It’s already a well known fact here that being an Asian man is one of the most powerful social stigmas in human history and it’s almost never spoken about. The prejudice, isolation, and looking down upon we face is absurdly large compared to other demographics and that is NOT an exaggeration, so don’t tell me otherwise or gaslight me into thinking we aren’t. We are and that’s why subs like Asianmasculinity even exist in the first place. To put it simply, I’ve been told that I’m living life on VETERAN level difficulty mode, comparable to living with spinal muscular atrophy. I’m 5’0, East Asian, and clearly not the most conventionally attractive person. Ppl sometimes gaslight me into thinking that I’ll get a gf but I’ve always been told by women that they’re not into Asian guys (or worse, comments about dick size) or that I’m too short. Women of my own fking race pretend to vomit at the thought of dating me but would date/marry a tall Asian guy or a mediocre white guy in a heartbeat, many are also open to dating south Asians, black Americans, Hispanics, Romani, etc but NEVER a short Asian guy like me.
I’ve been told many many times that even if I put in the best effort, or even get intimate with a girl, I will Most likely be single and virgin forever and there’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t cope with this fact guys, it’s driving me insane and I’m pulling out my hairs just thinking about the fact that I’ll spend the rest of my life alone (realistically). I already have a crush on someone and even they don’t seem to want anything to do with me. My parents are like “ohhh short guys actually do rlly well with women” like yeah ok, Mario and Peach or the Sans and Toriel fanfiction couple is purely fiction and NOT real life. I need so much help

Hello all, this is a discussion/guide hybrid on the High Ground perk!
With all the recent talk about High Ground, I wanted to jump in and give a small breakdown of the way my mind was super optimistic when this perk was announced, but very quickly found it lacking on paper and in-game.
Apologies if I got any numbers wrong!
NOTE: There are going to be a few minor discrepancies between my numbers, light.gg and future buffs/current patch note numbers. Some of these updates haven't gone into light.gg yet (or there 'future' data), and I'm not bothered enough to go searching through TWIDs and stuff to find them.
I personally think that High Ground's only real saving grace is how easy it will be to keep activated once the perk is procc'ed, unfortunately, that's about all that's useful with it at the moment. It has a tough time getting initially activated and feels much more like an ad clear weapon rather than perk for heavy weapons in DPS.
This is not at all an extensive list, and only looks to compare the use of High Ground with other damage perks in LFRs, with a focus on Pantheon and endgame activities.

PERKS

Usable DPS options (my opinion here) for weapon perks - with a focus on linear fusion rifles - are, in not particular order: Deconstruct, Target Lock, Frenzy, Firing Line, Bait and Switch, Vorpal Weapon, Recombination, One for All, Surrounded, Focused Fury, and of course, High Ground.
High Ground - When 1 meter above enemy, 25% DMG increase (enhanced adds 5 reload speed). There's also some concern in other reddit posts that your feet must be touching the ground for this to proc, not sure if this is true.
Deconstruct - When dealing sustained damage, grant 40% DMG increase + 10% mag refill from thin air. Only works against constructs and vehicles.
Firing Line - When near allies, deal 25% P-DMG increase (enhanced adds 10 weapon readiness). Requires allies.
Target Lock - When firing on target, increase DMG, up to around 28.13% DMG increase at 100% magazine expenditure (enhanced increases DMG boost to around 40%). These stats are according to light.gg, though unfortunately they do not match basic stats show in shatteredvault. Unsure what true numbers are, or if any recent buffs/nerfs effect possible 'old' numbers online.
Frenzy - When in combat for 10+ seconds, 15% DMG increase + 100 handling +100 reload speed for 7.2 seconds (enhanced may not be currently working according to light.gg).
Bait and Switch - When dealing damage with all three weapons within 7 seconds of each other, 30% DMG increase for 11 seconds (enhanced adds 1 second to buff length).
Vorpal Weapon - Increased miniboss, boss, vehicle, and player-in-super damage. Primary weapons +20% DMG increase, special weapons +15% DMG increase, and heavy weapons +10% DMG increase (enhanced adds 5 stability or guard resistance for swords).
Recombination - Elemental skills add a stack, up to 8, with each stack additively increasing damage of the recombination weapon by 12.5%, up to 100% maximum at 8 stacks (enhanced makes stacks for maximum damage cap at 6 instead of 8).
One for All - When hitting 3 separate enemies with weapon, within 3 seconds of each shot, 35% DMG increase for 11 seconds (enhanced increases duration to 12 seconds). Buff cannot be refreshed. Slow and relatively cumbersome to activate, especially with certain heavy weapons like linears.
Surrounded - When within 8 meters of 3 enemies, 47% DMG increase that lingers for 1.5 seconds after no longer surrounded (enhanced increases by further 5%, though typo in light.gg may mean this enhanced total is actually 47% while the normal total is a bit lower than 5% under at 40% DMG increase). Hard perk to proc in many encounters.
Focused Fury - When 50% of base magazine size is registered as precision hits, 20% DMG increase for 12 seconds (enhanced increases duration to 13 seconds). Stowing or reloading resets the precision hit counter, buff remains active while weapon is stowed.
The perk with the greatest flat damage increase is Surrounded (+47%), followed closely by Deconstruct (+40% and very situational), Target Lock (+40%), and One For All (+35%).
Clearly, however, the crowd favorite is the tried-and-true, quite easily activated, +30% DMG increase from Bait and Switch.

WEAPONS

These are the legendary Linear Fusion Rifles currently available in light.gg's database: Briar's Contempt, Cataclysmic, Corsair's Wrath, Doomed Petitioner, Fire and Forget, Laser Painter, Reed's Regret, Sailspy Pitchglass, Stormchaser, Taipan-4fr, Tarantula, and Threaded Needle.
Briar's Contempt, solar - Focused Fury (20% DMG), Surrounded (+47% DMG), and Frenzy (+15% DMG) = Surrounded best, followed by Focused Fury.
Cataclysmic, solar - Focused Fury (20% DMG) and Bait and Switch (30% DMG) = Bait and Switch best.
Corsair's Wrath, solar - don't use this as it currently is.
Fire and Forget, stasis - Vorpal (10% DMG), Chill Clip*, Focused Fury (20% DMG), and Frenzy (15% DMG) = Focused Fury likely best, followed by Frenzy. Chill Clip buffs make this an interesting choice heading into Final Shape.
Reed's Regret, stasis - Vorpal (10% DMG), Firing Line (25% P-DMG), Headstone*, Focused Fury (20% DMG) = Firing Line followed by Focused Fury. Is there a way to make Headstone good here? Probably not for DPS, thought it was interesting to note for a heavy LFR.
Laser Painter, strand - Vorpal (10% DMG), and Focused Fury (?)(20% DMG) = Focused Fury, I suppose.
Sailspy Pitchglass, arc - Frenzy (15% DMG), Vorpal (10% DMG), Focused Fury (20% DMG), Voltshot* = Focused Fury and Frenzy are kind of tied here for me, comes down to how much you value the extra 5% from FF compared to 100 handling and reload speed from Frenzy. Voltshot was a funny perk in my head for a LFR, please don't take it for DPS.
Stormchaser, arc - Frenzy (15% DMG), Vorpal (10% DMG), and Firing Line (25% P-DMG) = Firing Line woo! Frenzy is also a great grab if you're running lowman or solo content.
Tarantula, arc - nah.
Doomed Petitioner, void - Precision Instrument (30% DMG), High Ground (25% DMG), Deconstruct (40% DMG), and Surrounded (47%) = Precision Instrument for me, with a tie between other three depending on encounter.
Taipan-4fr, void - Firing Line (25% P-DMG), Frenzy (15% DMG), Focused Fury (20%DMG) = Firing Line first, then either FF or Frenzy depending on encountesolo content.
Threaded Needle, void - Frenzy (15% DMG) or Vorpal (10% DMG). Frenzy is the way to go here.

PANTHEON+PERKS

In all, there are arguably better Linear Fusion Rifles to run over Doomed Petitioner should subclass not be an issue. Doomed Petitioner is perhaps the best void LFR. Whisper of the Worm (if you're not married to void, LFRs, and have the free exotic) is a better choice, and even then Leviathan's with catalyst is an incredible choice as well.
The biggest downside to Doomed Petitioner, and in turn High Ground - especially in regards to Pantheon, is its use case across encounters.
1: Golgoroth - DPS is done within the buffing bubbles on ground level below the boss.
2: Caretaker - Most of the DPS points are either below the boss or at level. The best case is floor 2 (assuming you're not hitting third floor) where you're about level with the bosses center of mass, though by no serious definition are you above the boss here.
3: Planets - DPS is generally done from ground floor, at level with boss. Sure you could probably proc High Ground off of a pillar or something else here, but if you're feet must be touching a surface, High Ground's use here is terrible given the amount of movement needed throughout DPS.
4: Atraks - Please don't use Linears here, please.
5: Oryx - This is similar to planets, though with less movement. If the "above the boss" requirement is only on where the damage point is, standing on one of the center bookshelves might be high enough. Otherwise, yeah, Oryx is a big mofo.
6: Rhulk - Same issue with height, no where to stand, and too much needed movement throughout boss DPS phase.
7: Riven - There aren't too many good places to stand here that could be considered above Riven during DPS. If the game counts it as highest damagable point of the boss, we're shit out of luck as that point it higher than even her eyes.
8: Nezarec - Again, the greatest limiter here are places to stand that are higher than the boss. If everyone running High Ground and Linears here, maybe standing up where Nez spawns could work, but then again, why aren't we just using Rockets or GL's here instead on Nez?

DUNGEONS

High Ground is a very exciting perk, but in it's current state within Pantheon, I unfortunately believe it isn't going to be much help. Even in most normal-level encounters in raids and dungeons it doesn't come in handy.
Warlord's Ruin - Maybe in final boss there's room to get somewhat higher than the ghost Ahamkara, but, eh.
Ghosts of the Deep - Hard to proc outside of high point in final boss room.
Spire of the Watcher - Again hard to proc except MAYBE in final boss room?
Duality - No real linear use here.
Grasp - Maybe final boss and maybe ogre.
Prophecy - Maybe final boss on top of the pillars on some of the platforms? Good room to use it, height wise at least, in cube-boss and first boss.
Pit of Heresy - Yeah no, nowhere here is this good I think.
Shattered Throne - Again, no real boss fights where height is ample and linear's work well.
If you find a weapon or build that High Ground works well with, please let me know, I'd love to utilize it! Also do fill me in on if there's any confirmation on High Ground working mid-air while not standing on a surface. Thanks, and hope this helps!

Just wanted to point out the moment the devs fix HITREG, so when a sword player hits their target they actually do damage, all these random posts about emote cancelling being op start popping up.
I just want to say based off the handful of people who actually can emote cancel, there is no way this many people have experienced it to this level of "ruining the game" people act like. In my 600 hours of playtime, I have only seen 4 people actually use it, and one of them couldn't get the timing right. I have seen over a hundred cheaters, but four of these guys.
Alot of people don't seem to know exactly what the patch did to hitreg and why it makes emote cancel no longer more useful than melee. They probably don't even know what the optimal combos per character size are either.
Overall, I just believe that this is more of an antilight/antisword type of thing. It is not really about the emote canceling, most people don't even know how it works or have seen it firsthand, but it is an excuse to start discussing nerfing more light equipment.
Btw, alot of these people requesting this be removed are also requesting getting the sword put on medium. From someone who can emote cancel and doesn't, (again most people don't understand why it was used, or why this patch would reduce usage) I see a lot of people who are probably just looking for more excuses to attempt to remove lights from the game. It sounds absurd, but reading the amount of anti-light posts and the hate they receive from their teammates ingame, I don't think this new surge of posts is really about what it says it is about.
So if they remove it and people are still looking for more adjustments to make it less "powerful", remember the phrase "ulterior motives".

Sorry if this is a bit disjointed and long, there's a TL;DR at the end. I just had my LEEP on Thursday and wanted to share my experience. Hopefully this soothes a fellow over-thinker.
Background: 30 yr old female, 130 lbs, 5'2". No moderate, severe or chronic health conditions.
I was diagnosed with high-risk (HR) HPV with LSIL/abnormal cells in February of this year. Not 16/18, but another HR strain. I got at least one shot of the HPV vaccine before I turned 26 so I was really shocked at this. I had a complete emotional breakdown because of the connection to HPV and cervical cancer, plus I just felt....dirty. I've gone through my sexually active years without getting as much as a yeast infection, and now I had just been hit with an STI, and the one that causes cancer. I went into a pretty deep depression and honestly I'm still in that depression zone but not nearly as much. I did a ton of research and my findings told me that even if it was cancer, it's one of the most curable ones especially given my age, health, etc.
My primary doctor referred me to a gyno's office connected to the hospital I go to, and I scheduled an appointment for March 1st. Gyno (who was actually not an OBGYN but an APRN/midwife?) basically did a slightly more advanced exam/questionnaire then I got another referral to an actual OBGYN for a colposcopy and scheduled it for April 1st. I thought I would have the colpo/biopsy with the APRN during my March appointment but I guess that's just a "yeah your primary is right you need a colpo" step. Idk, very confusing.
April 1st comes, the doctor that was available for that date (I wanted to get this done asap) had some less than favorable reviews on the internet so that made me a little uneasy. Between each appointment I was spending hours researching, redditing, googling, youtubing etc. so I wouldn't go into this completely ignorant and hopefully minimize the chance of any BS being pulled.
My doctor was, to my surprise, very chill, professional and knowledgeable. Took time to answer all my questions, we even had some laughs. Please ladies, find a doctor that makes you feel comfortable if you can. No question is a silly question and no doctor or nurse should make you feel like you're stupid for raising concerns or asking a lot of questions. If you feel something is off or a doc is being an a-hole, that's your sign to GTFO and find another doctor. Pleasant staff make this experience so much better.
The colpo: wasn't that bad. They crack you open like a pistachio with a speculum (like they would use for pap smear) and take a look at your cervix with this scope. A vinegar solution is applied to highlight the abnormal cells. My doc's colpo machine did have a screen that could show me what he was seeing, although it wasn't working and honestly I'm glad. I think seeing what was going on inside of me would make me worry more. So I just had to take my doctor's word for it when he said the area of abnormal cells was small.
I had a punch biopsy done during my colpo and oh man. It hurt. I wasn't instructed to take ibuprofen beforehand. I'm not sure if they didn't think I would need a biopsy or what but holy crap. 2 samples were taken, at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock on my cervix, and I received a curettage as well. The curettage didn't hurt or was minor in comparison to the biopsy. After the biopsy, a "liquid bandage" was applied, this bandage is called Monsel's solution I believe. It's a mustard yellow paste.
The biopsy caused immediate moderate cramping and pain. The "6 o'clock" one, which was a larger sample, made me flinch and let out a little yelp. 6 o'clock hurt a lot. I will say that my doctor talked about what he was going to do before doing or as he was doing it so it's not like I was taken entirely by surprise. However, you don't realize how sensitive your cervix is until a chunk is taken from it.
After the biopsy, I felt this dull pain, nausea and cramping and apparently had excessive bleeding. Dribbles of blood were present on the procedure chair and floor, some of which had been cleaned up by the nurse/assistant prior to me sitting up so who knows how much was there. Doc confirmed this excessive bleeding in my after visit summary, but it wasn't so much so that it warranted some kind of emergency. I experienced some spotting for about 2 to 3 days after. I expected more blood in my pads but that never happened. I think seeing all this blood, knowing where it came from and why it was there made me even more nauseous.
The nausea and...weakness after the biopsy really had me messed up. I could barely focus as my doctor went into detail about what to possibly expect afterwards, what he saw (he even drew a little picture of my cervix), answered any questions I had. We said our goodbyes, I got dressed and made a mad dash to the waiting area's water cooler. I figured some cool water would calm my nerves and my stomach. I stupidly walked home after the procedure (I live in Chicago, very close to my doc's office). Nothing terrible happened but in hindsight, what if I passed out in the office, in the street? If you can ladies, have someone with you to get you home safely and for support. Or, at the very least, take an uber after.
After getting home I checked my pad, everything was good although I did have some "coffee grounds" in my pad from the Monsel's solution. The doc warned me about this and to expect it for a few days. I crashed on my couch for a little nap before going to a concert later that evening because I don't know how to take a day off.
The next month following my biopsy was largely uneventful, I did have intercourse about 2.5 weeks post-biopsy with no issues or pain, although the thought of infection and the whole process made it hard to enjoy sex (I healed up just fine so this was more unnecessary worrying). I didn't experience any pain, fever, or excessive bleeding, only some mild discomfort/cramping/lethargy (likely due to mentally stressing myself out) on day 2. I did however, experience one moment that freaked me out:
Day 3 post-biopsy: I got home from after work (my job requires me to be on my feet most of the day) and felt something in my vagina. It felt like a freshly inserted, regular sized tampon. I went to the bathroom, washed my hands and reached down to feel something coming out of me. Something was crowning and breaching my labial gates. I reached back down and slowly pulled out whatever object was in me. It felt like a horror movie. I knew I had inserted nothing.
Based on the feeling of said object, I thought my cervix was falling out of my body. I started panicking a bit. Panicking intensified after pulling out this...sac.
It looked alien. It was this membrane sac, about the size of a pitted date when rolled up. Within the sac contained those "coffee grounds." I knew it was the Monsel's solution and likely I had shed the liquid bandage. That logical thought didn't stop me from freaking out and gently wrapping my alien sac Starbucks trash baby in a piece of toilet paper and further sealing this HPV caused abomination into a Ziploc bag. My plan was to run to the ER and show them the freak I had given birth to.
Problem is, I had just lost my is insurance and was in process of getting a new plan, so a costly trip to the ER, waiting for hours for them to likely tell me I'm a panicky idiot wasn't really in the cards. So what does any overly anxious patient do? Turn to Dr. Google of course! I found a couple of reddit posts from women who had experienced the same thing but there wasn't much information on what had just slithered out of me. I found one of those "pay $5 for any kind of advice: legal, medical etc! Chat with an expert today!" sites that seemed legit enough. I got in chat with a doc quickly after some AI pre-chat prompts and he confirmed my suspicions: it was the Monsel's solution that I had expelled from my body. I was told this wasn't unusual and so long as I don't have an excessive bleeding, fever, pain, blah blah, I should be fine.
And I was fine. If you experience this and don't have any accompanying complications, you should be fine too. It is weird when it happens though.
My results came back about 2 weeks later. What was initially thought to be LSIL turned out to be HSIL/CIN-III, and my OBGYN told me I needed a LEEP sooner than later. My appointment was scheduled for next month and I still didn't have insurance. These month long waits between appointments were anxiety ridden depression fests, fueled by junk food and further exacerbated by internet research. The LEEP posts on Reddit had me so concerned, I reached out to my doctor to see if I could be put under general anesthesia for my LEEP, instead of receiving local anesthesia. Women on here described LEEPs as painful and traumatic. Just awful stuff. If you're reading this you've likely read those too. They described leg shaking after the shots, crying, etc. My doctor left me a detailed voice message and responded to my concerns with: "most women tolerate it well but if you're uncomfortable we'll send you to the hospital and put you under monitored sedation/anesthesia." I was still worried but was willing to see how I felt after local anesthesia. I was pleased he was open to working with me and my comfort level.
Fast forward to Wednesday last week:
The night before my LEEP, I got maybe an hour of sleep. I couldn't turn my mind off. My heart started racing an hour before my procedure and I had weird heart palpitations/irregular heart beat. I showered to calm myself down and be clean for my appointment, took 600 mg of ibuprofen as instructed, then headed out. Got a little snack from Starbucks (croissant for before since I was walking to my doc and some madeleines for after to help offset some potential nausea). For my LEEP I wore a big comfy sweater, some "period" leggings (leggings that aren't too tight and I don't care if they get blood on them) and brought a pad with me just in case. They should provide one for you but I'd rather be prepared. Got to the office, checked in, did the pregnancy urine test, got called in quickly, went through the whole height/weight/med history routine. About 5 mins later I sat down in my OBGYN's office. He described the lab findings (CIN-III), detailed the procedure, the tools and supplies they would use, aftercare and answered any questions I had. He then led me into a procedure room (pretty sure it was the same one I had my bloody biopsy in). I got undressed from the waist down like a pap, sat in the procedure chair, draped a little paper blanket over my bare bits and waited. The doctor came in with his nurse and went to work.
They again cracked me open with a speculum, this time it was rubberized on some parts. This is so your vagina doesn't get fried from the electrical current, otherwise your pubes and vulva will look like Marv in Home Alone. They also slapped a little rubber pad on my thigh to "ground" me like I'm some kind heavy duty machinery. Colpo machine comes forward so the doc can zoom in on your cervix. He applied 2 types of solution if I recall correctly: the normal vinegar solution to highlight abnormal cells and an iodine solution to highlight normal cells. Someone can correct me if that's wrong. The solutions and their uses were the least of my concerns.
He then went in with 4 lidocaine injections to numb the area, total of about 1 ml of lido I think. He used a very small needle and upon insertion, it felt like a little pinch. Now, for those afraid of needles, it is a long ish needle but the actual poke is minimal. Although some women report that the inject was the worst part. That was not the case here but the visual can be a bit alarming. After the first injection, I didn't feel the other 3. I felt comfortable going forward with the procedure, and my doc kept checking in with me to make sure I was ok. I did feel an increase in my heart rate post-lidocaine, but it wasn't concerning. I wasn't sure if this was from the "holy shit he's about to start zapping" or as a side effect of the lidocaine. Regardless, my heart rate came back down to a reasonable level given the circumstances in a few minutes. I was actually so comfortable at this point, I managed to relax my asscheeks after they were clamped together like a vise grip from the moment my derriere hit the chair.
I'm not really sure what happened after the injections, I knew he was using the LEEP machine but I don't know how long that lasted and when the wound was being created vs. cauterized as I didn't feel anything except some mild cramping/discomfort. I didn't flinch like I did with the biopsy. When the doc was finished, he applied a little bit of Monsel's, described how much he removed, went over aftercare again, we said our thank yous and goodbyes. I got dressed and went on my way, snacking on my madeleines on my way home (I walked again lol). I felt well post-procedure and even stopped at Target to do some shopping and smell some summer collection candles. I did feel myself bleeding but when I got home and checked the pad, there was a minimal amount of blood. Some women here have reported a distinct burning smell during their LEEP, I didn't smell anything but I also have sinus issues soooo maybe I just didn't pick up on it? My appointment was at 9 a.m. and I was out by 9:32.
When I got home I had some orange juice, water then slept for about 8 to 9 hours. I did have little cry sessions here and there after my procedure. But I was also sleep deprived and know I tend to get emotional. Regardless, take some time off after a LEEP, stay home around your own germs if possible. Get some of your favorite snacks, a face mask and a Nintendo switch or something. This is a good time for some self-care and rest, girlies.
Friday, day after LEEP: no bleeding, minor cramping/discomfort.
Saturday: Usual morning pee met with some blood in the toilet paper. Nothing in my pad though. Throughout the day I slept on and off, I've been more tired than usual. My body and mind has gone through some shit so I'm not mad at myself for being sleepy. I did experience some heavier bleeding throughout the day that was mostly dark colored. The blood level was about the same if not less than what I'd experience with a period. No unusual smell. I did shed the liquid bandage. Did have some mild cramping at certain points during the day but not debilitating or worth taking ibuprofen over.
Sunday: Energy levels finally back up to something normal, don't feel as tired. Still bleeding dark red blood/brown discharge but it's minor. Ran some errands today, I figured gravity would cause me to bleed more but it's about the same as yesterday if not less.
If there's interest, I'll check in at maybe the 2 week and 4 week mark, or whenever I remember since this is my throwaway account.
Overall the LEEP was way better than the biopsy in my experience. Reddit had me freaking out. I know I'm lucky, and this post isn't to dismiss any terrible or painful experience other women have had. I want to share my 'positive' experience, since most of my mental state surrounding my diagnosis, fears, the upgrade from LSIL to HSIL, has been negative.
Oh and I did get insurance literally a week before my LEEP, thank God.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask them below!
TL;DR: -Colpo: easy -Biopsy: sucks. Most pain I've ever felt and felt nauseous/uneasy after. Ask your doctor if you can take ibuprofen prior to a biopsy. Monsel's solution/liquid bandaid came out in sac-like alien baby about 36 to 48 hours later. Was able to have intercourse 2-2.5 weeks post-biopsy. No insertion of anything for about 3 days after. -LEEP: easy-ish? 600 mg ibuprofen 1 hour before procedure. Anxiety inducing but once I was numbed with local anesthesia, I felt nothing except some mild cramping. The injection didn't hurt and caused no serious side effects. No smell. No excessive bleeding. Felt fine post-LEEP but did experience some bleeding. It's been less than a week so I'll update if anything spooky happens, if no updates then expect everything went fine. No intercourse/tampons/etc for 3 to 6 weeks.
Tips: -Prioritize self care throughout this experience especially. It'll help you stay calm and heal. -Dress comfy for procedures -Take some snacks and water to your appointments for post-procedure ick -Do your research. Knowledge is power even if it makes you uncomfortable. Youtube was a great resource for me, I like to see what's going to happen before it does. Just try not to get worked up like I did. -Ask questions. If a doctor makes you feel stupid, see another doctor if possible. -Have someone with you for support and to make sure you get home ok -If you experience fever, intense pain, soaking through pads, or notice any weird smell: GO TO A DOCTOR

Hi,
I own a DS718+ that I mainly use to serve as a TV/Movie server for myself. It has two 4TB drives installed, and with the default RAID type (SHR), the actual usable storage is around 3.6TB. It's to a point where the capacity is almost reached, so I'm thinking about upgrading either the drive or the NAS, or both.
I'm wondering how easy it is to migrate my stuff to a new NAS if I decide to purchase one with 4 bays or more? Ideally I'd like it to run as if nothing has changed, just with more space and a few more slots for future upgrade. I'm also not sure what size of drive to get - If I get a 20TB drive and use with the two 4TB ones, is the RAID going to be weird and waste a lot of space?

Hello. Before I begin, I’d like to go over a bit of groundwork. I am a 13 year old female and this occurred sometime in the fall of last year. We’ll call my younger sister(7 at the time of this occurrence) A and my brother(5) B. My grandparents live near the border of Oregon, on the closest side of the state to Idaho. Our grandparents’ house had two guest rooms; the kids stayed in one and my parents stayed in the other. Grandma and grandpa’s room was close to ours, there closet sharing a wall with our room. Now that that’s cleared up, let’s begin.
In the fall of last year, my parents had my siblings and I stay two nights at my grandparents house. The first day we spent there, A, B, Mom,Dad, and I went to watch the first half of a local rodeo. We had a fun time and when we got back to the house, it was normal. Nothing happened all night that was worth noting. The next evening, it was only mom and dad that went to watch the second half of the rodeo. Mind you, our room had a single queen sized bed. A slept on the floor and B slept on one side of the bed, closest to the door, while I slept on the other side of him, closest the wall. A slept a few feet away from the foot of the bed on a cot. It was maybe 1:23 AM. I was messing around on my phone, watching some nonsense that I can’t even remember today. Everyone was asleep, the parents gone at the rodeo. See the thing about our bedroom door was that the thing was slightly too big for it’s frame. Grandpa didn’t want to spend the money to replace it and so they just lived with it. Now don’t get me wrong, the door closed-it was just very difficult and LOUD when trying to open it after. The door was closed all the way. So now picture if you will, a 12 year old girl sitting in bed, playing around on her phone. Suddenly, I hear footsteps growing closer to our room. Thinking it’s my grandma, I turn off the phone and act sort of sprawled out. Y’know when you were very small and would pretend to be asleep at daycare so you wouldn’t get lectured for playing with your friends? Like, when you closed your eyes two-thirds of the way closed-just barely opened enough that you can see but that your eyelashes cover it from other people seeing. Yeah well I did that, just to see what grandma was doing. Then the door starts making the scraping sound it made whenever someone tried to open it. Then it’s quiet for a minute and I assumed so she had opened it. But then there was this hissing noise. I realized that it was someone running their hand back and forth against the metal headboard of the bed. I realize that there’s something moving back and forth in front of the bed, just walking from the left side of the foot of the bed to the right side of it. Just a shadow of a person. At this point, I’m somewhat panicking for my sisters sake. The thing keeps pacing for a few moments. Then it stops and bend over my brother- still fast asleep beside me. It makes a sound like it’s inhaling deeply. Then it straightens, and walks calmly out of the room. I hear the door struggle to close and the hissing sound stop. Shaken, yet a bit in disbelief, I ended up going to sleep. The next morning, I came downstairs to see the parents eating breakfast, trying-and failing-to hide their hangovers. We packed things up, loaded it all on the car, said our goodbye to the grandparents, and started home. Once we got home and unpacked, I told mom and dad what had happened at dinner. To no-ones surprise, they didn’t believe me. In fact, my dad looked at me and said- AND I QUOTE- “are you sure we shouldn’t have you drug-tested?” Now jokes aside, I believe I saw SOMETHING, though I’m not sure what. A spirit or shadow-person, maybe. The realization hit me that it could have been a demon, though the thing didn’t give off a menacing presence. It was just THERE.
I’m very aware that this… this… this THING couldn’t have my been either grandparent. They were very old- and they were actually my GREAT-grandparents. My grandma was 81 and grandpa was 83. Therefore at the pace it was moving, it couldn’t have been either one. So who was it?

(as of the May 19, 2024 version of Fortnite Festival – standard controllers only)
Why this Matters:
Having improper calibration settings can adversely affect your enjoyment of Fortnite Festival, but unfortunately, the built-in tool for calibration is sub-par for actually getting your calibration right. Moreover, everyone’s audio, visual, and gaming equipment setup is different, so there is no one-size-fits-all setting that can be universally applied. One must spend the time and effort to get the calibration settings correct in order to turn missed notes into “Good” hits…and “Good” hits into “Perfect” hits.
But how does one do that? A frustrating fact is that the results of a song’s gameplay session give you data about your A) note hitting accuracy and B) your offset (early or late)… but many people don’t know how to apply this information to make the right kinds of adjustments. This guide attempts to help players do that in a systematic way.

What Exactly is Being Calibrated?
The game has an interplay between three things:
1) What you see on your screen
2) What you hear when the music is playing, and
3) Your button presses
Ideally all of these line up, which is the whole point of calibration. The game registers a “hit” note when it receives the button press at the same time as the falling note gem hits the very button of the screen at the same time. So, theoretically, you could play Fortnite Festival with the audio off and just simply concentrate on hitting the notes when they hit the bottom of the screen, and simply ignore the song.
But who wants to do that? No one!
The whole fun of the game is HEARING the music and pressing the button at the same time you HEAR the note in time with the music. That is why this is called a “rhythm game” not a “visual note dropping button pressing game”
So, the game registers “hit” notes based on the falling gem, but your brain registers its own “hit” when it hears the beat of the music, and both are tied together with a button press – e.g. you press the button when you hear the beat, and that button press should also be at the same time the note gem hits the bottom.
If all is properly calibrated, then everything flows perfectly and you have a fantastic groove session with most notes being hit or missed based on your SKILL, and NOT a mismatch between the audio, visual and button input.
So how do we get there? Read on…

Step 1: Have the Tune-up Roadie Help You
In the organ lobby, do the in-game calibration using the Roadie. She will not give you the best settings, but the thing is, we need somewhere to start from and this is as good a place as any. Do your best and don’t worry about whether the settings are any good – we’re going to fix this all later.
As you take the steps below, you will change the track speed, A/V offset, or Input Offset in the settings screen (accessible in the organ lobby, results screen, or during a song itself).

Step 2: Get Your Video Settings Right First and Foremost
Now, the FIRST thing to calibrate is make sure that a note hitting at the bottom during a song seems like it is truly hitting the bottom at the same time as the beat of music. But this is kinda hard to do with the naked eye. It also requires you to still play the notes so you can see when the note light “flashes” when it actually gets to the bottom The best way to really see if this visual component looks right is by cranking up the track speed as high as you can as you’re playing a song.
“But Mad Dog” you say, “I can’t play a song with 2.5x track speed to do this - it’s too fast” No problem – what you will do here is play a song that meets the following criteria:

1. You know it really, really well
2. It has a DRUM element that is around 1, 2 or 3 bars (in other words, relatively straightforward patterns)
3. You play it on a difficulty level that is not beyond your capability (ideally you can get 100% every time – doesn’t matter if it’s Easy, Medium, Hard or Expert – just hit most or all the notes)
4. The song has a simple, constant repeating pattern for most, if not all of the song’s length.

I like to choose drums on “Call Me Maybe” or “Blinding Lights” on Expert when I do this, but you can use whatever song and difficulty setting you like as long as it meets this criteria (the criteria also is just a suggestion, not a requirement).
Play the song with highest speed you can tolerate (faster is better) and as you’re playing, watch closely to see where and how the note gem is falling in time with your music. Play your button presses as you would normally to the audio cues of the song, but notice if the gem seems (to your eye) to be hitting the bottom at the same time as the intended beat, or if it is falling a little late, or is falling and hitting the bottom early. Unless your video calibration is accidentally perfect right off the bat (unlikely), you will notice that the gems fall and hit the bottom either early or late. A faster track speed will allow you to see this much better than a slower track speed, so this is why I recommend as fast as you can tolerate.
Based on what you’re seeing, go into the settings and make the following adjustment to the A/V Offset:

• If the gem is getting to the bottom too quickly as compared to the music beat (early - you see the note hit bottom before the beat), then **ADD** 5 or 10 milliseconds to the value of the A/V Offset.
• If the gem is getting to the bottom too slowly as compared to the music beat (late - you see the note hit bottom after the best), then **SUBTRACT** 5 or 10 milliseconds to the value of the A/V Offset.

Don’t worry about the Input Offset setting AT ALL here. Don’t mess with that part in this calibration stage….all you’re focusing on is how the gem LOOKS In terms of it getting to the bottom in time with your music, and making adjustments ONLY to the A/V Offset. You can do this after the song is over, or in the middle of the song (recommended) so you can see if the gem is really getting to the bottom at the right time.
You may have to play your song a few times and make real-time tweaks to the A/V Offset for a while, but eventually you should be able to get the gem to look like it’s falling and hitting the bottom in time with the music. Again, you are concentrating on the VISUAL component here. Make adjustments by 5 or 10 milliseconds at a time to the A/V Offset until it looks right.
After a while, you should get to a point where the falling gem is hitting the bottom exactly at the right time with the beat. Congratulations! You’ve now figured out the most important thing which is aligning your “visual targets” of the falling note gems to the beat of the music.
IMPORTANT!!! Once you’ve gotten to this point DO NOT ADJUST THE A/V OFFSET ANY FURTHER. All future offset value changes should be done to the input offset only (because you are now sure that if you miss a note, it would be because your skill is off or your button input offset setting is off, and not because the gem is not hitting the bottom in time with the music).
On to the next step.
Step 3: Figuring Out Input Offset Settings
The Input Offset accounts for the tiny (but significant) delay between your press of the button when you are trying to hit a note, and how the game registers that press as accurate or not as compared to the falling gem. If the setting is off, then the game may score your press as a miss (or a “good” instead of “perfect” hit) even if you have great rhythm and hand-eye coordination and are truly pressing the button in time to the actual music.
Moreover, it’s difficult to adjust input offset settings because you don’t know if your timing is off because of your SKILL or because of your INPUT LATENCY. But don’t worry, we have a plan:
Now that you’re sure the video component is good, change your track speed to whatever speed you prefer. It doesn’t matter at this point because the falling gem will always hit the bottom at the same time as the beat no matter the track speed, so the goal here is to have the track speed be as comfortable as possible for you.
Then, play a song that has the following criteria:

1. You know the song really, really well
2. You know the song’s chart really, really well
3. Pick any instrument for that song which you’re best at (or prefer most)
4. Pick a difficulty level as high as you can pick and still feel confident that you can get 99% or 100%

Song choice and pattern choice don’t really matter here. What matters is that you could probably get 100% repeatedly with it over and over again. It’s totally fine to do this with an Easy difficulty, but I encourage you to use a higher difficulty if you can because that will get you more “data points” (e.g. notes to hit) that you can use to reference when making your adjustments.
Play the song all the way through. Try to get 100% accuracy (don’t worry if they are Good or Perfect hits….just get all the hits).
If you successfully play the song to 100% (or 99% - we don’t need to be this picky, just pretty close to 100% will do), then observe and WRITE DOWN the “Avg Offset” data you see when you press the “More Details” button on the after-song results screen.
Now, sit back and play a few songs like you normally do when you play Fortnite Festival just for fun and aren’t trying to do a bunch of calibration stuff. BUT, start writing down your results FOR EACH SONG by listing:

1. Your current Input Offset number in the settings, and
2. Your “Avg. Offset” number on the results screen, and then,
3. The SUM of each for a particular song playthrough.

For example:
Say I played a song and my Input Offset when I played it was set to 55ms and the results screen when I was done showed my “Avg Offset” was -15 (late), I would write the following
55-15 = 40
And then I play another song and my Input Offset when I played it was again set to 55ms and the results screen when I was done showed my “Avg Offset” was +10 (early), I would write the following
55+10=65
I then play a bunch of different songs (let’s say 8 songs) and get a “data point” listing like this:

• 55-15-=40
• 55+9=64
• 55-21=34
• 55-17=38
• 55-2=53
• 55-14=41
• 55-10=45
• 55-3=52

I then want to take the average of the SUM of all these latency/offset scores and that would be the likely “correct” Input Offset setting number I should use.
Example:
40+64+34+38+53+41+45+52 = 46 average.
Which means I should now go into the settings and make my Input Offset number as close as possible to that figure, which in this case is 45 (since Input Offset values only change in 5 ms increments).
Repeat as necessary and ONLY MAKE CHANGES TO THE INPUT LATENCY! (NOT the A/V Offset!!) until you are consistently getting “Avg Offset” results that are within a range of -10 to +10.
NOTE: For best results in this step, be sure to only use data (scores) that are resulting from play-throughs that result in a “Flawless 100%” rating. If your skill in the game is such that you can’t get 100% flawless that often, either lower the difficulty until you can, or just do the best you can and only use “data points” from song playthroughs with as high an accuracy score close to 100% as possible.

Step 4: Fine-Tuning for Maximum Awesomeness
You should now have A/V Offset and Input Offset values in your game settings that are probably pretty good for your system setup. You can now be (relatively) confident that if your “Avg Offset” is higher than +10 or lower than -10, it's probably you and your skill that caused the discrepancy, and not because you were fighting the calibration settings.
Remember, if your accuracy and “Good”/”Perfect” percentages are not where you want them to be, it could be because you just didn’t have a good song session, or you just need more practice with that song chart. Finding great calibration settings doesn't directly translate to higher accuracy or scores...it translates to a more *accurate representation* of your accuracy and skill level.
There’s also been some anecdotal reports here on Reddit of some songs having a different “feel” to them in terms of the built-in song latency and note “hit” registering being a little different than other songs, even with spot-on calibration settings. Who knows? I am intrigued by this and would like to explore this further, since I could see it as entirely possible that different individuals at Epic are creating song charts for different songs, where, if their own systems are calibrated differently to each other, that could that perhaps affect the scoring and gem hit registers for different songs. I am not sure, but I am open to the idea. More likely, though, (in my mind) is that people still have video calibration issues that are unresolved when they are seeing this in their own experience. But then again, who knows?
Anyhow, as you’re playing, keep a tally log of your song Avg Offset scores. Note your sum total of your existing Input Offset setting combined with your Avg Offset results and use these numbers to determine if and when you should tweak your Input Offset setting. If you think you need to make an Input Offset value adjustment, only do so because you’re seeing figures indicating such an adjustment is needed over MULTIPLE playthroughs (and not because you just had one poor performance session). In order words, only make an adjustment if you CONSISTENTLY see Avg Offsets being generally higher than +10 or generally lower than -10.
REMEMBER:

• If the Avg Offset result is NEGATIVE/EARLY then **DECREASE** the Input Offset value.
• If the Avg Offset result is POSITIVE/LATE then **INCREASE** the Input Offset value.

ALSO:

• Repeat the entire process in this Guide if you ever change ANY of the components of your audio, video, controller or gaming system. This includes using a headset or not. For me, I have to use different settings when I use my soundbar in my living room versus when I use my wired headset plugged into my PS5 controller, even if I am using the same screen and controller (because it's a different audio setup)
• If you EVER feel the need to change the A/V Offset value in settings, realize that you MUST then start collecting and using new Input Offset and Avg Offset data to fine-tune your accuracy.

Now Go Have Fun
I know this sounds tedious, but trust me, the payoff is worth it. There’s no better feeling than watching your scores climb the leaderboard because the system settings are accurately reflecting your skills, and knowing that a poor performance is because of YOU and not your game settings.
Hope this helps! If you want to friend me and challenge me to a bass duel, you can find me on Fortnite Festival under MadDog182, often wearing the Relaxed Fit Jonesy skin.
Enjoy! And Thank you Epic for bringing this game to Fortnite!

Repeating the title question - are there any shops (with international shipping) that make blouses with a shoulder width equal to or greater than 44 cm?
I'm plus size and my shoulder width is ~44 cm, and because of that I can't fit into any blouses from any jirai kei brands - DearMyLove Whip ends at 6XLs which have 42-43 cm, same with all the other places I've seen people recommend
Are there any places where I can find blouses that would actually fit? Or should I just prepare for having to make those myself?

when it comes to socal, you have latinos who may not bang or are taggers and they’re considered southsiders, but residents. As far as the Crips and Bloods, are people who grew up in their neighborhoods allowed to claim crip or blood but not be a part of an actual gang? I know they said Drakeo the ruler didn’t bang but when he was in jail he programmed with the neighborhood crips and was basically an affiliate. Do those groups allow resident type individuals who can claim the general blood or crip banner but not be from an official set?

So, something struck me recently while reading some old D&D material. Ironically (and unecessarily, IMO*), illithids do have divine patrons. Traditionally, there have been two: Maanzecorian (who was killed by Orcus/Tenebrous at the end of 2ed) and Ilsensine, a greater god in most editions of D&D. When it manifests an avatar, Ilsensine typically does so as a massive humanoid brain with two tentacles. The deity's true form, however, is likewise a huge humanoid brain with an infinite number of tentacles.
Now, knowing that elder brains likewise take a similar form, I'm not suggesting that the superficial appearance is something especially unique except for the size. Yes, elder brains are similar in appearance but never grow more than 10 feet in diameter while Ilsensine's avatars in some editions are typically considered Gargantuan. More important, the god itself is truly massive and sports incalculable tentacles (as mentioned above)...
The Netherbrain seems to be an intermediary in that regard: it's much, much larger than elder brains and it appears to have quite a few tentacles. It also, like Ilsensine (actual or avatars), can move about on its own. Is the Netherbrain on its own path to a kind of divine (or, better yet cosmic a la Lovecraft) evolution towards the kind of might Ilsenine can manifest?
So, I wonder if we'll see, at some point, an effort to draw conclusions between Ilsensine and the Netherbrain in actual D&D lore as a result of this game? While not absolutely necessary, it could be fun conjecture. Thoughts? On a side note, is Ilsensine ever mentioned in Baldur's Gate 3?
*I think it's unnecessary for every race to have gods, especially creatures like mindflayer for whom a connection to eternal life is through merging with an elder brain. The idea that Ilsensine is an evolved elder brain to the extent that it's classified as a "god" is one that makes more sense within lore, IMO.

--⧼ BEGIN Broadcast Message ⧽--
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Priority Level: Urgent
:: From ::
Center Arm of the Emperor, Planet Laran
:: To ::
All Survivors of Fellow Royal Cast Broods
:: Message ::
The Emperor has graciously permitted the use of his Excellency's summer home on Planet Laran, located in the Empire's Center Arm, as a temporary refuge during the unprecedented violent Terran offences against His Holiness and the holiness of the Omni-brood of Ix.
:: Attachments ::
Coordinates and Flight Key
:: Royal Cryptographic Signature ::
Lord La'Ix, The Emperor's Right-Center Arm
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
--⧼ END Broadcast Message ⧽--

earlier

"CURSE THEM! The great houses are going to have my bloody head for this! There is no way this should've happened and under my command too! The Golden Emperor's own exotic holiday world has gone to ash and the only one to blame is going to be me. Well it was basically my watch anyways. Curse. Them. All"
Those were the only legible sounds one could hear among the frantic stamping of one particular Ixian lord as he hurried away through the underbrush of the royal reserve just outside the centre palace. The same Ixian lord that, only hours earlier, was delighting in his typical cooked boar while enjoying his evening's entertainment of a young Terran girl running for her life from a loose Laran tiger. Something about the way those bipeds run always makes him laugh. Some similarly caste Ixian would call this form of entertainment childish, lowbrow, and immature. He would tend to agree. But sometimes he just wanted cheap slapstick humour. The day to day life of the royal caste tends to get dull with all the fine arts an Ixian of his caste is meant to enjoy.
"How did it all go to shit!?! I was always attentive, and there hasn't been an uprising since those terrans were tamed for the palace. I mean we mostly neuter the problematic ones anyways, so why all the sudden aggression?", he shouted in agitation at the emptiness in front of him.
Speeding through the royal garden which in actuality is a repurposed Savannah of the island the palace is on. The Ixian was a beast of speed. Perfectly honed and trained over decades, and genetically maintained over eons, he always proudly held that he was the fasted in his brood of 16. Making a name for himself among the other broodkin for being the most genetically suited for the rank of high general (not that there was any need for generals, there hasn't been need for war in so long). Of course the Ixians always pride themselves in having no excess potential, and adapting your environment to suit your biology, but it never hurts to have perfect biology. That's the true pride of an Ixian.
That innate need to change the universe rather than changing themselves is what led to their vast interstellar empire. One that reached from constellation to constellation and then eventually to the arms of entire galaxies, terraforming worlds to the same environment they were already adapted to. Since forcing nature into one's bidding was the most sacred duty of any that shared a lick of Ix biology.
Which was why the Ix was confident in themselves. This Ixian in particular surely felt surprised, but mainly he was only moderately upset at the sudden change of situation, from being comfortable in the royal dining hall to sudden exercise.
"Everything can be changed back. Everything can be changed back." It repeated the mantra to itself. As it began to relax and turn its snarled sharp mouth into a toothy grin.
"Yes, there is nothing to worry about at all. Then let's make a game plan. Just need to make it to the space port at the harbour. Grab a ride out and find someone else to take the fall. That old royal butler is as ancient as the dirt of the broodworld. Hell, he probably was there when it vanished in the shadow of the holy empire's long past." chuckling to himself at the quite witty remark, but saddened that no one else was there to hear it.
Should be realistic enough for the others to believe. But first things first, I need to reach the harbour-master. It thought while its dense muscles powered the beastly lizard-like form on its journey, as it bound in the direction of its destination at top speed on all fours.
The blood red sun was already kissing the horizon by the time the Ixian went to nearly collapse under exhaustion of the extended sprint. He hasn't ran this far and fast than when he a young broodling that won competitions and competitions in the royal sports. I think I might have overdid it. He thought while massaging the oncoming threat of a sneaky cramp in his hind leg.
The Ixian were well known for speed. But their stamina was another thing. There bodies simply didn't have the evolved features for long distance travel. There was never truly any need in the past, as their very steady and controlled climate and sparsely diverse ecosystem on Ix never truly required much challenge.
It turned its panting head to face the way it came, gazing proudly at the great distance it made in such a short while.
But something was off by that view. Something different to what he was expecting. The view itself was mostly fine. Well, as fine as a smoking mark in the distance, presumably from the summer palace being engulfed in flame and spitting great plumes of black smoke. But no, something about this view chilled him to this spine. Craning his neck from his vantage point he could swear there was a small speck in the distance.
What on great Ix is that?
All of a sudden realisation hit like a rock on a peaceful pond. Something was following him. Something unknown and cold was making its way to his location. He was certain it wasn't any of his guards, all guards permitted to serve under the royal summer home were Ixian of course. Physically bred for their strength and speed, and placed into roles of importance like protecting the higher caste such as himself. (Whereas this day being the only exception). It did look like he was the only Ixian that actually made it out of the palace so far. Ixians are able to cover short distances in phenomenal speed, akin to a scaly 4 legged beast of the hunt.
No this was something else.
Feeling a very small panic build up inside, but veiling that cold, unwanted terror as impatience at how far he still needs to travel yet. Lord La'Ix flexed his anterior legs and sped on leaving behind a red-yellow cloud of dust in his wake.
He frowned. Feeling strange at a never before felt sensation. Like something in the back of his perfectly designed brain was screaming a silent, but terrifyingly familiar warning.
"Ix itself is an ancient world. Temperate in climate, while abundant in vegetation and small game. It is unknown how the Ixian was formed on paradise.
The old priest can drum into your heads that I'Ix made us into being by indenting his form in the sand of the first beach and filling the shape with his life. Moulding us into being.
The heretic would counter and say we evolved from a previous species akin to ourselves over the course of untold lengths of time.
The philosopher would suggest that only on paradise would the sentient universe fill in the space for the perfect beings to enjoy the fruits of existence.
Lastly, even the lowest caste Ixian would point and laugh at the rest and say 'why talk about antiquity, when we can make more paradise to fill the heavens'."
-A popular Ixian parable
Lord La'Ix bolted up all of a sudden from his resting spot. Heart suddenly beating frantically. The stars had barely enough time to shift positions when last rested his weary body, only a couple hours must have passed since dusk fell and the world plunged into night.
The silence of the Savannah made sound from afar travel better. Aside from the quiet rustling of the wind he wasn't so sure what he heard. Assuming his bored ears were playing tricks on him.
Calming down, curling up on the flat cool rock he found he started to drift to the shadowless lands where all Ixian go when they dream...
Drums, no, not drums. Some sort of mechanical tool? Not that I ever heard of a tool that just beat the ground senseless. A strange beating sound could be heard, pounding into the ground. As he stayed frozen and very awake, he could have sworn it was getting louder. Closer.
CRACK. SNAP. CRACK.
Suddenly the entire valley echoed the sounds of a few broken sticks.
La'Ix jumped up, whirling around, and came to face something approaching fast that could only be described as a cold predator, not that there were any predators on the homeworld's recorded history. But every cell in his aching body reacted the same. DANGER, DANGER, RUN, RUN.
The silver light of the planet's 3 moons barely lit the valley but what that light bounced off of was a figure in motion. Front Legs pumping up and down, nostrils flaring, eyes too close together, and pupils so large it was like staring at darkness itself.
Hold on there are only 2 legs right? Sudden familiarity hit him hard, memories of last night's entertainment stained his mind. In the name of Ix is that a Terran?!?
La'Ix didn't realise it then, but it was looking at a Terran, despite the Terrans characteristics looking different to the standard slave he was used to seeing. The pumping body of the runner was made for such long distances. Sweat acting as a cooling mechanism, making the man glisten in the harsh moonlight, the enlarged nostrils taking in all the air the body needs for this type of strenuous activity. And the enlarged pupils, made for adjusting to low light environments.
Down on the plains of the Savannah were two creatures. One a perfect evolutionary miracle, practically evolution's first try gone right, Perfectly made for its environment and was never truly exposed to varying climates and environments. And the other, having crawled through the primordial ooze, and struggled and fought its way through dangers, diseases, and competition on its own horrifying world. Where deadly heat in deserts can dry out any living thing, and such freezing poles that can turn anything that enters it in pure ice.
The man's lean and sweat-slicken form was steadily making its way towards the frozen statue of La'Ix. Just as he got within 50 paces did La'Ix sprint away scattering pebbles in its path the echoes of which bounced back from the valley's sharp walls. Undeterred, the chaser kept steadily running. Jaws grit. Eyes locked on afar.
And afar was its prey. Sprinting away.
HOW IN IX'S NAME DID THAT THING KNOW WHERE I AM? The La'Ix in a fit of sudden excitement mixed with a heavy dose of panic, began its high octane sprint from the sudden looming threat of being found. Hind Legs propelling the creature's body forward, while its front arms, which were historically also for four legged locomotion, pulled the terrain closer with each stride. Increasing its momentum until it reached max speed.
"Broodling La'Ix!" said a stern but educated voice.
"Huh? Oh! Yessir!" a young Ix jumped to attention still thinking about more enjoyable things specifically outside of the classroom walls.
"Well? Can you please answer my question or will you make your other broodkin wait until Ix falls to ash first", the tutor said expectantly, prompting several muffles giggles in the room.
"Sorry sir. What makes the Ixian race its place in eternity is the attention we put in perfection. After our home-world of Ix's climate and terrain began to change, the leaders from antiquity decreed we carry on the spirit of the home-world in maintaining a consistent biological and genetic profile that will always be suited to Ix's surface. As we change worlds to be more like Ix, we can spread the spirit of Ix to them. As such, Change is- uh, change is..."
"Change is the poison of perfection, Remaining unchanged for Ix enable us to carry its spirit to other planets in the heavens", continued the tutor. "Well you certainly paid some attention to today's lesson at the very least. But remember that final part. It's the last of the core tenants you will need to remember."
"Yessir!"
A good half night passed on the surface of the Savanna. Where a previously noble and alert Ixian who took great care in appearances and status was no longer to be seen. Instead of that proud domineering alien representative of ix was a dishevelled, dusty, ragged creature, dehydrated, hungry, and exhausted from the various sprints it forced itself to endure to stay ahead of fate's ever closing hand.
Is this the sword of Damocles that was mentioned in the ancient Terran records? Always hanging down on those who hold power and seek more? Fate's sharp blade? But why me? I was never in any real power. All I wanted out of this life was a comfortable posting with no dirt and grime from the lower worlds. Why me? Why now? Why do I-
La'Ix snapped himself out of a daze. Is he here- No, no I should be far far away from that Terran now. Maybe I can find some-
A dim glow interrupted its train of thought. Much too early to be the Sunrise on the Emperor's summer planet, and much to low to be the light from one of it's 2 moons. It was a light from a town.
"That's right!" The Ixian barely managed to rasp in between haggard breaths. Its body barely able to continue the amount of self inflicted abuse it has suddenly been put in.
A lot more hunched over than the Ixian was earlier. It made its way towards a small town it knew was in between the palace and the harbour. The emperor loved his royal rustic towns and villages. It is said that his royal emperor would sometimes tour around them marvelling at the romantic theme of a simple rustic life. Although getting a personal town full of Ixians required a lot of lower caste be forced into long and expensive work contracts as background entertainers for the king's planet, all this excessive show of wealth was partially for peackocking the emperor's reputation, and partially for his own personal enjoyment. The Emperor is almost culturally required to flaunt his royal wealth in all forms in order to keep connections with all the royal houses. An emperor that doesn't shower their supporting aides and houses with grand gifts is fated to eventually be found cold on the floor of the royal banquet due to 'suicide from accidentally ingesting poison', as was the previous emperor.
To avoid such an unfortunate passing, the Higher Royals would trade vast resources, delicacies, and even exotic slaves to court 'royal favours'. Slaves of the Terran variety especially are considered to be the most unique of gifts the empire has ever acquired.
Terrans weren't necessarily large and bulky. Fighters were assigned to the Slave Obniraks. Powerful creatures used to fill the fields on tougher worlds where mechanical services would be deemed to expensive. The growth of a Obnirak into full working adulthood is only a few cycles. Meaning mass producing a workforce is quite an easy feat.
Terrans instead would take vast cycles to mature from a childling to an average adult. Meaning growing a slave force would take vast quantities of resources, immense patience, and strict guidance from their owners as to not create faulty creatures. All of which increases the general standing on any house that manages to keep a vast amount of Terran slaves in the best quality.
Terrans weren't necessarily docile and obedient. That role was perhaps given to the oldest slave race the Ix ever controlled. The Iralisa. It was known that they were made remarkably docile due to generations upon generations of select breeding, and pruning off the 'aggressive traits' from the gene pool. However, that led to the adverse effect of physically weakening them to a point where such docility and lack of a frame to keep up with their workload led to a general lack of Ixian interest and were subsequently purified.
Terrans are notoriously independent and herd-minded in larger quantities. Similar to growing a very stubborn Terulian Rose Vine. Which only looks impressive when great care have been given. Terrans need to be given an illusion of being ever so slightly free. Which typically involves owning vast amounts of land and nature to let them roam and graze. Of course, the only ones that can accommodate grand work forces of Terrans are the larger houses with the appropriate territory for humans, as is studied in the Ixian art of Servitude.
One can only guess which species is the Emperor's favourite.
The following town should indeed have both, low caste Ixians, and possibly none of the Emperor's favourite slaves.
The Ixian approached the glowing town. As it reached closer it straightened its back, upright on its hindlegs in the royal fashion. And proclaimed. "It is I! La'Ix, royal courtier. Lend me aid imme-"
Something is off. Not a single shadow in the town, I can see lights but no movement, where is every-
After turning the corner to the center of the small town, the dustied and weary creature froze in its tracks when it saw it. A pit nearly as wide as an Ixian land cruiser and who knows how deep filled with a stench so powerful it watered his eyes. Despite the Ixian's lack of a proper sense of smell. It knew the foul fetor of death.
The crudely dug pit was nearly overflowing when he approached it. Large, smoking, smouldering pyres cast that eerie light that had drawn him in.
"H-how? Wha-What the..." he trailed off when a local species of Laran boar growled and squealed as it tore a dead Ixian limb from the mountain of corpses.
"Who could've..."
He stopped. The shock of seeing his own kind laid like broken dolls in a bleeding pit slowly faded, replaced by a numbness. The Ixian had just noticed they were of Ix. Only of Ix.
Not a single terran colour was visible in the black and spotted pit of bodies. Not a single slave body was visible.
I-Impossible...
His legs gave way, either from the strain of the entire nights run, the horror facing him, or the threat from behind. He just dropped.
Minutes passed, or hours. It was hard to tell. But the Ixian lay slumped. Body unwilling to move further. Battered flesh unwilling to be propelled by a shattered spirit.
Mind slowly spinning up again. Thoughts began whirring to life in its mind. Could the rumours actually have been true? It had read the sparse reports of odd activity from certain Ixian-controlled worlds on the outer arms of the empire. Small uprisings of unknown origin. Hardly anything of note. If it had no affect on the greater houses then it was of no real concern to Ix and its emperor.
Could this threat have made its way to the centre arm already? Impossible. But what else could have done this to us?
Something caught the Ixian's eyes. In the middle of the pit it stood. A large stake, wet with deep Ixian crimson, dripping ever so slowly. Towering over the pit like a battlefield flag was a head of an Ixian rammed onto the tip of the spike. But the particular detail that caught the Ixian's eyes was a symbol cut into the flesh of the large forehead.
Looking from the outward-in. Eight concentric rings, which proceeded to get smaller and smaller in size until it reached a dark mass at the centre of the symbol. The Ixian never forgot the symbol and the affect it had on it.
Eight concentric rings, and a centre mass. Eight rings, and a mass. Eight- Eight what? Eight planets? And a star? ...
A growing pool of cold dread rose in its guts that made it shiver despite the fair night. This dread reflected the sharp reality on its frigid surface.
This Ixian was well-bred, well-trained, and well-educated. Although anyone with a basic education would know of such a pattern.
Terra and her sisters. THEIR star system...
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
It's not possible!-
Knowing what that sound meant, the Ixian tried to whirl around, its body barely being able to heed its masters commands. Just when it was starting to move again it felt it.
Sudden sharp agony. Sudden sharp, raging agony. The Ixian looked at it's hind leg. A sharpened wooden stake was jutting out of it.
It loud out a tight lipped scream, as it grasped the pulsating wound as one does immediately after an injury. It barely had enough time to look up at its attacker when the Terran bolted forward, shortening the distance between hunter and prey from metres to mere paces. The Ixian barely had enough time to block the hand grasping the knife as the arm flew forward at the last minute with a crash.
What phenomenal force!
Using the momentum from that sprint plus the wind up of his arm. The Terran was able to impart a phenomal show of force for a creature its size. That's when La'Ix for the first time saw a human in its raw unchanged form. Great beads of sweat collecting dust on its brow, to prevent it from entering the eyes. The constant release of sweat from the countless pores on its soft fleshy skin. Constant cooling? Even the visible veins and capillaries visible from the fire light.
What a beast of endurance-
Suddenly the horizon fell before the Ixian only to reveal the inky black sky dotted with pigments from stars like a painters masterpiece. When did I look up? Then a crash and blunt force from the ground.
The Ixian had been toppled over by that ferocious exchange of force.
Barely able to get up due to the wind being knocked out of its single large lung, the searing pain in its hind leg, and the exhaustion from the chase. It was too late. The terran was already on top of it. Taking up the entire view of the sky as the terran stepped forward into its field of vision.
The sudden perspective change made a once small and frail looking slave look grander than life, grander than all the legends told to Ixian broodlings.
The punches rained down. Repeatedly. A constant bombardment of beating rained like the drops of rain before the first dew. The previous pain in its leg forgotten, to invite a new visitor in the form of blunt force trauma. So ferocious were the raw blows to its carapace that the Ixian felt the exoskeleton crack under the increasing pressure and strain.
Something cracked, another thing snapped. The amount of pain too much to comprehend. The neurons firing in its second brain just assumed it was everywhere. Its half-working eye glimpsed the fist as it came down for the nth time. Red and split knuckles, revealing pure white bone beneath—a reinforced weapon. The perfect natural offence. All the muscles moved to propel it downwards where something else cracked and split.
Is this where I die?
As if understanding its fate the Ixian's form slumped over. Its body barely holding onto the natural exoskeleton shielding that covered its chest and facial area. Fluids leaking from the cracks that went too deep, and who knows how many internal ribs are shattered.
Its body, knowing that that more movement will cause more injuries, and further stimuli would confuse it further. It simply shut down.
The last moments it had as it fell backwards on its side. Was a small running figure. Hand clutching wooden spears. But the truly petrifying sight was behind it. A vast shadow flickering from the light of the lit pyres from the hunter in front of it. A shadow cast so large, jagged, and menacing it appeared to swallow the town whole.
And into a hole did the Ixian fall. A vacuum with no sensation or thought. Just darkness.
How... did we never notice such a... monster... in their... shadow...
All Ixians were taught about 'violence' and 'conflict' at an early age. As a sort of rite of passage that any of them would go through as they survive their early broodling days. As Ix have no natural predators, they had begun to instil a serving of some necessary conflict to keep their generations fresh and somewhat physically strong. As a precaution, only rudimentary forms of civil sports, races, shows of strength and courage were ever really explored. But always in a controlled and calm settings, as there would never be any true need for actual conflict.
As there was always a need to maintain ones own environment. The need never arose for the development of fighting techniques and schools of training. That was one of the best parts of being an Ix that many thought. Having supreme control over the worlds you inhabit means setting gravity, atmospheric pressure, humidity, and temperatures to the perfect levels for comfort replaced any need for biological change. Why grow when you can keep everything the same way, how you like it.
They were a vast empire. An empire of statues.
-Excerpt from the history of extra-solarian species, Author unknown
It awoke to a burning radiating heat from in front. The large sun was already starting to set on the horizon when it awoke. Had a whole day passed? Or two?
Trying to block the setting sun from its eyes it couldn't. "What?...", barely made out in a whisper.
I'm tied up.
And indeed the Ixian was right. Tied up next to a small brook, with a scorching fire in front of it. The monster nowhere to be seen.
"No good... it's too tight", it grunted in an attempt to escape its bindings.
Going slack in defeat it avoided any additional movement. Not having the energy to spare to move. It was lucky to have always been lazy at shedding its carapace - a frequent nag from its broodmother - might just have become its salvation in this case.
Thank Ix.
So there it stayed.
Hours passed. The Sun fully set and the stars awake in this dark world barely lit up the wildlands. Only the prisoner in this cone of firelight existed out here.
A rustling up ahead caught the prisoner's attention disturbing the eerily still silence of the Savannah night. And ungodly horror of a squeal ruptured the air invoking a deep visceral terror within the bound prisoner. Something. Something close but just outside the firelight was eyeing it, glinting from beyond the light. Those dark predatory eyes stabbed the prisoner with a sudden coldness. All while the squealing suddenly halted. SNAP. SQUELCH.
Now it came, emerging into the light. A beast. Holding a knife in one bloodied hand, dripping on the dirt. And dragging by the leg, a massive adult Laran boar grotesquely smearing thick blood still warm from the cut in the neck on the dirt.
The prisoner watched, barely moving, barely breathing. Frozen with the horror in front of it as the bloodied carcass was skinned; fur sliced away with harsh, scraping sounds with the crude knife. Spurting remaining blood all over the site.
The pink naked flesh then washed in the brook, leaving a distinct smell of oxidised blood in the air, before being skewered and roasted over the roaring flames. Fat popping violently in the heat.
In this gruesome display, the beast revealed not just a fate for the boar, but a dark hint of what might come. The realisation struck deep—this could be more than just a demonstration; it was a terrifying preview of its own potential end.
It passed out again.
Only to be awoken by the haunting echoes of a wild, desperate squeal that once thrummed through the savannah's eerie silence. Dare it open its eyes?
After a great heavy effort -utilizing its every last drop of courage- one eye cracked open. And what it saw. Made it regret ever having done so.
Right across from it, the hunter was a grotesque silhouette against the flickering fire. Grasping a severed boar leg was a mouth viciously biting, ripping, tearing into the flesh with primal ferocity. Each bite was deliberate, each tear of sinew was a clear, calculated demonstration of supreme savagery. Its jaw muscles bulged with the force of a bite.
All the while, the eyes—deep, abyssal pits—fixed intently on the prisoner. Deepest black pits stared back at it. Watching. Observing. Calculating, with a dark intelligence. it was calculating. It was relishing the terror it inspired and the control it exerted. Or planning its next meal.
The sounds of ripping flesh filled the thick, blood-soaked air. Deep into the night. Deep into this never-ending nightmare.
Never once did the prisoner move. Not an iota. Frozen in abject horror.
The night passed quietly. After the feast the human had, or the desecration of life that the prisoner saw, whichever way you look at it. The human nodded off to sleep. Content in the success of his mission. But the tied up creature had no such rest. Sending silent pleas to the stars that it might be saved. But not daring to make a sound, less it awaken that sleeping horror. Or was it sleeping? Dear Ix, it might be watching me. Feigning sleep to keep an eye on its meal. Dear Ix I'm next...
All through the night, the demons plagued its mind. Until the warmth of the morning rose, and with it the sound of an Ixian cruiser.
Elation could not be an understatement for the tired, tied, beat, and bruised thing. Craning its neck to the direction of the sound about to bellow out an Ixian warning to the demon resting next it.
"BE CAREFUL! THERE'S ONE HERE-". It stopped speaking. That previous elation it felt at a saviour arriving to rescue it from the demons grasp, fizzled out like a drop of water in a drought.
That all so familiar cold remained. And the dryness of despair. As pairs of dark pupils shot back at it.
On the cruiser were tall adult Terrans. Clean cut, well fed, well dressed Terrans. Four, no Six, no eight of them. All hanging onto the side of cruiser while it made its way to their location. Compared to the demon waking up beside it, these creatures were organised. A savageness neatly packaged in a uniform with a symbol. The prisoners eyes grew wide in its sunken sockets. 8 rings, and a centre mass. They must be the cause of, well all this.
Accepting fate, its head fell in part defiance, in part to avoid the stinging eyes of these others. It felt their gaze burn through—cold, cruel, calculating. There is nothing I can do any longer.
"You're finally here. What took you so long?" The runner said to his approaching comrades, "Took all night to catch up to him."
"Hey Jan, great work", the tall militant woman shot back. With a playful punch to his arm. "Guess all that cardio really paid off, didn't I tell you it would!" She let out a playful guffaw.
"Thanks Chel", replied Jan.
"Ok chop chop people, we're on a schedule. We need to reach the port ASAP remember? Come on Jan, rest up all you like, you're still on the clock."
"Aye sir." Jan shot back in a mock salute, gaining a sneer from the commandant, then a sneaky smile.
"Don't forget your trash. And make sure its breathing still."
It creaked open its eyes, seeing pairs of boots moving towards it and standing in front. In silence. Then all of a sudden, felt pairs and pairs of hands pull and tug. and lift it up The thing let out a pathetic silent sob. While it was loaded in the back of the cruiser, face up. Staring at eyes, piercing black dots peering back. It could never understand what was being felt by those eyes and those faces.
Ixians wear their emotions on their carapace; spots and stripes would slowly appear in certain parts, representing emotions and feeling that their bodies felt in a general sense. But the most private thoughts were of course, still kept private.
But this. This was just too foreign. The eyes never stopped. Even in the swaying movement of the cruiser the pupils never broke contact. Those eyes. As if it was peering into it, envelops your entire mind. There was no way to hide, even hiding in his inner self would do no good. Those eyes. Those predator eyes can find me anywhere I try to escape to. Inside and out.
Some times passes.
"You know. I lost good friends to the royal caste. Especially to this one's brood clan or whatever they like to call it." One of them was looking right at it when they said it. It turned its eyes over to the source. A short one, with a slave scar on the neck said it. A scar that shot through his memories. A scar inflicted to property owned by, his brood. This one is dangerous..., it thought.
Jan, and the others didn't look but felt it. The cold darkness in that tone made it clear what it intended to do.
The female militant, Chel, I think her name was. Slowly reached to the side arm on her holster. Sensing the oncoming problem.
"You still understand me don't you? I've had to watch good people die. Damn good people." The scarred one one stood, grabbing the upper rail of the cruiser to steady themselves. "I hear that even if you get ill, you become the entertainment for the night. What was it now?" She paused for a brief second. "Oh I remember".
"Stil" Chel said slowly. "Cool it". Hand still on the butt of the sidearm.
Not hearing or not wanting to reply. Stil continued. "Torn apart by those raptor pets. Hands or feet cut off as souvenirs for those fucked-up parties and those fucked-up guests. Oh yea, and the 'toy play' or whatever they call it. Can't have Ken and Barbie fight back now, can we?"
Stil leaned closer to the now cowering, shaking thing, "I wonder which one was your favourite." The words cut through La'Ix like an icicle. This was the first time these demons actually spoke to it directly. And it didn't like it. It could sense the venom from the words.
"Stil..." Chel slowly got up, hand still at the ready. "I said cool it." The line had a steely warning to it. Chel wouldn't risk the mission. Even if it meant doing what must be done.
Agonizing seconds passed. The cowering, shaking thing seemed to grow whiter and whiter by the second, It's spots clearly showing what it felt. Staring up, Not willing to move but being unable to hide. It felt the absolute crushing weight of the present. Grinding it down to a paste.
Everyone stayed still. The two militants didn't move. The rest didn't seem to even have paid attention to the converstation, still looked away.
Longer passed.
Stil smiled, "Oh come on Chel, you know I wouldn't do anything to our friend here? You know I was just playing around." Stil laughed. Chel didn't react.
Stil immediately crouched, faced the shaking prisoner inches apart eye to eye, and in a whisper said "Right friend?"
She wants me to reply? Dear Ix I can't even think with those eyes in front of me What do I do?! What do I say?!
"Right. Friend?" Stil repeated slower and colder. Like the blade of a surgeon hovering over skin, ready to plunge.
The gears of its Ixian brain grinded to a screeching halt. In utter desperation to find a reply it simply gave up. Instead, it felt a warmth slowly spread. Slowly spread between its hind legs. It had released its bladder.
"BAHAHAHAHA LOOK AT IT" Stil roared in laughter. The sound of it rattling the prisoners brain with the sound. Disorienting its senses. "NOW THAT'S CLASSIC TIMING IF I'VE EVER SEEN IT!" She plopped back down face red and still laughing.
The Ixian didn't know what to do but tremble and sob silently on the cold surface of the cruiser surrounded by laughter. and the warmth of its piss. It tried to plug its ears. But the sound still came. Laughter. Laughter. Laughter. Dear Ix, what are these demons... where are they taking me? To hell?...
The cruiser kept cruising. Towards the port across the island. Trailing laughter behind. Or to the sobbing wreck of a thing, demonic cackling.
The scent of familiarity wafted into the senses of the prisoner as the cruiser started to slow. The smell of the salt, the chirping of familiar aviaries. Sound of the crash of sea. The port.
Braving a sentence for the first time in for what seems eternity. It let out a question "...w..w..where ... why... are... ... we ...h... here?" It managed to say shakily, eyes downcast.
As if in response, a sharp shove greeted it from the back and a hard hit on the ground was as much of an answer it was getting.
"Move it", Jan said gruffly.
They walked. the ixian still bound but free to walk in the middle of the group of humans. Towards a destination still not known. The walk twisted, and turned, and twisted again. One thing struck out to the prisoner. It was too clean, especially for what it was expecting, it's last experience being in the previous blood-soaked town laden with bodies and carrion eaters.
The port town was completely silent, free from the regular hustle and bustle it usually had even when the emperor was not present. And superbly clean. Not a single piece of dirt to be seen. Not a single Ixian either. Where did everyone go? Did they make it out somehow when these invaders came?
In the background, the surf broke relentlessly.
Piercing eyes caught the prisoners glance, as it wandered curiously around the town. Realising its mistake La'Ix tried to look away but the burning gaze gripped his own.
As if reading its soul. The human answered the hidden question bubbling up in La'Ix. "You should've seen them your royal majesty". The one called Stil said while bending in mocking courtesy.
The surf pounded the shore even more loudly now.
"They don't swim well. Especially the young ones. They dropped like stones. Turning all white by the time they stopped moving."
Louder now. The sea roared.
Nothing came. Not a thought in La'Ix's mind. Its mind struggled to comprehend the depth of what was said by Stil, the scarred human.
The waves boomed louder now. Louder than the sun, echoing louder than the screams of all the Ixians that must have perished.
It saw the lips of the standing-devil in front of it. But all the came from its blood red lips were obscured by the sound of the pounding of the waves. The echoes of drowned kin, thudding and slapping against the shore, merged with the relentless surf in La'Ix's mind.
This is for our sins.
Wave after wave, the relentless surge continued, each one a haunting reminder of the souls lost to the sea, each crash a ghostly thud of bodies hitting the shore.
Very slowly did some exhausted neuron in the Ixian's head come to a conclusion as to how these creatures in front of it can be so relentless, so cruel, and so evil. When pushed to beyond its breaking point, did their true carnivorous instincts rear their ugly head.
Oh dear Ix. What sort of environment could breed such demons?
La'Ix didn't remember what happened next. The memories feel like a distant dream now as he sits watching the port sky now.
The aching brand on his forehead of the 8 ringed system, pulsed in pain—a departing gift from his newly made friends, stung from the salty sea air.
He barely recalls the staggered walk from the empty inter-arm transmission office and the inputting of his biometric royal seal. He barely even remembers the message that was sent under his name and signature
And even less does he remember what he heard what will happen next.
All alone now, he stares at the sky of the empty port town. As he watches more royal ships enter the atmosphere.
He gazes upward, thoughtlessly, statue-like Knowing fate will come for them all. Fate in the form of piercing black eyes and a monster so large it can fit in a shadow.
A single thought, carried its way from above the despair to the surface. Slowly. Like a bubble in a pool of tar.
What was I meant to tell the emperor again?

So, for reference, I have two models. These two models predict different lengths of my study sites. Model 1 is a linear model and I have run it and cross-validated in on my entire dataset (n = 58) and I feel pretty good about reporting it's accuracy. Yes, I'm aware 58 is a small number, but it's what I have, and in my field its a decent size dataset.
The second model is a nls horizontal asymptote model. Unfortunately this data is limited due to factors out of my control, and I'm not in a position to build the dataset out. I'm finishing up my MS and this is just a learning experience for me at this point--- I should have gotten more data for this model! But I didn't realize the work would take me in this direction at the time.
Anyway, the sort of overarching problem. Model 1 and Model 2 both predict length scales for my study sites. The response that I'm really trying to model with 1 and 2 is a binary outcome. Essentially y1 (from model 1) and y2 (from model 2) go into this binary outcome model (3) as a ratio. When y1 / y2 >= 1, then our outcome is 1 (true). When y1/y2 <1, our outcome is 0 (false).
The conceptual logic behind this response / ratio is really sound, and the ratio successfully explains 99% of my data. I know this isn't really impressive since I'm just comparing it on my own dataset. I really don't want to get into overfitting this model. So my question is, what techniques can I use to evaluate the accuracy of the ratio output by model 1 and 2?
The third crux... in my measured data (n = 58), I only have 10 instances of 0 and 48 instances of 1. Or 10 F and 48 T if that makes more sense. This is unbalanced, I know. Again, learning experience.
Is it valid to just generate like, 100 random numbers, between the bounds of all of the input variables for 1 and 2, cross validate on the random dataset for both 1 and 2, and then report those cross-validation outcomes? I don't want to report something like 94% accuracy when my data is so heavily unbalanced between T and F references (this is my correlation matrix output actually). Additionally, model 2 is built off a small dataset, so there's inaccuracy in that, but I can at least mention it in my discussion.
Thank you!

So to preface, I live in Hawaii with no intention to move to DC.
That said, I am working out making my own cost of living charts based on popular areas of the US, such as DC, Colorado(Denver), Washington(Seattle), Nevada(Vegas), Texas(Austin). I am interested in your personal opinion of your bill breakdown and how 'livable' it really is. I seen a post from 7 months ago that everybody said $47k is livable with roommates, I did a QUICK job search and found a car rental place hiring for $35/hr. Now granted the environment in the company seemed to suck but for that pay, you can move on quickly to better and greener pastures.
What I am searching for is, family size, average monthly utilities, car payment, insurance, food cost, rent or mortgage(specify) phone bill and of course income(exclude bonus). The ABSOLUTE BASICS, this doesn't mean your daily Starbucks, or McDonalds coffee, that cute $9 drink or $12 avocado toast.
After literally 5 minutes of google averages for DC, this was the breakdown I got for a bare minimum single person living on $35/hr Which is entry level with no experience.
$35*160=$5,600-20%= After taxes(approximately) $4,480 Budget = $4,480
Studio Rent - $1,800 Food - $450 Phone - $120 Car Payment - $300 Insurance - $120 Utilities - $350 Gas - $200
Total = $3,340 Balance = $1,140
Please keep in mind, this is bare minimum for a single person so these are either very high(food), or very low(car).
Now I did not cover healthcare for the simple fact that, majority of Americans do not have healthcare that is not provided by work or any at all(Myself) And healthcare is very VERY much individual based. That being said, lowest average I found in 1 google search is about $500 which would still leave $640 balance for whatever savings is possible.
Please let me know your situation based on these guides. Again this is all based on large companies doing their own 'research' into it, not what the actual day to day person is living so I would love more accurate information.

Hi!
I am getting lovebirds for my birthday and was wondering if some people could help with products and advice.
I am going to be a first time lovebird owner, and I've owned parakeets in the past.
I have done a bit of research on toys and making toys, cage sizes, food, what they can and can't eat, and other bits of info like that.
I have a few questions that I'd love to be answered by actual bird owners and not google.
How often do you need to bathe them? How often do you take them to the vet? How do I bird-proof my room? How long will it take for them to warm up to me and how do I gain their trust?
I also need to buy a cage, so if anyone knows a good cage from Amazon or anywhere else please link me to it along with any other products you'd recommend.
Please give advice or things you wish you knew or things I should know. I am planning on doing more research before hand, but I'd a love bird owners input.
Thank you!

SW 274, CW 268, GW 210
So I started on .25 last Sunday, keeping in mind all the advice I’d read and received on here.
Luckily, I had no significant symptoms than some mild nausea, and some headaches/muscular aches the day of the shot.
After having almost no appetite the first couple of days after the shot, I quickly realized I was going to have to change the ways I was eating, in more ways than one.
I basically became a sipper for drinks, and a chewer for food (I used to just scarf things down), and reduced my portion sizes across the board. I felt full a LOT, but by the end of the week I could tell the shot was beginning to wear off. My experience from what I can tell was mostly in line with what a lot of others have said here.
Realistically I’ve been hoping for a reasonable weight loss of 1 pound a week, maybe more. I was pretty surprised when I was down by 6 pounds! You almost don’t believe it, you know? I was actually down by 8 pounds at one point, but then I wound up eating a little bit more over the past day or two as my hunger came back.
Meanwhile I had lost about 10 pounds before starting Wegovy, I went from a 44 waist to a 42 so I bought some new clothes. So now my 42’s are starting to get loose…

My brother talked me into buying a pair of Ariats, I know they're not always the best but I'm looking for a new pair of daily drivers and his have held up for a couple years now being worn every day. The only ones I could find are brown, and while they're nice I greatly prefer black and always have. They haven't come yet and I have a week to decide if I keep or return them, just to make sure the sizing is right. I'd like to leave the shaft it's original brown, but dye the lower part the foot actually goes into. The vamp and counter, I think?
I've never dyed boots before but I feel like as long as it's coated evenly, even if it just turns out dark brown I wouldn't mind. Done a bit of research, but figured yall would have a better idea with brands and techniques. If you've got a moment to help out, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your time.