Heh. Nice.
Creativity is returning, and I promise that the series doesn't devolve into a slice of life between Valteria and Xander (not that that's necessarily a bad thing, just not where I want to go - you'll have to instead content thyself with slices of slice of life here and there). Going to try and keep to updating roughly every 7-10 days, but again, I don't hold myself very strictly to any schedule so that may not always happen. Enjoy!
First Previous Next
Elements are, well… elemental. Not in the sense that they are beings comprised of a single physical element - though they generally are. I mean they are created by a conflux of a single type of elemental mana. This is often seen at ley lines, areas where mana flows and rushes like a river, but it can happen anywhere two errant streams of mana of the same type collide. Not every collision results in the formation of an elemental core, around which an elemental will concrete rapidly from a physical material local to the area that aligns with the core’s mana type. Some happen with no discernable effect. Others produces auroric lights, or short lived ‘will-o-the-wisps,’ which are not to be confused with actual spirits or other ethereal monsters.
-Brant Colis during a lecture on elementals, College of Magical Studies, part of the esteemed University of Sempta
*********************************************************************************************************************
Xander smiled at her and planted a quick kiss on her lips, causing Valteria’s eyes to widen at the suddenness of it. “Thanks,” he told her. “I couldn’t have had a better teacher.”
Valteria blushed at his glowing commendation, and perhaps from the kiss as well. “You’re sweet,” she said. “But there are better teachers than me,” Valteria told him in a more serious tone. Her serious face cracked a little bit into a smile as she said, “Too bad you don’t know any of them! You’re stuck with me, instead.”
“Mmm, I don’t mind one bit,” Xander said. Thinking to check his watch, he briefly glanced at the time. “Say, what time do you usually close up shop? It’s getting to be late afternoon, and I imagine we’ll want some light if we’re going to test out that crossbow.”
“Hm? Oh, right, damnit, I’d forgotten already.” Valteria glanced at one of the clocks in the room to confirm the time. “Ah, hell, I’m ready to call it quits for the day anyways. I doubt anyone else is going to come in today anyways. Let’s walk to guild training area.”
“Certainly, I would be most happy to escort the lady,” Xander said, as formally as he could manage.
“What did I say about bowing and scraping?”
“Sorry.”
Valteria locked up the shop as they exited, and the two of them made their way to the training yard that the guild had set up. Xander was glad that Valteria seemed to know where it was, because he had never actually been there. His practice for the tournament had been conducted out in random fields, as he’d worried he’d be taking up too much space swinging around all that chain. During the walk there, they chatted about how Valteria hoped the crossbow would perform, and she reminded him that she still wanted to see the guns that he had mentioned. He agreed to show her, as long as the training yard was safely positioned in such a way that he didn’t need to worry about anything down range.
After about half an hour of walking through the city, and then through the outskirts of the town, Valteria led them to the training yard. There were a few mercenaries training throughout the area, some sparring together in a sandy pit, while others were practicing their aim with bows, crossbows, and spells by firing at targets placed at the ends of a set of lanes. Xander was pleased to see that there was a berm build up behind the targets to prevent anything that went through the targets escaping the bounds of the training yard. He supposed that certain skills attached to a bolt or arrow might necessitate it. It would certainly work well enough for his firearms. He was glad he’d silenced them, as it would be rather disturbing to the rest of the mercenaries present if he hadn’t.
“So, which do you want to try out first? The guns or the crossbow?” Xander asked.
Valteria thought for a moment. “Hmm,” she said aloud as she pondered. “I think the crossbow first. I’m eager to see how it performs so that I can work on properly pricing it, as well as seeing if we need to tweak the design before we make more.”
“Sure, that makes sense. Guns can be a treat for after we do our official business,” Xander replied.
“Shame there’s only a wooden target, I’d like to see how it does against something like a chest plate,” Valteria sighed.
“You forget who you’re with!” Xander reminded her. “I can make us a steel target in no time at all. But we probably ought to test it out on the wood first, just to make sure it even works.”
“Oh right, I forgot you could just make one. That seems like a good idea. Would you mind making me some bolts, too? I didn’t even think to stop to get any,” Valteria said, slapping her forehead lightly.
“Coming right up.” Xander went to work creating a few crossbow bolts for Valteria to fire, handing them over one by one as he made them. He stopped after creating ten bolts. “That should be enough to test the thing out, right?”
“Mmhm, I would think so.” The two of them walked together to a lane at one end of the yard, making sure that there were a few empty lanes between them and the next closest merc. No one paid them any mind, save for an occasional glance in their direction as people briefly wondered who the odd couple they didn’t recognize were. Still, the yard was free to use, and no one bothered them.
Valteria cranked the crossbow arms back and took a knee as she placed a bolt into the channel of the crossbow. She took some time to aim at the target at the end of the lane before firing. The increased force of the arms snapping back into place jerked her forward a little, but the shot still found its mark, at least for the most part. It went a little wide, hitting the left edge of the target. The bolt punched through the wood with what seemed to be ease, burying itself fully into the berm behind the target.
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting it to jerk like that,” Valteria said, looking down at the crossbow. “It’s certainly got some power to it.”
“Shall we see how it does with steel?” Xander asked.
“Sure, though I have my suspicions that it’s going to either blow right through the metal or the bolt is going to shatter. So, it is going to require higher grade bolts from a good [Fletcher] to really operate at full efficiency,” she explained.
“Makes sense,” Xander said with an absent nod as he created a sheet of steel of about the correct thickness for a chestpiece. Once he was done, he jogged down to the target and leaned the sheet of steel up against it before jogging back to Valteria. “All you,” he said to her.
“I have to do all the work?” She said sarcastically.
“I mean, if you don’t want to shoot it, I’ll be happy to,” Xander replied. “But what’s more fun than putting holes in things with a weapon?”
“Uhm, a lot of things?” Valteria asked.
“Okay, yeah, you’re right. But it’s still fun!”
“It is.”
Valteria was able to land most of her shots on the metal target, which proved equally flimsy as the wood had to the runically enhanced crossbow. Two went wide, embedding in the berm instead, but overall she seemed pleased with the test. “I’m not exactly the best shot,” she told Xander. “I’m surprised I only missed two, in all honesty.”
“Considering that you don’t have a combat class, I think you did pretty well for someone who doesn’t regularly go out and fire a crossbow,” Xander said approvingly. “Ready to try out a gun?”
“Yes!” Valteria said excitedly.
Xander chuckled at Valteria’s enthusiasm, manifesting the tube fed .22 rifle from his inventory, along with some ammunition. “We can start off with something small.” Carefully placing the rifle down, he held up some of the small rounds for her to see. “This is a bullet. A twenty-two caliber long rifle bullet, to be specific. It’s designed for small game, so it has essentially no kick behind it, but it’s very reliable. It’s a good one to get acquainted with before I swap you over to trying out my pistol and shotgun, since they have a little more kick to them. Here’s how you load it.” Xander went through the process of pulling the spring loaded rod out of the tube that held the ammunition, Valteria watching carefully as he loaded it up to capacity. “So you’ve got eighteen shots right now. This right here is the safety,” he indicated the push button near the trigger that operated the safety mechanism. “You can’t pull the trigger unless this side is pushed in. Helps keep accidents from happening. Now, before I hand this over to you, you’re going to indulge me and listen to the four rules of firearm safety, okay?”
“Okay,” Valteria said with a firm nod.
“Alright, so the first rule is this: always assume that a gun is loaded. Messing around with one just because you think it’s unloaded is a great way to accidentally get someone killed. Two, never point the end of a gun at something you don’t intend to shoot. Keep it pointed down at the ground at all other times. That way, if you do accidentally discharge it, no one can get hurt. Number three pertains to your target. Be sure of your target – make sure you know what you’re shooting at – and just as importantly, know what’s beyond your target. You don’t want to shoot through something and end up also shooting something or someone you didn’t intend to. And the last rule is to keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot. Simple enough, right? They could all easily followed with a crossbow, too. Got it?”
Valteria nodded again. “Got it,” she replied.
“Alrighty, well then let’s get you shooting! I’ll show you the three postures for shooting, as well as how to use the sights and then I’ll let you run through a full tube or two before we swap to something a little more fun to shoot.” Xander held rifle downward and indicated the scope on the rifle. “This is a magnified scope. Think of it like a little telescope with an X in the center. You look through it like this,” Xander held the rifle up to his cheek, pointing it downrange, “and line up the center of the X with where you want to shoot. The position I’m in right now is how you should fire while standing. See how I’m a little leaned forward and my right foot is to the rear? That’s to help absorb recoil, not that this gun has much. It’ll help with the larger one, though.” Xander then kneeled down, placing his elbow on his knee to brace his arm. “This is how you’d fire while kneeling. Very similar to how I saw you do it with the crossbow.” Finally, he laid down and said, “And this is how you fire when prone. If you step behind me, you’ll see that the gun, my shoulder, my body, and my right leg are all one straight line.”
“I see,” Valteria agreed, looking at him from behind.
Standing up, careful to keep the rifle pointed downwards, he said, “I’ll let you choose how you want to shoot. Here you are.” He held the rifle out for Valteria to take, who did so gingerly. Xander was pleased to see that she was keeping her fingers away from the trigger.
Valteria moved into position at the opening to the lane and knelt. Xander went to stand behind her. She took up the proper position, mimicking how Xander had shown her.
“I’m going to adjust your posture slightly, so don’t be startled, okay?” Xander softly said.
“Okay,” Valteria replied.
Xander leaned over slightly and put his hands on her shoulders, squaring them a little bit more. “Okay, now aim, and when you’re ready, pull the trigger.”
Valteria took her time aiming, getting used to the scope and the position her head needed to be in to properly use it. “This scope thingy is quite handy. I can see things so much closer!”
Xander laughed, saying, “Yeah, I use it all the time just for looking at things that are far away.”
Valteria took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger, eliciting a small crack from the rifle, most of the relatively minimal noise of the rifle being silenced by the runes Xander had engraved on the end of the barrel. A ping could be heard as the bullet hit the metal sheet, putting a tiny hole in it.
Valteria looked around. “That’s it?” She asked. “I was expecting something... more.”
“Well, this one is a small caliber round, so there’s not a lot of oomph behind it compared to something larger. But if we take a walk down there, I’d wager we could find the hole it made in the steel.”
“Strange how something so small could penetrate a piece of steel armor...” Valteria said, trailing off thoughtfully.
“I don’t think it would penetrate really well-made armor from a higher leveled [Smith], and I’m certain it wouldn’t penetrate armor that I’ve done runework on. This is completely unimproved steel, after all.”
“That’s fair,” Valteria agreed.
“So, do you want to finish off the other seventeen rounds, or is this one too boring?”
“I want to try the bigger one!” Valteria said excitedly.
“Fine, fine,” Xander relented. “Same rules for this one, okay?” He took the rifle back from Valteria, unloading it and stashing the gun and ammo back in his inventory. He pulled out the shotgun and a handful of shells, opting for slugs to reduce the chance of any kind of ricochet from the steel target. “This is a pump-action shotgun.” He held up the shotgun in one hand. “And this is the ammunition it fires.” He held up his handful of shotgun shells in the other hand. “Quite a bit bigger than the other one.”
Valteria nodded along. “That one looks more exciting.”
“You load the round into the tube on the bottom like so,” Xander said as he pushed five rounds into the tube. “And to load a round, you pump the slide towards you and then away from you.” The shotgun made the classic cha-chuck­ noise as he pumped the slide, loading a round. “This is loaded now. Safety works the same way. Here you go.” He carefully handed the gun over to Valteria, who took it with a little more confidence than she had with the small caliber rifle.
Watching her get into a kneeling position and shoulder the rifle, Xander commented, “Adjust the buttstock a little, you want it more on the meaty part of your shoulder, not on the outside. It’ll absorb the recoil better.”
Valteria complied, shifting the rifle slightly to adjust. “This one doesn’t have a scope,” she said.
“Oh right, yeah this one is a bit shorter ranged. You just line up the bead on the end in the center of the sight posts closer to you to aim.”
“Oh, oh I see,” Valteria said, returning her cheek to the stock of the shotgun.
“Fire whenever you’re rea-“ Xander was interrupted by the muffled crack of the shotgun firing. Valteria let out a noise halfway between a squeak and a grunt as she rocked backwards, falling backwards slightly from her position of kneeling to sitting on the ground.
“Oww,” She muttered. “This one hurts! You didn’t tell me it would hurt!”
“I did tell you it would have more kick, though,” Xander laughed. “That one packs a lot more punch than that little twenty-two. Do you want to shoot it again?” He asked.
“No,” Valteria said sullenly, holding the shotgun out for Xander to take. “I’m already going to have a bruise from just that one. How do you use that thing?”
Xander shrugged. “Eh, you get used to it. And with proper form, you learn to take the recoil better. Here, watch.” Xander stepped up to the lane and demonstrated, firing the remaining four rounds in quick succession, the slide clattering as he quickly pumped rounds into the chamber.
“Hmph,” Valteria huffed, seeing that Xander had had no issue with the recoil.
“Oh don’t be like that,” Xander chided her, giving her a quick, one armed hug as he stowed the shotgun in his inventory.
Valteria let out the kind of whine one does when they’re mildly inconvenienced and want to be dramatic about it.
“I have one more that I think you’ll like. It’s got more to it than the little rifle, and less than the shotgun. And it’s a lot smaller. It’s called a pistol. I guess you could think of it like the hand crossbow of guns?”
“I think smaller might be good after that last one,” Valteria said, still cautious.
Xander pulled his final firearm from Earth from his inventory into his hand. “This is the pistol.” He manifested a magazine, and said, “and this is the magazine, which the rounds go in.”
“Why’s it called a magazine?” Valteria asked, interrupting him.
“Uh, I actually don’t know,” Xander admitted. “Just what it’s called,” he said with a shrug.
“Anyway, the magazine goes in the pistol like this,” he firmly seated the magazine. “And you load the first round like this,” he said as he racked the slide. “The safety is a little bit different on this one – it’s this lever here. You toggle it down and then it can fire. You’ll want to hold it like this,” he told Valteria as he demonstrated a classic pistol shooter’s pose, both hands in use and slightly leaned forward.
“Ready to try it? I promise it’s not as bad as the shotgun,” he said. “I do feel a little bad about not telling you.”
“You should!” Valteria said as she took the proffered pistol.
“Make sure you keep it pointed down, still,” Xander reminded her.
“I will, I will,” she grumbled. Valteria took up her spot at the lane and mimicked Xander’s posture as best she could from a single demonstration. She looked back at him briefly, expecting some kind of comment or correction, but Xander was silent, just giving her a smile.
“Not bad,” he said. “Give it a try, just make sure you keep a firm, even grip.”
Valteria pulled the trigger, flinching slightly after her experience with the shotgun. Her flinch made the round miss the target. She looked at the gun with a little more favor in her eyes as she realized that it wasn’t going to hurt like the shotgun had. “I think I like this one better,” she told Xander.
“Try not to flinch like you did. I guess that’s my own fault after the shotgun,” he admitted, “but it’s bad for your aim. Other than that, you’re doing just fine,” he encouraged.
Valteria let off another round, this one hitting the large, steel target, letting out another ping across the training yard. “This is rather fun,” she admitted.
“You’ve got sixteen left before you need to reload. I’d recommend a steady pace to start out with, though. Take your time to aim. You can pop off rounds quickly on the next magazine.”
The two of them spent their time, and more than a few magazines – Xander would load one up while Valteria used the other – together at the range amicably. From an outside perspective, the two of them would have seemed more like good friends than a new couple. For his part, Xander appreciated that Valteria wasn’t seemingly needy, or overly touchy or intimate. He wasn’t sure if that would change, at least regarding touch, but right now, considering how fresh their relationship was and the fact that he was still feeling more than some guilt over even being in a relationship, he was perfectly content to move slowly for the most part. It would probably be best for Valteria too, he considered, as she was new to dating in general. He didn’t want to inadvertently take advantage of her in some way or push her boundaries.
As dusk began to fall, Xander and Valteria stopped their target practice. Xander had convinced her to wrap up with the shotgun and a few more shots from it as a finale, and she’d agreed now that she knew what to expect, the annoyance of the sudden recoil having faded. Before they left, Xander brought the steel target up for Valteria to see. It was riddled with holes, Xander pointing out the impacts left by each different caliber. He set it aside and out of the way to disintegrate, and the two began to walk back into town.
“Where do you want to eat?” Xander asked Valteria.
“Mm... I’m not sure. I hadn’t put much thought into it, honestly,” Valteria responded.
“Well, the only two places I know are Charles’s place and the inn my team and I are staying at. Though, if we eat there, prepare to be mobbed by the team and teased about dating me.”
“You’ve already told them?” Valteria said, sounding a little nervous.
“Only one, and I assume that she has kept it private, but the other three would immediately assume if they saw us together at a table. You know they thought that us comparing notes after the match was a date in disguise? They kept giving me dating tips like I wasn’t the only one of them that had ever held down a long-term relationship before,” Xander said with a laugh.
Valteria laughed. “I suppose it makes sense that they’ll tease us about it having come true, then. I suppose you’re worth a little teasing,” she said sarcastically.
“Damn right I am!” Xander replied. “But you still haven’t answered the question. Where are we – well, you, really – eating?”
Valteria slowed her pace, considering for a moment. “Hmm... I have to admit that I’m interested in who your team is. The people you keep company with are an important aspect of one’s self, after all,” she said discerningly.
“Ahh, so you want to know if I hang out with the wrong sort of crowd?” Xander teased. “They’re good people. Took me back without blinking an eye when I returned as... what I am now. I’d be happy to introduce you to them.”
“Then it’s settled, we’ll be eating there. What’s the name of the inn?”
“Uhh... shit. I can’t ever remember the name of the place. But I know how to get there!” Xander admitted.
“You’ve been staying in the city for how long?” Valteria asked, in disbelief.
“Uhm... more than a month.”
“And you still don’t know the name of the place?”
“I just never think to look at the sign when I’m leaving or coming back!” Xander said, vainly trying to defend himself.
Previous Next

• Tl;DR: Click here to send a personalized email to the administration

Six months ago, SJSU’s Professor Sang Hae Kil moderated a panel called “How antisemitism is used to suppress constructive discourse on Palestine”. The administration is claiming that she “disrupted operations” and “targeted a colleague” but they informed her of this twenty minutes before the semester, ended in a letter that threatened disciplinary action if she shared the letter with anyone. Prof. Kil has worked for SJSU for almost two decades and she’s always been an advocate for Palestine. In 2021 it included making sure that everyone had access to a hearing investigating SFSU’s preferential treatment of Zionist organizations. Right now, that includes advocating for student’s free speech.Tell the administration to reinstate Prof. Kill with a personalized email using this link and sign the Change.org petition. Suspending her without due process is a bad look for the university and doesn’t bode well for student freedoms either.
Sources:
Kil’s seminar on “How antisemitism is used to suppress constructive discourse on Palestine.” (archive)
Suspension:

• https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/sjsu-professor-says-she-was-suspended-over-pro-palestinian-work/3549353/?amp=1
• https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/sanfrancisco/news/san-jose-state-professor-suspended-after-acting-as-liaison-for-campus-protestors/
• https://www.kqed.org/news/11988162/sjsu-professor-who-was-suspended-over-pro-palestinian-protests-speaks-out
• https://www.sfchronicle.com/us-world/article/academic-freedom-suppression-suspended-19485115.php
• https://www.sfchronicle.com/us-world/article/san-jose-state-professor-sang-hea-kil-19478281.php
  
• https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/05/28/san-jose-state-professor-suspended-after-pro-palestinian-protest/
  
• https://abc7news.com/post/san-jose-state-professor-dr-sang-kil-claims/14888558/
  
• https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-jose-state-professor-suspended-over-palestine-demonstrations.amp
  

As an email marketer, you know the power of a well-crafted email campaign. It's a direct line to your audience, a chance to build relationships, nurture leads, and drive conversions. But to truly unlock the potential of email marketing, you need the right tools. That's where MailerLite comes in.
This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about using MailerLite, from setting up your account to creating engaging campaigns and analyzing your results. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting, you'll find valuable insights and actionable tips to help you achieve your email marketing goals.
Getting Started with MailerLite

1. Creating Your Account: Signing up for MailerLite is quick and easy. Simply visit their website and choose the plan that best suits your needs. They offer a free plan for up to 1,000 subscribers, as well as paid plans with additional features and higher subscriber limits.
2. Setting Up Your Profile: Once you've created your account, take some time to fill out your profile information. This includes your company name, logo, and contact information. You can also customize your email templates and branding to match your business.
3. Importing Your Subscribers: If you already have an email list, you can easily import it into MailerLite. They support a variety of import formats, including CSV and TXT files.

Building Your Email List

1. Creating Signup Forms: MailerLite offers a variety of signup form templates that you can customize to match your website. You can embed these forms on your website, blog, or social media pages.
2. Offering Lead Magnets: A lead magnet is a freebie that you offer in exchange for an email address. This could be an ebook, a checklist, a template, or anything else that your target audience would find valuable.
3. Running Contests and Giveaways: Contests and giveaways are a great way to generate excitement and attract new subscribers. Be sure to promote your contest or giveaway across all of your channels.

Creating Engaging Email Campaigns

1. Choosing a Template: MailerLite offers a wide range of email templates that you can customize to fit your brand. You can also create your own templates from scratch.
2. Crafting Compelling Subject Lines: Your subject line is the first thing your subscribers will see, so it's important to make it catchy and relevant. Keep it short and sweet, and use power words to grab attention.
3. Writing Engaging Copy: Your email copy should be clear, concise, and persuasive. Use a conversational tone and focus on the benefits of your product or service.
4. Adding Visuals: Images and videos can help to break up your text and make your emails more visually appealing.
5. Including a Call to Action: Tell your subscribers what you want them to do, whether it's clicking on a link, making a purchase, or signing up for a webinar.

Automating Your Email Marketing

1. Welcome Emails: Send a welcome email to new subscribers to thank them for signing up and introduce them to your brand.
2. Abandoned Cart Emails: If a subscriber adds items to their cart but doesn't complete the purchase, send them an email reminding them of the items they left behind.
3. Birthday Emails: Send a birthday email to your subscribers to show them that you care.
4. Re-engagement Emails: If a subscriber hasn't opened or clicked on your emails in a while, send them a re-engagement email to try to get them back on track.

Analyzing Your Results

1. Open Rates: Your open rate is the percentage of subscribers who open your emails. A good open rate is typically between 15% and 25%.
2. Click-Through Rates: Your click-through rate is the percentage of subscribers who click on a link in your email. A good click-through rate is typically between 2% and 5%.
3. Conversion Rates: Your conversion rate is the percentage of subscribers who take the desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a webinar.

Tips for Email Marketing Success

• Segment Your List: Divide your list into smaller groups based on interests, demographics, or purchase history. This will allow you to send more targeted emails.
• Personalize Your Emails: Use your subscribers' names and other personal information to make your emails feel more personal.
• Test Your Emails: Before sending an email to your entire list, test it on a small group of subscribers to see how it performs.

Conclusion
MailerLite is a powerful email marketing tool that can help you achieve your business goals. By following the tips in this guide, you can create engaging email campaigns that will get your subscribers opening, clicking, and converting.

• Tl;DR: Click here to send a personalized email to the administration

Professor Sang Hae Kil was suspended twenty minutes before the last day of the semester without due process or even a clear understanding of SJSU’s issues with her work. She’s been with the school for 17 years! They gave her a leadership award in 2019. Six months ago she moderated a panel called “How antisemitism is used to suppress constructive discourse on Palestine”. As an advisor to the school’s SJP group she advocated for the student’s free speech and encampment to the administration and called out faculty who pick fights with students, which the suspension letter seems to describe as “targeting a colleague” (It also says she shouldn’t post the letter lol) Sang Hea Kil’s pro-Palestine advocacy is not new. In 2021, as a participant in a hearing regarding SFSU’s preferential treatment of Zionist organizations, she insisted delays and errors designed to limit participation be recorded in the transcript. After she spoke up, the “errors” disappeared, ensuring everyone equal access to the hearing. Today, she needs us to speak up for her.

1. Send a personalized email to SJSU’s Cynthia Teniente-Matson
2. Sign the Change.org petition

Sources:
Kil’s seminar on “How antisemitism is used to suppress constructive discourse on Palestine.” (archive)
Suspension:

• https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/sjsu-professor-says-she-was-suspended-over-pro-palestinian-work/3549353/?amp=1
• https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/sanfrancisco/news/san-jose-state-professor-suspended-after-acting-as-liaison-for-campus-protestors/
• https://www.kqed.org/news/11988162/sjsu-professor-who-was-suspended-over-pro-palestinian-protests-speaks-out
• https://www.sfchronicle.com/us-world/article/academic-freedom-suppression-suspended-19485115.php
• https://www.sfchronicle.com/us-world/article/san-jose-state-professor-sang-hea-kil-19478281.php
• https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/05/28/san-jose-state-professor-suspended-after-pro-palestinian-protest/
• https://abc7news.com/post/san-jose-state-professor-dr-sang-kil-claims/14888558/
• https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-jose-state-professor-suspended-over-palestine-demonstrations.amp

My roommate (19F) just got out of trade school and is working full-time now as well as 20+ hours or overtime, and I (19M) work part time while also being a full-time university student. We have been friends a little over 10 years now, and have never had any issues or bad blood with one another until recently. We recently signed a lease and starting renting an apartment back February of this year and have been splitting rent and utilities.
For context, my roommate is very messy and very much dislikes cleaning, while I on the other hand am a compulsive cleaner. I like to keep things tidy and maintain a minimalist look due to my upbringing. We were aware of this before moving in together, and we had a system of checks and balances to keep each other in line. However, at a certain point (2-3 weeks after moving in together), I noticed that her room was starting to get really disgusting, with trash, dishes, clothes, and shoes completely covering the master bedroom floor, where you could barely open the door because so many clothes were just piled on the floor. We had a serious discussion about it, since I was worried about the possibility of pests entering the apartment, and we agreed that I would do my best to maintain her room since she has such a busy work schedule and doesn't quite have the time to maintain it to the best of her ability. Keep in mind, I was cleaning EVERYTHING whilst also purchasing 80% of the groceries, and also paying my share of rent and utilities while I have a part time job and am a full time student.
Flash forward to early May, we agreed that this ended up causing more unnecessary drama then both of us could tolerate, so we decided that it would be best if someone moved out. She thought it would be best for her to move out and get her own place, since most of the large pieces of furniture were mine and it would be more difficult for me to move out (her words). We agreed that she would move out starting on the 1st of July, as our friends (19F & 23M) lease was ending, and they agreed to move in place of my ex-roommate.
Last week, my ex-roommate decided to move out as she had found a new place, but promised that she would pay for the utilities for the month of May and the month of June's rent. The only thing that would fully be on me would be the utilities for June, since I would be the only one living there, which seemed more than reasonable to me. I called her today and now she is refusing to pay anything, including the utilities for the month of May when she lived here. I informed her that she is breaking the lease, and that 60 days notice had to be given. She also had never notified the landlord of this change, so he is unaware of everything going on. Her refusing to pay is putting me in a really bad situation, so I am heavily considering taking her to small claims since she is breaking the lease in multiple ways. AITA for this situation and WIBTA for taking her to court?

• Tl;DR: Click here to send a personalized email to the administration

Professor Sang Hae Kil was suspended twenty minutes before the last day of the semester without due process or even a clear understanding of SJSU’s issues with her work. She’s been with the school for 17 years! They gave her a leadership award in 2019. Six months ago she moderated a panel called “How antisemitism is used to suppress constructive discourse on Palestine”. As an advisor to the school’s SJP group she advocated for the student’s free speech and encampment to the administration and called out faculty who pick fights with students, which the suspension letter seems to describe as “targeting a colleague” (It also says she shouldn’t post the letter lol) Sang Hea Kil’s pro-Palestine advocacy is not new. In 2021, as a participant in a hearing regarding SFSU’s preferential treatment of Zionist organizations, she insisted delays and errors designed to limit participation be recorded in the transcript. After she spoke up, the “errors” disappeared, ensuring everyone equal access to the hearing. Today, she needs us to speak up for her.

1. Send a personalized email to SJSU’s Cynthia Teniente-Matson
2. Sign the Change.org petition

Sources:
Kil’s seminar on “How antisemitism is used to suppress constructive discourse on Palestine.” (archive)
Suspension:

• https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/sjsu-professor-says-she-was-suspended-over-pro-palestinian-work/3549353/?amp=1
• https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/sanfrancisco/news/san-jose-state-professor-suspended-after-acting-as-liaison-for-campus-protestors/
• https://www.kqed.org/news/11988162/sjsu-professor-who-was-suspended-over-pro-palestinian-protests-speaks-out
• https://www.sfchronicle.com/us-world/article/academic-freedom-suppression-suspended-19485115.php
• https://www.sfchronicle.com/us-world/article/san-jose-state-professor-sang-hea-kil-19478281.php
  
• https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/05/28/san-jose-state-professor-suspended-after-pro-palestinian-protest/
  
• https://abc7news.com/post/san-jose-state-professor-dr-sang-kil-claims/14888558/
  
• https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-jose-state-professor-suspended-over-palestine-demonstrations.amp
  

Hello all, I hope you are all doing well. I am a film student going to my senior year. I’m so excited for this story that I’ve put together, and I have so much hope for it. Many of my peers are very interested in helping out and professors have told me it’s a great idea. But I’m having a hard time with my outline. I’m trying to structure my story so that it’s easier for me to pinpoint what all needs to happen, maybe I’m thinking about it too much. I’m having so much trouble getting my beats in line possibly because the story takes place in two different stages of time. I guess I’m just asking to see if anyone has some tips, or maybe some outlines templates. I’m so excited to start this project, but my struggle makes me unmotivated.

AI-generated text detection might feel like a struggle against an invisible villain, but at the AI-detection developers team, everything is based on structured algorithms and rigorous testing. Bringing field expertise and experience, our team is here to cover all the rising questions regarding AI detection in texts.

• A plagiarism checker is an algorithm that finds similarities in what is available on the Internet.
• An AI detector is a model that was trained on specific human-written and AI-generated texts.

A model is created by machine learning of AI on the examples of human-written and AI-generated text. To put it broadly, programmers instruct the model: “Here are texts generated by AI, and these are human-written. Go and learn what is in common in human texts and what is in common in machine ones”. After learning, the machine is ready to work with other texts.
The main problem is that people can create texts with the same perplexity – both predictability and randomness – as AI bots. The main challenges as of now are:

• Short sentences.
• Text creators that are non-native speakers. For this reason, their writing is more predictable, close to AI patterns, which is one of the false-positive parameters.

In the English-speaking Internet, experts argue that ChatGPT is discriminatory against non-natives, but it may flag not only English texts but Japanese, French, or others written by non-natives.

• AI bots are constantly learning and improving to generate a more diverse predictability. This may cause false negatives (when the detector doesn’t indicate the text written by AI as basically AI).
• Students can take an AI-generated text and change the wording to synonyms or rephrase them manually, which will cause a mix of AI and human texts, thus complicating the detection.

Reading this, one might despair of ever finding an effective solution, but we are here with answers.
The reality is that new models of AI bots generate more sophisticated writing, and students come up with more and more sophisticated ways to cheat.
But AI detector development teams love sophisticated things; they are fully aware of these difficulties and can share some tips on how to deal with them.
Here are some non-technological ways to check if you suspect any misconduct:

• Most importantly, the human is here to judge the AI detector’s report. If the checker marked single simple sentences, most likely it’s not AI cheating. If big chunks are marked as AI, you may start to be concerned.
• One of the ways to check if a student is AI-cheated is to interview a student about this exact idea in the parts flagged as AI and ask for all the records and proof of work.
• Another sign of cheating is when a student’s writing quality and style improve significantly right in the highlighted chunk of text.

Some teachers say it's not that hard to distinguish whether the text was written by a student, especially when it’s not the first assignment to check, but we still understand that it's challenging.
Technological advice:

• A suitable proof is to have a history of creating the document. This might be a concern if some paragraphs in the text appear in whole pieces out of nowhere. If your students write assignments in Google Docs, you can easily see cheating attempts by using activity reports in the existing Google Docs add-ons for AI detection. It will show editing sessions and editing duration, contributors, and allow comparing versions with a final document to find pasted chunks that can be plagiarism or AI.
• Double-check one assignment in two detectors. Suppose your institution already has a plagiarism checker with an AI detector. In that case, for the second detector, you can use free АІ Chrome Extensions, which helps to check the content right in the browser window, for example, on the page of your LMS. If you are unsure and need to check, this second checker will come in handy even if you already use another service for plagiarism and AI checks.

Treat AI detectors as tools that don’t give exact answers — but rather flag patterns found in a text. This means these sentences match the patterns the AI detector’s model knows about AI writing. For this, use the following logic:

1. When the AI detector flags random simple sentences — the chances are very high that this was not cheating, as it doesn't make any sense to generate random sentences with AI when you want to cheat.
2. When the AI detector flags paragraphs — a sign of a higher chance that a student used AI to help in writing an assignment, although paragraphs also can be just matches with AI patterns, it depends on how many such paragraphs you see in a paper.
3. AI detector flags 50% or more — there is a very high chance that an assignment was AI-generated. However, if not a native speaker wrote an assignment, it would be reasonable to double-check with a student. As mentioned, AI detectors treat writing probability as the primary AI trait, which is also typical for non-native speakers' writing styles.

Conclusion: The forever-evolving AI sphere may evoke confusion, but this doesn’t mean the situation is out of control. Academia continues adapting to AI's ever-evolving features.

Perhaps the most researched consequence of pluralistic ignorance from an individualistic perspective is the bystander effect also known as bystander apathy. This refers to a phenomenon in which the greater the number of people there are present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress.
According to the principle of social influence, bystanders monitor the reactions of other people to see if others think that it is necessary to intervene. If it is determined that others are not reacting to the situation, bystanders will interpret the situation as not an emergency and will not intervene.
A major inspiration for Darley and Latané’s (1968) research into the bystander effect was the brutal murder of Catherine “Kitty” Genovese in New York in 1964.
The Times reported at the time:
“For more than half an hour, 38 respectable, law-abiding citizens in Queens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks in Kew Gardens.”
Many people believed that apathy and indifference were the causes of inaction, reflecting the idea that personal characteristics solely drive behaviour.
However, it was later reported that some of the original article’s claims were wrong, or at least subject to much different interpretation.
“The article grossly exaggerated the number of witnesses and what they had perceived. None saw the attack in its entirety. Only a few had glimpsed parts of it, or recognized the cries for help. Many thought they had heard lovers or drunks quarrelling.”
1964 How Many Witnessed the Murder of Kitty Genovese? - The New York Times
Darley and Latané’s research resulted in one of the strongest and most replicable effects in social psychology. Regardless of how many witnesses stood idle during the murder of Kitty Genovese, research on the bystander effect has stood the test of time and peer review — showing that groups are less likely to help someone in trouble than a lone individual.

The Smoky Room (1968)

In one of the first experiments of this type, Latané & Darley asked students to interview for a study about urban living. Before meeting the interviewer, participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire in the waiting room. They were sent either alone or in groups of three.
Once the subjects began filling out their questionnaires, smoke was slowly released through a vent in the room. By 4 minutes the smoke was clearly visible and breathing difficult.
75% of alone subjects calmly noticed the smoke within 6 minutes and left the room to report it.
‘Typically, those who were in the waiting room by themselves noticed the smoke at once, gave a slight startle reaction, hesitated again, and then left the room to find somebody to tell about the smoke. No one showed any signs of panic, but over three-quarters of these people were concerned enough to report the smoke…’
For the groups of three, some of the participants were sent with confederates (actors) told not to react to the smoke. Only 10% of subjects in this condition reported the smoke. Surprisingly, in the three naive bystander condition, only 38% reported the smoke.
“Even though they coughed, rubbed their eyes, tried to wave the smoke away, and opened the window, they apparently were unable to bring themselves to leave.”
The inhibiting effect of the group was so strong they were willing to sit in a room filled with smoke rather than make themselves conspicuous by reacting with alarm and concern.
When asked afterwards there were many explanations for the smoke, but they all had one thing in common: they did not mention the word “fire”. In defining the situation as a nonemergency, people explained to themselves why the other observers did not leave the room; they also removed any reason for action. "A leak in the air conditioning," said one person when we asked him what he thought caused the smoke. "Must be chemistry labs in the building." "Steam pipes."..."Truth gas to make us give true answers on the questionnaire," reported the more imaginative.
Group inhibition of bystander intervention in emergencies (1968)
The researchers considered that maybe college-age male subjects played "chicken" with one another to see who would lose face by first fleeing the room. It may be that groups were less likely to respond because no particular person was in danger.
To test this, they needed to create a situation in which a realistic "emergency" could plausibly occur with someone perceived to be in danger. Each subject should also be blocked from communicating with others, to prevent them from getting information about how others were responding to the situation. Finally, the experimental situation should allow for the assessment of the speed and frequency of their reaction to the emergency.

A Real Emergency (1968)

A college student arrived in the laboratory and was ushered into an individual room from which a communication system would enable them to talk to the other participants. It is explained they are to take part in a discussion and that the discussion would be held over the intercom system, rather than face-to-face, to avoid embarrassment by preserving the anonymity of the subjects.
During the discussion, one of the other subjects underwent what appeared to be an epileptic seizure. During the fit, it was impossible for the subject to talk to the other discussants or to find out what, if anything, they were doing about the emergency. The dependent variable was the speed with which the subjects reported the emergency to the experimenter. The major independent variable was the number of people the subject thought to be in the discussion group.
By the assistant's comments before the experiment, and also by the number of voices heard to speak in the first round of the group discussion, the subject was led to believe that the discussion group was one of three sizes: either a two-person group (consisting of a person who would later have a fit and the real subject), a three-person group (consisting of the victim, the real subject, and one confederate voice), or a six-person group (consisting of the victim, the real subject, and four confederate voices). All the confederates' voices were tape-recorded.
The experimenter began timing the speed of the real subject's response at the beginning of the victim's speech.
“I-er-um-I think I-I need-er-if-if could-er-er-somebody er-er-er-er-er-er-er give me a little-er-give me a little help here because-er-I-er-I’m-er-erh-h-having a-a-a real problem-er-right now and I-er-if somebody could help me out it would-it would-er-er s-s-sure be-sure be good . . . because-there-er-er-a cause I-er-I-uh-I’ve got a-a one of the-er-sei er-er-things coming on and-and-and I could really-er-use some help so if somebody would-er-give me a little h-help-uh-er-er-er-er-er c-could somebody-er-er-help-er-uh-uh-uh (choking sounds). . . . I’m gonna die-er-er-I’m . . . gonna die-er-help-er-er-seizure-er-[chokes, then quiet].”
Judging by the subjects' nervousness when they reported the fit to the experimenter, by their surprise when they discovered that the fit was simulated, and by comments they made during the fit (when they thought their microphones were off), one can conclude that almost all of the subjects perceived the fit as real.
85% of the subjects who thought they alone knew of the victim's plight reported the seizure before the victim was cut off.
Only 31% of those who thought four other bystanders were present did so.
The cumulative distributions of response times for groups of different perceived size indicates that, by any point in time, more subjects from the two-person groups had responded than from the three-person groups, and more from the three-person groups than from the six-person groups.
95% of all the subjects that responded did so within the first half of the time available to them. No subject who had not reported within 3 minutes after the fit ever did so. The shape of these distributions suggest that had the experiment been allowed to run for a considerably longer time, few additional subjects would have responded.
Male subjects reported the emergency no faster than did females. These results (or lack of them) seem to conflict with previous findings that males tend to assume more responsibility and take more initiative than females in giving help to dependent others. Also, females reacted equally fast when the other bystander was another female, a male, or even a person practised in dealing with medical emergencies.
Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility (1968)

The Psychological Process

Three psychological factors are thought to facilitate bystander apathy: the feeling of having less responsibility when more bystanders are present (diffusion of responsibility), the fear of unfavorable public judgment when helping (evaluation apprehension), and the belief that because no one else is helping, the situation is not actually an emergency (pluralistic ignorance).
Latané and Darley also identified the five-step bystander decision model, which explains the process bystanders move through to determine if they would intervene. Bystanders would need to first recognize a problem, interpret the problem as an emergency, assess if they have personal responsibility, decide what assistance is needed, and determine how to act.
Subjects who failed to report the emergency showed few signs of the apathy and indifference thought to characterize "unresponsive bystanders."
When the experimenter entered the room to terminate the situation, the subject often asked if the victim was "all right." "Is he being taken care of?" "He's all right isn't he?" Many of these subjects showed physical signs of nervousness; they often had trembling hands and sweating palms. If anything, they seemed more emotionally aroused than did the subjects who reported the emergency.

Conclusion

Why, then, didn't they respond?
“It is our impression that non-intervening subjects had not decided not to respond. Rather they were still in a state of indecision and conflict concerning whether to respond or not….The fit created a conflict situation of the avoidance-avoidance type. On the one hand, subjects worried about the guilt and shame they would feel if they did not help the person in distress. On the other hand, they were concerned not to make fools of themselves by overreacting, not to ruin the ongoing experiment by leaving their intercom, and not to destroy the anonymous nature of the situation which the experimenter had earlier stressed as important.”
They conclude:
“Thus, the stereotype of the unconcerned, depersonalized homo urbanis, blandly watching the misfortunes of others, proves inaccurate. Instead, we find a bystander to an emergency is an anguished individual in genuine doubt, concerned to do the right thing but compelled to make complex decisions under pressure of stress and fear. His reactions are shaped by the actions of others - and all too frequently their inaction.”
Dangerous Conformity The Smoky Room Experiment (2011) video with intro by Phillip Zimbardo (8 mins)

(f17) was out in service yesterday and saw the signs of a (presumably) homeless girl who appeared to be having a heroin overdose. i recognized her symptoms told our driver and she discouraged me from getting her help because shes "a junkie" and its not my job to help her even tho our witnessing is "out of love and to save the people of this world". they have no idea i was that girl once. i regret not getting out and checking on her anyway.
i just want to talk to her. even if i could have just called the sheriff or offered to call an ambulance it would put my mind at peace. i wish i could save her the way nobody bothered to help me. the borg talks about how loving our community is until its the minority group. i remember the elders practically grounding me after my first overdose and handing me caleb and sophia coloring sheets to encourage me again.
this organization is sick.

Basically at 18 my parents twisted my arm to co-sign my sibling’s student loan. When I went to fill out the mortgage application I asked her if this was in good standing and if she had been making the payments. She assured me that it was in good standing and had made the payments. Well the mortgage company asked for the payment history to complete underwriting. So I asked her for it and lo and behold she’s behind in payments and the statements show a past due amount. Has anyone run across this? Would it be worth paying to get it caught up and then showing the mortgage company that the payments have been made? Not sure the impact on debt to income ratio or to the rates. Husband and I have a credit score of 800+ currently.

I graduate cosmetology school in about 6 months, but at the moment, we're off for the month of June for summer. I'm trying to take this time off school to find an assistant job at a salon. I went all around my town 4 days ago and gave my resume to 5 different salons and they were all pretty receptive and nice. I was expecting to get shrugged off so it was nice that they were accepting. However, I haven't heard from any of them yet. I know it's only been like 4 days but I'm growing very anxious. I cut my hours at work because of school. So I'm making half of what I used to make now, and now being out of school for a month, I have 4 days off a week, so I am growing more anxious sitting at home not making money. I even signed up for DoorDash. My fiancé is the primary money maker, so I know we'll be fine in that regard, but it still doesn't feel good. I saw a job ad for specifically a salon assistant job that trains you to be on your own within 6 to 8 months, but it's a 35 minute drive from me. I know to some people the obvious answer would be to take whatever I can get. But to me, I actually used to go to a different cosmetology school in that same town and the drive there and home was so tiring, especially after being at the school all day. Also I know there's no guarantee that I'll get the job just by applying, so why not apply while I am waiting to hear back from the other salons in the meantime? I think I just answered my own question so I think I'll go ahead and apply, but I wanted to see what kind of commute you guys have for your salons, and what you think would be too much? I guess as a student, I should take what I can get just so I can start getting experience as soon as possible, thoughts?

Part 1 and Part 2
Early in my career, I taught music at a private school in NJ. One of my favorite things to do when I worked there was go on field trips. I always signed up to chaperone them. One trip that I insisted on going on every year was for the 6th graders in September to a camp in the woods in Connecticut. The camp was all about sustainability and had great farm-to-table food, plus there was hiking and kayaking. Really a great time. However, it was also most of these kids' first time sleeping away from home. Some took the opportunity for unsupervised mischief at night, some brought out the tears and begged to be brought home.
My last year there, I was staying in a cabin I had not been in before. The layout of the small building was four bedrooms arranged in a square, each with an entrance door to the outside wraparound porch and each with their own bathroom. There was also a heavy door with an old school iron slide lock conjoining my bedroom with one other. The cabin was pretty old, and I remember being surprised that I didn't sense any spirits in my room. It felt remarkably unoccupied.
So, we had our first day of activities and sent the kids to bed. I had a pair of known troublemakers in other bedrooms of my cabin, but I didn't have any problems with them at night. However, the next morning, I went to wake everyone up and the boys in the room that happens to connect to mine (I kept the heavy bolt locked on my side) complained of not being able to sleep because the boys in the room next to them would quit banging on their bathroom wall at night. Of course, that was the room with the troublemakers, so I admonished them for being annoying but they swore they didn't do it. The kids who couldn't sleep were very upset, though, so I didn't believe the troublemakers.
Later on in the early evening, the kids were on a long hike with the camp staff and us chaperones were given a few hours off. The science teacher and guidance counselor went to the main lodge to watch some movie, while I was feeling a little sleepy so I went back to my cabin (about a quarter mile through the woods from the lodge) to take a nap. When I got to the cabin, I heard an alarm going off. Realizing it was in the adjoining room to mine (the room where the kids couldn't sleep), I knew I wouldn't be able to nap with that going off, so I opened their door to turn it off.
As soon as I entered the room, the alarm immediately stopped. I was also met with some of the most oppressive energy I've ever felt. The room was way darker than mine, and also way colder. The rooms didn't have individual thermostats, either. That was controlled for the whole cabin. This room was bad news. I closed the door and walked around the porch to my blissfully pure room and take off my jeans to get into bed.
Though, before I settle in all the way for my nap, I decide to poop. I go to my bathroom and right as I was about to sit down on the toilet, a very large black spider crawls over the seat and then under it. I immediately flip the seat up to kill it but it was just GONE. Thinking that maybe I just missed it crawling under the rim of the bowl and not wanting to find out where it had gone mid-poop, I decide to just use the bathroom in the adjoining bedroom. The kids were going to be out for hours; I was fine. Being lazy and not wanting to put my pants back on, I decide to use the heavy door with the iron slide lock to get into their bedroom instead of walking across the porch.
The door was heavy and old. It hung a bit against the lock, I had to lean against the door to give the lock room to slide. Once it was open, I stepped into the familiar dark and cold bedroom with the bad vibes and went to its bathroom to poop. As soon as I sit down on the toilet, I hear a banging on the wall behind me. My first reaction is to get mad at my troublemaker students, because here they are having lied to me about banging on the wall and now I've caught them! But then I remember: they aren't here. They're up on the side of a mountain on a 5-hour hike. I am alone in the cabin. Or, so I thought.
I start to try to find a rational explanation for the banging. It only started when I sat down, so maybe the pipes and the toilet are loose and move around when you sit. So I wiggle about, trying to correlate any of my movements with the bangs I'm still hearing. Nothing. The bangs were definitely not connected to anything I was doing. That's when I put it all together: this was the banging on the bathroom wall that the kids were complaining about, the alarm clock and spider seemed to both lure me into this other room, the coldness and the darkness, the oppressive energy. There was something malevolent in this room and it *wanted* me there.
And before I manage to actually poop, I run from the bathroom, through the heavy door back into my room and go to close the slide lock. To do so, I need to press all of my weight on the door. That's when something on the other side of the door pushes it so hard I'm *knocked back.* This is, again, while I was putting all of my weight against it. I was not a small man at the time, either. I was 5'11", 260 pounds. I panic. My shoulder hurts from the force of push, but I manage to slam the door shut, get the lock slid into place and run out the front door of my bedroom, grabbing my shoes and jeans in the process. I whip them on on the porch and then sprint back to the lodge.
Out of breath, I meet up with the science teacher and guidance counselor and tell them everything that happened. Frustratingly, the guidance counselor doesn't believe me, but the *science* teacher does! Either way, I stay with them until the kids get back from their hike, we have our closing program for the day, and I lead my group through the woods back to the cabin. I, of course, do not mention the thing that pushed me to the kids, but I do apologize to the troublemakers for admonishing them in the morning. "I know it wasn't you," I say. They look at me a little puzzled (I don't know if a teacher ever admitted they were wrong to them before) before just saying "Ok, Mr. Visit_Magrathea. Thanks." and go to bed.
Once I'm sure all of them are safely in their rooms (or as safe as they might be), I settled into my room. I'm a little uneasy but I feel like maybe this room is a safe place. Whatever resides in this cabin in the woods is confined to that dark room on the other side of the wall. But, not wanting to be alone in that moment, I call my girlfriend to chat a bit before bed. I tell her the story about my shitty encounter that day and she just laughs at me; she doesn't believe that kind of stuff and she thought the image of me waddling away from a ghost with my pants around my ankles was truly hilarious. I remind her that I wasn't wearing pants at the time but that doesn't stop her laughing and its honestly contagious. It was nice to laugh about something that scared me so much.
However, maybe I shouldn't have acknowledged the spirit's existence aloud while on the phone in that room because suddenly, I watch at the wardrobe in the room has its doors flung open with a very loud *bang!* I'm frozen in place on the bed, just staring at the wardrobe, waiting for any more movement. The room is still. I hadn't placed anything in that wardrobe the entire weekend. Nothing fell out of it to open the doors like that. It was just empty. Terrified, I slept with the lights on that night.

First Previous Next
Patreon Official Subreddit Series Wiki Royal Road
“Is that a threat?” I countered plainly, simply, and with my hand brushing against the back of my pistol.
“No, newrealmer.” The apprentice replied with a nonchalant, conversational tone of voice, having dropped that momentary rise in intensity. “I am merely referring to this little mixer. Which, I believe, I should allow you to get back to. But just be warned, it would be wise to heed my words. Though I highly doubt this will be the last you’ll be hearing of this, as perhaps clarification will be needed to address exactly what is and isn’t acceptable and tolerable. Then again, I doubt even that will be my purview. Oh well…” The apprentice shrugged, cutting himself off and removing the little blanket of darkness before he could get into another one of his long-winded tirades.
The darkness disappeared as abruptly as it’d arrived. Moreover, if the sensor readings didn’t already make it clear, it was now very much evident to me that the shadowy bubble I’d been thrust into wasn’t some kind of portal or spatial anomaly, but a careful manipulation of light; separating our small space from the rest of the gathered crowd. A crowd which, much to my surprise, didn’t seem at all fazed by the scene. If anything, the sudden and inexplicable appearance of the apprentice seemed to only result in the expected nods of respect, and bows of deference.
No words were exchanged between the shadowy apprentice and the gathered group. Instead, only a glare and a nod of respectful warning was given; generating an immediate shift in the atmosphere.
A vibe that immediately read as: Tread Lightly.
Silence permeated the immediate aftermath of that encounter. Whilst concern over the apprentice’s actions brewed inside of me, forcing me to consider the implications of this first open attempt at information control, and more worryingly… if he was acting on his own volition or at someone else’s standing orders.
However, despite the general submission to the apprentice’s presence and the unspoken warnings toward the group as a whole, the mileage by which the warning was taken… varied considerably.
The tortle-like-turtle, along with the rest of his group and some scattered compatriots, simply left.
Ladona and a few others remained there for a second longer, before likewise breaking course, returning back to Auris Ping and the rest of their group.
Etholin and the group of crocodiles however, whilst relatively unnerved and cautious, actually took a few steps towards me.
“Well then.” The orange and yellow Viscount Gumigo broke the silence first. “You, newrealmer, are now officially on our sight-map.” He spoke in a manner that because of his cocksure and gung-ho demeanor, made it difficult to determine if that was a particularly good, or a particularly bad thing. Though the fact he also left quickly after saying that, probably implied the sentiment lay somewhere in between.
“We'll have our eyes on you.” One of the crocodiles spoke, using two of his three fingers to point towards his eyes, before shooting them back towards me.
“And our ears too!” The smallest crocodile yapped through a confident grin, before just as quickly bolting off.
This left only the small ferret as the last one standing, as he once more craned his head up higher and higher, just to meet my eyes.
“T-the offer from before still stands, earthrealmer.” Etholin began, generating a brief instance of a privacy screen around us. “The offer to parlay that is. W-with the added caveat of guaranteed discretion on my part.” The ferret’s mild-mannered demeanor remained all throughout, even as he tried his best to infer something other than skittish nervousness through his words. “You were leading towards something, a topic which… while admittedly taboo and borderline preposterous, entering the realm of absurdity, is one that I very much wish to hear more of. Will you walk with me, Emma Booker?” The ferret gestured towards the second nook. “We don't have much time before the end of this mixer, after all.”
I nodded cautiously, prompting the ferret’s privacy screen to grow stronger with mana radiation, a confirmation that these things did take more effort to maintain when in motion.
“I’m flattered they even bothered to entertain my explanations in that case.” I offered, trying to keep the conversation rolling as it naturally veered towards one of the points I wanted to touch on; gauging the crowd from earlier using Etholin’s insight. “After all, it would’ve been much easier to simply disengage and disregard, rather than to engage and actively humor my points.”
“Indeed. Though this perhaps due in no small part to the… unconventional and daring plays of your vastly inferior hand.” The ferret paused, before quickly correcting himself just as we arrived at the third nook. “I… I meant no disrespect with that of course!”
“No offense taken, at least not at this junction, Lord Esila.” I offered with a sigh, urging him to continue.
“A newrelamer’s deck is often composed of cards stacked against their favor from the moment they step into the nest of intrigue that is the Academy. Your… unique predispositions, whilst seemingly a handicap, have been overshadowed by your peers’ classroom performance in the form of your current points, and most notable of all… your library card. Whilst the former is subject to the whims of the academic game, the latter… has become a foundational cornerstone to your lore. This, amongst a few other rumors and whispers, has forced the student body to reassess its stance on what would otherwise be an easily-dismissed existence. Indeed I… applaud your risk-taking maneuvers during that fateful assembly. Though I can imagine it did not come without its price.”
That latter, almost ominous statement, immediately put me in mind of Auris and the resultant cold war stemming from our two fates that’d become inexplicably linked after that assembly fiasco.
A pause quickly punctuated the scene, with Etholin looking up expectantly, as I took a moment to get a closer look at the third nook and all of its magically-derived shenanigans; namely the battle-lines now drawn into what appeared to be a fully actualized, highly-rendered battlemap, and miniatures of several towns and cities scattered across it.
“All decisions have their prices, Lord Esila.” I offered earnestly, just as the lines in whatever magical RTS game happening in the background behind him were shifting. “Indeed, as much as I appreciate your insight on this matter, this does raise the question—”
“You backstabbed my third guard unit, Lord Etale!”
“Well, YOU lied to me about the shipment of grain, Lady Evrail!”
I paused, momentarily distracted by the drama quickly manifesting in the background.
“—why exactly do you seem to be more invested in me than most? Now, I’m not saying I’m not appreciative of course. I genuinely, and wholeheartedly, wish to form more bonds amidst an… in your own words — nest of intrigue. However, I am merely curious.”
“Perhaps I see this as a risk worth taking, Cadet Emma Booker.” He offered with a twitch of his ears. “Perhaps, I see that the benefits of discussing matters, of forming at the very least a working relationship, is now worth the potential risks following your elevation from a mere newrealmer, to a potential player in the game.”
A momentary silence once more descended following that answer, as I paused to ponder the sincerity behind the ferret’s voice, amidst the growing chaos and rapidly deteriorating battle-lines of the game behind him; towering high-rises and windmills alike, crumbling amidst a barrage of tiny magical missiles hurled to the tune of tiny mana radiation signatures.
However, just before I could formulate an answer, a series of bells suddenly sounded above us, eliciting the attention of not just me and my gathered audience, but the rest of the room as well.
It was around this time that the musical ensemble from one of the nooks came forward, carried aloft on a floating invisible platform, as the ‘MC’ began addressing everyone in the room. “Princes and Princesses, Lords and Ladies… newrealmer… may I have your attention, please! The time for dinner has arrived! As a result, it would be our pleasure once again to serenade the end of today’s mixer.” The ‘MC’ quickly turned towards the only other noble on stage, who just as quickly began performing.
The question of just how a singular person would be able to play a quartet’s worth of instruments quickly became clear, as disembodied white-gloved hands manifested out of nowhere, and began playing a sharp and whimsical tune.
“It stands to reason that perhaps fate has deemed our conversation stops here, at least for now, Cadet Emma Booker.” Etholin offered.
“There’s more you wanted to touch base on?”
“Y-yes. There is a proposition I wish to pose to you, on the matter of this weekend’s sojourn into Elaseer, and on another matter more pertinent to your time here within the Academy and its many, many factions.”
So that’s what his angle is?
“If it’s a simple nonbinding talk, then sure. Maybe tomorrow after class? Or maybe after Friday’s PE class? As long as nothing else comes up of course.”
“Those are indeed acceptable time frames, Cadet Emma Booker.” Etholin nodded deeply, before taking a few careful steps back. “Till we meet again.”
The sun had begun setting at this point, and as the music prepared to draw to a close, so too did everyone’s formerly talkative spirits.
The wrap-up process was somber, and was rather distinct for each of the little nooks within the lounge. The first nook, with Ilunor and Rostario, seemed to be tallying up some sort of a scoreboard that floated in mid air, far above the reaches of the pair’s short little arms.
The second nook however seemed to be dealing with a lot of cleanup work, as the animated paper birds, dragons, gryphons, and dragon-wyvern-gryphon hybrids were practically torn to shreds by the end of it. Whatever animated battle had transpired, I was apparently not privy to. But I made an immediate mental note to both myself and the EVI to focus on that nook the next time around.
The third nook, the one I’d seen towards the tail end of the mixer, was my main fixation at this point however; as the students here seemed to be tallying and wrapping up what was effectively a magically actualized version of a hybrid between a real-time strategy and a table-top roleplaying game. Except instead of holograms, they dealt with fully autonomous physical miniatures, small representations of anything from your archetypal knight to what looked to be a heavily armored… dare I say it, renaissance looking APC… if that was even a thing. I tended to stay away from fusion fantasy stories, being known as a stickler for minimally invasive crossover settings, so I’d need to look this over with the EVI after work was done. Many of the miniatures however lie in tatters, mauled and torn apart across the mini battlefield. But just like the second nook, this mess didn’t seem to be a problem; a series of magical spells restored every model back to their original condition.
Though following the cleanup, I’d expected the tensions from earlier to spiral into some form of a duel. Similar to how Ilunor and Rostario had seemingly been riled up from what amounted to a minor confrontation.
This, surprisingly, didn’t happen. Instead, and much to my surprise, the group just ended up shaking hands in a surprising display of sportsmanship.
But while the first three nooks were rather straightforward, the fourth nook… I just couldn’t comprehend. Their incantations of darkness seemed to have brought about some sickening creature that disintegrated into what I could only describe as liquid shadow following the call for dinner.
Which left only the fifth nook, who were essentially already packed up, with their musical instruments disappearing either into a burst of smoke or into a small dimensional rift-in-the-wall.
That, I’d need to investigate down the line.
For now however, I turned towards the exit, towards the animated painting that had acted as the entryway to the space. One that had now just given up on all pretenses and opened up like a traditional door; exactly as I recalled it on the night of the warehouse explosion.
“So much for all the magical effort that goes into entering the place.” I groaned out, as I regrouped with the rest of the party, but not before Ilunor turned around for one final jab at the hamster.
“You’re a guinea pig, Prince Rostarion!” He seethed, before seemingly out of nowhere, pulling a fruit that looked like a cross between a pineapple and a cantaloup out of his cloak. At which point, he lobbed it, directly towards the hamster who deflected it with a flick of his wrist.
This led to what amounted to an impromptu tennis match that followed us from the lounge, into the halls, and even all the way down the stairs, before it finally came to an end at the end of an upper yearsman’s wand. At which point, a few words were exchanged, and the pineapple found itself floating and following the Vunerian down and into the dining hall. It seemed to get closer and closer to his head, only halted when he turned around to glare at it.
“I… I don’t understand what’s going on anymore, Ilunor.” I offered in an exasperated breath.
“It’s humor, earthrealmer.” The Vunerian responded somehow pridefully, yet defeatedly at the same time. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30, Living Room. Local Time: 2000 Hours.
Emma
“So what do you make of it?” I asked the gang after more or less divulging the entirety of my encounters during the little ‘mixer’, now that we’d plopped ourselves down on the couch, with a cone of silence deployed for good measure.
“Lady Ladona was attempting to assert some level of social dominance and intimidation.” Thacea began, taking a sip of some tea she’d ordered in from dinner. “Whether or not that is at the behest of Lord Ping’s request, or one committed on her own volition, does not detract from the fact that her actions are invariably representative of her peer group.”
“To which Emma responded in the best way possible.” Thalmin offered with a snarky grin. “Care to revisit that moment you stood your ground against her on your memory shard again, Emma?”
“I’m afraid I have to insist on moving forward with the conversation, Thalmin.” Thacea countered, prompting the lupinor to hold back and to simply shrug, urging the avinor to continue.
“The rest of the crowd seemed… as you pointed out to Lord Esila, surprisingly accommodating all things considered. Though it’s the encounter with Apprentice Arlan Ostoy that I am most worried about.”
“As am I.” I offered, prompting both of us to stare intently in deep thought.
“The man is obviously trying to halt the divulgence of hard evidence to your manaless existence.” Thalmin offered.
“But the enforcement aspect of it is nebulous at best.” Ilunor chimed in. “I believe you will see further expansion upon this warning sooner rather than later. For now I believe it would be best if we heeded those warnings, especially considering the delicate situation we are already embroiled in.”
I took a moment to take all of that advice in, pausing to consider my next course of action with that particular development.
Exhaustion certainly wasn’t something I’d expected to feel this early on in the night. This was especially true when considering that all that had transpired was what amounted to a small social gathering.
Though as my time with the Director had taught me, ‘parties’, and ‘social events’ were two very distinct things. With the latter being less of a party and more of a thinly veiled networking expo disguised under layers of booze, food, and whatever shiny distractions your budget could afford.
But while the social mixer seemed to have opportunities for those to pursue their hobbies, namely in the little nooks… the social event aspect of it was definitely still there. And as a result, it was still something I desperately wanted to recover from.
Though given my track record…
“INFIL-DRONE01a has returned-to-base, Cadet Booker.”
… I should’ve expected that work was going to rear back its ugly head somehow.
Moreover, this was all part of the plan, after all.
The expected downturn in activity was expectedly replaced with the anxiety-inducing apprehension of what was to come.
“Alright.” I announced, both towards the EVI, and outwardly towards the rest of the gang. “The spy drone’s back. Are you guys ready to see what’s on it?”
A series of nods quickly followed, with all eyes averting from the dragon-fly like drone currently docking itself back into my suit.
I held my breath as the data began its tentative upload, a nagging feeling coiling from the back of my spine urged me to prepare for the worst.
“Alert. Probability of stealth compromisation and discovery at 50.27%. Isolate and play moment of stealth parameter endangerment?”
And I just about let loose the largest sigh of internalized stress I’ve released over the past 48 hours.
This clearly brought on the attention of the rest of the group, as each of them leaned closer towards me.
“There’s a near fifty-fifty chance we’ve been found out.” I explained bluntly. “But there’s only one way to find out.” I quickly began setting up the tablet and its on-board projector, flipping it on its kickstand as the recorded footage started playing, zeroing in on the exact instance of mission endangerment.
The footage revealed what appeared to be the same blank void from my long-winded journey towards the man’s office. The blank unrendered walls, the shadowless bright white fixtures, and the floatiness of it all, made it clear exactly where we were.
“At least we’re headed towards Mal’tory’s office.” I offered with a half-hearted laugh.
However, as the footage continued, it quickly became clear to all of us that it wasn’t just the apprentice that was on the prowl towards the black robed professor’s offices.
In fact, as the camera panned up, it became readily apparent exactly who had triggered the stealth alarm.
As it became undeniably clear that the armorer of all people, was now side-eying the drone, cocking his head if only so slightly in the direction of its flightpath.
Throughout all of this however, the apprentice remained locked in her own little world, as she continued talking about subject matters not particularly important, most of which simply related to the class and the more mundane aspects of teaching.
“This is bad.” Thalmin managed out first, sinking the bottom half of his face into his hands.
However, just as those words were uttered, so too did the footage reveal something… peculiar about Sorecar’s unfettering gaze.
He winked.
Or at least, in his own little way, as a gleam of light reminiscent of a lens flare emanated from the left visor currently in view of the drone.
All four of us just about lost it at that point.
As Thacea turned towards me expectedly, looking up at me as if I had the answers.
“I… I’m guessing… I mean… He’s perceptive, I’ll give him that. He’s doing something none of the professors could do so far. Heck, not even the apprentice seems to notice. But that wink… I guess…” I paused, before turning towards the EVI. “EVI, any other instances of potential discovery?”
“Negative, Cadet Booker. This is the only recorded instance that surpasses the tolerable threshold.”
I took a moment to sink into the armor. “Well, this seems to be the only instance the drone caught anyone or anything else staring directly at it.” I explained to the group. “Moreover, there were no instances in which Sorecar actually notified the apprentice about this it seems.” I continued, once more reviewing the EVI’s risk of discovery reports.
“The man seems to be somewhat endeared to you, Emma.” Thacea reasoned.
“Yeah… funny the way things turn out, huh?” I offered, before scrolling towards the start of the mission proper, and began playing.
Everyone now became intently focused on the long stretches of silence as the apprentice and professor duo made their way from the class and towards the dark and imposing double doors of Mal’tory’s office.
It was here however, that the first words from the apprentice directly referencing the man were finally spoken.
“Well here we are.” Larial spoke through a tired sigh.
“The office of the great man himself.” Sorecar chuckled darkly, crossing his arms in the process. “Well go on then. Be my guest, Apprentice.”
To which the apprentice nodded, but instead of simply opening the door… she grabbed what appeared to be a small notebook, turning to a page stamped entirely with seals and runes. She took a few steps forward, holding the book up, and outstretching her other hand in what amounted to the most archetypal image of a mage casting a spell I could ever dream up. “Ars la tal te al…” She mumbled in rapid succession, looking visibly silly without my drone’s ability to pick up manastreams due to its limited onboard sensors, and thus giving the gang a small slice of what it was like to see the world through my eyes.
These mumblings however eventually resulted in the doors creaking open, slowly, but surely, and with great strain, being pushed inwards by an unseen force.
“That wasn’t an Academy spell.” Sorecar noted accusingly.
“No, it wasn’t.” Larial acknowledged cryptically, pocketing the book and stowing it away.
“You’re playing a dangerous game, Apprentice.” The armorer spoke with a hint of ominous foreboding, visibly hesitant to cross the threshold and into Mal’tory’s office.
“I’m merely carrying out my duties, and the last I checked, those who carry out their duties are impervious to the ministrations of the games fought amongst the issuers of said duties.”
“You see the world in black and white, Apprentice; a fatal misstep once one enters the throes of the game. And the longer you remain in this rat race, the sooner you will come to realize that you must pick a side. Lest you become a liability, or worse, be an intolerable threat to be dealt with.” Those words carried with it what seemed to be a genuine sense of care and concern. Though dour and colored with a severity I hadn’t seen from the armorer so far. Part of me even felt like he could be speaking from experience.
The apprentice only paused for a few seconds, her whole body freezing for a moment as if considering the very real looming threats.
However, no sooner did that realization come did it also dissipate, as she let out a sigh, before pulling out a monocle from beneath her cloak. “You speak as if I have a choice, Professor. Where in reality, the only choice I have is to resign or to obey. In which case, I have little choice at all.” Larial’s eyes wavered as she said that, if only for a moment. “My choice was made the moment I left the crownlands. Moreover, I try my best to see the light in this dire situation. I still see this responsibility as an opportunity for me to also work for myself.”
“So you do have aspirations for the black-robed position.” The professor surmised.
“No. Not particularly anyways. No, what I meant by my personal responsibilities… is a debt that I must uphold.”
“A life debt, perchance?” The professor reasoned, prompting the apprentice to once more pause.
“A debt is a debt, which must be paid in full all the same.” She reasoned, before once more urging the man across the threshold.
Sorecar did so with a nervous hop, as if preempting some sort of trap which never came.
It was at this point that the pair became silent, as if in awe of the room they were now standing in.
Everything about it… was exactly the same as it was on that fateful night. From the dark and moody bookshelves that lined most of the walls, to the somber and almost mournful pieces of art, furniture, and knick-knacks that looked eerily fluid this time around.
Moreover, the centerpiece of the whole room, that anatomical live-model of a dragon, remained exactly as it was.
And even now… I could swear that its eyes were staring at the sole occupants of the room, in a permanent expression of shock and dread.
“I assume you’ve never been in the prime iteration of the man’s offices before.” Sorecar reasoned, his gait becoming paradoxically more confident, whilst Larial’s became more and more nervous.
“No. It would seem not.” She expressed through a tentative breath, closing the doors behind them, before going over practically every nook and cranny in the room with both her eyes, and a flight of magical gloved hands. “It would seem as if he didn’t trust me enough to allow me entry into his true domain.”
“Understandable.” Sorecar shrugged. “But that begs the question, exactly how did you come across that seal-breaker?”
“As I said before, Professor. I’ve been assigned this responsibility by three authorities simultaneously.”
“Let’s see… the weak-willed young Vanavan?”
“Yes.” The apprentice nodded, now kneeling in front of the chair I’d broken out of half a week ago.
“And the Dean as well, I imagine?”
“Correct.” She nodded again, this time placing her hand over top of the damaged chair, as if inspecting it for signs of tampering.
“And the third, the only one with the key to the prime iteration of the black-robed professor's offices… I assume this is a third party?”
The apprentice finally paused at that latter question, though it wasn’t clear if it was because she discovered something about the chair, or was more concerned about the question itself.
“Yes.” She finally responded after a tentative few seconds, moving over towards the back of Mal’tory’s desk.
“Am I correct to assume then, that this mysterious third party is some young and aspiring member of the inner guard? A Captain perhaps? Maybe even a Major?”
“I am not at liberty to discuss the nature of my superiors, Professor.” Larial concluded sternly, placing both of her hands atop of Mal’tory’s desk.
“But you just did.” Sorecar shot back with a tone of voice that could only be described as amused and cocky.
“I did so in the hopes of appeasing your curiosities, professor, to the point where perhaps you would be satisfied with two answers out of a total of three.” The apprentice responded with a hard sigh.
“And you just so happened to have chosen to stop at the mystery individual because that was perhaps the juiciest insight out of all three?”
“I stopped because that just so happens to be the third question on your roster, professor. Now please, I need a moment of concentration.”
“Apologies, apprentice.” The man craned his head down in a show of apologetics.
The silence finally prompted Larial to bring out what looked to be a bespoke, intricately crafted, and fancifully adorned magnifying glass. One that was tastefully sized, and looked genuinely cool to hold with its cherry-oak handle and its gold and silver decals. I would’ve killed to have something like that commissioned out-of-pocket for a Victorian steampunk cosplay. This, coupled with the monocle she had put on not a few moments prior, gave an almost period-appropriate air of some Sherlock Holmes flick; vibing quite well with the room’s Victorian aesthetic.
Even Sorecar of all people seemed to fit weirdly well, as some sort of an eccentric overly curious sidekick to the serious and strait-laced Detective Larial. These dynamic duo vibes would be further tested, as Sorecar continued pushing on his previous talking points. “Though, forgive me if I am overstepping my bounds here… but I do assume that the seal on your notebook belongs to the inner guard. Dare I say it, it reminds me of a sub-order within the guard, the Beholders of His Eternal Majesty, to be precise.”
“And what makes you think that, professor?” Larial shot back curiously, cocking her head, but still completely engrossed in whatever it was she was eyeing through that magnifying glass.
“This room we’re in.” Sorecar gestured aggressively. “This is its prime iteration, the real deal, the actual room, not a tertiary, let alone a secondary decoy to be accessed by a lesser seal or an attempt at physical trespassing. Now, for any other office within the castle walls, that access could easily be explained through the utilization of the Dean’s seal. But for a black robed professor’s office? Well… you know as well as I, that no academic authority can grant you access into what is effectively the crownlands’ consulate. I know for a fact, that the last time I entered a black-robed professor’s office with the Dean’s Seal, all I saw was the most unconvincing facsimile of the prime iteration.”
“I forget sometimes that you were once perhaps an apprentice as well, professor.”
This attempt to connect with the apprentice through personal anecdotes seemed to work for a little bit, before something caused the warmth from the apprentice’s face to fade entirely.
“What is it?” Sorecar urged, noticing the radical shift in their back and forths.
No sooner was that question raised did an audible CLICK soon follow, and the sound of a desk drawer opening filled the stale and stagnant air soon after.
From there, the now-silent apprentice cautiously pulled up two items from the unlocked drawer using some sort of levitation spell; only one of which I recognized from that fateful day.
In one of her hands was the crystal ball I saw Mal’tory stowing away prior to our conversation.
And in the other, was a small notebook bound in bright green leather, one that prompted Ilunor’s eyes to grow wide with worry.
“I believe I have found the last instance of the professor’s personal correspondence to the crownlands.” She spoke, placing the crystal ball down on the professor’s desk. “And I also believe, I have found exactly what our dear Dean, and indeed… my third party is looking for.” She placed the notebook on the table. “A list… containing a number of books marked as recommended reading material for the studious student… all to be issued not by the school’s library, but the Library.”
“None of those books are on the course’s recommended reading material list, I imagine.” Sorecar responded darkly and facetiously.
“No. Not a single one, professor. Which can only mean one thing.”
"We found The Library's burned catalog."
First Previous Next
​
(Author’s Note: Apprentice Arlan Ostoy, the shadow-obscured apprentice, seems to be rather serious in his attempts at obfuscating the truth! We'll just have to see how that plays out haha. However, in spite of that, we see Etholin's interests in Emma growing, as he speaks frankly with her on several matters, and Emma finally confronts him about just why he seems to be so eager to talk to her despite the taboo nature of her very existence! We also see exactly what the five nooks in the student lounge are up to, as I've always wanted to give the magical world just a little bit more whimsy and a lived in sort of vibe with these things happening all around Emma, and just demonstrating that there is indeed multiple stories and characters just living their own lives outside of Emma's story! That's the sort of vibe that I always love and that I hope I'm able to capture with this haha. Also, most importantly, we start to see the footage gathered from Emma's snooping, as we get to see the nitty gritty of Larial's investigation on Mal'tory! I hope you guys enjoy! :D The next Two Chapters are already up on Patreon if you guys are interested in getting early access to future chapters!)
[If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 83 and Chapter 84 of this story is already out on there!)]

I thought it was smart on the Blackhawks to bring in vets like Nick Foligno to be a mentor for Bedard on and off the ice. Would it make sense for the Sharks to sign someone like Blake Wheeler to take on that role for Smith and Celebrini? I know there won’t be as much media hype and scrutiny on our guys like there was for Bedard but if Cooch is still out another veteran leader could be nice.
Also what would the draft compensation have to be if we threw an offer sheet for Kaapo Kakko? We need wing depth and have the cap space to overpay him for a short term contract. If he works out great, but if not when the contract is over hopefully we’ll be ready to compete for the playoffs. A change of scenery could be good for him and being a lottery pick himself he could potentially give good advice to our young guys himself.

In April, I was elected to my college's student council executive. It's not like I beat out a bunch of people for the role; no one else had put their name in by the last day of the nomination period, and I thought I could do it, so I put my name in.
However, difficulties I've had with the college have made me a bit bitter. I was told through the school year that a co-op would count towards my mandatory work term if it matched my program. So as an accounting student, I got a co-op placement in an accounting department. It's a perfect fit, but two weeks after I started I was then told by the college that co-ops don't count. Plus the team on the college's end kept dropping the ball on getting me registered, to the point where there were three times I almost lost the placement because of them, and there was so little transparency in the whole process that I really didn't have any information on what to actually expect on the coursework side of things (had I had all the information, I doubt I would have signed up). All in all, I feel cheated and lied to about this, and already decided that I'm not doing any extra-curriculars beyond what I've already signed up for. Pending exceptions for one-off things that I could drop in on whenever I felt like it, but nothing that requires any sort of actual commitment. I know the student council and the college as a whole aren't that connected overall (it's hard to explain), and that's why I was conflicted on this point; if they were connected, I would have very quickly said to hell with it and quit the same day.
There are also supposed to be periodic executive meetings with the organization that sort of oversees the councils at each campus, but I can't make them. I've been upfront about my work schedule, saying I can't do anything until about 5:30 through the week, but the latest time slot for these meetings is always 3. And nothing on the weekends, when I could do that time of day. So it's making me feel like I can't actually participate. I've been in my role for a month now, and I haven't been able to do anything.
It's been a little over two weeks now that I've been contemplating this, and honestly, the only reason I can think of to stick with it is "it looks good on a resume." But I'm also in a situation where I don't really want to do it anymore.
At the rate things are going, I'm almost certainly going to do up an email this weekend explaining the situation, that I'll be in Monday to pick up my stuff, and then will work on trying to contact the person I need to contact to drop my key to the office off. I just need to talk to someone though, and make sure I'm not going to regret this.

I am an international student and I will be joining Purdue's main campus in West Lafayette this fall of 2024 and one of my foremost concerns (also shared by many other international students) is securing suitable housing. Given my inability to visit properties in person verifying the authenticity and quality of potential living spaces has proven to be quite challenging and signing a lease or a sublease under these circumstances feels risky and uncertain. During my search online I encountered various properties that appeared appealing in photographs however upon looking further I found out that many of these places had poor reviews and ratings on Google. Common complaints included mismanagement and landlords failing to address issues in a timely manner (such as pest infestations, damaged or broken appliances, leaking ceilings, and many more). Alarmingly, some reviews even suggested that the 5-star ratings were fabricated by the owners themselves using fake and dummy accounts.
In light of these concerns I am reaching out to current students and residents for an honest feedback about the actual conditions of housing options near Purdue. I am looking for good places with little to no problems but I am also aware that no place is entirely perfect and that issues may arise over time hence my concern is whether landlords and property managers are responsive and proactive in resolving these problems or if they just tend to neglect the tenant's concerns.
While writing your review and experience write the name of the place at the top (Launch, Lark, Alight, Arches, Granite Student Living, Muinzer, The Fairway, Crestview, Provenance, The Vintage, etc) and provide an overall rating of the place from 1 to 10 along with it. I know that a person may have an idea of a few places and may have lived in 1 or 2 places only so participation and answers from as many people possible would be helpful not just to me but to all incoming students as well.
TLDR: want to initiate a discussion thread about housing to get more honest feedback rather than marketing bullshit

I understand that there's a dedicated Reddit for Purdue Housing but I am posting here to reach a larger number of people and my intention is not to seek roommates but to gather information on the various housing options used by students around Purdue University. There have been similar post made in the past but as time goes by things change hence I am writing this post.
I am an international student and I will be joining Purdue's main campus in West Lafayette this fall of 2024 and one of my foremost concerns (also shared by many other international students) is securing suitable housing. Given my inability to visit properties in person verifying the authenticity and quality of potential living spaces has proven to be quite challenging and signing a lease or a sublease under these circumstances feels risky and uncertain. During my search online I encountered various properties that appeared appealing in photographs however upon looking further I found out that many of these places had poor reviews and ratings on Google. Common complaints included mismanagement and landlords failing to address issues in a timely manner (such as pest infestations, damaged or broken appliances, leaking ceilings, and many more). Alarmingly, some reviews even suggested that the 5-star ratings were fabricated by the owners themselves using fake and dummy accounts.
In light of these concerns I am reaching out to current students and residents for an honest feedback about the actual conditions of housing options near Purdue. I am looking for good places with little to no problems but I am also aware that no place is entirely perfect and that issues may arise over time hence my concern is whether landlords and property managers are responsive and proactive in resolving these problems or if they just tend to neglect the tenant's concerns.
While writing your review and experience write the name of the place at the top (Launch, Lark, Alight, Arches, Granite Student Living, Muinzer, The Fairway, Crestview, Provenance, The Vintage, etc) and provide an overall rating of the place from 1 to 10 along with it. I know that a person may have an idea of a few places and may have lived in 1 or 2 places only so participation and answers from as many people possible would be helpful not just to me but to all incoming students as well.
​
TLDR: want to initiate a discussion thread about housing to get more honest feedback rather than marketing bullshit

Firstly i know i am an idiot that I believed in the typical FedEx scam call, as I was not aware of this scam.
i have been an ICICI bank customer for past 9 years, never knew this relationship will turn into an absolute nightmare.After a very distressing call/video call from the people claiming to be FedEx customer support/Cybercrime/Narcotics Bureau(with fake ID proofs) on 24th April. I was coerced into transferring Funds worth 10L.With my ICICI bank account details, the fraudsters raised a Loan of INR 10 Lakh. The loan was sanctioned without my knowledge or consent. The bank officials did not contact me and verify it before processing the loan. I didn't receive a single phone call, or i haven't made any requests asking for loan. The loan got approved and transferred to my account (which I was completely unaware of as my funds were less than INR 10k) while i was in call with the scammers. I was threatened with money Laundering and Drugs case as he claimed that money is illicit, hence needs to be transferred immediately as i was unable to justify the source of the funds. By inducing fear as I was not aware about the funds where abouts i was coerced to transfer that amount to the SBI account . The scammers/Bank has then closed my banking service and debit card immediately after the transfer and I suspected something was wrong and went to bank and realized that personal Loan of 10L has been sanctioned. within 2 hours i raised a cybercomplaint and bank complaint. Submitted the Signed dispute form with the bank the same day. Next day morning FIR was raised with Cyberabad police.
Now here is where i might have neglected : I had shared the screen to show all my bank transactions that i dont have any money laundering happening in my account, He might have taken the otp from screen. He logged into my netbanking and disbursed the loan.
It is shocking that the bank processed such a huge personal loan without bothering to confirm and verify. This huge negligence as they are able to manage several marketing calls everyday but unable to verify. Upon verifying the loan documents sent to my email, I discovered they lack essential information such as my salary, employment, Signatures. This account was opened as a student account while i was studying in college, and the status of this account was automatically upgraded to Privileged account without my consent/request. I hardly have 20-30 transactions yearly on that account. How can banks be so negligent with the verification process as there are several cybercrimes happening everyday.After multiple communications with the bank, they are still insisting me to pay the EMIs. The lack of verification from the bank has raised a huge financial and mental burden. This is very alarming that bank is not willing to admit that their verification process is very weak and putting liability (of loan EMI) on customers while scammers are running free. The bank is still investigating the issue but not willing to hold the EMI.After connecting with the SBI bank i got in hold of the fraudsters account statement for that day and realized there are worth 1.2 CR fraud happened on that same account and 6 complaints has been raised.out of these transactions around 1 CR worth of transactions are from ICICI bank (Not sure if complete or partial was loan). I suspect the Account data is getting leaked from the Bank. All those 6 complaints are more that 10L worth of transactions.
Upon reviewing the loan documents they have incorrect information that i belong to PEP category, salary not mentioned, Employer not mentioned. RBI says that PEP category should be verified by higher officials of the bank.
Need legal advice if i stand a chance in not paying the EMIs, the penalties will build up. I have a FIR copy, all fraud transactions that happened in that account, The loan documents are not correct, My device was not used to digitally sign the documents, my location was different. Will bank take legal procedings with me if i dont repay.
Please please suggest, i am having a huge mental, emotional breakdown.