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elylandon · 5 years ago

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Part 1 - Chapter 9: Panic

Summary: You’re running for your life when you cross paths with an ex-bounty hunter and his small, green companion. You never thought you’d find someone throughout the whole galaxy who was as lost as you.

Pairing: The Mandalorian/Din Djarin x Female Reader

Word Count: 4,229

Rating/Warnings: M for mature content. Swearing, violence, [eventual smut], etc.

Chapter 8 | Chapter 10

Note: (Slight AU - Slow Burn) I hope you enjoy this one! ❤

---

As it turned out, it wasn’t safer for the three of you out in space than it was on land. It hadn’t been more than a day after you had acquired the comlinks that the Razor Crest was accosted by a bounty hunter. The shootout that ensued caused a lot of external damage that you weren’t skilled enough to repair on your own.

Thanks to Din’s clever maneuvering, he was able to get rid of the hunter, and safely land the Crest in a spaceport bay on a desert planet. As he lowered the back ramp and you helped the child settle into his satchel, three little pit droids ran up to assess the ship’s damage. Din quickly whipped out his blaster and fired a warning shot at their feet, surprising you. You wondered for a second if he was jumpier after this encounter than he was letting on, but, as if sensing your questioning gaze, he glanced over his shoulder and said, “I don’t like droids.”

The mechanic on hand approached you, berating Din for firing at her droids. Her name turned out to be Peli, and as the three of you walked around the ship-- the child tagging along in the satchel against your hip-- she relayed her observations of the repairs needed, and the money it would cost. You could tell it was more than Din had by the set of his shoulders. You were tempted to remind him of the “communal fund”, but knew it would be useless. He was just as stubborn as you were about that money.

Besides, the two of you had just discussed this the day before. Din needed to find work, and you weren’t going to be able to go with him this time. He promised Peli he’d get her the money, told you he’d be back in a bit to prepare for whatever job he found, then took off.

He was only gone for about thirty minutes, in which time you watched Peli work and asked questions. You were used to working on engines and the electrical parts of these ships, but nothing as large scale as the damage caused by an attack from another ship. You helped Peli with a lot of the rewiring needed, though, as she normally left stuff like that to her droids. At least this would help lower the cost a little, as she begrudgingly admitted she wouldn’t charge Din for any work she didn’t do.

When Din returned, the two of you had already made a lot of progress, and you were hopeful that the Crest would be back in flying shape by the following evening.

“Did you find anything?” you asked as Din came striding over to you. He nodded.

“There’s a kid trying to get into the Guild. He’s got his first mark and said he’d give me the pay if I helped. He just wants the reputation to get in.”

You frowned. “Is it such a good idea to work on something this close to the Guild?”

“The job pool is dry otherwise,” he said while having the audacity to shrug nonchalantly. He watched as your frown grew, so he tilted his head, body language sobering.

“He isn’t a part of the Guild yet, or else he’d know that my bounty or the kid’s are much more appealing to him than the one he’s got.”

“Who’s the target?”

“Fennec Shand. She’s a high profile mercenary.”

“Is she dangerous?”

“Very.”

You sighed through your nose, holding his eyes through the visor of his helmet. You had to remind yourself that this sort of thing was his profession, his livelihood. You’d seen him take on raiders and a walker firsthand, and have heard about some of his past hunts that he had been willing to share. You knew there were jobs he had taken that were unsavory compared to the ones he had been doing in recent years. He never said so, but you could just tell that, like you, he had a story he wasn’t keen on sharing.

The point, though, was that Din had been doing jobs like this for a long time before you and the kid came along. So you weren’t going to stop him from taking them, despite the strong suspicion you had that he wouldn’t take this one if you pushed.

No. This is what he hired you to do. You were to watch over the kid and the ship, giving him the opportunity to make a living the only way he knew how.

As if it was just a reflex now, you reached out and clasped his forearm.

“Just be careful, okay? Don’t get yourself killed because some hotshot wants to take on a tough bounty to get into the Guild.” You almost stopped yourself from saying the next few words. But you swallowed the fear of how much of yourself you were putting into them, and said them anyway.

“Come back to us.”

Din pulled his arm back, and for a fraction of a second, your heart clenched, thinking he was rejecting your sentiment. But he only moved so that he could clasp your fingers in his gloved ones. He gave your fingers a light squeeze.

“I will.”

It was such a short, Din answer, you couldn’t help but laugh a little.

You followed him out of the hangar so you and the child could see him off. He hounded you with reminders the whole way.

“Do you have your blaster?”

“What about your knife?”

“Do you remember all the things Cara and I taught you?”

It reminded you of when you were eleven, and had tried your hand at babysitting for some extra pocket money. It took several minutes for the parents to even walk out the door as they showed you where the emergency numbers were and how to set the security system, asking you again and again if you remembered everything. Only this time you smiled warmly as you assured him that if anything happened, you’d be able to tell him right away with the comlinks, and you’d be able to hold your own until he got back.

Because, in this case, Din wasn’t a fretting parent, worried about leaving his child with a stranger for the first time. He was someone that cared about your wellbeing as much as the child’s. And that thought made your heart and your stomach take up each other’s hands and waltz around your insides.

The three of you met the rookie outside as he lounged against one of two speeder bikes.

“Hey, Mando, what do you think? Not too shabby, huh?” he said, sounding proud of himself. Apparently, it had been his job to find the bikes. He introduced himself to you as Toro as Din inspected them. His eyes briefly landed on the child, and he gave him a slightly bemused look before turning his attention back to the Mandalorian. Din didn’t look too impressed with the bikes.

“What’d you expect? This ain’t Corellia,” he said in his defense.

Din cast you a sidelong glance, and deliberately showed you when he lifted his vambrace and pressed a button, causing your earpiece to crackle as his came to life. Then, he swung a leg over the bike, and they both took off.

---

Again, you passed the time with Peli working on the Crest. You let the child wander, always keeping him in sight and making sure he kept away from the observing droids. You knew Din wouldn’t like the child near them. You wondered why he didn’t like droids. It was kind of a shame, really. They seemed pleasant enough, and you had always liked working with the ones in Thasar’s personal bay.

While you kept an eye on the kid, you kept an ear on Din. For the longest time, all you could hear was the sound of the bike racing across the sand. At one point, he had stopped to negotiate with some locals. At least, that was what you had assumed. The bargaining itself was rather silent. You were able to barely pick up Toro’s protest, however, when Din handed his binocs over to the locals.

“Those were brand new!”

“Yeah? They were,” Din deadpanned, and you laughed.

They found their target shortly after that… and by found, you were referring to the fact that Din was hit twice by sniper bolts while inspecting a downed hunter still tied up on a dewback’s saddle. He’d gotten back to Toro and cover well enough though, assuring you as you panicked that he was fine.

“Covered in beskar, remember?” he’d said, as if that should calm you.

It didn’t even calm Toro, who must have thought Din was reassuring him and said, “Wait, I don’t wear any beskar.”

“Nope,” was Din’s reply.

He decided to wait until nightfall to make their next move. When that time finally came, you anxiously listened as Peli entertained the child. The plan didn’t go over too well from what you could tell. Din was shot at again, and you were certain he was hit at least once. But you heard the telltale twang of the shot hitting beskar, so you remained quiet, knowing he was fine and not wanting to distract him. After a few more minutes, though, it seemed Toro was able to distract their target long enough for Din to sneak up and get the upper hand. They captured Fennec.

You released a shaky breath and slumped down to sit on the back ramp of the Crest.

“I don’t think I can listen to you out on jobs anymore,” you said, hand clutching your chest over your racing heart. “That was terrifying.”

Din chuckled quietly so only you could hear, then set to work on figuring out how to transport Fennec Shand back across the desert. The problem now was that Din’s bike was out of commission, as it had fallen prey to one of Fennec’s sniper bolts.

In the end, Din left Toro with Fennec to go find the dewback they had seen earlier.

You were able to focus on the ship again for a while, now that you were sure Din was safe and would be making his way back soon. You still talked to him through the night, though, perhaps to assure yourself that he really was fine, or simply because you really, really liked the sound of his voice, modulated or not. However, as the two suns rose and Din made his way back with the dewback to where he had left Toro and Fennec, he cursed as he found the scene not as he had left it.

“Y/N,” he said, tone wary.

“Hmm?”

“Fennec’s dead.”

“What? H-how? Is Toro-”

“He’s gone. Speeder bike is gone too. He must have killed Fennec and taken off.”

“But why would he do that? He needed to bring her in alive in order to get into the Guild.”

Din was silent for a moment, thinking this through, just as you were. He must have come to the same conclusion just as you did, as he said, “He’s got a head start on me. Hide the kid, and prepare yourself. I’ll be there as quick as I can.”

“You think he’s caught on to a higher profile bounty than Fennec?”

“Yes,” Din said curtly. “And I doubt he’ll leave without both parts of it.”

“Okay,” you said, tone resolute. “I’ll keep him busy until the second half of his Guild ticket gets here.”

---

Fortunately, Din told you that you had a little time. It would take Toro most of the day to ride back to town. You told Peli what was going on, and the two of you rushed to finish the repairs on the Crest. You wanted it to be ready for escape once Din got back and handled Toro. As night fell, Peli hid herself somewhere in the hangar, backup in case you needed it. But you didn’t want to give Toro anymore ammunition to use as leverage against you, like a hostage.

You bustled the child into the hidden compartment that was Din’s cot, apologizing for leaving him in there alone while you reasoned with him to be still and quiet. He seemed to understand the gravity of your mood and did as he was told. Then, you started stacking the bins at the back end of the ship wide enough and tall enough so you could hide behind them without being seen. Toro was going to come onto the ship looking for the kid, and this was your trap for him.

Something Zekir had always impressed upon you was that others would underestimate you, and that was possibly your greatest weapon. As much as you hated anyone agreeing with him, Cara had said the same. You weren’t large and strong like she was, or a skilled, longtime combatant like her or Din. But you could hold your own in short bursts that surprised your opponents long enough to gain the upper hand, so that’s what you were going to do with Toro.

You kept your blaster holstered and your knife within reach. You couldn’t afford both you and Toro firing at each other within the confined space of the Razor Crest, nor were you skilled enough with a blade yet to be confident in fighting him with anything other than your bare hands. You stood there behind the bins, anticipating his approach, knowing that he would most definitely have his blaster out, ready to threaten you or the child with it.

Din kept asking for check-ins, but you only hummed to him quietly, assuring him nothing had happened yet. You didn’t want to risk Toro hearing you, not knowing when he’d be sneaking into the hangar. But you heard him soon enough.

His quiet footfalls shifted in the sand, then quietly padded up the ramp of the Crest. You waited, holding your breath as he drew closer, not daring to move until you saw the tip of his blaster or his boot. You steeled every last nerve inside of you, focusing all of your concentration on the next few seconds.

You saw his blaster first. You quickly shot your left hand out and grabbed the barrel of the blaster. Thankfully, he wasn’t a complete trigger happy idiot, as his finger hadn’t been on the trigger. You yanked the barrel down, and twisted in front of him, bringing the heel of your right palm up to crash against his nose.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t with enough force to break his pretty face, but you knew sure as hell how painful it was to take a direct hit to the nose. Toro cried out, head snapping back. You brought that same hand down on his right shoulder—the other hand still holding his blaster down—grabbed a fistful of his jacket and pulled him towards you. You met him halfway, hitting him with your signature knee to his gut, twice.

Toro gasped and curled in on himself. You dragged your right hand down to meet your left one and pulled back, dragging him forward onto the ground by his arm, then twisted it, turning yourself so that you could stand over his back, his arm wrenched at an angle so uncomfortable, it would hurt him to move. It was easy then to break the hold he had on the blaster. You wrest it from him before dropping his arm and pointing the blaster at his back.

This all happened in a matter of seconds, and Toro groaned as the whirlwind subsided.

“You’ve made a mistake,” he breathed, turning his head back to look at you. “I’m Mando’s partner, remember? We got separated, and I came back to look for him.”

Came looking for him with a blaster raised? I don’t think so, you thought, but you actually said, “Actually, I’m Mando’s partner, and he warned me about what you really came back for.”

“What the hell,” Toro moaned, obviously still feeling the pain in his nose, stomach, and arm. “Fennec said you were just some Earthling slave girl.”

“Well, she wasn’t wrong. But that doesn’t make me any less capable of kicking your ass.”

A chuckle tickled your ear, and Din said, so quietly you were sure you weren’t meant to hear it, “That’s my girl.”

If this had been any other moment, you knew your heart would have swelled with pride and affection. Well, of course it did, but you had a job to do, and you weren’t going to be distracted from protecting that kid… until that kid came waddling towards you, curiously eyeing the situation. You quickly glanced towards the hidden compartment, and found the door open. How had he gotten out? How had you not noticed?

“Stop!” you barked, panicked. He startled to a halt, gazing up at you in confusion. You had never spoken to him like that before. But he was dangerously close to Toro, and even if you had a blaster trained on him, you didn’t trust that he wouldn’t reach out and snatch the kid, using him against you to make you back down.

You heard Din call your name over the comlink, asking what was going on, but you ignored him.

“I’m sorry, baby,” you said, tone pleading. “I’m so sorry, but you need to stay back. It’s too dangerous for you here.”

The child took a slow step back, brow bone still bunched in confusion. You nodded at him encouragingly, smiling to make up for your harsh tone before. You opened your mouth to tell him that was good, to keep moving back-

But then an electrifying pain coursed through you, originating from your ankle, and channeling through every nerve ending in your body. You gasped, then gritted your teeth, trying like hell not to scream. You couldn’t scream. You knew pain. You knew how to pace yourself through it. But the scream eventually ripped out of you as the agonizing current of electricity surged through you over, and over, and-

You heard the child’s terrified wailing, and Din’s panicked shouting in your ear, but all you knew was pain...and then nothing.

Toro pulled the small, taser-like weapon back and watched you collapse, blaster clattering beside you. He grabbed for it and scrambled up, then stared down at you, nudging you with the toe of his boot to make sure you were really out. When you didn’t stir, he huffed a slightly victorious laugh, and kicked you over the lip of the ramp. You rolled down it, landing in a heap at the bottom. He kind of hoped he hadn’t killed you with that shock-- it wasn’t exactly a low voltage device-- as there were a lot of things he could do with an Earthling.

As Toro turned towards the child, who was still babbling with frightened concern, he noticed something move out of the corner of his eye. Sure that it was Mando, he quickly turned the blaster on you, expecting that threat to give him the advantage. It did make the intruder freeze, but it wasn’t Mando.

Toro assumed it was the mechanic that managed the hangar. The corners of his lips twitched as he met her terrified eyes. She was holding a blaster on him, but her conviction fell when she saw him aiming at you.

“I’m curious as to who the faster shot would be. Me?” He waggled his blaster tauntingly in your direction. “Or you?”

The mechanic resignedly lowered her blaster.

“That’s a good girl,” Toro hummed, giving her a megawatt smile. “Now, come on over here. We’ll all wait for Mando together.”

---

Panic. This was what raw, unadulterated panic felt like. Din had only felt it at this magnitude one other time in his life. The day when he had lost everything.

“Y/N!” he exclaimed for sixth or seventh time since he’d heard your terrible scream pierce through the earpiece. But you weren’t responding.

Din’s mind kept racing through the worst possible conclusions. What happened to you? What was happening to the kid? What if he had just lost everything once again?

He was thankful for how close he had been when he heard that sound come tearing out of you. Close enough to slide off the dewback and sprint the last gap into the town limits as night fully fell. He slowed to a sneaking gate and pulled out his blaster as he slipped into the hangar, hoping to catch Toro by surprise. But Toro had been waiting, and he spotted Din quickly enough.

“Took you long enough, Mando,” he said, standing on the back ramp of the Razor Crest, the child in one hand, a blaster in the other. He held it on Peli as she stood in front of them. “Looks like I’m calling the shots now. Huh, partner?”

Din’s racing heart galloped even harder when he spotted you, crumpled at the bottom of the ramp. You lay curled on your side, back facing him, unmoving. Toro seemed to comprehend where Din’s gaze had gone, and he gave a falsely sad shake of his head, moving towards you. Din’s body had already been taught with turmoil and anticipation, but still his muscles seized as Toro inched closer to your prone form.

Said man reached his foot out, catching your shoulder and nudging you hard enough to push you onto your back. Your head lolled limply to the side, and Din could see the mask of pain still touching your brows, and the grimace on your lips. His fingers tightened on his raised blaster, jaw clenching, vision reddening.

“I really hope I didn’t kill her,” Toro said. “I think she’s breathing, but I didn’t have time to check.” He gave a passive sort of shrug. “Did you know you were toting around a slave that had killed her master, Mando? Setting aside the fact that she’s also an Earthling for a moment, someone had the Guild put a pretty heavy price on her head. With Fennec, I didn’t care about the bounty money. But considering that the amount of credits I can get for this Earthling is upwards to five or six times as much as Fennec’s bounty, I’d say I’ve changed my mind on the matter.”

Din said nothing, and Toro smirked.

“That said, I’ve decided I’ll be turning in a Guild traitor, the target he helped escape, and an exotic murderer for my first job.”

Din was absolutely vibrating with his desire to end this kid. But he had to repress such a reckless impulse and remind himself that the child’s life was still on the line, even if… even if yours wasn’t. And lest he forget poor, innocent Peli, who he had inadvertently roped into all this.

Toro ordered Din to drop his blaster. He did so, and raised his hands over his head as Toro instructed Peli to head over and cuff him. She made her way over to Din, coming to a stop behind him... and noticed the flash charge in his raised hand.

“You’re smarter than you look,” she whispered.

“Fennec was right,” Toro concluded, unsuspecting. “Bringing you in won’t just make me a member of the Guild, it’ll make me legendary.”

Din activated the charge, causing a whirlwind of commotion. He and Peli dove out of the way as Toro started blindly firing at them. Din rushed behind some equipment and came up on the left side of the ramp. Toro spun to take aim at him, but Din was faster. He shot the Guild wannabe, and he toppled off the ramp, dead before he hit the ground.

As everything died down, he and Peli ran forward, looking for where Toro would have dropped the child. When Peli spotted him and scooped him up, she pushed Din back, “He’s fine. He’s fine. Go check on your girl over there.”

With the knowledge that the kid was good enough for now, Din spun back around in your direction. Without really considering the rush of thoughts and emotions storming through him, he yanked off his gloves as he knelt beside you. Gingerly, he brought his hands up to cup your face, lightly brushing back a few strands of your hair that were haphazardly covering your features. His right hand came to rest on your neck, allowing him to release a breath he hadn’t known he was holding when he felt your strong pulse fighting against the pads of his fingers. The thumb of his other hand lightly traced across your cheekbone, over and over.

“Y/L,” he murmured, quietly but firmly, urging you to wake. There was a short moment of resurging panic when you didn’t stir right away, but after a little more coaxing, your eyes fluttered open.

“Din?” Your waking sigh was a bemused, but contented one. But then your thoughts shifted towards the child and you bolted upright, wincing, but on high alert.

“He’s okay,” Din said softly. “Peli’s got him.”

You sagged in relief, collapsing against Din’s side.

“He’s okay,” you repeated in a whisper, eyes closing in what he could only assume was exhaustion. Hesitantly, he placed his bare hand against the small of your back, holding you there against him.

“You both are,” he said, finally allowing the tension of the last several hours to dissipate. Everything he cared about was safe.

For now.

---

Tag List: Please, please, please let me know if I missed you or the tag isn’t working.

@sirianfromsixties @doubtedbus409 @shadowfoxey @knockbeforeyouspeak @ispilledmyink @sinon36 @whenthestarsfalldowntonight @im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11 @imaginebeinlovedbyme @marvelobsessiononastick @pascalisthepunkest @yepimthatperson @stevieharrrr @sunkissed-winter @the-feckless-wonder @fruitsaladtree @adikaofmandalore @irishleesh93 @sevvysaurus @pisss-offf-ghostt

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #din djarin #din djarin x reader #baby yoda #Al's Sharing Corner

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zaph1337 · 4 years ago

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Monster Hunter Rating 15: Cephadrome, the Sand Wyvern

All right, we all knew this was coming. I’ve complained about “-drome” monsters for a while now, but it was mostly ‘cause of the naming scheme, not the idea of a leader for smaller monsters. Still, I’m glad that the first one I’m talking about leads an interesting species. Let’s see what the Cephadrome has to offer.

(How it appears in Monster Hunter 1)

(How it appears in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate)

Appearance: The Cephadrome literally looks just like a bigger Cephalos. I know that’s what it’s supposed to be, but several of the “-dromes” have subtle differences from their base forms to make them stand out more. From what I can see on the renders, though, the Cephadrome doesn’t have anything but size to set it apart from the Cephalos. Okay, the games say that they have “hardened, black scales,” but I don’t see those on any of the renders. Though something interesting the wiki page for Cephadrome points out is that it and Cephalos are both likely based on the Diplocaulus, an extinct amphibian with a spade-shaped head:

It’s not gonna affect the score any, but it’s interesting. Speaking of the score, since the Cephadrome is meant to be a big Cephalos, I won’t dock it points for that, but I will dock it points for just being a big Cephalos. 5/10.

Behavior: Since Cephadromes start out as Cephalos, they have the same behavior for a good portion of their lives. Cephadromes lay their eggs in oasis waters, but those eggs will only hatch during the dry season when those waters dry up. The baby Cephalos swim in the mud, but eventually the mud will dry up, too, and turn to sand...I’m assuming that the mud is wet sand and not dirt because otherwise I don’t think that would make sense. Anyways, the hatchlings will struggle to swim through the sand, but if they wanna survive, they gotta learn. This is why their mothers laid the eggs there in the first place; the hatchlings have to have some experience swimming if they want to learn how to swim through sand.

Once a Cephalos matures, it becomes a Cephadrome and leads a pack of Cephalos. It’s the Cephadrome’s job to protect the pack, so it’s often the one that attacks their targets first. It’s more aggressive than a Cephalos, but also very cautious; it directs its pack as far away as possible from monsters such as Diablos and Monoblos, which are known for intense aggression towards anything that moves. If it thinks its opponent is too dangerous to fight head-on, it’ll frequently dive into the sand as an evasive maneuver during the fight. This annoying strategy also allows the Cephadrome to distract nearby predators--even Diablos and Monoblos--to keep them away from its pack.

Other than that, Cephadromes have the same behavior as Cephalos: they swim in sand, jump out of it for air, and gulp some of it up to mix it with their mucus. It wouldn’t be fair to dock them points for doing a lot of what Cephalos do because that’s literally how leader animals behave irl, but I also feel like the reason I rated the Cephalos’ behavior so high was because every monster before them behaved mostly like real animals did, so something as bizarre as a sand-swimming shark dragon seemed like a breath of fresh air for a series about larger-than-life monsters. Plus, I don’t know how much the Cephadrome’s new behavior adds to the monster’s appeal. It certainly does its job as a pack leader, but I still feel like I don’t like it enough for it to justify giving the Cephadrome the same score here as I did the Cephalos...eh, I was never good at being objective, anyways. 7/10.

Abilities: Cephadromes literally have the same abilities as Cephalos do; they use their hearing to track prey and their fins have paralytic venom, but their greater size allows them to use their tails and hip-checks to damage enemies. The wiki also says that they spit a “sand stream,” which...I don’t know if that’s what Cephalos do with the sand they swallow. I assumed that since they mixed the sand with mucus, they’d spit it as globs, and I thought Cephadromes would do the same thing. I guess my issue with imagining a stream of sand and mucus is that I’d expect it to all come out at once because the mucus stuck it all together.

Okay, I’m watching videos of a Cephadrome hunt on the wiki, and Cephadromes and Cephalos do spit out sand in globs, but Cephadromes can also fire them in quick succession. Didn’t see anything I’d call a sand stream, though. My guess is that the sand stream is a move used by high-rank Cephadromes, when their health gets low, or both. Regardless, I’m giving them the same rating as I did the Cephalos. 8/10.

Equipment: For some reason, the equipment page Cephalos and Cephadromes share has mostly weapons made from Cephalos parts. At best, Cephadrome materials are used in upgrades of those weapons. All of the ones themed after the Cephadrome seem to be from Monster Hunter Online. Here’s the Cephadrom Great Sword:

Like with the Cephalos weapons, we see a mix of aquatic and desert themes here. If the was blue, I’d never be able to tell that it came from a desert monster. Honestly, the colors and spiked fins on the weapons remind me a lot of Futabi, one of the “vivosaurs” you can use in the Fossil Fighter games. Another interesting weapon is the Cephadrome Long Sword:

The neat thing about this weapon is its similarities to the shamshir, a sword that used to be used in Persia, which was a desert region:

Making the Long Sword a giant shamshir was a nice little touch. I also like how the curve calls to mind a wave-like motion befitting a Water-element weapon. As for the armor, here’s the Cephadrome Blademaster set from Monster Hunter Frontier G:

If you’re wondering where the blue scales came from, I should remind you that Cephalos and Cephadromes are blue, but covered in sand. This may not look deserty, but it does make you look like an Atlantean warrior or something like that, so it gets points from me. I like how the girl’s skirt is made from a Cephadrome fin, but I wish the male armor had a helmet that looked like you could actually see out of it. Those slits may be artistic, but they sure don’t look practical. I really like the armor overall, but I can’t ignore the fact that it kinda clashes with the weapons. But there’s also Cephadrome armor in Monster Hunter Online. It looks...different.

...y’know, I get that the helmet’s meant to look like a pharaoh’s headdress, but it looks so fleshy and goofy that it kinda ruins the whole look of the armor for me. It may not clash with the weapons like the previous armor does, but it’s just...no. The equipment on the whole, however, is very solid for the most part, so I feel that it makes up for it. 8/10.

Final Thoughts and Tally: Being so similar to the Cephalos, the Cephadrome has the same appeal to me; it’s a sand shark dragon that spits sand globs and is somehow still a Water-element monster. The worst I can say about it is that it doesn’t look different enough from its younger form, but it still looks pretty intimidating. I wish there was a way to remove the sand from its body and see the blue scales underneath, though. Still, 7/10.

#monster hunter #monster hunter rating #zaph1337

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mentalmars · 5 years ago

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How to Prepare for the Guardian Takedown - Borderlands 3

Takedown at the Guardian Breach A new takedown is coming to Borderlands 3 and it’s focused on the Eridian Guardians. In the Takedown at the Guardian Breach, you will face off against tough enemies as Gearbox Software wants to challenge you with this end game content. Besides having to fight your way through this gauntlet there will be some platforming and puzzling. In this Guardian Takedown Guide, I’m going to tell you how you can prepare for this challenge. Takedown at the Guardian Breach will be released on June 4, 2020, as a free content update. Table of Content Weapon Guide – What type of weapons to use Weapons to Farm Anoints Enemies Weapons Guide Takedown at the Guardian Breach is end game content that is designed to challenge you. Therefore, you want to equip the best gear and have a good character build. There are weapons that currently define the meta of Borderlands 3. It’s a good idea to farm for these, however, as the developers mentioned. They are going to fine-tune Mayhem Mode 2.0 and adjust some of the legendary items in the game. Therefore, I think it’s a good idea to not just rely on that one overpowered weapon. The health bar of a Guardian consists typically of a large shield. Therefore, they are weak against the shock element. Shock deals 200% damage in normal mode and 250% damage in TVHM against shields. It causes targets to be electrocuted which will deal very high damage over a 3-second duration. This way you can strip through those shields. I already compiled a list with the best shock weapons in preparation for the Guardian Takedown. That said, Guardians can spawn with armor that’s why it’s a good idea to also have good corrosive weapons in your inventory. Don’t use your shock weapons against these yellow Armor health bars as your damage will be reduced to 80% in normal mode and 65% in TVHM. Corrosive weapons deal 150% (Normal) and 175% (TVHM) damage against armor. You can also use Cryo against Armor but it will do 25% less damage then Corrosive. Want to learn more about elemental damage then check out this elemental damage guide. Weapons to Farm You are going to need guns, LOTS OF GUNS! (But not too much or else you cannot pick up the new items that come with the Guardian Takedown) Revenge of the Cartels Legendaries The Revenge of the Cartels is a limited time even and has a lot of exclusive legendary items. Therefore, you need to hurry if you want to pick up these items. Because when the Guardian Takedown is released the Seasonal event will end. YellowCake The YellowCake defines the current meta when it comes to best weapons in Borderlands 3. O.P.Q. System The O.P.Q. System is a very powerful Atlas Assault Rilfe. Because it can also deal shock damage this will be useful for the Takedown. Fish Slap The Fish Slap is a unique legendary grenade made by Pangolin. It’s great because it deals melee damage. While melee currently doesn’t scale well with the Mayhem Levels, Gearbox is going to fix that. Therefore, this grenade will be more powerful but the interesting thing is that you can combine this grenade with other abilities. There are artifacts that give you bonuses, like ammo regen, when dealing melee damage. Mayhem 6 Legendaries With the arrival of Mayhem 2.0, Gearbox Software added Mayhem 6 legendary items. You can only get these when playing on Mayhem Level 6 or higher. Playing on the higher difficulty tiers can be challenging but with these weapons in your arsenal, things will become easier. Sand Hawk The Sand Hawk is a powerful sniper rifle that acts like an SMG. It’s one of the best sniper rifles in the game and because you can get in various elements, like shock & corrosive, this will wreck those Guardians. Monarch The Monarch is a Shotgun Assault Rifle. Just like the Dictator it comes with a bi-pod mode that gives you even more firepower. The Monarch also comes in Shock and Corrosive. BackBurner The BackBurner is a great rocket launcher that’s great for mobbing and the good thing is that it even comes with the shock element. Plaguebearer The Plaguebearer is an awesome rocket launcher like the Scourge. This one would be good for bossing. Kaoson The Kaoson a dahl SMG that shoots stickies like a Torgue weapon. Therefore, dealing great damage and the best thing is it can come in multiple elements. Reflux The Reflux is basically a corrosive Brainstormer as it creates a corrosive beam between enemies when you shoot them. The base damage is a lot higher although corrosive isn’t as effective against shields. Other Legendaries While the weapons mentioned above will outperform most of the items on this list. These are still pretty good and worth considering. While some of them lack the punch on the higher Mayhem Levels, Gearbox Software is going to adjust the higher mayhem levels to make enemies less of a bullet sponge. The Lob The Lob became very effective with the buff it received. Hellshock The Hellshock has the ability to put out a lot of shock damage at a very fast fire rate. Cutsman The Cutsman was the OP weapon before the Lob got buffed. That said the Cutsman is still able to put out good damage. Sickle In this case you want a Boom Sickle with the shock element. The Boom prefix is the best variant of this legendary Vladof Assault Rifle. Just like The Monarch it acts like a Shotgun. You want to use the Sickle over the Monarch if Mayhem 6 is to difficult. Brainstormer The Brainstormer is my top pick for best shock weapon for mobbing. During the Takedown you will be encountering a lot of enemies. The Brainstormer will be good for stripping multiple shields at the same time. Electric Banjo The Electric Banjo is the only artifact in this list. But it basically gives you the power of the brainstormer on every weapon. HEX The Hex is still one of the best legendary grenade mods in the game. Since it is a homing grenade and it comes with the shock element it’s an ideal item for taking on shield focussed enemies. If you want a good alternative, then check out the Storm Front. Honorable Mentions These legendary weapons are great for mobbing overall. The Conference Call, the Hyperfocus, and the Kill-o’-the-Wisp (stripping shields). Anoints Having quality anoints on your gear really helps out in the end game content. Some of the new anoints can really help you out. Go for anoints that compliment your build or specific Vault Hunter. Farming for Gear on the higher Mayhem Levels increases your chance of getting anointed gear. At Mayhem Level 10 you have a 100% chance of gear being anointed. “Gain 300% increased Weapon Damage against enemies above 90% Health.” This is a popular one and it really helps with enemies that have multiple life bars as you will be dealing 300% damage first (two) life bar(s). “While under 50% health, deal 150% bonus radiation damage.” You can run this anoint, as this doesn’t suffer against shields. In TVHM, Radiation actually deals 150% damage against shields. “On action skill start/active” These anoints sound great but they lose their buff when switching weapons, so I can’t recommend those for now. With Zane you already need to keep your SNTNL Cryo anoint as it is multiplicative instead of additive. “While mid-air” These can be interesting because the Guardian Takedown has low gravity, you can get more mileage out of these. “On Action Skill End, The next 2 magazines will have a 50% additional bonus Shock damage.” Being able to deal more damage is always great. This anoint is really good for Moze running an infinite ammo build as the buff stays active. “On Grenade Thrown, Weapon, Grenade, and Action Skill Damage are increased by 25% for 6 seconds.” This is an easy to trigger anoint that increases your damage. I love this on my Zane as my SNTNL and Clone “constantly” throw grenades to trigger the effect. “Consecutive Hits increase Weapon Damage by 1% per hit, misses remove all bonuses.” We are dealing with end game content here. You will be shooting non-stop during a Takedown therefore you can really stack up this consecutive hit bonus. Enemies Throughout the Takedown at the Guardian Breach, you will be encountering a lot of Eridian Guardians (duh). They are pretty fast-moving enemies. While they don’t shoot bullets they can have ranged attacks. When they die they can release a soul that can possess an ally which makes them stronger. Therefore, you want to shoot the soul before it upgrades the enemy. It wouldn’t surprise me if some of the Guardian Minibosses are more common during this Takedown. In the gameplay presentation, we have already spotted new Guardian types. One of them creates this massive area-of-attack energy field. While you can also spot multiple fire pillars that are summoned from the ground. I don’t think we will be seeing Elder types of the guardian enemies as these are just slower versions of the enemy. Gearbox added these in boss fights to gain a second win. Spectre Melee Focused. Possessed Spectres gains armor, the ability to recharge their shields at will, and a new move set. Wraith Ranged but will Melee at close range. Possessed Wraiths gains armor, the ability to recharge their shields at will, and a new move set. Sera Aerial ranged enemy Possessed Sera gains armor, the ability to recharge their shields at will, and a new move set. Herald Ranged units, similar to Wraiths. The Berserker Unique Guardian miniboss Close and Medium range The Berserker has an armor health bar as well as the normal guardian shield health The Berserker cannot be possessed by souls. The Summoner Unique Guardian miniboss Will summon souls to buff other Guardians. Gameplay Analysis During episode 7 of the Borderlands show, we got our first glimpse of Takedown at the Guardian Breach. We saw a lot of Eridian enemies one of the bigger ones created these large area-of-effect bubbles. For a brief moment the player walks into one of them. The Vault Hunter takes radiation damage from this attack. You could farm for the Red Suit. This legendary shield makes you immune to Radiation. The attack makes me wonder if the Guardian Takedown will feature more radiation attacks. The player in the presentation uses the Lead Sprinkler, a Hex Grenade, the Rowan’s Call, the Ogre, the Barrage, and the Hyperfocus. Usually, for presentations the developers set up a specific build. This makes me wonder if some of these items are getting buffed with the upcoming patch. Rowan’s Call With the Rowan’s Call, 2 bullets will ricochet when scoring a critical hit. Great for mobbing but this weapon isn’t S-tier Hyperfocus With the Hyperfocus, projectiles will shoot out on hitting a target. Great for mobbing. Lead Sprinkler With the Lead Sprinkler, projectiles will fall next to the target dealing splash damage. Great for mobbing but this isn’t’ a top tier end game weapon. HEX The HEX Grenade is a solid choice, however, in this play session it’s Cryo instead of Shock. Not ideal for Shields but it does perform on Armor. Ogre While I like the Ogre for what it is. The gun doesn’t really perform all that well. I’m curious why they picked this weapon. This screams incoming buff to me. The Barrage The Barrage is a solid Dahl SMG. But wouldn’t be my pick to bring into the Guardian Takedown at its current state.

Continue reading on https://mentalmars.com/guides/borderlands-3-guardian-takedown-guide/

#Borderlands 3 Guide

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ticklygiggles · 7 years ago

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Hey Mimi! Could I request Iwaizumi with knees? And maybe Kageyama with underarms? :3

Hello, Ems *smooches* of course~

Iwa-chan's knees are a dangerous 8.5 on the scale. He's pretty ticklish there, but not crazy ticklish.

Sometimes Oikawa thinks us funny to sit on Iwaizumi's shins sand start to squeeze and wiggle his finger on his knees. Iwaizumi starts to laugh loudy as he tries to catch the ofending hands

You know this yolk game where you liiightly brush your fingers against someone's knee? Well that's Iwaizumi's kryptonite. Soft touches gets him going more than rough ones, so doing that will earn you a child-like giggle and the scrunch of his little nose. Scribbling on the back of his knees makes him pink in the face as he laughs breathlessly

Kag's underarms are one of his worse spots, so they have to be an intense 9 on the scale. Rubbing and digging there drives him up the wall

If someone gets a hold of his arms he'll start to laugh in the instant, even before the tickling starts, he's a begger and it's really funny to hear him beg through his laughter as thumbs rub circles in the middle of his armpits

He would never admit it, but soft tickling there makes him sleepy. If he wants his significant other, for example, to lightly tickle him there, he'd cover his face with a pillow and raise his arms up above his head. Soft fingertips swirling around his underarms make him giggle at first but will lull him to sleep

“send me a character + body part, and I will tell you my headcanon about that spot being ticklish and will rate it on a scale from 1 to 10”

#Haikyuu!! Iwaizumi Hajime #Kageyama Tobio #games #ticklish!Iwaizumi #ticklish!Kageyama

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doggonneit · 7 years ago

Text

The Last Red Scribble | Part 1/2

Fandom: Haikyuu!!

Pairing/Characters: Kuroo/Tsukishima

Rating: T for Teen

Warnings: Single Parent AU

A.N. This is a part of the KuroTsuki Gift Exchange 2017, written for @moonislander on Tumblr. Hope you enjoy!

Italics is Tsukishima. Bold is Kuroo.

[Read on AO3]

Monday PM

(2:33) I’m about to slam my head into the wall. (2:33) Tobio got into another fight. (2:34) He’s fucking five, how does he keep picking fights.

(2:35) what a champ

(2:35) What the fuck, Akiteru. (2:35) You’re not supposed to say that.

(2:36) wrong number bud but legit (2:36) tobios got a future in cage fighting (2:36) whos tobio

(2:38) Oh, sorry. Wrong number.

(2:40) well dont leave me hanging (2:40) i need to know who to put my money on in the future

(2:41) Don’t make this weirder than it already is.

(2:41) :)))))

(2:42) Tobio’s my son.

(2:43) are you an old man (2:43) is that why you started texting me (2:44) STRANGER DANGER STRANGER DANGER

(2:45) What the fuck, no. (2:46) I messed up my brother’s new number. (2:46) Evidently.

(2:46) eviDENTly (2:47) arent you all smart and proper (2:47) thats how i like em

(2:49) Are you seriously flirting with me over text? (2:49) You don’t know stranger danger at all. (2:50) I don’t have time for this.

(2:53) :((((( (2:55) come back

(2:56) I have to deal with my son.

(2:56) what an adulty adult (2:57) tell tobio hes a fucken champ

Tuesday AM

(7:22) sooo (7:22) i know your brothers name and your sons name (7:22) but not your name

(7:25) …

(7:25) hint hint

(7:26) Have you seen the latest stranger danger campaign? (7:26) It’s got your face all over it.

(7:27) you think youre being funny but my mates crack jokes about my ugly mug making children cry (7:28) would tobio cry if he ever saw me

(7:30) He doesn’t even know what you look like.

(7:31) *image attached*

(7:34) I really don’t have time for this. I’m getting Tobio ready for school.

(7:35) if life were a party youd be the clown that sucks all the fun away (7:35) XP

(7:36) Why are you making that face?

(7:36) you hurt my feelings so im sticking my tongue out at you

(7:38) No-one uses that emoji for hurt feelings.

(7:39) i just did (7:39) XP (7:39) oh look i just did it again (7:39) XP (7:39) and again look at me go

(7:42) All right, all right, I’ll ask. (7:44) Tobio says you look like you killed a cat.

(7:44) how does someone even look like that (7:44) your son needs glasses (7:45) what do you think then (7:45) smouldering eyes wicked grin (7:45) admit it im pretty

(7:46) Yeah, pretty atrocious. (7:46) What’s with that hair?

(7:47) HI THIS IS KUROOS BEST FREIDN FOERVER BOKUTO PLS DONT METNION HIS BEHDEAD IT MAKES HM SELF CONSCOIUS

(7:47) Aww. Is Kuroo sulking now?

(7:47) sajfkdsjp (7:47) asdffhajlkkasdfghijkl

(7:48) I feel like I should be concerned. (7:50) I am actually concerned.

(7:51) how do i get rid of a body

(7:51) What.

(7:51) how do i (7:51) get rid of (7:51) a body

(7:51) Cook him and serve him to the police who knock on your door asking for his whereabouts.

(7:52) babe thats brilliant (7:52) youre a committed accomplice now

(7:52) On a scale of 1-10, how often do you hit on nameless and faceless strangers over the phone?

(7:52) 1 (7:53) its only ever been you (7:53) *heart emoji*

(7:53) I’m flattered.

(7:53) we have a dilemma (7:54) you know my name and my face (7:54) ive lost the advantage (7:54) who are you o mysterious phone man

(7:54) You really want to know?

(7:55) yes!!

(7:55) Well (7:55) My name is (7:55) *middle finger emoji*

(7:56) i am (7:56) fucking betrayed (7:56) my own accomplice

(7:57) :)))))

Wednesday PM

(4:17) *image attached* (4:17) fight gloves for tobio when he grows up lololol

(4:20) Don’t even joke about that.

(4:21) did he get into another fight (4:21) whatd he do steal another kids party pie

(4:22) He ruined someone’s sandcastle.

(4:22) that punk

(4:22) He also threw the bucket at their head and made them cry.

(4:23) holy shit (4:23) i know you cant see but im pissing myself laughing

(4:23) That’s the second time this month. (4:24) Is he going for a new record? How concerned should I be? (4:24) I should ask my brother for advice.

(4:24) okay but in all seriousness (4:25) dont kids usually act out because theyre upset about things

(4:26) Yep.

(4:26) you sound like you know whats going on

(4:27) Yep.

(4:27) is the thing not an easy fix

(4:28) Tobio can’t exactly move back into his old neighbourhood and old school.

(4:28) ohhh (4:28) i get that totally been there (4:29) though that happened to me in middle school so i handled it differently

(4:30) You mean you didn’t stomp on sandcastles and throw buckets at people’s heads? (4:30) Shocking.

(4:31) real mature of me ayy (4:31) but its chill tobio just needs time to adjust

(4:32) He’s been living with me for four months already.

(4:33) hes trying to survive a new environment (4:33) go easy on him

(4:35) All good and well until he accidentally kills one of his classmates.

(4:35) what could he possibly do (4:35) nah dont answer that

(4:36) You’re not inspiring much confidence right now.

(4:37) okay hows this (4:38) the most dangerous thing in a school is a pencil (4:38) if he stabs it through someones eye (4:38) what are the chances of a five year old having that good of an aim

(4:39) We could be surprised.

(4:40) lets give tobio the benefit of the doubt (4:40) have i brought your fears to rest or nah

(4:50) You’re interesting to talk to, I’ll give you that.

(4:50) is that why youve kept talking to me despite the anonymous and rather suspicious nature of our relationship

(4:50) Sure.

(4:51) *heart eyes emoji*

Thursday PM

(6:44) ive been thinking

(6:46) Make sure you give yourself a break every ten minutes. We wouldn’t want to strain your mental capabilities.

(6:47) hush child i got something to say (6:47) about tobio sort of

(6:48) I’m listening.

(6:49) so yesterdays conversation made me go all introspective (6:49) and if all tobios doing is throwing things (6:50) the lil guy will go far in life (6:50) i mean when i was five i was eating sand

(6:51) Congratulations, you just tripped over the lowest bar society set for its most basic standards.

(6:51) savage i love it (6:52) bokuto just called me a masochist (6:52) he doesnt even know what that means i bet he learned it from akaashi

(6:54) … (6:55) Who’s Akaashi?

(6:55) the most beautiful man to grace the earth and bokutos boyfriend (6:55) im not even kidding his face was sculpted by gods (6:56) *image attached*

(6:57) Wow.

(6:57) exactly (6:57) no one knows how bokuto snagged him (6:58) my moneys on witchcraft

(6:59) Have a little more faith in your Best Freidn Foerver.

(6:59) hes my best bro but he does NOT have that much game

(6:59) You misspelled Best Freidn Foerver.

(7:00) all right he types like an electrocuted toddler (7:00) hes there for me during the good bad and ugly (7:00) and i support him 100% (7:01) but theres no logical explanation for how he got akaashi

(7:01) Maybe he has charm.

(7:02) gasp (7:02) babe (7:02) did you just imply i dont have any charm

(7:03) I didn’t say anything of the sort but it’s an apt description.

(7:03) you really are a savage (7:04) totally my type just saying

(7:05) For all you know I’m a sixty year old man with whiskers and a pot belly.

(7:05) im a personality kinda guy anyway (7:05) so what do you look like

(7:07) Shh.

(7:07) ?

(7:07) Can you hear that?

(7:07) ??

(7:08) Stranger danger.

(7:08) DUDE COME ON (7:08) or are you actually a sixty year old man with whiskers and a pot belly (7:08) because no judgement if you are

(7:10) *image attached*

(7:11) holy shit (7:11) HOLYS HIT (7:11) AJGSFAJKALHHJKKKLLLL

(7:13) Uh. (7:14) Hello? (7:15) Are you there? (7:18) I’m actually kind of worried now.

(7:20) Hi, this is Akaashi. Kuroo’s fine; he’s muttering to himself on the floor. (7:21) Something about being sculpted by gods and touched by angels?

(7:22) What the fuck.

(7:22) Nice selfie :)

Friday PM

(9:28) arms (9:28) abs (9:28) legs (9:28) sore

(9:31) Do I really want to know? (9:31) No, I don’t.

(9:32) :( (9:32) i experienced life death and hell all in the same day

(9:33) Now I can’t not know.

(9:33) i had vball training for a match next week and it was torture (9:33) and when we thought it was done no (9:34) we had practice matches with alumni and it was torture round two (9:34) then i had coaching which i usually love (9:34) but the kids kept spiking balls at me (9:35) 10 POINTS IF YOU HIT HIS BODY 50 POINTS IF YOU HIT HIS HEAD 100 POINTS IF YOU HIT HIS NOSE

(9:36) You play volleyball?

(9:37) thats all you took from that

(9:37) I used to play volleyball in high school.

(9:37) wait are you serious (9:37) what position??

(9:38) Middle blocker.

(9:38) me too!! (9:38) what are the chances of us both playing vball and being middle blockers (9:39) this is destiny i feel it

(9:40) That was another lifetime ago lol.

(9:40) once a vball player always a vball player (9:40) how tall are you

(9:41) 195cm, why?

(9:43) 195 and yOU DONT PLAY VBALL (9:43) this is a crime (9:44) tell me tobio plays vball

(9:45) I... don’t think he’s ever tried it?

(9:46) the outrage (9:46) how could you (9:47) i just felt my heart crack (9:47) oohhh the pain

(9:47) Poor baby. Want me to kiss it better?

(9:47) i (9:47) ijakl

(9:48) ?? (9:50) Did you disappear on me again. (9:50) This seems to be a growing trend.

(9:51) Hi, this is Akaashi again. Kuroo is currently incapacifjskkl (9:51) WAHT DID U DO TO MY BSET FREIND FOREBER WHYS HE ALL RED N CHOKN ON HIS WORSD

(9:52) Oh. (9:52) Scroll up.

(9:52) OHO (9:53) OHOHO

Saturday AM

(11:10) my mates wont stop laughing at me (11:10) i live in a house of dicks (11:11) cant even escape them theyre on my team (11:11) i blame you

(11:15) Sucks to be you lol.

(11:15) are you taking pleasure in my pain

(11:15) It sounds wrong when you put it that way.

(11:15) ;) (11:16) i’m still upset though (11:16) make me feel better?

(11:17) You seem to think I possess the ability to feel pity. (11:17) I don’t.

(11:18) you know what you do possess (11:18) the ability to feel annoyance (11:18) ! (11:18) ! (11:18) ! (11:18) ! (11:18) ! (11:18) is it annoying yet (11:18) ! (11:18) ! (11:18) ! (11:18) ! (11:18) !

(11:19) ALL RIGHT, STOP.

(11:19) victory

(11:20) What do you want.

(11:17) whats your name

(11:17) Are you serious.

(11:17) i wanna know

(11:18) You reek of desperation.

(11:18) not gonna change my mind

(11:19) …

(11:19) wanna do the whole !!! thing again

(11:21) Fine. (11:21) You’ll ask politely.

(11:21) dom huh (11:21) im into that (11:22) will you pretty please with a cherry on top tell me what your name is

(11:22) N (11:22) O (11:22) *heart emoji*

(11:24) i cant believe (11:24) how could you (11:24) youre so mean

(11:24) :)))))

(11:25) shouldve expected it (11:25) do you always play with peoples hearts like this

(11:25) I enjoy jerking you around. You make some pretty good entertainment.

(11:26) glad to be of service :’)

(11:26) I suppose I could throw you a bone.

(11:26) im not falling for it this time

(11:26) Tsukishima.

(11:27) …

(11:27) My name is Tsukishima.

(11:27) it is (11:27) up down left right with you

(11:27) Disappointed?

(11:28) NEVER WITH YOU (11:28) TSUKKIIII

(11:28) No. (11:28) Do not.

(11:28) i love your name its beautiful like you

(11:29) I revoke your right to say my name ever again.

(11:29) TSUKKIIII (11:29) *heart eyes emoji*

(11:32) I have never regretted anything more in my life.

Sunday PM

(3:24) You said you have a volleyball match next week, right?

(3:28) is this a dream (3:28) are you actually texting me first

(3:29) Miracles abound today.

(3:29) yeah i have a match next week why

(3:29) I mentioned it to Tobio and he got really excited. (3:30) He made me explain everything. I spent hours talking about rules and moves.

(3:30) i knew that kid had the vball genes in him

(3:30) I even dug up some old practice tapes from high school. (3:31) He’s obsessed with setting.

(3:31) hed get along with my setter (3:31) that arrogant ass (3:31) i love him though

(3:32) *image attached*

(3:33) what… is that

(3:33) Tobio’s lack of artistic talent.

(3:33) i hope you didnt tell him that

(3:34) He said it was you blocking and scoring the winning point.

(3:35) he drew a picture of me?

(3:35) He captured your likeness down to the last red scribble.

(3:35) omg… omg...

(3:37) It’s not that big of a deal.

(3:37) youre not ruining this for me (3:37) this is the best day of my life

(3:37) Remember when we talked about low standards?

(3:37) your son loves me

(3:38) He drew a picture of you.

(3:38) and how many other people has he drawn???

(3:38) …

(3:38) thought so (3:39) tell my biggest fan i said hello and thank you (3:39) its the prettiest picture ive ever gotten

(3:39) Don’t get nudes much, huh.

(3:40) wow (3:40) WOWW (3:40) that went beyond savage (3:40) that was straight up murder

(3:41) You like it.

(3:41) yeah im really wondering about that masochistic streak

(3:41) About that.

(3:42) ??

(3:42) I was thinking (3:42) If you were interested (3:42) I could help you explore that.

(3:44) i just dropped my fuckign phone (3:44) are you fucking with me right now

(3:45) Yes.

(3:46) i fucking hate you

(3:46) No, you don’t.

(3:46) no i don’t

(3:46) Why do you keep falling for these things.

(3:47) actually im falling for you

(3:47) Seriously.

(3:47) hope (3:47) its all i got buddy (3:49) is this going to be like last time when you said no but then changed your mind

(3:50) No.

(3:50) dammit

Monday PM

(7:18) happy one week anniversary babe (7:18) do i get a gift (7:18) eyebrow wiggle

(7:21) Did you just type -eyebrow wiggle- at me

(7:22) *video attached*

(7:23) I did not ask for a video of you wiggling your eyebrows.

(7:23) its my gift to you

(7:23) I’m so… grateful.

(7:24) cmon gift gift gift

(7:24) I don’t know, I don’t have anything. (7:24) Actually (7:25) *image attached*

(7:25) omg is that tobio (7:25) hes so fucken cute wtf (7:26) look at those hamster cheeks (7:26) whats he eating

(7:26) Blueberry cupcake. (7:26) It’s his reward for behaving in school.

(7:27) aww no fights today?

(7:28) His teacher said he engaged positively with other students. He was trying to play volleyball with them.

(7:28) omg thats adorable (7:28) i see where he gets it from (7:28) are you teaching him how to play

(7:30) I taught him how to receive but I’m rusty. (7:30) I should look into classes for him. (7:30) Do they even have classes for kids that young?

(7:31) the rec centre where i coach does (7:31) idk about other places though

(7:31) Whereabouts is your rec centre?

(7:32) shh

(7:32) You’re not doing the stranger danger thing on me.

(7:32) do you hear that

(7:32) Can you hear my sigh travelling across the wind.

(7:33) STRANGER DANGER

(7:33) Are you done.

(7:33) my centres in tokyo lol

(7:34) It wouldn’t happen to be the Tokyo Sports and Recreation Centre?

(7:34) how did you know that (7:34) oh my god this is real (7:34) STRANGER DANGER

(7:36) It’s a twenty minute walk from my place.

(7:36) i know i just joked about stranger danger but should you really be telling me that

(7:37) Take it as proof that I don’t think you’re a predatory serial killer.

(7:37) thats the nicest thing youve ever said to me (7:38) *heart emoji* (7:38) well if youre interested the kiddy classes are wed 5pm and sat 10am (7:38) you can go to one or both

(7:40) Hmm.

(7:40) times no good?

(7:42) My brother has Tobio on both those days. (7:42) I’ll have to talk to him about this.

(7:43) ahh dont wanna encroach on uncle nephew bonding time

(7:43) I don’t think Akiteru will mind-- he used to play volleyball too.

(7:43) how did you ever think tobio wouldnt be a vball player (7:44) its clearly in his genes

(7:44) Wishful thinking. I never really liked volleyball.

(7:45) what no (7:45) why

(7:46) It was just a school club. I only did it because it was something to do.

(7:47) you come into my house

(7:48) Lol.

(7:48) well hey its paying off now (7:48) i bet tobio looks at you like youre a god

(7:49) Yeah. (7:49) It’s the first time he’s really looked at me. (7:50) So thanks. (7:50) :)

#kurotsuki #kurotsukiexchange #Kuroo Tetsurou #tsukishima kei #haikyuu!!

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xtruss · 5 years ago

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Pelicans, spoonbills, and herons nest on Cat Island, where oil washed ashore in May 2010. The spill sped the land’s ongoing erosion; today it’s underwater. Photo: Daniel Beltrá

Ten Years Later: Reflections on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Ten years ago, BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killing 11 people and pouring an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Audubon and other conservation partners sprang into action to repair the ecological damage.

To mark the 10th anniversary, we asked four writers to reflect on how this catastrophe has impacted people and birds over the last decade—and exactly what it will take to ensure a bright future for the gulf.

Audubon magazine asked four writers to contemplate what has and hasn't changed in the aftermath of the Gulf catastrophe.

The worst oil spill in U.S. waters began with a deadly explosion on April 20, 2010. Many of us remember the distress we felt as that day stretched into days, then months—a slow-building dread that no one could make a gaping hole drilled into the earth stop gushing. Capping the well took 87 days. The consequences unfurled long after.

Today BP penalty funds flowing to the region provide an enormous opportunity to not only repair environmental damages from that disaster, but also help restore a long-suffering Gulf Coast. In 2019 Audubon provided a roadmap for investing nearly $2 billion of this pot to shore up key habitats through 30 projects covering more than 136,000 acres. With partners, it’s now ensuring many of those projects are advancing. For example, this winter the state of Louisiana rebuilt Queen Bess Island, an eroding pelican rookery—thereby helping it avoid the fate of nearby Cat Island, which has already disappeared.

The Gulf holds all of these possibilities—tragedy, resilience, and hope. Each of the voices featured in this special package watched the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe unfold, and witnessed the repercussions to people and birds, but took away different lessons. We asked them to reflect on the spill’s political and personal legacy. What has transpired because of these horrific events? And what can we carry forward? —The Editor

We Need Another Way to Relate to the World—and Each Other

Remembering the BP spill tragedy offers an occasion for reconsidering how we interact with nature and what we value.

The first oiled pelicans I saw that spring didn’t look like the ones they put on TV. They looked almost normal at first, but an odd behavioral tic drew your gaze back to them. Then you saw that their belly feathers hung clumped and matted, looking wet, only this was oil.

Feathers protect birds from a world that is by turns too hot, too cold, too wet, too sunny—but oiled feathers can’t do their job. So the pelicans responded the only way they could. They preened, grabbing feather clumps in enormous bills and tugging over and over again. That was the tic that caught your eye, Brown Pelicans stuck in an endless preening loop, unable to save themselves but unable to stop trying. It looked like a form of insanity—I suppose it was—and I still think about the sight with a strangling sense of horror.

Brown Pelicans are highly social beings, flying together in tight, graceful formations and nesting noisily by the hundreds on sheltered islands on the fringes of coasts, feeding at sea. The edge of our world is the beginning of theirs.

They are gentle toward humans, even under stress, the wildlife rehabilitators would tell me. The muscular, seafaring Northern Gannets left triangular gashes on the forearms of people who offered them help they couldn’t understand, but the pelicans were patient as their eyeballs and palates were swabbed, quiet as their skin and feathers were scrubbed.

Oiled Brown Pelicans wait to be cleaned in June 2010, at a rescue center in Fort Jackson, Louisiana. Photo: Daniel Beltrá

I’d seen the Brown Pelicans at peace, just two weeks before the fog of madness began to seep in. It was evening on Louisiana’s California Bay, and the setting sun made the grass look as green as anything in this world. The pelicans packed onto a small island, inches apart, pairs sitting on mound nests on the ground, fearless. They had come off the endangered species list only months ago, the success story of a species rebounding after brutal overhunting and DDT poisoning. The rescue effort had worked. It seemed we had found a way to live together after all.

And then oil began roaring out of a violent bore in the seafloor, as if eager to make up for eons in the underworld. Eleven men died in chaos and terror. Humanity proved powerless against the onslaught. It would take a few more spins of this Earth around its axis, but wind and tides would bring that oil to the heart of the pelicans’ sanctuary.

The oil reached many other birds, too. I’d see adolescent Roseate Spoonbills, their pink feathers brown with oil, drowning Laughing Gulls, and doomed Royal Tern chicks. I would see the human toll: Servers weeping in restaurants. Businesses shuttered, communities scattered, families separated. Seafood industries in turmoil. Jobs gone. A lost summer of tourism. A couple standing together atop a dune as wave after wave of red and orange oil washed up onto the sand. The Gulf was closed for business.

The spill marked one more stanza in the long, uneasy ballad of our relationships with one another and with all life on Earth. Just five years before, Hurricane Katrina killed more than 1,800 people and wreaked more than $160 billion of havoc. The storm was magnified by decades of environmental degradation that had turned vast wetlands into open water, leaving New Orleans exposed. Katrina’s toll was also sharply intensified by human failures and prejudices that left the poor, the elderly, the disabled, and the city’s Black and brown residents most defenseless in the face of horrendous crisis. When we fail to consider the fullness of one another’s humanity in our environmental policies, we deepen cycles of injustice and harm.

We haven’t yet learned how to live alongside pelicans, and we haven’t learned how to live alongside one another, either. As I write, news is breaking of 1 billion animals dead from Australia’s wildfires, on top of immense human cost. Ice is melting, seas are rising, coral reefs are bleaching, extinctions are accelerating, peoples are being displaced, and droughts are deepening. In 2010 we saw people, birds, dolphins, and turtles suffer and die amid Deepwater Horizon’s flames and oil. Today the scale of suffering and death unfolding as our climate warms boggles the mind, activating all our individual and collective defense mechanisms. Block. Stop. Deny. Distract. Exploit.

The slowly spreading oil slick approaches the Louisiana coast, east of the Mississippi River, two weeks after the April explosion. Photo: Daniel Beltrá

In the Gulf, the best-funded environmental restoration initiative in world history is underway, cause for great hope. At the same time, our government is slashing environmental safeguards with abandon, even the venerable Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which defended all those birds in the Gulf and held BP financially accountable for its harm.

Today the scale of suffering and death unfolding as our climate warms boggles the mind

By now we know very well that human economic and social well-being depend on a clean and healthy environment. In such challenging times, we must boldly reimagine how we will relate to that environment and to one another.

I imagine that as a society, we could build a set of environmental policies and practices that lift up every person, not just the most able, fortunate, or powerful, and certainly not just those of one favored race or class. I imagine we could be brave enough to treat every other human being as fully equal to ourselves.

I imagine too that we could build into those environmental policies and practices a commitment to the innate worth and independence of all species with whom we share this planet, from Brown Pelicans to bald cypresses. I imagine that we could value their lives beyond the utility they lend our own.

These are not primarily scientific challenges. They are choices of morality, of politics, of faith, of will, of accountability. What do you choose, and what are you going to do about it?

Author’s note, April 13, 2020:

Since my essay about the 10-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill went to print in Audubon’s Spring 2020 issue, the Gulf Coast has closed for business once again—this time with the rest of America. The COVID-19 pandemic tearing through our communities has created a dire catastrophe across our nation and across the world. So many aspects of this crisis are unprecedented, yet so many are familiar, too. Years of warnings by scientific and medical experts were minimized or ignored. Some government responses have been shaped by ego and greed, instead of evidence and humanity. Marginalized people are dying at higher rates in a toll that already exceeds eleven times that of Hurricane Katrina and seven times that of 9/11. Under cover of chaos, polluters are making new gains in their quest to smash safeguards that protect us all. And yet, courageous people in communities, businesses, nonprofits, governments—and most especially in healthcare—are making a difference every day. So as this crisis deepens, as the BP oil spill anniversary passes quietly, and as we note the 50th Earth Day remembrance on April 22, I ask again: In what kind of world do you want to live, and what are you going to do about it?

While working in the Gulf for Audubon, David J. Ringer was deeply involved in the emergency spill response in 2010. He’s now Audubon’s Chief Network Officer.

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lulucarrington · 7 years ago

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The Black Out Job

CHAPTER 2: Meet the Crew

Summary: Possessing extra-sensory abilities that make him an outcast, Leo steps into the shady world of magic and crime in order to make ends meet. Wacky hi-jinks, drama, and Ken’s increasingly ridiculous wardrobe ensue.

Pairings: KenVi, Luck, NBin

Rating: T (Ratings will vary by chapter)

Chapter 1: HERE

Ravi woke to the chime of his phone. He rolled, confused, out of dreams of Jaehwan sitting on a rock and singing at him, to grope for his phone. He found Butt, a roll of papers, and eventually- finally- his phone.

“What?” He groaned at the phone. “I was asleep.”

“My friend said yes.” N’s chirp was far too cheerful for, Ravi squinted at his clock, two in the afternoon. He flopped back in bed, groaning again.

“He does? That’s nice.”

“That’s all you’ve got to say? How late were you up last night? Or was it this morning?”

“Late. Now drop it, mother Cha. What does your friend want to do?”

“I suggested we meet at the club.” N sounded unsure, which was new to Ravi.

“The Reef?”

“Yes. He knows it, and he can do work in the back while we continue on… Though, it has to be in the back. He can be sensitive to sounds and stuff.” Ravi couldn’t help the questions that started to creep into his mind. N was probably the most secretive of them all, and this sudden piece of his life had Ravi fascinated. Why a friend of his appearing so suddenly? How did he know N? Were they truly friends, or friends like Ravi and N were friends? How long have they known each other? Would N ever tell Ravi how they knew each other? Was this the start of N telling people things? He’d gotten lost in his thoughts and had missed N’s last comment.

“Sorry, what?”

“Sorry snooze boy, I was saying: Did. Hyuuuuuuuuuuuk. Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiive. Yoooooooou. The. Gemssssssssssssss?” N exaggerated.

“Yes, thank you. Now, what time does your friend want to meet?”

“What time do you think you’ll be ready? Got enough time to buff your tattoos for Ken?”

“Ha, ha, Tinkerbell.” Ravi knew N hated the comparison to cartoon fairies. “Remind me to shake your wings on my tits when I’m done. Body glitter never quite shimmers the same way as fairy dust.”

“Fine, no Ken talk. But Ravi…” N’ pause was long. “Look, I know I don’t talk about my life much, but my friend… He’s important to me, so handle him with kid gloves- he comes off cold, but he’s just shy. We’ve been friends since we were teenagers.”

“Alright,” Ravi’s gut swirled at the omission. “I’ll ease him into things.”

“Show him videos of Butt. He loves animals, so that’ll warm him right up to you.”

“Gotta love a man who warms up to a man showing him videos of his Butt.” Ravi snorted.

“Oh, that too- he’s been on about some tall hot blonde guy he sees around. I’m pretty sure he wants to bang Hyuk.”

“Wait,” Ravi sat up, accidentally rolling Butt over. “Is this friend tall, dark and mysterious? Possibly looks like he was commissioned by Cartier? May or may not buy six cakes in one sitting?”

“Sounds like him.”

“Well Hyuk’s going to try and work his awkward fuck game on him the second he walks in.”

“I hope we remember to film it. And I’ll meet you and my friend at 10, let’s say?” Alarms went off in Ravi’s mind.

“Won’t that cross over with our meeting?”

“Yes.” He could practically hear N’s feral grin. “So, he can help translate any conversation he hears, if you get me. I’ve got to run, later!” He hung up without waiting for a reply. Ravi let the phone drop to his lap as he sat up, knowing he should get up, but going to sleep at 11 am had left him exhausted. He knew he needed to stop pulling these kind of nights, but he was so close to a breakthrough- he had the gems. Writing the spell would be easier now. The gems meant the spell he was attempting to construct just lost 12 possible outcomes, and potentially made it stable enough to forgo several of the charms. It would make it lighter to carry, therefore easier to control.

“Finally up?” Hyuk had let himself in at some point, and was standing in the doorway eating cereal straight from the box.

“Yes. And we have work tonight. N’s friend agreed to meet us.”

“Want me to come?”

“Yes. N thinks we should have him around for the talks. He can eavesdrop on any… Personal conversations he just happens to be near.” Hyuk nodded his agreement as he shovelled another handful of cereal into his mouth. “What’re you doing here anyway?”

“Payments came in. I put them on the counter in the boxes, cash in the drawer.” Hyuk nodded out the door. “Want me to meet you here or the club?”

“The club, let’s say nine-ish?” Hyuk nodded and wandered away, Butt leaving Ravi to chase the possibility of dropped cereal. Ravi was tempted to check the cereal to see if Hyuk was leaving with it (he probably would), but the shower beckoned. He barely opened his eyes until he was under the hot spray. It finally woke him up completely, and allowed him a moment to wake up completely.

It seemed like his plan was progressing smoothly, so he let thoughts of it slip and drift around him.

He pulled up the dream of Ken and blushed despite being alone. He’d had a couple of similar dreams recently; and all of them were about Ken. The first, he had been walking along a beach, when a pile of nets and driftwood caught his eye. It shifted, as he watched it, and a pale hand flopped onto the sand. Ravi rushed to it, and his heart caught in his throat. Tangled in a net among the driftwood, was a mermaid. Unlike real mermaids, which were more like goblin sharks with arms, this mermaid was… A fantasy. Pouty lips, wide terrified eyes, and glorious scales leaped up at him from between the coarse lines of netting. The mermaid was staring at him in equal surprise.

“Will you free me?” It asked, and he realised the mermaid was Ken. The playful tone was unmistakable.

“Um. Sure?” Ravi found a knife at his belt, and began to saw at the ropes. Since when did he carry a knife?

“When I’m free I shall give you a kiss.” Ken declared, his hands clutching at the netting. The statement startled Ravi so much he’d woken up. The dreams were all like that- always Ken, always around water, always that damned pouting! He had half a mind to bite that bottom lip if Ken pouted at him again.

This latest dream was no different, he was on the deck of a ship, sailing past a rocky reef. On the rocks lay Ken and several others that he hadn’t really noticed because Ken was there. He was having trouble noticing KEN because Ken was there. He lay, draped in thin, nearly translucent cloth, staring out at Ravi’s ship with desperate hope. He called out to Ravi, promising to tell Ravi all kinds of things, sweet things, whispered suggestions of passion, and more. If only Ravi would come closer, so Ken could whisper in his ear.

As his ship neared the rocky shores, Ravi felt hands pulling at his clothes, voices begging him not to go, but his mind was filled with Ken. He wanted to hear those secrets, to feel them slip from those pouty lips onto his own. He wanted to rip away the flimsy gauze and expose Ken to him, to get on his knees and-

Hyuk slamming something in another room brought Ravi out of his reverie, and he immediately attacked his hair with some shampoo, as if he could wash the thoughts from his head. He was NOT going to fantasize about that peacocking menace. He wouldn’t give Ken the satisfaction of knowing all that flirting was getting to him, even if he never told Ken about any of it.

* * *

Taekwoon was seated at the bar, sipping a drink as slowly as he could, hoping Hakyeon would finally show up. The club was always too much for him, the lights too bright, the smells too much. He knew it came from spending more time around animals- he had taken on enough qualities that his world was more sensitive than that of the average humanoid. It was starting to get to him.

If Hakyeon was late, that meant Taekwoon would have to endure this club for even longer, and he knew he was going to get a headache. He sighed, and decided he was going to try dancing, if only to tell Hakyeon that he missed seeing it. He turned, intending to get up, when a newcomer caught his eye. Taekwoon recognised the man instantly. It was the Blonde Corner Store Man. Unusually tall, and blonde, possessing a boyish smile he often graced Taekwoon with whenever they passed each other, he’d been a fixture of many shopping trips for the last few months. Taekwoon couldn’t help but feel a little weak at the knees upon seeing the man again- something about him drew Taekwoon in. He was like an asteroid, being pulled into the gravitational field of a planet. He was ready to crash on the planet, to talk to this man without fear.

“Hey!” Hakyeon’s voice behind him nearly sent Taekwoon jumping into the writhing crowd below. “Miss me?” Taekwoon shot his friend a look. “Sorry I was late, everyone decided it was Talk to Hakyeon day. Took me forever just to get out the door.”

“It’s fine, just… You know. The sensory overload.” He scanned the crowd, looking for the blonde. Hakyeon would understand if they waited a minute, so Taekwoon could at least ask the guy for his number. His heart jumped when he realised the blonde was nowhere to be seen, He couldn’t have left! Taekwoon wasn’t ready for him to leave! He felt a little hollow as Hakyeon gripped his arm and steered him away from the bar, down towards the bathrooms and long dark hallways Taekwoon was sure led to something shady and possibly illegal.

“Don’t worry, we’re headed somewhere quieter. Ravi doesn’t like noise much either, aside from Jaehwan, but even then, we’re all putting bets on how long it takes Ravi to hex him.” Hakyeon grinned as the aforementioned man came gliding over. Taekwoon was once again impressed by Jaehwan. He made his skin-tight pants look effortlessly flexible as he slid to Hakyeon’s side.

“N! How is my butterfly prince this evening?” Charm practically oozed off of him as he leaned forward and grinned at Hakyeon, who ignored the greeting.

“This is the guy Ravi wanted to see.” He started.

“Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Broody here?” Jaehwan eyed him up and grinned before recognition sparked. “Woonie! You’re an Omnilingual? Can you talk to snakes?“

“Yes, but he doesn’t want to talk to yours. Just let Ravi know we’re here, please?” Hakyeon sighed. Jaehwan pouted in return.

“Fine, mother Cha. You’re no fun.” Said Jaehwan. “Now, come on, Ravi’s in a mood today.” Taekwoon followed the pair, who continued to chat in a friendly manner, to the back of the club. Walking into the back halls was even more surreal in its underwater quality than the club itself. These halls were filled with the deep, slow darkness at the bottom of ocean trenches, with only the echoes of music crawling in as if from another universe. It even seemed to muffle Jaehwan and Hakyeon’s chattering to damp whispers. Taekwoon enjoyed it immensely. After threading through several tight hallways and going up several flights of stairs they reached a doorway, in which stood the blonde man. “Hyukkie!” Jaehwan greeted him with a wave. “Is everyone else here?”

“Hongbin’s on his way. Apparently he needed to have the last word and got chased a few blocks out of his way.” The blonde’s smirk nearly set Taekwoon’s hair on fire. He looked up, saw Taekwoon, and a look of electrified shock zapped through his features. “Who’s this?”

“My friend. The one Ravi needs to see.” Hakyeon waggled his eyebrows as he pulled Taekwoon’s arm meaningfully. “You can talk to him in a minute.”

Taekwoon dug his heels in, but Hakyeon was on a mission. He waved shyly at the other man as he was dragged into the dim room. It was lit mostly by the same blueish light as the club, but this room felt calmer and more serene than even the hallways had. In the center of it, standing in front of a low-backed leather chair, was a purple-haired man. He had his arms extended, one hand carrying a closed fan, the other was palm-down above a wispy symbol chalked on the floor. As Taekwoon watched, he opened his fan and began to scythe it through the air between the symbol and his other hand. Leo could feel the air pressure of the room change, while the man’s voice, deep and soft, began to weave a song even Taekwoon’s considerable language skills was having trouble following. The man was seeking something- searching for… A person? A book? Looking for their hiding place? He repeated the phrases over and over as he began to glide around the symbol on the floor. It was a foreign dance Taekwoon had never seen before. The grace and swiftness of it astounded him, and belatedly he realised this was a spell. This was magic. Before Taekwoon could sink deeper into amazement the man opened his eyes and noticed them. He stopped, closing his fan and free hand with a snap that left green spots dancing through the air.

“Oh, N, you’re here?” The deep voice said as Taekwoon blinked the spots out of his eyes, amazed. “I’m sorry, I was working on… My search.”

“It’s fine,” Hakyeon seemed unaffected by the display, but Taekwoon was enthralled. He’d never seen a spell cast before! Hakyeon had given him charms and spelled trinkets, but it was nowhere near as interesting as the song and the lights! “Sorry we’re late. I couldn’t get two feet without someone wanting to chat, it was a nightmare.”

The purple-haired man gestured dismissively, before turning an uncomfortably intense stare on Taekwoon. Without the theatrical spell, he looked like someone’s fantasy professor, complete with gold-rimmed glasses. He gestured, and Taekwoon heard several others moving around behind him.

“It’s fine. Once Hongbin said he’d be late I knew the rest of you would drag on too.” His tone turned friendly once he’d chided Hakyeon. “I’m Ravi.”

“I’m… Leo.” Taekwoon had to remember to call himself that. And Hakyeon was N now.

“I’m sorry for the group meeting, but we’re a small organization, so I like everyone to know who’s around.” Leo nodded. “As N explained- the nicknames are more for my sake than anyone else’s. As a wizard, I get into it with others who can cast spells. The last thing I need is someone pulling your full name or more out of me in a duel.” Leo nodded along- N had explained it all to him on the way. “And you know N already. The other members of the crew are Ken, who owns this club, Hongbin, who isn’t here yet, and Hyuk,” Ravi gestured behind Leo. Leo turned, and saw the blonde man again. They exchanged a small smile before Leo returned his attention to Ravi. “It’s nice to finally meet face to face. N has told me… Well he’s told me next to nothing about you, but that’s more than he generally tells me.” The man’s eyes never left Leo’s, but he continued. “And no amount of N making faces will change what I said, N.”

“Get to the point before Ken gets here. It’ll be embarrassing for everyone watching you two.” N replied, sinking into a chair near Ravi.

“Right. Mostly, I want you here for this,” He produced a slim folder from the chair behind him. “N says you can read any language-“

“Read, listen to, and speak it.” Leo felt the need to clarify things. Ravi’s expression brightened.

“Well, I’ll get you set up here. Though, I will have to take a meeting at one point. Would that… Bother you?”

“No,” Leo felt nervousness twist in his stomach, but he ignored it. Ravi grinned, and turned back to the symbols on the floor. Somehow, if he was being honest with himself, Leo had expected something more dramatic or clandestine in nature. So Ravi being so casual and at ease had tilted everything a little, and Leo was unsure of his footing. It would be like any other job, he reminded himself, that’s what N said. So this kind of informality would be expected. The spell was interesting, though. He enjoyed that.

“Oh, and Ken’s got your money, someone remind me to give it to you when he gets in here.” Leo nodded mutely as he watched Ravi carefully erase the symbol on the floor and move a chair over the space.

“No need!” Ken’s trilling excitement poured into the room as the man himself strutted in. “Ravi, don’t you look Ravishing this evening. Looks like you’re still taking your handsome pills.” Leo had seen Ken flirt, but the terrible greeting could have won a prize. Tonight, Ken was dressed in something dark and tight, with a purple streak edging the low neckline. It was almost demure compared to some of the outfits Leo had seen.

“They make them in chewables now.” Ravi returned. “Now give Leo his money.”

“Leo like a lion?” Ken turned a big grin on Leo, who nodded slowly. “Is it because you’re a beast in-“ Hyuk’s hand hit Ken’s shoulder, and Leo heard a faint crackling sound, and Ken was leaping away towards Ravi.

“Ignore Ken. He was born without manners.” Hyuk came to stand near Leo, leaning against the wall.

“I’ve met him before.” Leo mumbled. He’d been so ready to plunge into a conversation earlier, but disorientation and anxiety had clouded him over once again. He was nervous of trying to start a conversation with Hyuk now.

“That’s good. And, since Ravi was a little… Tactful about it. He wants you to listen in on his meeting. Some of the people invited have been shifty lately. If they’re whispering anything weird or not related to the meeting, you tell him about it, right?”

“Um. Sure. I’m… I’m not sure what to listen for?”

“Just anything that doesn’t sound like it’s about that contract.”

“Okay.”

“And… Um… Do you want any food or something?” Even in the blue wash of the lights, Hyuk’s cheeks were pink.

“If it wouldn’t be a problem? Where do I get some?”

“No, sit,” Hyuk put a hand on Leo’s shoulder, pushing him towards the table they’d set up for him. Hyuk’s hand was hot. It was extremely hot- the heat of it radiated several inches across Leo’s skin, and he almost thought his clothes would catch fire from the scalding sensation. “I’ll see what’s being served upstairs tonight.” It took Leo a moment to remember the restaurant Ken owned, which was several floors above this one in the next building.

“Thank you.” He sat, and watched Hyuk leave, which took some time, as Hyuk had paused mid-way through the room. He watched Hyuk carefully remove his shoes and rub his socked feet on the carpet for a moment, before leaning over and giving Ken a static zap that sent the other man leaping out of his conversation with N into the slender form of a newcomer.

“No matter how many times guys have poked Ken, the big ones are still a surprise, huh?” The newcomer laughed at Ken, giving Hyuk a wide smile that had to have at least 56 extra teeth in it as Hyuk grabbed his shoes and escaped Ken’s angry muttering.

“Shut up,” Ken sniped, giving the newcomer a dirty look. It was ignored in favour of Leo. The smiling man made a beeline for him, grinning the whole way.

“Hongbin!” He announced, once he was close. “And you’re…” He paused, appearing to listen to something. “Leo.” Leo nodded. “You…” He paused again, and looked surprised. “You know N and… And someone thinks you might like Ravi’s butt?” Hongbin frowned. “I thought he might like Ravi’s dog Butt. Not Ravi’s butt. We all know that butt is reserved for Ken’s hands.”

Ravi, Leo noted, appeared to have gone suddenly deaf for this conversation. The dynamics of this little group were confusing, to say the least. “And Leo, Hongbin is a psychic. You’ll get used to this kind of thing,” N waved at Hongbin, who was staring at him with a curious smile.

“Hyuk’s touch is warm, isn’t it?” He said softly. “He’s a fire elemental. He can’t help it.” Leo had an image of curling up against Hyuk for warmth, as a cat would, and Hongbin’s eyes widened. Embarrassed, Leo turned back to the document. “I won’t tell.” Hongbin whispered, and turned back to the rest of the group.

Leo worked without interruption after that. Some waiters pushing large carts filed in soon after Hongbin, and Ken directed them on where to put giant dishes on the tables around the room. Leo was dutifully ignored by the staff as he worked, one only coming close to put a glass of water beside him. The contract seemed fairly standard, all jargon and long-winded sentences, and Leo carefully typed it all out exactly as he read it. He’d let Ravi decide on whether he wanted clarification later. He was actually enjoying himself, he found. He listened to the others chat, and as the room began to fill with others- most of whom were humans as far as Leo could see- the chatter became more interesting. Two of the humans had noted Hyuk’s current absence, causing Leo to realize he’d been gone for well over two hours. Neither Hyuk, nor the promised food had joined him, and it hurt a little to realize it. Leo wanted both of them to get back to him now. Two others kept checking the time, and they seemed to be expecting a third person, even after everyone had taken a chair. With no empty chairs, Leo couldn’t help but spare a thought to puzzle over who they might be waiting for.

He continued translating, though, and kept his curious ear on the conversation. Most of it was Ravi and a dark-haired white man whose name Leo hadn’t caught. His two associates were still periodically checking their watches and whispering to each other. Most of the phrases included the very popular “Is it time yet? They said he’d be here?”, and the equally repeated “No you idiot.”, followed by, interestingly, “But we need him for this to be absolute-“ which was quickly muffled or cut off. After the sixth muffled comment Hyuk strolled in. He looked calm, but Leo could see the bags in his hands looked scorched, and his previously styled hair was wild. He moved in and whispered something to Ravi, who nodded but continued a conversation with the white man. Hyuk, on the other hand, was moving towards Leo, but his eyes were fixed on the two whisperers while his expression was an ugly, twisted thing.

“Those two!” He hissed as he sat down beside Leo, carefully setting the bag between them. “Why are they here?”

“I think they came with the white guy Ravi’s talking to. I’m not sure what they’re here for though.” Leo whispered back. “They keep waiting for someone, according to their whispering.” Leo relayed the whispered comments to Hyuk, whose frown soured into a deep scowl. “Why?”

“They’re my brothers. They said they’d gotten out of… Out of their previous line of work, but if they’re thugging for hire now… I need you to tell Ravi what you heard.”

Leo carefully stood, feeling awkward as hell as he approached the crowd of leather chairs. Fortunately, most of the chairs’ occupants ignored him, though one or two spared him a bored glance. When he came up behind Ravi’s chair he leaned down, like he had seen Hyuk do, and whispered:

“The two in the dark suits, to your left. They’re Hyuk’s brothers, according to him, and they’ve been whispering back and forth a few times about someone arriving? And needing them for something.” Leo repeated the phrases again, and Ravi nodded, much like he had with Hyuk.

“Tell Hyuk to-“ Ravi began, then, in a blinding flash, everything went white.

#vixx fanfic #Fantasy AU #Leverage/Heist AU #Organized Crime AU #Pairings:#Ravi - Ken #Leo - Hyuk #Hongbin - N

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iamkellyadams · 5 years ago

Text

Healthy Eating Diet Plan To Lose Weight For Women Over 40 (Lose 10 pounds in 10 days)

On this page you would learn how a 40 year old mother lost 84LBS doing NO exercise, discovering the FEMALE FAT-LOSS CODE missed by modern medicine, that grantees shocking DAILY WEIGHT LOSS using nothing but a simple 2-step ‘flavor-pairing’ ritual.

In a hurry? Watch this short video where she explains how this simple ‘Flavor-Pairing’ ritual completely melted all her body fat and saved her from a near death medical emergency.

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Did you know?

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“Ticking-Time-Bomb” of the Female Metabolism

But, before we need to get some context behind why the female body gain so much weight after certain age and never seem to let the fat go…

Doctors recently discovered ‘Female-Only Fault-Line’ triggered in your early 20’s that hardwires your body to crave weight gain for the next 30 years of your life after you cross 30.

Even worse AND Surprisingly…

Nobody ever talks about how this condition quietly needles away at your immune system deliberately crippling your ability to fight off disease and maintain your figure.

Which is why Carly could barely feel her body imploding inwards on itself until it was too late.

For 86 to 92% of women over the age of 40,

The weight just creeps on soooo s-l-o-w-l-y while actually “stalking” your vital organs…

And then before you know it –

Your fit, healthy, happy and disease-free body is GONE and YOU are left wondering:

“What happened to the old ME!?”

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She looked through her once youthful eyes, now fenced by fine-lines and age-spots….

…And at her stomach and legs, Now trapped behind inflated layers of fat and embarrassing cellulite

This was the first time God had given Carly the courage to weigh herself in what seemed like years,

..Only to realize that the once-slender body of her 20’s and early 30’s was now paralyzed with 84 MORE pounds of fat since the last time she stepped on the scale.

If you are a woman with more than 10,15,… or even better 20+ pounds to lose YOU need to pay close attention… Because the breakthrough Carly uncovered only a couple hours after she suffered a dreadful stroke

…Hooked up to tubes, laying in a hospital bed – Not only saved her life…

…But triggered a flood of what scientists call the weight-loss doubling molecule that lays dormant inside even the most stubborn female metabolism.

Which is why her friends, her family and even Carly’s doctor were shocked – when this sequence not only ended her battle with hypertension, pre-diabetes, endometriosis, and even depression…

…but compelled her body to initiate a 22-hour-a-day fat burning sequence that grew stronger with each passing day!

You can watch Carly reveal her full transformation story along with the secret ‘Flavor-Pairing Ritual’ she used to melt away over 80 pounds faster than she ever thought possible – without pills or depriving herself on the latest fad keto, calorie counting, satisfaction stripped diet … Click here to see her full story.

The Origins of Flavour Pairing

Flavor pairing is not a new thing but almost 160 years old practice designed by the planet’s slimmest, longest living and most disease-resistant country.

This could actually transform female body into a fat-torching furnace that burns hotter with each passing moment.

While at the same time generating a “recount weight-gain defence system”,

Making it almost biologically impossible for the fat to wickedly reappear like it always does… you know what I’m talking about….

This kindergarten-simple ‘flavour-pairing’ ritual has the power to transform your body.

Sadly, you’ve never heard of this secret because it’s so closely guarded by their nation’s top gatekeepers, it wasn’t until a few highly respected doctors and government officials broke their code of silence that Carly and her team unleashed the flood of age-reversing enzymes.

DIY 10-Second Flavor-Pairing Trick for Female Weight Loss

→ Simply Follow This Plan and You’ll Succeed ←

3 Fat Hoarding “Evil-Step-Mother-Hormones”

The truth is, 200,000 years of evolution have conditioned the female body to alter your hormones at different stages of your life, so you too can build a human being with your body. And that’s a big deal.

You see, during puberty, your 3 ‘Queen’ beauty and youth hormones – Insulin, Cortisol, and Estrogen – do everything possible to make you more attractive to the opposite sex/others keeping you slender, level-headed and energetic.

However soon after, those ‘3 Queens’ start acting more like ‘Evil Step Mothers’ after puberty all the way through menopause by continuously cycling your body for pregnancy each and every month.

First, Insulin who used to be your “skinny-hormone” keeping you slender, makes it almost impossible for you to lose weight and keep it off.

Then, your “Happy-hormone”, Cortisol transitions to your “Anxiety-Stress-Depression & Sadness (for no reason) Hormone”.

Finally your “Pretty-Hormone”, Estrogen that kept you wrinkle-free, toned and energized soon causes age spots, loose skin and cellulite.

This is simply your body switching form “find-a-mate” mode to “procreate” mode.

And because it’s our job as women to carry on the human race, we end up building bodies that look great for making and protecting our babies…

…and not so good for the beach and little black dresses

And listen,

I know your goal in life is to be more than some baby-making machine,

But from a biological standpoint, The female body only cares about two things:

Staying Alive and,

Making More Lives

Think about it,

Your body is literally designed to build a bigger, warmer and softer environment to help you create the next generation of humans.

So that’s why when you use traditional diets, exercise and pills that treat the problem from the outside-in,

You are actually fighting ongoing losing battle against 200,000 years of evolution, while damaging your hormones and dismantling your metabolism with every pound you lose.

That’s why as soon as you stop dieting or working out, your body starts to gain all the weight back almost immediately while punishing you with headaches, depression, irregular periods and poor sleep.

Sound familiar?

That’s your body literally saying,

“I don’t think so Missy!”

This is all beginning to make sense, isn’t it?

Think about it…

All those diets that have counting points, carbs and portions that force intense cravings and binge-eating actually damage your insulin, causing uncontrollable weight gain, insulin-resistance leading to diabetes and other life threatening diseases.

And it’s these high-intensity routines, DVD’s and gruelling fitness classes that actually skyrocket cortisol levels doing irreversible damage to your joints while creating microscopic scars on your heart.

And please don’t tell me you’ve thrown your money at commercial weight loss clinics like Weight Watchers, Dr Berstein.

I know they work for a little bit but 92% of us gain the weight back while priming estrogen levels for constant headaches, irregular periods and endometriosis along with ovarian, breast and cervical cancers.

The sad (and very scary) truth is:

Even though you lose the weight at the start using these “fat-first” cardio-saturated rabbit-food diet methods, You’re causing permanent damage to your metabolism, your immune system… …and especially your vital organs with every pound you lose using these recycled, blunt-force-trauma methods.

Trying to lose weight this way is the same as using sand-paper to take off your makeup each night….

….it’s overkill, it doesn’t make sense and more importantly – IT’S DANGEROUS!

And trust me I know,

Giving in is easy because each one of their million-dollar marketing tactics preys on women like you and me by seducing you with exactly what you want to hear in your most vulnerable moments…

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Because the truth is,

Each time you try these temporary “outside-in” approaches it’s like having razor-sharp thorns poke thousands of tiny holes in your metabolism making it even more pain-staking to lose weight on your next attempt.

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Achieve the freedom from hunger and food-obsession using a “procrastination-method” used in Alcoholics Anonymous for over 75 years.

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Learn how the ‘Flavor Pairing Ritual’ supercharges female metabolism and helps you lose 1lb a day

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weekinethereum · 7 years ago

Text

September 19, 2017

Ethereum News and Links

Toshi (formerly known as Token) is now live on main net. As early technology, Ethereum needs to progress in scalability, privacy and usability. Ethereum needs apps like Toshi, Status, Leth, imToken, etc to make Ethereum usable by non-nerds. You can message me @EvanVanNess and make sure to rate Toshi’s Week In Ethereum app.

MicroRaiden: "off-the-shelf micropayment solution." Live on Kovan, main net "very soon."

Fizzy: Largest insurance company in the world copies Etherisc's flight delay insurance, currently live for flights between Paris and the US. (Oracle problems?)

Cosmos published Shanghai Accord - Ethereum Scaling Agreement, which is mostly Vitalik expressing support for Cosmos building things that make Ethereum more scalable by moving stuff to another chain through interoperability

Vitalik: "This is the real "ethereum scaling roadmap" - it's a combination of continued improvements to increase the scalability of the base chain, together with the ability for anyone to make their own system that hooks into ethereum that provides its own scalability as well as possibly other properties that the base chain does not."

Protocol

Alex Van de Sande explains what's in the Byzantium hard fork

Ropsten testnet successfully hardforked to Byzantium. I've seen talk about whether people will keep the old chain alive -- but the old chain will be in ice age, so you'd actually have to hard fork the old chain in order to keep it alive. Seems tough from a marketing standpoint.

Bug bounty doubled for issues relating to the upcoming Byzantium fork

Byzantium releases: Geth v1.7 and Parity v1.7.2 release

Token Contracts on Plasma or: a Tale about Local and Global Invariants

Diving into the EVM, pt 4: Deciphering a method call

Zero-knowledge proofs, Zcash, and Ethereum

ZCash's "groundbreaking performance improvements" for zk-SNARKs

Christian Reitwießner: testnet just verified a zcash transaction

Stuff for developers

Implementing the EVM in Clojure

Building a table of token holders using Quickbooks

How to read Ethereum contract storage

Maurelian: The use of revert(), assert(), and require() in Solidity, and the new REVERT opcode in the EVM

Ecosystem

Ethereum authenticated VPN service

Matrix & Riot for Crypto-Communities

How MetaCert is working to make Slack usable by crypto projects again

Orinoco: Understanding ERC-20 token contracts

China: it seems as if blockchain crackdown is more serious than expected. Exchanges are closing and perhaps exchange operators have been told to stay in China?

Explaining Raiden without using the bar tab analogy

Oraclize and Eidoo are semi-merging

ConsenSys is hosting the first global MBA Blockchain Venture Competition

Mike Goldin: Token Curated Registries

Vitalik: A Prehistory of the Ethereum Protocol

Project Announcements

Props Project by the YouNow team. Video announcement. Whitepaper

EthRPS: play rock-paper-scissors for money

Leverj: futures exchange with margin, supported by ConsenSys

FansUnited: sports betting

GitToken: earn tokens for your pull requests

Ocean: Trent McConaghy's decentralized data marketplace protocol

Project Updates

Augur's Solidity migration is complete

The 0cean's "high performance funnel" order book

ICONOMI September AMA

More on Legacy's vision of transfering your memories and belongings after death

Secure & fair shuffling of the deck on Virtue Poker

The Brave browser now blocks backgroun coin mining scripts

Decentraland's first LAND sale

Decentraland community whitelist is ongoing

Interviews and Talks

Gavin speaks: Interview with Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood

More Parity: Jutta Steiner on Governing the Future podcast

Q&A with Luis Cuende of Aragon

Status Q&A with Stani Kulechov from ETHLend

William Mougayar talk at ICO Summit

Brendan Eich podcast interview with Aaron Watson

Cofound.it's Daniel Zakrisson and David Szabo on trends at ICO Summit

Doug Petkanics from LivePeer is my guest for episode #2 for An Ethereum Podcast. We get deep into the magic of decentralized video.

San Fran Ethereum meetup: Jun from OMG, Vitalik, and Joseph Poon. Also, Sergey Nazarov on ChainLink

Silicon Valley meetup: Vitalik Buterin, Balaji Srinivasan, Joseph Poon, and Dan Boneh

Naval interviews Vitalik at TechCrunch Disrupt. Vitalik is optimistic we can scale to Visa-like levels in a few years.

Token Sales

Grid+: The P2P grid we want, and why we need a blockchain

Seems like Etherisc wins at every blockchain startup competition

Livepeer for beginners

This week in undisclosed celebrity ICO shilling: Jamie Foxx

Request Network token sale details. Yellow paper.

General

Someone wrote comedic fiction about being the hacker of the Parity multi-sig wallet

People keep sharing this image of JPMorgan being one of the biggest buyers of Bitcoin after Jamie Dimon's fraud comments. But most likely this is just JPMorgan's brokerage activity, not them trading their own account.

Trusted IoT Alliance: "set the standard for an open source blockchain protocol to support IoT"

EY rigged their coffee maker with a Raspberry Pi to accept payment using LETH

People widely shared a TechCrunch article due to headline of "SEC show support for ICOs" but it was just a weakly supported opinion piece

Dates of note

From Token Sale Calendar: (didn't have time for comprehensive update for the newsletter before I had to get on my flight, please click the link for an updated list of sales)

Upcoming token sale start dates:

September 21 – Digital Asset Power Play (Cofound.it Priority Pass presale: Sep 19)

September 21 – Opakeco

September 25 – EthLend

September 25 – Jibrel Network

September 28 – Doc.ai

September 29 – Snip

September 29 – Customizable Basic Income

September 29 – Assistive Reality

October 1 – Hirematch

October 1 – Etherparty (pre-sale ongoing)

October 2 – Rhea

October 2 – WandX

October 2 – Horizon State

October 3 – Enjin (ongoing pre-sale)

October 3 – Snov

October 10 – Swap

October 10 – Notary Platform

October 15 – Paypie

October 30 – Grid+

November 1 – Winding Tree

November 1 – ScriptDrop

Ongoing token sales:

Streamr

Privatix

MatchPay

Gimli

Databroker DAO

Circles

Relest

Wolk

Air Token

Spheris

Aeron (ongoing pre-sale)

Maecenas

Kin (must have already registered)

Bitjob

LookRev

Matryx

Atlant

Avalon

Payfair

HelloGold

REAL

Eventchain

Authoreon

Magos

PowerLedger

Vibehub

Paragon

Agor

Propy

Umbrella Coin

Want to be included? If you are building your project on Ethereum, email weekinethereum @ gmail [period] com with 1) your URL, 2) sale date and 3) a brief but convincing description of how you are using Ethereum, preferably with a link to your Github repo. Listings are free. But please make sure to follow those instructions. If you don’t follow the instructions, you likely won’t get a response.

WARNING: list may include or even likely includes scams and quasi-scams. Do your own research and due diligence before putting value at risk.

[I aim for a relatively comprehensive list of Ethereum sales, but make no warranty as to even whether they are legit; as such, I thus likewise warrant nothing about whether any will produce a satisfactory return. I have passed the CFA exams, but this is not investment advice. If you're interested in what I do, you can find my somewhat out-of-date investing thesis and token sale appreciation strategies in previous newsletters.]

Every week I still get emails saying, "you joined ConsenSys?" So this section stays.

If you emailed my Ticketleap email address in the last 30 days or so, then I likely didn't get it. If you were waiting on a response from an email you sent there, I suggest you re-send to weekinethereum @ gmail [period] com.

I've joined ConsenSys. Here's a logo to draw your eye in case you were going to skip over this section:

My charge from Joe Lubin is pretty similar to what Status has told me: keep telling the truth and covering the space as objectively as I can.

Permalink

I measure the success of each issue by how much it gets upvoted and shared. This is the link: http://www.weekinethereum.com/post/165538198138/september-19-2017 Follow me on Twitter? @evan_van_ness

This newsletter is supported by Status.im and ConsenSys (have you seen that we're hiring?). But in case you still want to send Ether or tokens: 0x96d4F0E75ae86e4c46cD8e9D4AE2F2309bD6Ec45

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scoutshonor56 · 5 years ago

Text

The Uninvited Guest

Have you ever had an uninvited guest? You know, the one who promises to help around the house, get along with the wife and kids, stay in the background, kick in some money for food and bills, just until he finds a job and moves out in a timely fashion…

…and then does none of the above? Now, 8 months later, the wife is one more “incident” away from filing for divorce, your kids are hardly ever home, and the funds are getting so lean you’re pulling extra hours at work to compensate (and avoid homelife) and even brown-bagging it for lunch. I know some countries that probably feel that way - it certainly reminds me of our relationship with the Middle East.

As I watched American troops withdrawing from Syria last week, being pelted with rocks and potatoes, angry mobs of Kurds shaking their fists and holding up signs, I had nothing but shame for my country; shame and anger. Yup, shocking even those in his own party and members of his cabinet advisors, our reality-challenged Moron in Chief announced that he was bailing on strategic ally, the Ukraine, in his fairy tale effort to spin his own story and “Bring our troops home!”

Oh BOY, that phrase has such a positive ring to it! It smells of mission accomplished, implying some sort of victory! Tears and hugs, excited dogs, welcome home parties, and a return to mom’s Sunday beef stew and apple pie with the family!

Whooo-WEE did that one push the bullshit meter needle into the red; all we’re doing is moving the tokens around the board, and not very far at that. They are already being re-deployed two steps over, primarily back to Iraq. This occupation - let’s call it what it is - has become a marathon game of insanity and blood, where there is no end and everybody loses. It’s an open scrum played on a dangerous field of rock and sand with no rules, no boundaries, and goal posts that were torn down long ago - just make shit up as you go along.

I know it’s been a long time, so it’s understandably easy to forget, but the invasion of Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, and soon expanded into Iraq on March 19, 2003. Meaning in two short years, we will have reached the twenty-year mark, the longest war by far in America’s relatively short history. There are teenagers today who have known nothing but this occupational war. It has literally become part of our national fabric, background static in our everyday lives; and like an ever-present mild tinnitus ring in your ear, you soon learn to live with it, tune it out. Put a WE SUPPORT OUR TROOPS bumper sticker on your car and carry on with your day, feeling secure that you’ve done your part.

It’s filler for the media when they run short of something more “interesting” to prattle on about, something more eye-grabbing! This war is sooo old news – it has no cute, fuzzy animals doing funny things, not even any chesty cleavage for God’s sake! And where are the celebrities, the Hollywood scandals!? Oh never mind, switch the channel to “America’s Got Talent”, or “Dancing With the Stars”, or “The Voice”…

Again I ask myself, why is it that America, in all it’s nationalistic hubris and arrogance, simply can’t imagine the horror and hatred generated by military occupation of one’s own country? What if it was us that had M2 Bradley fighting vehicles and Humvees patrolling our streets, troops banging down our doors, searching our homes, families rounded up in our streets and being harshly interrogated in a language we don’t even understand. The ever-present “accidental” shootings and beatings, tempers flaring, hospitals, social events, and schools bombed, all justified with the flippant term “collateral damage” - OOPS!

Proud cities laid in ruin, jobs lost, and forced mass migrations pushing you here, there, and then back again as the bloody conflict moves from place to place, country to country.

And I might add this is something we’ve had a lot of practice at over the last century; this is far from the first time we have flexed our misguided muscle in a world that we continue to see through our myopic American eyes. “Surely everyone shares and envies our values and culture, right?” Granted, there may have been a time not long ago when this was true, and the premise still holds some validity today, but no ride lasts forever, and this is a new century with a new game that is already seeing a lot of new players. It’s time this country and its people came to grips with the reality that as of 2019, we comprise 4.27% of the world’s global population.

Many might say, “Well yes, but we’re liberators, not aggressors…”

To which I would say, let’s hold off on the flag waving until such results are achieved – until then, and after almost 20 years, the distinction to me appears rather blurry. Or more to the point, let that call be made by the hapless bystanders and victims caught in the middle; let’s ask them if all the sorrow and rage is/was worth it. Then let’s be honest and open with the American people and tally up our cost, and then put it on the scales of justification:

According to a study at the Watson Institute at Brown University, the combined cost of this war in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq so far is just shy of, and soon approaching, 6 trillion dollars; that’s trillion.

According to this same study, there have been an approximate total of 500,000 people killed, and that’s not even including another half million deaths attributed to Syria, a bloody skirmish we joined in 2014. How much of that can be directly attributed to our involvement? Certainly debatable I grant you, but you can cut those numbers in half and they still represent a staggering figure.

According to Military.com a record total of 321 active duty members of the American military took their own lives just last year - that’s almost an average of one a day. I’m no psychologist, and I’m sure there are a myriad of complex reasons, but quite frankly I don’t find it that difficult to understand the feeling of hopelessness and absurdity as you contemplate a life that you used to know fading from your day to day reality. Home? Home will never be the same for you, especially if you are one of the maimed and scarred…

Maybe I’m being idealistic or naïve, or reading too much “fake news”, or simply not clear on how we keep score in such endeavors, but I’m not seeing much of anything on the plus column here yet…

Meanwhile, let’s imagine a parallel universe where America embraces a much more effective and sane method to “win the hearts and minds” of countries in turmoil, who are tipping on the brink of political and social chaos. What if we took a tiny chunk of those trillions of dollars, let’s say 5 or 10 billion, and built schools to educate, libraries, and hospitals. Sent over professional and knowledgeable advisors instead of soldiers to help with a country’s medical needs, sustainable farming techniques, and developing new industries to generate a stable economy. How do you think the rest of the world would judge us then? How many nations would not only become willing allies, but maybe even emulate this humanitarian effort that recognizes we are all people sharing the same planet.

Now for the bonus feature that enhances life here at home – we could utilize a couple of those trillions of dollars to rebuilt and modernize our roads and bridges, our water management systems, airports, and mass transit infrastructure. I can’t tell you how many documentaries I’ve watched where American engineers grade all of these areas as antiquated and sorely in need of repair or replacement. Did you know nearly 85% of our bridges were built before 1970? Major airports around the world put ours to shame. As our climate rapidly changes, flood management has now become a major concern here in America. We could greatly expand and improve renewable energy, making it more cost efficient and readily available.

Improve our schools and pay our teachers a competitive wage. Why would any country not treat the education of its citizenry as a top priority? Schools are the very soil in which we carefully nurture the human seeds of a globally successful and competitive society, critical today more than ever. According to an international study done by the Pew Research Center in 2015, our educational system rates middle of the pack, or worse – how do you think that bodes for our future in a rapidly changing and developing world?

And we would still have plenty left over to maintain a robust Defense Dept.

Instead, we continue to feed an insatiable Defense budget. A gluttonous monster that holds sway over our politicians and lobbyists. Last year alone we spent more than the next seven countries combined, and yes, that includes China and Russia. Our military budget for 2020? $738 billion, and it goes up every year.

While we now have a record breaking deficit of over 1 trillion dollars, military spending eats over half of our discretionary budget annually. Why do we continue this madness of “might makes right”? Pursuing peace through aggression and intimidation, carrying the biggest club? According to The Wall St. Journal, America has more than 400 military bases around the world, located on every continent but Antarctica. As of this year we have an inventory of over 6,000 nuclear warheads – now that’s what a call a redundant backup…

This is exactly the madness that retired five-star general and former president Dwight Eisenhower warned about in his farewell speech at the White House on Jan. 17, 1961. He called it “the military-industrial complex”, referring to the growing and dangerous union of our defense contractors and the armed forces.

His successor to the highest office in the land, John F. Kennedy, once said:

"And we must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent or omniscient - that we are only six percent of the world's population - that we cannot impose our will upon the other ninety-four percent of mankind - that we cannot right every wrong or reverse each adversity - and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem."

Just maybe it’s time to try a little harder at getting along; to lead by example, instead of might. America first? Great, I’m all for it - let’s start in our own backyard, because it’s a mess.

0 notes

viswas · 8 years ago

Text

Countdown - 1

"Today: Dead - 15000. Born - 4000", it reads on Pebble Rock as I go past it. A wave of disbelief washes over me. The death toll has risen. I can feel my heart beat faster. It takes a moment to realize that I have stopped moving. My body is stiff and my teeth are clenched. Keep calm, take a deep breath and count.

Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two. One.

I am One. That is my sibling name and my last number. My full number is 7,65,1. I am my parent's first child. My father was my grandpa's 65th child and my grandpa was his father's seventh. Hence the full number. In our school, we don't track full numbers beyond our grandfathers. My siblings, parents and Uncle Kraken call me One. My cousins know me by the number 65,1 and my distant cousins know me by 7,65,1. My immediate younger sister goes by the full number 7,65,2. We call her 'Two'. Our numbers are easy to remember. We are both lucky by number, but not by life. She is dead because of me. And so are 500 others.

My youngest brother goes by 7,65,1000. If that seems like a large family of 1000 children, consider the effort to recall my grandfather's 9572nd son's 2765th daughter. My grandpa was a monster. His generation just didn't know when to call it quits and had never heard of contraception. Thankfully, my parents believed in keeping the family small, albeit high quality. So they decided to stop at a well-rounded 1000 children. As a society, we chose numbers over names because they are easier to assign and recall. Despite that, recalling my second cousin 7,9572,2765 can be quite the burden for anyone who doesn't know her. It is not that we herrings have a bad memory, but we have only so many brain cells and they are better spent on matters less mundane than recalling names and numbers.

We live in the epipelagic zone on Mauna Keana, the tallest mountain in the world. The epipelagic zone is a warm volume 200 meters from the Edge of the world above us. Mauna Keana is home to all the animals I know, except the whales. According to Uncle Kraken, our part of the world is called the tropical region. The whales who visit us every year, are from the polar region. He says it is cold there, much more than the Dark-Deep. Dark-Deep is 200 meters from the Edge above and it gets colder and dimmer the deeper we go. The slopes of Mauna Keana go all the way from the Edge on top to the Dark-deep below. On Mauna Keana, my home is at Meter 72, Blue rock, Hollow 56, Hard place, East side. I live here with all my siblings.

As a first born, I congenitally became the head of my shoal of siblings. I represent them in my school. My school has other shoals consisting of all my grandfather's children and their children. All schools together make an orgy. Feeding and breeding are our primary occupation. We have a very organized society. Each level of the hierarchy has a head. Every individual in a schoal or school follows their head. So naturally, my siblings follow me and I follow 7,9572,2765 who is the head of our school. This is why I easily recall her full number. I don't address her by that though. To me, she is just 65. It helps that my shoal's 65 is my brother. He is one of the 500 dead, so no confusion there. Unlike me, 65 wasn't a congenital leader. She earned her leadership when she saved my fin and those of twenty thousand other herrings across the orgy. She is a hero to me. I owe my life to her.

Our orgy has around 10 million herrings right now and is led by President suckherfeet, an old octopus. To this day, I don't know why the president of an orgy is an octopus and what business she has in fish politics. It is one of the big mysteries of my generation and I am told we are privy to this only if we earn our way into becoming a school leader. What I do know is that she wasn't democratically elected. We just follow those who lead us unquestioningly. When Uncle Kraken told me what democracy was, I became a believer. What a concept. I loved it more when he told me that whales invented democracy. I wish we herrings were a democracy, but the orgy politicians lack the motivation to implement it. It goes against their scales. Not to mention that President suckherfeet wouldn't be too keen on giving up the free food she gets to eat, the privilege of the presidency. To me, she is the reflection of everything wrong with my orgy. A distant entity whose words and actions have no bearing on anyone's life. For someone in her position and with her power, she could have improved the orgy and pushed us to new depths. But no, she is content with her free fish. President suckherfeet doesn't join us at our feeding sessions. One would think that as a leader she would be at the forefront of our orgy, particularly during feeding. She leaves that to the herrings. What a slimy excuse she is.

The only other octopus I know personally is Uncle Kraken. He is not literally my uncle. He is my dad's old friend from his bachelor days. He is my mentor and my favorite person next only to Two. To me, he is everything that suckherfeet is not. Two octopuses couldn't be a pole apart. No one knows his age, but we know he is old and wise from the wealth of knowledge he has. I wish he was our president. When I am not heading the school on a feeding or a breeding mission, I am almost always found in Uncle Kraken's crevice at Meter 155, getting myself an education. And that is where I am headed right now, after today's feeding session. But today is not for education. Today I need answers. This butchering has to stop.

The closer I get to Meter 155, the fewer the animals and vegetation I see. There are only a few sand dollars on the slopes of Mauna Keana at this depth and visibility is poor. I go past them and enter the crevice. "One, come down and take a pebble; be with you in a moment", said Uncle Kraken the moment I entered. I catch his bright orange tentacles wiggle into the deep crevice and go out of sight. I take a pebble at the living pit and look around. In the corner is a dumb bio-fluorescent seahorse nibbling something. Uncle Kraken has placed him there to light the living pit. All around me are stacks of inscribed tests. Tests are dead sand dollar skeletons used to record information. Uncle Kraken has hundreds of them. Just being here makes me feel like an erudite. One day I will have read them all. It would be nice to be wise like Uncle Kraken.

Waiting for Uncle Kraken, I am beginning to feel sleepy. The feeding session was tiring. The responsibilities of being a leader are much. Ensuring the safety of every individual and guiding everyone is no easy task. Everyone likes to think leadership is a privilege. Little do they know. One day, I will no longer be the leader. One day I will retire and have my own crevice with thousands of tests to read.

"One" said Uncle Kraken. I open my eyes just in time to find President suckherfeet leave the crevice with a blue trail. I had dozed away dreaming of my responsibilities and my scholastic ambitions.

"Uncle Kraken, sorry I fell asleep"

"That's alright my boy"

"How was the feeding?"

"All well, no one died because of me today", I said.

"Good then."

"What was President Suckherfeet doing here?"

"She wanted to check some historical facts from my tests", said Uncle Kraken. I wasn't convinced with Uncle's response but decided not to prod further.

"Ok"

"Tell me One, do you know what evolution is?"

"No", I said.

"Have you ever wondered where you came from?"

"Eh. From my mother?"

"That you did, but where do you think she came from?"

"From her parents?"

"Sure, but now go back a billion years, where did it all start?"

"I don't know. I am curious though."

"It's good to be curious. Curiosity never killed a crab.", said Uncle Kraken.

"So what is evolution?"

"Evolution suggests that our earliest ancestors descended from planktons."

"That's weird."

"Why is it weird?", asked Uncle Kraken

"Because we eat planktons?"

"Ah that. Now you know why they say 'you are what you eat.'"

"Sounds to me like ancestral cannibalism."

"Did you just coin that yourself?", asked Uncle Kraken, smiling.

"Indeed", I said with a stern face.

"Funny way to put it."

"It would have been, if not for what is happening", I said.

"Which is what boy?"

"I think we are dying as a species Uncle Kraken. I am very afraid."

"It's called extinction my boy."

"Semantics, Uncle Kraken. We need to do something. Did you see today's statistics?"

"I did."

"We are just 10 million now.", I said.

"Just 10 million? The whales would be jealous."

"But look at how quickly we are being killed."

"I am aware."

"There is place for a thousand whales in this world. But not for us it seems, at least not at this rate.", I said.

"Calm down, child. Anger doesn't solve anything."

"Can't help it Uncle Kraken. The statistics infuriate me. I wish Professor Squiddle stopped inking them on pebble rock. It is difficult watching the dead numbers go up each day. Just last week we were losing 10000 a day and the mothers were only birthing 5000. Today, it is already at 15000 dead and 4000 born."

"Can't blame Squiddle for doing his job. Be thankful that he was able to quantify the problem for you. Without that, you wouldn't have realized you herrings were going extinct."

"I am not blaming Professor Squiddle. It is the other herrings in the orgy that I blame."

"Why is that?", asked Uncle Kraken.

"Very few of them pass by Pebble rock each day. Most of them are unschooled and can't read. And those who can read don't do anything about it. Follow the herd. That is everyone's mantra. Such apathy."

"It is a mantra for a good reason One. It helps you survive as a species."

"Survive? We are barely surviving. We need to adapt or we will all die."

"Bingo. Adaptation. That is the key to evolution."

"Yes, but what can we do differently to adapt? How can we 'evolve'?"

"One can get much done."

"Can we stop with the wordplay Uncle Kraken? I am very angry with the world. And I want you to help me fix it."

"Yes, child. But, before we solve a problem, we need to understand it fully."

"Help me understand then."

"I shall. Here, have some worms first. I had them arranged from Meter 450."

"Meter 450? The Dark-Deep? You know someone from down below?"

"Of course I do, but that's a matter for another time", said Uncle Kraken, like always when he wanted to change the topic.

I tasted the worms. They were the juiciest I had ever eaten. Instantly I felt a relaxation sweep over me. My mind was on overdrive. Almost like eating green moss. Bliss. But the feeling lasted only a moment. Suddenly a shock shot up my spine and it hurt like a thousand anemone stings. I felt my bones and muscles move involuntarily. Excruciating pain followed. I could feel every nerve and muscle fiber strand separate out. My pectoral fin was burning and I thought I saw it swell. Then I felt my tail tear down the middle and it's lower half become too heavy to lift. I felt a cramp on my neck and I could no longer twist my neck easily. It was as if my entire vertebral column had become rigid. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I felt a rock fall on my face. I collapsed on the pebble.

"Wake up One, wake up", I heard Uncle Kraken from a distance. My vision was foggy but the pain was receding and my head was beginning to clear. My whole body felt awkward. I was dizzy but it was getting better. When I was fully awake, I still couldn't turn my head easily. But my vision had become clearer and I could see much closer and much farther than earlier.

"How do you feel?"

"Like a whale fell on me."

"You will be fine, boy. Eat this, you will feel much better.", said Uncle Kraken tentacling me something gray.

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me, this will get you back up on your tail in no time."

I nodded. I ate the lump and instantly felt better.

"What was that, Uncle Kraken?"

"Gray matter"

"But why?"

"It helps your mind cope with your body"

"What were those worms you gave me? It hurt and now I feel awkward."

"Nothing harmful. It was all for good."

"Did you change my body and appearance?", I asked.

"I may have a little bit."

"Do you have a white shell I can look at?"

"Here you go", said Uncle Kraken pulling a shell out of nowhere and dropping it on the pit floor.

I went on top of it and found myself staring at a stranger. I am not sure I liked the changed me.

"Ewww, I look longer, like a Moray eel; am I going to get any longer Uncle Kraken?"

"No, you won't".

I looked at the reflective shell again.

"My fins have become much broader and a little thicker, especially close to my body. I can no longer tell apart where my face ends and my chest begins. It looks like a single organ."

"It's not so bad, don't exaggerate", said Uncle Kraken.

"And what happened to my face? It looks like a whale literally fell on me and squashed it?"

"One, that's not how we use the word 'literally'. Don't abuse that word."

"Don't be so pedantic, Uncle Kraken. Explain my face will you?", I shouted.

"Calm down again my boy. The answers are coming."

"They better come quick or I am leaving. I came looking for answers and you have morphed me halfway to a disgusting eel."

"Take a pebble will you?"

I got on the pebble and looked at Uncle Kraken expectantly. At 15 feet, he was a giant compared to me. But never did I ever feel intimidated by his size. His language and mannerisms had always put me at ease. Sometimes I thought he spoke like a kid, despite him calling me a child.

"One, have I told you about the most beautiful sight I have ever witnessed?"

"No?"

"This was one summer morning, many years ago. I was coming up from Meter 500 after work and it was pitch black. As I climbed higher, instead of it getting brighter, it continued to be all dark. I climbed up to 100 meters and then I saw it.", said uncle Kraken looking up in awe at the crevice ceiling.

"What was it Uncle Kraken?", I asked, looking up.

"An orgy of 3 billion herrings"

"3 billion?"

"Yes"

"Did you mean to say 3 million?"

"No. Billion with a 'B'."

"Whoa", jaws wide open.

"Exactly. There they were, your ancestors. Resplendent. Spread across five cubic kilometers easily at a density of anywhere from 0.5 to 1 herrings per cubic meter. Their synchronized movement at a constant speed was quite the sight to watch. There was barely any space for light to pass through them and the entire ocean floor was darkened. All I saw were silver and gold reflections in the air."

"Sounds impressive", I said, visualizing the scene.

"Even the predators were afraid to get in between. Those were the glory days for your species."

"Hmm", I sighed. I am not sure if I am happy or sad hearing this. Clearly, my population is a fraction of what it once was.

"This was a time when there were hardly any predators. No eels. Only the occasional sharks.", continued Uncle Kraken. "Food was aplenty - Krills, copepods, arrow worms, pelagic amphipods, mysids, earthworms, all up for the grabs. The herring feeding sessions were the largest eating event in the world."

"Where did they go?", I asked.

"They died out, slowly at first. And quickly now, as you have gauged."

"But why? I thought there was much food and not many predators"

"Yes. For a while. The herring population kept getting bigger due to the abundance of food. For larger animals, there was not much else to eat. So they developed a taste for herrings. These animals then grew in population. This lead to the population growth of even larger predators. A food chain was established. Everyone liked herrings. And so the herring population reduced. For a while, there was an equilibrium amongst all species."

"What changed?", I asked.

"Food sources for the herring dwindled and the population was destabilized. Now there were more predators and less food. The results are for you to see."

"While I admit I see more eels during the feeding session these days, I didn't think they were growing that fast in numbers.", I said. "Besides, I can't see how we came down to 10 million from three billion."

"It is hard for you to perceive this in your timeline, One. I have been around longer and have witnessed the changes.", said Uncle Kraken.

"Ok", I said, finding it too hard to believe so many had died.

"Many of the schools broke away from the orgy and migrated in search of food and predator-free regions."

"And they never came back?", I asked.

"Unfortunately no. They perished as well. Mauna Keana is the first and last front. Your's is the only remaining herring orgy in the world."

"I don't buy it."

"One, I know this isn't easy. But you have to accept the truth."

"If this is true, then what is President suckherfeet doing about it? Isn't she responsible for protecting us."

"She is, in ways you don't understand yet. It's easier to judge people from a distance. Reality is something else."

"How can I not judge? Things have been let to come this far. Why was no tangible action taken?"

"Because bringing real change that positively affects a billion herrings in a short span of time is very hard to achieve. Nature is not easy to fight and change, One."

"Life comes, life goes. Predators eat. Prey die. Predators die too. It's the cycle of life.", continued Uncle Kraken.

"What's the point then? It seems like life is wasted in these cycles for no reason.", I said.

"Your birth is not your choice, One. Here you are. Instead of questioning why you are here, you should ask what you can do. Because that is the only question for which there is a known answer."

"Why should I do anything at all?"

"For the same reason that you are angry and unhappy. If you want to rid your pain and do good for the species, you have to live and act willfully. You have to do your best as long as you are alive."

"But why am I the only one who has this ownership? What about the other ten million minus one?"

"Because you are one of the few who are aware. The others don't have the privilege of awareness, only the luxury of ignorance; a luxury that won't stand the test of time."

"I find this hard to accept. Why are so few aware? Are they not afraid? Anytime I broach the topic with others, they ask me to go away and not stress them out."

"Because that is the inherent design of your species. You are an exception boy.", said Uncle Kraken.

He continued, "When as a species, you are too large to have names, and numbers are too hard to recall, what value does an individual have?"

When I didn't respond, he continued, "Your very survival counts on the herrings working together as a group. Have you ever wondered why your life is so regimented?"

"Yes, because it is the law.", I said.

"And why is it the law?"

"Don't know. No one told me."

"Hmm. I shall tell you. But first, let's see how good a leader your are, shall we? What are the orgy rules of spatial movement during feeding?", asked Uncle Kraken.

Ah, an easy one. "Shoal head leads the shoal. Two herrings are assigned to diagonally follow the shoal head in a triangle formation at a fixed diagonal distance of five feet and angle of 60 degrees. All other herrings are assigned to diagonally follow specific other herrings at the same distance to form a larger triangle. School leaders identify a schoal member of another schoal for the adjacent schoal leader to follow. And so on.", I said proudly.

"Do you know why shoal formation is a triangle?", asked Uncle Kraken.

"No", I said.

"Any complex structure can be represented as a bunch of triangles. The triangle is the most atomic and primitive geometry. Hence it is used as a base to create spheres, cones, cylinders, donuts and any other shapes"

"So?"

"So, while you may never be as big as whale as an individual, herrings as a species survive when their orgies form large volumetric shapes much larger than the largest whales. The shapes are made from the triangles of the schools and the shoals. For many external predators, you appear as a single large scary organism."

Wow, that is impressive. 3 billion herrings, 5 cubic kilometers, larger than the largest whale. But Uncle Kraken hadn't answered my question.

"What does this have to do with awareness amongst herrings?"

"Herrings' ability to survive depends on conformance to the rules of spatial movement during feeding. If every individual did whatever they felt like, you would just be a bunch of chaotic fish easily taken away by predators. Your strength is in numbers."

"Again, what does this have to do with awareness amongst herrings?", I asked.

"Thousands of years of socially working together using a well-defined set of laws to protect yourself has weeded out your ability to think differently and independently. As a species, you have it in your genes to follow the rules and not question it. The likely outcome of not following the rules is death. So you have been programmed to not break the rules. You are to only conform. This is why most herrings don't have awareness of their impending doom. This is why most herrings lack empathy.", said Uncle Kraken.

"Empathy?"

"It is easier for everyone to be emotionally disinvested from their siblings since all can be lost in a jiffy due to predation. A few dead siblings in a group of a billion makes no difference to the orgy. As individuals, you are dispensable. The orgy can't afford to cry over a few dead. This lack of awareness is essential for the orgy's survival."

"Clearly this strategy has not worked.", I said.

"It did at one time. Not anymore. And this is why adaptation is essential for the survival of the species. You have to evolve or die."

"Why am I aware?"

"You hit the genetic lottery. You have your parents to thank for that."

The idea of my parents producing 1000 high-quality children just took a whole new meaning.

"Tell me more about the genetic lottery."

"It means you have genes that would be normally considered defective because you lack the ability to conform to the social rules. But nature has a sense of irony. That is now your strength. You are genetically capable of awareness at the cost of conformance."

"So I am a genetic outcast and somehow this makes me aware? Somewhere inside, I have always felt lonely. And now I get to know it is because of bad genes?"

"You are not defective, boy. Who is to say what the right gene to have is? In this time of crisis, one would think your genes are more valuable than anyone else's."

"Who else is aware? I bet 65 is.", I said.

"65 is indeed. She broke the rules and instead of following her lead, ended up leading everyone who followed her away from the jaws of death."

"She just didn't lead us away", I said.

"You obviously know better the events of that day. Tell me about it."

"Yes, that snakey one-eyed Moray eel, flat-tuber, wiggled through the school during a feeding session and isolated us. Before we could get a grip on what was happening, we were surrounded by a group of Moray who had already started their feeding frenzy. Being cut off from the orgy directly in front of her, 65 incurred the sudden responsibility of protecting us. Cornered on all sides, she instinctively made a mad dash towards the only eye of flat-tuber. What followed was collective carnage of flat-tuber. With him out of the way, we were able to escape back into the orgy".

"What did you learn from this?", asked Uncle Kraken

"Always take out the eye of the eels when in danger"

"Yes, but besides that?",

"That was all.", I said.

"The takeaway is that we need leaders. Leaders who can think on their own with awareness and act to protect the orgy. Leaders who are brave and are willing to adapt and evolve."

"And you think I can be one?"

"Yes One, you already are one."

"I know I am aware and I lead my school. But I am not as brave as you think. I don't I have 65's courage. I don't think I will ever be like her. If I encountered an eel, I would get scared and go away as fast as I can."

"Sure, you are not like 65. We don't need you to be like 65. There are other qualities in you that we could use. We need variety in herrings to survive. Besides, courage can be cultivated."

"Hmm", I pondered. "When you say 'we', who are you referring to?"

"President Suckherfeet", said Uncle Kraken.

"What? Why?"

"You said you thought President Suckherfeet didn't do much. But she did. She changed the rules."

He continued "She was one of the earliest to notice that herrings were going extinct and that they needed good leadership to survive. The existing herring leaders were too conforming to their genetic traits and had killed off a billion through inaction. After much political gaming, she managed to take control of the herrings. Her first order of business was to allow non-firstborns to become school and shoal leaders on merit."

I can't believe what I have just heard. Not just about President Suckherfeet, but the whole picture. The enormity of it all.

Silence.

When I didn't say anything for a good five minutes, Uncle Kraken said "One, you have heard much today. Go home and sleep over it. We will talk tomorrow. If anyone asks you about your appearance, say that you were augmented by me on President suckherfeet's orders."

"One?", said Uncle Kraken when I failed to respond.

"Yes, Uncle Kraken."

"Go home."

"One last question?"

"Shoot", he said in resignation.

"All my siblings share my genes but don't have awareness. Only I do. The more I think about it, I realize I was not always socially aware. What changed?"

"Tell me One, what pains you the most?"

"Two's death. Also the 500 others. And the fact that it was my haste and non-conformance that caused it."

"Does it still hurt, these events?"

"Yes."

"What you experienced One, that is called a trauma. A painful episode in life."

"What does that have to do with my awareness?"

"Trauma is a genetic trigger. Unlike your other siblings, you have been through much."

"These events activated your awareness genes", said Uncle Kraken.

Silence.

"Go home now, One. Tomorrow, we shall talk about your augmentation.", said Uncle Kraken.

Tentacling me a lump of gray matter, he said "If you feel any pain tonight, take this. Good night now."

The dumb bio-fluorescent seahorse isn't glowing anymore. It stands still in the corner of the living pit and looks at us as if it understood the conversation that had transpired. I look away and get up from the pebble.

"Good night, Uncle Kraken", I said and found my way out of the crevice. My body is aching again and I feel awkward in flight. As I look up, the last light of the sun fades into darkness.

#short story #short #fiction #fish #herring #whale #mauna keana #short-story

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ladyofthecampfires · 8 years ago

Note

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL THE QUESTIONS!!!

1. If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?I would read a bunch more.2. What is your favorite piece of clothing you own / owned?I like my plaid shirts that I stole from my brother3. What hobby would you pick up if time & money weren’t an issue?I would take piano lessons and art lessons4. What does your perfect room look like?A small room in a log cabin with a big bed and a bunch of fluffy blankets and floor rugs with Zapotec patterns.5. How often do you play sports?Pretty much never6. What fictional place would you like to visit?The Shire. Very much the Shire.7. What job would you be terrible at?Motivational speaker or counselor 8. When was the last time you climbed a tree?I don’t know9. If you could turn any activity into an Olympic sport, what would you have a good chance of winning a medal for?I really don’t know. I’m not super talented at much.10. What is the most annoying habit that you or other people have?Speaking over others. Other people do that, I don’t :p11. What job do you think you’d be really good at?Proofreader 12. What skill would you like to master?Learning to draw would be cool13. What would be the most amazing adventure to go on?A camping adventure! In some mountains somewhere14. If you had unlimited funds to build a house to live on for the rest of your life, what would the finished house look like?A nice cozy log cabin15. What’s your favorite drink?Depends on my mood. I do like Dr Pepper though :p16. What state or country do you never want to go back to?Don’t think I’ve been anywhere I hated17. What songs do you have completely memorized?Way too many to list18. What game or movie universe would you like to live in?Tolkien universe would be incredible19. What do you consider to be your best find?My brother found a homemade wand in the middle of the woods. I didn’t find it but it’s mine now.20. Are you usually early or late?Almost always early. I’m scared of being late.21. What pets did you have when you were growing up?Cats, dogs and I had a hamster for a while22. When people come to you for help, what do they usually need help with?Proofreading something haha 23. What takes up too much of your time?Worrying about things I can’t control 24. What do you wish you knew more about?Literally everything. Religion and mythology? 25. What would be your first question after waking up from being frozen for 100 years?Can I go back to sleep?26. What are some small things that make your day better?Talking to friends, coffee, my pets27. Who’s your go-to band or artist when you don’t know who or what to listen to?Frank Turner or the Hamilton soundtrack 28. What’s the best way to start the day? The way I started it yesterday morning actually. A cup of coffee, donuts and the comics page of the newspaper 29. What TV shows do you like?Currently American Gods, Preacher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine 30. What TV channel doesn’t exist but really should?One that runs Harry Potter and LotR marathons just 24/7 31. Who has impressed you most with what they’ve accomplished?I’m sure there are people but I can’t think of any right now 32. What age do you wish you could stay at permanently? I feel like 10 was good 33. What TV show or movie do you refuse to watch?13 Reasons Why 34. What’s your ideal way to spend a weekend?It depends on my mood I guess. A nice balance of going out and staying in. Yeah that’s vague but I’m too lazy to think about it. 35. What is something that is considered a luxury, but you don’t think you could live without?Sanitary products, according to the government 36. What is your claim to fame?I won a battle of the bands contest once? 37. What is something you enjoy doing the old-fashioned way?I dunno38. What’s your favorite book or movie genre?Fantasy I think 39. How often do you people-watch?Sometimes 40. What have you only recently formed an opinion about?I didn’t really think about politics much until I got to college 41. What’s the best day of the year?I don’t think there is one 42. What subject interests you that not many people have heard of?Paleography!! 43. How do you relax after a long day of work?Browse tumblr 44. What’s the best book series or TV series you’ve ever read or watched?Hannibal? Maybe? 45. Where is the farthest you’ve ever been from home?Went to Rome last year 46. What’s the most heartwarming thing you’ve ever seen?Once when it snowed at school I was watching from my dorm window at like midnight when several kids came outside and started making snow angels on the lawn. It was just really serene47. What is the most annoying question people ask you?Why are you so quiet? 48. What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with no preparation?Roman stuff probably if I didn’t die of a panic attack first49. If you were the dictator on a small island nation, what crazy dictator stuff would you do?I would resign immediately and put someone better in charge 50. What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?Get to know someone completely different from them 51. Would you rather go hand gliding or whitewater rafting?Rafting! 52. What’s your dream car?Something reliable with good mileage 53. What’s worth spending more on to get the best?Food, relationships 54. What is something a ton of people are obsessed with, but you just don’t get?Sex 55. What are you most looking forward to in the next 10 years?Being settled and hopefully happy with where I am 56. Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?Rome! 57. What’s something you’ve been meaning to try but haven’t gotten around to it?Dunno 58. What is the best thing that happened to you last week?I graduated lol 59. What piece of entertainment do you wish you could erase from your mind, only to experience it for the first time again?Hannibal 60. If all jobs had the same pay rate and hours, what job would you want to have?Musician61. What amazing thing have you done that no one was around to see?No idea 62. How different was your life 1 year ago?I was still in college 63. What quirks do you have?I’m sure I have some but I can’t think of any 64. What would you rate 10/10?Sleeping 65. What fad or trend do you think should come back?Dunno66. What is the most interesting piece of art you’ve seen?the Bernini statues in Rome were beautiful67. What kind of art do you enjoy most?Dunno, not that into art68. What do you hope never changes?I don’t know69. What city would you most like to live in?Don’t like cities that much70. What movie title best describes your life?I can’t think of any71. Why did you decide to do the work you are doing now?I’m not doing anything right now72. What’s the best way a person can spend their time?Making someone else smile73. If you suddenly became a master at woodworking, what would you make?Art74. Where is the most relaxing place you’ve ever been?Cloudcroft New Mexico!75. What’s the luckiest thing that has ever happened to you?Don’t know76. Where would you rather be from?Northern California sounds nice, up in the mountains77. What are some things you’ve had to unlearn?Bodyshaming, misogyny, junk like that78. What do you look forward to in the next 6 months?No idea79. What website do you visit most often?Tumblr80. What one thing do you really want but can’t afford?Lasik surgery81. Where do you usually go when you have free time?My room I guess82. Where would you spend all your time if you could?In some mountains somewhere83. What’s special about the place you grew up?Six Flags?84. What age do you want to live to?Dunno85. What are you most likely to become famous for?Nothing86. What are you absolutely determined to do?Keep being a good person87. What is the most impressive thing you know how to do?Play bass? I guess?88. What do you wish you knew more about?A lot of stuff89. What question would you most like to know the answer to?Not sure90. What question can you ask to find out the most about a person?I don’t know91. When was the last time you changed your opinion or belief about something major?Eh I don’t know92. What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?Someone told me I had a cute nose once93. As the only human left on earth, what would you do?Do something like try to scale Mt. Everest and probably die there94. Who inspires you to be better?No one I can think of95. What do you want your epitaph to be?Dunno96. What haven’t you grown out of?I like playing in mud/sand. Is that weird? I don’t do it unless I’m at the beach or something though97. In what situation or place would you feel most out of place in?Pretty much everywhere98. What’s the dumbest thing you’ve done that actually turned out pretty well?Not sure99. If someone wrote a book on an event in your life, what would the book be about?It would be a pretty boring book, don’t know100. What’s something you will never do again?Plenty of things101. How do you hope you’ll change as a person in the future?Hope I can be a better and kinder person102. What keeps you up at night?Depends103. What’s the most surprising self-realization you’ve had?You like girls, it’s fine104. What is the most illegal thing you’ve ever done?I smoked weed once :o105. How do you get in the way of your own success?Second-guessing myself106. What are you afraid people see when they look at you?Nothing107. What is your biggest regret?There’s plenty108. What do you look down on people for?Being willfully ignorant109. What bridges do you not regret burning?With an ex110. What lie do you tell most often?Not sure111. What would be your spirit animal?Dunno112. What is the best & worst thing about getting older?Freedom/responsibility113. What are you most likely very wrong about?How to fix a car114. If you had a personal flag, what would be on it?Dunno115. What’s happened that changed your view on the world?The election116. What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned?Can’t pick117. What is the most immature thing you do?I dunno, I’m pretty mature I think118. What are you famous for among your friends & family?Nothing119. If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?Dirt120. What one responsibility do you wish you didn’t have?Having to work121. What are 3 things you want to accomplish before you die?Find something I like to do, find someone I want to share my life with, travel somewhere cool122. What do you want to tell your 10-year-old self?Try not to worry so much but also don’t trust people123. What’s the best thing you got from your parents?My sense of humor124. What’s the best thing about you?I care a lot?125. What blows your mind?Space126. Have you ever saved someone’s life?No127. What are you really good at but embarrassed to be good at?Don’t know128. What would a mirror opposite of you look like?Elegant129. What are 3 interesting facts about you?I can’t think of anything right now130. Which of your scars has the best story behind it?I have one on my stomach from surgery when I was a baby?131. What’s the title of the current chapter in your life?Aimless132. What were some of the biggest turning points in your life?Going to college133. What’s the hardest lesson you’ve learned?You can’t always make things go the way you want134. What do people think is weird about you?I’m not very talkative135. What mistake do you keep making?I dunno136. What have you created that you’re most proud of?Dunno137. What do you doubt?My judgment138. What are some of your morals?Be a good person139. What do you want to be remembered for?No idea140. What do you regret not doing in your childhood years?Learning a second language141. What is your favorite fragrance?Pine trees!142. What do you think your last words will be?No idea143. Who or what do you take for granted?Dunno144. Why would you be annoying as a roommate?I feel like I’m a pretty good roommate. Maybe I’m around too much.145. What is something you’re insecure about?Literally everything146. What’s the best & worst piece of advice you’ve received?Dunno147. What irrational fears do you have?Emetophobia, also don’t love heights148. What makes a good life?Helping others149. What’s the last adventure you went on?Went to a concert on Saturday? Is that an adventure?150. What is the most memorable gift you’ve received?I can’t think of anything right now

#campfire talks

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advsimranjeetsinghsidhu · 4 years ago

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Worry? Not If You utilize New Jersey Immigration The right Way! Little Known Facts About LexLords Canada Immigration Lawyers.

The scale of your relations determines as to how a lot cash is you're essential to assist your self and your clan in Canada. In case the applicant has set employment in Canada, he/she will not be essential to have this a lot funds in Canada. It's obligatory for the potential Immigrant candidates to present proof of adequate monetary property and web worth to carry up self and dependants after touchdown in Canada. It's strongly instructed that every one potential candidates for research permits put ahead their utility by 01 August for September entry and by 01 December for January entry. •The applicant is critical to indicate proof of monetary situation and web value to the Canadian Visa workplace on the time of the compliance of the applying. Students should additional be aware that purposes submitted after 20 August and 20 December for the respective entries is not going to often be processed in time for the beginning of class and can in all probability be refused. It's a web based mode of software filing by which the screening time is 6 to 12 months. Students don't submit an utility to the SPP; they submit an software to a taking part school and could also be measured underneath this system in the event that they meet actual standards.

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airoasis · 5 years ago

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Questions No One Knows the Answers to (Full Version)

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/questions-no-one-knows-the-answers-to-full-version-2/

Questions No One Knows the Answers to (Full Version)

On a typical day at college, unending hours are spent learning the solutions to questions, but correct now, we will do the opposite. We’ll center of attention on questions the place you cannot study the answers due to the fact they’re unknown. I used to puzzle about a lot of things as a boy, for instance: What would it not suppose wish to be a dog? Do fish believe affliction? How about bugs? Was the big Bang just an accident? And is there a God? And if that is so, how are we so sure that it’s a He and no longer a She? Why accomplish that many harmless people and animals suffer horrible things? Is there really a plan for my existence? Is the long run yet to be written, or is it already written and we just are not able to see it? But then, do i have free will? I imply, who am I anyway? Am I only a organic desktop? But then, why am I aware? What’s attention? Will robots emerge as mindful someday? I imply, I type of assumed that some day i might be informed the solutions to all these questions.Any person must recognize, correct? Bet what? No person is aware of. Most of those questions puzzle me extra now than ever. However diving into them is unique considering the fact that it takes you to the brink of skills, and also you certainly not know what you’ll to find there. So, two questions that no person on the planet is aware of the answer to. (track) regularly after I’m on an extended airplane flight, I gaze out at all these mountains and deserts and take a look at to get my head round how monstrous our Earth is.And then I bear in mind that there is an object we see everyday that would actually match a million Earths inside it: the sun. It appears impossibly enormous. But in the first-rate scheme of matters, it is a pinprick, one of about four hundred billion stars within the Milky method galaxy, which you will discover on a clear night as a light white mist stretched throughout the sky. And it gets worse. There are might be a hundred billion galaxies detectable by using our telescopes. So if every star used to be the scale of a single grain of sand, simply the Milky method has adequate stars to fill a 30-foot by means of 30-foot stretch of seashore three feet deep with sand.And the whole Earth doesn’t have adequate beaches to represent the celebrities within the total universe. This type of seashore would continue for literally enormous quantities of hundreds of thousands of miles. Holy Stephen Hawking, that is a lot of stars. But he and other physicists now feel in a reality that is unimaginably higher nonetheless. I imply, first of all, the one hundred billion galaxies inside variety of our telescopes are probably a minuscule fraction of the total. House itself is increasing at an accelerating p.C.. The vast majority of the galaxies are setting apart from us so rapid that light from them could in no way reach us. Nonetheless, our bodily reality here on earth is intimately linked to those far-off, invisible galaxies. We can consider of them as part of our universe. They make up a single, enormous edifice obeying the same physical laws and all produced from the identical forms of atoms, electrons, protons, quarks, neutrinos, that make up you and me.Nonetheless, contemporary theories in physics, including one known as string idea, are actually telling us there would be countless different universes built on different varieties of particles, with distinctive residences, obeying specific legal guidelines. Most of these universes might under no circumstances help existence, and would flash in and out of existence in a nanosecond. But nevertheless, mixed, they make up a vast multiverse of possible universes in as much as eleven dimensions, presenting wonders past our wildest creativeness. The leading variation of string thought predicts a multiverse made from 10 to the five hundred universes. That’s a one adopted by 500 zeros, a number so gigantic that if every atom in our observable universe had its own universe, and all the atoms in all those universes each had their possess universe, and also you repeated that for two more cycles, you’d nonetheless be at a tiny fraction of the complete, particularly, one trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillionth. (Laughter) however even that number is minuscule compared to an extra number: infinity. Some physicists consider the distance-time continuum is literally infinite and that it includes an infinite number of so-called pocket universes with varying residences.How’s your mind doing? Quantum idea provides a whole new wrinkle. I imply, the speculation’s been verified actual past all doubt, however deciphering it’s baffling, and some physicists believe which you can only un-baffle it if you imagine that colossal numbers of parallel universes are being spawned each second, and lots of of these universes would truely be very like the arena we’re in, would include multiple copies of you. In one such universe, you’d graduate with honors and marry the character of your dreams, and in one more, now not a lot. Good, there are nonetheless some scientists who would say, hogwash. The one meaningful answer to the question of how many universes there are is one. Just one universe. And a few philosophers and mystics could argue that even our own universe is an illusion. So, as you will find, right now there is no contract on this question, now not even close. All we all know is the answer is someplace between zero and infinity. Well, i assume we know one thing more. This can be a lovely cool time to be studying physics. We simply maybe present process the largest paradigm shift in abilities that humanity has ever visible. (song) someplace in the market in that colossal universe there must undoubtedly be countless other planets teeming with life.But why do not we see any evidence of it? Well, this is the noted question asked by Enrico Fermi in 1950: where is each person? Conspiracy theorists declare that UFOs are journeying all the time and the experiences are just being included up, however honestly, they don’t seem to be very convincing. But that leaves a real riddle. In the past yr, the Kepler area observatory has found 1000s of planets simply around regional stars. And in case you extrapolate that knowledge, it appears like there might be half a thousand billion planets just in our own galaxy. If anyone in 10,000 has stipulations that would aid a form of existence, that’s still 50 million viable existence-harboring planets right here within the Milky method. So here’s the riddle: our Earth failed to kind until about 9 billion years after the massive Bang.Numerous other planets in our galaxy will have to have formed earlier, and given existence a danger to get underway billions, or without doubt many hundreds of thousands of years earlier than happened on this planet. If only a few of them had spawned smart existence and started growing technologies, these applied sciences would have had millions of years to grow in complexity and vigor. On this planet, we now have obvious how dramatically science can accelerate in simply one hundred years. In thousands of years, an sensible alien civilization would readily have spread out across the galaxy, possibly growing big power-harvesting artifacts or fleets of colonizing spaceships or glorious artistic endeavors that fill the night sky. At the very least, you’d think they’d be revealing their presence, intentionally or otherwise, by way of electromagnetic alerts of 1 style or one more. And but we see no convincing proof of any of it. Why? Good, there are countless feasible solutions, some of them relatively dark. Possibly a single, superintelligent civilization has certainly taken over the galaxy and has imposed strict radio silence considering the fact that it can be paranoid of any talents competitors. It can be simply sitting there competent to obliterate some thing that becomes a hazard.Or probably they’re now not that wise, or maybe the evolution of an intelligence able of constructing sophisticated science is a long way rarer than we’ve got assumed. In any case, it is handiest occurred as soon as on the planet in 4 billion years. Probably even that used to be highly fortunate. Maybe we are the primary such civilization in our galaxy. Or, might be civilization contains with it the seeds of its own destruction by way of the lack of ability to control the technologies it creates. But there are countless more hopeful solutions. For a begin, we’re no longer watching that tough, and we’re spending a pitiful sum of money on it. Handiest a tiny fraction of the celebrities in our galaxy have rather been checked out intently for signs of intriguing signals. And maybe we’re no longer looking the correct manner. Possibly as civilizations increase, they swiftly detect communique technologies some distance extra refined and useful than electromagnetic waves. Perhaps all the action takes location inside the mysterious just lately discovered darkish topic, or darkish power, that appear to account for most of the universe’s mass.Or, possibly we’re watching on the fallacious scale. Possibly smart civilizations come to realize that lifestyles is finally simply problematic patterns of information interacting with each and every different in a gorgeous manner, and that that may occur more effectively at a small scale. So, simply as on this planet, clunky stereo techniques have contracted to beautiful, tiny iPods, possibly clever lifestyles itself, with the intention to curb its footprint on the atmosphere, has turned itself microscopic. So the sunlight procedure maybe teeming with aliens, and we’re just now not noticing them. Perhaps the very ideas in our heads are a type of alien existence. Well, k, that is a crazy inspiration. The aliens made me say it. However it’s cool that recommendations do appear to have a existence all of their possess and that they outlive their creators. Probably organic lifestyles is only a passing segment. Well, inside the subsequent 15 years, we might begin seeing actual spectroscopic understanding from promising neighborhood planets so one can expose simply how existence-friendly they probably.And in the meantime, SETI, the seek for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, is now releasing its data to the general public in order that hundreds of thousands of citizen scientists, might be together with you, can convey the vigor of the gang to become a member of the search. And here on earth, effective experiments are being accomplished to try to create lifestyles from scratch, life that might be very specific from the DNA varieties we all know. All of this will help us fully grasp whether the universe is teeming with life or whether or not, indeed, it’s simply us.Either answer, in its possess way, is awe-inspiring, in view that even though we are on my own, the truth that we feel and dream and ask these questions would but end up one of the vital principal info about the universe. And i’ve one other piece of fine information for you. The search for abilities and working out not ever gets stupid. It would not. It’s genuinely the opposite. The extra you realize, the extra amazing the arena seems. And it is the crazy potentialities, the unanswered questions, that pull us ahead.So stay curious. .

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