[INDEX]
I banked the fire and stared into the golden eyes of Beatale before I crept into my makeshift tent.
I still had my auric vision running and couldn’t help but notice the thin silver cord that ran from me to Horse. Firming up my aura, I reached out with my hand and grabbed it. I could feel the nearly imperceptible vibration between my fingers as I used my mind to probe at the thread. I could feel a bright spark of intellect, a light at the end of a tunnel. Pushing with my mind, I slid down the thread until the spark grew larger and eventually filled my inner vision with a hazy white light. Horsey thoughts nudged at me curiously.
I slid into the haze and immediately lost all sense of direction. If it wasn’t for the silver thread, I’d have no idea how to exit this shifting white fog. Horsey thoughts got stronger as I followed the thread while the haze thinned and cleared to reveal an endless prairie of green grass. I found myself standing before a naked man wearing a horse mask and I stared in shock. It was obviously me wearing a cheap costume horse mask — there was no mistaking my tattoos.
“What did you expect?” Horse neighed at me. “I am you and you are me and we are all together. Goo goo ga joob.”
Horse made a shooing motion with his hands and I accelerated backwards through the white haze and slammed into my own body with a gasp. I stared at the tarp overhead for a long minute, processing this new revelation. Horse was a part of me, a piece of my spirit. Whatever psychic stuff I did with that silver cord lead me into a house of mirrors where I got to look at myself pretending to be a horse. I can’t even deal with that right now.
Rolling into my blankets, I dropped off to sleep.
*Ding*
-=- - Welcome to the Dreamworld - Included in the Psychic Skills pack, the Inner Sanctum is your psychic domain. It is the mental fortress that you must secure and maintain to defend against psychic and spiritual assaults. All of your neurosis and fears are symbolised in this realm and must be defeated or subjugated before you can become master of the domain. Good luck. -=-
I banished the pop-up and looked around. I knew I was asleep, but everything was just as real as when I was awake. I was breathing, I could feel the floor under my feet, and if it weren’t for the pop-up, I would have sworn I had been teleported. The room I was in resembled an oversized luxury prison cell, maybe a thirty foot cube. No windows. Rough stone walls with thick mortar. Large brass wall sconces were set directly into the stone and suffused the room with a warm, golden light provided by glowing rocks. The stone floor had colourful Persian rugs tastefully placed. A high plaster ceiling was painted with a rendition of Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam’, depicting me as both Adam and God.
There was a comfy sofa in front of a large screen television that hung from one wall and an ornate grandfather clock ticked loudly in the corner. It was currently 10:08 PM. Another wall was a floor to ceiling bookshelf, stuffed with books of varying sizes. The third wall was covered with pictures and I could see at a glance that they were images from my life. The fourth wall had a thick riveted steel door on the right side, a full sized mirror on the left, and a computer workstation in the middle.
The picture wall was my first target. A few were quite large, nearly life sized, while others were tiny prints no larger than the palm of my hand. Scenes of my life were displayed in each one. The largest was me riding Horse with a shit-scared expression, shooting at a pack of wolves. Others were smaller, each with different frames. Some ornate gold or silver, others plain wood, a few wrapped in briars or barbed wire. Nanny Ramsey holding me as a young child. My dog Jean with a red ball in his mouth. My parents, screaming at me. I turned my attention to the books. Books are safe. Books don’t judge you.
The sweet, musty scent of a used book store filled my nostrils as I drew close to the honey coloured shelves. Hundreds of volumes filled the wall from floor to ceiling, with a ladder that could be rolled along a rail to access the top. I smiled at the sight. I had always wanted a library like this. I pulled a book at random and read the title, “Confused Fantasies about Joseph Harris, part XXIV of the Middle School Years”.
I slid the book back onto the shelf. Let’s see what’s on TV.
The remote was a slim, futuristic looking affair with a minimum of buttons. I pointed it at the television and moments later the huge screen came to life and presented me with a simple menu for movies, divided into six categories: Happy, Surprised, Afraid, Disgusted, Angry, and Sad. I scrolled through the offerings for a minute, reading the titles and reviews about the movies of my life. It really bothered me that there were so few selections in the Happy section.
The number of Sad movies increased by one.
I walked over to the mirror and noticed there was a small sticky note pasted to it. “Astral Realm. Experienced users only.” I shoved the note in my pocket and stared at my image. Sturdy black boots, black denim jeans and shirt with mother-of-pearl buttons, deep brown gun belt slung at my hip, red bandanna and black felt hat. All I needed was a pencil moustache and I would look like the stereotypical villain in any spaghetti western. At that very moment I decided to grow out a goatee. I’d rather be mistaken for a bad guy than a victim.
So how does this astral realm thing work?
The mirror appeared to be nothing more than a mirror. It was cold, smooth glass surrounded by a wrought iron frame, and reflected my image. I didn’t necessarily want to go walking into danger, but I wanted to know how it worked. I pushed and prodded the glass in frustration until I noticed my image grinning at me. I jumped back in surprise and it doubled over in silent laughter.
“Hilarious, dude. You got me,” I huffed. “So how do I get in?”
My mirror-self tipped his hat and stepped to side.
I reached up to the mirror again and my hand passed through, vanishing as if cut off. Okay, just a quick peek and we’ll explore the rest of the room. I stepped through and the world shifted around me. I was standing back at the campsite. My body was insubstantial as a ghost and the tarp was a wisp of substance running straight through me. Non living things don’t seem to have much presence in this realm. Glancing down, I saw my sleeping body rolled up in the blankets, a thin silver thread running from it to me, and another thread running to Horse.
Looking around, I surveyed the campsite. My astral vision seemed to be on and had an unlimited range. I could see the life all around me, the distant forest was a sea of greenish-gold, grasses and brush nearby glowed with spectral light. Tiny ghost insects scurried while ghost mice nibbled at whatever ghost mice nibble on. Ghost seeds and ghost insects, I suppose. I turned my attention overhead and gaped at the sight of a monstrous serpentine spirit flying through the inky void. I dropped back through the tent and rolled inside my body. That was plenty enough for now.
I rolled through the mirror and landed flat on my back, staring at the fresco on the ceiling. Vinnie-God winked at me and Vinnie-Adam grinned. Climbing to my knees, I brushed non-existent dust from my trousers and watched mirror-me doubled over in soundless laughter.
“Hey, laughing-boy!” I yelled at him. “You’re like the guardian or something, right? You got it covered?”
Mirror-me stood and saluted with a smile, then gave me two thumbs up. A moment later, his face took on a serious expression and he wriggled his right hand in the ‘maybe’ motion. Then he pointed at me, tapped his wrist, and then a finger to his head.
It all depends on how fast I learn stuff, I guess.
Two thumbs up and a winning smile reflected back to me.
A large cork board was mounted to the wall over the computer and a small note was pinned to it. “Note to self: Don’t fuck with the Elvish womens.”
The computer screen featured a screensaver of me as Vitruvian Man doing callisthenics over the words ‘HumanOS’. I tapped the spacebar and was rewarded with the sound of powerful fans kicking to life as the computer emerged from sleep mode and prompted me for a password. Should I assume it’s the same as the password on the computer I pawned in my previous life?
Password: *******esi
I was rewarded with a sweet R&M desktop and a couple of icons. System, NeuralNet, My-Tunes, My-Movies, My-Office.
System was just what I expected, lots of .dna files and other confusing scariness that allowed me to tweak my physical body and mental state. My-Tunes was a collection of every song I’d ever heard and My-Movies was a collection of every movie I’d ever seen. Not that I’m complaining, but it would have been nice to have “My-Games” so I could play RDR. My-Office was a clone of the popular software by a similar name. I have no idea what I’ll ever need a spreadsheet for in this world.
NuralNet opened up a search engine called Me-Seeks, featuring a familiar blue guy.
I typed in “beer” and several thousand results were displayed, anything I’d ever read, heard, or watched about beer, including how to make it. This right here made the price of admission totally worth it, access to an exact copy of everything I’d ever read, and I was a voracious reader. Sadly, most of the stuff I read was futurology — solar panels, electronics, biotech advancements, quantum computing. The material for steam engines, blacksmithing, farming and the like, were slim pickings. That’s okay though, I could still reproduce the Gutenberg press, the cotton gin, simple internal combustion engines, and basic batteries along with some sketchy knowledge of metal alloys, acids, bases, and other things I had read over the years. All that wasted time watching “How Things Work” was finally going to pay off. I copied a few likely money makers to My-Office, saved the file, and exported to my Notes, just in case they didn’t exist on Aerth.
A popup covered the screen.
📱 [New Upgrade Available!] 📱
🎉 Enhance Your Experience with the Latest HumanOS Features! 🎉
🌟 Features Include:

• 🧠 Memory Booster: Increase your Memory for smoother multitasking and improved performance.
• 🔋 Energy Optimizer: Extend your battery life with advanced power-saving techniques.
• 🛠️ Utility Upgrades: Access new apps and utilities to enhance your daily life and adventures.
• 🗺️ Advanced Mapping: Never get lost again with enhanced GPS and location tracking.

🔥 Special Offer: Only 2000 credits for version 2.0 or 5000 credits for version 3.0! 🔥
[Upgrade Now ✅] [Remind Me Later ❌]
Apparently I could upgrade myself, which reduced the cost of using my Utilities while providing other minor benefits. My Utilities would level up as I used them, which would increase their battery cost, so if I didn’t keep pace with an update to the OS they could become prohibitively expensive to operate.
Stupid pay-to-win world.
So, do I pay 2000 credits for version 2.0 or 5000 credits for version 3.0?
I selected version 3.0 and klicked [Install]. After watching it download the update, it popped up another screen that asked if I wanted to update now, or wait until Midnight for the mandatory update.
I selected [No] just as the grandfather clock chimed 10:30 PM. I wondered if time ran slower in here, because it seemed like I had spent a lot more time on the computer than 15 minutes. Walking over to the imposing steel door, I noticed a bronze key with a thin chain in the lock. There was another sticky note on the door. “Subconscious. Please keep the key with you at all times.”
That’s not scary at all, is it?
I unlocked the door with a loud clunk and pulled it open to reveal a bedroom straight out of some royal castle. I could tell immediately that it had seen better days. The tapestries on the wall were frayed and fading. The canopy over the bed had a few holes in it. A thin layer of dust covered the mantle of a small fireplace set into the wall. There was a window letting in bright sunlight and I moved over to look outside.
I was on the third floor of a keep surrounded by the walls and turrets of a modest castle. A castle that had fallen into serious disrepair. Did this represent the state of my inner mind? One tower was shattered and the curtain wall under it damaged. The lower bailey was full of litter. I could see a few soldiers walking around the allure, keeping watch.
I have people in my subconscious?
Someone behind me cleared their throat.
Whirling, I discovered a familiar old man standing in the door of the bedroom. What was left of his hair formed a white halo around his head, his face was unshaven and covered with several days of growth. He was dressed like a poor and tattered manservant, but carried himself with a dignified air.
“Woodhouse?”
“It’s nice to see the master at home,” He said with a proper English accent. “There are many matters that require the master’s attention.”
“Uh, sure,” I said, hanging the key around my neck and tucking it in my shirt. “And who are you again?”
“Your personal manservant, of course” he said with a slight bow. Walking over to the steel door, he pulled it closed and it locked with a solid thunk. “Master should always keep his inner sanctum closed. One never knows if something nasty will creep in.”
“Thank you, uh, Woodhouse. I’ll remember that,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “So what needs tending and how do things work around here?”
He smiled and beckoned me with a white gloved hand. “If master would be so kind as to follow me, I’ll introduce him to the staff and explain the duties and obligations of his domain.”
I’m 99.9% certain that everyone here is just me wearing a mask, so I shrugged and followed Woodhouse out of the bedroom and into the rest of my subconscious.
Five minutes later I was on the ground floor and seated on a shabby throne with the cast of a popular —and probably very copyright protected— animation in front of me. Woodhouse was the head butler and my personal manservant. Pam was the cook and demanded that I start importing sugar and alcohol before she was shushed by Woodhouse. Carol was a maid. Krieger was chancellor and Cyril was the steward. Archer and Lana were in charge of security. Ray was the marshal in charge of everything from the stables to the blacksmith.
I stared in disbelief at the motley crew kneeling in front of me. No wonder my inner mind was in such shambles. I was overcome with an irrational sense of anger at myself.
“Arright, listen up,” I barked, my voice echoing around the room. “I swear to God that I will fire every single one of you and hire circus clowns to replace you if you keep fucking things up. No joke. Circus clowns, got it?”
I ran a hand over my face as Ray pissed himself. “The only reason I’m not putting a boot in your asses right now is because I realise that you’re aspects of me, and the people you represent are pretty damn good at their jobs when they give enough of a shit to actually do them. As a team, you’re dysfunctionally fantastic and always seem to come out ahead no matter the odds.”
Heaving a sigh, I continued. “Things have changed and I need to get my shit together. I’m going to need every one of you to pull your weight and help me help you. Get back to your duties, I’ll meet you one on one later.”
My subconscious caretakers scurried out of the room.
“I’ll have one of the maids tend to the piss,” Woodhouse assured me.
“Never mind that,” I snapped. “I honestly had no idea my mind was such a shit show. I’m very disappointed in myself.” I pictured the Angry, Sad, and Disgusted counters on my personal movies clicking up. “Show me what needs to be done and let’s get started.”
During Woodhouse’s walking tour, everything clicked into place. This was some altered version of Bodiam castle, a location that was on my bucket list of places to visit. The royal council room, located behind the throne room, contained a “living” tapestry on the wall that showed the castle and surrounding land in real time. The castle was located in the middle of a small lake, and a single wood bridge led to the mainland. A small town surrounded the lake and a wall encircled the town. Outside the wall, the land was an irregular patchwork of forest and field, with a stinking swamp to the south. The entire “kingdom” was maybe ten miles across, surrounded by impassable mountains with innumerable creeks that fed the lake which drained into the southern swamp.
“Zombies are the problem, sir.” Woodhouse said, as I surveyed the living tapestry of my mental domain.
“Zombies?” I prompted.
“Yes sir, Zombies” Woodhouse continued. “Nasty bitey things that come in from the mountains and harass the peasants. They’ve gotten especially worse over the last few months. The soldiers do what they can, but they seem to have lost all motivation. Probably because they haven’t been paid.”
“And who pays them?”
“Typically chancellor Krieger is in charge of financial matters, although Steward Figgis has taken over the duty, sir.”
“Then let’s make Figgis our first stop.”
“Very good, sir.”
The office of the steward was run by Cyril Figgis, who managed the kingdom in my absence. It was overflowing with paperwork and charts, books and scrolls piled high on every flat surface. Cyril was desperately attempting to tidy things when Woodhouse and I walked in.
“Yo..you..your majesty,” Cyril stuttered, bowing low. Scrolls fell from his overloaded arms, spilling across the floor. He dropped to his knees and scrambled to gather them up. “I didn’t expect you to visit so soon. Please forgive the mess, housekeeping has been slacking…”
This was the guy who ran things while I was conscious.
“Shut up, Cyril” I said. “You’re responsible for everything in this office. That includes keeping it organised and tidy.”
“Y..yes milord.”
“It’s my understanding that you’re in charge of making sure everyone gets paid. So why aren’t we paying people?” I asked.
“We’re nearly out of Fuks, your majesty. I’ve been saving them for emergencies.”
“Fucks?”
“Fuks,” Cyril explained, pushing a pile of books off a large chest and opening it. Reaching inside he pulled out two small bags and emptied them on top of his cluttered desk. “Gold and Silver Fuks, the currency of the kingdom. I can’t maintain the kingdom when I have no Fuks to give.”
Behold the subconscious kingdom of Vincent J. Carter, it runs on Fuks.
“So how do I get more fuks?” I asked, examining one of the coins. It had an image of me on one side and symbol on the other that could be interpreted as “peace among worlds”.
“You kill the zombies, your majesty.”
Of course I do.
Woodhouse and I left Cyril’s office and headed towards the office of the chancellor where Krieger worked. It seemed that Cyril took over financial matters when Krieger became erratic and proposed luring all the zombies into the city and setting it on fire. Not sure how that corresponds to my own self-destructive behaviour, but I’ve had some dark thoughts over the last couple of months and I’m sure they’re reflected here.
Krieger’s office was much neater in comparison to Cyril’s, but it wasn’t by much. Shelves lined the walls and were filled with an array of questionable items, including a still snapping zombie head in a jar. While the office of the chancellor was supposed to be in charge of financial matters, it looked more like a dodgy rummage sale.
Krieger was launching sword blades at a pig carcass when we walked in.
“What exactly are you doing?” I asked, standing in the doorway.
“Hm? Oh, your majesty!” he said, turning around and bowing deeply. “I’m testing a new invention. It’s a spring loaded hilt that shoots sword blades. Very useful for our soldiers.”
“Stupidest idea ever,” I snapped. “I hate everything about it.”
“Okay,” Krieger said, tossing the hilt into a nearby pile of junk. “But don’t blame me when you need to shoot a sword at a zombie and don’t have one.”
“So why aren’t you managing the financial affairs? Collecting taxes, paying people, stuff like that?”
“Because the population has declined so much none of that matters?”
“What do you mean?”
“Wellll, the population represents things you care about,” Krieger said, going into lecture mode. “And the zombies and other monsters are real or imagined problems in your way. Since you don’t care about too many things the population has shrunk to just what’s needed to keep everything running on the bare minimum of fuks. And since you don’t seem to have any long or short term goals, there’s no need to kill off the zombies and get more fuks. Everything is fine just the way it is.”
“No, it’s not Krieger” I said, grinding my teeth. “My mind is in a shambles. It’s a joke. I want it fixed. No, I want it better than fixed. I want it improved.”
“Oh! I’ve got just the thing for that!” He said, digging around in his pockets, “It’s a spring-loaded hilt that shoots swords!”
Pam and Cheryl were hanging out a gallery window jeering at Archer and Lana sparring in the inner courtyard.
“What the hell are you doing!” I snapped
They whirled in surprise and then dropped into deep curtseys.
“Your majesty!”
I took a deep breath, trying to regain my centre. “Get to work cleaning this place up. Find a room, clean it, and move on to the next. Start with my bedroom, then the throne room and the council chamber, then everything else.”
Cheryl spoke up. “Can’t do it. We got no fuks to clean with.”
“You need fuks to clean?”
“Gotta buy stuff,” Pam said. “Cleaning supplies, food. You wanna eat, you’re gonna have to spend some fuks.”
“Talk to Cyril,” I ordered. “Tell him I said to get you supplied.”
They ran off in the direction of the stewards office.
I watched Archer and Lana bashing each other enthusiastically through the window.
Several minutes later the sparring couple stopped and bowed when Woodhouse and I stepped into the inner courtyard.
“Your majesty”
“My liege”
“Enough,” I said. “If you have enough energy to smash each other, you have enough energy to smash zombies. Tell me what I need to know so I can start gathering fuks.”
Archer shrugged and spoke first. “You just kill the zombies and other monsters. They drop fuks.”
“Anything special about the zombies?” I asked. “Are they fast? Do people get turned into zombies when bitten?”
“Nope,” Lana said, resting her wooden sword on her shoulder. “Most of them are slow shamblers and just need a good wack to the head to kill them.”
“Some are special,” Archer interjected. “Occasionally you’ll have some fast ones, or those that need holy water to kill. They’re just bad memories, figments of your personality that need to be eliminated. Some are worse than others.”
“The zombies are bad memories?” I asked, imagining all the bad memories that I had.
“Memories, thoughts, insecurities, metaphysical mumbo-jumbo,” Woodhouse supplied. “They are endless, but constant vigilance can keep them under control.”
“So let’s get started,” I said. “Lead the way.”
Lana and Archer lead me up to the parapet over the front gate where I looked over at the dozens of zombies milling about aimlessly in front of the entrance to my mind. Pulling out my gun, I began to pick them off, easy as shooting fish in a barrel. The crack of my spell pistol attracted more zombies and I dispatched them with ease until no more were left around the gate. As I fired each shot I could feel some sort of existential energy flowing from me, draining some hidden reserve.
“Gather up the Fuks,” I commanded. “And Lana?”
“Mi’lord?”
“There’s no excuse for this. From now on, I expect the walls to be clear of all zombies.”
“Yes mi’lord,” she said, giving me a small bow.
Turning to Archer, I shook my head. “You’re obviously my personal narcissism, so just try to stay out of Lana’s way, or better yet - try to kill more zombies than her. If you think you can.”
Archer scoffed. “No contest. I took top marks in sharpshooting.”
“That means I should expect to see results by tomorrow. I look forward to it.”
Archer looked panicked for a moment then smiled. “Sure, I can give you results.”
Turning back to Woodhouse I said “Show me what else need attending.”
Woodhouse led me through the town that represented my mind, pointing out each business that had fallen into disrepair, suggested others that needed improvements, and additions that would benefit me. In the distance, I could hear Lana and Archer shooting at the crowd of zombies and with each echoing shot I felt a tiny bit better about everything.
[INDEX]

1. Go to the press
Don’t stay put at Mr. Kharge’s residence. Head out to the TV Studios NOW and join the exit-poll discussions this evening on the front foot. Deciding not to go to was/is a bad idea. Rethink it. Present your view to the people directly to bypass the rigged system. Presence of faces and voices will also help everyone visualise what an alternative govt. could look like and get momentum going. Throw some names of potential ministers. Leave some options open for realpolitik. Preferably, have some big guns leading this media drive. Why can’t Rahul Gandhi do it personally on at least one channel? Shashi Tharoor and Arvind Kejriwal (out till tomorrow only) could join. BJP’s unlikely to field senior spokesmen. It’s going to be the usual three S’s: Swapan Dasgupta, Sudhanshu Trivedi and Surjit Bhalla. Surely some senior I.N.D.I.A. politicians can steal a march over them.
2. Claim victory, both electoral and moral
Irrespective of exit poll results, claim the final vote is going to be anti-BJP (message is to woo the NDA allies to your block if push came to shove) and clarify/warn that post-poll alliances or defections to NDA will weaken such allies and defectors in state elections because that’d be defying the public mandate. If exit-polls show close results or tilt towards the opposition, all the merrier.
3. Raise bogeys
Red-flag all potential obstacles and threats: ECI, President’s Office, Horse-trading etc. so any arm-twisting becomes embarrassing and difficult later. Dare/Pressurise powers to be to call largest coalition/block over single largest party.
4. Keep flock together
Nothing to explain. Remember Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and how fickle winning tickets and final allegiances can be.
If the I.N.D.I.A block does all this, people will take them seriously. The indian voter has likely given them as big an opportunity as possible. If they can't grab this chance, they'll likely be eroded in the coming five years and the future and demonstrate a fear of success and inability to see things through. BJP's uncharacteristic political missteps like having a long-drawn election cycle and persecuting political opponents shows they're as fallible as they're ever likely to be in the short to medium term. But are they listening? We'll see. It'll be telling, one way or the other.

Splinter is inspired by the slicing and mirror powers that the witness uses during the lightfall and tfs trailer. This is basically just a fun idea as to what a 'witness subclass' would look like.
Visuals: The splinter subclass would have its designs consist of broken glass and reflecting mirrors. Its energy would be a pale red with bright white streaks. Enemies killed by a splinter debuff would have look as if they were sliced into red segments before disappearing. Lore: If stasis is control and strand is going with the flow, splinter is ignorance. Rather than controlling or flowing with the universe, you have to actively deny its rules to use splinter. The witness carved a hole in the traveller by ignoring the strength of its shell.
GAMEPLAY:
Verbs:
Cut - enemys hit by cut take a small amount of damage and are given one stack of cut. If they receive 100 stacks, they will be hit by dismantle.
Visual: Cut would look like a small red slice going across the enemy's body
Dismantle - when an enemy is 'dismantled' they will receive a moderate amount of damage over the course of 1.5 seconds. Other enemies hit by dismantle will be given a varying amount of cut stacks, depending for how long they were in the aoe. Cut and dismantle would be your bread and butter for general ad clear. Dismantle would also stun overloads.
Visual: Where cut is one single slice, dismantle is a flurry of these slices going across the inflicted targets body, as if they're being diced.
Displacement - enemies affected by displacement are initially slowed by 60%, before going back to normal speed over the course of 3 seconds. Projectiles slowed by displacement are permanently slowed by 50%, and their damage decreased by 15%.
In pvp: Displacement would slow players by 30% and gradually return them to normal over 3 seconds.
Visual: Normal enemies that have been displaced would look like segment of their body have been cut offer and separated. These pieces eventually fuse back together as the slow effect decreases. Boss enemies would simply have a red hue to show they have been affected by displacement.
Rend - A high power single tick of damage in a small radius. This would be more helpful for taking care of healthier targets quickly. Hitting a barrier champion while they are shielded stuns them.
Visual: Rend would appear like a gash in the air, as if the universe itself was cut open. This gash would stay for half a second after a rend attack. This gash would look similar to the portals made by vergil in dmc5 (although more red instead of blue)
Guard points (splinter's main gimmick) When using a splinter powered melee, the first 0.3 seconds of the attack while have a guard point. If an enemy hits while the guard point is up, you will receive 60% reduced damage and be immune to one shots. It will also boost the damage of the melee by 50%. Projectiles will also proc the guard point depending on the overall damage of the projectile. Enemies hit by a guard point empowered melee are briefly flinched.
Visual/audio: When in the 'guard point stance' your guardian will radiate red splinter energy with white streaks. When hitting the guard point, the white streaks will turn black and make it resemble an impact frame.
The audio and animation of the melee would also change to make the attack feel more impactful.
Reflective plating - while reflectjve plating is active, gain 20% dr and empower your guard points to be more effective. Guard points with reflecting plate now active in the first 0.7 seconds of the melee rather 0.3, and will increase the damage resistance to 90%. Lastly, projectiles that hit the guardian while guard point is active will reflect back to the enemy (although for reduced damage)
In pvp: The only difference with pvp is that your head hit box will not be immune to one shots.
Visual: Reflective plating will look similar to guard point, the energy will just be much less intense.
Rupert drop (probably not what it would be in game but bubbles already taken) - Rupert drops are the splinter subclass pickups (even though you don't actually pick them up). Rupert drops are a hybrid between stasis crystals and tangles. They can be for either cover or they can be shot to pop into a small cutting explosion. When shot by their creator or allies, rupert drops will move away from where they were hit, the bigger tha damage, the faster it moves. Ruperts drop would have a 15 second cool down and be generated by killing enemies with rend.
Visual: Rupert drops would look like giant bubbles roughly the size of a guardian. when taking damage, they slow crystallize before exploding into shards of glass.
When spawning in. The rupert's drop would look as if its slowly being formed by pieces of glass coming out of the gash made by the rend.
Grenades:
Shred grenade - explodes on impact to create a moderately sized explosion (slightly larger than a scatter grenade) that would deal a total of 110 stack of cut over the course of 0.75 seconds.
Cleave grenade - sticks to target before exploding into a small radius rend attack.
Dispersing grenade - explodes into a field of displacement that slowly implodes to create a small displacement explosion. The initial field would act similarly to a dusk field grenade, while the implosion would be similar to a snare bomb in damage.
Subclasses:
Each of the subclasses would mirror the arc subclasses in a way, Since splinter would be the darkness antithesis to arc (like solastasis, void/strand)
Ronin - hunter subclass Where arcstriders use their hand to hand prowess and expertise with the pole arm, Ronin use their skill with the blade to fell even the largest of does with a single slash.
Ronins are inspired primarily by heroes from old samurai movies. Wandering swordsman who could defeat armies with nothing but their trusted sword.
The gameplay fantasy of ronin would consist of well timed guard points and high power single target damage using rending attacks. The subclass would have a higher skill ceiling than most, rewarding knowledge of enemy attack patterns with high damage attacks.
Melee - Unsheathing strike (2 charges) Striking enemies with your katana inflicts them with 30 stacks of cut. Standing still before attacking will increase the damage of the strike by 15%. When empowered by a guard point, the strike will deal 60 stacks of cut in a large radius.
Visual: The splinter katana's is made up of various uneven panes of broken glass. When empowered, the katana's blade goes from red and white to pure black.
Super - shimmering blade (roaming/one off) The Ronin unsheathes their blade when beginning the super. While in super, there are 2 attacks. Light attack - fast slashes that each deal 40 stacks of cut. Heavy attack - quickly sheathe the blade and become immobile. Releasing the attack button has the Ronin slash the air and rend every enemy in a large radius. This attack ends the super immediately.
Holding the attack for a longer period of time increases the damage of the rends, fully maxxing out at an 80% boost.
During the release of the attack, a guard point is active for 0.3 seconds (0.7 when reflective plating is active). Hitting the guard point immediately increases the attack damage to 80%, while also further boosting the range and damage by 15%.
Aspect 1 - crossguard slash After a successful guard point, follow up with a second slash that rends the opponent. Killing an enemy with slash regenerates 50% of your melee charge.
Aspect 2 - quickdraw sheathe Gives hunter a guard point during initial activation. Successful guard points now boost class a ability regeneration by 150% for 4 seconds.
Blastmarine - Titan subclass Blastmarines mirror arc strikers as both are 'soldier' subclasses. Where strikers are frontline fighters, blastmarines are the 'heavy artillery' weapons experts of their fireteam.
Where ronin are calm, collected samurai, Blast marines are loud, explosive 80s action heroes. Big guys with bigger guns.
The blastmarine gameplay fantasy consist of being the heavy weapons guy, battling the hordes of their enemies with their cutting and dismantling projectiles.
Melee - Knucklebuster Raise your left arm briefly (this is when the guard point is active) before cocking back their right arm's wrist cannon. Hitting enemies with this inflicts them with 50 stacks of cut. When empowered, the radius of the blast is increased and inflicts 80 stacks of cut
Visual: The guard point would resemble a boxer blocking a punch before counter attacking with a jab. The wrist cannon would resemble the red arm punch from ultrakill. The attack would also end with the blastmarine pumping their arm like a shotgun (cus it would look cool)
Super - devastator cannon (one off) The blastmarine would ready the cannon onto their shoulder (similarly to a scorch cannon). The cannon would need to be charged fo a short period before firing. The initial blast would deal high single target damage before imploding into this cloud large cloud of dismantling slashes. This cloud would last front seconds before disappearing.
Visual: the devastator cannon would look similar to a halo spartan laser, just much bigger and with a much bigger blast radius.
Aspect 1 - coverfire blaster Rally barricades now spawn in a heavy cannon for the blastmarine and their allies to pickup. This cannon fires at 300 rpm and has a total 25 rounds that it can fire before disappearing. These shots have a small aoe effect and each deal 20 stacks of cut. Continuous damage with the turret Grant's reflective plating. This aspect would act similarly to a gauss cannon from halo.
Aspect 2 - ballistic bombard
Enhance the functionally of your splinter grenades.
Shred grenade - improved radius and total damage and duration (now deals 170 stacks of cut over 1.5 seconds) Cleave grenade - can now be charged to skip across the ground up to 3 times. Each bounce creates a rend.
Dispersing grenade - increased radius of initial field and increased damage of implosion. Initial field now pulls in enemies and flinches them.
Glassformer - warlock subclass (name tbd) Where stormcaller is harmony within, the glassformer embraces the chaos of splinter to conquer the battlefield.
glassformers are inspired from crackpot scientists from monster movie. Creating inconceivable creations.
The gameplay of glassformers revolves around using rupert drops and creating unpredictable combinations.
Melee - broken flurry (2 charges) The glassformer sends a burst of 8 panes of splinter. Each pane inflicts 6 stacks of cut. When empowered, the total amount of panes increases from 8 to 12, they also can increased tracking to targets.
Visual: Each of the panes would shoot off from the glassformer's fingertips. When empowered, the panes turn black.
Super - razing burst (one off) The glassformer raises a giant ruperts drop infront of them, before slashing it with their splinter infused hand and rending it, this creates a large ape explosions that dismantle enemies in its radius. Enemies near the giant gashes are slowly pulled in.
Visual: Razing burst is essentially a large spherical blender that would pull in enemies not originally caught in its blast.
Aspect 1 - fracturing chasm Rends now linger for a longer duration and suck in enemies in radius of it. Killing enemies that are pulled grants reflective plating.
Aspect 2 - chromatic concoction Inflicting ruperts drops with elemntal verbs gives the explosion that property. (For example, applying jolt to the rupert's drop gives the explosion jolt.) A singular bubble can hold up to 3 new verbs.
Visual: When a verb is given to the ruperts drop, the respective subclass energy will begin swirling around the inside of the drop. The more verbs, the more colours swirling around.
Fragments: Fragments would be obtained similarly to strand, killing enemies with splinter will have a chance to give a 'shard of splinter'
Killing targets with rend reduces rupert's drop cooldown (0.5 seconds per enemy)
Apply more cut stacks
Picking up orbs of power grants reflective plating
Rapid finale blows with dismantle grant grenade energy
Precision finale blows against displaced enemies creates a displacing explosion
Super finale blows create cutting explosions.
Conclusion: I'm ngl this post is wayyyy longer than I thought it'd be. I wanted to just spitball an idea I had the other day for a new subclass

I used to want to be an artist, even though my major is Math. I thought I would have no connection to Art for the rest of my life because I failed to learn drawing twice due to heavy academic stress. However, computer graphics reignited my hope. But after the burst of AI-generated content (AIGC), I fell into despair again. For a while, I believed learning drawing and programming would be useless, and that I would be useless too. Now, after two years of the AI boom, I have calmed down and reflected on some common opinions about AI art and other skills affected by AI. Here, I will share my thoughts on these opinions regarding AIGC and human-made art.
Opinion 1:AI will make human artists lose their jobs quickly
my thoughts: When the first computer came out, there was a prediction by Thomas Watson, the president of IBM in 1943, that “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” Since the 1980s and the invention of the internet, computers have become tens of thousands of times faster, and learning programming is now one hundred times easier. However, the number of programmers hasn't decreased; instead, it has skyrocketed. This parallels the situation of artists since the AI boom. Even though AI is powerful, artists can still better guide AI. As the price for good artwork declines, more demand will be created. In the short term, some artists may lose their jobs, but in the long run, more demand will emerge. Additionally, current AI isn't that powerful; many logical and structural errors often occur. I also doubt whether current AI can generate animations with the stunning turbulence or fragmentations of millions of pieces that are common in Hollywood movies.
Opinion 2:AI will let a regular person to generate a stunning artwork easily
my thoughts: Although it is tempting to imagine such advancements, I have to say this may not happen in the coming decades. Current AI has become increasingly complex. For instance, Stable Diffusion now has plugins like ComfyUI and many others, indicating that AI is evolving into professional software. As we often say, complexity doesn't disappear; it just transfers elsewhere. The same holds true for AI-generated content (AIGC).Also, Natural language is inherently vague. For example, I learned some visual effcts and I learned that in order to make some cool effects, the only way to describe it is via algorithms instead of natural language. And many aspects, such as configuration of an image and some nuanced thoughts, can't be precisely described in natural language. Therefore, AI software is deemed to become increasingly complex.
Opinion 3:learning drawing skills will be useless due to AI, artistic taste matters
my thoughts: I think such opinions are hilarious. It's like telling a programmer that programming skills don't matter at AI age and only programming taste does. The only way to develop good programming taste is by diligently learning foundational computer science concepts, such as data structures, algorithms, operating systems, and computer networks, and by accumulating engineering abilities through years of coding. Even though mature libraries and AI have reduced the effort required to implement these things by hundreds of times, these tools only raise the lower bound. To break through the upper bound, you still need to master this fundamental knowledge. The same holds true for artists. To break through the upper bound, foundational knowledge such as perspective, human anatomy, and color theory is still crucial. The only way to develop good artistic taste is by mastering these fundamentals.
***********************************************************
these are many my thoughts, what are your thoughts

One of our long time Dota and real life friends is getting married today, and we came up with a special gift card for him. It will be a cooking course together.
Please upvote so he can see it on front page :)
Translation from german: For your eternal Soulbind we like to Purge your Insateable Hunger. The Motto: Let them Cook! In a cooking class with diverse Facets, your Talents and Abilities will be levelled up. Knowing you are Fan of Knives, there will be sharp Laguna Blades only. Purifying Flames are gonna Ignite the stove. 100% misschance on Fresh Meat because Lina aahh Lena preferes to Devour Tangoes. After the Main Feast, Smoke into Wombo Combo with Firesnap Cookies, Coconut, Mangoes and Block of Cheese. Bottle refills off cooldown counter your Thirst. Cooking skill rank gain from Legend to Divine is in the Baaaag. Double Down for friendly teammates and good team coordination. GG EZ, no buyback. PS.: 5 reports if Abandoning this gift. Results in Low Priority friendship and 0 Behaviour Score.
https://www.instagram.com/npnpdota?igsh=MWFoYXBwNXI0enl0OQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Basically as the title says, what is a tool you or your org would subscribe or buy that doesn't exist on the market, but would help you massively on productivity or product delivery?
​
To start it, we've been on the hunt lately for a simple Service Catalog and Portfolio with approval management software that allows our tenants Self Service on our infrastructure (which is built on top of a multi-tenant strategy). Most of our configuration management is done over Ansible/AWX, hence using a native RedHat solution would make sense.
Initially we explored Backstage and Port.io, but it meant we had to do a lot of integration to make it work, so we started investigating solutions that used Ansible as a
After initial investigation, I came across this Red Hat Ansible Automation feature, called Ansible Services Catalog:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryNEJuyvEl0
This module would pretty much fit all our needs and would justify migration to the commercial Ansible Automation Platform, but unfortunately it got moved out of the product to let ServiceNow handle the Self Service:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmPXiRHjgRY&t=866s
Some ~ good news was that an open-source upstream project was started to maintain this module, called Pinakes, but the bad news is that the last commit dates 2 years ago:
https://github.com/ansible/pinakes
We came across a new open-source project called Squest (backed by HP):
https://github.com/HewlettPackard/squest
After trying it out, the whole product looked a bit cumbersome and it does not support a multi-tenant model, so the proposal to integrate Squest got thrown out of the window.
​
So we started looking for ways to build our own service catalog. We designed how the back-end and the concept would work, what we needed was how to build the front-end. As a pure cloud/devops team with extensive system engineering and back-end expertise, front-end is the only skill we're missing.
We looked at some frameworks, Patternfly used by RedHat to name a few (https://www.patternfly.org/), but we just couldn't go down the rabbit hole to start maintaining yet another in-house project which nobody had a clue how to build.
Turns out frameworks like Streamlit or NiceGUI are too good until they are not, so this whole project to introduce the Service Catalog got paused for now.
We would definitely need a way to easily build front-ends without going the extensive *.js route, or a product that fulfills most of our requirements.
What is a similar story you've had on your shop?

I (m31) admit that I have been partially dismissive of my (w30) wife’s desires (not needs). I’ve been incredibly busy with work and career progression in the past years, ~3 to be precise, and while I have (at least I believe to) have fulfilled all the more important responsibilities towards our relationship, the wife has brought up on several occasions that we haven’t been as close lately. Now that my situation has settled, I have found myself with more energy and time to spare. Last night I’ve cooked her favourite meal, I’ve tidied and cleaned the entire house, and I’m just generally doing more than her when it comes to house chores. We are a team and I don’t see this as a problem, nor does it bother me. Please understand that I haven’t neglected my share, it’s that if I would put a number on it, i was doing about 40-30% of the work while she picked up my slack. Now, in the past few weeks, I’ve been pretty much doing everything except the laundry. Not sure how relevant this is to the conversation, it’s more present here for the purposes of prevebting being erroneously judged on home maintenance matters.
Returning to the dismissal - it’s more related to quality time together. Dates and activities. While I’ve been mindful and present for the usual women’s day, bday, wedding anniversary, etc, I pretty much flat out refused the short trips and activities that we were accustomed to doing before this period.
I would like to resume our former habits.
Would I be wrong for planning activities when she has more positive vibes? We all avoid certain activities and conversations when their decision making is influenced by their hormones. Please don’t dismiss my wife’s behaviour and lived experience- i realise that not all women are affected equally by their hormones. This is not how the relationship started, but by spending years together, we’ve both realised that accommodating her monthly experience has improved our communication skills and brought us closer. I’ve gotten to learn pretty much everything there is to learn about her, and I’m quite positive that is reciprocated. Disclaimer: this doesn’t mean that I’m disregarding her desires outside of that magical week, but rather planning the bigger activities/experiences during her days post period.

Hi, I’m located in Chicago, IL and am an admin assistant employed through a staffing agency. 25 y/o if that matters. I was hired on a temp to hire basis with the client stating they wanted to permanently fill the role after my three month contract. As is typical for these roles, they just keep extending the contract monthly, heavily implying that a permanent position will be offered soon but i’m on month seven now and i’m being given the run around.
Upon beginning this position I inquired with my recruiter at the staffing agency whether I have sick pay and he said no. Two months ago I started having some health issues that made it really hard to come to work. I’ve been pushing myself extremely hard to show up and work on days when i’ve been in a lot of pain because I can’t afford a shortened check. A big part of my job is stocking so I have to lift and move a lot of boxes each week, and I have to do it all myself.
I had been calling my recruiter multiple times over the past weeks to see what the status of my contract being switched to a permanent role is because it was getting increasingly hard to not have sick time off. I made him fully aware of my condition and struggles at work related to it, and he told me twice over the phone that I do not have sick pay but he empathizes with my situation and will look into my contract conversation but he would never get back.
I usually fill out my timecard on my laptop, but i did it on my phone last week and i noticed there was a section that said “sick” with a number of hours next to him. I emailed my recruiter a screenshot of it asking what it meant since I don’t have sick time? And also called him out for never replying to my inquiries. He replied and said that I do in fact have sick time and he apologizes for the misinformation.
My question is whether this was a violation of my workplace rights because I was lied to about the benefits I have. I was told that I don’t have sick pay over the phone so there is no proof of that, but in the email he apologized for the misinformation. If I tactfully respond to the email to get him to admit that he explicitly told me I don’t have those benefit multiple times is there any legal action I can take? Even without that, is there anything I can pursue with his existing apology?
I’m going to try and pursue back pay for my accrued hours as i’ve had to take days off for being sick which were unpaid. If they deny me this, is that another thing that I could potentially take action against? I want to get paid out for the accrued hours now because they could end my contract at any second and then I wouldn’t be able to retrieve those funds.
I know emotions don’t play a factor here, but I have called my recruiter sobbing over the last weeks to tell him at the end of my rope because I am in so much pain and i need sick pay and each time he said he would look into my contract but he didn’t. One email was all it would’ve taken for him to inquire about my sick pay and it would’ve made things so much easier for me. I know employees don’t matter anywhere, especially low level office bitches like me, but i’m disheartened because I genuinely have been killing myself at this job. Staying late and working through lunches because after my manager quit they just gave all her work to me. It’s only me and another assistant on site and everyone I report to is out of state. It’s just been so hard and I don’t want to just lie down and take this if there’s anything I can do. Thanks in advance.

I recently saw a post here about how to get started with Excel and checked out the top comment. I was amazed at how resourceful you all are—I took notes and wanted to genuinely thank everyone who puts in the effort to help others.
I'm a newbie in Excel, planning to start with the basics on YouTube (please share any recommendations if you have them). I’m thinking of starting with "Excel Is Fun" (heard about it from this sub). If any of you have used his content, could you suggest the best order to begin my learning journey, given his extensive playlist?
My motivation to learn Excel is to add this skill to my resume, and I'm genuinely excited to start from scratch. I’d really appreciate it if anyone could share a fresh roadmap for topics to cover on day one or specific YouTube videos to watch. I'll try to post updates here daily to keep myself accountable and to share my progress.
Thank you for reading this. Hopefully, with effort and experience, I’ll be able to give advice to others here one day!

last time nakapunta ako sa toycon was 2019 pa lf pwede maka-date sa toycon purely sfw pwede natin sundan ng another date if nagustuhan natin vide ng isat isa basta sana same page tayo na ang goal is long term relationship.
me: - 32yo, 5'7, med build fit naman thanks sa bike, mahaba buhok - ndi religious and may pagka left leaning ang politics. - works in tech field, mid shift, hybrid wfh sa taguig office. - INTJ, heavily introverted pero kung same interest tayo nagiging madaldal ako. - has car pero d pa ganun ka-confident sa driving skills hobbies/interest: - anime(steins gate, berserk, eureka seven, gurren laggan recently enjoyed bocchi the rock and kara no kyoukai) - video game(mostly jrpgs, currently into baldurs gate 3) - movies(trainspotting, full metal jacket and reservoir are some of my faves) - music(jpop/jrock at 80s/90s alternative/metal) - collecting anime scale figures/nendoroid, gitara
you: - 29 to 36yo - single/no kids - same hobbies sana or basta may interesting hobbies/interest ka outside work. - around south nclaguna sana. - yung marunong sana makipag-usap ndi yung isang tanong isang sagot parang interview nangyayare. - physical: usually attracted ako sa payat #flatisjustice na naka-salamin bonus kung short hair.
yun lang kung umabot ka dito at interested ka send ka na lang msg tapos anything na interesting sayo.

The Ninth Ave is located in Westmeadows, just 5 minutes from Melbourne Airport. Our business is growing rapidly so we need to add to our already strong team. Our focus is on providing exceptional coffee every time, amazing food, and treating our customers with awesome service every day. This is a Monday to Friday casual position, no nights. Some Saturdays may be required. You must be available for 6am starts and 3pm finishes. You will be paid the restaurant award rate based on your experience.
About You: You love making great coffee and providing your customers with a great experience. You're the type of person who likes to exceed expectaions and you have the ability to remeber your cusomer's names and coffee orders. You're a great communicator and you thrive on feedback and personal growth.
The best fit for this role will be someone who has worked in both front and back of house roles with the ability to multi-task and quickly prioritize roles. You are able to work closely with a well established team who love what they do. You're willing to roll your sleeves up and get the work done. Teamwork and speed of service are a priority. Previous experience in a fast-paced cafe environment is essential.
A welcoming disposition and flair for customer service will ensure you nail this role. About the Role: We are looking for an experienced cafe all-rounder to join the team. The role will be a mix of making coffee, customer service, and simple food preparation.
This role has an immediate start available. 25-30 hours available depending on the candidate. We pride ourselves on our flexibility and team culture. Key Selection Criteria - Cafe all Rounder: * Outgoing, friendly personality * Genuine love of hospitality * 2+ years experience in a busy cafe * Barista experience with solid latte art (training provided by our head barista) * Experience in food preparation and handling * Customer service experience * POS experience * Fast paced and able to work under pressure * The ability to work autonomously and within a team * Knowledge of WHS and Food Safety procedures If you share our passion for the industry, and want to be a part of our team, please hit APPLY and include your CV and cover letter outlining your relevant experience.
We will be reviewing applications as they are received so don't delay! Please note that while we appreciate the time all applicants have taken, only those successful in gaining an interview will be contacted.
Apply here
Via needabarista.com.au

"I wanted to nab the thief while Exbo here wanted to get his buddy back. Although it was our first meeting, we fought together. That guy may have escaped, but we've decided to battle together from now on. Even if I meet new Pokemon along the way, I will still treat them the same way, because to me...Pokemon are my partners! We work alongside for the same goals, because...we are partners!"
Gold was raised around Pokemon, his home having so many it was known as the Poké House to those in the community. But after a chance encounter leads to his Pokemon being stolen and being the sole witness to a boy stealing Professor Elm's Totodile, Gold gives the police a false description of the thief before setting out with a Pokedex and a Cyndaquil to hunt him down himself. Along the way, Gold demonstrates a deceptive fighting style, often using his cue to send Pokeballs in strange directions and using other members of his team to hide the key play another Pokemon is performing, as well as an ability to nurture the full potential out of any Pokemon from as early as them being in an egg, earning him the moniker of 'the Hatcher'. With these skills, Gold would prove a key player as he faced off against the likes of a revived Team Rocket, a masked man seeking to rewrite time, and even Arceus themselves.
All feats are tagged with the chapter they appear in.

Gold

Physicals

Strength

• Shattered the Masked Man's mask with his cue¹⁷²
• With Silver, holds back a large metal boulder⁹⁸

Durability - Blunt Force

• Kicked in the face by Crystal⁴⁶⁰
• Struck in the back by Whitney's Miltank¹⁰⁵
• Kicked away by Sapphire while in a suit of armour³²⁸
• Hit back by the Masked Man¹⁷²
• Slammed into the ground by Ho-Oh¹⁶⁶
• Sent flying back from Arceus hitting the ground near them⁴⁵³
• Hit away by Arceus⁴⁵⁴
• Kicked by Arceus⁴⁵⁹

Durability - Other

• Thrown about by water as an island sized water construct strikes the Battle Tower³²⁹
• Sent flying into a distant wall by Guile³³⁴
• Bitten on the hand by Silver's Totodile⁹⁸
• Falls a distance onto a beach after his Mantine was struck out of the air by Lugia¹⁴⁸
• Struck by Masked Man's Deliberd's Icy Wind¹¹³
• Caught in Masked Man's Deliberd's Blizzard¹¹³
• Seemingly caught in Jirachi's Doom Desire³³⁴
• Seemingly knocked back by a beam from Arceus⁴⁵⁹

Speed

• Dodges an attack from a group of Bellsprout⁹⁷
• Dodges a beam from a Gyarados¹¹²
• Dodges a beam from Arceus⁴⁵³
• Dodges a spike trap suddenly appearing from a wall⁹⁸
• Saves a girl from an Ursaring strike¹⁰¹

Skill

Cue Shots - Regular

• Curves a Pokeball behind an opponent⁹³
• Hits Aipom's ball to the top of a tree, where they're then released⁹¹
• Hits a fleeing Pokemon with enough force to relocate its jaw¹⁰¹

Cue Shots - Ricochet

• While being swept away in a river in a storm, hits Exbo's ball so it rebounds off of two surfaces and gets him safely to shore⁹⁵
• Bounces a pokeball repeatedly between the walls, ceiling, and floor of a room with a single strike to make several Yanma dizzy¹⁵⁴
• Ricochets a Friend Ball repeatedly around two Pokemon before hitting a Heavy Ball at their two feet, sending both pokeballs to Gold's and Silver's hands respectively¹⁰¹

Other

• Throws his cue to block a pair of shutters from closing on Emerald³²⁸
• Drops a distance onto a board on a rough sea, maintaining balance for a short distance due to it being 'not so different' from skateboarding¹⁴⁶

Intelligence

Battles

• On numerous occasions has used a Pokemon as a distraction while a second Pokemon enacts his actual strategy in secret¹¹¹
• Returns Aibo before curving his ball around an opponent, allowing him to strike their behind⁹³
• Has the other Pokedex holders withdraw their Pokemon before having Aibo ride his skateboard with them at Guile Hideout, allowing all the Pokemon to be released directly on top of him³²⁹
• Throws Aibo in front of a charging Donphan before he uses his tail to pull himself to safety, in that brief moment successfully confusing the Pokemon and causing them to charge into a wall⁹⁶
• Goads a team of Bellsprout into stacking on top of each other, allowing Cyndaquil to take them all out at once⁹⁷
• Has a school of Remoraid attack Lugia's mouth, stopping the legendary from closing it and being able to use Aeroblast¹⁴⁸
• Calculates how long a Pokeball could endure a Dragonite's Hyper Beam, uses the fact that said Hyper Beam is not changing direction in midair to tell that its trainer isn't present to give it orders, and uses this to get the Dragonite to attack in a specific direction and allow Togbo to attack them from behind⁴⁴⁴

Deception

• Drops a straw doll from a tree as a decoy, allowing him to get behind the Masked Man to attack him¹⁰⁴
• Disappears in a smokescreen, intending to drive the Masked Man into pursuing him through a forest, while he had actually climbed a tree so he could climb back down when the coast was clear to save a trainer and his Pokemon¹⁰⁴

Other

• Modifies his skateboard with bike parts¹⁰⁵
• Hits Aipom's ball up a tree to release him before using a heavy pack as a counterweight to lift him up⁹¹
• Uses the fact Yanma have 360 degree vision in a plan to make them dizzy and have one drop a baby¹⁵⁴
• Has Aipom strike the centre of a stack of blocks, allowing the rest of his team to easily smash through the entire stack while they previously were only able to break through a few, winning him the round against a Machamp which could easily smash through stacks on his own⁴⁴³
• Memorizes all the obstacles on a course by going along it the wrong way on his skateboard, allowing him to guide his Togepi around it flawlessly when the Pokemon was blinded⁴⁴²
• Had the foresight to hold onto Emerald's broken mechanical hand, causing Archie to grab hold of it and allowing Gold to let him drop³³⁵

Gear

Pokedex

• His Pokedex shows a Pokemon's strength and attacks⁹⁵
• Identifies four Pokemon at once¹⁰³
• Identifies an attack as the Pokemon is lunging towards him¹⁰³
• Can perform trades with other Pokedex owners¹⁰⁹
• Is capable of tracking the energy of a specific Pokemon the owner has made contact with¹⁴⁹
  • Can't do this if the Pokemon's been caught by someone else⁴⁹
• When three Pokedexes in possession of their true owners are close to each other, all of them make a noise¹⁴⁶

Pokeballs

• Pokemon are held in pokeballs, which have a translucent top which Gold can see Pokemon through⁹³
• They and their Pokemon can return to Gold's hand as he wishes⁹³
• Protect Pokemon from attacks, though they can be destroyed⁴⁴⁴
• Pokemon can move their balls from the inside¹⁰⁷

Cue

• A cue, which he uses to perform trick shots with his pokeballs⁹³
• Clashes with Guile Hideout's sword³²⁹
• Used to quickly change his direction on a skateboard⁹⁶
• Throws it to stop metal shutters from closing on Emerald³²⁸
• Is collapsible³²⁸
• Holds it in his clothes, not his bag¹⁴⁵

Other

• His pokegear allows him to make and take calls⁹⁵
• A pair of goggles, used to protect him from the likes of Exbo's Smokescreen⁹⁸
  • Protect him from Sunbo's Flash¹⁰⁰
• Carries rope to climb up a pagoda⁹⁷
• Uses a skateboard to get around⁹⁵

Other

• Is given the title of 'The Hatcher' by Professor Oak, with him causing a Pichu egg to hatch the instant he touched it¹⁷⁸
  • This ability was developed due to him having lived with Pokemon he considered his family all his life, and allows him to draw out the full potential of a Pokemon¹⁸⁰
  • A Pokemon will have its personality influenced by the emotions felt by Gold as they hatch¹⁷⁹
• Guides his team into winning the Skill, Jump, Stamina, Speed, and Power Pokeathlon courses^442-443
• Despite all his skill, still cheats at pool at a games corner¹⁰⁷

Aibo the Ambipom

As An Aipom

Physicals

• Breaks a block with his tail⁴⁴³
  • When deliberately placing cracks on the centre of the top tile, Aibo could smash through ten plates at once⁴⁴³
• Holds up Gold while clutching a branch with his tail⁹¹ https://imgur.com/a/0NPzvXW
• Lifts up and throws an enormous Snowball⁴⁴²
• Thrown about by water as an island sized water construct strikes the Battle Tower³²⁹
• Struck away by a Donphan's Horn Attack⁹⁶
• Catches a nearby Sunkern in his tail so that Gold can catch them⁹⁹
• Reacts fast enough to catch Gold after the floor's broken beneath them⁹⁷
• Rapidly spins Gold's cue with his tail to enhance Exbo's fire³²⁸

Moves

• Scratch - Aibo repeatedly scratches a foe⁹¹
• Swagger - Confuses a Hoothoot, causing it to attack its trainer instead of falsely calling out that a timer's up⁹²
  • Is briefly in front of a charging Donphan before getting pulled away, with the Donphan getting confused and crashing into a wall⁹⁶
• Double Team - Creates an illusionary duplicate, allowing him to dodge an attack¹¹³
• Agility - Greatly increases Aibo's speed¹⁷²
• Baton Pass - Passes stat increases, such as that gained through Agility, to another of Gold's Pokemon¹⁷²
• Double Hit - Allows him to attack opponents on opposite sides of him at the same time with his tail, and immediately causes him to evolve⁴⁴⁸

Other

• Hears the sound of Unown through a wall in some ruins¹⁰⁰
• Has the ability Run Away⁴⁴²

As An Ambipom

Physicals

• Sent flying back from Arceus hitting the ground near them⁴⁵³
• Poked back by Arceus⁴⁵¹
• Hit by a beam from Arceus⁴⁵⁹

Moves

• Double Hit - Strikes a foe with his tails⁴⁵¹

Other

• Is level 83 and has the Technician ability⁴⁵⁶

Exbo the Typhlosion

As A Cyndaquil

Physicals

• Breaks through a wooden floor⁹⁷
• Gets bitten and scratched by Silver's Totodile⁹⁸
• Intercepts an attack which is about to hit Gold¹⁰³

Moves

• Ember - Shoots a tall pillar of fire from his back, burning Silver's hand while he's hanging on to a tall branch⁹⁴
  • Knocks out a tower of Bellsprout at once⁹⁷
  • Hits back a Primape while boosted by Sunbo's Sunny Day¹⁰⁸
  • Rapidly heats a large metal boulder, allowing Totodile to cool and shatter it with Water Gun⁹⁸
  • Creates a ring of fire around Silver to stop him from escaping⁹⁴
  • Breaks through a wall in a ruin¹⁰⁰
• Tackle - Exbo charges into an opponent⁹⁸
• Smokescreen - Covers an area in obscuring smoke⁹⁸

Other

• Used to cook food for Gold, though he increases the heat and quickly burns it¹⁰⁰
• Can't emit fire while bound up¹⁰⁰

As A Quilava

Physicals

• Alongside Silver's Croconaw and Crystal's Bayleef, stops Lugia's wing from crushing their trainers and hold it up before evolving¹⁴⁸
• Struck by Silver's Croconaw's Water Gun¹¹¹

Moves

• Ember - Works alongside Silver's Croconaw and Crystal's Bayleef to slightly deflect Lugia's Aeroblast¹⁴⁷
• Double Team - Creates an illusory duplicate, making Croconaw bite down on nothing¹¹¹
• Flame Wheel - Creates a wheel of fire around him, catching several Pokemon¹¹⁴

As A Typhlosion

Physicals

• Breaks three blocks with a punch⁴⁴³
  • When Aibo deliberately placed cracks on the centre of the top tile, Exbo could smash through ten plates at once⁴⁴³
• Alongside Silver's Croconaw and Crystal's Bayleef, continues to hold up Lugia's wing to stop it from crushing their trainers¹⁴⁸
• Thrown about by water as an island sized water construct strikes the Battle Tower³²⁹
• Sent flying back from Arceus hitting the ground near them⁴⁵³
• Hit by a beam from Arceus⁴⁵⁹

Moves

• Blast Burn - A stream of fire which, alongside eleven other Pokemon, destroys an island-sized water construct^335-336
  • Seems to knock back Arceus' head⁴⁴²
• With an unnamed fire attack enhanced by Aibo rapidly spinning Gold's cue, creates a powerful blast of fire which knocks back Guile Hideout³²⁸

Other

• Is level 84 with the ability Blaze⁴⁵⁶

Sunbo the Sunflora

As A Sunkern

Physicals

• Bounces extremely high, bringing Exbo's Pokeball up close to a flying Skarmory⁹⁹

Moves

• Flash - Emits a bright light which blinds several Team Rocket grunts and their Pokemon¹⁰⁰
• Growth - Presumably increases Sunbo's strength, though its effect has not been clearly shown¹⁰³
• Mega Drain - Presumably absorbs energy from an opponent, but it's not seen in use¹⁰⁴
• Sunny Day - Increases the power of nearby fire-type moves¹⁰⁸
• Giga Drain - Absorbs the energy of a Magcargo and a Sloking alongside Crystal's Parasect¹⁶⁴

As A Sunflora

Physicals

• Sent flying back from Arceus hitting the ground near them⁴⁵³
• Hit by a beam from Arceus⁴⁵⁹

Moves

• Sunny Day - Increases the strength of Exbo's fire attacks¹⁷²
• Solar Beam - Used off-screen⁴⁵⁹

Other

• Is level 75 with the ability Chlorophyll⁴⁵⁶

Polibo the Politoed

As A Poliwag

Moves

• Water Gun - Sends a Donphan flying back with a stream of water¹⁰⁸

Other

• Draws water from underground while using water type moves¹⁰⁹

As A Politoed

Physicals

• Breaks a block with a punch⁴⁴³
  • When Aibo deliberately placed cracks on the centre of the top tile, Polibo could smash through ten plates at once⁴⁴³
• Alongside Red's Poliwrath, breaks apart Archie's armour³³⁵
• Struck with Guile's knee³³⁵
• Sent flying back from Arceus hitting the ground near them⁴⁵³
• Hit by a beam from Arceus⁴⁵⁹
• Struck by Masked Man's Deliberd's Icy Wind¹¹³
• Caught in Masked Man's Deliberd's Blizzard¹¹³
• Dodges a beam from a Gyarados¹¹²
• Dodges a beam from Arceus⁴⁵³

Moves

• Water Gun - Harms Tyranitar with a stream of water, possibly shooting three streams at once though this could simply be representing how fast Silver's Murkrow is moving to block it¹¹¹
• Whirlpool - Creates a whirlpool at the Lake of Rage to stun a Gyarados¹¹²
  • Uses the destroyed rubble left behind by a giant Piloswine to defeat it, with Silver reasoning that it can do so because the Piloswine's earthquake shockwaves made the solids act like liquids¹¹⁰
• Double Slap - Repeatedly hits an opponent¹¹²
• Dynamic Punch - Polibo lunges forwards with a powerful punch¹¹³
• Hypnosis - Puts a crowd of Pokemon to sleep at once¹⁶⁶
• Perish Song - Instantly knocks out Masked Man's Delibird, but also knocks out Polibo himself¹⁷²
• Bounce - Used off-screen⁴⁵⁹

Other

• Is level 80 with the ability Water Absorb⁴⁵⁶

Sudobo the Sudowoodo

Physicals

• Lifts up a large piece of rubble¹⁶⁶
• No-sells Whitney's Miltank's Tackle and Exbo's Ember¹⁰⁵
• Sent flying back from Arceus hitting the ground near them⁴⁵³
• Hit by Silver's Ursaring's Fury Swipes¹¹¹
• Bitten by Ho-Oh¹⁶⁶
• Hit by a beam from Arceus⁴⁵⁹

Moves

• Focus Punch - Strikes a Rhydon, knocking it out¹⁰⁶
• Low Kick - He extends his leg forwards at crazy angles, tripping up an opponent¹¹¹
  • Seemingly used fast enough to create afterimages⁴⁵⁵
• Dynamic Punch - Lunges forwards with a powerful strike which breaks stone¹¹¹
• Mimic - Sudobo uses the move his opponent's most recently used, allowing him to trade Fury Swipe blows with Silver's Ursaring¹¹¹
• Mud Slap - Throws up mud in a failed attempt to hold off Ho-Oh¹⁶⁶
• Flail - After being bitten by Ho-Oh, sends the legendary flying away¹⁶⁶
• Rock Tomb - Used off-screen⁴⁵⁹

Other

• Is level 78 with the ability Sturdy⁴⁵⁶
• Is capable of growing to create a highly convincing tree disguise, shrinking when revealing himself¹⁰⁶
  • Tricks a Gligar into landing on him like this in order to catch it¹⁰⁷

Togebo the Togekiss

As A Togepi

Physicals

• Immediately after hatching knocks Gligar back a short distance before getting hit away¹⁰⁷
• Seemingly endures part of a Dragonite's Hyper Beam after the Pokeball took the brunt of the attack (with said beam being able to destroy stone), then takes out the Dragonite with an attack to the back of the head⁴⁴⁴
• Struck away by a Dotrio⁴⁴²
• Sent flying back from Arceus hitting the ground near them⁴⁵³
• Struck away by Arceus before being hit point-blank by a beam⁴⁵⁹
• Hit by a beam from Arceus⁴⁵⁹

Moves

• Metronome - Uses a random move, in its debut appearance hitting a Gligar with a beam strong enough to knock them out¹⁰⁷
• Double Edge - Pierces into a Tyranitar's foot, taking it down¹¹¹

Other

• Is level 81 with the ability Hustle⁴⁵⁶
• Runs at full pelt around an obstacle course, following Gold's commands to dodge obstacles⁴⁴²
• Is a delinquent from birth due to Gold taking them to Game Corners while they were still an egg¹⁰⁷

As a Togekiss

Physicals

• Flies carrying Gold⁴⁶⁰

Moves

• Double Edge - Charges into Arceus, staggering them⁴⁵⁹

Tibo the Mantine and 20 Remoraid

Moves

• Water Gun - The Remoraid all blast Lugia with streams of water, forcing its mouth to stay open¹⁴⁸

Other

• Flies through the air with Gold hanging on with his cue¹⁴⁷

Pibu the Pichu

Moves

• Enhanced by Raikou's power, releases a powerful electric blast dubbed Super Rising Thunder to attack Pryce¹⁸⁰

I currently work as a consultant engineer in the nuclear sector. I'm soon expecting an offer to join the client internally. Below I described what I have currently. I would like to hear if some of you had similar experiences and to have your opinion on what I can expect to negotiate when joining the client.
1. PERSONALIA

• Age: 25
• Education: Masters in industrial engineering
• Work experience : 1 year
• Civil status: single
• Dependent people/children: 0

2. EMPLOYER PROFILE

• SectoIndustry: Engineering Consultancy
• Amount of employees: 2400
• Multinational? YES (a couple of contries in Europe)

3. CONTRACT & CONDITIONS

• Current job title: Consultant
• Job description: Currently at a client in nuclear sector as project engineer
• Seniority: 1 year
• Official hours/week : 40
• Average real hours/week incl. overtime: 40, currently a bit more
• Shiftwork or 9 to 5 (flexible?): very flexible as long as you do on average 40h/week (rules of the client)
• On-call duty: NO
• Vacation days/year: 20+12 PTO

4. SALARY

• Gross salary/month: 2740
• Net salary/month: 2030
• Netto compensation: 105
• Cabike/... or mobility budget: car + fuel card for Belgium
• 13th month (full? partial?): 13.93
• Meal vouchers: 8/DAY
• Ecocheques: 250/YEAR
• Group insurance: 3% of annual gross salary
• Other insurances: DKV (hospitalization, dental, ambulatoire)
• Other benefits (bonuses, stocks options, ... ): plan cafetaria

5. MOBILITY

• City/region of work: Near Liège and in Germany
• Distance home-work: 30km to office, but often travel to a site 300km away (~2 out of 3 weeks for 2 or 3 days)
• How do you commute? car
• How is the travel home-work compensated: when traveling to the site 300km away it counts as work time
• Telework days/week: 1 day/week, but in reality i don't get to do it every week at the moment

6. OTHER

• How easily can you plan a day off: 2 weeks in advance, whenever I want
• Is your job stressful? at the moment yes
• Responsible for personnel (reports): no

For all your Pro Tools Related content

Welcome to the subreddit regular feature post for sharing things you are affiliated with. We encourage you to add links to your tracks, support site, blogs, videos, or sfx kickstarters or other products related to Pro Tools. These kinds of things should be added here and not to the subreddit front page. This subreddit feature post is the place for evaluation and critiques requests of personal sound, music, video, reel, sites, resumes, or whatever else you have that is Pro Tools related and would like for folks to tell you what they think of it. Let's hear what you've got.

• Posters and responders to this thread MAY NOT include an email address, phone number, personal facebook page, or any other personal information out in the open. Please use PM's to pass that kind of info along.
  
• Note that some links may be removed by automoderator as it polices certain URL's to keep them off the front page. We will allow them to be added in the comments here (except those which violate the rules) but may need a little time to catch them and approve them.
  

Chat with us in the ProTools subreddit Discord Channel

A list of the largest employers in Lexington is available here.
If someone has found a job or hired someone as a result of these posts, please leave a note in the comments.

• Employers: What jobs do you have available?
• Employees: What positions are available at your place of business?
• Job Seekers: What kinds of work are you looking for, what are your qualifications?

Tag your comment where appropriate like so: [Employer], [Employee], [Job Seeker]
Please feel free to post links to job sites and general job search advice here. You may solicit resumes, but please do not post personal information such as a link to your own resume; keep that to a PM.
Ok, good luck and go!

Welcome to /Guelph's monthly jobs, business, and services thread!

• Community members can promote their business or service, or talk about good experiences that they’ve had with other service purveyors in Guelph.
• Employers and employees, feel free to post about current, new, and upcoming available jobs! Anyone can post links to job sites, general job search advice, and solicit resumes, but remember to avoid posting personal information; please use PMs for that.

Always remember to follow /Guelph's rules and guidelines.
All services posted here must be legal. If there’s any doubt about whether a service/product is legal or legit, please do the research yourself, and if necessary, contact the moderators to have the comment removed. As always, especially online, buyers/consumers should retain their skepticism. A non-deleted submission is NOT a guarantee of quality, customer satisfaction, etc.

Are you passionate about classic paninis, specialty coffees and exceptional service? @joeys_melbourne, opening soon in Port Melbourne, is looking for enthusiastic and dedicated team members to join in delivering deliciousness to the community!
The role: - Assist in various areas, from serving customers to prepping ingredients - Provide friendly and efficient service at all times - Help maintain a clean and welcoming environment - Ideal for those who thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced setting
Why Join Joey's？ - Be part of an amazing crew that feels more like family - Opportunity to learn and grow in a fun, supportive environment - A chance to be a key player in a growing business with room for career advancement
Requirements: - A positive attitude and a strong work ethic - Willingness to learn and take on new challenges - Excellent communication and teamwork skills - Passion for food and customer service
If you're ready to be part of something special and think you have what it takes to join the Joey's team, we want to hear from you!
How to Apply: Hit APPLY and send your resume and a brief cover letter telling us why you're the perfect fit for Joey's.
We can't wait to meet you!
Apply here
Via needabarista.com.au

I know this topic has its fair share of posts in this sub, but I need some advice. :( I recently graduated from my ITP with a focus in educational interpreting. I misjudged the number of provisional jobs and how many people would be applying for them.
Basically, it’s looking less likely everyday that I’ll start working in the fall. I feel lucky to be in a place that supports new interpreters through provisional positions and shadowing opportunities. However, it doesn’t do me so much good if those positions are filled. I’m really scared of losing my skills because I need to work full-time to pay my bills regardless.
Does anyone have any advice for how to keep up on my skills if I have to continue working in my stupid (no disrespect to this job but I had my heart set on being done with it) retail job? I’m looking into non-interpreter support positions at my local Deaf school, so hopefully that pans out. I also think SSP work (volunteer I believe) is something I want to stay involved in. Also, I’m aware of an 8 month mentor program through I think BoysTown? Application is required but I know that’s a good option and an opportunity to continue learning.
Besides that, any advice? I hate to be dramatic, but I feel like my life is over and there’s no hope lol!!! It’s been less than a month and I miss my practicum placement and interpreting so much. I feel like I’ve worked so hard and now I have absolutely nothing going on and no hope!

Are you passionate about classic paninis, specialty coffees and exceptional service? @joeys_melbourne, opening soon in Port Melbourne, is looking for enthusiastic and dedicated team members to join in delivering deliciousness to the community!
The role: - Make and serve coffees with a smile - Ensure high quality and consistency in every cup - Maintain a clean and organized work environment - Prior experience preferred but not essential - we're willing to train the right candidate!
Why Join Joey's？ - Be part of an amazing crew that feels more like family - Opportunity to learn and grow in a fun, supportive environment - A chance to be a key player in a growing business with room for career advancement
Requirements: - A positive attitude and a strong work ethic - Willingness to learn and take on new challenges - Excellent communication and teamwork skills - Passion for food and customer service If you're ready to be part of something special and think you have what it takes to join the Joey's team, we want to hear from you!
How to Apply: Hit APPLY and send your resume and a brief cover letter telling us why you're the perfect fit for Joey's.
We can't wait to meet you!
Apply here
Via needabarista.com.au

So I’m medically retired from the Army and have a pension. Do I need to really worry about a bond allocation? I am also focusing more on a taxable brokerage account as opposed to to an IRA. Is that logical? I do have an office job with a 401k, but outside of that, I’ve been mainly focused on the taxable brokerage. I do have an emergency fund and short term savings in a MMF.

Hi I just came across a novel, chosen by the moon novel by izabella W. Its on pay by chapter websites, I've opened and read a few chapters but I can't seem to find any free version or chapter version anywhere. Please help. If anyone has read it I'm willing to take spoilers. Here's the advert I found below of it on Facebook.
Lycanthrope species is a disgusting race. And I, Delan Riley, am nothing more than a human scum in their eyes never expected those species would turn my world upside down. Since when the lycans managed to penetrate our town, like in the early 1900's we have a hierarchy, upper class = the lycans, middle class = mated humans, and lower class = the normal humans, who were basically considered scum. I endured their torment day after day, vowing to run away from them one day, until that day came and everything changed.
Dylan POV "Humans," I scowled at the principal's words from tannoy. "The Alpha twins will be celebrating their birthday tomorrow, as such, festivities are in order." Oh great, the Alphas twin children. Adrian and Arya are the worst lycans alive. I swear just because they are the alphas kids they literally get away with everything. If their birthday is tomorrow, then the wolves are going to be worse than ever. "All students will be present to greet them, two lines will be made, with humans on the left and the lycanthrope on the right. Any mated human will be at the front of the line for their year, you will all also be in order of your school year. That is all." Chat broke out the minute the tannoy was finished. "We haven't had a school gathering since the alpha king visited three years ago, before his sons coronation." Nick was right, the last time we all gathered like that was for the king and queens visit, when he decided to let the world know that he was to renounce his title to his only child, son Josh. "That sick bestard, he wants to make sure everyone is there so those idiot twins can find their mates." Yes I was mad, my fists connected with the table in front of me once more as I thought about how disgusting the situation was. You see the twins will be turning 17, so it's very possible someone in our school could be their mate, finding a mate is sacred to a wolf, the minute they say that one word your fate is sealed. They will turn your mind, morph you into being a lover of their kind, and then you'll give in.

That won't happen to me, I'm growing old to see the world as it once was, and I'm going to choose who I'll be with. No one will take that dream away from me.

Once dinner was finished, I just wanted to sleep. I'd had a very long tiring day, I quickly sat down on a small stool my mother kept in the storage closet and removed my shirt while my brother Freddy sat at the table to do his simple homework. It wasn't long before my mother came in with a large bowl of warm salt water and some cotton, this was going to sting I just knew it. She was here to help me with the wounds caused by wolves yesterday. She slowly began to unwrap the bandage from around my torso and slowed down drastically when it came to the final layer, I felt it peel off every wound and my fists clenched in pain. "Jesus!" I heard my mom exclaim once the dressing was completely removed. The air on my back was nice though and I sighed as my arm covered my once again exposed brests. "This is more than 15!" I began to hear sniffles coming from her and sighed turning round to look at her face, only to notice tears streaming down it. "Mom I'm fine, it's alright." She shook her head. "It's not alright, I'm your mother I shouldn't let these things happen. I'm so sorry. Your father would have..." here she goes again. Every single time something happened she'd always bring up dad, it really annoyed me because no matter how much we all wish he was here, he just isn't. My father was kiled by THEIR kind, almost 5 years ago when they actually managed to take over. When the lycans managed to penetrate our town my father rose up with some people from the neighborhood, to defend our livelihood, it was futile to say the least. We lost many people and I watched as my dad was ripped apart by two fully shifted wolves, I ended up shoting him to stop his suffering before they dragged me to the courtyard, i was the person to receive the first lashing of the town when I was 12! The wolves have been pretty strict with me since that day. "Stop being stvpid!" Was I harsh? Definitely! Did she need to hear it again, absolutely. "Dad is dead, we don't know what he'd do because he never knew this life. He never knew this world." I know what he'd have done, most likely attacked the guy who held the whip and got himself kiled in the process. "The best thing you can do for me, is stop crying and help me, next time don't insist on helping if you can't handle it." She began to wash my open wounds with the warm salt water causing loud winces to leave me, I knew it was necessary to prevent infection, but my god it hurt like a betch. "Some of these are really deep Dylan!" She sniffed again and my eyes rolled in my head. "I told you, I'm fine, just wrap me back up so I can get to bed." My mom was obviously more impacted by my injuries than I was, I suppose that always the case though. When it's happening to you, you've just got to get through it but when it's happening to someone you love, you just want to take their pain away. She quickly placed a fresh bandage around my waist and chest and wrapped it tightly for compression. The bowl of water that was used was now red in color, I guess from the blood my back was dripping with. "Can you keep your head down please? At least just this week. You can't take any more lashings." I simply nodded before standing up away from the stool, I walked over to Freddie and ruffled his hair in affection. "Good night squirt." He giggled and fixed his hair slightly. "Night Dilly." I smiled walking upstairs to my little bedroom, as soon as I was inside i shut the door and flopped down on to my bed on my stomach and I took a minute to cry to myself at the pain in my back, what my mom did was important but it hurt, not that I'd ever tell her. My hand covered my mouth quickly to muffle any noise I might be making. I couldn't tell anyone, I had to be strong because more and more people were crumpling these days, and my mom would break if she knew how much I was suffering. Sleep followed me shortly after, she was right though about me needing to keep my head down for the time being, I could not take another lashing! After a long night and an even longer morning, we were all finally stood in the hallway at school waiting for the twins to arrive. "Mine!" Everyone that was stood in the hallway tensed up, as we were seniors, me and Nick were stood towards the very back of the human line. All the mated people were situated directly opposite their wolf mates in their years. We stayed silent and still as Arya walked down the hall and stopped directly in front of Nick. His eyes widened in fear, unsure of wether to look up or keep his head lowered. "Look me in the eye, mate." He glanced at me slightly as if asking what he should do. "I said, look me in the eye." He slowly moved his eye line up to look at her face. I took a glance myself to see her eyes pitch black with lust. "I... can't... I mean... erm." Before he was able to mutter anything else, two wolves from opposite, grabbed him out of the line and dragged him behind Arya. "Hey!" My head shot up before I could stop myself. My mouth also forgot its place as I jumped out of line. Everyone's head shot to me as my eyes widened in realization at what I'd done. Adrian, the other twin, walked up to me before punching me right in the stomach, I doubled over instantly. Feeling the sting in my slightly healed back. "I know you... You were publicly flogged only two days ago." God I hate this guy. "I also have it on good authority, that you openly spoke out against our rules and regulations in yesterday's class." My head shot down the line slightly to see Erin, looking a little frightened, her mate, the beta to be was looking at her, nodding his head in reassurance. "You traitor, you grassed on your own kind?" I yelled at her before feeling a fist connect with my cheek. My head whipped to the side from the force, while my class members gasped. I'm so done with this treatment, right then, I wasn't in charge of my actions. My fists curled up and my stance became a lot more defensive. My head snapped up to the alpha to be, and I looked him in the eye. "You don't know the meaning of the word disrespect." I suddenly hurled my fist towards his head, which he easily dodged, but my foot came up and kicked him instead. He stumbled backwards from the force with wide eyes. "You... you Actually hit me!" He didn't even sound annoyed, more shocked. Everyone in the hallway was watching, waiting for the alpha to do something but instead he simply stood up straight, regaining his composure. "I think everyone should get back to class." He began to walk away, following his sister when I called him back. "What about Nick?!" "Simple, He's my sisters mate. He now belongs to her." Argh, he's not an object. "He's not her property." A chuckle left his mouth, before turning his back to me again. "All humans are property." A short while later everyone made it to science class, our teacher Mrs Mathews is mated to the lycans pack doctor, she also now has a four and two year old with him. She was one of the first humans to be cohered into a false relationship. "What were you thinking young lady?" I rolled my head at her before looking at the empty seat next to mine. Nick was with that stvpid wolf girl right now. Being changed, I'm so angry it's ridiculous. "I was thinking, this guy is being a prick. Did you hear him? 'All humans are property.' It's bull shet." I looked up and the whole class looked at me like I had three heads. Talking shet about wolves is one thing, but talking about an alpha is punishable by death, attacking an alpha is an even worse offense. There was then a knock at the door and in walked Erin and her band of mated bestards. "Sorry we're late Mrs." "Erin, how are things between you and bata Monroe?" She blushed, the traitor actually blushed at the mention of his name. "He spoke to me last night about trying for a baby. We need a good strong boy to take over as beta." I scoffed looking at her as she took her seat. "You guys are actually pathetic, why can't it be a girl? Those mutts are basically Neanderthals" I voiced my opinion and saw all the shocked faces around me. Calling the lycans mutts, is the same as them calling us scum. After lesson had ended the entire school was called into the hall for assembly. This is where any human who has been found to have broken the rules were punished, usually 10 lashings were goven out or something similar. "Welcome to the school assembly, congratulations to the alpha twins for finding both your mates. Now on to the business at hand, as the 5 year anniversary of the new world is coming up, we have been informed that the alpha king will be visiting our district next week, this is very exciting news. We want you all to look your absolute best, she wolves and mated females will wear exemplary dresses made by seamstress. Male wolves and mated men will wear tailored suits. Anyone who doesn't comply will be reprimanded." The Alpha King?! No one has met him yet, he took over the throne three years ago when he turned 18. He really didn't make any appearances though, great, this month is going to be a nightmare. "As for the humans, you will be given a new uniform to wear for the visit, these are to be neatly ironed and worn to the highest standard. As for the following humans, based on your attitude this past week, you will be coming to the front and facing punishment. Tony summerset?!" Tony's head shot up as he looked around, he was in the year below but he shared my views when it came to the lycans. He slowly walked up to the front of assembly, almost instantly his top was t0rn in two and he received 10 lashings. A girl named Kara was next and she too received 10 lashings. A few more people went up slowly accepting their fate then suddenly my name was called. "Dylan Riley." Inside I was terrified but I simply shrugged my shoulders, I guess I did kind of expect this. Although I'm not sure if my back can take any more damage. "You attacked an alpha, correct!" His eyes bored into mine as I bowed my head submitting to his authority. "Technically, no." Everyone in the school gym looked on in fear, as my head moved to the front row of the wolf side. Adrian sat, with a werewolf girl in the year below, her name was Jana, I guess he found his mate. Nick and Arya were no where to be seen though. Adrian gave me a shrug as if to say he didn't tell, before smirking at my comment. "He hasn't officially taken the alpha title yet, so he's just..." i looked at the principle and noticed his eyes black and his claws out, he was in what lycans call a half shift, triggered when the subject has become angered. He turned to two security wolves and gave them a nod, Almost immediately i was forced onto my knees, my arm was slammed on a table and held in place by one wolf, while my body was held in place by the other. "Ok, I don't think this is needed, I have alpha blood, a stvpid human girl can't hurt me." My head snapped to Adrian who had stood up in front of the school to stop what was happening. "Nevertheless, humans need to know their place." With that the pressure on my arm increased as our principals hand pulled my sleeve up before a long claw punctured my skin. The searing pain shoting from the fresh wound had my eyes scrunched and my fist clenched, I bit the inside of my cheek hard instantly tasting blood, however no sound left my mouth. He continued to write, using my skin as a canvas and his claws as a marker, it went on forever, my vision blurred slightly at one point as I turned my head away. After minutes of torture, he was done and the pressure on my arm eased, instantly I snatched my arm away, hissing through my teeth at the pain. I was about to scurry off stage, when I was roughly grabbed yet again, my arm being held in the air by the principal while my feet were inches off the floor, blood dripped from the wound and the pattern he had made was on show for everyone to see. Loads of people gasped, even the wolves looked slightly horrified at what had happened. "This is what happens when a human decides to speak out. I can promise, anyone who so much as says one word about our way of life, will have the same punishment." My arm was starting to seriously ache from being held in the air for so long, and the lack of blood flow to my suspended arm was causing me pins and needles, still I refused to make a sound. I held the tears back and I bit my cheek harder causing more blood to fill my mouth. "That's enough Bradley!" Adrian growled, he was still stood up and looking at the scene in front of him. His eyes hard as he stared at the principal a low warning growl erupted from his chest which had the head teacher gulping, he quickly let go of my arm causing me to crash to the floor. A small cry left my mouth as I hit the hard floor. Immediately I scrambled away, my foot just missed the high step leading to the stage and I fell, waiting for the impact of the ground, but it never came. Two strong arms wrapped around me catching my weak body causing me to look up, my eyes widened as I noticed Adrian had caught my falling form. "This isn't part of the human punishment program!" Adrian growled causing me to tense in his grip, I pushed him away from me before fixing my uniform top. The room was deadly silent, taking in the scene in front of them, while I stole a glance at my forearm. Carved into my skin by his devastating claws were two words, words that would most definitely scar my body for life. 'Human scum' "Lessons must be learned, she received lashing merely two days ago, and clearly it had no effect on her." Another growl left Adrian's chest as he stepped on to the stage, I wasn't bothered though, you would think I'd be ashamed but I simply smiled slightly. I fixed my sleeve a little so it wouldn't rub on the fresh wound before speaking. "It doesn't matter," the whole room looked at me shocked by my attitude. "I would rather be labeled human scum, than have any resemblance to your kind. I'm proud of what I am, how many of you can say that?" After my amazing little speech, I walked right down the middle between the humans and lycans and out the door. No more compliance, I'm going to get away with as much as I can without getting into too much bother. There will come a day when the lycans power will fizzle out. When it does I'll be ready, I'll be waiting for the day we take our world back. As for the best part about my plan...

No one can stop me.

"Ouch, not so hard." I seethed as the school nurse cleaned my new wound with antiseptic. "If you had of just kept your mouth shut, this wouldn't have happened." I turned to my right looking out the window at the few clouds that were floating in the blue sky. "Like I said, I'm proud to be human, and now everyone knows what I am." I clenched my fist together as the nurse began wrapping a bandage around my forearm. It had been a good few hours since the incident in the hall, and I had been forced to come to the nurces office after I had tried to clean my wound by splashing it with water from the tap, it also refused to stop bleeding. "You are impossible. Can you please just try and stay out of trouble? For one day, that's all I ask." Our school nurse is a wolf, she's one of them. However she hates the way they treat us mere humans, she thinks we should all just live in peace with equal rights. Like that would ever happen. "All I've done is stay out of trouble, but you are just going to humiliate me anyway, so what's the actual point?" "The pack were discussing a public execution, Dylan. You need to walk on egg shells from now on, not just for you but for your family as well." No ones been publicly executed in over 4 months, I'm flattered they're considering it. They only execute people who they believe are the biggest problems to society. "Well then... I'm flattered." I chuckled, before looking at the patch job. 'Huh, not too shabby.' I quickly stood up from the human nursing station and pulled the sleeve of my shirt down covering the evidence of ever being hurt. "This is serious!" I just gave her a blank look before leaving the room. On the way out I heard her call back to me. "Please just think about it." I gave a clipped nod as I walked away wondering how I'm going to tell my mom about this. Later in the evening... "Dilly why you say that?" Freddie looked up at me with a mouth full of bread. "Don't speak with your mouthful!" My mom scolded him as a bashful blush made its way to his cheeks. "Sowwy mommy." His reply was muffled as he swallowed the last chunk of food. "I said it Freddie, because it's the truth. The wolf race are a pathetic excuse for..." my mom cut me off with an extremely stern look. "Dylan! They have ears everywhere, one more word out of you and it's your room." I scowled, my hatred for the Lycan kind growing stronger as each day passes. "What more can they do to me, lash me? Beat me? Brand me? They've ran out of options." I stated slamming my hands down, then severely regretting it as sharp pain shot though my wound. "What was that?" My head shot to regard my mothers worried expression. Her eyebrows were raised and her eyes were dull and judging as she looked at me. "Nothing, it was nothing." I quickly took my plate in my hand and began to walk to the kitchen. "I'm not really hungry, and I have homework to do!" My mom caught hold of my forearm causing me to drop my plate suddenly, I watched it slowly fall before shattering on the floor. I retracted my arm quickly and turned to Freddie. "Stay there and don't move until it's cleaned up ok sport?" He just nodded with wide eyes, I turned back to my mom and noticed her curious stare on my arm. Her grip shifted to the other side as she turned it around before pulling my sleeve up. The bandage was showing and a bit of blood was seeping though after the wound had been disturbed. "What the hel happened?" My moms eyes widened as she began to fumble with the bandage. Before she could unravel any of it I snatched my arm away. "I had an accident at school. No big." I began to gather the large pieces of the broken plate up ready to put them in the bin. "What did you do Dylan?" She looked at me with pure worry and only then did I realize what the wound must look like to someone who didn't know. "For gods sake! I didn't do it to myself! I got publicly punished at the assembly alright? It's no big deal." Her face dropped instantly and she stepped towards me, causing me to step backwards. "Mom, I'm ok. So back off will you." "What did you do? I've never known them to cut someone's arm as a punishment." Her shock and accusation was evident in her voice and I sighed heavily. "I spoke against the alphas son." I may have hit him too, but I wasn't going to divulge that part to her. "It's not one big cut, mom, it's a brand, 'human scum' carved onto my arm." "They've branded you now too?!" My eyes rolled at her hurt tone as I went to get the dustpan and brush. "You're so much like your father." A sigh left her mouth as she spoke, running a hand through her hair, while I quickly swept up the little pieces of the broken plate. "You've had a new uniform delivered. It's laid out on your bed. Dylan, Please just try and stay respectful in the future, I don't want my daughter to be completely mutilated. Although you're not far off." "Gee, Thanks." I then walked over to my little brother Freddy before blowing a kiss into his neck and hearing him giggle. "So sport, how's school going?" "It's ok." He shrugged before going back to coloring a dinosaur picture in. "Well that's good, stay out of trouble, ok little man?" Heading upstairs and into my room, my thoughts wandered to the permanent graffiti scar very slowly healing on my arm. Disgusting beasts. Think they own the world because they're faster, stronger and can shift. Pah. If you ask me they are not all that.

The second I walked into my room my mouth dropped open. On my bed was some grey pants laid out neatly, which wasn't the surprising part, no, what shocked me was the grey high neck no sleeved button down shirt, every single set of uniform had sleeves except this one. They've done this on purpose those, mutts. They want the world to see my arm and know what a disgusting creature I am. They want the world to know that I, Dylan Riley, am nothing more than 'human scum'.

During the last week, I've been horrible, in class I've been loud in voicing my views, I've insulted at least everyone to some degree, I didn't care about the consequences, and I certainly didn't think about them. I haven't seen Nick at all since he was claimed, and to make matters worse today was the royal visit. Oh yes, werewolves and mated humans alike were spending every waking minute preparing themselves to meet his royal majesty, king of the wolves. Unclaimed Humans however would rather stick pins in their eyes. "Dylan, get down now... you're going to be late." She was right, I was dawdling this morning, I really couldn't be bothered today, I gave myself one last look in the small mirror and sighed when my eyes met my newly uncovered brand. It had bad bruising around the letters, and was still extremely tender to touch, it was definitely healing now though. I made my way down the stairs and came face to face with my mother who was seeing to Freddie, she was helping my brother get his coat on when she turned to me. "You ready sport?" Freddie nodded his little head at me and smiled while I quickly slid my shoes on. "Just Remember, the alpha is bad enough, Dylan, please, please don't do anything to anger the king." My mother stopped us from walking out the door to tell me something she had been telling me continuously for the last couple of days, it was almost as if the entire human population of our district was expecting me to do something stvpid. "Try and have a good day." I rolled my eyes but nodded, even I know not to push the king, he could kil me in the hallway like it was nothing. In fact I plan on staying out of his way for the entirety of the day. "We will see you tonight mom." I stated before me and my brother began our walk to school, his little hand clutched my own tightly as we went. Usually Nick would be with us, as he lives next door, well he used to, now he's residing in the main pack house. I quickly dropped Freddie off at his school and watched him get the wolfsbane neutralizer before walking into him building giving me a small wave before he went in. With my new scar on complete show, and my figure being complimented by the skin tight shirt I was wearing, I sauntered down the street to school, I gave my name and year in and took the wolf's bane neutralizer injection with no problems at all. It was finally getting into school that the problem occurred. Walking through the halls I was met by many looks, some of pity some of disgust. You see every single non mated human in the school was wearing a long sleeved version of the uniform I was given. All the Wolves and mated couples were scattered around in fancy floor length dresses or tailored suits. As I turned the corner I noticed a couple, now this couple happened to catch my eye the most out of all of them because it consisted of Arya and Nick, eating each other's faces off. "What the hel!" Nicks head shot to me as his eyes widened. He too was dressed in a tailored suit, a navy blue tie hung on his neck to match Aryas dress. Why was this happening all the time? It's always my friends that get completely brain washed. I shook my head in disbelief before turning my back on him. I heard his fast footsteps behind me as I rounded the corner. "Dylan?!" He ran right in front of me, stopping me in my tracks, making me drop my bag off my shoulder and almost causing me to bump into him. "Let me just explain..." "Has she marked you?" I mean you could almost see it in his eyes, she had marked him, and knowing the way life goes he's probably even mated with her. "Actually... Don't even answer that." I aggressively picked my bag up off of the floor and stormed off down the hall. "Dylan, just listen to me, Erin was right, it's so hard to resist your soulmate, and Arya is actually ok once you get to know her." I just kept walking, he caught up to me walking beside me but it didn't matter, I completely ignored everything and everyone. 'I'm so not in the mood today' getting into class was good though, I said hello to Mr Foley and took my usual seat. Nick sighed then took his bag off ready to sit next to me, but I snapped before he had the chance. "Traitors and mated idiots sit on that side of the room." I didn't look him in the eye as I pointed to a seat right at the front of the classroom on the opposite side. His eyes widened as he turned his attention back to me. "You can't be serious Dylan." I gave him a blank look before grabbing my book out of my backpack, I placed it on the desk then began to write the date on the top line. "I've sat in this seat for as long as I can remember." I ignored him, his voice sounded sad and shocked. "Dylan? Wait! What is that?!" Before I could react Nick had grabbed hold of my branded arm and turned it to see the letters. "Oh my God! What happened?" I snatched my arm away from him and shrugged as I continued to write in my book before grabbing my water bottle out of my bag. "The principal happened, it was my punishment for speaking out against Adrian and Arya. I wear it with pride." He just held a complete look of disbelief. "You spoke out against them?" I shrugged, what did he think I'd do. "It's no secret that I despise this stvpid new world and the mutts that control it. You were my friend, I wasn't going to let them just take you without saying something, although that is exactly what you seem to have done. Enjoy the view from your new seat!" "Don't be like that, Dylan, I'm your best friend, I'm sorry about your arm, but..." my eyes rolled inside my head at my friends words. "Anything with the word 'but' in, isn't an apology, it's a rationalization." I took a drink of water from my bottle and kept my eyes facing forward, ignoring his every attempt to try and talk to me. "Dylan?.. Dylan?... Do you know what? Erin is right, if you push us all away you won't have any friends left." He huffed before walking over to the empty seat and sitting down, I could feel him glancing up at me every now and again but I didn't respond. "Good morning class, please settle down." He looked at me then at Nick and frowned, we've never sat apart, we were friends before the new world even began. I just shook my head telling him to forget it. "So... as you know the king will be arriving in a short while, but until then lessons will go on as normal." Its funny seeing teachers in the same uniform your wearing, mr Foley and his wife are the coolest. Human teachers and doctors only have slightly more respect than we do. Because of Mr Foley's status him and his wife have better access to food and drink, Mrs Foley is cool, sometimes she even makes sure mr Foley brings some in for me. Ya know, coz I'm their favorite student. It's not in a weird way, it's just they were friends of the family before the new wold took effect. Mr Foley and my dad were buddies from high school, so it goes without sayin really. "All the mated humans will be at the front of each years line again, after that you will all be placed in status, Nick, as your mated to Alpha Arya, you'll be at the front of your line. Dylan as you have been branded..." his voice trailed off as he looked at me. "Yeah yeah, I'll be at the back of the line behind everyone. I get it." I huffed, moving my sight towards the window once more. "I am sorry." I turned to face Mr Foley again, he looked genuinely upset and that look of pity wasn't something I wanted to see. I gave him a clipped nod then turned away again. "Anyway, on to the subject matter, 'Of Mice and Men, page 64, Nick why don't you start us off with the reading."

"Of course sir." Nick began reading the book but I switched off, today is going to be a long day. After almost an hour and a half of reading comprehension, the bell chimed signaling lunch. I shot up and out of the classroom before anyone could say anything. Today, I was avoiding drama like the plague.

I wandered the corridors straight to the lunch hall. All the people I would normally hang out with we're all mated so I grabbed my lunch quickly, and sat down at the end of the human table. Let me lay the lunch hall out for you. On one side of the room you have two long rows of tables, with simple benches that make it look like prison, on the other side of the room you have multiple round tables with fancy chairs. Yup you get it. The humans sit at the prison tables and the wolves and traitors sit on the fancy tables, they get fancy food, fancy drink and most importantly they get pudding. what I would give to have some pudding. "Dylan can we just talk?" Nick quickly took the spot next to me as he set his lunch tray down. I looked at his food which had been placed on a ceramic, circular white plate. God that looked good. I sighed knowing he was going to talk anyway. "Fine, you have two minutes." I used my fork to take a bit of pasta off his plate and shoved it into my mouth. God that was good. "After I left school, I was taken to the pack house with Arya, and I really got to know her. It took a few days for me to finally accept being with her, but ever since life has been ok, and the sax... well that's a whole other story." Eww, I didn't need that mental image in my head. "I'm glad your happy." I stated before deciding I had no appetite. His face held shock before he sighed in relief. "That means a lot Dylan, I mean you know that your opinion matters to me." I cut him off before he could say anything else. "I said I was glad your happy. I didn't say I approved of what you've done. You've basically turned into one of THEM, I can't ever forgive you for that." He looked hurt, but I couldn't care less about his feelings. He placed his hand gently on my arm and went to open his mouth when a growl sounded out. All heads whipped to where it came from, Arya was stood holding a glass of soda and a plate, she was looking right at me and Nick and I would totally be dead if looks could kil. Nick quickly retracted his hand, his whole face fell and you could see sorrow flood his irises. "You sit with me now, get away from that, that... scum!" Wow, Nick was such a lucky guy. NOT. "You heard her. Get away from me, go sit with your new friends. I'm happy for you, and I understand where your coming from, but don't come up to me again and pretend you didn't betray your own kind. Don't pretend you didn't betray me." I shoved a little bit of food into my mouth before standing up and walking out of the cafeteria, leaving my tray on the table. I was walking through the hallway to the classroom, you see I decided to spend lunch with Mr Foley in his room, when I happened to hear voices in the corridor. "Is it wise for her to actually be present when the king arrives? Surely she could be placed in the dungeons, it might actually teach her some respect?" My principal was speaking to the alpha of our district, huh, if I stayed and listened do you think they'd notice, maybe they could smell me?! "Everyone is to be present, if the Riley girl does one thing out of line she will be dealt with severely, child or not. That girl has been a blight to the district since day one, she's dangerous, if she puts one hair out of place I will personally break her into submission." Oh shet, they were talking about me specifically, and they mentioned the dungeon, that's not been used in months. Normally I would have listened in more but something about the entire situation didn't sit right with me, all of a sudden, I was on edge, and simply wasn't interested in the slightest in hearing how my misery was to be enhanced. I backed up slightly before turning around and bumping head first into one of the hottest man I had ever seen. I lost my balance immediately and fell straight on to the floor letting out a small grumble in the process. His eyebrows knitted together quickly and his breath hitched in his throat as he looked upon my fallen state and gasped. "Mate!" He whispered, his eyes fixated on mine. Now, I had seen and heard that many times to know what that means, I gasped before taking a step back. 'No, no, no, no, no. This can not be happening.' He growled slightly before stepping towards me. Oh Shet!