#vhas creates

[vrs-culdesac]

Introducing: Lightning!

Introducing "Lightning", my first novel - hitting shelves (hopefully) by early 2026!

I've been working on this project for the past 1.5 years, on and off, with my editor @starrynightarchive / @six-white-venus.

Lightning is part 1 of a 4-novel series titled "Human Conditions."

If you're looking for a series with queer representation, South Asian/Indian main characters, nuance and a lot of dialogue on various topics - this is for you.

It's an absolute honour to be sharing my works with you all. Stay tuned for more information on "Lightning" in the coming days!

[theexhaustedqueer]

I’m relistening to 5.4, and the thing that really gets me about VR-LA’s alternate timeline where he saves MR-SN is that that timeline is a bad ending tragedy for literally every other member of the crew except maybe Finbar. If the Per Aspera never drifts aimlessly through the Astral Sea, it’s never picked up and sold to Oto, Dani never gets her hands on a spelljammer. Maybe she and her brothers eventually get out from under Oto’s thumb, but without easily accessible planar travel it’s hard to imagine them leaving Brass. And for Dani, who grew up on the streets of Brass and for whom Oto taking her in meant so much to her because of how much of an improvement it was to her life, it seems unlikely that she’d make a home for herself in Brass outside the Heap. In this version of events Dani, Roy and Egan never leave the Heap. Dani never gets to see Mechanus or the second layer of Acheron. She never gets her ship.

Finbar’s life is probably the least changed. The Searing Tongue would probably assign him to a different spelljammer and he’d do his thing as normal. He probably even still gets involved in the Zuggtemoy conspiracy, since that was based around the Searing Tongue. Assuming the ship he ends up on is of similar skill to the Per Aspera’s crew, he and his other crew take care of Azotico and he maybe even makes up with Elyse. That all assumes events play out in a pretty similar way, but given that he’s got a completely different crew, things could go in any number of directions.

Vhas, without the crew of the Per Aspera, never escapes Tu'narath. There’s not much else to say for this one, it’s just generally bad for his prospects.

And, of course, Kyana. Without the crew of the Per Aspera to pick her up on the Astral Sea, she eventually swims her way to a portal. Whatever plane she ends up on, she’s hopelessly naive, and maybe she gets lucky and meets someone willing to help her, but the odds aren’t in her favour. Eventually she’s dragged back to the monastery. She— and Ione— are turned into mindflayers as the mindflayers’ plan to escape then destroy the planescape proceeds unchecked.

And then it comes to the NPCs. Enoch dies in Avernus. Ione and the rest of the monks get brain wormed. Cressida stays a mercenary. Roy and Egan never leave the Heap. Davion never meets the rest of B-team. Depending on the Finbar situation, Karrundentrassi might die to fucking fungus. Elyse might make up with Finbar but she just as easily might not. Hans has an even worse time making it to Mount Celestia and HE-11/Vice probably dies in Acheron. Emi eventually builds herself a working body and becomes an amoral murderbot wandering the Planescape, maybe after killing Casimir. And uh… things don’t look great for Maxim either. Yes, he still knows VR-LA in this timeline, but we know that A) in the current timeline, a big part VR-LA’s draw to Maxim is that he’s the only link VR-LA has to finding his old crew. If he still has his old crew, that draw never forms and they might never form a closer relationship. And B) we know that pre-amnesia VR-LA was more closed off than post-amnesia VR-LA, which to me indicates that pre-amnesia VR-LA probably wouldn’t put the same time and care into breaking down Maxim’s walls. It seems likely to me that in this alternate timeline, Maxim and VR-LA never become friends. And even if they do, Dani doesn’t discover Create Spelljammer for Vr-La to cast, so Maxim never gets his home turned into a spelljammer and never leaves his Sanctum.

I just wonder if when VR-LA thinks about that alternate timeline, he thinks about how saving the life of someone he cared about so much would inadvertently ruin the lives of all the people he cares about now, and I wonder if that keeps him up at night.

[kathbunny]

Poly crew! Dani sets up the picnic! (Very short)

Dani shuffled across the deck, dragging blankets wrapped around pillows, and tossing them out. As the pillows scattered, Dani got to work putting out the blankets, feeling VR-LA's eyes on her from the dome. She tried to ignore it for now, creating a circle with the pillows around the blankets before starting to pull out the tupperware Finbar gave her from her bag of holding.

She put the dishes everyone liked in the middle, creating a circle around it from there with the other stuff. Spicy stuff on the darker blue blanket for Dani, partially onto the red for Vhas with some of the fruit he liked, a variety onto the purple, and so on. Everybody's favorites were in place as VR-LA finally decided to come investigate.

"What is all this, Dani..?" He asked, tilting his head.

Dani smiled at him. "Don't worry about it." Her response was automatic, earning a chuckle from him. "Mind grabbing everyone for me? I'm almost done here."

"...ah. Alright then." VR-LA nodded, heading off without questioning further.

Dani moved the rings from her bag of holding to her pocket, wanting to have them ready. She settled down amongst the pillows, Plug trotting over and settling into her lap, seemingly aware of her anxiety.

"Wish me luck, buddy." She whispered, receiving only a confused dialup sound from her cat.

[astrals-and-pirates]

(rambly) spoilers under the cut but like

ohmygod rwd s5ep4 was so GOOD

the description mentioning a new god was so intriguing but i didnt expect austin pulling on some wild dnd lore and creating a super interesting challenge, it was really cool

the individual scenes showing off everyones personalities and arcs sooooo well and the dice playing in line with the rp, from vhas' impulsive and carefree personality paying off (i liked vhas before but i really like him now) to vr-la engaging w the mental aspect of the maze instead of the physical (and that WILD alternate timeline dream)

kyana's trial sucked so bad for her but it also made so much sense narratively?? the point of the maze was to develop a deeper understanding of the self and commit to a goal or path and kyana doesnt seem to have a solid long term goal for the future; her whole thing is running away but at some point thats not gonna be sustainable and her reluctant choice to run from stability reflected in the dice

dani's future choice is so interesting to me and feels like a very satisfying moment for a final season arc, especially since i was relistening to older episodes and saw how much dani grew in little ways (sophia describing dani as an asshole for bullying egan, still being mean to davion but now having a sense of respect; the self realization at pandemonium and trusting herself to be able to fix anything she puts her mind to; her becoming the captain of her own ship). i think i wouldve given dani a different choice in the moment, but i think sophia chose the right pressing decision for dani

AND THEN THE FIGHT: SHRINK ON THE DINO, NAT 20 WEIRD LITTLE DUDE FAMILIAR, THE REVIVIFY AND BEATDOWN ON THE INTELLECT DEVOURER

my perfect episode, chefs kiss, im so seated for the rest of the season

[sycadadrawsstuff]

In honour of my brother finishing all of C1, have some ancient ramblings I found in my notes app

(text under cut)

(first image)

Campaign 1: untied plot threads

-Kyana’s whole deal, we still do not know place of oleranwaye in the planescape- they hunted mindflayers at various points, are they native to the astral sea? Githyanki (or at least high-ranking gith like Endellion) seem to know about them vaguely, astral elves know about them

-Maxim making up with his old party finally

-Vhas reuniting the githyanki and githzerai and dealing with the Trauma (the actual vhas season)

-That damn bean

-Vr-la’s memories! What are they?

-Stranger

-Kinzeru’s bargain

-Magister VR-LA (wanted dead by probably a good 60% of powerful entities across the planescape, whoopsie)

-Where did DX-TR get Malediction??

Goncharov index (ao3 only): 0.749

(second and third image)

(note title): Magnum Thoughts

Dani tools check: Nat 20 + 15 (expertise) + 8 (Vhas inspiration) + 10 (Dm inspiration) + 4 (guidance) = 57 total

What could she do with a single tools check of 57?32 earned her “create spelljammer,” which had been hidden for forever by a literal god and no one alive knew how to cast

Could she finally turn the thermostat up on the universe?

I imagine this would be her version of Peering Into the Weave (A Thing That’s Insane)

AI already exists, as do guns and space travel. They have already left the planescape. Her best friend is the literal Magister of Mystra… at this point she would just ascend to godhood right? Right?Practical and generous use of this inhuman luck and intelligence: rewrite laws of the Feywild permanently so Elyse can actually remember visiting her in-laws, and no more worries about time dilation screwing up relationships! S1 Dani would not do this, ever. S5 Dani probably would, but would she think of it?

She could rewrite laws of the planescape so that lantern archons memories can be temporarily returned when friends or relatives visit them- get closure for Egan. Also say hi to Cardamom, MR-SN, Alexander. Casamir too I guess…

(On second thought, I don’t like this, it feels like it would cheapen a lot of the story… I mostly think of it because I still cannot stop thinking about our favourite french petitioner bunny. he makes me Sad)

Alternatively, discovers a unified theory of everything

Alternatively alternatively, discovers dna analysis? Not really her style but it may be the one thing not already existing in the planescape

Or! Or or or! Device for de-squidififation! Save a person after they have already been taken over by an intellect devour or ceromorphed, without having to kill and revive them! Hope for future Egans!

Or, she sees the dice everyone rolls- meta knowledge complementing the way in which occasionally producer Sophia will show through (“it’s been 4 seasons already!” In Dani voice)- maybe even limited extra flash of genius for Noir’s initiative rolls, perhaps VR-LA will no longer constantly go last lol

[heathengentleman]

'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.'

MESSAGE FROM THE VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

October 8, 2024

2024 Out and Equal LGBTQ+ Award Finalist

Colleagues,

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Michael Kauth, finalist for the Out and Equal Outie Award in the category of LGBTQ+ Corporate Advocate.

The Outie Awards honor, recognize, and celebrate individuals, organizational initiatives, and employee resource groups as role models for advancing equity and belonging for LGBTQ+ people in the workplace, and beyond.

Dr. Kauth, Executive Director of the LGBTQ+ Health Program for the Veteran’s Health Administration (VHA), is being recognized for: 

Co-creating VHA’s LGBTQ+ program which focuses on improving policy, education, and the health care environment for Veterans treated at the VHA.

Creating LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator positions at every VHA facility.

Establishing national policy that access to restrooms be based on gender identity

Leading the creation of sexual orientation, gender identity, and preferred name fields in VHA record systems to improve the patient experience and support staff in making tailored clinical decisions.

Developing a nationwide interdisciplinary consult program, supporting professionals seeking consultation on treatment planning for transgender and gender diverse

Contributing to a policy to support gender transitioning in the workplace, including guidance for federal identification cards, displaying chosen name and pronouns in electronic communications, and online meeting applications.

Congratulations to Dr. Kauth, whose efforts demonstrate VA’s commitment to providing high-quality, innovative, equity driven, world-class health care to Veterans.

[nicalimmedicine]

Physical Therapy for Veterans: Rebuilding Strength at Nicali Sports Medicine

Military service often leaves veterans with musculoskeletal injuries or chronic pain that impact daily life. Nicali Sports Medicine and Associates in Pasadena, CA, provides expert physical therapy tailored to veterans, accessible through the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) Community Care Program. By combining physical therapy with non-invasive therapies and personalized care plans, Nicali supports veterans in injury treatment, rehabilitation, and chronic pain management, helping them regain strength and independence.

Physical Therapy for Veterans’ Needs

Physical therapy focuses on restoring movement, reducing pain, and improving function through targeted exercises and manual techniques. For veterans, who often face conditions like low back pain (affecting over 50% of VHA patients), joint injuries, or post-surgical recovery, physical therapy is a vital tool. At Nicali, physical therapists design programs to address service-related injuries, such as sprains from training or chronic pain from repetitive strain, ensuring veterans can return to activities like hiking or playing with their children.

Nicali’s physical therapy services emphasize functional restoration, using therapeutic exercises to strengthen muscles, improve joint stability, and enhance coordination. Modalities like ultrasound or electrical stimulation further support recovery by reducing inflammation and promoting circulation, aligning with the VA’s focus on active rehabilitation over invasive treatments.

Benefits of Physical Therapy

Physical therapy at Nicali offers veterans significant benefits, including pain relief, improved mobility, and reduced risk of re-injury. For example, a veteran with a knee injury from combat training might receive exercises to rebuild quadriceps strength, paired with manual therapy to reduce stiffness. This approach not only alleviates pain but also enhances overall musculoskeletal health, enabling veterans to maintain an active lifestyle.

By providing an alternative to opioid medications, physical therapy supports the VA’s Opioid Safety Initiative, which reduced opioid prescriptions by 25% from 2005 to 2016. For veterans with chronic pain, physical therapy addresses underlying issues like muscle imbalances or joint dysfunction, reducing the psychological burden of pain, which often coexists with conditions like PTSD.

Personalized Care Plans

Nicali’s physical therapy programs begin with a thorough evaluation, including on-site X-rays and review of external diagnostics. This allows therapists to create personalized care plans tailored to each veteran’s needs. For instance, a veteran recovering from an ankle sprain might receive a plan combining strengthening exercises, kinesiology taping, and spinal decompression to address related back pain. These plans focus on both immediate recovery and long-term prevention, incorporating posture correction and lifestyle advice.

Collaboration with VA providers ensures that Nicali’s care integrates seamlessly with veterans’ broader healthcare plans. This multidisciplinary approach supports the VA’s Whole Health model, prioritizing personalized, proactive care for optimal outcomes.

Non-Invasive Therapies for Enhanced Recovery

Nicali enhances physical therapy with non-invasive therapies like spinal decompression, which relieves pressure on spinal nerves for veterans with disc herniation or sciatica. Kinesiology taping supports joints while maintaining mobility, ideal for rehabilitation from sports injuries. Class IV laser therapy accelerates tissue healing and reduces inflammation, benefiting veterans with chronic conditions like arthritis. Therapeutic massage reduces muscle tension and promotes relaxation, addressing both physical and stress-related pain.

These therapies align with the VA’s complementary health approaches, offering veterans safe, effective alternatives to surgery or medications. By integrating these modalities, Nicali creates a comprehensive rehabilitation strategy that maximizes recovery.

Accessing Veterans Benefits

Veterans can access Nicali’s physical therapy through the VA’s Community Care Program with a referral from a VA provider. The practice’s staff assists with navigating veterans benefits, ensuring accessibility. Located at 709 E Colorado Blvd #140, Pasadena, CA, Nicali operates Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM, accepting most insurance plans and offering flexible scheduling for veterans in the San Gabriel Valley.

Why Nicali Stands Out

Nicali Sports Medicine is a trusted provider for veterans, combining expertise in sports medicine with a compassionate approach. Led by Dr. Gustavo Nino, the practice’s 30+ years of experience and state-of-the-art therapies ensure high-quality care. Patient reviews highlight quick, effective results, with veterans reporting improved mobility and reduced pain. By offering personalized care plans and non-invasive therapies, Nicali empowers veterans to achieve lasting recovery.

[blackluxechau001]

Chauffeur service – A smart alternative to boring public transit means

In the era of the hectic world where comfort becomes paramount, chauffeur cars Melbourne are evolving as a great transportation solution. It is challenging the conventional dominance of public transit means such as cabs, buses, and rails. The service covers an array of luxury cars like BMW, Audi, and Mercedes to serve transportation purposes. Certainly, these cars are not reserved for the upper class of society only. But has become a viable choice for those seeking stress-free journeys. The evolution of the transportation industry has made chauffeured-driven luxury cars affordable for seamless traveling. That’s why these cars are preferably used for private traveling, occasions, and business needs.

The perspective of using chauffeur service Melbourne

Thinking about chauffeur often conjures to image of luxury, sophistication, and professionalism. Subsequently, you may believe that they are only hired to drop celebrities at premiers of movies and transport the rich. However, the scenario has changed now since chauffeurs are available to everyone for private tours Melbourne. Thus, you can enjoy the serenity of luxury and class with the assurance of the best comfort and commitment to excellence. Check below for what purposes you are likely to get served by an expert luxury car chauffeur.

Corporate traveling – Attending meetings & conferences

The significance of using luxury cars in the corporate world is high. These cars heighten the professionalism of companies when it comes to impressing clients during meetings. So, you can use luxury for corporate transfers Melbourne to create lasting impressions. For important business meetings to attending conferences and treating VIPs, these cars are hired by companies. The core commitment to punctual pickups, style, and comfort provided by these cars is unrivaled. That’s what makes Melbourne chauffeur service a feasible choice for business travelers. 

Private travels – Sporting events & long-distance rides

The comfort and convenience offered by chauffeur hire Melbourne make this service a must-have solution for private traveling. Depending on your interests, you can hire a luxury fleet for sporting event transportation. You can arrive in style to watch the Melbourne Underbear Dance, Bravehearts Marathon, and many more. Also, you can hire a luxury car for Melbourne private tours to your favorite sights like Great Ocean Road, Yarra Valley, etc. No matter how long you are traveling, your doorstep pickup by a chauffeur is guaranteed.

https://blackluxechauffeurs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GetPaidStock.com-65fa45106da36.jpg

Selecting the VHA chauffeur car service

Luxury chauffeur Melbourne services are intended to take your travel experience beyond expectations. The service is delivered using VHA cars which is a specialised license to operate luxury car transportation. Also, the chauffeurs of these cars are highly experienced personnel. They have gone through intensive driving guidance with defensive training. Thus, ensuring you have a high level of safety whilst traveling. Moreover, ride the fleet pared with amenities like water bottles, personalised playlists, AC, newspapers, and plush leather seats. It would certainly elevate your travel experience which makes you feel astonished and treated like a VIP.

The final words

The above-stated information is enough to acquaint you with Melbourne luxury car hire uses and features. So, if you want to take your travel experience to the heights, contact Black Luxe Chauffeurs. This is a premier company offering a myriad range of luxury cars to choose from. You can book one online with a tailored travel itinerary to get meet-and-greet service. The service is readily available with travel flexibility and at competitive prices.

[sirlightningpotato]

This means the whole current crew could kill Macbeth, as well as the original crew

Original crew - All also Mechanites, created not born

Dani and Kyana - Not men

Vhas - Hatched from an egg

Could VR-LA from the podcast Rolling with Difficulty kill Macbeth?

(You mentioned part of the fun was researching it on your own, but I can send the reason why I am asking if you would like me to)

Yes, VR-LA from the Rolling with Difficulty podcast could (presumably) kill Macbeth!

Since he is a mechanite (aka warforged), VR-LA can be assumed to have been constructed instead of born, presumably applying him for the Unconventional Birth Clause, though a specific creator doesn't seem to be mentioned from what I've found.

Thank you for your submission!

[kemetic-dreams]

The Kingdom of Mapungubwe (or Maphungubgwe) (c.1075–1220) was a medieval state in South Africa located at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers, south of Great Zimbabwe. The name is derived from either TjiKalanga and Tshivenda. The name might mean "Hill of Jackals". The kingdom was the first stage in a development that would culminate in the creation of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe in the 13th century, and with gold trading links to Rhapta and Kilwa Kisiwani on the African east coast. The Kingdom of Mapungubwe lasted about 80 years, and at its height the capital's population was about 5000 people.

This archaeological site can be attributed to the BuKalanga Kingdom, which comprised the Kalanga people from northeast Botswana and western Zimbabwe, the Nambya south of the Zambezi Valley, and the Vha Venda in the northeast of South Africa. The Mapungubwe Collection of artifacts found at the archaeological site is housed in the Mapungubwe Museum in Pretoria.

The largest settlement from what has been dubbed the Leopard's Kopje culture is known as the K2 culture and was the immediate predecessor to the settlement of Mapungubwe. The people of the K2 culture, probably derived from the ancestors of the Shona and Kalanga people of southern Africa, was attracted to the Shashi-Limpopo area, likely because it provided mixed agricultural possibilities.The area was also prime elephant country, providing access to valuable ivory. The control of the gold and ivory trade greatly increased the political power of the K2 culture. By 1075, the population of K2 had outgrown the area and relocated to Mapungubwe Hill

The capital of the kingdom was called Mapungubwe, which is where the kingdom gets its name.  There is controversy regarding the origin and meaning of the name Mapungubwe. Conventional wisdom has it that Mapungubwe means "place of jackals," or alternatively, "place where jackals eat", thavha ya dzi phunguhwe, or, according to Fouché—one of the earliest excavators of Mapungubwe—"hill of the jackals" (Fouché, 1937 p. 1).  It also means "place of wisdom" and "the place where the rock turns into liquid"—from various ethnicities in the region including the Pedi, Sotho, Venda and Kalanga.

Mapungubwean society is thought by archaeologists to be the first class-based social system in southern Africa; that is, its leaders were separated from and higher in rank than its inhabitants. Mapungubwe's architecture and spatial arrangement also provide "the earliest evidence for sacred leadership in southern Africa". Life in Mapungubwe was centred on family and farming. Special sites were created for initiation ceremonies, household activities, and other social functions. Cattle lived in kraals located close to the residents' houses, signifying their value. Most speculation about society continues to be based upon the remains of buildings, since the Mapungubweans left no written record. The kingdom was likely divided into a three-tiered hierarchy with the commoners inhabiting low-lying sites, district leaders occupying small hilltops, and the capital at Mapungubwe hill as the supreme authority. Elites within the kingdom were buried in hills. Royal wives lived in their own area away from the king. Important men maintained prestigious homes on the outskirts of the capital. This type of spatial division occurred first at Mapungubwe but would be replicated in later Butua and Rozwi states. The growth in population at Mapungubwe may have led to full-time specialists in ceramics, specifically pottery. Gold objects were uncovered in elite burials on the royal hill (Mapungubwe Hil

[vrs-culdesac]

give me back my boyhood

"give me back my boyhood", a piece on being trans as a person of Hindu faith. This post has mild depictions of violence and mentions of dysphoria. Please tread with caution.

[spymeister]

Bit of Headcanoning this morning. Forgive the length.

Tarnese / Kaonese

Kaonese and Tarnese contain the same basal foundation, with a very phonetic form and function. Due to the lack of adequate reading programs and a lack of access to education, this language was created around the ability to teach from one mechanism to another without the use of coursework.

Primarily, it is taught from batch leader to batch clade, and so on and so forth. In each subsequent generation the language shifts and expands as new words, modifiers, inflections, and actions are added to the vernacular. The main difference between the two city-states is the series of action modifiers that either includes factories or mining.

Basal glyph structure-

ae / ei / i / ai / ea / he / ve -

These basal sounds are the foundation of the lower levels of Kaon and Tarn. They are replicated through subvocal cortexes located within the back part of the vocalizer, or vox-coder (depending on one's construction or emergence) and simple action indicators.

Secondary Glyph Structure.

These secondary sounds are the building of the subject on top of the action indicators. The subject changes the rules of the action indicators, which allows the beginning phrase to take on several different meanings despite grammatically remaining the same.

Example:

che - to run vhe - to walk mhe- to jump

Adding secondaries such as:

sai - This one mhi - That one vha - That One (honorific- as neither basal dialect has a word for the singular possessive of "I.")

This changes with the addition to:

sai'che - this one runs mhi'vhe - that one runs Vha'mhe - The One jumps.

Tertiary Glyph Structure The last part of the basal structure is the modifier. The modifier is akin to the human adjective- as it describes how the subject is doing the action. This changes more on inflection than it does with actual word change and modification. Modifiers such as se, ve, ha, ni, cho help give the scope of what the action is doing in relation to the subject at hand.

Example:

sai/che + se = This one runs quickly mhi'cho'vhe = That one runs slowly. Vha'ha'mhe = The One ran loudly.

The modifiers help describe how the action is done, and what the subject is doing. This, of course, changes with honorifics, intent, and tone- depending on the situation at hand.

Sometimes, hand gestures can be incorporated to emphasize a point- which lends to Kaonites and Tarnians to be highly visual speakers with grandiose and exaggerated gestures. In more reserved cultures, this can be misconstrued as threatening or pompous- but it's simply because the Tarnians have had less access to the more verbose and intricate wordplay that higher Castes can utilize.

[kathbunny]

One of the Valentine's requests! Poly Crew! They work together to make a chocolate cake! Very short and simple.

Dani stared into their oven, the magic stones within slowly warming it. She would've preferred a fire personally, she understood fire, but this apparently worked far better. She glanced back at the rest of her crew, who had gathered around the cookbook Finbar gifted them, VR-LA robotically measuring ingredients with as much precision as he could, the other two watching like a pair of cats staring down their favorite mouse toy. Kyana was perched on the counter itself, or, more accurately, posed like she was while flying slightly above the counter to not make it dirty. Vhas was perched on a chair.

Dani stood up and walked over, joining in the staring much to VR-LA's visible dismay. "...could somebody else please start on something?" VR-LA said.

"The recipe says to do the wet ingredients first in the next step." Kyana said. "And you're the one with the measuring stuff."

"All the bowls and stuff are already out, mate." Vhas added. "But I could grease pans for us?"

"Yes, please. Just whatever means I'm not being leaned over." VR-LA sighed.

Dani chuckled slightly to herself, choosing not to add to the conversation, just watching as the work continued. The dry ingredients were put in the big bowl, then the wet ingredients into a smaller one. VR-LA mixed the dry ingredients, letting Kyana beat the eggs and mix the milk before adding it as he kept mixing. Neither Vhas or Dani had much to do during this, everyone seeming to have realized this didn't need any helpers at all.

It was nice though, just soaking in the energy. It didn't take any time at all for them to have a smooth chocolate batter, and for it to be poured into the two small pans they had. Dani put them in the oven for everyone, since she wouldn't need oven mitts for it. Whenever VR-LA or Kyana used oven mitts with this sort of baked good, it'd always end up slightly dipping into the half baked thing when checking it and creating a weird indent.

When she turned again, she noticed Kyana up the wall, pulling their kettle out of the cabinet. She hopped off the wall and onto the floor holding it up. "We could have hot drinks while we wait?" She suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Dani agreed.

"Coffee sounds good." Vhas said.

VR-LA hummed in a pleased sort of way. "I think I have some tea in the cabinet still."

[pencilium]

It's such a weird idea that streaming services, whose whole point is to have media accessible and watchable at your schedule, create content with a make-or-break production cycle based on how many people watch a program within a week of it being released.

So if you choose not to watch this new show right now you risk the chance of their being more (on the off-chance it's good), or the chance it will be sealed away before you get a chance to look at it.

This stupidly competitve system of walled gardens trying to profit off an intentionally segmented marketplace, based in an environment where people can easily steal your stuff, all while trying to out-money the competition into oblivion is just utter nonsense.

Studios, rather than focusing on producing content and releasing it to as many eyes as possible, are producing content to draw subscribers into their platform.

It moves the focus away from productions with a timless, re-watchable quality (like movies that had to be interesting enough to be worth buying on VHA), and instead into disposable one-time-wonders hyped around a blink-and-you'll-miss-it hype cycle.

Run that too long and your viewers become jaded with the platform, become less willing to fork over subscription fees (which you'll need to increase), and despise your studios name (because you splashed it all over the service they now hate).

Studios had an excellent oppurtunity to focus on content creation at varying levels - funding straight-to-youtube shorts for up-and-coming creators, release long-running shows to multiple platforms on either a fixed-term licence or pay-for-play, and big movies on a limited run pay-per-view licence before switching to streaming.

Instead they gleefully run down the same rabbit hole that video game studios did; the same studios who begrudgingly reverse gears every now and then to release their game on multiple PC game stores so they can reach more customers.

[heavensthralled]

It's good to see you posting again Sarai! I have a question though. Vhaso'a has a new tumblr now and he talks of being single. I thought he and Sarai were a happy couple. Did something happen or is he playing you? He used to be really bad about that and I hoped he was getting better, but...

First of all, thank you for the welcome back! It feels good. I’m going to do my best to get content out more, even if a lot of it is aesthetics or screenshots. I want to do more writing though!

Second: Rest assured, nothing happened, Vhaso’a and Sarai are still a happy couple. He is in no way playing me, or anyone else for that matter. After his tumblrs got nuked from orbit, he didn’t bother making them again, he was fed up. Of course, he and I continued to RP outside of tumblr, and still have that going on! However, he decided recently to revamp Vha, and have his ingame play be a new verse - specifically, his single, playboy, Priest of Menphina persona - and have that verse be his default on tumblr. Kind of a reset, if you will. (that persona is the one he enjoys best and gives him the most drive to write and create content, he told me. I’m sure he’ll explain it sometime soon.) There are still other verses to be had, of course. Which includes ours and the history we already have over the past two years. He still hasn’t worked out all the kinks on how to handle that on tumblr just yet, but that’ll work itself out soon enough.

With that in mind, for now, anything I post that doesn’t have a specific tag is considered to be in Sarai’s canon. Her canon includes her history with Vhaso’a, however that happens to work out with his own tumblr. I will have to update my tags to denote what’s what outside of canon, and perhaps create a canon tag? 

Once he’s figured out how he wants to tag/go about his verses, I’ll come up with something to match for easier tracking.

Anyway, that’s about it. Things are great, don’t worry. He’s totally awesome. I know all about the things that happened in the past and he’s moved on and become better about them. If you have any other concerns, anon (or anyone else), please come to me directly, either by ask OFF ANON or DM. My blog is really not the place to deal with drama, I only answered this so that I could explain what’s going on with his blog - he’ll be getting around to making a post about it soon, he’s told me, but said it was okay to shed light on it for now.

[marketanalysisreports]

Telstra Corp Ltd Analysis & Company Information - GlobalData

In December 2020, Communications Minister Paul Fletcher officially pronounced the National Broadband Network (NBN) "fabricated and completely functional". What's more, it was proposed in an Australian Financial Review (AFR) interview that an obtaining by another telco, conceivably "Telstra Corp market analysis", was not off the table as the mode to privatization, a U-abandon past remarks made in 2019. As bits of hearsay flourish about a likely offer of NBN Co to Telstra, no mystery Telstra's CEO Andy Penn had long held plans on NBN Co. Nonetheless, Australian regulation keeps vertical incorporated telcos from claiming NBN, which was the thing Fletcher had been implying when he had excused such a suggestion."As such, someone who conveys retail media communications administrations can't claim NBN. That is prepared into the regulation," he said. Could Telstra at any point avoid NBN regulation?Apparently there might be a legitimate workaround this limit and Telstra is doing precisely only that through a rebuilding that will see its business parted into four organizations to be held by a holding organization - InfraCo Fixed to possess latent foundation, InfraCo Mobile to claim the versatile pinnacle resources, ServeCo to take the retail arm and one more element for its worldwide business. The substance probably going to gain NBN Co was distinguished as InfraCo Fixed. Nonetheless, it was accounted for by AFR that Penn had conceded in a meeting that Telstra needed to go further to be permitted to purchase NBN Co. Telstra's rivals were expectedly exasperated by Penn's remark, particularly Optus. A feeling of disloyalty is normal in the event that such an arrangement was permitted to go through. NBN Co was initially framed to break the upward imposing business model that was made when Telstra was privatized in 1997, leaving different players hazardously subject to Telstra to offer fixed line administrations. In 2011, both Telstra and Optus consented to an arrangement to separately move responsibility for great piece of their organizations to NBN Co for AU$11 billion and AU$800 million. For all that to fall under the control of Telstra would leave Optus perilously burdened. TPG Telecom, presently converged with Vodafone Hutchinson Australia (VHA), would be the main serious opponent to Telstra, never being important for that arrangement with NBN and having clutched its own cross country fixed network, which it amassed throughout the long term through the acquisitions of different ISPs including iiNet, Chariot and AAPT.As different proprietorship models are being considered for NBN, there are better choices out there to a securing by Telstra, which wouldn't think twice about open access model and keep up with the fair serious climate it was expected to make. The Singapore approach - business trustSingapore's Next Generation National Broadband Network (NGNBN), embraced a comparative division model where the dynamic framework was intended to be isolated from the detached foundation. The element, initially named OpenNet, was then offered to Singtel completely possessed auxiliary NetLink Trust, yet was sent by rival telco StarHub through an auxiliary Nucleus Connect. An IPO was chosen as the method of privatization and a perplexing three-layered trust structure was created to guarantee that no predominant telecom administrator could assume command over the organization. Netlink Trust would be held by Netlink NBN Trust, and the legal administrator supervisor of Netlink NBN Trust would be held by Singapore NBN Trust of which the deedholder is Singapore's biggest bank, DBS.After Singtel pared down its stake in Netlink NBN Trust to beneath 25% following an IPO in 2017 because of administrative necessities, this implied that following 2017, there is no prevailing investor in Singapore NBN trust. For NBN to arrive at a comparative end-state, NBN would should be an alluring resource for cost well in the IPO market. NBN Co might should be cut out into an "metropolitan" NBN Co, comprising of the more productive major metropolitan regions and fiber spines for privatization, and a "provincial" NBN Co, which might need to be held by the public authority for social reasons. Typically, country broadband inclusion is upheld by a widespread help commitment expense demanded on all telecom organizations. This would be like or expect alterations to the Regional Broadband Scheme which was carried out just January 2021. Dissimilar to Singapore, which has the monetary heave of its sovereign abundance reserve Temasek and it portfolio organization Singtel to mediate, shields should be set up with the goal that a threatening takeover probably won't be an issue for the freely recorded NBN Co. The New Zealand approach - cut out to non-telco playersNew Zealand, which faces comparative geological difficulties however has had an exceptionally effective execution of their public broadband organization, got going with two separate projects, the Ultrafast broadband (UFB) Initiative and the Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI), the two of which are overseen by Crown Fiber Holdings (CFH), an element laid out by the public authority. Telecom NZ, the New Zealand partner to Telstra, had to go through a demerger into Spark, which would claim the tasks, and Chorus, which would acquire the latent framework, as a precondition for support in the UFB sending projects. Chorale would in this manner become the foundation organization to plan and construct the fiber organization. Be that as it may, three other Local Fiber Companies (LFC) were likewise chosen to frame joint endeavors with CFH for sending of UFB across different areas; two of which - Northpower and WNL - come from power organizations, while the third was an ISP laid out by Christchurch City Council's venture arm. Under the business model utilized in the joint endeavor, the CFH joint endeavor begins as 100 percent CFH claimed, however the business accomplice's portion in the endeavor increments as business take-up continues, ultimately privatizing the element naturally and totally. This component implied that the UFB brought about a serious climate with four confidential area players, yet with local syndications. Rejecting NBN regulation would inconvenience more modest playersTo accomplish a comparable end express, Telstra's rebuilding should go further to cut out InfraCo Fixed into a different fiberco that gives just discount access and that Telstra doesn't have command over. In the mean time, NBN Co ought to be distributed segments, with fibercos, for example, the completely stripped InfraCo Fixed, and non-telco players, for example, service organizations and confidential value firms permitted to take part, with the precondition of not having a retail telco business in Australia. Another less difficult and less tangled privatization approach is scrap the regulation banishing upward incorporated telcos from taking responsibility for and to have each of the three significant telcos bring non-controlling stakes into NBN. Such is the situation with the making of China Tower from China three significant occupant telcos in 2014. Notwithstanding, this may then weakness more modest players, for example, Superloop, Aussie Broadband, MacTel, and possible future contestants.Join Free Demo Secession Now