across the country wouldn't be easy. Nevertheless, I was in love with the scenery. All the trees, the rain, the near darkness in midday. It was very cozy, to me, at least.

      My cat was definitely not happy with the car ride, so I'm sure the old senior boy was glad to be out of his carrying cage. His name was Sir. Bennington the Fifth... there were no other Benningtons. Child me just thought it was funny. Nowadays I call him Benny.

     The house that I would now have to call home was of a decent size and stood on a corner street. Its outer panels were beginning to peel, and vegetation coated the lawn with various plants and grasses. When the rain died down afternoon had turned to evening, and the sound of birds, owls, and crickets filled the misty darkened air.

     There was a humble little farm across the road from us, and a few other houses nearby. Other than that, it was pretty vacant, lying near the northern outskirts of the town by wooded area, though the whole town was surrounded by woods, so it's not that special a detail. It felt very secluded.

     I wished we could've moved before the school year started, but I guess I'm also glad it was early on in the year instead of later. I tried to look on the positive side, instead of being pessimistic once I got there and had to confront this new life. There was no point in being sad about something I couldn't change, as much as I wanted to be. I got my sadness out the weeks before, now it was time to move on. Is it toxic positivity? Maybe. I'll get over it.

     That first night felt so... different. I'm not sure how to describe it. The sound of the rain falling on the roof, the wind outside, the eerie quietness of everything else. My practically empty room with nothing but a bed and a box of clothes. The yellow lighting and old-fashioned floral wallpaper, paired with the old, dusty wooden floors that would creak beneath your feet. That smell of dirt, and the ticking of an ancient clock that was left behind. It all made me feel stuck in time.

     It was very difficult for me to fall asleep. New environments paired with the fear of going to a different school kept me tossing and turning all night. I feel that Benny could sense my discomfort, as he nudged my door open to come sit on my chest. It was only then that my mind felt enough at ease to drift off to the realm of dreams.

     My parents walked me to school on my first day to make sure that I didn't get lost and knew the way. The town is very small and half of it seemed to be abandoned, so I didn't see a need for it, but hey, whatever makes them happy. Once the school was in sight, though, they backed off and waved me goodbye.

     The school was on the other side of the town from me to the south, so it was quite a long walk, about half an hour. The elementary and middle school were separate, but kept in the same general area. They were all brick buildings under the cloudy, grey morning sky that only just then began to brighten. The American flag waved in the wind, the eerie quietness absorbing me once more.

     It wasn't all that grand, in fact, it was quite the opposite. It looked rather decrepit and run down, but not to the point where it looked horrid and grossly unsanitary. Well, I mean, there were a few broken windows boarded up, and vines and grass growing up the sides, but it wasn't, like, dirty.

     Really, I doubt anyone around here even notices the appearance, but my fresh new eyes did. Though despite the vintage look that the town carried, I could still tell that it used to be rather well-kept, even though some areas even looked abandoned nowadays. There was a history to this place, I could just feel it. It was in the air, and on the scars the buildings carried. The stories they could tell...

     I pushed on the double glass doors of the highschool, which were smudged and slightly stained with dirt. They closed behind me in an echoed click, seemingly sealing the outside world away as the sound of wind was left behind me. The main entrance wasn't very spacious, unlike my last school. It made me feel a little confined and claustrophobic, but I was sure I'd get used to it. I was sure I'd get used to everything, though maybe that was still my want to be positive talking.

     The door to my left had a sign reading, "Main Office'', and the door to my right had a sign that read, "Guidance Office", which were both carved into golden plates that now looked brown. Okay, good to know. That was all that was in the entrance hallway.

     I wiped my feet on the entrance mat and made my way to the hallway, though my shoes still squeaked against the tiles. On the wall was a little red sign with directions, which I followed to my homeroom, which would be to my right. The voices of fellow students began to fill my ears, and for some reason unbeknownst to me, I began to feel anxious.

     "Hello, Emeline!" My teacher said as he saw me enter the classroom. I walked over to him and we shook hands. "Welcome to Melbrew High School! I'm Mr. Brown, and I'll be both your homeroom and algebra teacher. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me or one of the other staff members."

     I thanked him and he told me where to sit, so I took my seat, and sat quite awkwardly. My bookbag sat next to me on the floor, my phone gripped tightly in my hands. People continuously glanced over to me, I tried my best to ignore them. The whole place felt off.

     Not just off, though, it was straight up oldschool. The whole town was. There were no smart boards, nor overhead projectors. Just an old, green chalkboard. The lighting was also pretty dim and more... yellow? Yellow seems to be a favorable lighting choice here, I suppose. I obviously assumed that the budget was pretty low, as I haven't seen just a chalkboard in the class since I was in the third grade.

     As I waited in my seat, I looked around the room to the other students, who thankfully stopped starting at me. Two came up to greet me for a few seconds, but the rest either paid me no mind or just looked over to me. Some gave off weird, creepy vibes with their stares. I felt really out of place, it was kinda giving me impostor syndrome, to be honest. I felt like I shouldn't be there. Just the feeling of being the new kid, I guess.

     I began to get lost in my thoughts, staring into the abyss. That is until I jumped out of them due the unnecessarily loud overhead speakers. We all stood to say the pledge, then the announcements began, spoken by an upbeat girl, which seemed almost humorous to me given the boring scenery... well, either humorous or creepy, but you can be the judge of that.

     "Good morning, Melbrew students! Today is Monday, September 26th, 2016! For lunch today, the cafeteria will be serving spaghetti, tomorrow will be taco Tuesday! The breakfast for tomorrow will be pancakes! If you are going on Ms. Hogg's field trip this spring, your permission slips are due before Christmas break! There are still a few spots open for the book and biology clubs, so hurry and claim your spot fast before it's too late! Speaking of clubs, sign ups for the brand-new history club will be on Thursday, and they will meet every other week! Have a great day, Melbrew!"

     The announcements cut off and students resumed chatting with one another as we waited for the bell to dismiss us to first period. When it finally did, I stayed seated for geometry, while everyone else left. I didn't like the looks people gave me as people walked in for first period. Definitely felt like an invader. God, I was so out of place.

     Once geometry was over, I had to head to my second class, which was a study hall. I wasn't exactly sure where it was, though. It's easy to get lost in a place where every hallway looks the exact same. Everyone fled out of the classroom, except for me and one other student who was taking his time to leave. I guess I'll just go ask him.

     I approached the student, "Hello! I'm new to this school. Would you mind directing me to the library?" I asked as politely as I could.

     He paused what he was doing for a few seconds and looked up at me, before shaking his head and continuing on with what he was doing. He zipped up his backpack, stood up, and answered, "I'm going there. Just follow me."

     He spoke in a monotone, nonchalant voice. He said nothing else, and threw his bag over his shoulder as he walked out of the classroom, not even waiting for me. I hurried to follow him, feeling a bit awkward at his lack of acknowledgement.

     He was Asian with dark hair and lighter skin, though his face looked tired as bags sat under his eyes. He wore an old, grey baseball team hoodie that was now stained with mud, and had a hole on the sleeve. His backpack looked like it was being held together by ductape alone.

     I attempted to make conversation, "Um. My name is Emeline Orman, do you mind me asking yours?"

     He didn't say or do anything at first, as he seemingly ignored me. Thankfully for my own self-assurance he eventually shrugged slightly and said, quietly, in the same toneless voice, "Kai."

     I observed the hallways a bit as we walked, which all had the same beige colored tiles lining the walls. This school's color palette definitely wasn't the prettiest sight for sore eyes, but then again it could always be worse. Gotta remember that optimism, look on the brightside. The brightside being that I felt like I was in a mystery novel, so I'll take it! The buzzing lights and lack of people definitely added a whole layer to the ambiance.

      When we got to the library, he walked off and sat down at a table in one of the more hidden sections of the place, tucked behind some bookshelves near a corner. He immediately pulled out an extremely old looking book from his bag.

     "What are you reading?" I asked curiously, but he just looked up at me, said nothing, and looked back down. I waited to see if he would say anything, but he didn't. "...Am I bothering you?"

     "Yes." he said, matter-of-factly, without taking his eyes off the book. He rested his head lazily against his hand.

     "Sorry, I'll leave you to it." I said, and walked away. I decided to go and look around, I really didn't want to upset people on my first day, that's a good way to make enemies and I was not looking for that, especially in a place that looks like a good setting for a horror movie. Next thing you know you'll be choked to death by a vampire, or something weird like that.

     It wasn't a really big library, but it did have a whole lot of stuff in it. Lots of bookshelves, tables, and doors leading to I don't know where. There were even a few computers, and that's saying something! Usually libraries have all sorts of them, but here there's only four, as it seemed. In a place that doesn't have smartboards, I consider it impressive. They were all already in use, three doing work, while another pulled up games.

     I spotted a little hallway near the back between some bookcases, and decided to check it out. It led to another room, with more tables, and a door with a sign saying STAFF ONLY. Standing against a wall was a large, moveable whiteboard on wheels. There were all kinds of papers on it, held down by magnets. Written in blue marker was a list of clubs, and what days they will meet. I read down the list, and then jumped a little when a teacher approached me unexpectedly.

     "Hello dear, I don't believe I've seen you before, are you that new girl? The Ormans?" The teacher asked as she entered the room. She looked like your classic, stereotypical librarian lady. She had glasses, her hair was in a bun, but she didn't look to be too old.

     "Oh, uh, yeah, that's me. I'm Emeline Orman." I said, and held out my hand to shake hers.

     "Well, Emily, I'm the school's librarian, Mrs. Robinson." She said, and looked to the club sheet I was just checking out, "Are you interested in any clubs? We hold most of the meetings here in this room. It's a good way to meet some new friends!"

     "I might be." I said, shrugging. "What do the different clubs do?"

     "Well, most of them are already full, but we're offering sign-ups for a new club, as you probably heard on the announcements, if you paid attention, that is." She said and chuckled, "Most kids don't. The history club is brand new and just starting out, but there are also a few spots still open for the book club. It's what you would imagine, we give you a book, and you read it, and talk about it with your peers. There's also the biology club, I believe there's quite a few spots still open for that one, if you're interested. Ms. Hogg runs that one. She does lots of expeditions in the woods to look for little critters."

     "Hm. Do you know what they'll be doing in the history club?" I asked.

     "Well, I'm not entirely sure just yet. This year is the first it'll be up. If I had to guess though, probably various activities involving history, I think specifically on the town. I manage the book club, but if you're interested in town history I would ask Mr. Marshall about it when you can. He's room 105."

     "Alright, will do. Thank you, Mrs. Robinson."

     "Anytime, love. If you ever have any questions, you can always find me here."

     I walked back out into the main part of the library and decided to look around a bit to get familiar with the layout of the place, and maybe look at a book or two. After getting bored of it, I went back to the little room with the whiteboard and sat at one of the white plastic tables that were lined against the walls. There was no one back there, so it made me feel more comfortable.

     The time dragged on since I had nothing to do, and I was actually happy when the bell rang for third period. It was time to go to English, which I had to find on my own. Luckily the English hallway was near the library, and all someone had to do was point down the hall. I stepped inside and greeted my teacher, Mrs. Palmer, and she showed me to my seat. Once English was over, I headed to my fourth period class, which was History. I went in and greeted Mr. Marshall. Once the period ended and the bell rang, I decided to ask him about the club.

     "Um, excuse me, Mr. Marshall? May I ask you about the history club?" I asked. "I heard about it on the announcements this morning, and I think that I might be interested in it."

     He looked a bit surprised, and turned to a kid walking out the door, "Dominik," he said, "Where are you heading?"

     "Computer, sir." He answered.

     "Tell Emeline here a bit about the history club. I think you'll be better at it."

     "Sure thing!" He said, and nodded his head out the door for me to follow.

     "Why couldn't he just tell me about it himself?" I asked once we were out of the class.

     "Well, you asked him at the end of the period, and it would take a while to explain. Plus, you're obviously new and I think that he thinks that this is the perfect way for you to make friends," he stopped in the middle of the empty hallway, and stuck out his hand, "My name's Dominik, but you already knew that, because he kinda said my name, but whatever. If you'd like new information on the name though it's Dominik with a K."

     I shook his hand, "Emeline, but you already knew that, too."

      We continued walking, "Did all your teachers introduce you today? I wouldn't doubt if people start calling you Emily, if they haven't already, I've never heard of Emeline. That's like Emily but with extra steps... no offense."

     "None taken. My parents just wanted to be different, but if it helps, you can just call me Emmy. Or Emma, or Em, or even Emily, really. They're all the same thing. Though usually I go by Emmy. Cute childhood nickname that just kinda stuck."

     "Well then, Emmy, allow me to give you a run down." He said, "First of all, NEVER drink from the water fountains after Douglass Bailey has touched them. Just- trust me on that. Secondly, there's a crap ton of weird stuff around here so don't freak out over something strange, it's probably normal. Oh, and third of all, you should DEFINITELY stay away from the northwest side of town. The abandoned part with the park, and the mountains, and the cemetery, and all that. That's practically begging for trouble."

    "Well, that's good to know, I guess. Why is the northwest bad?"

     "Oh, you'll see. Or more so hear. It's impossible not to. We are definitely going to be late for class, but that's okay. Not to brag or anything, but most of the teachers love me. How about my friend and I tell you a little bit about the club at lunch? The history in this place is... well, interesting, to say the least to a new comer." He said as we approached the class.

      "Dominik, you're late!" The teacher said as he walked in the class, but he didn't sound angry at all.

     "I was helping out the new girl Emeline, Mr. Adams. Sorry about that."

     "No problem, take your seats, and Emily, find a free one."

     Dominik whispered towards me, "told you." I smiled a bit.

     A kid with bright green hair started excitedly slapping an empty seat next to them, and Dominik gestured to it with his hand. I sat in it.

     "Who she?" The green-haired kid asked.

     "A new girl who is interested in the history club," Dominik answered.

     "Oh! That's fun, a newbie. I've always wanted to teach a newbie!" They said, and turned to me. "Hi, I'm Cameron! And despite what people may tell you, I am in fact a boy. Actually, I'm just straight up feral. I'm a menace to society. A man in the shadows. An enigma. Cameron Payne Johnson, certified local cryptid freak and proud!"

     "Oh, well, it's... nice to meet you? I think?"

     I looked between the both of them, and I wondered how they could look like they have completely different interests, yet be friends who apparently have common ground.

     Dominik looked like your typical smart person. He was decently tall, and had dark, curly hair that was pulled up into a little bun. A few short curls were falling down into his face, which he pushed back with his hand, then adjusted his glasses. He was black, but more on the lighter side. He was well-dressed, and wore a long beige lab coat over a dark red turtleneck sweater. He looked like the type of kid who would remind the teacher we had homework.

     Cameron on the other hand was short, and had naturally brown hair. Half of his head was shaved, and the part that wasn't shaved was dyed an obnoxiously bright neon green that felt like an assault to the eyes. He wore a black hoodie tied around his waist, and had ripped, black, skinny jeans. His shoes were dirty, old-looking converse. He worse a black T-shirt with a skull on the front, the black clothes contrasted his pale skin. He looked like a mix of punk and emo, and his nails were painted both black and green.

     Mr. Adams began teaching. Towards the end of the period, everyone began to chat again, "Did all of this school's budget go into this room, or what?" I asked.

     "Dude I don't know, man." Cameron responded, "I always see vids from other people and they've got like fancy tech boards and shit. Meanwhile I'm out here like what the fuck is a smartboard? And apparently libraries are supposed to have like, 30 computers in them? Fucking foreign, dude. These are like, our only computers. I have a theory that the principle is hording money."

     "It is way too early to start on your conspiracies, Cam." Dominik said.

     When the bell rang, class ended, and the three of us headed to the cafeteria together, as we three all had lunch 6th period. They took their packed lunches and sat down at a table, and I went up in line. Once I had my food, I took my tray and went to sit by the pair I just met.

     "Yo, I really wouldn't eat that," Cameron said, "That shit's prolly poisoned or sumthin." Dominik lightly smacked the back of his head.

     "Don't scare her, Cam!" He turned to me, "The food is just a little weird, and he's also like actually insane, so don't listen to him."

     "Oh, please. I'm not insane, I'm just eager for unexplainable shit to be real... and also the food is just one of the minor conspiracies about this place, and the poison is also just one version!"

     "Just let her eat in peace for her first day, she just got here! You can start on your rants tomorrow." He turned to me and whispered, "Though I definitely would advise to pack your lunch for the rest of your time here."

     "Um, okay," I said, laughing nervously. I then changed the subject, "So, about the history club..."

     "Oh, the history club," Cameron said, leaning back a little bit, his hands resting behind his head, and his legs intertwined with the poles under the table so he doesn't fall backwards, "whaddya wanna know 'bout it?"

     "Well, what will you be doing in it?"

     "Well, the question is," he said dramatically, leaning forward. He then slapped his hands on the table, "can we trust you?"

     "What? Why?"

     "It isn't just a history club, Mr. Marshall is just as interested in the weird stuff going on around here as we are. So, can we trust you with the secret of keeping the clubs activities classified?"

      "Of course, my life's boring, this sounds interesting." I said. Cameron narrowed his eyes at me.

     Dominik looked at Cameron, and signaled him to go on. "Keep it to a minimum, Cam, we don't wanna spill too much. Though chill out on the drama, man, it's just town history."

     "Oh, it's more than town history, Dominik!" Cameron exclaimed, "Okay, so, Mr. Marshall told us that he convinced the school that it'll be a club about, well, history, but, actually, we're gonna be divin' into the conspiracy theories of this place. He's a relatively young teacher, about in his 20s or some shit. He said he got an interest in all this because his grandfather knew the Humphrey family, you'll learn about them... If you join."

     "...Sooo, the school thinks it's just going to be about the town's history, but it's for town-centered theories?" I asked.

     "Yup! But there's evidence, oh believe me, there's evidence! It's just not widespread enough. Most people don't even know about the murders. Not to freak you out or anything. It was a long time ago."

     We went on to eat our lunch, having casual conversation... as casual as a conversation can get when someone like Cameron is leading it. Afterwards I was headed to my 7th period class, which was my language class. Soon before the bell rang to start class, a short, bored-looking asian girl walked in. She had to have been about the ages of twelve to thirteen, but visually appeared to be younger. She had bangs and two ponytails on the sides of her head, tied with blue bows.

      She slammed her books down on my desk, "Get out of my seat or I'll throw hands, freckle face."

     "Kimora!" The teacher said, coming into the class, "We will not be 'throwing hands' and calling names in this class. Emeline, could you please pick a different desk? Kimi came in late today, and she's very picky about her seat."

     "Oh, of course," I said, and she greeted me. Her name was Madame Martian. I went and took a different seat, and went on with the class. Kimi was apparently a smart middle schooler who got to come to the high school for language class.

     Finally it was time for my last classes of the day. My 8th period class was gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I had another period of my science class, which was my 9th and last class of the day.

     Since today was Monday, I had gym. We played badminton, which was fun. That fun didn't last for long though, as nothing could've ever prepared me for my biology class. Not the eeriness, nor the rumors or weird conspiracies. It was the final slice of my introductory cake of what I was about to be subjected to for the rest of the year.

     It was a classroom near the back of the school, and the walk there felt kind of... off. But it was a different kind of off than the off everything else was. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but it seemed as if all the other rooms in that hallway were unused. To the left, there was one final hall of doors, and it led to a dead end. At the end of the main hallway I was walking down, there was a pair of doors leading to an outside parking lot. Towards the end of the hall, I headed into the room on the right.

     There I was faced with an odd looking classroom, older than the others. As if the other rooms had touch ups done over the years but this one didn't. I noticed immediately that this was the class that had that one boarded-up window I spotted that morning.

     Unlike my other teachers, Ms. Hogg didn't come and greet me, and didn't really look too inviting on me greeting her, so I kept to myself. I sat down in a free seat, feeling very uncomfortable, even more so than before. The worst it had been all day. God, I could've puked. It was so off that it became physical, sickening.

     Ms. Hogg had a vibe to her, and not a good one. She looked both old and young at the same time, and gave me the impression that's she's killed someone before, but I have no idea why. It felt very strange, I was deeply unsettled by that teacher, she gave me a bad feeling in my gut, right down to her voice and physique.

     During class she talked about the anatomy of different animals, and briefly mentioned a project that we'll be starting tomorrow. This was a very biological focused biology class. I thought we were going to be learning about DNA or whatever, but okay, sure.

     I left the class feeling uneasy, and totally ready to leave that damn building and go back to my house. I was caught off guard and startled when I was suddenly pushed to the cold ground.

     "Move out of the way!" A tall blonde girl from my class yelled in a mean tone, "You should pick up the pace next time, I don't like to be slowed down!" She stomped away, laughing with two friends as her heeled shoes clicked against the ground, echoing throughout the confined halls.

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[demonfox38]

Completed: Quest: Brian's Journey

Question: have you ever unironically loved something a majority of people consider awful?

Like, I don't mean a shitty person. I’m talking crappy media. LIke, is there at least one movie that was featured on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" or "Rifftrax" that you would watch without jokes? Do you have any cheap sci-fi novels or trashy paperback novels that are falling apart from how often you've re-read them? Have you ever seen a kid's show that was clearly just a ploy for marketing toys and loved it regardless?

I'm bringing this up because, in order to talk about "Quest: Brian's Journey," I'm going to have to talk about "Quest 64." Like, what I find genuinely special about that game, and why I consider this game's existence a miracle.

If you can't understand loving garbage, you're not going to get anything else out of this evaluation.

"Quest: Brian's Journey" is a 2000 Gameboy Color RPG that takes the root function and plot of the Nintendo 64 game "Quest 64" and "demakes" it for the lower-powered hardware. In some fashion, it could be considered a sibling to titles like the GameBoy version of "Metal Gear Solid," "Resident Evil Gaiden," and "Perfect Dark." Those titles were at least associated with games from the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 era that people generally considered good. The predecessor for "Quest: Brian's Journey," on the other hand…

Look. I know why "Quest 64" is bagged on. In an era bursting at the seams with FMV cutscenes, nascent voice acting, and long, complex storylines, "Quest 64" is downright rudimentary. Would it have done okay, had it been released at the beginning of the Nintendo 64's life? Maybe. But, in 1998? In the era of Squaresoft's indominable reign in the west? It was—and to some extent remains—a joke. Doubly so after more successful Nintendo 64 releases (particularly the big gun "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time", released only a handful of months later.)

Would it have been nice to have some level of cutscenes and puppetry in "Quest 64"? Absolutely. Maybe something more than a text crawl for an ending? Duh! "Quest 64" is a game released in a beta state, desperately needing at least six months of polish before it should have been dropped on the planet. But, for all its perceived flaws, I don't hate "Quest 64." In fact, I very much enjoy it! The game is lively, colorful, pleasantly varied in character and enemy design, and relaxing to play. For me, it scratches the same itch as archery or pool. It's a game that values positioning, accuracy, and exploration. All good stuff! Drop on top of that a leveling system that augments stats based on your actions and enemy reactions, and grinding suddenly becomes both rewarding and addicting. Like, no matter how you screw up, at least you'll be making progress.

Despite liking "Quest 64," it took me a long time to hear of its follow up games. (Yes, that's right, games. But one is just a "Dig Dug" kind of clone, so don't get too excited.) Like, I only heard about "Quest: Brian's Journey" a few years ago when it was featured in an RPG Limit Break race. I'm still baffled it took me almost 20 years to hear about it. Like, hell. Am I really that much out of the loop, or was there just nothing in terms of marketing for this game? I mean, I'd believe that, but I still feel weird for being so clueless as to its existence. Talk about totally missing your audience.

I suppose when your audience is one of out a million people, someone's going to slip through the cracks.

Despite being a rudimentary port, "Quest: Brian's Journey"'s plot ends up being more complex than its predecessor. The beats are mostly the same, with the hero leaving his monastery home to pursue his father across his Celtic-inspired homeland, acquiring magical stones and driving off monsters and demons in the process. However, more effort has been put into illustrating each plot point, clearly and precisely spelling out or expanding each beat of the story like…I don't know. A real video game! Additional boss fights are also present, giving a little bit of an extra surprise to players of the first game. Granted, it's not the most complex adventure in the world, but it gives way more personality and explanation to characters than before. Like, I can better understand Colleen's hatred for the pirate Kiliac, and Leonardo's whole deal makes way more sense.

Also, the fate of Brian's father is 100% not missable this time! So, hooray for clarity! Could have done without the bit where a 14-year-old princess is being forced into matchmaking, though. That's just weird and creepy.

Most of the environments from the previous game are here, minus Glencoe Forest. (Like, I can see where it roughly was, but it's just tiles instead of its own area.) While not a one-to-one map recreation from the previous game, it's parsable enough to know what is what. Most of the difficulty navigating them is due to the maze-like structure of most environments. Granted, missing treasures is not that big of a deal. The game is very generous with item drops in battles, and you'll easily max out your spirit statistics before you find them all in game.

It's wild how easy it is to overclock Brian in this game. Like, it's mostly the same leveling system as before, taking into account a player's actions and suffered damage to augment health, MP, evasion, defense, and the aforementioned spirit pool. In "Quest 64", it would take days to fully max out your statistics, with players often finishing their game at 40-43 spirits per element out of the max of 50. Here? It all accumulates way faster. Like, I easily hit the 50 max spirits per element before reaching Brannoch Castle (the penultimate dungeon), and I was able to max out HP just casually goofing around after beating the game. The only stat that was a pain in the ass (literally) to level up was defense, and even that is easy to push up to at least 70.

The battle system is intuitive, especially for people who have played the previous game. It's just A to whack with a stick, B to line up spells, and Start to use items. About the only curveball here is the way you learn spells. Previously, "Quest 64" only cared about a single element's level before granting you spells. "Quest: Brian's Journey" wants the player to be more balanced with their element spread, requiring certain levels in each element to grant the player a spell. For example, the first healing spell used to be granted at a Water level of 6. Now, it requires a split between two or three levels between Water and Earth. Not exactly the worst trick, considering how a skilled "Quest" aficionado is already dumping stats into those elements first, but it's good to know about.

Honestly, all of the elements are balanced much better in this game. Like, I watched a Wind Cutter 3 easily dump 200+ damage into a boss, killing it off in two turns. Absolute improvement!

In terms of enemy design and placement, it's mostly as previously experienced. Like, there are some augments, like how fast Merrows can be. But, again, if you know the first game, you've got this one. The only real bastard here is King Beigus, who can easily drop 150-180 HP if he wants. Otherwise, it's very manageable. Possibly, abusable, if you know how to play around spell area limitations!

Something's not quite right with the top-down perspective. Like, I appreciate a column-based spell hitting as high as it does, but it wouldn't look right in 3D. Imagine a geyser of water shooting 6 feet to the right instead of 6 feet vertically, and you'll get what I mean.

The translation for this game is off as well. Some enemy names and spells are mistranslated (most notable "Vanpire's Touch," which was correctly translated as "Vampire's Touch" previously.) I suppose having different companies publishing this series will have details like that slip through the cracks. THQ, Konami, Sunsoft—what a weird mix! Any port in a storm, huh, Imagineer?

I'm honestly surprised that this series' developing company is still around, as of 2023. "Medabot" money is strong, I guess!

Aesthetically, the game looks and sounds like what a competent Nintendo 64 to GameBoy Color port would be. Even acknowledging the limitations there, I do think it is a little visually disappointing. A lot of the spritework is small, so some character and monster details are lost to the compression. It's also limited palette-wise, leaving the previously vibrant environment and characters mostly some shade of cream or brown. I've got no complaints for the musical composition, though. Like, yeah, there's still a natural limit being hit. But, it went from a mid-tier midi arrangement to a competent square-wave arrangement with every tune still being recognizable, so I can't bitch about that! Very pleasant.

If you found "Quest 64" to be an enjoyable experience, "Quest: Brian's Journey" is a natural and easy recommendation to make. Granted, that's like saying, "If you enjoy making taxidermy arrangements using the corpses of squirrels, you'll find doing the same with mice to be equally enjoyable!" At least, to some people. I suspect there is an overlap between players who liked this game and would like the NES games "The Magic of Scheherazade" or "Faria: A World of Mystery and Danger," but again, I may be speaking in tongues.

Do you want an old fantasy game with an easy and quirky battle system that lasts about 10 hours? If so, here you go! Enjoy getting into mouse taxidermy.

I mean, there are worse ways to develop your skills.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Light and milling balls for greener chemical processes

Light-driven chemical reactions have usually been conducted with large amounts of solvents that are often toxic. By combining them with mechanical energy in ball mills, Professor Lars Borchardt's team at the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry I at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, has succeeded in carrying them out in the solid-state without resorting heavily to solvents.

"This provides a sustainable alternative to established synthesis methods," says Borchardt. The researchers published their findings in the journal Angewandte Chemie on February, 24 2023.

Ball mills to replace solvents

Light is considered the ideal driving force of chemical reactions: it's cheap, available in abundance and produces no waste. This is why light-driven, i.e., photochemical reactions, are highly attractive for the production of chemical compounds. However, they are usually performed in huge amounts of solvent, which are often toxic and generate hazardous waste in enormous quantities. Solid-state photochemical reactions without solvents could present an alternative. However, they have not been feasible so far, as they could only be mixed insufficiently and it was therefore not possible to scale them up to relevant quantities.

Read more.

[raleighdotcom]

re laptops hi longtime lurker here i work in a tech shop. caveat that im australian and idk exactly what is on the market elsewhere.

with any computer the first thing to ask is what ur using it for. if you are just using it for browsing the web, emails, word processors, etc then you can get away with pretty basic models. running more complex programs etc you may be better off looking at higher end models. then things to consider:

size: self explanatory, note that computers are measured corner to corner (so eg a laptop listed as 14” will be 14” across the screen, but closer to 12” x 7” dimensions)

ram: also known as memory, this determines capacity and speed (basically how fast your computer runs on the day to day). 8-16gb is usually a good size for ram, again contingent on use

storage: if you see anything mentioning an ssd (solid state drive) that is storage, can range from 256gb to 1tb+ these days. like everything will depend on what youre using it for, but of course there is plenty of cloud storage available these days too

processing chip: this is in charge of basically everything your computer does lol but basically these days we recommend either an intel i5 or i7 chip (or the ryzen brand equivalent 5/7 u series)

in terms of what brands to go for, i personally always recommend lenovo (i think theyre international), they have great repairability but also we see them come back for repairs much less often.

the other recommendation i make is generally to get your moneys worth, you dont want to look at anything under around $1000 aud (around $630 usd, but i dont know what the going prices for laptops in nth america are). obviously thats personal choice how much you are willing to spend but anything under around that price point will have much less longevity and is more likely to just shit itself out of nowhere. but there are of course plenty of perfectly functional cheap laptops out there these days.

finally, if you have a locally owned tech shop (especially one that does repairs) near you i would def recommend going and having a chat with the people there about your specific needs in a laptop, they will be able to recommend specific models for you :)

thanks for all the info

this will aid me in more effectively playing webkinz with other bloggers

[donmihalik]

Are Florida home prices falling?

If you are considering purchasing a property in Florida, you may be wondering if the housing market is on the right track. We will look at the present situation of the market as well as some of the hazards associated with this post. We will also compare the current Florida home market to markets in other states.

If you're looking for a cheap area to live in, Florida has one of the greatest housing markets. It provides affordable housing and low mortgage rates. However, there are certain drawbacks to living in Florida.

The home market in Florida has recently cooled. While it is currently in better form than during the previous property market catastrophe, it is not yet at its peak. Home price increases are moderating, and housing supply is beginning to fall behind demand. This has resulted in a supply gap, which will almost certainly continue to drive up property prices.

A number of reasons are contributing to the decline of Florida's housing market. Aside from the continued affordability issue, the real estate market is also being impacted by decreasing job growth and higher interest rate hikes.

More properties are being listed for sale, but fewer are selling. This is excellent news for purchasers, but it may increase market competition. A six-month supply of homes is considered balanced in a regular market.

Many people are relocating to Florida to escape the harsh winters. They are choosing between the new building and resale houses.

However, due to the high cost of establishing a home in the state, there is a scarcity of cheap apartments. The shortfall has made it difficult for Florida to meet people's expectations.

The question of whether the Florida housing market is in a boom or bust stage remains unanswered. There are numerous aspects that influence how a market performs. The labor market is the most significant consideration. The job market in Florida is generally solid, with a 2.7% unemployment rate. Its economy is growing at a moderate pace and is predicted to remain largely stable.

The rise in mortgage rates is another factor leading to the downturn of the Florida home market. As a result, fewer prospective house buyers can afford the properties they want.

Over the last five years, home prices in Florida have increased by 80%. They are, however, not as high as they were during the Great Recession. Nonetheless, some locations are seeing significant price drops.

Among other indicators, the number of foreclosures is increasing, investment returns are decreasing, and mortgage rates are rising. Fortunately, the job market remains stronger than it was during the previous home market meltdown.

However, the housing market's affordability index is deviating from its long-term trend. The amount of new listings has recently decreased. When combined with a wider range of foreclosures, this means that more prospective homebuyers don't see homeownership as a viable option under current conditions.

The Florida real estate market is dynamic. Many Sunshine State homeowners are anxious about the value of their homes. Some people have already begun to make efforts to lower their mortgage burden. However, if you want to own a home, you should be prepared to pay higher interest rates.

Florida's economy is broad, and the state is a favorite retirement and real estate investment destination. Home prices have been rising. However, new housing construction has lagged behind population growth.

This is a nationwide trend, and Florida is no exception. According to a new TD Economics estimate, property prices in Florida will fall by 10 to 15% by 2023. While this is not a full-fledged downturn, it may have an impact on the Florida home market prediction.

The state's unemployment rate is forecast to fall, and the labor market is not as depressed as it was during the Great Recession. These variables should preserve Florida's home market from collapsing completely.

Home prices continue to rise, but at a slower rate than in the early 2000s. Housing affordability has fallen to its lowest level since mid-2006.

Single-family home inventories in Florida were at a 2.5-month supply in September. This is an improvement over the three months preceding the previous housing market crisis.