So I’m watching two dogs and a cat for this family. They’ve become my regulars and it works out because they are so close to my house, if I need to do laundry or anything it’s a 10 min drive. The family is pretty green-environmentally conscious and have compostable/recyclable poop bags and garbage bags. I just went to pick up the yard and the number of bags that ripped when either opening them or picking up poop is crazy! The same happened when I went to clean the cat’s litter box and put it in the garbage bags…the bag ripped. Not to mention the bedroom I stay in is next to the room with the litter boxes and it just reeks all night. So I bought some air freshener to spray in the doorways. I think I’ll bring my own poop bags from home (also recyclable/compostable) but a bit more sturdy. Last time I went through 2 whole rolls of poop bags to pick up the yard. It’s a minor inconvenience and just my personal preference. The family is super nice and it’s a well paying gig. I just have to tough it out for 2 weeks.

After several weeks of daily-collecting & DTI planning, I've narrowed down the colors I'd like to paint my current/future pets... and that means I don't need my Invisible Paint Brush!
So, let's do the usual thing: reply with your Username (if it's not set as your flair) & a number between 1 & 100. I'll roll up a winning number in about 5 hours (7pm NST 😆)
As a bonus, feel free to describe your pet's invisible existence! *pet story not required to win giveaway

Hey all! I have an unopened/sealed Ghostbusters Firehouse HQ for sale. I’ve been holding onto this one for a long time, in hopes of building it for my city, but sadly I need to make some tough choices.
The set is NIB (new and sealed), and comes from a smoke free home. The set has been sitting for quite a while, and due to the weight and size, there are some minor creases and/or wear, but it is new and sealed. The set will be carefully wrapped in bubble wrap, and the shipping box will be packaged carefully/taped well to protect the set. Here is a link to the pictures:
https://imgur.com/a/sdlYyyn
The shipping will be via UPS Ground, with insurance, using Pirate Ship to keep costs low. I accept PayPal Goods & Services, and will send an invoice out to your PayPal email address prior to you making payment. Currently only looking for sales, so no trades unfortunately.
If you want to see additional pictures of the set, please let me know!
Ghostbusters

Set Number	Set Name	Ask Price
75827	Firehouse Headquarters	$825 Shipped

Let me know if you have any questions or need any additional info. I'm happy to take additional photos of any angles you would like to see that aren’t shown in the photos above. Thanks for looking!!
Chris

This is the story of Gavicus XXIX, the leader of the Aurean Dominate at the beginning of my book series. The Aurean Dominate is a declining empire centered around the Planet Aurea and a few pieces of the surrounding worlds. Despite this, the Aurean Dominate still remains one of the four dominant powers in the South Nebula, competing with the Haxamanian Empire over its southern and eastern worlds. The north is dominated by the Ishga Empire and the west is controlled by the mysterious and brand-new Tatiians. Was Gavicus XXIX a good ruler in your opinion? Why or why not?
INFO ABOUT GAVICUS XXIX:
Gavicus XXIX was a Guant born somewhere in Occidens on Aurea 65 years before the end of Book 1. Not much is known about his early life, but it is known that Gavicus XXIX's birth name was Galerius Decimus Tranio and that he spent most of his young adulthood serving in the army during the war against Beyin Epivoulos and his criminal empire. He eventually became a Senator representing an area of rural Occidens, and after a few terms in the Aurean Senate, was chosen to become the Consigliere of Dominus Theodosius IV after the former Consigliere was ousted in the aftermath of the Great Nicopolitan Scandal. His tenure as Consigliere was short, however, as Theodosius IV died of the Blood Bleaching less than a year later. Galerius ascended the throne in Theodosius's place, and took the name Gavicus XXIX upon doing so. He was 47 years old at the time.
Gavicus inherited a bureaucracy that had just been stripped of the vast majority of its talent, as many of the best officials that had served under Theodosius had been implicated in the Great Nicopolitan Scandal and thus were barred from future office. Syagrios Komnenos, the Exarch of Tifinagh under Theodosius who had helped defeat Majorian IX when he tried to use Tifinagh as a base to usurp the throne, was replaced by Marcus Septimius Massgaba. Massgaba was an incompetent wealthy landowner who had bought his way into the Aurean Senate and would go on to spend his tenure as Exarch raising taxes like a maniac, triggering several small revolts, needlessly prolonging the war with the Haxamanians through his impatience and battlefield incompetence, and dying pathetically in the Battle of Tasfahn. Nassenia Montana, the highly capable Magistra Milita that had served under Theodosius IV was replaced by Gaius Caesonius Theodosius (no relation to Theodosius IV), a somewhat competent general who would go on to serve Gavicus well in the wars in Amorica but utterly fail him in the Battle of Tasfahn. For his Consigliere (2nd-in-command/heir in case of his resignation or death), Gavicus chose Tiverios Theodosiopoulos, the most capable of Theodosius IV's sons, who by this time was serving in the army and Senate as a Legate (Senator in command of a legion). As Gavicus was often away on campaign, Tiverios would go on to amass plenty of political clout and power for himself, as he is who Gavicus always left in charge of governance while out of the capital.
Almost immediately after ascending the throne, Gavicus was forced to deal with a crisis. In Lapum, a working-class satellite city of Aurea's largest city Nicopolis, an ethnic Tangolian civilian named Arslan Yi'it was murdered by Aurean legionaries stationed in the city, causing four days of ethnic violence and chaos known as the Lapum Riots. Large portions of the city were burned and looted. Gavicus personally led a legion into the city to quell the uprising, doing so with only 50 civilian deaths and a few hundred injuries, but this did little to quell the underlying ethnic tensions in the city and elsewhere in Aurea. Despite Gavicus's best attempts to invest in Lapum in the years following the violence, much of Lapum's terrified, ethnically Aurean and Centralian upper and middle class fled the city for Nicopolis and elsewhere, resulting in the beginnings of the urban decay the city is known for today.
Additionally and most importantly, Gavicus had inherited the war with the Haxamanian Empire that had cost the Aureans almost all of their territories on the Planet Awal. Only Tifinagh's islands and a small scrap of the mainland Theodosius IV reconquered just before his death remained under Aurean control. Immediately after dealing with the Lapum Riots, Gavicus traveled to Tifinagh, hoping to cement his legitimacy by reconquering the rest of Tifinagh. Due to the Haxamanians' attention largely being focused elsewhere, Gavicus and Massgaba managed to get significantly further than Theodosius IV did, marching east along mainland Tifinagh's northern coast to little resistance. A small Haxamanian force that tried to stop them outside the city of Dymox was easily defeated, and they took Chera, one of the largest cities on Tifinagh's mainland, with no resistance. However, the city had been emptied by the Haxamanians of its food, its civilians, its water, and its supplies. Immediately knowing this was a trap, Gavicus sent for reinforcements, naval resupply, and a fleet from Carthadasta, Tifinagh's capital. Too impatient to wait for supplies, Massgaba disobeyed Gavicus's orders to stay put and led small bands of cavalry to plunder what they could from the local countryside.
While on one of these raids, they clashed with a small band of Imazi cavalry, previously Aurean subjects who'd switched sides to the Haxamanians after the latter captured their land. The Aureans were victorious and managed to capture some, learning from them that the Haxamanians were amassing a massive army nearby, led personally by the Haxamanian Shahanshah (King of Kings) Bahram VII and his Spahbed (top general) Bacha Hilazai. Only a day later, a Haxamanian fleet appeared from the northwest and parked itself in Chera Bay, blocking reinforcements from reaching the city. However, just as according to Gavicus's plan, the Aurean fleet arrived soon after and defeated it, allowing the simultaneously arriving food and supplies to enter the city. Having lost their advantage in a siege, the Haxamanians instead opted to meet the Aureans in open battle, choosing a nearby site at the edge of the Imazi Desert. Gaius Caesonius Theodosius, who had arrived with the reinforcements, along with Gavicus and Massgaba, led the Aureans to a resounding victory, killing or capturing half the Haxamanian force and routing the rest. The victory at the Battle of the Imazi Desert allowed the Aureans to march much further into mainland Tifinagh, recapturing essentially the entire western half of the Exarchate. Meanwhile, Bahram and Bacha retreated to the fortified port of Vasanos to lick their wounds and await reinforcements. Hoping to return to governance, Gavicus left the situation on Awal to Gaius Caesonius Theodosius and Massgaba for the time being and returned to Aurea proper.
In his early reign, Gavicus focused primarily on strengthening trade relations with the Ishgas, but was soon forced to shift his attention elsewhere. 4 years into his reign, the galactic warlord Tate released a magical cataclysm known as the Iteru Genocide on Iteru, a moon of the Planet Awal with close relations to the Aurean Dominate, as it was a former Aurean possession. With Iteru's Pharaoh Nuterhek, a close personal friend of Gavicus, begging him for help, Gavicus provided what rice and wheat the Aurean Dominate could spare to help with the associated famine. While it wasn't enough to save Iteru, the food aid bought many of Iteru's people the time they needed to flee the doomed moon. Despite the Aurean Dominate's extremely isolationist policies for the past few centuries, Gavicus made an agreement with Nuterhek to resettle some Iteru refugees on Aurea, angering many hardliners in the Aurean Senate. The decision was only able to pass the Aurean Senate when Gavicus agreed to cap the total number of migrants at 60,000 and restrict Iteru settlement to the cities of Astras and Olinthaseia. Most consequential of these arrivals was Taftenkhamun, Nuterhek's 10-year-old son and heir to Iteru's throne, whom Gavicus agreed with Nuterhek to adopt as a son. Despite Gavicus's efforts, however, the Iteru Genocide killed or forced into exile all sentient life on Iteru, taking the life of his friend Nuterhek as well, who chose to die with his people rather than flee to Aurea. Gavicus would live with the guilt of not doing more to help Iteru for the rest of his life.
Gavicus would raise Taftenkhamun, much better known by his Aurean name of Taftus, as the son he never had. He allowed Taftus to live with him in the Palace of the Domini, continued his education, and did his best to balance spending time with him and showing him love and affection with the duties of being the Aurean Dominus. Despite Gavicus trying to push Taftus into going into politics like he did, Taftus was far more interested in the military, and enlisted in the Aurean legions at 17, as soon as he became of age.
After a year of scheming to turn the tide of the war, Bahram sent Bacha undercover to the rebellious Aurean Province of Tangolia, tasked with fomenting a rebellion so they could use the province as a springboard to attack Aurea proper. Many Tangolians, particularly the Otrar and Gazan Tangolians, both felt mistreatment under Aurean rule and had more in common culturally with the Haxamanians than the Aureans, and many flocked to join the revolt, which quickly took control of the north and center of the province. Qajeer, the Tangolian Khan loyal to the Aureans, fought off several attempts by the rebels to capture Tengribalik, the Tangolian Capital. However, once the Haxamanians arrived, led by Bacha Hilazai, their combined strength was too much for Qajeer to deal with and he was forced to abandon the city to the rebels and Haxamanians, fleeing to Tangolia's eastern seaboard, an area much more loyal to the Aureans. With Gaius Caesonius Theodosius tied down in Tifinagh and not trusting Massgaba to defend the Exarchate on his own, Gavicus was forced to rely on what was left of Qajeer's force, border guard units, and regional commanders to stop the ensuing Haxamanian-Tangolian invasion of Argentolia, the Aurean heartland. The border guard units proved to be little more than a speed bump for the combined Haxamanian-Tangolian force, which easily broke through the border wall and crossed the Hsia River, invading Argentolia. As most of eastern Argentolia's regional commanders with any actual talent had been implicated in the Great Nicopolitan Scandal under Gavicus's predecessor and thus were no longer in command, almost all of them were fairly new recruits with little experience leading troops, resulting in disaster after disaster. Daion was the first city to fall to the Haxamanian-Tangolian force, which then followed that up by defeating an Aurean field army near Cannoria. Within three months, both Cannoria and Ferum, the latter being one of the largest and most important cities in the Aurean Dominate, would be in enemy hands. Over the following six months, poorly led field army after poorly led field army would fall to the invaders, with the major cities of Eresus, Cercapese, Ager Capulum, and Sacrini all falling within the next year. For the first time since the Aurean Dominate's founding, the capital of Astras was within striking distance.
Under immense pressure from the Aurean Senate and general public, Gavicus finally recalled Gaius Caesonius Theodosius from Tifinagh after Sacrini fell, as the enemy was nearing Astras, thought for millennia to be untouchable. By the time Gaius Caesonius Theodosius had arrived, the Haxamanian-Tangolian force had seized Artegion, on the doorstep of Astras, and with it, a fleet. With the combined arms of their massive land force and this fleet, the Haxamanian-Tangolian force laid siege to Astras, with Gaius Caesonius Theodosius and Gavicus leading the defense of the city. The city's massive, three-layered walls, combined with its easily defensible location on the sea with only a few land entrances, allowed the Aureans to repel the invaders, marking a turning point in the war. While the Haxamanians under Bacha Hilazai simply sailed back to Awal, the Tangolians, with no such option and trapped thousands of miles deep in Aurean territory, would be dealt with piecemeal over the next three years. Around the same time, Qajeer had managed to reverse his fortunes in Tangolia and recapture Tengribalik and much of the province's center.
By year 6 of Gavicus's reign, the situation with the Tangolians was under enough control for Gavicus to return his military attention to Awal. While Gaius Caesonius Theodosius and Gavicus had been busy fighting off Bacha Hilazai and the Tangolians, Massgaba had lost some ground to Bahram VII in Tifinagh, having been pushed back to the city of Thubiscurum. Taking advantage of low Haxamanian morale after the failed Siege of Astras, the Aureans were able to push the Haxamanians out of Tifinagh entirely when Gavicus and Gaius Caesonius Theodosius returned, restoring the Aurean Exarchate of Tifinagh to full Aurean control for the first time in decades. Other lost Aurean Exarchates in the area - Kilikia, Meroe, Adua, and the Imazi Tribal Lands - were restored to Aurean hands over the next six years, putting the Haxamanians decisively on the back foot. During this time, Bacha Hilazai was killed at the Battle of Taoudenni, greatly weakening the Haxamanians and lowering their morale.
Relations with the Kingdom of Arturia were fraught, with conflict erupting 7 years into Gavicus's reign over the Aurean Exarchate of Amorica, an isolated Aurean territory on the Planet Arturia that the Kingdom of Arturia continued to claim. Paradoxically, these tensions began when Arturia's king, King Arturius, traveled to Aurea to meet with Gavicus to negotiate an end to their millennia-long conflict. While Gavicus was personally in favor of a deal, King Arturius refused to relinquish his claim on Amorica, leading to the Aurean Senate rejecting the deal and forcing Gavicus to continue the conflict. Additionally angering the Aurean Senate, Gavicus made the mistake of insisting that he meet with Arturius in Astras rather than on Arturia. Despite Gavicus's attempt to pitch it as a beginning of the end of Aurea's centuries of isolationism that even many Aureans were starting to regard as self destructive, this was seen as a bridge too far for most. During the failed negotiations, Gavicus briefly met Pompeia, a young disciple of King Arturius who would become of note much later. In order to make up his lost standing in the Aurean Senate, Gavicus was forced to escalate the situation in Arturia immediately after the negotiations broke down, distracting King Arturius with a vacation in Astras while he ordered a massive invasion force to land in Amorica and seize as much Arturian land as possible.
Exceeding even Gavicus's expectations, this force managed to break through the Arturian Alps and put Caerbannog, the Kingdom of Arturia's capital, under siege. Upon his return, however, Arturius managed to break the siege despite being taken completely by surprise, and defeated the Aureans in several battles, pushing them all the way back into Amorica. Eventually, Arturius, livid at Gavicus's betrayal, managed to invade into Amorica itself and fought the Aureans, led personally by Gavicus as he had traveled there by this point, to a stalemate at the Battle of Caerwent. While Gavicus still had enough resources to continue prosecuting the war, he felt that this particular episode proved there was no reason to continue the constant skirmishes with Arturia, and accepted an offer to negotiate peace terms with Arturius again, this time in Amorica.
The ensuing peace deal returned Aurea's and Arturia's borders to status quo antebellum, although Arturius was not happy about Aurea retaining Amorica. However, Aurea had to bite the bullet and recognize the Kingdom of Arturia's independence and normalize relations, as all of Aurea's previous Domini had refused to do this despite it having been fait accompli for millennia at this point. Aurea had previously seen the entire Kingdom of Arturia as little more than a rogue province that had somehow managed to slip from its control long ago. Aurea paid Arturia a hefty war indemnity, but this was paltry compared to the money that new trade relations between Arturia and Aurea brought in for both nations. Although recognizing Arturia's independence was not popular on Aurea at first, Gavicus was able to sell it based on the fact that he had retained Amorica, held the peace negotiations off-planet this time, and most importantly because of all the money that new trade relations with Arturia brought in, as Arturia sat along a key trade route linking Aurea more closely with the wealthy and technologically advanced Ishgas far beyond. This allowed Gavicus to hold lavish games, as well as expand Aurea's existing food dole for the poor to include protoceratops and psittacosaurus meat in addition to wheat, olive oil, rice, pork, and chicken. His popularity spiked, and in the tenth year of his reign, he would go on to sail to reelection against Qajeer Khan, winning 55% of the vote nationwide.
In the ninth year of Gavicus's reign, the last holdouts of the Tangolian revolt had been put down by Qajeer. Qajeer had his uncle Jamukha, who had led the revolt, strangled for doing so. However, Qajeer had his own reasons for helping crush the revolt instead of participating in it himself. While he secretly loathed the Aureans and the way they treated his people, Qajeer instead chose to bide his time, gaining the Aureans' trust and building a robust local power base while he waited for his own opening to revolt. For the entire rest of his life, Gavicus would be none the wiser. Qajeer would eventually revolt under Gavicus's successor, resulting in a multi-year civil war that would leave the already exhausted Aurean Dominate open to the machinations of Tate soon after.
Gavicus tried his best to manage the Blood Bleaching pandemic that circulated on Aurea during the first few years of his reign, but little could be done to spare Aurea from the destruction of that disease, and like most of the rest of the galaxy, Aurea lost a substantial chunk of its population. Thanks largely to Gavicus's enforcement of strict social distancing throughout its duration, however, the Blood Bleaching killed far less of the population on Aurea than it did on the hardest-hit worlds of Arturia and Iteru, each of which lost half or more of their pre-pandemic populations. In total, it is estimated around 10-15% of the Aurean Dominate's pre-pandemic population was killed by the Blood Bleaching, compared to around 50% on Arturia and a whopping 70% on Iteru. Even Aurea's relatively small loss was not without its consequences, however, as this caused a decline in tax revenue for years and a noticeable strain on the military's recruitment pool.
In the first four years after his reelection, Gaius Caesonius Theodosius managed to reconquer all of the lost Exarchates on Awal the Haxamanians had taken from the Aureans during Theodosius IV's reign. Nova Aurea, Caria, and finally Carmania were all finally returned to the Aurean Dominate after decades of Haxamanian occupation, and Gavicus's popularity soared as a result.
Despite having recognized Arturia's independence earlier, 14 years into Gavicus's reign, tensions flared up with Arturia again Amorica again. An Arturian garrison had left a border fort in the Arturian Alps briefly undefended, and a small Aurean force seized it without orders, prompting a small-scale war between Aurea and Arturia. This conflict was over in about two months, with the Kingdom of Arturia suing for peace after the Aureans seized a few more border forts and badly defeated an Arturian field army at the Battle of Allt-Gollau. At the negotiating table, Gavicus agreed to return the border between the Aurean Exarchate of Amorica and the Kingdom of Arturia to status quo antebellum in exchange for the freeing of 500 Aurean hostages Arturia took during the fighting and the Aureans who seized the initial border fort without orders were put on trial. Most notable about this conflict was the brilliance of an Aurean cavalry commander named Gorgo Gualtera at the Battle of Allt-Gollau, resulting in her catching Gavicus's eye. Gavicus promoted her to Exarch of Amorica, giving her full military and civilian control of the territory. Unbeknownst to Gavicus or anyone else, however, Gorgo was both the daughter of the dead Aurean crimelord Beyin Epivoulos (the crimelord whose forces Gavicus had fought in his youth), as well as a deep cover agent for Tate (the architect of the Iteru Genocide and many other atrocities across the galaxy).
The next year, the Haxamanian Empire was engulfed in a civil war, and Gavicus saw the perfect opportunity to strike at the Haxamanian Capital while the area was engulfed in turmoil, finally ending the decades-long war or maybe even conquering the Haxamanians completely in the process. However, things did not at all go according to plan, and all the armies he brought with him got destroyed by the forces of Rukhsana I Shahanzai, a disaffected member of the Haxamanian royal family who had escaped from prison, gotten an army together, annihilated the Aureans in the disastrous Battle of Tasfahn, and took the Haxamanian throne for herself. Several Aurean generals and other military leaders, including Massgaba, were killed, and Gavicus barely escaped the battle with his life. The Aureans had no forces left on Awal after this to protect their holdings there. On the other hand, Taftus, who was also present during the campaign, became a national hero when he used his tactical prowess to save the troops under his command from annihilation by a Haxamanian ambush deep in the mountains.
In the aftermath, Gavicus was forced to enter into peace negotiations. At first, Rukhsana demanded the Aureans cede all their lands on Awal to the Haxamanians, which Gavicus flatly refused (The Exarchate of Tifinagh on Awal was one of Aurea's most valuable regions and ceding it to the Haxamanians would have meant an end to the grain dole and mass starvation across Aurea). Eventually, a deal was reached in which the Aureans would cede all their lands on Awal except the Exarchate of Tifinagh to the Haxamanians, and the Aureans would have to pay a huge war indemnity to the Haxamanians as well. The Aurean Exarchates of Nova Aurea, Kilikia, Meroe, Adua, the Imazi Tribal Lands, Carmania, and Caria were all permanently handed over to the Haxamanians, essentially rendering all of Gavicus's reconquests except those in Tifinagh moot. This was formalized in the humiliating Treaty of Mingora, which Gavicus was forced to sign.
Gavicus's popularity took a nosedive in the aftermath of this event, and he dedicated the rest of his reign to domestic policy, commissioning public works projects, throwing lavish games, and beginning by far his most important legacy: he decided that to keep up with the rest of the galaxy, Aurea needed to end its isolationism and industrialize along the Ishga model. He decided that Aurea's largest city, Nicopolis, would be a good place to test industrialization, and he hired Ishga scientists, architects, engineers, and developers to transform Nicopolis into a modern city. While Gavicus's popularity would never recover to the heights it was at after his victory over the Arturians, this was enough to keep him from being assassinated (at least for a while).
For the rest of Gavicus's life, Taftus would alternate between his extremely promising military career and a middling-to-poor one as an elected politician, helping Gavicus with some of his later projects such as industrialization but turning out to be too scandal-ridden and debauched to be the protege Gavicus wanted. For all his military talent, Taftus had a reputation for extreme abrasiveness and anger issues, and it seemed every other week there was another rumor going around about Taftus having massive orgies involving female politicians and/or prostitutes. While Gavicus would never fully disown Taftus, he had largely abandoned him as a protege by the end of his reign, assigning him military command of the backwater province of Tiorangi where he didn't have to pay much attention to him. The year before Gavicus died, he made Gorgo Gualtera his Magister Equitum, supreme commander of all cavalry forces in the Aurean Dominate after the previous officeholder died suddenly of a stroke. While Gavicus had no way of knowing this at the time, this decision would eventually result in both his own death and Aurea being pulled into the galaxy's broader confrontation with Tate years later that would result in the bloodiest war in galactic history.
Towards the end of his life, Gavicus befriended Pompeia, a young woman of mixed Aurean and Tangolian heritage who had spent much of her life on the Planet Arturia before returning to Aurea by accident. She rose to superstardom as a gladiator, having trained in magic under King Arturius, utilizing magic in combat in ways that hadn't been seen in millennia. He was both shocked and intrigued by Pomepeia's friendship and past brief romantic involvement with Rukhsana I Shahanzai of the Haxamanian Empire. Gavicus saw great potential in Pompeia and reinstated her Aurean citizenship, even allowing her to serve as his Consigliere after Tiverios was indicted on corruption charges. However, there was some tension between the two, as Pompeia was from Lapum, had witnessed the Lapum Riots as a child, and was critical of Gavicus's failure to address the longstanding discrimination against Tangolians that led to them. Less than a year later, Gavicus was assassinated under mysterious circumstances (it would later be discovered that Gorgo Gualtera arranged his murder and covered it up so well that no one even suspected her until she would eventually reveal her true intentions years later), and Pompeia ascended the throne as the first female Dominus (Domina) in history. Gavicus's body was cremated after his death and his urn was placed in the Mausoleum of the Domini in Astras. Decades of constant conflict with the Haxamanians, both under Gavicus and his predecessor Theodosius IV, as well as civil conflict, multiple Tangolian revolts, the Hoc Nostrum conflict, and the Amorican Wars with Arturia would leave Pompeia with an exhausted Aurean Dominate, bereft of manpower, resources, money, and talent that would be completely unprepared to deal with Tate and his machinations only a few years after Gavicus's death.

Hello fellow Redditors,
I locked my bike up under the pedway bike racks between GSB and agriculture building yesterday afternoon. I ended up leaving it overnight because of the rain and took public transit home.
I used a shotty 4-number combo lock to lock front tire and frame to the bike rack. Given that the bike is a 20-30 yr old hand me down from my grandpa and it can only switch between two gears I thought it was sufficient security.
When I checked on my bike again this morning I saw it was gone, no lock either so I don't think it was cut. Just reaching out here to ask if anyone knows if the campus does any kind of bike removal or if there is any kind of place bikes just lying around would be sent to?
I just have a feeling that whoever stole the bike might leave it lying around somewhere once they realized that only two gears work. Any kind of help/places I can contact for more information would be appreciated. I don't really know how the campus infrastructure/administration lost and found system works for bikes. The bike is dark green if anyone sees it lying around. Don't have photos immediately on hand for reference unfortunately.
Any information or advice would be highly appreciated, thanks! 🙏

This post includes photos and use descriptions of the crafted rings from the Crystal Creations Stuff Pack. It is marked a spoiler in case you want to discover the designs yourself. All images are Sims 4 screenshots and not my own art.
I previously posted about the rings here, but after playing with the pack for a bit I now have better info. I also made a post about the crafted bracelets, which is linked in a comment below. I can make posts for other Crystal Creations stuff if desired.
CRAFTING: There are 12 rings you can craft using the gemology table. Each one requires a metal and a crystal, except the Basic Ring which only requires a metal. You gain access to the different designs as your Sim's gemology skill increases.
PHOTOS: Rings are pictured in alphabetical order, not in the order they appear when crafting. For consistency, I crafted all rings with pyrite (metal) and shinolite (crystal). Thank my lovely Sim Athena Centurion for crafting and modeling. l added a marking to her left hand so it's easier to distinguish hands.
RING INFO: Each ring has a single designated finger (listed below), except that the Lunar Goddess and Delicate rings also use a pinky. You can use a crafted ring to propose, but those engagement rings are treated the same as any other crafted ring (e.g., they go on their typical finger, not the left ring finger). You cannot have more than one ring on a finger. Only three crafted rings can be worn at a time. You can wear regular CAS rings as well as long as the fingers don't conflict. If charged, each ring crystal has a beneficial effect for your Sim that are indicated by moodlets. The effects do not stack, so you can only receive one benefit from each type of crystal. This includes effects from other jewelry items and carved crystals.
LEFT HAND • Thumb: none • Index: Bling, Mystical • Middle: Edwardian, Lunar 1 • Ring: none • Pinky: Lunar 2
RIGHT HAND • Thumb: none • Index: Basic, Plumbob, Raw • Middle: Botanical, Chunky, Starry • Ring: Delicate 1, Eye • Pinky: Delicate 2
To maximize the number of fingers with rings using crafted + base game CAS rings, wear: Delicate, Lunar, and either Basic, Plumbob, or Raw (there is no base game ring that uses the right index finger).
Hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions 💍

So I have been seeing lots of exclusive pumpers and want to try it. I am currently a month and two weeks pp. How to actually start? Should I pump before baby’s feeding time and give him the pumped milk when it’s time? I combo feed, so in that case should I pump the number of times I give baby the formula in the evening? Should I eat before or after the pumping session? Sometimes I usw the manual pump, is that good for the supply? And lastly, how to do pitcher method?
Share your routine and tips as well.🙏 Happy mommying(I saw someone use it here 🥲)

Hello totalwar,
I'm in an interesting position. I'm playing as the Sendai on a VH/VH long campaign and I'm on turn 110. I'm one region away from causing a realm divide. I have an American military mission and decided to conquer the northern part of Japan from the Matsumae and other clans.
I've been at war with other factions for a while (it ramped up around turn 80 when I traded with the Hirado) but for the most part I'm mainly at war with the Tosa, Jozai, and Nagaoka. The Jozai and Nagaoka border me at the moment as I vassilized the Aizu but they got steamrolled shortly after. Initially the Jozai threw a few Shogitai at me and because of my general's command it wasn't too difficult to country. Now, however, they're throwing the max number of Shogitai along with other units; the last few included line infantry. Nagaoka initially threw levy infantry with a few line infantry regiments but now its mostly Shogunate infantry and 2 Armstrong guns (I had two Parrott guns but had to disband them due to money issues.) The Tosa are probably the weakest but twice they've tried to attack my northernmost areas with infantry which distracts my own navy of 5 ships trying to find them. I fear that they might land next turn if I don't find them.
6 turns ago I built a Military Academy after struggling to do so juggling so many economic buildings; I haven't upgraded most towns to also have a Police Office yet. I wanted to re recruit the Parrott guns and at least two units of US Marines but I'm juggling with just over 2k koku per turn. I have 4 units of Shogitai spread out over 2 armies, one headed by my daimyo and the other by his heir. Command-wise I'm probably leading everyone else as both the Jozai and Nagaoka lost their best generals early on and the Tosa lost their 4 command daimyo trying to land up north. I finally was able to recruit 4 units of Line Infantry and I have kneel fire unlocked (level 4 development) so with my generals it should be enough firepower to beat most units and combined with others can cause easy routs.
My problem is, however, that I wanted to become a republic. I know I probably have enough time to do it but once the realm divide starts I'll be on the defensive again and I'm trying to figure out how I should form my armies for this. I'll have access to Republican Infantry and 5 of them should carry me easily, but I'm wondering if I should go with whatever is available instead of trying to get a doomstack. I'm hoping to capture an Armstrong gun the next time the Nagaoka attack me but its unlikely. I can't always charge across a battlefield and hope to take no casualties, and defensive sieges would be a nightmare.
My navy is commanded by a rank 3 general and costs me 1.8k for 6 ships. I feel like this is overkill but the Tosa has fielded 8 ships before (I beat them) so I feel that once the other factions attack me they'll probably have strong ships as well.
Has anyone done a traditional republic run with a Shogunate faction? I'd assume the Aizu are the easiest even with their bad position but I could be wrong.

Before anyone points out that "Gold cards are optional, you don't have to get them, if you're not having fun playing the game you should stop." Yes, thank you for this profound insight, agreed and noted. That said, after an hour of farming the Waft Emitter for Termite King gold cards, here's some baseline numbers to get a rough estimate of how much time you'll likely need to invest to get the card:
1 Hour resulted in 108 reload attempts. 27 of these attempts yielded a Termite King immediately spawning. The King actually spawns in about 60% of full raid attempts, but if he doesn't spawn immediately then you need to kill other termites and wait for him to appear, which will hurt your numbers in the long run. So, with a baseline of 27 kills/hour, here's a table showing the time it would take to farm the card:

Hours	King Kills	Probability
1	27	23.77%
2	54	41.88%
3	81	55.70%
4	108	66.22%
5	135	74.25%
6	162	80.37%
7	189	85.04%
8	216	88.59%
9	243	91.30%
10	270	93.37%
11	297	94.95%
12	324	96.15%

Now, looking at the chart, you might think "every hour I have a roughly 25% chance to get the card? Ehh, that's not great, but it's not terrible, I can mange that". Oof...
Because of the nature of independent sampling, every hour of effort you put into farming yields a diminished additional likelihood that the total number of Termite King kills will have yielded the card, e.g. farming for 11 hours straight would give you a 94.95% chance of getting the card, but adding an hour on top of that would only increase your likelihood of finding the card by 1.2%. I know on its face the math seems simple, "Oh every kill is a 1% chance to get the card, that's rough but it's manageable". But you have to appreciate that there's about a 5% chance that you could be spending longer than 11 straight mind-numbing hours (without interruptions) of reloading your saves, for ONLY this card. Save-scumming will yield virtually ZERO tangible results in your save file other than this one gold card. There's even a 1% chance that you could be spending 17 straight hours farming this card. And I don't even want to think about what these numbers look like if you're farming the Termite King from his natural spawn point, even with a pre-spawn save established. This is absurd. 5% is a Fluffy Dandelion Tuft. 1% is a Suspicious Ice Cap. These are not impossible scenarios.
The 1% drop chance is really unacceptable with a maximum kill rate of 27/hour. I can kill Black Ox Beetles, Green Stink Bugs, Black Widows, and Moths at a rate much, much higher than this, and those all share the same 1% drop rate.
This issue is often overlooked because 50% of people will get the card in 2-3 hours, 75% of people can get it in about 5 hours. The truth is, even amongst the small group of players crazy enough to get every gold card, most people don't end up in this situation. But some of them do. And the fact that this is even a possibility is an extreme oversight by the developers. Players who go for these Gold Cards are the players who love the game. They're not going for it because it's just a thing to do, they're going for it because they've enjoyed this game enough to the point that they're actively trying to 100% and explore/achieve every aspect the game has to offer. To cut them short like this with 1 card alone (all other cards are not even remotely on the same timescale to farm) is a real disservice to the most hardcore fan base, especially considering the card may drop for somebody who wasn't even looking to get it on their first kill.
Here are some easy suggestions to mitigate or completely remove the issue:
1) Give the Termite King a sub-1000 rage threshold to spawn in a Waft Raid. This way, even though it's far less time-efficient, at least you wouldn't be forced to save scum between each attempt and you could accumulate kills/resources between each run, while removing some of the tedium of repeating identical run attempts over and over. You could even go crazy and allow for the possibility of *gasp* more than 1 Termite King appearing during a raid! Utterly insane, I know...
2) Put a hard-cap on the number of kills needed to obtain a gold card. If you killed 200 of an enemy, I don't care how unlucky you are, you've earned that card. You shouldn't need to potentially dedicate so many hours of your very real time, in your very real life, to accommodate a digital RNG algorithm that just isn't landing for you. At least then you could feel like you're working toward a goal, rather than nebulously wandering around for an achievement that is about as likely to come in 20 seconds as it is 20 hours.
3) Increase the chances of the Termite King dropping a gold card. This would have a negligible effect on the bottom-floor range of how long it would take to get the card, but it would have a profound effect on the potential upper-range of time you might be spending to find it.
The point of a 1% drop rate is to make players feel a sense of accomplishment, or luck, or special status in their save file, to invoke positive feelings about the time you've spent playing the game and the tangible rewards you can point out to demonstrate such. But in the case of this particular enemy, it's completely inapplicable.
TLDR: I think the least the developers could do is make some sort of small change to say "Hey, we see you playing, and we want to reward you for spending that time playing our game" rather than just "Hey, it's a 1% chance, and that's about all the thought we care to put into it, your time be damned."

So aside from the fact that it has no ultimate and augments that upgrade the abilities, the base abilities and passive are these (slightly shortened since I don’t want to type that much)
Passive: Explosive rage: accumulates energy from losing or restoring health. At max energy, create an explosion that deals (20+20% AD+100%AP+5% bonus max hp) to nearby enemies. Some augment upgrades include gaining bonus stats after the explosion, it charging faster, and having a bigger area or something.
Q: spear thrust: 8 second cooldown (FYI in the game mode there are no ability ranks, this is all that is displayed), range is about the same as a pantheon q without charge, and it consumes 10% max hp to dash forward, dealing damage equal to (20+100% AD+20% AP+5% bonus HP). Some upgrades include having a chance for lightning to strike enemies hit, which restores HP, the ability having longer range, the ability having 0 cd, the ability healing based on dmg dealt, and being wider.
W: war cry: cd is about 10 seconds, deals damage equal to 20+ 30% AP and AD to enemies in about the same range as q and gains a shield of 30% bonus max hp. Some augment upgrades include pulling in enemies hit, stunning enemies hit (pretty sure it’s by a second), reducing the cd by a lot, reducing the cd for every enemy hit, and having a bigger shield the lower kalista’s hp is.
e: sweeping conquest: range is about the same as q/w, and it’s a cone that does 20+60%AD+20%AP+15% bonus HP, and heals kalista for 5% max hp per enemy hit, up to 30% (it’s a pve event where enemies swarm you). Augment upgrades includes having a free automatic cast of this ability every few autos (4 IIRC), the ability being circular, gaining max hp based per kill+the ability grants bonus hp for a short duration after use, and attacking after using this ability (basically, this ability resets your AA timer is what this upgrade is).
Now this kit has no ult, however an idea for an ult I have is to give her some of her ability upgrades for a duration. But which? That’s kind of hard to choose. So why not make it so that at rank one, it gives one for each, 2 at rank 2, 3 at rank 3, and maybe 4 at level 18. Also I feel like if this were to be a champion e would need to be changed to 6% max hp and only against champions, or have rediced healing against minions/monsters. So what would you all think of a champion like this? Any adjustments you’d make? Any ult ideas?

I'm kind of new to all of this, I usually just turn on my TV.
But, with the ECF looming and plans to be in Europe until June 10, I am trying to find a way to watch some of the live broadcasts. This is what I have set up so far, if anyone who knows more about this than I do, I am open to suggestions.
ESPN+ subscription to live stream games
NORD VPN to use NY based IP address
Will I need Meshnet?

What is Meshnet?

Meshnet is a way to safely access other devices, no matter where in the world they are. Once set up, Meshnet functions just like a secure local area network (LAN) — it connects devices directly. This makes Meshnet a great fit for activities that require high speed, low latency, and advanced security — activities like file sharing, active work collaborations, and intense multiplayer gaming.

I've been seeing this person for almost 5 months. We met on a dating app and hit it off, and moved to Snap. We met in person a couple weeks later. I met him against my better judgement because he refused to tell me his last name or phone number. He said I didn't need it because we initially agreed to nothing serious. Since then though, we've seen each other over 30 times, we talk all day, every day via snap. Things have gotten a little serious... And despite telling me he is in love with me and asking for us to be exclusive, he still absolutely refuses to give me a last name or phone number. He won't confirm where he works, exactly where he lives, I've never seen his car or even a wallet. I do know what he does for a living and am fairly confident, due to his line of work, he's not a felon of any kind. Someone tell me what is going on??? Am I an idiot for letting this go this far?

Throwaway! I (25F), just inherited a lot of money from my deceased mother. She passed away unexpectedly not too long ago. My parents got divorced when I was 10. My mom got remarried a year later and had 2 kids with my stepdad. So, my half-sibling are 12M and 10F. My mom and I were very close growing up. After the divorce, I technically did live with her and visited with my dad on weekends. My stepdad was nice, but I never felt like I was truly a part of that family, though. My mom had let it be known that she was going to set me up for life because she realized that my father was not very set up. So, when my mom passed, she left everything to me. In her will, it was written that she wanted me to use the money for my education, future, and general well-being. She left a lesser amount in a trust for my half-siblings that they could access when they reached 18, but the main body of her estate went to me, of course. Lately, my stepdad has been insisting that I share the money my mom left me with my half-siblings. The reason he has given is that my mom would never have wanted one of her children to live better than the others, and they are still minors, after all. Sorry, but I think my mom had her reasons for writing her will the way she did so precisely. My dad says that I should not feel guilty about honoring my mom's wishes. But my stepdad, and even some of my extended family, are painting me as selfish and greedy. They're of the opinion that I'm putting money ahead of the best interests of the family and that I should be considering the needs of my half-siblings down the line. I love my half-siblings, and at this point, I feel a greater responsibility is to honor my mom's wishes. I am caught between what I feel is right and the pressure from my stepdad and extended family.

Apologies but I’m binge watching in the UK on All 4 and this keeps coming into my head…
This is not going into the Abby treatment of Chloe vs Maddie cos it’s just too much but just at face value from the mothers and i’m not sure who is worse -
At the start of season one it seemed like Maddie and Chloe were on fairly level footing competition wise and with Abby to a certain extent - yes, Maddie got extra private lessons and Melissa “volunteered” so she could be around more - but Chloe wasn’t anywhere near so beaten and downtrodden.
Yes, Abby would use Maddie as a yard stick for everyone and yes she would flaunt her accomplishments but the competition created I think in the early days made both girls want to do better and Chloe beat Maddie on a number of occasions.
Christi gets more and more insufferable as the seasons progress - each time Chloe does well it’s in spite of Abby, and when she does badly it’s because Abby had a vengeance against her.
The talks between C & C about “be yourself, you’re so talented, just do what you can do” all seem to just stop once she’s won Nationals and as her fights with Abby get more viscious, the treatment of Chloe gets undeniably worse and Chloe feels more defeated. Christi cries on a number of occasions about putting her daughter through this and wanting to remove her from the studio, telling Chloe to ignore Abby or that she’s at a disadvantage but should try anyway.
For Melissa’s part, her inability to just ADMIT there’s favouritism but she’s ok with that because she wants her daughter to get ahead is insanely frustrating. I don’t blame her for not “standing up” to Abby because when she does, Maddie gets punished and all she wants is for Maddie to do well. It seems like a good job Mackenzie is also interested and talented in dance because I get the feeling she’d have been there anyway sat in a corner somewhere.
It must be really difficult to have someone slam your child constantly and have everything you try and do for them criticised but if Melissa had admitted that’s how she was playing the game I think things between her and Christi wouldn’t have gotten quite so bad? Also why should she sacrifice chances for her own daughter for the sake of highly conditional friendships with the other mothers. Kelly admitted Brooke used to be the favourite and she was fine with that, Jill asked if her daughter could play Rosa Parks ffs (I hope producer pushed but still!) and no one cared when Maddie was punished by Abby for any slights by Melissa towards her.
What’s worse is that all this preferential treatment never gave Maddie a chance to vent at all. Melissa’s constant insistence everything was fine never gave M or M any breathing space. Plus she never let Maddie or Mackenzie cry, or get upset in any way, it seemed to just anger and freak her out when Maddie wasn’t perfect.
TL:DR - Christi seemed to blame everything on Melissa and Abby and brush over Chloe’s talents and abilities while Melissa never admitted favouritism or the part she played in trying to get Maddie ahead. I don’t know who is worse, they’re both pretty crap.

Hey is there anyone who pays the property taxes through canadian tire mastercard? I tried to add a payee and it shows the error in the last step:
The account number entered is no longer valid in our system. Please enter a different account number.
I still can see oshawa tax in the list, just can‘t add an account number to it. Is anyone having the same problem? Or if oshawa not allow using this payment method anymore?

This number called me asking to fix my Microsoft "GameParse" subscription. Microsoft calls it GamePass so I was immediently sketched, so I used an old gift card and they took money off of said card. Prank the number and have fun, it is the best shit to do.

my power button doesn’t work after i pulled a wire in the back of my phone after it cracked to shit. does anyone know if there’s like an accessibility option or a shortcut to use a power button without the button? I have an iphone 12 pro max if you need to know

Previous Part
I grabbed the back pack Bianca had left in the kitchen and waited in the living room. I had no idea what she was packing for but after this morning I wasn’t going up there to check. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to ask Tuck yet. I wanted him to tell me he was a werewolf himself, that seemed like pretty important information just on the basis of trust. But I also wanted to know why he was really out by the mine yesterday. His story didn’t add up and there’s no way he knew we would be up there, I think that was just a coincidence. As I was trying to come up with exactly how I wanted to broach the question to Tuck, Frank put a hand on my shoulder. He was wearing his lab coat so I guessed he just came up from the basement. The hairnet he always seemed to wear when he was working was in its usual spot. I suppose he wore it to protect the memory of hair that was once on his head. He looked solemn and a little sick as he turned to me.
“Keep her out of trouble will you? I know we haven’t always been the best to her and I’m sure Stein and I don’t really give her the help she needs. But she’s like the daughter I never had time to have, I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to her.”
“Frank, you probably do more than you know for her. Did she ever talk about her family with you?”
“Very briefly throughout the years, I don’t know if she’s told you much or anything for that matter. It… it certainly wasn’t easy for her growing up and it never got easier.”
“I’ll do my best to keep her out of trouble. If she does end up following me into… whatever this trial ends up being just promise me you’ll have a way to get her out. Some kind of contingency, I can fend for myself but I’ve seen her just shut down before. Like yesterday in the caves someone grabbed her and she lashed out and just… wasn’t herself. She just froze and I don’t want that to happen anywhere near Shaoni.”
“I’ll work on something but I can’t promise that. Like Stein said we’re scientists, we don’t really do field work like that. If I do come up with something you’ll be the first to know. I’m glad she ran into you when she did Keith, she could really use a friend.”
With that Frank walked away, back towards the kitchen and into the basement.
It wasn’t long after that when I heard Bianca coming down the stairs asking if anyone had seen her toothbrush. At which point Rocco appeared in front of me from god knows where holding a suspicious disassembled toothbrush.
“Not. A. Word. Kid.”
Rocco growled at me as he scampered out the door behind me.
“I have a couple that I packed for the trip here from Wisconsin I can just give you one of those.”
I called to Bianca. Partially because I wanted to get a move on and partially because I wanted no part in whatever Rocco was getting up to. If there was one supernatural thing about this town it was that raccoon’s knack for mischief. I get that’s what raccoons are known for but seriously, Rocco was on another level. Bianca reluctantly agreed to take one of the travel tooth brushes I had back at my house. I wasn’t even going to ask why she packed a duffle bag to go a few hundred feet into town and back again.
“Come on we’ll take the bikes again.”
Bianca said as she made her way behind the house.
“I’m telling you they’re going to give me tetanus one of these days but sure. Lets just stop at my place first, I want to drop off this backpack you took yesterday first.”
Bianca was still wearing the ratty jeans she’d taken from me yesterday and at this point I just figured she could have them. I really wasn’t about to get into an argument as to why she should take my pants off and… ugh even saying it is just… no. Those were hers now as far as I was concerned.
We rode over to my house through the crisp autumn afternoon. The trees along the street were finally being to change color, it looked like a scene from a postcard. One of those one’s of the idyllic towns that could’ve come straight out of a hallmark movie. I had to give it to Eagles Peak, it may by turning into a den of vipers for me minute by minute but it sure could be beautiful, in it’s own isolated kind of way.
“Wow its very… small.”
Bianca commented as she stepped into my house and looked around.
“Yeah not everyone has a blank check from two different governments like Stein.”
“I didn’t mean li…”
“It’s ok I know what you meant, its different.”
I said cutting her off before she had the chance to apologize. I dropped off the backpack in my room and rooted around in the one duffle bag I still hadn’t unpacked from my trip here. I found the toothbrush without to much trouble and walked into the living room to give it to Bianca only to find her unpacking on the couch.
“What’s going on here, are you moving in?”
I joked, not expecting the answer I was about to get.
“Yeah, kind of hard to keep an eye on you from my house. I suppose I could from the top floor but if we’re working against Shaoni that doesn’t seem like a great idea. She’s got that whole thing with lighting and I get the sense her being angry at you while your up in the air isn’t a great combination.”
Bianca said, unpacking a blanket like she wasn’t just inserting herself into my house.
“WHAT?”
I shouted, maybe a little too loud.
“Is there a problem?I thought you wanted me looking out for you, this is me, doing that.”
She said looking up at me with puppy dog eyes. You’ve got to understand, those eyes coming from someone like Bianca, glowing or otherwise, well you just can’t say no to that. When it’s Bianca you really can’t say no. She can just take that option away in an instant but again she didn’t for me, it was still my choice.
“I.. sure but you can have my bed. We’ll get everything set up once we get back from the Roost. You did tell Frank and Stein about this right?”
I gave in, deciding to let her stay.
“I’m a big girl, they doin’t need to know everything I do, and… thanks”
“It’s alright, just let me know next time you’re going to pull something like this ok?”
I added, equal parts excited to actually have someone to talk to besides myself in my own home, and worried what Frank and Stein might think was going on here. I put those thoughts out of my head for the moment as we got back on the bikes.
It was about 3 by the time we made it to Tuck’s bar after the delay Bianca had caused by moving herself out before we left. Just as I expected the sign said closed but the door was unlocked. The bar looked exactly the same as the last time I was there. Stone fireplace roaring and pristine wooden floor looking like it had been polished just this morning. Tuck was sitting behind the bar looking worse for wear. The look on his face said he knew we were coming and he wasn’t to thrilled about it.
“Does he know?”
Tuck asked pointedly, looking straight through me and speaking to Bianca.
“About me or you, because the answer is both of us.”
Tuck shook his head at this and a grim look came over him.
“Ya shouldn’t have pulled him into this.”
“Actually I pulled her into it if anything, going out there was my idea. I’ve got a mark like Robert’s, its actually what brought me to town in the first place.”
I said, hoping my honesty would get the same out of Tuck.
“So that bird called ya out here somehow?”
“More or less, but that’s not what I’m here about. I want to know why exactly you followed us out there yesterday.”
Tuck sighed and gestured to the seats at the bar, beckoning Bianca and I to take a seat.
“When Robert chased ya out the other night some of his friends came by. They all got that mark like him, they were sayin’ something about the thunderbird makin’ an appearance back at the old mine. I wanted to see for myself and make sure they were wrong. I found those bikes and ended up followin’ the trail. By the time I got there some guys were poking around that hole in the wall and a storm had kicked up. I saw them cut that rope and figured they weren’t doin’ no good. I… changed and dealt with them then forced my way into the old mine entrance, the rest ya already know cause I ran into ya not long after.”
This story made more sense to me, Tuck never came out there to find me, I just so happened to be out there. Those boulders I thought were moved had been, by Tuck which made me question just how strong he was. Each of those huge things had to weigh tons and there were three strewn about the entrance.
“Ok that makes more sense than what you told me, but what were you hoping to accomplish up there. If you ran into the thunderbird what would you have done?”
“I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t really up there again but the storm seemed to say otherwise. No storm like that just pops up and goes away, the bird had to be involved with that.”
“Actually she was there, just not as some huge bird. She was down in the caves with us but she looked human, native American to be more precise. That’s how I met her when I got marked and now she’s holding some kind of trial out in those mines.”
“You met the thunderbird, its a person? What does she want with this place now.”
Tuck said his demeanor changing into one full of concern. I didn’t know what else to say cause at the moment I didn’t actually know much more than that. It’s infuriating, this being in the dark thing. I just settled for dodging the question.
“Not to change the topic but are we to early to grab a bite to eat?”
I wish I had a camera handy because the face Tuck made at that whiplash change of topics was priceless. I can’t properly do it justice with words. Suffice it to say one of his eyebrows hit the ceiling while the other hit the floor and a violently confused expression plastered his face.
“Sure I guess, what do the two of ya want!”
Tuck exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air and walking back behind the counter. I ended up ordering some fried chicken sandwich with bacon and pickles, and as I took the first bite my risk of heart attack increased ten fold. Bianca ordered the same thing and was pecking at it inquisitively when I asked,
“So what’s the story with Rocco?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean why, why did Frank and Stein make him in the first place?”
I asked through a mouthful of greasy goodness.
“Well I think it started out as a joke, then Stein actually wanted an assistant and that joke became Rocco. They worked on him for a while, pretty much they took a random raccoon off the street and played around in its head. I know there was some gene splicing involved but if you want to know how they did it ask them.”
“So he was supposed to be an assistant in the lab? I think I’ve seen him doing one thing to help them out this whole time and he was poking through a back alley for old batteries.”
“Yeah, he’s not a great assistant, must be good enough though cause they haven’t tossed him out.”
“Are you kidding me! If they tossed him out he be so much worse! Just think, Rocco left to his own devices without any supervision.”
Both of us shuddered at the thought, if he was bad now he’d be a menace to society without the little control we had over him.
Bianca and I ate and eventually Tuck came out and I told him my story about Imalone. He seemed really concerned at the fact that the thunderbird could be walking around town and he wouldn’t know about it. I assured him that Shaoni was really hard to miss if you just looked at the eyes. It wasn’t like she looked any different either, no matter what she was wearing those tattoos would be a dead giveaway. Tuck assured me he was going to keep an eye out and gave me his number to call if I saw her. I don’t want to talk down on Bianca, but something about having a werewolf looking out for me as well was reassuring. Tuck told us a bit about what he was doing with Frank and Stein too. Apparently he contracted his “disease” as he called it long before he came to work in Eagles Peak. He was originally from Louisiana and moved to New York for a change of scenery and ended up getting a job in the mines here around 1940. I should also mention Tuck ages very slowly due to his “disease” so he looks like he’s in his 50’s or so but he was born in 1900. To his credit you’d never know he was anything other than your friendly middle aged bartender.
Bianca and I were getting ready to leave as it came time to open the bar for real. When Tuck offered us a round of drinks on the house.
“No, no that’s alright Tuck, you’ve done enough for us we’ll see you later.”
Bianca politely declined, pulling me towards the door. After I said my goodbyes and we had gotten back to the bikes I asked Bianca,
“Do you not drink? I’m not judging just… when Tuck offered you seemed kind of jumpy.”
“I just never have, I was kind of bouncing around the country when I turned 21 so I just never started.”
“So your telling me you never had your first drink? Well, we have to fix that then.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, its like a right of passage where I’m from. We’ll pick up a six pack or something on the way back but we don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”
I said, trying to convince her. I’m not a huge drinker but I am from Wisconsin, alcohol is a way of life out there and we’re know for our beer. In my family turning 21 and having your first drink is cause to bring the whole family together. I couldn’t do that for her but I could at least give her the experience, maybe give her just one more good thing to remember.
Bianca agreed and we pulled into the Save-A-Lot just outside town. The building was painted white bit it was slowly peeling away revealing a concrete grey underneath. The big glowing sign was missing a few letters now simply reading Sav- -Lo. Despite its decaying state it still had the classic beer cave inside. I took a second to look for something from Wisconsin, call me a snob but we do beer right. I settled on a 12 pack of Leinenkugel, that was close enough to home for me. Bianca trailed behind me in the store, a bit like a scared cat looking for a place to hide. Obviously she didn’t get out much and having people she didn’t really know much about was stressing her out somewhat. We got to the checkout and an older cashier eyed my suspiciously.
“Can I see an ID”
She croaked in a hoarse smokey voice. Now I don’t always look my age but I’m 28 there was no reason to try and ID me. That didn’t really bother me so much as the fact that my wallet was still at home. I’ve been spending the cash Bianca gave me back when I watched her house and I just keep that in my pocket. I also have a bad habit of only brining my wallet when I knew I would need it instead of carrying it on me. Regardless I started to sweat a little as I tried to explain the situation.
“You see I would but I left mine at home and I’m not sure if…”
I was cut off by Bianca reaching out and brushing the cashier’s hand Then looking her straight in the eye. I knew exactly what she was doing.
“Look we don’t have an ID for you right now can you just take it on faith?”
“I understand sweetie, here why don’t I cover it for you, my treat.”
The cashier said, turning a complete 180 on her previous question. I looked from Bianca to the old woman a few times before Bianca finally shrugged.
“What?”
I wondered if it was that easy for her to change my mind back when she manipulated me into watching the house.
“So she just payed for it?”
I asked Bianca as we walked back to the bikes.
“That was her, not that I couldn’t make her do that. As far as I can work out, if I suggest something people tend to do it. Over the years I learned how to control that to the point where I’m only able to do it when I want to. Frank said it has something to do with pheromones in my breath or something like that.”
Bianca explained, hoping onto her bike and keeping pace with me back towards my house. I didn’t ask for an explanation but she gave it. I’m not really sure pheromones were something that could have that profound of an effect on someone but I’d just add it to the list of questions I’d have to ask Frank or Stein at some point.
“Still it was a bit weird seeing it from the outside. Was I that easy to convince before?”
Bianca got a mischievous look in her eye.
“Oh, you were so much easier, I barley needed to try. Just flip my hair and flutter my eyes a few times and that was that.”
She said, smiling devilishly at me. I blushed a little bit, partly because that’s probably all it would’ve taken from someone who looked like her and partly because I was embarrassed that she might not just be poking fun at me.
“No you definitely did something to me, I lost like 6 hours in your kitchen! That was you right…right?!”
I asked a little nervous. Bianca just laughed and pedaled off ahead of me. She did not put my mind at ease with any sort of answer but she did beat me back to the house.
When I got in She was sitting on the couch sorting through a pile of movies she pulled out of her duffle bag. She really had just thrown the entire contents of her room into a bag and brought them over. Bianca seemed to settle on a movie before she realized I’d walked in.
“So you like horror?”
I said, gesturing to the same movies I’d seen lying out earlier when I watched her house.
“Yeah, I just like seeing how people think all these things act. Like Tuck, werewolves are always looked at as these big imposing things in movies but he’s a puppy in comparison.”
“The guy looks like he could tear me apart down the middle with his bare hands buuuut, I see your point.”
Thinking back to every interaction I’d had with the guy so far, he never really was as scary as he looked. I sat down on the couch, dropping the case of beer on the coffee table.
“So, have you picked out a movie yet?”
To which Bianca closed her eyes and poked at a random movie in the pile. “Dog Soldiers”, it was called, actually I think I’ve heard of that movie before. One of those its so bad its entertaining things. I popped the movie into my DVD player and sat back, handing Bianca a beer.
“ Is this how normal people feel?”
She asked as the movie started.
“Depends on what you mean by normal, even then I’m not sure that’s the question I’d be asking. Maybe you just finally have a chance to relax after years of never being able to.”
“Oh sure, I’ll just relax now that I know we have the actual thunderbird looking to force you into some kind of trial.”
Bianca joked sarcastically before suddenly softening and taking a sip of her beer.
“Uggg that’s bitter… but not bad. Maybe your onto something Kieth.”
I don’t remember much from the movie. One scene stuck with me, a guy trying to fist fight a werewolf. It was already campy but the effects on the werewolf were just dated enough to make it that much funnier. Bianca and I couldn’t help but to Imagine Tuck as the werewolf, bewildered as to why this scrawny thing thought it could fight him. At some point the beer ran out, Bianca and I making it through the whole case. I remember getting up to go to my own room and Bianca pulling me back. What I didn’t remember though was letting Shaoni into my house. I was woken up by a tap on my shoulder, coming face to face with her. Shaoni’s hand was on one shoulder and Bianca’s head was on the other. At some point we both feel asleep on the couch together, the TV was still on, illuminating the dark room.
“Well well, I wasn’t expecting you to have guests Keith.”
Shaoni mocked, clicking her tongue at me as she finished. She wore the same white night dress I’d seen her in before. Something in the house was open, a window, a door? I didn’t know but the smells of an autumn rainstorm blew into the house, a storm no doubt caused by Shaoni.
“I… its not what it looks like.”
I stammered out, embarrassed to be caught like this.
“I don’t care what you get up to in your free time Keith. I just came to tell you I’ll expect you at the mine tomorrow, The trials will be starting soon and I want everyone who will be participating to meet each other, you will be participating, won’t you Keith?”
She asked like it was a question but it really wasn’t, wether I liked it or not I was going to be there, I could come willingly or kicking and screaming. She was simply asking which I wanted it to be.
“When do you want me there?”
“Oh don’t worry about that, I’ll send someone to collect you around noon.”
With that she turned to walk away, but I wasn’t done with her yet.
“Wait! What exactly are these trials, what am I going to be doing out there?”
“That would spoil the surprise Keith, be patient, you’ll know in time. That pretty little thing there, her name wouldn’t happen to be Bianca, would it?”
Shaoni asked, pointing at Bianca who was still asleep on my shoulder.
“How did you know that?”
I shot back, immediately jumping to Bianca’s defense. I hadn’t known her all that long true, but I didn’t want her any closer to this than she had to be.
“Oh no reason.”
Shaoni said with a snicker that sounded more like a hiss. With that she disappeared, and I mean she was just gone. One minute she was there the next there was a gust of wind and a brief flash of light and she was gone. The disruption was enough to wake Bianca up finally.
“Ugh, head..still…spinning.”
“Heh, I think you overdid it a bit last night.”
“Ugh maybe.”
She said, holding her head that still rested on my shoulder.
“What’s going on anyway, why’d you wake me up.”
“It’s just… well things are moving a bit faster than I hoped.”
I said, trying to reassure her that it was nothing, most likely failing miserably but she didn’t seem to notice. There was a second there that I thought maybe things could just be normal. This whole thing would just blow over and Shaoni would never come back and get me for these “trials” but I always knew it was wishful thinking. Now Bianca was a part of it to somehow, that had made up my mind. She’d been through enough, now Shaoni seemed interested in her all of a sudden. If putting myself through these trials kept her away from Bianca that’s exactly what I’d do.

Hi, jungle and mid player here. I wanna talk about the reasons why Naafiri is so unpopular at the current moment. Personally, I think she is a very well designed and beginner friendly assassin. Many people however, seem to have a bit of a different opinion on that and her low use rate seems to reflect this at first. Some for example wanna see her in the jungle or consider her to be boring. While she is admittedly a bit one dimensional, she is not ment to be as hyper complex as some of the other lately released champs, that doesn't mean she is a failure in terms of design. To see what I mean, let's look for a moment at what the assassin class is supposed to do.
What has a assassin to do?
Assassins have one job, and one job only. Kill the most important target on the enemy team, usually the ADC. For this job, they have 2 tools at their disposal that allow them to do this job: mobility and a crap ton of burst damage, which is damage that comes out very quickly but usually is restricted by cooldowns, leading to overall lower DPS, but in exchange its more flexible in application. The playstyle of an assassin works like the following: they are sneaking around the map and wait for a succeptable target to be out of position. As soon as this is given, they use their mobility to go in, use all their burst damage and kill the target as quickly as possible, and then use the mobility to escape again.
Does Naafiri fulfill this job?
Overall: Yes. She has a good amount of burst damage with her W and Q if she hits with both daggers. Her Mobility is a bit more limited compared to other assassins but when it comes to going in, nobody has such a reliable engage as she has. Only her disengage is kinda ass, but she isn't the only assassin with a somewhat limited disengage. Rengar and Talon also have this issue to some extent. Like any champ in any class, assassins have different strengths and weaknesses inside their own class, and she has more of her power budget allocated to her damage rather than her Mobility, so this isn't a bad thing. In fact, some assassins with more mobility like Akali are in practice more hit-and-run skirmishers than full-blown assassins, but that's a bit hair spliting.
So, then what exactly does make Naafiri unpopular?
The thing about her I noticed when playing her is how deceptively simple managing her dogs is. I mainly started playing her because I needed an assassin in my pool that allows me to rip those annoying carry only champ comps to pieces, because with Lillia I cannot even walk up without loosing half my health bar, and I got her recommended as a beginner assassin. Honestly at first they look kinda intimidating to manage, which I think does count for a lot of summons, like Yoricks mist walkers, but in practice, they are very simple to use. With q can use them to poke the enemy, w and e allow them to collect them in one place, and r allows to summon more of them when needed. The more I played her the more I realised that the dogs are more of a additional cooldown to manage that allows you to empower your attacks rather than a real additional entity. This might sound a bit boring, and depending on who you ask, it is, but if you ask me, it's actually a brilliant way to integrate summons into lol. Why? Because summons in lol honestly are usually not that good to begin with and probably never will be.
Why summons are kinda bad in lol - and how naafiri circumvents those issues.
Summons have in lol the problem that they are a extension of the threat-bubble of the champ that uses them without the champ has to put himself at risk. That's essentially what the issue comes down to. To see what I mean, let's look at Yorick, especially his old version before the rework. This version essentially was a pure monster spawner. His laning phase essentially was purely throwing his summons (also called his omens) at the enemy and poking the enemy down while denying him CS. Depending on the matchup he was one of the most oppressive lane bullies in the game because those Gouls actually had a good amount of health. The problem however was that those Gouls are very hard to use in team fights because of their succeptablility to AOE damage. This is one of the reasons why Yorick was in practice forced to splitpush all game long. He still has those issues to some extent today and I think his kit will never really leave this issues behind. Other summons are kinda hit or miss when it comes to impact, illaois tentacles and malzahars mites feel sometimes extremely squishy, and Annie's bear and iverns stonegolem daisy are locked behind ultimates. Essentially, most summons either are easy to get rid off or are not part of their core gameplay, because in any other case they tend to be too oppressive to deal with. Naafiri has none of those issues, at least not to a problematic extent. While her Q is a way for her to let her dogs autonomously hunt down her enemies, it has a long cooldown, and it's a short ranged skill shot. She still has to put herself at risk in order to exert pressure with the summons, unlike Yorick. The dogs are also still somewhat squishy, so they can be easily killed. However, as a assassin, if she wants to go all in with her ultimate, the enemy might not have the ability to react quick enough to kill all of them. In essence, the reason why her summons are kinda boring is because that's the only way they are not too unfair do deal with.
The thing is, however, that because of the summons, she looks more complicated than she actually is, which is not nessesarily good for a beginnerfriendly champion. Many people consider for example Annie or garen as beginner friendly champs because of their almost to a fault simple kits. Because Naafiri's gameplay is all about managing her dogs, most newer players don't see her as the simple assassin she is supposed to be. Her kit is complicated in theory, but simple in practice, leading to few people trying her out, and those people are then disappointed by her stat checky nature in practice. The high BE price further increases this issue. However, I would argue that while someone like Annie or Ashe is simple in theory, they are actually a bit more complicated in practice, and that's because they aren't designed with a clear gameplan in mind and have abilities that are look somewhat out of place and for a beginner, it's not nessesarily clear instinctively how to use what ability. The first time I played league around 8 years ago I think, I wasn't aware of what the value of a stun is and therefore misused Annie's passive a lot. Her bear, while central to her theme, doesn't do that much to be honest and most more experienced Annie players flash ult into the enemies when they are grouped up so that they are all stunned all together. The bear is essentially irrelevant for her gameplan. Ashe has a lot of utility in the same fashion where it's not exactly clear how valuable what part of any ability is, like her additional vision and the slows on her auto attacks. Naafiri's abilities don't have this issue, even if they look more complicated. Her Q is her poke tool she uses if she doesn't wanna go all in and is very useful in lane for healing if you land both parts, but also is good for burst damage if you chase down the enemy. Her w is her all in, her e is a additional mobility tool who's value is the least intuitive, but it's a relatively small issue, and her ultimate is essentially a steroid, whichs value is also very intuitive to understand.
Essentially, the problem with naafiri is that she is a easy and intuitive champion that looks very complicated on the surface, intimidating people who are new to assassins and lol in general and disappointing people who are more experienced with the game. But that has nothing to do with the champion itself but rather management of expectation. I think riot should lower her be cost quickly and maybe should market her more aggressively as a beginner friendly assassin. Despite her low play rate, I personally really adore her design and find her, for all the hate that assassins tend to get (which is honestly sometimes understandable but that's another topic), a extremely well designed and fair champion.