#or catching the bugs. it’s easy to SEE the solution. actually doing it is hell on earth

[ghoul--doodle]

If I’m not exhausted after uni again tomorrow I’m gonna replay bugsnax n see how long it takes me to finish it

[wallwriterstuff]

It’s A Chore || Whole Guard ||

Summary: I have spent a weekend cleaning my parent’s house top to bottom and am now sick of chores, so it got me thinking about which chores the guard dislike the most! 

Warnings: Felix’s one is perhaps a little dark with mild descriptions of death. 

Alec

Alec is no stranger to hard work (he grew up in a time when he was expected to take on a fair bit of menial work from a young age just to keep his family fed) but that doesn’t mean he enjoys any of it. Alec isn’t one to use his fireplace for obvious reasons, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the guard don’t. Both he and Jane had argued that collecting firewood is something they should be exempt from but Aro’s yet to be persuaded by any of Alec’s arguments, his main one being that vampires don’t get cold so lighting a fire is both an unnecessary luxury and a safety hazard that every guard should be independently responsible for. Aro sees it as a sort of exposure therapy. Alec sees it as his own personal form of torture.

They live slap bang in the city centre, so they have to traipse just beyond city limits to gather the wood they need. Most people class it as a day off and a chance to fool around with the group that gets sent out every few weeks to collect enough to keep up stock levels for their floor, but Alec absolutely detests every moment. He can still remember collecting firewood near the village he grew up in and though it’s far easier now with his strength, he can recall exactly how bad swinging that axe made his shoulders and back ache. He can also recall the catcalls from the other village boys tormenting him about letting his devil sister freeze. It’s just not an activity he enjoys, so his solution was very simple.

Employ a human to do it.

Alec’s aversion to collecting firewood has kept one otherwise poor family on his payroll for centuries, and they deliver right to his door for a little extra tip he is always glad to give them. There are rumours amongst the family of course that their employer hasn’t aged a day since great-great-great-great Grandpa was employed by him but so long as Alec keeps paying them to chop the trees when it’s his turn, none of them ever bring it up.

Demetri:

This man has a love hate relationship with chores. He knows poverty, the stink of it clinging to your clothes, the dirt crusting under your nails and coating everything you own simply because your so busy working to live you don’t have time to clean. For that reason, he’s quite happy to do the chores required to keep his room clean and is one of those people who calls out others who aren’t doing their bit to keep the common areas of the castle clean to – he was the one who made the cleaning rota and every lower guard member that has ever complained about it very quickly shuts up when they realise he created and enforces it religiously.

On the flip side, ever since Amun created him he has been pulled out of squalor and living in the lap of luxury. He’s spent a millennium in the finest clothes, his food hand-picked and delivered to him, his quarters giving him more space than he was ever accustomed to before. So why should he do chores? He refuses to live in his own mess, so on one hand he’s happy to do his chores but on the flip side surely they can just pay someone else to do them? He has much more important things to do. While you can catch him dusting, polishing, changing bed sheets etc, one thing he absolutely cannot do is sew.

Now he has plenty of money, wealth is easy to accrue as a vampire, and he’s used it plenty to buy what he deems fashionable, but if there’s one human habit he hasn’t been able to shift in all the years he’s lived it’s the reuse and recycle policy. Why should he buy new clothes when he can reuse old ones? That requires a bit of skill in sewing, and unfortunately Demetri has very little. Consequently, he pays to have clothes repaired…and for sewing lessons. He’s just successfully darned his first pair of socks all by himself and is unjustifiably smug about it, but for everything else he pays a professional – no sense in wasting that ostentatious shirt he bought in the 60’s when it could come back into fashion at ANY moment.

Felix:

Felix is generally very happy with his place on the guard, but there’s one thing that really bugs him sometimes, and that’s the one particular chore he gets called on for a lot. There’s a lot of tourists that come through the castle on a fortnightly basis, and since they don’t leave…how do you get rid of them? With a contingent of lower guard under his command, it’s left for Felix to dispose of the bodies more often than not. The higher-ranking guard members do take turns to chip in and help with the clean-up, but more than one person has started to realise that more often than not Felix is the one left to the task.

He has a bulky frame and he’s exponentially strong, so he can shift a fair amount of bodies in record time once clean up begins. He strips the bodies of valuables, as the last of the blood drips down the drain, and once they’re ready for moving, he can take several at once down to the ovens near the dungeons and start cremating them. He’s good at his job, but he doesn’t like doing it. Burning flesh smells bad and if he’s brutally honest, he doesn’t want to end up looking twice at the people he’s fed from. It’s very obvious they all died in pain and more often than not their faces aren’t peaceful, mouths frozen open mid-scream and glassy eyes staring back at him till he closes them.

He’s made noise once or twice about being put on clean up duty less, but sadly he’s made himself invaluable at this task. He only does it so efficiently because he can’t wait to get the morbid task over with.

Jane:

Jane is…not spoiled per say, but she tends to get what she wants a lot. Her role as a woman in her human life was entirely domestic. She was meant to be a dainty little housewife so it’s really not a big deal for her to do the chores necessary to keep her room clean. There’s something oddly comforting actually, about cleaning her room. It’s one of the few things that makes her feel normal actually and she quite relishes the chance to drop the scary guard act. Hell, sometimes a quiet evening polishing her coin collection (whichever case happens to be on display gets polished once a week like clockwork) actually makes her smile.

What Jane appreciates less is having to clean the common areas. Demetri’s rota is the bane of her existence and she has tried multiple times to sabotage it but Demetri always has spare copies, and no amount of torture so far has gotten him to give up the location of these copies for her to destroy them. As far as Jane is concerned, she is responsible for her mess and her mess alone. Why should she clean up after anyone else? Nobody in the guard regardless of rank is younger than a few decades at best so they are all grown up enough to know to clean up after themselves, especially when they indulge in the secretary without permission and left a horrific blood stain she had to use three different types of Zoflora on to get rid of the smell.

[osmw1]

Crowbar Nurse   Chapter 18 — Zombie Virus

“Did...did we get it?” Kiryu, who was sitting beside me, managed to get his words in between fits of coughing.

I surveyed the cabin. “Umm, is everyone alright?”

“...All good here,” Kiryu kept coughing.

“Me too, somehow,” Elizabeth chimed in.

“Oh, thank goodness...” It was quite the crash, but we somehow managed to get out of it with only a few cuts and bruises. I knew it was minor, but I just couldn’t help but to grab a handful of herbs from Kiryu’s pockets and jam them into his mouth.

I peered out of the cab window to find the Administrator groaning and motionless on the cold ground. “Looks like good effect on target. I think we can catch You!”

I pulled my head back inside before rappelling down the makeshift bedsheet-rope. The friction burned my hands before I could reach solid ground.

There You was in her unassuming bob cut and peach-colored dress...still hammering away the Administrator with the butt end of an empty gun.

“What are you doing?! Let’s get out of here already!” My screaming didn’t seem to get through to her, leaving me with no choice but to get physical. Unfortunately, she had the upper hand; I was about to wrestle her away but she flung me off. “Boof!”

“Take it easy, Sera! Now that we’ve rendezvoused, couldn’t we just all travel together to some other game? Check the phone!” As always, Kiryu had a practical solution.

“Oh... Yeah, maybe. Hold on, let me check really quick!” I opened the app on my phone, and it left me wide-eyed. It was the exact same as before. “...It’s still gray...”

“What? Why the hell is it still gray? Why can’t we move her somewhere else...?” Kiryu furrowed his brows as he stared at You, who was still thrashing away at the Administrator like a feral beast.

“What...what do we...” I muttered with my head in my phone, but I couldn’t look away. There was something different.

“Is something the matter, Sera?” Elizabeth voiced her concern for me, having noticed I was frozen in place.

“Uh, look at this...” I pointed to the screen. The three of us plus You were in a game titled “??????????????????????????????????????????”. Deadman’s Conflict 3 was no more.

“Wha...—” She crumpled to the ground.

“What? What’s wrong?” Kiryu knocked You out before coming over, before the three of us fell into a silence.

“Do you have any idea what this means, Kiryu?”

“...Not much to go off of. But judging from what’s happening around us, I think something must’ve replaced the world of Deadman’s Conflict 3,” he said as he stared into my phone. “I thought it was weird how the Administrator totally ignored us earlier. Must’ve bugged out or something.”

I took in his words and then looked over at the lump of flesh. The Administrator had already regenerated all the damage it received from the collision. It clambered upright and started tearing apart the world again, like ripping tiles off the floor.

The dark, purplish skybox peeked through the spots of missing background. I wasn’t sure what it exactly was. It seemed like some sort of pixel art, but I knew it was definitively not DC3.

“Crap. The world’s coming apart. Let’s get out of here as quickly as possible,” Kiryu warned.

“Yeah, you’re right...but what about You? I’d like to get her out of here too, but she’s still grayed out.” I trembled as I flickered my gaze at my phone and then back to her.

Elizabeth was observing You as well, and she pointed at her, “Hey, hold on. Look... She’s injured.”

I looked at where she was pointing. On You’s neck was a humanoid bite mark.

Oh no.

Attentive as ever, Kiryu saw me fall into utter despair immediately then looked where I was looking. His look was one of immense pain.

“...This might be a dumb question, Sera, but people turn into zombies when they get bitten here, right?”

“...Yes, they do. Well, no, umm... Like many other games, the player in DC3 doesn’t get infected when bitten by any regular old zombie. I think it’s different story with the sequels, but getting bit in this game shouldn’t zombify the player.”

“So, there’s a chance that You hadn’t been infected by the bite then?”

“...I’m afraid not. That bite mark looks to be from a special infected, never mind the whole being grayed out and unable to travel out of this world thing. She must’ve been bitten in the story event.”

“What do you mean?”

“In the middle of the game, there’s a fight where the protagonist gets infected with the zombie virus and then has 24 hours to find the vaccine. If not, then the protagonist gets turned into a zombie.

I’m thinking that’s what happened to her. She must’ve triggered the ending before managing to find the vaccine. That’s something that can happen in the game as well.”

“Argh,” he spat out his frustration, “the road we came from got blasted all to hell by the missiles, so no turning back for the vaccine either. If we can’t save You and we can’t move her out of game, then...I don’t think there’s much we can do for her at all…” He followed up with a deep sigh.

You’s breathing was rough as she fell into a coma. Kiryu could only silently shake his head at the sight. “…We’re out of time, Sera. Let’s leave this game before it’s too late for us.”

I turned to Kiryu’s somber face. I felt the need to say something—anything at all—but I had no words. I looked at the Administrator who was still peeling away at the backdrop before finally checking the Vital Watch. There was no telling whether the thermobaric missile ending had been canceled or not. And if not, we would have less than 20 minutes before reduced into a fine mist.

“…Kiryu. Elizabeth. You two should leave for the dating sim world,” I pleaded.

Kiryu looked as though he detested the idea.

Neither was Elizabeth accepting of it, asking, “What are you planning to do?”

“I’m…going to make my way back to two levels ago, go to the pharmacy, and get this drug called Zombinal.”

“The name suggests otherwise, but I’m guessing Zombinal is the vaccine?”

As I responded “Yes,” Kiryu delicately lifted up my wrist to check the Vital Watch on my forearm.

“Let’s see… You’ve got 20 minutes until the bombs drop. You’re making the trip only because you know you’ll make it back, I presume?”

“I...should make it back.”

“What you’re saying is that there’s no chance in hell.”

“…”

“…You’re going to throw your life away like that?” His question was sober.

I bit my lip unawares before responding, “…It’ll be fine, Kiryu. I’ve made sure that you and Elizabeth will get away safely, even if I were to die. There’s nothing you two need to worry about.”

“That’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking if you’re planning to throw your life away.”

“…I know I’m being selfish,” I said as I looked up from the Vital watch and locked eyes with Kiryu. “I’ve always wanted to be a nurse—a public health nurse—because I’ve seen too many people mourning their loved ones when a simple vaccine could have prevented all the suffering. If only I could prevent those cases… You know?”

Kiryu listened in silence as I strung together the words in my mind. His facial expression did all the talking—he understood of my feelings, yet he was telling me to save myself.

I understood him back completely fine, but still I shook my head. “I started on this career path hoping to save just one life, to prevent just one grieving person in this world. I might have forgotten why because of my bullshit working conditions, but I know I’d never forgive myself if I were to give up on You. I can’t let go of this.”

“…I see. I never knew how serious you are about being a nurse,” he replied with a sigh.

“Not just any nurse—a public health nurse! I studied real hard to get my license, you know?” I pouted.

“No offense, but I don’t think your average Joe has any clue what the difference between the two are,” Kiryu quipped as he pokes at the phone in my hand before continuing, “And Elizabeth…”

“Umm… Yes?” Elizabeth flinched when he suddenly called out to her.

“Unlike Sera, you actually properly play your otome games, right? Of all the ones we can jump to, which one do you reckon would be the safest?”

“Uh, umm… The safest world would likely be Mabataki Academy Memorial. The game is set in modern day and it features the least combat in its series,” she points to one of the games listed in my phone.

“Alright. Elizabeth, then that’s where you’re going. It’d be dangerous for you to stay here any longer, seeing how you’re not much of a fighter.”

“…Okay. I’ll conquer the world of Mabataki for us.”

“‘Conquer,’ huh? It sure sounds like a peaceful time.” My sarcasm didn’t detract from Elizabeth’s determination.

“It won’t be. Look—there’s already two people there,” she pointed to the screen. Elizabeth looked worried for a few seconds, before finding her seriousness again.

“…Look. I haven’t brought it up until now, but only in-game items have been replenishing here—items like weapons and equipment that we can normally purchase from shops. But background objects, like food or bottles of water? Those don’t respawn when we take them out of the supermarket.

So it would only be natural that people fight over a device that let them move between worlds. Do you see what I mean?”

“You’re saying sustenance and survival comes into play too. That’d be a reason that people would kill each other for if things take a turn for the worse.”

“The fewer the mouths to feed, the more food there is to go around. It’s been on my mind this whole time...but I couldn’t find the courage to tell you two. I’m sorry.”

“But you just did, so thank you,” I said to Elizabeth with a warm smile. She had her face turned away in fear of how we would react. I could tell that deep down she was inherently a good person.

“Hey, Elizabeth?”

“…What do you want?”

“When you get inside Mabataki, don’t worry about conquering it or anything, okay? Just do whatever you can to survive for, like, twenty—no, fifteen minutes. After that, you’ll know whether I manage to catch up to you two or whether you’ll return to the real world without me.

And I know you’re not one for violence. I could tell by the way you held that rifle in your hands that it didn’t sit quite right with you. Don’t force yourself to fight.”

With tears in her eyes, Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, but her anxiety was holding her back. She finally found her words and told me, “…I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t go dying on me!”

“Of course not. We’ll get out together,” I agreed with a smile before returning my focus to my phone. It was my first time on this app, but it wasn’t anything too hard to figure out. Elizabeth disappeared before my very eyes the instant I tapped the OK button.

Damn. I really just teleported her.

“Your turn now, Kiryu.”

As I was about to send him to another world, Kiryu forcefully snatched the phone out of my hands.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Which way is it?”

“…huh?”

“Which was is the vaccine?” Kiryu asked, as he stuffed my phone into one of his pockets.

I pointed towards the direction of the medicine, as if his calm yet firm voice compelled me to do so. “T-The door there…it’s all bombed out of shape. But it’s not a destructible object in the game, so I’m not sure how we’ll find our way back…”

Almost instantaneously did Kiryu quickly step towards the metal doors to mow them down with his crowbar.

“Wha…” I was flabbergasted when I saw the doors creaked and bent back open. What the hell is he capable of…?

“I thought I told you already. I’m not about to let you die.”

I had no answer for him.

“Why do you look so surprised? You were the one ripped the “KEEP OUT” tape apart in the beginning. Showed that it doesn’t make a lick of difference whether the environment is supposed to be destructible or not.

I’ll throw You over my shoulder and we’ll march back with the remnants of our troops. Let’s go get that vaccine.”

■Vaccine

While they are normally to prevent disease, there are also vaccines effective after exposure to the pathogen. For example, with post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies, it can be effective when taken generally within 24 hours of exposure to the virus and prior to onset (though it is not useful after onset.)

In the game, the definition of “vaccine” is ambiguous and the workings of the zombie virus vaccine are vague. The effects of the vaccine also change if it is taken in a cutscene versus in-game.

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[cami-chats]

Not Rock ‘N Roll Good

A/N: A modern Sandor/Arya fic so I can dabble in their characterizations. I think it’s obvious but just in case: lots of language ahead!

Tags: AU- Modern Setting, Wrong Number, Getting Together, Time Skips, Blind Character, Blind Arya Stark, Identity Reveal, Minor Sexual Content

Sandor's phone chimed with a message, and he frowned. Anytime someone texted him, he was suspicious. He pulled it out and checked.

Unknown Number: Dude where the fuck are you?

Unknown Number: And you don't get to be mad at me for cursing at you because you're THIRTY MINUTES LATE

He didn't have plans with anyone, and certainly not with someone whose number wasn't in his phone, so he ignored it. It was a wrong number, they'd figure it out soon enough. Sandor turned back to the computer and looked over the schedule. Bronn was going on vacation-- or so he claimed, frankly Sandor thought he was a fucking liar-- and with Ygritte reducing her hours so she could make her internship, they were stretched thin.

Unknown Number: Are you going to show up?

Great, this person was being stood up, and Sandor was going to have to be the one to break the news.

Unknown Number: Ramsey?

He sighed, typing out a reply. To Unknown Number: Think the arse gave you the wrong number mate.

Unknown Number: Of fucking course he did

Unknown Number: What a gods cursed cunt

Unknown Number: I should have known better than to make a date with someone I met at a club

Unknown Number: Sorry dude but I'm pissed. I had to cancel with my study group for this dick

To Unknown Number: It's fine. Vent all you want maybe it'll distract me from this boring shit.

Unknown Number: WELL IN THAT CASE

Unknown Number: Jk

A little bubble showed up to signal they were typing again, and Sandor gave up pretending to look at the schedule. He already knew what was going to end up happening: he'd ask Gendry, Gendry would look at his schedule and have to say no, and Sandor would cover it himself.

Unknown Number: I know you don't know me, but it's not like I welcome random arse people to hit on me. He had to go out of his way and spend TIME convincing me to agree to this, and then he doesn't even show up.

Unknown Number: And I only agreed because it seemed like he'd hop into bed with me.

Unknown Number: I just wanted to get laid.

To Unknown Number: Have you tried sex toys? They're better than most people think.

Unknown Number: Oooo personal experience talking?

To Unknown Number: Yes. People are disappointing.

Unknown Number: Well, you're not wrong.

To Unknown Number: When was the last time you were actually satisfied with someone else in bed?

Unknown Number: Not sure it's EVER happened. Mostly I get pity fucks.

To Unknown Number: Sounds shitty. Sorry man.

Unknown Number: Woman actually. Not that I care, but I thought it was weird that you might think I'm a guy.

To Unknown Number: Well I'd offer to have sex with you but I'm busy

Unknown Number: Lol

Unknown Number: I'm willing to wait for you to be free ;)

To Unknown Number: Might be waiting a while.

Unknown Number: No offense, but does it look like I'm in a big hurry? I've got a shit ton of time to spend waiting.

Unknown Number: But I can't wait rn cause my hero in a car has come to pick me up. Talk to you later future-babe.

Sandor shook his head, mouth curving up into a smile as he set his phone to the side. Chances were that they wouldn't talk again, but it picked up his mood enough that when he got home, he made himself food instead of eating canned stew cold because he was too lazy to put it in a bowl and then the microwave.

*

Sandor carried his phone with him while he worked in case there was an emergency or someone needed to call in sick-- he really fucking hoped that no one did that today because it was busier than most Monday's. Everyone that wasn't an employee had notifications muted while he was working at the gym, so it wasn't until he was taking a lunch break that he saw the _ unread texts he'd accumulated since getting up this morning.

Unknown Number: I'm beginning to think that someone put a sign on my back that says 'please bug me straight boys'

Unknown Number: Seriously this is getting ridiculous ffs

Unknown Number: Aha! Mystery solved, my sister Sansa has been at work here. Well, her and her girlfriend Margaery.

Unknown Number: My name's Arya btw. It seemed weird that you knew my sister and her girlfriend's name but not mine.

Unknown Number: All these mediocre bastards are reminding me of our future plans together, and all I have to say is that I'm glad we have this (joking) agreement. Cause not once in our ten minutes of conversation did you objectify me. A high bar, I know.

Unknown Number: You should tell me your name when you see these so that when I ride my dildo tonight I can think of you ;)

Unknown Number: Gods I hope that wasn't inappropriate.

Unknown Number: Sorry if it was, I was just trying to make a joke.

Unknown Number: You know, the more I think about it, the more it seems to have been in poor taste.

Sandor added her as a contact under 'Arya, the horny one' so that he'd remember.

From Sandor: Name's Sandor. If you haven't changed your nightly plans, that is He paused, then added a winky face before he sent it, just to be sure she'd know he was joking.

From Arya, the horny one: Oh thank the gods. I have like two friends, I didn't want to lose you

From Sandor: Am I friend #2 or would I be added as #3?

From Arya, the horny one: Don't be so nosy.

From Arya, the horny one: I'm sure you'll figure it out someday.

Sandor snorted and put his phone back in his pocket.

*

Incoming Call From Arya. Sandor checked the screen, then frowned. They'd never called each other before, and it was late. What was she doing calling him at this hour? "What."

"Saaaaandor you answered! See Sansa I told you he would, suck my dick."

Inexplicably, he was amused. "Are you drunk?"

"Only a little. If I drink too much I can't walk straight and I bump into all kinds of shit. Nearly got ran over once."

"You did get run over!" a different woman's voice said, coming through the phone's speaker.

"You got run over?" Sandor asked, even more amused than before. Drunk people annoyed the hell out of him and he didn't have the patience for it, but right now was different. Maybe that was because he was finally hearing her voice, and while she was definitely a woman, it wasn't high-pitched enough that it felt like his ears were bleeding.

"It was a tap," she argued. "I didn't even need stitches. I've given myself worse trying to do fucking needlepoint."

"You do needlepoint?" He found that hard to believe.

"Fuck no, that's why I was able to convince my mother to let me stop. It wasn't worth the cost of bandaids."

"Sounds safe."  

"You've got a sexy voice. Did I tell you that? I feel like I forgot to tell you that. I was busy proving a point to Sansa and got distracted."

Sandor snorted. "If you think my voice sounds sexy, you really do need to get laid."

"Is that an offer?"

"Fuck no. You could do better."

"Pretty sure we got talking because I haven't been able to do better. And what do you mean 'fuck no'? I'm a bloody catch, you twat!"

"How would I know? I haven't seen you."

"Well there's an easy solution to that. You free this Sunday? And I ask only to make sure you didn't make plans with your friends, I know you have the day off work."

"My friends are all working," he said drily. "I never have plans."

"Great, then you won't mind meeting up for coffee. Say, ten in the morning?"

"You want to meet me?"

"I don't know what- shut it Margaery I can walk and talk at the same time, bugger off. Pretty sure I've made it clear I want to fuck you, coffee is nothing."

"I ain't pretty, Arya. I don't know what kind of Prince Charming you've been imagining."

She snorted. "Yeah that's not gonna be a problem. I'm attracted to your voice and your personality, trust me, that'll be enough."

"I'm a miserable old shit." That much, he was sure of.

"All the more reason to get both of us laid. Happiness is one good round of sex away, do you really want to turn it down? Sunday, ten o'clock, the Godswood. I'll be the one with brown hair, a cane, and silly yellow sunglasses. If you're gonna be more than five minutes late, text me or I'm leaving. See you- seven hells Sansa! I was almost done mind your own fucking business. Bye Sandor see you then!" she called out hurriedly, like the phone was being taken from her.

"Er- bye." He hung up, then stared at his phone, bewildered. Guess he had a date. He didn't want to see what Arya's face would look like if her expression was just going to twist in disgust from his scar. He wasn't telling anyone about this. Bronn couldn't keep his fucking mouth shut, and Gendry would be all hopeful and give him that stupid puppy look and tell him that maybe he would fall in love and be happy. What a cunt.

*

He thought about dressing up.

He decided that was stupid.

He ended up in jeans and a worn, long sleeve shirt with his hair pulled back-- no point in trying to hide the burn scar. What was he doing? This was stupid. He wasn't so far removed from reality to believe that she'd run screaming, but it was going to change things. Arya didn't believe him when he said he was an ugly fucker, but now he was going to get to see her reaction up close and personal. Fuck everything. He still grabbed his keys and left the flat, heading towards the coffee shop she'd told him she would be at.

Fuck it all, he didn't even like coffee. Maybe they'd have something without that bitter shit in it.

Sandor grumbled to himself the entire trip there, but he showed up and that was rather telling. The shop wasn't packed, but it was comfortably full. They'd be able to have a conversation without the employees overhearing every word they said. It would also make it harder for him to find her, but what the hell. With a face like his, no one would be surprised that he was here for a blind date, and they sure as hell wouldn't be surprised if he got stood up. Not that he thought Arya would do that.

Brown hair, yellow sunglasses. She'd also mentioned a cane, but chances were he wouldn't be able to see it walking around like this. He passed three different hipster couples, and five single hipsters. Fucking hells he felt like he was going to lose his mind. Brown hair, yellow sunglasses. Brown hair, yellow- aha. Shit she hadn't been kidding when she described her sunglasses as 'silly'. They were large and garish and in the shape of stars. She had her dark hair pulled back in a half-bun, and the cane she mentioned was resting between herself and the wall. There was no drink in front of her, and her elbow was propped up on the table, resting her chin in her hand as she stared into space. She was pretty. Too damn pretty for the likes of him, but he couldn't turn around now.

"Arya?"

She turned her head. It didn't seem like she was looking at him, more like she was looking a foot from where his chest was. "Sandor?"

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Yeah that's me."

"Great," she said, grinning. "Have you gotten a drink yet? I hope not, because I'm buying." She reached for the cane and stood, and that was around the time Sandor realized it was a familiar white style. She reached out her hand, and he moved automatically, standing next to her and guiding her hand to the crook of his elbow. They started to walk. "So, did you need a drink or are you just enjoying me hanging off your arm?"

"Both."

She snorted out a laugh.

"Few steps to the line," he warned as they slowed down.

"Know what you're getting?"

"No."

"You don't drink coffee, do you?"

"Not... usually," he hedged, and she laughed, but not cruelly-- which had been Berric's reaction when he learned that Sandor didn't drink coffee.

"Yeah most of it tastes like shit. I get the turtle macchiato because it's so sweet I can't taste anything else. Do you like sweet drinks?"

He made a face and said nothing. Then he remembered that she couldn't see him and said, "Not really." He liked sugary sweet, but dessert sweet tasted like liquid cavity and he hated it.

"And you don't like coffee." She hummed, thinking it over. "I think they have tea if you'd prefer that."

He grunted and scanned the menu. They had lemonade, he'd probably try that. The line moved forward, and he urged her to take a few steps, which she easily did.

"I'm not what you expected, am I?" she asked, a bitter note in her voice.

"No. You're a hell of a lot prettier."

She sighed. "You are sending mixed signals, Sandor."

"I am?" he repeated, confused. He'd thought it was pretty clear that he was happy to be here.

She gave a tense shrug. "You're not talking much."

"I'm talking more'n I usually do."

"If you don't want this to be a date, you can say so. We'll just be two friends meeting up, there's no harm in that."

"I don't talk much," he said. When that didn't comfort her, he added, "I wouldn't worry about it."

"If you say so," she said, which was noncommittal, but her mood picked up again.

A minute later, he told her, "It's our turn."

"Hey Arya," the man behind the register said.

"Hey Sam."

"Getting your usual?" Sam asked.

"I have a usual?"

"Large hot turtle macchiato, right?"

She groaned. "I've become predictable. This is like a nightmare."

"I wouldn't say totally predictable. Who's this with you, hm?" he asked, glancing at Sandor. His eyes darted to the scar, but he didn't look overly bothered by it. That was a nice change.

Arya snorted even as she leaned into Sandor's side. "Like you wouldn't tell Jon everything I say."

"I might not."

"Man," Sandor said, "I hardly know you and even I can tell that's a lie."

He gave a sheepish smile. "Well, he is my best friend. Anything for you today, Arya's mysterious friend?"

"Lemonade."

"What size?"

"Make it a large," Arya supplied so that he didn't have to worry about it.

Sam nodded, writing the order on a cup and setting it to the side. "Anything else?"

"Not for me." She angled her head towards Sandor. "Did you want a pastry or something."

"I'm good." Pause. "Thanks."

"Okay." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet. It was a simple billfold, and Sandor noticed there was braille on the front of the card. Then he averted his eyes because what the fuck was he doing looking at her bloody credit card? She handed it over, and Sam swiped it, delivering it back to her waiting hand. When the receipt printed, he pulled it off and threw it away like he'd done it a hundred times before.

"Alright, you know where the hand-off bar is, Edd'll be the one down there today."

"Thanks Sam."

A few people stared at the pair of them, but for the most part no one cared. Sandor had dealt with far worse, so he ignored them without a second thought. Arya had probably dealt with worse too, even if she couldn't see the people currently staring.

*

Somehow one date turned into two, turned into eight. Sandor actually left the gym for lunch now, meeting Arya at the nearby deli every few days so they could eat together. The joking about sleeping together seemed less like joking and more like a legitimate question when Arya said it now.

Sandor shrugged uncomfortably, and Arya could feel it because she was holding onto his arm at the moment as they walked down the street. "We haven't known each other long."

"Oh please," she said, and Sandor got the sense that she was rolling her eyes. It was hard to tell through the dark lens of her sunglasses, but her tone made it rather clear that that's what she was doing. "We've been texting for four months, and seeing each other in person for another month. I think that's plenty of time. You weren't half as shy over text."

"It wasn't a possibility back then," he grumbled, and Arya sighed.

"If you don't want to, we don't have to. If you don't find me physically attractive- well, first of all fuck you, but that's fine too. I don't mind waiting as long as I know that's what I'm doing. But if we're not fucking because you think I'm not interested or some shit, you need to let it go."

"Of bloody course I know you're interested. You've made it pretty damn clear."

"So what is it? Are you not interested?"

"Course I am."

"Then what's the hold up?"

Sandor grumbled an answer under his breath, knowing full well that she couldn't understand him.

"What?"

He sighed and said it again, clear enough for her to hear this time. "It's been a while."

"Aww are you nervous?" she cooed. When he didn't joke back, she dropped the teasing expression and tone. "Wait, seriously? Sandor, there's nothing to be nervous about. I have complete faith in your ability to fuck me blind." She paused. "Get it? Blind?"

Begrudgingly, Sandor found himself chuckling.

"Listen, I remember telling you that my sex life has been pretty lackluster. Even if it's not good, I've definitely had worse. And besides, those were one-off's. If the first time sucks, so what? The second time'll be better. All of this to say that I don't think you'll be bad, but whatever, I doubt you'd listen to me if that's all I said."

"Yeah."

They slowed down for a crosswalk, conversation pausing in the presence of other people that would clearly be able to hear them. The light changed, and they started across, waiting a little longer to continue the conversation so they could get some distance.

"How do we plan that? I work all the fucking time and you have a roommate."

"You say that like we don't have time, right now, on our way to your flat."

"Right now?"

"Why not?" she asked, having to step away for a moment to avoid a shop's sign.

"It's the middle of the day."

Arya snorted, retaking her place by his side. "And you care? If you think you're going to be shit and shoot off early, then there's no reason why we should carve out three hours of an evening to do it."

He glanced down at her and found himself wanting. That wasn't anything new. She was not only bloody attractive, but willing. "Fine."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes."

She grinned, holding herself just that much higher as they walked.

It took several more minutes before they reached Sandor's flat, and he cleared his throat before uncomfortably offering, "Did you want to come in?"

She squeezed his arm in comfort. "I'd fucking love to."

They walked to the staircase, and he gave it a look, counting the steps hurriedly. "Ten steps, then a landing a meter long, then seven steps."

"Thanks."

Normally Sandor took the steps two at a time, but with Arya on his arm he took them the usual one at a time, feeling like he was moving at a snail's pace. Soon enough though, they were at his doorstep and he was unlocking the door. Despite all his arguing and this being the first time Arya had been to his place, he'd cleaned it up a long time ago and kept it that way. He didn't leave shoes and random bits of rubbish out anymore, making sure they weren't in the way for her to trip over. "Entryway's a few feet wide. You can leave your shoes on the right."

Arya tentatively poked her cane in that direction, the tip of it going over his shoes then the empty space of floor. She kept her cane in place as she slipped her shoes off and nudged them into place, using her toes and cane to make sure they were out of the way. "Show me around." She kept the cane in her hand, Sandor on one side and her cane in the other to watch that side.

He walked the perimeter of the living room and kitchen, making sure to detour inside so she knew where the tables were.

"And your room?"

He cleared his throat and they started walking again, down the short hallway and into his bedroom. There was no art anywhere in his flat, and for once he didn't have to hear someone bitching about the blank walls. His blanket was a faded black, something random hookup's always gave him a disappointed look for. Fuck them, it was comfortable and in good condition; he wasn't going to replace it just because the colour was a little off. He walked her forward until the edge of the bed was touching their legs. "This is the bed."

She unlaced her hand from his arm and held it in front of her, slowly lowering it down until she made contact with the top of the bed. With the cane, she reached to her left until she found the edge of the bed, then went to the right until she found the other side. She started around one side, hand trailing over the duvet as she walked to the head of the bed.

"There's a nightstand a couple paces in front of you."

She slowed, edging forward until she could bump it with her knee. Arya took her cane off the bed and set it on the opposite side of the nightstand, then climbed onto the mattress. She laid down, wriggling to get comfy on the pillows.

Her legs were spread and Sandor had to swallow past his dry throat. She held out a hand, saying his name, and he went like there was a rope around his waist, pulling him forward automatically. He kissed her like it was all he wanted to do, and she wrapped her legs around him to keep him there.

*

"You're glowing," Gendry teased at work the next day.

"Fuck off," Sandor grumbled. There was no denying that he was in a good mood, but glowing? That was a load of tripe.

"So when do we get to meet her?"

"As soon as she wants to meet you." Sandor looked directly at him as he delivered the next statement. "Which is never going to happen."

"Aw come on, mate. Anyone that's willing to date you has a thick enough skin to meet your friends."

"We're not friends; you're my employee."

"We're the closest things to friends that you have. You're grumpy as all seven hells, and you spend all your time here, making sure everything's working smoothly. Where are you going to find quote unquote 'real friends'?"

"I managed to find a girlfriend."

"Yeah and I'm still not convinced that wasn't an accident. Who is this magical girlfriend of yours anyways?"

Sandor rolled his eyes. "She's not magical. Stop whinging and get back to work."

"Yeah, yeah. You'd think getting laid would make you nicer."

But of course Arya chose that afternoon to spontaneously visit him at work. Which is to say that she didn't text or call, but Sandor was walking from the class rooms towards the rock wall to make sure everything was running smoothly, and he heard her talking to Gendry.

"What are you doing here?" Gendry asked her. Sandor couldn't see them yet, but sound bounced easily through the tile floor and clean walls.

"Gendry? What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Uh, I work here, and I know you hate exercise."

"You work at a gym?" she repeated doubtfully. "You're a twig, not a body builder."

"I'm not as small as I was the last time you saw me."

"Mhm," she said, clearly not convinced.

"Come on Arya, that was back in high school! You've grown a lot since then too. And you still haven't told me what you're doing here. Not hoping to catch up with me, I take it?"

She snorted. "No, but maybe we should schedule that in some time. I'm here to see my boyfriend. Who's definitely not a twig."

Sandor finally rounded the corner and saw Arya and Gendry. Arya, looking the way she always did: stunning. And Gendry had his flirting face on which made Sandor want to pick him up by the scruff of his neck as if to say 'seriously?'. Gendry had people hitting on him every week, but he was going to pick an old high school friend out of everyone in the world. "Arya?"

She turned towards him with a smile. "Sandor!"

"Sandor?" Gendry repeated, looking between the two of them. It was clear when he got it, because he straightened and took a step back. "I can't believe you're his secret girlfriend."

"I'm not secret you prat," Arya said, "I'm just private." She shooed him with her hand, still angled in Sandor's direction. "Now go away."

Gendry rolled his eyes. "Yes milady."

"I may not be able to see but I can still kick your arse."

He beat a hasty exit.

"You and Gendry?" Sandor repeated, raising an eyebrow as he walked towards her.

"It was a long time ago."

"I can't believe he convinced you to date him."

"Eh," Arya said with a shrug. "We were best friends and I needed someone to bring to my mother's parties." She flashed him a smile, and he could tell that she was mostly joking. The message was clear though: she had cared for him, but it wasn't like that anymore and it wouldn't become that way again. He reached her side and tapped her free hand with his own in offering. She took it, sliding her fingers up his arm to curve around his elbow and not caring that he was damp with sweat. "Speaking of parties, my brother's birthday is coming up and every year my gift to him is a surprise. Showing up with a big, grizzly boyfriend is sure to surprise everyone."

"And they won't think I'm manipulating you or some shit?"

"I can be very persuasive."

"Really?"

"I can also be very accurate when hitting people with my staff," she said, which confirmed Sandor's suspicion that she had very little in the way of regular persuasion techniques. "A little reminder and they'll leave us alone. For a while, at least."

"Is your family always going to be so fucking nosy?" The thought was annoying, but his example of a family was a father that drank and gambled too much and a brother that abused him.

"Yeah probably. They just worry that I'm going to get hurt. Eventually, they'll figure out that you're the second best thing to happen to me and they'll chill out."

"Second best? What's the first?"

"Electric guitar. You're good Sandor, but you're no rock 'n roll."

[livingbutamireally]

AY2019/2020 Y1S1 Module Review

AY2019/2020 year 1 semester 1 review

Started school around august after orientation camp in july, and had to study after doing nothing for months after a levels and finally had the taste of the rigour of this major.. semester 1 went by too quickly..

Modules taken this semester:

CS1010S

MA1101R

MA1521

BT1101

GER1000

CS1010S Programming Methodology (Python)

Prof: Ben Leong

Exam Dates: 2 Oct (Midterm) / 16 Nov (Practical Exam) / 27 Nov (Finals)

Weightage:

Coursemology – 25% (25%)

Participation – 5% (5%)

Midterm test – 15% (-)

Practical exam – 15% (20%)

Final assessment – 40% (50%)

(those in brackets are for those taking alternative final)

S in CS1010S is for science students, most students are either science students (DSA/ Life Science plenty) or BZA students.

Overall this module easily had the highest workload compared to other modules, having to rush missions every week, complete tutorials (this is pretty standard duh) and lecture trainings before deadlines for bonus points on a gamified platform. One could sit at their table wracking their brains for the whole day and still not be able to come up with a feasible code, or have their codes stuck with some bugs and not knowing how to continue. Really, without the help from fellow friends this module would be hard to get through. Luckily my TA was kind (and patient!) enough to explain such that my brain could get it. Ended up having to IP this module sadly… This module really requires your wholehearted devotion and really tests your patience i must say, especially for people who are not too intellectually inclined (aka me)..

They introduced a new scheme this semester aka Alternative Final, meaning you get to retake your midterm and finals by tabao-ing it into the next sem except you do your finals during the recess week instead of the finals, kinda like a half-retaking a module? Your grades for finals are IP-ed (in progress) rather than letter grades and the finals and midterms will be accounted for in the following half a semester albeit under different weightage components.

They said its a introductory module, but …………..

This year’s practical exam was particularly hard i think i had friends (even the zai ones) getting single digit marks… banked full in on the Method of Life question (Q5) of finals which is a giveaway question asking you how you can apply the concepts to other parts of your life and your main take-aways from taking this module (filled up the whole page and got full marks for it 4m) without this question i would have failed the paper..

Now i have to work hard the next sem… its kinda sad for us BZA students because CS1010S is a prerequisite for those wanting to take BT2101 and CS2030/2040 modules in the following semester (y1s2). Future students (esp BZA) please take the advice to consider this when deciding whether to IP…. because guess who didnt and regretted not thinking deeper…..

Ah one more thing to take note is the weightage is quite different for those IP/ alternative final people, theres higher weightage for the papers :_D

Ben Leong is a pretty good lecturer, hes solid in delivering concepts except my brain may be a little too slow for him.. Theres also lecture videos online that you can refer to and thousands of papers (with solutions!!) waiting for you to do.. something uncommon for many modules i heard? also, you get to see your final (scanned) paper through a website, in ben leong’s words “how cool is that?” he also uploads the mark scheme for your reference which is pretty cool imo. He’s a very interesting lecturer.

MA1521 Calculus for Computing

Prof: Leung Pui Fai

Exams: No midterms, just an online quiz (4 questions, most get full marks for), and the finals

Weightage: cant really rmb the weightage but i think its 40-60? i think tutorial attendance isnt graded..

They said this was just a repeat of H2 maths with more stuffs well boy i must say this wasnt as easy as they said.. okay maybe for me, ive always struggled with maths for a really long time. Surprisingly got a B for H2 Maths, i got a B3 for O levels really the blemish in my results. Got a B- for this module. Many people will say this is an easy module, you can trust them a little different in my shoes i guess. I didnt turn up for lectures for the half part of the semester since he talks a bit too slowly so i just watch the webcast sped up. But being a procrastinator i’m really behind on webcasts by the time the exams came.. i think i spent too much time on CS1010S and its still not enough.. if you dont have the discipline to watch them religiously at home, i would suggest you go for the lecture even though he may talk abit slowly but it forces you to not miss out on them. I dont really had the time (is it i wonder?) to do the tutorials either so i was also behind on them.. most of the time i just sat for tutorials and took the answers down to only work on them many weeks later (much regrets) so i didnt really understood what was going on as the TA went through. please dont be like me… the recess week was for sure not enough to revise/ learn all the content for all your mods for both midterms/finals so please dont be lazy like me…. this is the suffering i brought upon myself TT

Overall i think. it is not that hard a mod if you do your work consistently.. things got a little confusing towards the end i heard they dropped a whole chapter this semester glad they did.

MA1101R Linear Algebra I

Prof: Wang Fei

Weightage:

Finals (28 Nov, 2h)— 60%.

Mid-term test (4 Oct, 2h)— 20%.

3 homework assignments (4% per assignment) — 12%. 

An in-class Lab (MATLAB) quiz — 8%.

This was one of my most hardest period in my life and i say this on PERIODT. As if maths wasnt tough enough, this will really declare a survival of the fittest among your remaining brain cells. Friends told me maths came into their dreams… pls extinguish my soul. You must be thinking i am crazy for wanting to take 2 math mods in a sem right? ?

Yeahh no one really does that but it was my idea because i didnt want to do maths together with all the core core mods (BT and CS) next sem so i decided ah i should just get maths over and done with ( hAH real joke bc i couldnt clear CS1010S and i cant take 2k level mods for BT and CS and unlocked clown outfit because theres one more ST2334 core mod that involves probability and stats so much for thinking i will be over and done with for dealing with maths– someone tell me why did i choose this major again?)

Somehow along the way i realised the bell curve for this was surprisingly high i think those who chose this mod intend to delve even deeper in mathematics, mayhaps i joined the wrong major. The R in MA1101R actually stands for rigorous i didnt realise until my friend read the fine prints in the SOC Course Curriculum for BZA or sumn. Pure hell. There are 3 homework assignments (graded mind you) and most of the students get around 50++/60 i think i was the one of the rare few who flunked quite badly and always eyeballed by my TA (who is a prof for some 3k or 4k level maths, not for this mod though). I approached him for consults and for help and he was nice enough to sit me down and explain slowly. He’s pretty good at explaining slowly although he’s pretty fast in class (and most of the semester i had close to ZERO idea what was going on in class for pretty much most of the mods). Shockingly managed to pull out a C from my butt. The intellect of the students are no joke.. Homework assignments are every 3 weeks starting week 6 i think (so week 6, 9, 12) and i think are there to make sure you catch up with the work.

Oh lectures-wise, i sat for ½ of his classes, i really absorb almost nothing.. the rest of the lecture hall seem to get it though or so it seems. so i stopped attending my own lectures to watch the webcast for Prof Victor Tan too. His webcasts/lectures are really popular and it really owe it to his teaching, apparently he taught Wang Fei before and of course had over ten more years of experience. WF’s lecture turn-outs are comparatively less compared to VT. And on panopto (webcast platform) i think it was almost always 360++ views for VT as compared to a 80++/ was it 30++ for WF if i recall correctly. VT slides are also more concise and simple to understand where as WF’s ones are similar to the textbook. You are also required to purchase a textbook for this module costs around $20 from the co-op store in science and i urge you to purchase it asap when the profs announce they are made available bc they run oos quite fast.. the tutorial questions are from the textbook and the textbook is very simple and straightforward and put together by some of the lecturers/profs in school.

BT1101 Introduction to Business Analytics

Prof: Dr Sharon Tan, Desmond Ong

Weightage:

1. Online Quiz & Datacamp Assignments — 7%

Tutorial 1-4 — 8%

Tutorial 5 onwards — 15%

In-class Assessment (Written) — 10%

Practical Assessment — 20%

Final Assessment — 40%

In class assessment is held 2ish weeks after your midterms week so its kinda like your midterms?

Mm i would say this module is the most ?? its hard to put in words but if you read up the confessions page (NUSwhispers) regularly you would see many complaints that the mod is structured not as neatly as CS1010S its quite here and there everywhere and personal opinion, sometimes i dont know what i am supposed to learn but i guess its like that? The profs seem to value not wanting to spoonfeed and us learning on our own and stuff like that. I heard the mod was much harder in previous years and they simplified it a lot compared to in the past (which i really thank god) but its still a bit ?? They split it into two halves, first half of the sem is taught by Dr ST (Descriptive Analytics) and the next half by DO (Prescriptive and Predictive Analytics).

There are online videos to be watched every week even though you get lectures once every 2 weeks when Dr ST teaches and tutorials to be submitted to your TAs that are graded only after about 6/7 weeks. They leave comments (½ sentences someitmes shorter) and your marks received and thats about all so you dont really know where you went wrong since they are not marked paper and pen way. The tutorials are coding exercises for questions using the R language. They also used Datacamp to drill some of the basics of R for a headstart. Her workshop style lectures are a lot of on the spot learning how to code and stuff which i lag behind a bit because she goes a bit fast in order to cover everything. We learn new content via the online videos that we have to watch every week and theres quizzes for them too weekly iirc.

The next half by DO had no online videos (great!! and no quizzes!!) but weekly lectures and graded tutorials are due every 2 weeks(!!). There are still weekly tutorials but its only graded for every 2nd one, wow this saved me a lot of time phew. I didnt get to do the tutorials for those that are not graded but read through the questions so that i get a gist of whats going on, and somehow i really dont have the time to do it? CS1010S really absorbed a large chunk of my time cries. Finals was a oK it was not that bad i think. There are 20 MCQs and then about 4 structured questions? Closed-book with 1 A4 sheet cheatsheet.

Oh and the bad part about the tutorials are the tutors wont provide you with the model answers/codes so you’re really just on your own. You either get it or nah. :_D

GER1000 Quantitative Reasoning

Weightage:

1. Tutorial — 10%

2. 10 Weekly Quizzes — 20%

3. Project —35% (Presentation 10%, Final Report 25%)

4. Finals (28 MCQs, 2h) — 35%

No lectures so no profs, just weekly online videos and quizzes.

Tutorials are every odd/even weeks depending on the slot you chose.

Groups are arranged by the TAs beforehand.

This was pre-allocated for us so (grits teeth). Honestly a waste of time. One of the mods i neglected till the end to focus on other mods (which was worth it). The workload was manageable, of course (if not how to neglect). Every 2 week you meet together wiht your groupmates to discuss tutorial questions (each group will discuss 1 qn) and every tutorial class ended about 30min earlier. Nearing the end theres a group project report and slides to be done. Report is in the form of QnA so you just answer the questions and slides/ presentation is going through an article of a topic you chose (theres about 10) and you analyse the QR part of it what is good what can be better, etc. Theres also a bit of the stats part with probability and stuff but its a OK. Bell curve steep for finals (40 MCQ, 2h) but most finished in 1h and left the hall, i was one of the few who stayed till the end even though i was just staring at the paper into the depths of my soul for reasons unknown) It’s a lot about experiments not really the scientific/ calculations part of it but understanding about coming up with experiments, the pros and cons of carrying things out a certain way in loose terms something like the art of crafting experiments? makes you think a bit deeper how and what people think and not so dry i guess.

Epilogue

i guess thats a wrap–new semester starts soon :( i think this might be the first module/semester review tumblr blog but i hope this can be of help to anyone, to anyone at all. the owner of many of similar review blogs get really stellar results which i may be too out of league from so i hope this brings comforts to those who are doing not so well and encourage them because im not any different we exist, and we’ll survive.

CARPE DIEM 2020 LETS GEDDIT

[survival0001-blog]

Survival Gear Review: Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife - Survival Cache

New Post has been published on https://outdoorsurvivalqia.com/trending/survival-gear-review-schrade-schf9-survival-knife-survival-cache/

Survival Gear Review: Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife - Survival Cache

Like many who have their head on a survival swivel, you may have noticed a monster blade by the Schrade Knife Company that seemed too good to be true. Its huge cross section, full tang, combination serrated/reverse curve blade, and black tactical skin make it seem a no-brainer for the scant $30-$40 it sells for in sporting goods stores and gas stations nationwide. Well, unfortunately it is too good to be true, but its not without a purpose. As a Get-Home blade, the Schrade excels, but for a Bug Out knife, forget it. Let me explain.

By Doc Montana, contributing author to SHTFblog and Survival Cache

Is Bigger Better?

The Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife is an impressive slab of sharpened 1095 carbon steel that sure looks like a great knife. It’s specs in a nutshell are a foot and a pound. But looks can be deceiving. First of all, the steel is marginal at best, and wildly substandard if you have any experience and expectations of finer irons. In fact, this particular version of 1095 is troublesome steel when it comes to edge sharpness, edge retention, sharpening, corrosion resistance, and just about everything else but price.

However, for short-term use, the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife has advantages. For one, the cost. Second, you can beat the hell of it without concern of losing your investment. Third, the sheer mass of the of the knife will demand fear and respect from every snowflake for miles around. And that’s about it. Poking holes in the Taiwan-made Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife facade is easy. But picking your starting point is hard. There is the blade shape, the steel, the edge grind, the handle, the tang, the sheath, and the coating, just to name a few launch points.

The blade shape is a drop point with reverse curve. Unfortunately a drop point of this size is somewhat contradictory. The drop point was designed to help keep the tip of a blade from catching on things or the unwanted tearing of flesh and entrails during intricate gutting tasks. But on a blade big, those finer movements are tough in spite of the blade shape. And worse, the drop point is not the best fighting blade due to its subdued point, yet a cutter as large as the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife should have both offensive and defensive potential.

The reverse curve of the blade is shaped to keep the work-piece in place during cutting. Say for instance you are slicing something back and forth. As you press the blade into the work-piece there is a chance the knife could slip forward off the task. The reverse curve creates an uphill battle causing a more likely re-centering of the work-piece rather than sliding off it. While the reverse curve is common on knives from pocket to machete, it does limit the jobs that a survival knife should excel at. But chopping brush and hacking through branches is truly easier with a reverse curve. It’s just that reverse curve blade chopping chores are not front and center in most survival situations.

Iron Maidens

The steel of the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife is a room-temperature working steel that has neither the desirable properties of a survival knife or a hatchet. The steel does not hold an edge well regardless of the quality of its temper, it does not sharpen easily, and it is prone to chipping and rollover compared to 21st century knife steels. Even worse, the rust-prone nature of a carbon steel is often armored against corrosion by a blade coating. Unfortunately the black paint on the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife blade flakes off easily, and scratches even easier. Experience with high quality blade coatings has proven that durability is possible. But that is not the case here. But for $30 what should we expect?

To make opinions about a knife, or anything for that matter, relevant, there should be comparable(s) in the mix. Any single knife cannot be compared to itself, only other blades. So for this review, my comparable(s) were the Ka-Bar BK-2 (at twice the price of the Schrade), the Boker Orca 2 (at six times the price) and the Fallkniven F2 Wilderness Knife (at ten times the price).

The Ka-Bar offers a similar blade steel and thickness. The Boker Orca 2 offers a similar blade shape and handle profile. And the Fallkniven F2 offers a similar overall length and weight. Personally, I would take any of the above over the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife, but in the short-term Get Home, there is little chance that unless traveling long distance across varied terrain, the major difference between the blades will rear its ugly head.

Grip Woes

The handle of the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife looks impressive from an arm’s reach, but reality tells a different story. The rubber grips do grip, but will have a shelf life of about one hard Get Home. Technically, the grips are a rubber-like elastomer called Kraton. It is a polymer with many desirable properties for knife grips, but the execution of them is severely is knife dependent. Just like the blade. The grips, or scales really, are held onto the knife tang, but not held in place. Even when the four torx-screws are tightened tightly, the grips still slide around. And given that they don’t match the contour of the steel tang, gaps ebb and flow as you use the knife.

The combination of screw-mounted rubber grips is rare. Usually the entire handle is contained into a Kraton grip shell molded over the tang, or the grip scales are a more firm material like Micarta or G10, or glass reinforced polymer (aka Plastic). You can actually feel the rubber material of the grips move when twisting and turning the blade. Not so much with gloves on, but certainly enough to know it won’t last under sustained use. And given the blade steel and shape along with the grip, the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife may have a place in the immediate, but certainly not in the long term.

But there is one more issue, one of concept. The Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife appears to be a significant chopper and wood processor. Chewing through wood is a serious issue with SHTF and survival blades. In fact anything that can bash and baton through pine is a friend when things go dark. Although the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife does chop, it does so more out of dumb luck than talent. In fact it is a fairly poor chopper compared to other choppers of this size partially due to the blade grind, and also due to the fact that the non-skeletonized metal of the tang places a proportional amount of weight behind your index finger as it does in front of it. So a knife of this weight is much less productive than a equally massive hatchet. The Fallkniven F2 is dynamite at chopping, while the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife is sluggish and subdued. The convex grind on the Fallkniven F2 throws wood far as its blade makes quick work of the wood. Sadly, the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife instead attempts to dive deep into the wood with its flat grind throwing no wood and doing surprisingly little damage given the muscle behind the swing. Worse, the heavy spine tends to spin the blade when angle struck rather than pry out wood chips and throw them across the forest floor.

For a knife to remain a knife and not just a chopper, the blade must have a skill set beyond the crude splitting of firewood. Alas, the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife is an amateur when it comes to more intricate survival tasks. Which leads to the question of if it should be part of a bug out kit at all. My answer? No. There is so much more to survival than just chopping wood. And the knife is arguably the single most critical piece of hardware in your kit. Just because the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife chops wood does not put it anywhere near a good quality hatchet. And the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife’s chopping ability does not circumvent its use as a knife, and thus it fails spectacularly as a performance survival knife. Instead, you would be far better off with a decent hatchet and a quality fixed blade knife smaller than the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife.

Dysfunctional Family

The Schrade line of survival/outdoor fixed blade knives looks like a tree of life for beetles. There are dozens of them with minor differences and odd mixes of features. It’s almost as if the Schrade knife designers are throwing all sorts of shapes and grinds at the consumer wall to see what sticks. Frankly, I would like to see far fewer options, but better ones. Having such a diverse product line complicates the refinement process which is essential to develop a performance blade regardless of cost. Looking at the vast landscape of Schrade survival blade choices all but prohibits the necessary attention given to any one design allowing it to evolve into greatness. Instead, sales numbers will likely drive its destiny with bean counters determining its fate. Sadly, a promising design will be killed off rather than enhanced and updated according to public wishes.

That said, the Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife can run double duty meaning that if your needs include wood work and wet work, prying, pounding, and penetrating, as well as non-demanding fine knife work, then this Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife is a solution. One area where a blade of this quality and size comes in handy is working one’s way home after something bad happens. Or working your way to your bug out location. But once there you will need to transition to a knife of higher quality or you just made a tough situation even tougher.

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Source

Survival Gear Review: Schrade SCHF9 Survival Knife

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21 Must Have And Best Education Apps For Smart Students

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21 Must Have And Best Education Apps For Smart Students

21 Must Have And Best Education Apps For Smart Students

The upcoming time mandates the student population to use prodigious gadgets that stimulate technologically improved knowledge and refine their creative minds.

One has to accept the fact that several innovative Apps launched through the handsets significantly enhance the potential and garnish the raw ideas with additional beneficial information.

Both Apple and Android provide amazing set of programs and apps for college students that acts as a helping hand by offering a reincarnated or advanced learning process.

We are here to share 21 best Education apps for students,one must use once and forever after then.

1. Star Walk

Review : Extremely nice app! And what the H*ll, it might be a bit pricey with everything added up, but it just seems to do everything right! And the Info you get on Objects in friggin’ awesome!!! If I had one complaint, it would be to get a closer view of Satellites (see what they look like) and actually watch them.

2. EasyBib

Review : Oddly enough, my cheap phone is not having any of the issues everyone else is reporting. App working smoothly, camera did job in seconds. There are a few bugs & annoying things etc., and app hasn’t been updated in a while, but for me it does its job.

3. Ready4 SAT

Review : This app is LIT. Out of the three I’ve tried, Ready4 is the best! I tried 2 other BIG NAME SAT prep apps, and I regret wasting my time. Now, I’ve recommended Ready4 to three of my friends! We all are already doing better and the future seems brighter!

4. Dictionary.com

Those who are passionate to play with words, this application bring about a baggage of words and help you to make out easily through numerous tricky words. Dictionary.com makes you smarter to handle and receive the complicated meanings without giving a moon’s expression at the ones used by your friends that you might fail to understand occasionally.

5. Quizlet

Review : The new app is great! I get bored very easily by memorizing words, but this app makes it fun and easy to do it. I prefer this one to Duolingo app!

6. CamScanner

Review : It’s amazing working, any where,any time we can use, send mail r uploaded doc.for office purpose.without scanner mechine. Some times not available scanner that time we can use, scan clarity.very nice, photos pic if wants print it will get very dork. But its very clearly images/doc/photos will get printouts. No need of expenses I advise to everyone.

7. Learnist

Review : Good All around Good All around way to catch up on news, tech, movies, happenings, and more.

8. Due

You can think of the aptly-titled Due as a robust alarm clock, one that functions without an account or Internet connection. With Due, you can set reusable countdown reminders and implement both daily and weekly reminders that capitalize on nearly 60 alert tones. Moreover, reminders sync across your devices and automatically shift as you cross time zones.

9. Evernote

Review : For the past few weeks I noticed that Evernote was pretty buggy. Lots of notes synced incorrectly and some became duplicates of each other while deleting the other note. When I finally reached out to customer support, I was impressed with how hard they tried to fix the problem for me. They emailed back and forth to make sure that everything was back to normal and told me that they were aware of the problem and were working on finding a solution.

10. YouTube

Review : Stop changing the layouts and theme jesus christ. You’s are not making it easier for anyone to use the app if you keep changing everything that doesnt need to be changed. If you’s like change so much then might aswell add a theme/colour setting that people can change on their own. Because this update made youtube look ugly as hell.

11. Udemy

Review : Udemy is a great platform for accessing tutorials. However the app is very unreliable, it crashes frequently, and even though you’ve downloaded videos from a courses you occasionally get the message that offline content isn’t available. But when it works it’s quite decent, at least the downloaded courses are saved as .mp4 -files, so you can watch them when the app isn’t working.

12. SoloLearn

SoloLearn is a developer on Google Play. They have a large selection of learning apps that teach computer programming. They support web languages like HTML, more common languages like Java or C++, and even some more specialized stuff like Python. Each language has its own app and each app is completely free. Eventually, you’ll need to graduate to something a little more complex.

13. Math Duel: 2 Player Math Game

Review : I like it because my favorite subject is math. I love it because it helps us solve in mind faster and it is very challenging.

14. Screentime Ninja

Review : The basic idea behind this app is fun and attractive, using cute ninja girls and maths questions to motivate kids to earn more minutes. However, it is not as user-friendly as it could be. 1. Kids cannot “switch user” themselves without the parent’s password. So parents cannot leave the device to more than a kid when they need to leave the children alone.

15. Amazon Kindle

Review : If you’re a bookworm, this app is a life saver! As an Amazon prime customer, I get several good deals on books, some even free. This app also allows me to instantly sync ebooks checked out from my local library’s website. No more leaving the house and worrying about late fees if I forget to return on time! I’ve been using this for over year and love it!

16. Coursera

Review : While the option to download videos for offline use is wonderful, it would be even more wonderful if it worked reliably. Too often, when it’s time to access the videos, I get “Something is wrong with the downloaded video file. Would you like to re-download the file?” I’m usually not in a good downloading place.

17. Duolingo  

Review : Great app for language learning, also MOST IMPORTANTLY its encouraging. This is what I feel makes it so successful, because even when you make small spelling or accent errors it encourages you to try again, and thats what learning is all about! It also allows you to test your knowledge of the language frequently, AND the lingots you earn help you learn new phrases.

18. Khan Academy

Review : Mad people are calling this app boring. Leave studies no if you find study boring. This app has actually helped me in my AS and i don’t take tuitions because Khan Academy is everything. Thank you Sal Khan! The downloads are a bit buggy though.

19. Lynda

Review : Should add a Notes feature similar to desktop on this app. So users can take down notes when watching videos on the go. Will make it easier for us when there’s no need to switch between Lynda app and our phone’s Notes app.

20. Periodic Table

Review : LOVE the app but what’s not making it 5 stars is that the elements 113, 114, 115, 117 just been officially named and I would like the information on the elements updated to date with video.

21. StudyBlue

Review : I love study blue. It helps me in tutoring allot and tell me things that I wouldn’t know by just using flash cards