Sionia
Chapter 14
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“Lord Wyatt, you are needed” Called Lars that shook me out of my fascinating reading about dragon neuts.
“Yes.” I said as I pulled back the curtain.
“The city guard requests to speak with you. They are restricting entrance to Avalon given the latest attack by Mardor at Black Gate of Rowan.” Lars explained with a salute and chest bump
With a sigh, I handed my book to Gus and exited the carriage and was very impressed with the massive three story gatehouse and huge stone block readouts connected on each side. I was met by a forty something looking man of average build with black hair and dark eyes flanked by six fully fitted out soldiers.
“I am Rhys Redith captain of the guard here in Avalon. You must be Count Ryan Wyatt.” Rhys introduced himself with the question.
“Yes, I am Ryan Wyatt.” I responded with a frown and knotted brow.
“We have been expecting your arrival. The king has ordered us to assist you and provide hospitality. I am to escort you to the fortress and the rest of your party to Duggan's inn.” Said Rhys with a salute and formal bow.
“That will not do! I have several wards under my care which several are nobility.” I objected to the plan given.
“I was not aware. I will of course take you to the fortress where Lady Ludmilla will address your concerns.” Replied Rhys with a salute and bow then motioned for me to follow.
“Follow him, Jace .” I said to my new driver and climbed into the carriage.
The bridge over the north side of the Paradise River to the island of Avalon was very long at around a quarter mile or so. The readouts of the gatehouse extended a good ways into the river which had several firing positions. I suspected that the river rose and fell with a possible rainy and dry season which was why the readouts could prevent an army from getting behind the gatehouse or access to the bridge from land. The gatehouse was flush with the city walls and protruded into the river was equally as impressive with a descent sized recessed portico as draw bridge porch extension.
Thinking back to my travels through Europe, I decided Avalon looked like the city of East Looe, Cornwall in England but not as topographically elevated and with more renaissance style architecture than back on earth. The Roman style arched bridge was very much what we just rode across. The fortress of Avalon itself was at the highest point which was of to the left on the far east side of the island and most up stream point on the islands..
The Fortress keep was decent but still half the size of Duke Boasag's Buanna. I realized that the reason for putting my servants at an inn was because of the lack of space. However, I was determined to stay with my wards no matter the violation of etiquette it might cause. As my carriage pulled up to the entrance with the fortress that had both iron gates and metal reinforced wooden doors that were a good six feet wide and twelve feet tall each. These doors were set into no less than a three foot thick wall,
Passing through the gate was a small bricked paved courtyard that about about forty to fifty feet wide in a more or less oval shape. I saw a host of servants and two well dressed ladies waiting at the main doors to the fortress's central keep.
“Lord Wyatt, welcome to Avalon. I am Viscountess Ludmilla Skafhoggr and this is my mother Baroness Grogda Wode.” Stated a quiet plump pretty faced brown haired woman in a gaudy yellow with purple accented dress with unicorns all over it and a matching unicorn hat whose horn protruded a good foot from her forehead
“Yes, it is a very deep pleasure to meet you as well” Stated Lady Grogda a good looking woman who seemed to be in her mid to late thirties with black hair and unusual olive colored eyes. Her lite brown dress was quiet plain compared to her daughter's which was kind of comical in their contrast.
“The pleasure is mine for sure in meeting you ladies.” I said pouring it on a bit thick with a formal bow and sweep of my arm.
“I do not understand. Why are all your people with you?” Lady Ludmilla asked looking toward Captain Rhys but speaking to me.
“I have many wards under my protection. Thus, it is impossible to leave them alone without my presence as there are many who would try and take advantage of helpless young girls.” I stated but that failed miserably when Frey and the other three Asgardians approached fully armed with their swords.
“I would hardly call them helpless!” Spat Lady Grogda with a bit of contempt as the Asgardians were better looking than her.
“Despite appearances, they need my protection. After all, I am their guardian as I freed them from captivity.” I responded with a bit of admonishment in my voice.
“Yes, we have heard the tale. You are quiet the knight in shinning armor.” Lady Ludmilla said with obvious sarcasm.
“It is what it is. The wards will be with me wherever I am. If that is at an inn or camping on the side of the road, so bit it.” I stated with irritation.
“Do not be silly. We can host your wards and personal attendant. However, we must insist that the rest stay in the inn over there.” Lady Ludmilla said pointing to a three story building that was about fifty yards away.
“That is closer than expected. However, I accept. My people can stay at the inn while you host me and my wards.” I stated with another formal bow.
“Good, now come and we will see to your comfort.” Lady Ludmilla said with a bit of a laugh with Lady Grogda giving a small laugh and a wicked grin.
I immediately turned to Lars, Razor and Meowth and ordered that they maintain a watch on the carts and carriage around the clock as I did not want any lapse where someone would try to take advantage. I called to the wolf kin brothers to continue to protect the girls inside the fortress. Pointing to Lars, I told him to take our prisoner Andros to the adventure's guild office and turn him over that he was caught trying to steal from me. Let them know I will see them on morrow to see if Andros was telling the truth or just lying. Turning with a smile and motioned to Freya and the girls to follow me with Gus right behind me.
The inside of the fortress was decently furnished though it had more of the appearance of a military outpost than a holding of wealth as it looked quiet spartan. I was led to an upper chamber where Lady Grogda had already ordered a bath filled by the time we had arrived.
“I will see to you personally” Lady Grogda stated with that same wicked grin again.
I suddenly felt as though I was a piece of meat put on display before a hungry wolf. I steeled myself to not recoil as I just felt off with this lady.
“See to your master's baggage.” Lady Grogda ordered Gus who was surprised by the command.
Gus gave me a slight shaking of his head and left the chamber. Lady Grogda then proceeded to strip me with efficiency. Once I was naked, she suddenly took her time looking at my nakedness. She even traced my scars on my back with a click of her tongue. Walking over to the tub, I climbed in and sat down.
“Spoil sport” Said Lady Grogda as she grabbed a wash cloth.
“Do not get my wounds wet.” I said warning Lady Groda of what the doctor had told me.
“Why? Your wound is almost well healed. The stitches can be pulled out except here” Stated Grogda and tapped me on my left shoulder blade.
“I have been using a special salve from the high elves. I did not realize it was healing that fast. However, I was warned that getting my wound wet would effect my healing.” I repeated what Doctor Zalzwarth told me.
“Very well.” Groda conceded.
Lady Grogda began washing me where she was absolutely taking her time. It was obvious that she was deliberately feeling me up for her own pleasure. When she grasped my manhood. I stood up and said, “The water is cold and I am tired and hungry!”
“Humph” Pouted Lady Grogda her displeasure but began to rinse me.
Just as I was stepping out of the tub, Gus entered slightly out of breath as he had run to get my clothes with Lukas my footman helping. I sighed with relief as Gus helped me don my dressing gown.
“Old Maude will be here momentarily to apply your salve.” Gus said with a salute.
“Very good.” I replied to Gus then turned to Lady Grogda and said, “I was told you are a Dowager Baroness. Is that not so?” I blatantly asked appearing as innocent as I could.
“I will see you at the dinner bell hour.” Lady Groda said with a sort of half wave salute and stormed out of the chamber in a huff.
“Thank you, Gus. I actually thought I would have to literally fight to save my personal honor.” I remarked with a laugh.
“It was my pleasure, Lord Wyatt.” Gus responded and joined me in laughing.
Old Maude came about twenty minutes later and applied my salve and chatted about how excited she was to be in Avalon and wanting to visit one of the apothecary shops. I gave her permission but have one of the guards accompany her.
About an hour later and I was fully shaven and dressed, I heard a large bell ringing from a bell tower not far away from my chamber. With that, I headed down to the great hall that was just off the main entrance way. I was met by Lady Ludmilla who escorted me to Viscount Skafhoggr chair where she seated herself to my left. Lady Grogda appeared wearing a new pink dress and seated herself to my right. The one missing was the Viscount.
“Where is Lord Skafhoggr?” I asked Lady Ludmilla with a raised eyebrow.
“He is meeting with one of the military commanders. I believe they are deciding on how large a levy they must raise to battle the bastards of Mardor.” Replied Lady Ludmilla as she clapped her hands for servants to begin serving the evening meal.
Four exhausting hours later, I was back in my chamber with my nerves completely shot. The constant fawning and mindless chatter from Lady Ludmilla as well as the constant groping from Lady Grogda under the table had stained me to the max. I was ready for bed and was glad to sink into the lavender scented sheets. Gus grabbed a thin pallet and two blankets. Blowing out the candles he stepped into the hallway closing the door behind him. He would outside my door as custom demands while traveling.
A little over a half an hour later after Gus left, the door opened and closed quickly. I could not see in the darkness but relaxed when Freya spoke softly and slipped into bed with me. Freya did her magic on me as she mounted me taking me to new heights of pleasure. I quickly forgot all about the overly eager pursuit of the Dowager Baroness as I shared the pleasures of being with Freya. After we had sated ourselves completely, we slept peacefully in a loving embrace.
The morning came with a knock on my door that woke both Freya and I. I moaned but Freya nudged me on the chin.
“Time to wake you lazy bones.” Freya said with a laugh.
“I am not a morning person.” I said with a groan.
“Don't I know it! You were quiet the beast were you not?” Freya teased then laughed at me.
The knock on the door was more instant as I rose and put on my dressing gown. Opening the door slightly was Gus and the Dowager Baroness.
“It is early, what is it?” I asked.
“We have prepared a very special meal for you this morning.” Said Lady Grogda with a frown while she tried to look around me into the chamber.
“I see. Well, give me some time to properly dress and I will be down shortly.” I stated and continued to Gus “Have Lukas bring my shaving kit.”
“Right away, Lord Wyatt.” Gus said as he motioned down the hall where I assumed Lukas was.
About forty five minutes later and having snuck Freya out of my chamber, I was fully shaved and dressed in my dark red outfit and black beret hat that actually looked really good on me. Upon entering the great hall, I saw Lady Ludmilla seated. Lady Grogda taking me by the arm led me again to the Viscount's chair where she seated herself next to me.
“Where is Lord Skafhoggr, Lady Ludmilla?” I asked her directly.
Lady Ludmilla was quiet for a moment then said, “I guess he is sleeping. The meetings with the military commanders drag on for hours and hours. I hardly ever see him these days.” Lady Ludmilla said with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Is that so. Very well as it can not be helped. Please send my regards to Lord Skafhoggr for his hospitality. I was informed that the king would have a messages for me that Lord Skafhoggr was to give me. Could you ask Lord Skafhoggr for them?” I asked as I suspected something was just not right.
“Oh. Ah. I will of course ask my Lord Vincent for the king's message once morning meal is finished.” Lady Ludmilla said and looked discombobulated.
“I see. Please do so. The king ordered me to arrive in Camelot immediately. I can not dally and spend extra time as I normally would do. I hope you understand.” I said making extra emphasis on the king's order part.
“Yes. What the king commands we all must obey.” Lady Ludmillas said sourly but not looking at me.
Lady Ludmilla then clapped her hands and the servants brought in the morning meal. What surprised me was my meal was different from everyone else. Looking at both Lady Ludmilla and Lady Grogda something in the back on my head screamed warning warning.
The silver plate before me was a type of stew with a strong overpowering spice scent. I frowned and began to think hard and fast.
“This is a specialty from the High Valley region. I hope you like it.” Lady Grogda said with no expression at all.
My alarm bells went off even stronger this time. A footman came over to fill my cup which I deliberately knocked over and profusely apologized for my clumsiness.
“You know, I am from the High Valley region too. I have never been a fan of overly spiced foods. Lets see how spicy it is.” I stated and took a scoop with a spoon and handed it to the footman to taste.
The footman was surprised but more than happy to taste the food as it was obvious that food for the staff was very plain and simple.
“You should not do that! It is not right!” Lady Grogda said as she stood up showing more alarm than outrage.
The footman had already consumed the sample where he at first looked like he liked it. However, he suddenly started to choke as his face turned bright red and falling to his knees. Lady Ludmilla stood up in horror as the footman was gagging begging for water. I handed him my silver chalice with what I assumed was apple cider where he chugged it down then begged for more.
Finally, after three more cups of water given by another footman, first footman just lay on his back almost in a stupor. It was as if his mind was blank.
“What is this?” I asked as I pointed to my meal looking at both Lady Ludmilla and Lady Grogda.
“I do not know!” Said Lady Ludmilla looking at her mother with a strange look.
“Do not give me that! What did you do?” I demanded with a my voiced raised and now pointing my finger at them.
“It was a love potion. It was to make you like me.” Said Lady Grogda meekly and looking sheepishly at the ground.
“Seriously! That was more than a simple love potion!” I yelled my outrage.
“I swear that is all it was. I had to hide its not so pleasant taste with spice.” Lady Grogda stated her defense but still not able to look me in the eye.
“Lady Ludmilla, I must now ask that you bring me the king's message as I am now leaving Avalon.” I commanded with rage in my countenance.
Lady Ludmilla fled the great hall without replying. Lady Grogda just sat down with her head down looking at the floor saying nothing.
With exasperation, I called out to my people. “House of Wyatt, Ladies and girls we are leaving! Quickly gather your things and be out front within a little span!”
With that, I stormed out of the great hall to the shock of all present. Up in the guest chamber, I changed clothes into my bluejeans, a blue shirt and a tan leather vest. Pulling on my boots and strapping on my weapons belt, I looked over seeing Gus and Lukas already packed up my discarded clothing and was ready to leave as they were staying clear of my angry outbursts.
Down at the carts, I ordered my guards to ready themselves to leave. I sent Lukas to call all the servants in the inn to be ready to leave immediately. Razor and Meowth jumped down from their perch on the first two carriages with questioning looks.
“They tried to poison me! Can you believe it?” I said angrily as I swept my arm to point at the fortress.
“Meow Lord Wyatt, that is clawful. Do you want meow to use them like a scratching post?” Asked Meowth as her tail went straight in what I assumed was either surprise or anger.
Razor just gave a low grumbling growl with teeth bared as he looked at the fortress.
Forty minutes later as my people were loading up, Lady Ludmilla approached with her head down.
“I am sorry Lord Wyatt. It seems you do not have any messages from the king.” Lady Ludmilla said never once looking me in the eye.
“I see. Send a message to the king that I left Avalon today and as commanded traveling as quickly as I can. The king is expecting my update so make sure it is properly sent!” I said with a warning.
I ordered a florse saddled for I needed fresh air as I was still furious. I actually led our people out and toward the main north south road which Nick panicked a bit and settled with riding next to me. As we approached the main crossroads of the city, I saw a large dinning hall and ordered a halt for all of our people to have breakfast. The meal consisted of roasted mutton, eggs, apple pancakes and apple jam. They also had fresh chilled milk and apple cider which really went well with the sweet dishes. Our group apparently cleaned them out and they had to turn away a few customers until mid day.
After breakfast, I went to the adventurer's guild that was a few buildings to the south. It was a four story building of decent size. I allowed Old Maude with a one of the house guards to go to the apothecary shop across the road along with the two Alphardian servants Aura and Sylvia. Inside the adventurer's guild, I asked for Marine as instructed. It was then I learned that Marine was Zack Talley's girl where they were to marry soon as she proudly let me know her good news.
“Zack said to tell you this is a level one escort. Whatever that means.” I repeated what Zack had told me to say.
“Thank you. It simply means Zack thinks there would be no problems and just being present is enough to discourage any potential thieves. The total is two hundred fifty denari for basic escort with an A ranked adventurer.” Marine said with a smile
After paying the fee for the job request, I asked Marine to speak to someone about Andros that was brought in by man guard Lars.
“I am Supervisor Etan Borg and assistant to Guild Master Henry Stewart. It is a pleasure to be at your service Count Wyatt..” Stated Etan with a salute and bow.
“Pleasure is mine.” I replied with a salute and nod of my head.
“We have investigated Andros. His party the Finders of Avalon specialize in retrieving lost items or stolen goods from thieves. It appears his party was specifically requested to recover a lost ventu volpis. We do not have any more details for the job other than this.” Etan stated as he read from a page in his hand.
“Who hired them to steal from me? Make no mistake, they were hired to steal from me!” I said as I was showing my anger and frustration.
“Normally, we would not disclose who posted job requests to those not apart of the contract. However, given the circumstances, I was instructed to tell you it was Viscountess Lady Ludmilla. It seems she contracted and paid a merchant from Xanadu for a ventu volpis. It is our understanding that merchant was placed on a Quenya trade ship where he will go on trial for his many crimes in Svarta. The Finders of Avalon should not have tried to take your ventu volpis. Nor should they have taken on the job given the crimes of the merchant without more information.” Etan explained what the guild knew.
“What will happen to Andros?” I asked frankly.
“The Guild Master will hold a hearing with S and an A ranked members who will advise on the issues. I expect he will be found guilty but will escape the ten year punishment. More like one to two years of labor for the guild doing low ranked jobs that no one wants while being supervised by myself or a C ranked or higher adventurer. His pay will be one third of normal with the rest going to repay the guild or costs associated with his lapse in judgment.” Etan replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
“I see. The thing that irks me is they attacked my people and wounded one of my guards with a slinger's stone.” I explained my outrage.
“I was not aware of this fact. Master Stewart will compensate you as the law requires. Unfortunately, Master Stewart left for Camelot for meeting with the war counsel on Astria's response to the Empire's latest invasion. I will send a filoxis to let Master Stewart know that there was injury, offense and honor requirements. I understand you will be traveling to Camelot and am certain Master Stewart will seek you out to give you a formal apology and see you are properly compensated.” Etan stated with a salute and bow.
“Good enough. Let me know the outcome of the hearing for Andros. I do not like loose ends and a potential enemy looking for revenge.” I said mater of factually.
“Understood. I will relay your concerns to Master Stewart. Etan replied with another salute and bow.
Leaving the adventure's guild, I decided to visit the tradesman's guild and merchant's storefront while Old Maude was still busy across the street. The girls came with me as they had been requesting things like combs, brushes and scented oils plus a few other special feminine items they needed.
Once all the girls got what they were needing and getting those items stowed with their baggage, Old Maude came back with a small crate filled with items to make medicines. While the baggage was being loaded and sorted, I went to see the information broker's desk and inquired about Chamberlain Robert Duffy. I paid the requested fee of one erythro given his status in the city. I was shown a file which listed the qualities, character and known habits of Robert. There was a section about vices and food preferences. The only vice was seeing a woman who was a widow listed as a paid mistress. Basically, Robert was a straight as an arrow honorable man. I smiled as the report made me feel better about who I was helping.
Finally, with everyone loaded up, we headed out of the city of Avalon over the southern main bridge and gate that was just like the north one but slightly longer with a guard tower protected draw bridge section to let ships pass. After about two hours, I had calmed down enough that I rode in the carriage as was expected of a person of rank. I just looked out seeing nothing but the vast wheat fields of the Capital Region realizing how lucky I had been to escape the evils of the ladies of Fortress Avalon.

TLDR: the post title. Is it reasonable to request some refund?
My husband and I booked a 16-night AirBNB rental to have a getaway with our pets, where I could work remotely, during a two-week reserve training in a rural area. There was no availability for him at the usual approved hotels and this expense was not reimbursable by the military, which we knew ahead of time. Two days after booking, my husband requested and paid for a 6 pm late checkout on our last day instead of the standard 11 am.
On checkout day, we received a text at 9 am from the host (a property management company) stating we had to leave by 11 am. My husband explained we paid for late checkout and that I was at the property with two pets and no vehicle. The host sent a screenshot of a failed Twilio (Messaging service) message attempted by the property manager from 10 days prior, stating late checkout was not possible, but we never received it. The screenshot clearly shows the message was not sent successfully. My husband asked for alternative solutions, explaining he was unable to leave his training before 3, but the host just repeated that we needed to leave by 11 am.
The host offered a cab number, which wasn’t feasible due to our pets and luggage, and ignored my husband’s suggestion of rental car reimbursement. They offered a $100 refund and insisted on taking communication to AirBNB's messaging (fair) so my husband sent screenshots of the text thread via AirBNB. He then received a phone call (outside the official channel) in which they stated they were coming to the property with the police. There was no other solutions offered or discussion of middle ground. I had a panic attack. My husband ended up having to request early dismissal, missing four hours of training and frankly making him look like shit. No one came to the property before we left and we later received an AirBNB message asking us to leave "at our earliest convenience", by which time my husband was arriving back at the house.
We're typically pretty laid back people. However, this was preceded by three separate instances where lack of planning or communication rendered parts of the property unusable for some time. The hot tub was serviced during the second week and was unusable for the last 4 days of our stay. Pest control showed up unannounced, so our dog could not go outside. We were without running water for a full day due to scheduled maintenance. Each of these could have been avoided or alleviated with some communication from the property manager. With more notice, we would have been flexible and made alternative plans to ensure departure before 11 am.
Are we unreasonable for wanting a partial refund? I believe the failed message and lack of follow-up are their responsibility.

Hello. I’ve been interested to start tutoring kids for a little bit of extra income aside from my nursing job. I love to learn and I love to teach. I tutored some of my classmates in biochemistry during the first semester of college and it was a blast for me. My concern is that I went to college abroad, and though I was a stem student in high school and taken my BSN outside the country, it wouldn’t be considered up to standards in accordance with US education system. Also, most of my work experience is related to healthcare services so I’m having trouble in framing my resume to cater to what’s needed for being a tutor.

I rent in a house that is split into 2 units by the landlord. I have a rental agreement for the upper or main floor and the basement is rented to other tenants.
According to my rental agreement, I have to pay 60% utilities and the rest is paid by the tenants in the basement.

1. Reduction in Services or Facilities

Air conditioning is considered a provided Service; however, the Tenant is responsible for payment of the use of by way of payment of 60% of the total utility usage. The Landlord and Tenant agree that the upper level tenants shall have sole discretion and control to set and maintain the temperature of all units on the residential premises.
The Landlord and the Tenant further agree that it shall be reasonable for the Landlord, in its sole discretion, to reduce or discontinue any service, facility, privilege, accommodation, or thing that is included in the Total Rent Payable under clause 5 of the Standard Lease or by law, at any time during the Tenant's tenancy or any renewal thereof, except for vital services as defined in the RTA. If the Landlord permanently reduces or discontinues such service, facility, or privilege, accommodation or thing, then the Tenant's rent may, if applicable, be adjusted pursuant to the RTA, and there shall be no further or other compensation payable to the Tenant in respect of, or in relation to, any such reduction or discontinuance.

However, since march, I keep getting text messages from Landlord to adjust the temperature in a way that is comfortable to the basement tenants. This happens every other day or at least twice a week.
Initially I was asked to reduce the heater temps because the tenants in basements were feeling hot. I did it but then my wife and mother started feeling cold and I couldn't set it to our comfort because the Landlord kept telling me the basement tenants are feeling hot.
Now, since April I was forced to turn on the A/C against my will. My wife and mother are from a hot climate and have recently moved to Canada. They prefer indoors temps on warmer side, anything below 24 is cold for them and we also prefer to keep our doors and window open during the day for natural air, I specifically chose this house because it is bright and has many large doors and windows. We don't like A/C, it makes us feel lethargic and body stiffness unless the outdoor temperature is higher than 25°C and feel it's reasonable to turn on A/C but the landlord keeps asking to keep the A/C on and set the temp to 20°C all the time which is extremely uncomfortable to my wife and mother.
The tenants in the basement have also brought in an extra member than what I was told initially. Now I'm in a situation where I'm paying higher portion of utility, been living in uncomfortable indoor temperature and have no control on thermostat even though the agreement says I should have full control of it.
Please help me with what I can do here. This is my first time renting in Canada.
Thank you :)

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Memory Transcription Subject: Hileen, Krakotl Fugitive Recovery Agent
Date [standardized human time]: November 28th, 2136
It'd been a while since I sat in Marlig's office for a talk face-to-face. Given the agency's secluded location at the edge of the downtown region, it was a chore to drop by when it wasn't for business, but I'd deemed the matter at hand to be worth my time.
I passed by Nampi at her desk on my way to the door and she gave me a coy glare as I carried on. Trying to ignore her risible ear waggle, I turned the corner to the door with my boss’s name painted on the glass panel where I could hear the frantic crumpling of paper.
Quietly, I entered Marlig's office without prompt as I knew he hated to be spooked by knocking. My mentor was surprisingly spry for a bird at his age, sorting through papers with one wing and an eye while using his talons with the other to set away the papers he had splayed out.
“Hileen!” he chirped. “Glad you could make it in today. I was just finishing up my paperwork. Take a seat.”
It was always nice to hear him drop the professional motif for a more grandfatherly attitude when speaking in person. I did as he suggested and took a seat while he grumbled to himself over the sorting. My eye caught a few of the old contracts he was rifling through and saw that some dated back to his days as an agent.
Eventually, he left some sitting out as he sequestered the rest back into their files, sorted by a dichotomy that only he and Nampi could comprehend fully. He motioned with a wing for me to peruse and I turned the first one to face me to find it was my first contract, signed by me in a sloppy fashion. “This takes me back a couple of years.”
“Slick bastard thought he could get away on a forklift but you showed him! Certainly more exciting than my first day!”
“Mm-hmm. And it was when I nearly got impaled that you had the idea to commission all of us utility vests.”
He chuckled, “I really should’ve done so sooner. Cuts and scratches were already a risk, but a forklift was a new one!”
I flipped through the pages of each report, finding that Marlig's notes were filled with praises of my work. There were highs and lows, but I was flattered to find that the grizzled krakotl held my performance in such high regard.
“Flawless interception!” read one footnote about me catching a runner. “Couldn't have done it better myself!”
Marlig waited patiently as I browsed quickly through each page, realizing more and more how the notes also marked improvements in my work. How I found it easier to talk down a rowdy client, or apprehend them in the case that they were beyond helping on my part. Flowery language plastered most pages with him fawning over my work as a doting father would to his prodigal child.
The trend took a sharp turn as the notes became fewer and more critical the closer the dates reached to the present. I brushed the others aside with a wing to peruse the final paper. “And this…”
“Is Tac. Your latest contract. The most recent in a line of declining performance since the interview. This has become a pattern, Hileen, and its consequences are beginning to reach beyond yourself. Paji and Vesek resigned recently for personal reasons, which leaves us even less hands on deck than before. That's four people to cover the entire municipal region, and maybe even beyond, should needs arise. Three, if we include this little probation I have you on.”
“What was I supposed to do? Marlig, these ‘jobs’ you've got us working on overstep the contracts we were signed on with. Our job is to make sure people obey their court-mandated duties, not drag them off to the facilities ourselves!”
“... So the trip we took to the facilities did bother you.”
A sigh clicked in my throat as he reminded me. “Is that what happens to the people we take in, Marlig? Is that what would've happened to your wife?”
His feathers ruffled.
“That's what happens to those who are too dangerous to the general public to be left roaming free. Not everyone we deal with winds up there, but everyone can be subject to it. Miskela sued for her exoneration and proved in court that she was not diseased. I brought you there to show you how it helps the people, but I see now that it was a mistake. I understand why you were so perturbed, really, but it's how things have been for centuries. It's how we've protected ourselves from the dangers out there.”
“You were willing to let Barsul be interned there, too.”
Marlig flinched and sighed as he swept the papers towards himself once I'd signaled I was done. He turned one eye to me while he sorted them.
“There's no room for favoritism, girl. I negotiated for him to be allowed to walk free, and look where that got me. That boy - your neighbor - suffered the consequences of my nepotism. So too would the girl, had nobody intervened.”
“Like Richard.”
“The human, yes. Or you. Or the police. Where does this sudden obsession with humans come from, anyway? I get notifications of you talking about the acceptance of them all the time on forums.”
“Does it even need explaining?”
“Well, I guess not, no, but it's certainly an about-face from the way you used to talk about them with me beforehand.”
“People can change, for better or worse. Which one I fall under remains to be seen.”
Marlig stroked at the plumage on his neck as he finished his sorting. “I hope it's the former, for your sake. Was there any reason you came to talk, or were you just checking that I hadn't gone senile?”
“Well, I was hoping to borrow your secretary for the evening.”
He perked up while his eyes narrowed and he laced his fingers together with curiosity. “You… want to spend an evening with Nampi?”
“It's not what you're insinuating, but yes.”
“I was insinuating nothing,” he warbled coyly. “Go ahead and take her, and make sure to split the bill at dinner.”
“Pain-in-the-ass geezer. I'll keep in touch if your friend causes any more trouble.”
“Keep in touch regardless. Miskela and I get lonely in our old age,” he called back. “Take care.”
I stepped out into the hallway and turned toward the desk where I could hear the secretary's claws tapping furtively at her keyboard. Nampi sat silently with her ears and tail in a relaxed position that implied a bored demeanor. There was barely any response as I stood before her, waiting politely for her acknowledgment that never came.
Hesitantly, I cleared my throat.
An ear raised in acknowledgement, but her focus remained on the screen of her computer. “Mhm?”
“Do you…?”
Her ear rotated toward me, though she still maintained a passive attitude as she continued to glare mindlessly at the monitor.
“Are you free this evening?”
“Well, I'm quite booked, I believe. Why do you ask?”
I was surprised at her curt, dry tone. She hadn't spoken with me like this since we first got to know one another.
“Well,” I started. “I realized something. Every time we went out, whether it was clubbing, or dinner, or even walking around the parks, you always footed the bill. And so…”
Slowly, her other ear perked up and I saw her keystrokes slow down as she listened in.
“I wanted to return the favor?”
Her lips smacked as she opened her mouth, though paused before she spoke. “How could you possibly do that?”
“With a little gesture of friendship.”
Nampi's horizontal pupil turned up toward me and her tail twitched.
I continued, “So that belt you're wearing? It's the same belt you've worn since we first met. And I know you're the pragmatic type who'd never spend a credit more than she needs to, except for all the times you do"- her ears twitched in indignance -"I wanted to see about getting you a little something… extra?”
Her paws raised from the keyboard and she leaned in, resting her snout on her palms. “Go on.”
The bubbly venlil's tail sold out her collected facade as it twitched with anticipation. She was cornered and she didn't even know it yet.
“Well, I found just the place on the other side of town where we can start. It's a place almost as rich and indulgent as yourself.”
“The Platinum Paw? I mean3”
Her ears folded back in embarrassment as she cracked. She wasn't cut out for acting anyway.
“So that's what it's called! Jeez, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was called. Now what do you say? We go over there and find you something nice—”
I hadn’t even finished my thought before Nampi had grabbed her bag and was out the door, giving me a playful tail flick that said come and get me.

The place I suggested was in a shopping center on the opposite side of town, though easily accessible because of its proximity to the transport rails. Nampi had insisted on grabbing something to eat beforehand and so now gleefully bit into a bundle of stalks that had been “grilled” as explained from the food truck we'd stopped at.
Her tail flicked back and forth with her usual enthusiasm as we entered the massive complex of stores. The roofless plan allowed the natural, orange sun to flood the upper levels while artificial lighting illuminated the ground level wherever the light couldn't reach.
The place was built in the last decade by the previous City Magister in a bid for popularity, though ultimately for naught as he would lose the vote following a scandal involving an iftali priestess and a carved bar of soap. I had to say that despite being sick in the head, he sure had a great sense of decor.
Nampi snacked away, joining me in admiring the scenery as we continued to the place I’d planned out for us. Aimless chatter all melded together into a single, thrumming murmur as pedestrians navigated the many levels and stores offered in the place.
A troupe of children passed by us, held in a chain of tails and arms as they were escorted by a pair of venlil who I assumed were students and teachers on a school trip. I caught a whiff of a sweet, aromatic breeze and found it to come from a perfume shop on the same level as us; naturally, venlil were not to be found inside.
We passed a fountain where a couple sat on the edge, their tails twined together as they giggled and flirted. I turned and caught Nampi watching them as well, though she awkwardly returned to sucking the remains of her meal from her claws when we made eye contact. Her ears lifted when I raised a wing to signal to the store we were going to stop at first.
“Platinum Paw, The Greatest Fashion Emporium For Everyone!”
The title alone was painfully cliche, taken to the tenth power by the brightly lit store taking up three department slots. Despite the flashy exterior, though, it was the best place to shop for belts, brooches, and bracelets alike. Customers who looked like they earned my yearly salary in a week browsed the higher end brands while I brought my friend to the section I wanted to show her.
Her ears were held up as we stood together next to a shelf chock full of fashionable bags and bandoliers of every variety.
“Pick one,” I told her.
Nampi's ears shot to a straight pose in surprise, “Any?”
“Within reason. I've got a few extra credits to blow and I know nobody better to spend it on.”
With an inviting headtilt, I let Nampi peruse the shelves at her leisure. Her lips pursed together and her tail flicked with glee as she fingered at every piece that caught her eye. I chuckled at her outburst of enthusiasm while turning to find my own items to gloss over.
A breeze from outside nipped at my beak while I considered what I’d like to purchase. The place dripped with an atmosphere of faux hospitality, from the bright blue-stained floorboards to the radio prattling off advertisements in a sickeningly sweet tone to the faint, fruity aroma of scented cleaner. It was oppressive as only a fissan-owned company could be to the senses.
What I wouldn’t pay to see how a human would fare in such an environment.
I knew they were social creatures at least, but I had no doubt that the predatory senses of a human, so honed to hunting, would get overstimulated in this center of gaudy indulgence. Knowing I was something of a predator myself made me sympathize provided that even I had to squint to keep the pale lights inside from searing my eyes. I could only imagine how the arboreal eyes of a Terran would fare. I was so lost in thought imagining how lost the Terrans would be that I could almost ignore the obnoxious giggling and metallic rattling coming from behind me.
Risking a peek at the source, into my sight came a pair of venlil, one a male carrying a pair of bags as well as a couple more strapped to his belt. The bored expression in his eyes was not one of a man who was in high spirits. The other venlil was a woman who was the source of the noise.
Her mottled gray pelt was accented by a tasteful belt design, free of almost any practical functions but not flashy or excessive in garnishment either. At least, that’s what I would say, were it not for the braid of beads that dangled on the belt, jingling with each bounce of the lively woman’s stride. It was clear that such a gaudy accessory was intended to draw attention to her, though why was a mystery. Certainly, the shiny braids seemed designed as decoration first and practical second.
She turned about and I faced back to my browsing before she could catch me staring. Nampi was nowhere in sight, though I figured she was somewhere behind the shelf, sifting through every accessory on the section I'd suggested.
Clink.
Something pelted to my immediate right. I tilted my head to spot a tree nut shell clattering to the floor. Without being able to guess where it came from, I had to wonder what could've launched it over this way. Even with my keen eyesight, nobody in the crowd seemed to be a suspect.
Clink.
Another shell pelted my vicinity, ricocheting off of the floor and hitting the shelf I was standing next to. I ruffled my feathers in frustration - clearly, someone was trying to get my attention, though I couldn't make out who it was. Out of the corner of my vision, the woman from before eyed me curiously as I looked about, though I wasn't interested in engaging with her.
Thwack.
One more shell came flying and, unfortunately, the aim on this one was true, nailing me on the beak. Irritated, I stormed out of the store to find the source of the instigator. I scanned over the bodies to find anyone who could've been responsible for this indignity, eventually concluding that it came from the dining area across the walkway.
Whoever was responsible was in for an earful and I was already structuring which of the offender's family members would be acceptable as fodder for stray words. As I approached, I found the tables were mostly empty save for one, which made my heart begin to drop as I met eyes with the only occupant. Suddenly, I was much less inclined to hurl insults.
“Oh, hi there!” Qitel called out in a sickly sweet tone. “Come, take a seat! We have much to discuss!”
The Exterminator clutched a bag of tree nuts in his claws, a pile of discarded shells already gathered on the table next to him. He grabbed another as I approached, effortlessly prying the shell in half between two claws and tossed the contents into his mouth. “Good protein, these,” he commented as I sat down.
“Must be for that good arm you've got there,” I mumbled. I caught sight of a couple of bags beneath his chair, seemingly from one of the tech stores contained within the center.
“Bah, it's guesswork. So how are you? I haven't heard from you since we worked together!”
“I was just spending time with a friend, shopping and enjoying my time off.”
“Your time off? Oh, am I interrupting something?”
His snide tone irked me, though now wasn’t the time for interjections. “You are, Qitel,” I replied with no shortage of vitriol in my tone. “But I see no harm in chatting for a bit.”
“Good, because I have some merchandise”- he reached into his belt pocket and deposited a couple of items onto the table -“and you’re just the person to look into it, human sympathizer.”
I drew a terse breath in shock, but my worries were quelled when I considered that if Qitel had the power to do anything about it, he would’ve done so instead of approaching me so discreetly. A glance down at the item on the table showed that he was presenting what looked to be a tracker as well as a personal drive. “Found in the garbage,” he told me.
“The guild resorts to dumpster diving when they already have such a bloated budget now?”
“No, featherbrain, I have decided to keep this for myself. These items were found together, sealed in a plastic pouch, and placed in a garbage bin. The city has bans against electronics being placed into public bins, and so I was curious why this wound up in there. Managed to get my coworker, a techie, to crack it open and…”
Qitel reached into his belt again, glowering at me with the same condescending gaze he’d given me when I first saw his face. He seemed to revel in digging for the item as slowly as possible to waste my time. Finally, he found whatever he was looking for and revealed it as a printed piece of paper, folded into eighths. The snobby yotul threw the unfurled paper on the table and rolled it toward me.
I craned my neck to look at the parchment, though I was immediately perplexed by the text on it; it appeared to be some sort of form, going by the boxes with words on the inside, followed by blank lines. “Found on the drive, here,” Qitel told me, jabbing a claw to the storage. “Translator shows it as Terran writing.”
Drawing my holopad from my satchel, I held it over the paper with the translator to get an understanding. Surely enough, the language on it came up positive as a variant of Terran writing and I was affirmed in it being a form of some sort based on the wording of the text. The boxes seemed like an odd sort of job application, asking for the typical name, contacts, and prior work experiences, but quickly took a strange turn as it began asking for where their home on Earth was prior to arrival, what family they had on Venlil Prime if any, and where they worked, implying that they were seeking individuals who were already employed.
I knew little about human employment methods, but I didn’t imagine that sourcing individuals from other jobs was the most efficient way to gain a workforce. Terran service industries already dotted the planet while many humans also found work in local environments. So what was the angle that the creator of this application was going for?
Most concerningly was that the paper had no insignia, identifying marks, or noted address to return the form to. “And where did you find it again?”
“In the garbage, alongside this intact tracker that was activated at the time of recovery. Y’know, when I was dumpster diving. Text on the document showed it was addressed to one ‘Choctaw Nexus’.”
“A pseudonym of some sort?”
“Clearly. Short sorting through the archives shows the first name traces back to the group out east - perhaps you've heard about them. How the name and the items we have here are connected is beyond my understanding, but-”
“Well, this has been an absolutely riveting discussion about your collection of trash, Qitel,” I told him as I stood up to leave. “But this really sounds like an issue to be resolved by your fellow guildsmen.”
The sound of another shell splitting rang out as I turned away.
“I'm not through talking with you, predator.”
The sting as a piece nailed me in the back of the head prompted me to whirl back around, sticking my beak in the insolent yotul's snout. “Perhaps you've forgotten, little man,” I cooed in an equally bittersweet tone to the one he gave me before. “The krakotl never had a problem with settling issues the old-fashioned way before the interview. Try me and find out why I'm in the line of work I am.”
“Oh, we wouldn't want that in such a"- he waved his paw to a group of passersby who had stopped to gawk at my display -”public forum. Please, contain yourself.”
I had to force the feathers on my back to settle and I raised my head away from him. “What else is it you wanted, then?”
“Well, I'd appreciate if you took this merchandise off my paws,” he told me as he brushed the electronics and printout toward me.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because you're closer to the humans than I'd ever care to be, and may be able to find out who this Choctaw Nexus is. Something about the package just feels… off. And I know when to trust my feelings. Besides, we both know that you know where Tac is, don't we?”
“I don't-”
“We have videographic evidence that you conspired with a human - of the aforementioned squatters, no less - and let the kid escape. You're not as sneaky as you think, and if we find this ‘Choctaw Nexus’ turns out to be a bad actor that can be traced back to them - and by extension, you - well, there’d be no talking down my boss from having you dealt with. By helping me find out who this is, you may yet be able to clear your name of any wrongdoing.”
I clenched my beak tightly to maintain a straight face. Qitel stood up with a flourish and discarded the bag he was carrying in a bin.
“See, the krakotl were never special for using threats and bullying to get results. It's because you were good at killing predators,” he jeered. “Now, if you don't mind, this primitive has appointments to attend to… old lady who got trampled courtesy of the humans and all. You stay out of trouble, Hileen, and stay in touch.”
The self-assured marsupial melded into the crowd in a matter of seconds, leaving me with a table containing dumpster trophies and a pile of shells. Reluctantly, I swept the shells into my wing and dumped them into the bin before gathering the other two items he'd left me and stuffing them into my bag. I'd been gone from Nampi long enough and she would notice my absence before long.
Crossing the walkway again, I could spot from where I stood that Nampi was indeed still in the Platinum Paw. I approached, and soon I found that while she didn't seem to have noticed me stepping away, she was definitely in a soured mood based on the sagging of her ears and tail. With my talons clacking on the floorboards, I hustled to her side and her mood chippered up ever so slightly as she heard me approach.
I chimed in, “Find anything?”
“Everything. I want everything, Red, and I can't decide on what I want. They all just look so great!”
From behind, a voice called out, “Nampi!”
We both jumped at the exclamation and turned about to spot the venlil lady I'd seen before spring from behind the shelf. The man poked his head from behind the shelf too, though less enthusiastically and with yet another bag in his clutches. My friend's eyes widened in surprise with her tail and ears perking up in kind. With a light in her eyes, she exclaimed, “Nalek!”
The two embraced with shrill squeals and laughter as Nalek's accompaniment and I traded awkward glances.
“It's been too long!”
“You never stayed in contact!”
The women exchanged giddy greetings and the pompous stranger turned to me, leering over me as though she was sizing me up.
“Who's your friend here?”
“Oh she's actually my-...”
Nampi paused for a moment, looking back to me.
“Yeah, she's a friend.”
“A friend,” Nalek repeated while her eyes flicked between Nampi and I. “Right.”
Somehow, I get the impression that that was judgemental.
“I'm Hileen, by the way,” I chirped, “if names are to be exchanged.”
“Hileen, that's a lovely name! And such plumage to match, it's a wonder you aren't swarmed by suitors!”
Internally, I groaned at the notion. The idea of being approached by someone to state their interest in me made me queasy, to say the least. Thankfully, I never had that issue growing up as most of the other drakes in school were too busy chasing girls who didn't have a lousy pigmentation mutation such as myself.
“I'm flattered,” I told Nalek before turning to the man whose name had yet to be introduced. “May we get your name?”
“Sask.”
His response was succinct and tonally flat, though there was a brief silence as I expected him to elaborate. Nalek's beads jingled as she lashed him on the calf with her tail.
“I'm Sask, Nalek's fiancée,” he added, throwing her a look to see if she was satisfied.
Nampi gasped with her paws over her snout. “Fiancée! Nalek, you're getting married and you never even told me!”
“Well, I felt a little guilty since it technically broke our pact we made when we were pups. You remember that?”
“Of course! Why wouldn’t I? ‘Let she who bonds through betrothal first be cast out unto the world for all to admonish her!’”
Sask and I both gave inquisitive expressions. “You two spoke like that as pups?” Sask asked.
“Well, I'm paraphrasing,” Nampi admitted with a playful ear waggle. “But you get the gist.”
“Indeed, they do, sweet Nampi. Now, may I ask what you're doing bringing your avian friend here into this store on this fine claw?”
“Oh, no no, she's the one treating me! Isn't that right, Red?”
I saw her tail twitch and was sure it took restraint not to tickle my neck with it as we stood before her old friend.
“She's been a good friend,” I explained. “So I wanted to reverse the roles for once and treat her to something myself.”
Nampi skipped over to me and wrapped her arm around me, glancing back to her old friend. “See? We'd all be so lucky to have a… friend like her.”
“So I've witnessed. But perhaps you're a bit stuck, as I've seen you prancing up and down these aisles for a while, no? Maybe you don't know what you want?”
“Nalek, you know I've never been good about making my mind up.”
“Some things never change, you ditz. Tell you what: you and Sask go find us a seat and we can catch up all we'd like when we're not taking up aisle space, yes? So shoo! I'll help Hileen here pick one out for you!”
With a bored grunt, Sask made off with the goods he had strapped to himself, followed by Nampi who gave me one more playful tail flick before dashing off into the crowd. I looked back to the mottled snout of Nalek who watched her friend wander off with a wistful glance.
“She was my first, you know.”
“Your what now.”
“Love. Way back when we were growing from pups into young adults back in private education, we explored much together. We saw each other through a lot, including the less savory parts of finding a mate. When Nampi realized it wasn't the boys she was into, she turned to me, and I offered my hand as her stalwart companion… to a point.”
“You weren't interested in her the same way?”
“I'd grown up seeing her as a sister of sorts, so ultimately, when we split it off, we stayed close as friends and she never seemed to be bothered by it. She struggled to find others in school who had the same interests as herself, but she never fussed about it.”
Nalek's claws browsed over a set of pouched bandoliers made with intricate embroidering. “Have you two… spent the night together? Alone?”
Spiritually, I reeled from the inquiry. The whiplash from that question was equitable to being smacked by a human. “Wha- why? How's that pertinent to the subject at hand?”
“That sounds like a ‘yes’ to me,” she purred with a smug glance my way.
I didn't need to begin to list the different ways such a question was violating to our privacy, and yet this woman was treating it like a game.
“Not really your concern, ma'am.”
Nalek chuckled as she picked out one of the bandoliers and inspected it with her claws. “I'd like to think that she and I still have that old connection, despite everything. And to that end, I know that she's no slag and doesn't trust easy. To see her be so vulnerable around you and to talk so highly of someone who's clearly below her income level as a predator…”
She stretched the bandolier out to appreciate the design in its entirety.
“Well, that's something special. Here"- she foisted the accessory into my wings as I stood gobsmacked -"this just screams her name.”
“This is, like, double my budget.”
“Love don't come cheap, darling. You wanna see good things happen, sometimes you've gotta step out of your comfort zone and grasp for it!”
“I'm being lectured by a rich woman on finances.”
“It's a philosophy that goes beyond money, ‘Red.’ The humans have a saying, in their horrendously predatory nomenclature, that contains a kernel of truth: ‘you miss every shot you don't take’.”
Yep, that's definitely a human phrase.
Nalek's steely braid rattled with every flick of the tail as we proceeded through the checkout.
“You want things to change between you and her?” she continued. “Don't just wait for it to happen.”
She let the conversation rest there as we finished the purchase, possibly to let me recuperate mentally from the damage done to my account. Outside, we found our respective partners sitting at a table with Sask looking up in boredom as Nampi chatted away, though she immediately shut up and turned to me with excited flicks of her tail as she saw what I was carrying.
I held it toward her and she happily shot to her feet, effortlessly removing the tags with her claws and clipping it to her belt. Nalek clapped and waggled her tail as the giddy lady did a whirl about to let us admire the accessory. While I'd have preferred one with pockets to give it a more practical use, I decided to let Nalek have the victory as our mutual friend clearly enjoyed it.
The rest of the paw was a blur as the two friends chatted without end until Sask eventually reminded his betrothed that they had a schedule to attend to. Though Nalek offered to call us a taxi home as a gesture of kindness, I saw through her ruse to determine that she was trying to pull a fast one on me - the clever ear flick she gave as we boarded the automated vehicle sold it for me.
We sat in the seats as the vehicle took the express ride home.
Nampi cleared her throat before she spoke, “Thank you for taking some time to spend with me, I know you've had a lot less free time as of late.”
“It's a prison of my own design, if I must be honest. A feedback loop of working a job that doesn't guarantee a paycheck to pay for rent that keeps going up, and thus needing to work more.”
The venlil giggled and chided me, “You really should've stayed in university.”
“There's a lotta 'should haves’ that've led me to this point. No use wondering what could have been.”
“There's always a use for wondering what could have been, Hileen.”
She wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
“Every decision I make, I always wonder what I could've done differently that it'd have turned out better,” she explained as she waved her free paw to the sky. “It's how you grow as a person, Red.”
Her silky pelt felt heavenly in contrast to the chilly air from outside, making it hard to let her words sink in.
“You rich types seem chock full of philosophy. I wonder if I'll become a brooding orator when I get some cash to my name.”
The cab filled with laughter as we veered around the final corner to my neighborhood, as it was the closest stop. The door popped open accompanied by a chime from the drone, signaling for me to depart.
But before my talons could even hit the pavement, I felt Nampi's scrawny arms wrap around my waist and she let out a pitiful mewl again.
“You don't need to get off here,” she told me with a pouty expression. “We can spend the rest of the paw at my place.”
“I'd love it, but I need to water my plants and get the month's bills sorted before they're due. Again.”
One claw at a time, I plucked her paws from around my waist and the childish venlil conceded, giving me another ear waggle as I departed. “I'll see you tomorrow?” I asked her.
“If you still have eyes by then, then you can bet your ass!”
“I still don't gamble.”
“You'll come around to it eventually.”
I shut the door to the taxi and watched as it carted away the one venlil who I ever truly felt on the same wavelength as. Fiddling with the lock felt like more of a chore than usual at this time as I felt a little voice tugging at the back of my head.
“You miss every shot you don't take.”
The lock felt jammed as I began to jiggle it more vigorously with the electric key. Either the RFID or NFC readers were messed up, as the lock refused to accept my key. I looked up and down the street, though Nampi was now long gone for me to rescind my earlier rejection.
“Every decision I make, I wonder what I could've done differently.”
The door rattled as I grew more and more infuriated with the lock. Qitel's smug expression as he threatened me so boldly in public played back in my head, and I wondered what would've happened had I decided to go through with insulting his mother. Better yet, I wondered what could've been had I not backed down in the face of his unflinching confidence.
Bzzt. The lock rejected my key again.
“Raagh! You fucking useless hunk of junk!”
I squawked in anger and kicked against the door, careless of the consequences of having Markol back down here to admonish another of his tenants for causing a ruckus. The walls were surprisingly sturdy for how ineffective the venlil architecture looked on the surface and I reeled back in pain as my leg throbbed.
Click.
I looked to my left to see that it wasn't my door that came open, but that of the twins. The door cracked open ever so slightly, no doubt nudged by the force of my tirade and I sighed. Nobody was expected to be home at this time, with Vili being away and Luka leaving early to get a head start.
Luka had been given a stern talking-to by the landlord for allowing one of those cats into his apartment through neglect, and I was disappointed that he seemed to have not learned his lesson this time. In fact, it seemed he hadn't even thought to lock the door this time.
I took it upon myself to shut the door for him before turning back to my own apartment door. Grasping the key with one talon, I turned it ever so gently, though the lock still refused to give in.
With a bit more force, the torsion applied to the key felt as though it should've snapped it by now. Markol sure didn't waste any expense for the security for this place, doubtlessly as a result of his history in electronic security, but I wished now that he had provided a way in that didn't rely on privately sourced locks.
Considering my options as I stood trapped outside, I realized that I had never gotten around to paying for a new lock for Tadi. I'd considered contacting her to inform her that Tac had made it out of town safely, but that'd involve also telling her that her son was now in the care of humans, as if that was a better outcome to her.
Stepping out front, I realized that there was one more option I hadn't considered: my window. I usually forgot to lock it after I was through letting air circulate and I was silently grateful to myself for this absentmindedness now more than ever. Sticking a foot on the threshold, I lifted myself in a way that'd allow me to have leverage to force the window open.
The window made me fight for every inch, but I felt a strange satisfaction as it slowly opened up into an entrance that I could squeeze my way through. I let out a sigh as my talons clicked against the cool floor and slid the window shut.
I laid my satchel on the couch and turned back to the door, ready to unleash my fury on the disobedient object. But as I reached for the lock to manually open the door, I noted that the lights on the RFID interface both flashed at once, blinking erratically. Red and green flickered without rhyme or reason, indicating that it was both active and inactive.
As pretty as the colors were, I now knew that Markol's locks were not as reliable as he had touted them about: typically, such would not occur unless the device was damaged deliberately, and yet nothing indicated that I'd had uninvited guests. One could pray that those cats didn't secretly know how to cobble together an ECM jammer, but my personal wager was on faulty equipment.
Settling in, I browsed my favorite soaps on the television. For what was intended to be a day of relaxation and show of affection for a friend, I found myself rather wound up over all the things that added up. Couples threw around flowery words and swooned over one another on screen as I felt the tension diffuse. My holopad rang and I turned it over to spot that Nampi was informing me that she'd arrived home safely.
>>> Feels empty here, all alone.
She made sure to drive the point home with a sticker of a venlil making a pouty expression.
Next time, I thought to myself, I'll get it right for you, Nampi.
[ First / Previous ]

Finally got the v12 update on my M3LR after being stuck on 2024.8.x forever. I immediately see what people mean by it driving more like a human: Acceleration is so much more natural compared to v11. But this is the only improvement I see.

• My first intervention was 3 seconds into activating FSDS for the first time after getting out of the parking garage and onto the street. It couldn't figure out how to navigate the stop sign whereas v11 had no such issues in this area.
• It missed wasn't taking this exit. It didn't even try signaling to switch to the right most lane while it was in the middle lane. There was a car next to us but the standard behavior from v11 was to turn on the blinkers and wait for a spot to merge. Nothing like that here for some reason.
• Drove over the curb here. Luckily it was a gentle sloped curb so no wheel scratches.
• Almost drove wayyy over the curb taking a left here but I intervened.
• Driving back home, it kept trying to merge into the right lane multiple times being too timid. Turning on the blinkers only to turn them off attempting to merge shortly after again and again will annoy people that are following behind. Mode was set to average, not chill or assertive. v11 was better in this aspect.

Over all, v12 didn't live up to the hype in my car. Perhaps it'll get better as I take it out more.

---- Minecraft Crash Report ----
// I let you down. Sorry :(
Time: 2024-05-19 16:40:41
Description: Rendering overlay
java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space

at java.util.HashMap.resize(HashMap.java:702) \~\[?:?\] {re:mixin} at java.util.HashMap.putVal(HashMap.java:661) \~\[?:?\] {re:mixin} at java.util.HashMap.put(HashMap.java:610) \~\[?:?\] {re:mixin} at net.minecraft.client.resources.model.ModelBakery$ModelBakerImpl.bake(ModelBakery.java:487) \~\[client-1.20.1-20230612.114412-srg.jar%231004!/:?\] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.renderer.block.model.MultiVariant.m\_7611\_(MultiVariant.java:71) \~\[client-1.20.1-20230612.114412-srg.jar%231004!/:?\] {re:classloading,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.resources.model.ModelBakery$ModelBakerImpl.bake(ModelBakery.java:486) \~\[client-1.20.1-20230612.114412-srg.jar%231004!/:?\] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.resources.model.ModelBakery$ModelBakerImpl.m\_245240\_(ModelBakery.java:468) \~\[client-1.20.1-20230612.114412-srg.jar%231004!/:?\] {re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.resources.model.ModelBakery.m\_244744\_(ModelBakery.java:174) \~\[client-1.20.1-20230612.114412-srg.jar%231004!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.resources.model.ModelBakery$$Lambda$92758/0x00000008091f6678.accept(Unknown Source) \~\[?:?\] {} at java.util.HashMap$KeySet.forEach(HashMap.java:1008) \~\[?:?\] {} at net.minecraft.client.resources.model.ModelBakery.m\_245909\_(ModelBakery.java:170) \~\[client-1.20.1-20230612.114412-srg.jar%231004!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.resources.model.ModelManager.m\_245476\_(ModelManager.java:158) \~\[client-1.20.1-20230612.114412-srg.jar%231004!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.resources.model.ModelManager.m\_246937\_(ModelManager.java:89) \~\[client-1.20.1-20230612.114412-srg.jar%231004!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.resources.model.ModelManager$$Lambda$83681/0x0000000808664d18.apply(Unknown Source) \~\[?:?\] {} at java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture$UniApply.tryFire(CompletableFuture.java:646) \~\[?:?\] {} at java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture$Completion.exec(CompletableFuture.java:483) \~\[?:?\] {} at java.util.concurrent.ForkJoinTask.doExec(ForkJoinTask.java:373) \~\[?:?\] {} at java.util.concurrent.ForkJoinPool$WorkQueue.topLevelExec(ForkJoinPool.java:1182) \~\[?:?\] {} at java.util.concurrent.ForkJoinPool.scan(ForkJoinPool.java:1655) \~\[?:?\] {re:mixin,re:computing\_frames} at java.util.concurrent.ForkJoinPool.runWorker(ForkJoinPool.java:1622) \~\[?:?\] {re:mixin,re:computing\_frames} at java.util.concurrent.ForkJoinWorkerThread.run(ForkJoinWorkerThread.java:165) \~\[?:?\] {re:mixin} 

A detailed walkthrough of the error, its code path and all known details is as follows:
-- Head --
Thread: Render thread
Suspected Mods: NONE
Stacktrace:

at java.util.HashMap.resize(HashMap.java:702) \~\[?:?\] {re:mixin} at java.util.HashMap.putVal(HashMap.java:661) \~\[?:?\] {re:mixin} 

-- Overlay render details --
Details:

Overlay name: net.minecraftforge.client.loading.ForgeLoadingOverlay 

Stacktrace:

at net.minecraft.client.renderer.GameRenderer.m\_109093\_(GameRenderer.java:957) \~\[client-1.20.1-20230612.114412-srg.jar%231004!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:vinery-common.mixins.json:GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:supplementaries-common.mixins.json:GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.oculus.json:GameRendererAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.oculus.json:MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.oculus.json:MixinModelViewBobbing,pl:mixin:APP:aoa3.mixins.json:client.patch.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:tslateffectslib.mixins.json:client.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:immediatelyfast-common.mixins.json:core.compat.MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:ad\_astra-common.mixins.json:client.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:embeddiumplus.mixin.json:darkness.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:darkmodeeverywhere.mixins.json:GameRenderMixin,pl:mixin:APP:fastload.mixins.json:client.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:ars\_nouveau.mixins.json:GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:physicsmod.mixins.json:MixinGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:physicsmod.mixins.json:ocean.MixinVSGameRenderer,pl:mixin:APP:zeta\_forge.mixins.json:client.GameRenderMixin,pl:mixin:APP:immersive\_aircraft.mixins.json:client.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:armourersworkshop-compatibility-mixins.json:GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:client.renderer.MixinEntityRenderer\_Zoom,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:events.Mixin\_RenderTickEvent,pl:mixin:APP:create.mixins.json:accessor.GameRendererAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:create.mixins.json:client.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:embeddium.mixins.json:features.gui.hooks.console.GameRendererMixin,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.oculus.json:MixinGameRenderer\_NightVisionCompat,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:events.Mixin\_GuiDrawScreenEvent\_Priority,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.m\_91383\_(Minecraft.java:1146) \~\[client-1.20.1-20230612.114412-srg.jar%231004!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A,re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:swplanets.mixins.json:PlayerAttackMixin,pl:mixin:APP:neat.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:modernfix-common.mixins.json:perf.blast\_search\_trees.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:modernfix-common.mixins.json:perf.dedicated\_reload\_executor.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:modernfix-common.mixins.json:feature.measure\_time.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:modernfix-common.mixins.json:bugfix.concurrency.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:modernfix-common.mixins.json:bugfix.world\_leaks.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:modernfix-forge.mixins.json:feature.measure\_time.MinecraftMixin\_Forge,pl:mixin:APP:botania\_xplat.mixins.json:client.MinecraftAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.oculus.json:MixinMinecraft\_PipelineManagement,pl:mixin:APP:ae2.mixins.json:PickColorMixin,pl:mixin:APP:flywheel.mixins.json:PausedPartialTickAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:immediatelyfast-common.mixins.json:core.MixinMinecraftClient,pl:mixin:APP:embeddiumplus.mixin.json:fps.GpuUsageMixin,pl:mixin:APP:bookshelf.common.mixins.json:accessors.client.AccessorMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:carryon.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:azurelib.forge.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:balm.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:immersive\_armors.mixins.json:MixinMinecraftClient,pl:mixin:APP:playerrevive.mixins.json:MinecraftAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:fastload.mixins.json:client.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:ars\_nouveau.mixins.json:light.ClientMixin,pl:mixin:APP:physicsmod.mixins.json:MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:physicsmod.mixins.json:cloth.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:physicsmod.mixins.json:fabricapi.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:immersiveengineering.mixins.json:accessors.client.MinecraftAccess,pl:mixin:APP:mixins/common/nochatreports.mixins.json:client.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:biomemusic.mixins.json:ClientMusicChoiceMixin,pl:mixin:APP:architectury.mixins.json:MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:iceberg.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:quark.mixins.json:client.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:client.Mixin\_RunEssentialTasks,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:client.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:client.gui.Mixin\_FixKeybindUnpressedInEmoteWheel,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:client.gui.Mixin\_RecalculateMenuScale,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:compatibility.vanilla.Mixin\_WorkaroundBrokenFramebufferBlitBlending,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:feature.emote.Mixin\_AllowMovementDuringEmoteWheel\_HandleKeybinds,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:feature.skin\_overwrites.Mixin\_InstallTrustingServicesKeyInfo,pl:mixin:APP:create.mixins.json:client.WindowResizeMixin,pl:mixin:APP:embeddium.mixins.json:core.MinecraftClientMixin,pl:mixin:APP:ars\_nouveau.mixins.json:camera.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.m\_91374\_(Minecraft.java:718) \~\[client-1.20.1-20230612.114412-srg.jar%231004!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A,re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:swplanets.mixins.json:PlayerAttackMixin,pl:mixin:APP:neat.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:modernfix-common.mixins.json:perf.blast\_search\_trees.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:modernfix-common.mixins.json:perf.dedicated\_reload\_executor.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:modernfix-common.mixins.json:feature.measure\_time.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:modernfix-common.mixins.json:bugfix.concurrency.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:modernfix-common.mixins.json:bugfix.world\_leaks.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:modernfix-forge.mixins.json:feature.measure\_time.MinecraftMixin\_Forge,pl:mixin:APP:botania\_xplat.mixins.json:client.MinecraftAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.oculus.json:MixinMinecraft\_PipelineManagement,pl:mixin:APP:ae2.mixins.json:PickColorMixin,pl:mixin:APP:flywheel.mixins.json:PausedPartialTickAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:immediatelyfast-common.mixins.json:core.MixinMinecraftClient,pl:mixin:APP:embeddiumplus.mixin.json:fps.GpuUsageMixin,pl:mixin:APP:bookshelf.common.mixins.json:accessors.client.AccessorMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:carryon.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:azurelib.forge.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:balm.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:immersive\_armors.mixins.json:MixinMinecraftClient,pl:mixin:APP:playerrevive.mixins.json:MinecraftAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:fastload.mixins.json:client.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:ars\_nouveau.mixins.json:light.ClientMixin,pl:mixin:APP:physicsmod.mixins.json:MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:physicsmod.mixins.json:cloth.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:physicsmod.mixins.json:fabricapi.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:immersiveengineering.mixins.json:accessors.client.MinecraftAccess,pl:mixin:APP:mixins/common/nochatreports.mixins.json:client.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:biomemusic.mixins.json:ClientMusicChoiceMixin,pl:mixin:APP:architectury.mixins.json:MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:iceberg.mixins.json:MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:quark.mixins.json:client.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:client.Mixin\_RunEssentialTasks,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:client.MixinMinecraft,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:client.gui.Mixin\_FixKeybindUnpressedInEmoteWheel,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:client.gui.Mixin\_RecalculateMenuScale,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:compatibility.vanilla.Mixin\_WorkaroundBrokenFramebufferBlitBlending,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:feature.emote.Mixin\_AllowMovementDuringEmoteWheel\_HandleKeybinds,pl:mixin:APP:mixins.essential.json:feature.skin\_overwrites.Mixin\_InstallTrustingServicesKeyInfo,pl:mixin:APP:create.mixins.json:client.WindowResizeMixin,pl:mixin:APP:embeddium.mixins.json:core.MinecraftClientMixin,pl:mixin:APP:ars\_nouveau.mixins.json:camera.MinecraftMixin,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(Main.java:218) \~\[forge-47.2.20.jar:?\] {re:mixin,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A,re:classloading,pl:mixin:APP:flywheel.mixins.json:ClientMainMixin,pl:mixin:APP:physicsmod.mixins.json:MixinMain,pl:mixin:A,pl:runtimedistcleaner:A} at jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method) \~\[?:?\] {} at jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:77) \~\[?:?\] {} at jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) \~\[?:?\] {} at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:568) \~\[?:?\] {re:mixin} at net.minecraftforge.fml.loading.targets.CommonLaunchHandler.runTarget(CommonLaunchHandler.java:111) \~\[fmlloader-1.20.1-47.2.20.jar:?\] {} at net.minecraftforge.fml.loading.targets.CommonLaunchHandler.clientService(CommonLaunchHandler.java:99) \~\[fmlloader-1.20.1-47.2.20.jar:?\] {} at net.minecraftforge.fml.loading.targets.CommonClientLaunchHandler.lambda$makeService$0(CommonClientLaunchHandler.java:25) \~\[fmlloader-1.20.1-47.2.20.jar:?\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandlerDecorator.launch(LaunchServiceHandlerDecorator.java:30) \~\[modlauncher-10.0.9.jar:?\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandler.launch(LaunchServiceHandler.java:53) \~\[modlauncher-10.0.9.jar:?\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandler.launch(LaunchServiceHandler.java:71) \~\[modlauncher-10.0.9.jar:?\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.Launcher.run(Launcher.java:108) \~\[modlauncher-10.0.9.jar:?\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.Launcher.main(Launcher.java:78) \~\[modlauncher-10.0.9.jar:?\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.BootstrapLaunchConsumer.accept(BootstrapLaunchConsumer.java:26) \~\[modlauncher-10.0.9.jar:?\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.BootstrapLaunchConsumer.accept(BootstrapLaunchConsumer.java:23) \~\[modlauncher-10.0.9.jar:?\] {} at cpw.mods.bootstraplauncher.BootstrapLauncher.main(BootstrapLauncher.java:141) \~\[bootstraplauncher-1.1.2.jar:?\] {} 

-- Last reload --
Details:

Reload number: 1 Reload reason: initial Finished: No Packs: advancedcompass.aoa3, advancedcompass.aquaculture, advancedcompass.ars\_elemental, advancedcompass.ars\_nouveau, advancedcompass.beyond\_the\_nether, advancedcompass.blue\_skies, advancedcompass.creeperoverhaul, advancedcompass.epicsamurai, advancedcompass.evilcraft, advancedcompass.fetzisasiandeco, advancedcompass.forbidden\_arcanus, advancedcompass.iceandfire, advancedcompass.laendli\_transport, advancedcompass.mekanismadditions, advancedcompass.minecolonies, advancedcompass.player\_companions, advancedcompass.productivebees, advancedcompass.quark, advancedcompass.skd, advancedcompass.theabyss, advancedcompass.thermal, advancedcompass.tropicraft, advancedcompass.twilightforest, advancedcompass.unseen\_world, advancedcompass.vinery, vanilla, mod\_resources, builtin/towntalk, Moonlight Mods Dynamic Assets, essential 

-- System Details --
Details:

Minecraft Version: 1.20.1 Minecraft Version ID: 1.20.1 Operating System: Windows 11 (amd64) version 10.0 Java Version: 17.0.8, Microsoft Java VM Version: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (mixed mode), Microsoft Memory: 28505488 bytes (27 MiB) / 4294967296 bytes (4096 MiB) up to 4294967296 bytes (4096 MiB) CPUs: 24 Processor Vendor: GenuineIntel Processor Name: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-12900KF Identifier: Intel64 Family 6 Model 151 Stepping 2 Microarchitecture: Alder Lake Frequency (GHz): 3.19 Number of physical packages: 1 Number of physical CPUs: 16 Number of logical CPUs: 24 Graphics card #0 name: Virtual Desktop Monitor Graphics card #0 vendor: Virtual Desktop, Inc. Graphics card #0 VRAM (MB): 0.00 Graphics card #0 deviceId: unknown Graphics card #0 versionInfo: DriverVersion=15.39.56.845 Graphics card #1 name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Graphics card #1 vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de) Graphics card #1 VRAM (MB): 4095.00 Graphics card #1 deviceId: 0x2208 Graphics card #1 versionInfo: DriverVersion=31.0.15.3734 Memory slot #0 capacity (MB): 8192.00 Memory slot #0 clockSpeed (GHz): 3.60 Memory slot #0 type: DDR4 Memory slot #1 capacity (MB): 8192.00 Memory slot #1 clockSpeed (GHz): 3.60 Memory slot #1 type: DDR4 Virtual memory max (MB): 31099.67 Virtual memory used (MB): 27279.94 Swap memory total (MB): 14902.46 Swap memory used (MB): 1471.68 JVM Flags: 4 total; -XX:HeapDumpPath=MojangTricksIntelDriversForPerformance\_javaw.exe\_minecraft.exe.heapdump -Xss1M -Xmx4096m -Xms256m Loaded Shaderpack: (off) Launched Version: forge-47.2.20 Backend library: LWJGL version 3.3.1 build 7 Backend API: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti/PCIe/SSE2 GL version 4.6.0 NVIDIA 537.34, NVIDIA Corporation Window size: 854x480 GL Caps: Using framebuffer using OpenGL 3.2 GL debug messages: Using VBOs: Yes Is Modded: Definitely; Client brand changed to 'forge' Type: Client (map\_client.txt) Graphics mode: fancy Resource Packs: Current Language: en\_us CPU: 24x 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-12900KF ModLauncher: 10.0.9+10.0.9+main.dcd20f30 ModLauncher launch target: forgeclient ModLauncher naming: srg ModLauncher services: mixin-0.8.5.jar mixin PLUGINSERVICE eventbus-6.0.5.jar eventbus PLUGINSERVICE fmlloader-1.20.1-47.2.20.jar slf4jfixer PLUGINSERVICE fmlloader-1.20.1-47.2.20.jar object\_holder\_definalize PLUGINSERVICE fmlloader-1.20.1-47.2.20.jar runtime\_enum\_extender PLUGINSERVICE fmlloader-1.20.1-47.2.20.jar capability\_token\_subclass PLUGINSERVICE accesstransformers-8.0.4.jar accesstransformer PLUGINSERVICE fmlloader-1.20.1-47.2.20.jar runtimedistcleaner PLUGINSERVICE modlauncher-10.0.9.jar mixin TRANSFORMATIONSERVICE modlauncher-10.0.9.jar essential-loader TRANSFORMATIONSERVICE modlauncher-10.0.9.jar fml TRANSFORMATIONSERVICE FML Language Providers: minecraft@1.0 javafml@null kotlinforforge@4.10.0 lowcodefml@null 

I'm sure many of you already know about this, but I thought I'd share anyways.
TL;DR: 0 delivery fees, reduced service fees (very nice for those of us who mobile order at dining halls), additional deals, donation matching for charity, and more

Sorry for the lazy redact

I have 4x 20 lbs propane tanks I need to exchange. I typically do a delivery service but wondering if anyone in Encino has a go to with a decent price for in person exchange.
Bonus points if they fill beyond the seemingly standard 15 lbs.

Been trying to get this post past the "Taken down by reddit filters" block so hopefully this gets through. And apologies, this ended being longer than I expected.
TL;DR: 21 years old sharing place with parents. Parents dislike each other, don't communicate and mother hasn't paid rent for last three months. Have a loan in my name that father hasn't paid back. $8k in debt, but $5k cash coming in August. Wondering if I should take summer paid internship to get away for the summer.
Hey all! I'm a 21 year old college student trying to pick myself up from a rut I'm in. For the last five months, things have been tanking for me financially. Went from having a comfy 750 credit score to being down around 630 now. I don't mean to defer blame but most of the issues have been coming top down from my family members, particularly my parents. They're separated but my mother, me, and my younger brother moved in with my dad after the expiration of our old lease in mid 2023. My father saw it as a way to bring the family back together (meaning he wanted to get back with my mother). It didn't work. And there's no reason he should've believed it to work considering he knew my mother had a new partner in her home country.
Regardless, my mother, father, brother, and I all ended up living together again. The place was cramped, dirty, and took a toll on everyone's mental and social health. I went through some health issues, financial setbacks with a broken down car, and got diagnosed with depression. My mother had to go back to her home country after her sister passed, grieved, and then came back married to her long time partner. Her partner stayed in their country, while my mother came back to the US.
My father was not happy about this, and consistently ranted, vented, and updated us on everything to do with my mother's marriage while she was away. It made the living situation tense, and he was incredibly bitter about it even though he had walked out on us years prior. He had moved out and partnered up with a woman many years prior, throwing the first stone.
My father then blindsided us December 2023 by letting us know the landlord wanted us to move out the next month. It was information he had known for a while but didn't reveal until we only had so little time. Somewhere in the past few years, my father decided that since my mother had remarried, that he should too. Instead of helping to prep for the costs of moving out, he left for his country. He had said he was going on a business trip to Michigan, but failed to consider location sharing. He was back in his home country, looking for a wife.
This meant that the moving out costs fell on me. A full time student, a part time worker. January was coming quick, I browsed through housing apps constantly. I put in plenty of rental applications and secured a couple spots for us. Every time I asked my parents what they were doing to help us move out by the end of the month, they didn't have anything to say. They wouldn't communicate with one another either. It wasn't ideal for us to live altogether, I was hoping to find my own place and let them figure it out for themselves honestly. However, I felt bad leaving them out to drop considering both of their poor credits. We decided that we could all split the rent. I found a place, and put up $1500 from my savings for the total move in cost of $4100. All my dad could chip in was $600, and my mom barely a scratch. To secure the final costs, my dad assured me that he would figure it out and get a loan. I thought it was settled. Until he asked me "What's your credit score?"
I was a naive in trusting and sharing this information, I thought him to be more reliable financially than my mother. We ended up getting a $2000 loan in my name that he assured he would pay me back on quickly (he hasn't). Not to mention just the general labor and costs of packing up our belongings. I kept having to be the mediator between them, at this point my dad was the only one with a vehicle and asking him to get something so simple as U-Haul boxes he didn't even do. When I got off shifts, I was packing. Off work? I was packing. I did everything I could to get us into a place and hardly anyone else contributed.
After January, we move into our new place. I figured everything was settled, we've figured things out and things are picking up. The house was much larger than our old space, my brother and I had our own rooms after sharing previously. There was more natural lighting coming into the place, and we all felt generally better. My only issue at the time was racking up my credit card taking Ubers to work, which was now much further away. My dad promised to be my ride to work, but went back on that after having some car troubles of his own. The loan had also been finally placed on my credit report and I lost a lot of points.
Now just came the rent. We didn't have to pay for February because we moved in at the tail end of January. At the end of February, my mother would be going back to her home country for a Ramadan in March to be with family, and her husband. She paid her portion for March before she left and was also going to pay for April 1, as she was going to receive tax return money. She was supposed to be back Mid April and buy a car with that tax return money as well, instead for the past two months she's gone ghost during rent payments. Promising that she will send it, or saying that her payment services aren't working, and has left me and my dad scrambling for money. Again, I was working part time. My rent contribution was meant to be $700 but has instead gone up to about $1000, and little room to pay off debts or anything like that.
This is one of my biggest issues right now, $700 was already way too much but would've been manageable with my income. My mother also expressed that she didn't want me to pay that much and would take over my share when she got the chance. I asked my father for some leniency as well because he works multiple jobs too and has a relatively high income, however he's made some wildly stupid financial decisions like having a car that he pays $1600 a month for simply on the car note. He argues that because he drives for his work, the car pays itself. It doesn't.
Realizing my situation, I got a full time gig along with my part-time. I also applied for a couple scholarships through my school that so far have totaled to $2100 extra that will deposit in the fall semester. I also will receive another $3000 through the standard refund check that I get. In August, I know that I'll be on the path to stabilizing again, but right now things have been tough.
Currently I sit at a 630 credit score, $8k in debt, a loan in my name, and limited cash flow. I also got accepted for an internship out of state that would be a really great opportunity for me. My current job would allow me to transfer to another location in the state, I would be able to work both the internship and job. I would have housing figured out at a manageable cost, but would just have to contribute to rent here as well. Sorry for the long post and extensive background, I think I'm just looking for general financial guidance.
I've figured out a couple personal goals like never lending my parents money again (I've done it for both and have never seen the money back). I'm going to be moving out at the end of this lease, and finding cheaper living elsewhere. I just don't know what to do for the time being, do I take the internship to get away from my parents and all their issues? Do I tough it out, do I break the lease? Appreciate the reading. Thanks all.

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I'm trying to play that Vivecraft mod with ImmersiveMC but it wont lanch properly.
java.lang.RuntimeException: Mixin transformation of net.minecraft.class_2533 failed

at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClassDelegate.getPostMixinClassByteArray(KnotClassDelegate.java:427) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClassDelegate.tryLoadClass(KnotClassDelegate.java:323) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClassDelegate.loadClass(KnotClassDelegate.java:218) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClassLoader.loadClass(KnotClassLoader.java:119) at java.base/java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:525) at net.minecraft.class\_2358.method\_10199(class\_2358.java:336) at net.minecraft.class\_2966.method\_12851(class\_2966.java:54) at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(Main.java:170) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.game.minecraft.MinecraftGameProvider.launch(MinecraftGameProvider.java:470) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.Knot.launch(Knot.java:74) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClient.main(KnotClient.java:23) 

Caused by: org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.throwables.MixinTransformerError: An unexpected critical error was encountered

at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinProcessor.applyMixins(MixinProcessor.java:392) at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinTransformer.transformClass(MixinTransformer.java:234) at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinTransformer.transformClassBytes(MixinTransformer.java:202) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClassDelegate.getPostMixinClassByteArray(KnotClassDelegate.java:422) ... 10 more 

Caused by: org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.injection.throwables.InjectionError: Critical injection failure: Callback method used(Lnet/minecraft/class_2680;Lnet/minecraft/class_1937;Lnet/minecraft/class_2338;Lnet/minecraft/class_1657;Lnet/minecraft/class_1268;Lnet/minecraft/class_3965;Lorg/spongepowered/asm/mixin/injection/callback/CallbackInfoReturnable;)V in mixins/couplings/mixins.json:TrapdoorBlockMixin from mod couplings failed injection check, (0/1) succeeded. Scanned 1 target(s). Using refmap mixins/couplings/refmap.json

at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.injection.struct.InjectionInfo.postInject(InjectionInfo.java:468) at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinTargetContext.applyInjections(MixinTargetContext.java:1384) at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinApplicatorStandard.applyInjections(MixinApplicatorStandard.java:1062) at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinApplicatorStandard.applyMixin(MixinApplicatorStandard.java:402) at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinApplicatorStandard.apply(MixinApplicatorStandard.java:327) at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.TargetClassContext.apply(TargetClassContext.java:422) at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.TargetClassContext.applyMixins(TargetClassContext.java:403) at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinProcessor.applyMixins(MixinProcessor.java:363) ... 13 more 

A detailed walkthrough of the error, its code path and all known details is as follows:
-- Head --
Thread: main
Stacktrace:

at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClassDelegate.getPostMixinClassByteArray(KnotClassDelegate.java:427) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClassDelegate.tryLoadClass(KnotClassDelegate.java:323) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClassDelegate.loadClass(KnotClassDelegate.java:218) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClassLoader.loadClass(KnotClassLoader.java:119) at java.base/java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:525) at net.minecraft.class\_2358.method\_10199(class\_2358.java:336) at net.minecraft.class\_2966.method\_12851(class\_2966.java:54) 

-- Initialization --
Details:

Modules: ADVAPI32.dll:Advanced Windows 32 Base API:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation COMCTL32.dll:User Experience Controls Library:6.10 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation CRYPTBASE.dll:Base cryptographic API DLL:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation CRYPTSP.dll:Cryptographic Service Provider API:10.0.22621.2506 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation DBGHELP.DLL:Windows Image Helper:10.0.22621.3593 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation DNSAPI.dll:DNS Client API DLL:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation GDI32.dll:GDI Client DLL:10.0.22621.3085 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation IMM32.DLL:Multi-User Windows IMM32 API Client DLL:10.0.22621.3374 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation IPHLPAPI.DLL:IP Helper API:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation KERNEL32.DLL:Windows NT BASE API Client DLL:10.0.22621.3374 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation KERNELBASE.dll:Windows NT BASE API Client DLL:10.0.22621.3374 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation MpOav.dll:IOfficeAntiVirus Module:4.18.24040.4 (aa69a05caa955e1cebcc4d2dd249082d41b510c2):Microsoft Corporation NSI.dll:NSI User-mode interface DLL:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation OLEAUT32.dll:OLEAUT32.DLL:10.0.22621.3527 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation Ole32.dll:Microsoft OLE for Windows:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation POWRPROF.dll:Power Profile Helper DLL:10.0.22621.3374 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation PSAPI.DLL:Process Status Helper:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation Pdh.dll:Windows Performance Data Helper DLL:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation RPCRT4.dll:Remote Procedure Call Runtime:10.0.22621.2506 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation SHCORE.dll:SHCORE:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation SHELL32.dll:Windows Shell Common Dll:10.0.22621.2792 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation UMPDC.dll:User Mode Power Dependency Coordinator:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation USER32.dll:Multi-User Windows USER API Client DLL:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation USERENV.dll:Userenv:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation VCRUNTIME140.dll:Microsoft® C Runtime Library:14.29.30139.0 built by: vcwrkspc:Microsoft Corporation VERSION.dll:Version Checking and File Installation Libraries:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation WINHTTP.dll:Windows HTTP Services:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation WINMM.dll:MCI API DLL:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation WS2\_32.dll:Windows Socket 2.0 32-Bit DLL:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation WSOCK32.dll:Windows Socket 32-Bit DLL:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation amsi.dll:Anti-Malware Scan Interface:10.0.22621.3527 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation bcrypt.dll:Windows Cryptographic Primitives Library:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation bcryptPrimitives.dll:Windows Cryptographic Primitives Library:10.0.22621.3374 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation clbcatq.dll:COM+ Configuration Catalog:2001.12.10941.16384 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation combase.dll:Microsoft COM for Windows:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation dbgcore.DLL:Windows Core Debugging Helpers:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation dhcpcsvc.DLL:DHCP Client Service:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation dhcpcsvc6.DLL:DHCPv6 Client:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation fwpuclnt.dll:FWP/IPsec User-Mode API:10.0.22621.2506 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation gdi32full.dll:GDI Client DLL:10.0.22621.3527 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation java.dll:OpenJDK Platform binary:17.0.8.0:Microsoft javaw.exe:OpenJDK Platform binary:17.0.8.0:Microsoft jimage.dll:OpenJDK Platform binary:17.0.8.0:Microsoft jli.dll:OpenJDK Platform binary:17.0.8.0:Microsoft jna2664819648113419630.dll:JNA native library:6.1.6:Java(TM) Native Access (JNA) jsvml.dll:OpenJDK Platform binary:17.0.8.0:Microsoft jvm.dll:OpenJDK 64-Bit server VM:17.0.8.0:Microsoft kernel.appcore.dll:AppModel API Host:10.0.22621.2715 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation management.dll:OpenJDK Platform binary:17.0.8.0:Microsoft management\_ext.dll:OpenJDK Platform binary:17.0.8.0:Microsoft msvcp140.dll:Microsoft® C Runtime Library:14.29.30139.0 built by: vcwrkspc:Microsoft Corporation msvcp\_win.dll:Microsoft® C Runtime Library:10.0.22621.3374 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation msvcrt.dll:Windows NT CRT DLL:7.0.22621.2506 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation mswsock.dll:Microsoft Windows Sockets 2.0 Service Provider:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation napinsp.dll:E-mail Naming Shim Provider:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation net.dll:OpenJDK Platform binary:17.0.8.0:Microsoft nio.dll:OpenJDK Platform binary:17.0.8.0:Microsoft nlansp\_c.dll:NLA Namespace Service Provider DLL:10.0.22621.3593 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation ntdll.dll:NT Layer DLL:10.0.22621.3374 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation perfos.dll:Windows System Performance Objects DLL:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation pfclient.dll:SysMain Client:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation pnrpnsp.dll:PNRP Name Space Provider:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation profapi.dll:User Profile Basic API:10.0.22621.3527 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation rasadhlp.dll:Remote Access AutoDial Helper:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation rsaenh.dll:Microsoft Enhanced Cryptographic Provider:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation sechost.dll:Host for SCM/SDDL/LSA Lookup APIs:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation shlwapi.dll:Shell Light-weight Utility Library:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation ucrtbase.dll:Microsoft® C Runtime Library:10.0.22621.3593 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation vcruntime140\_1.dll:Microsoft® C Runtime Library:14.29.30139.0 built by: vcwrkspc:Microsoft Corporation verify.dll:OpenJDK Platform binary:17.0.8.0:Microsoft win32u.dll:Win32u:10.0.22621.3593 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation windows.storage.dll:Microsoft WinRT Storage API:10.0.22621.3527 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation winrnr.dll:LDAP RnR Provider DLL:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation wintypes.dll:Windows Base Types DLL:10.0.22621.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation wshbth.dll:Windows Sockets Helper DLL:10.0.22621.3374 (WinBuild.160101.0800):Microsoft Corporation zip.dll:OpenJDK Platform binary:17.0.8.0:Microsoft 

Stacktrace:

at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(Main.java:170) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.game.minecraft.MinecraftGameProvider.launch(MinecraftGameProvider.java:470) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.Knot.launch(Knot.java:74) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClient.main(KnotClient.java:23) 

-- System Details --
Details:

Minecraft Version: 1.20.4 Minecraft Version ID: 1.20.4 Operating System: Windows 11 (amd64) version 10.0 Java Version: 17.0.8, Microsoft Java VM Version: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (mixed mode), Microsoft Memory: 215001080 bytes (205 MiB) / 339738624 bytes (324 MiB) up to 4294967296 bytes (4096 MiB) CPUs: 12 Processor Vendor: GenuineIntel Processor Name: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-12400F Identifier: Intel64 Family 6 Model 151 Stepping 2 Microarchitecture: Alder Lake Frequency (GHz): 2.50 Number of physical packages: 1 Number of physical CPUs: 6 Number of logical CPUs: 12 Graphics card #0 name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Graphics card #0 vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de) Graphics card #0 VRAM (MB): 4095.00 Graphics card #0 deviceId: 0x2882 Graphics card #0 versionInfo: DriverVersion=31.0.15.5152 Memory slot #0 capacity (MB): 8192.00 Memory slot #0 clockSpeed (GHz): 3.20 Memory slot #0 type: DDR4 Memory slot #1 capacity (MB): 8192.00 Memory slot #1 clockSpeed (GHz): 3.20 Memory slot #1 type: DDR4 Virtual memory max (MB): 24901.19 Virtual memory used (MB): 13446.18 Swap memory total (MB): 8704.00 Swap memory used (MB): 174.40 JVM Flags: 4 total; -XX:HeapDumpPath=MojangTricksIntelDriversForPerformance\_javaw.exe\_minecraft.exe.heapdump -Xss1M -Xmx4096m -Xms256m Fabric Mods: ambientsounds: AmbientSounds 5.3.9 architectury: Architectury 11.1.17 cloth-config: Cloth Config v13 13.0.121 cloth-basic-math: cloth-basic-math 0.6.1 completeconfig: CompleteConfig 2.5.4 couplings: Couplings 1.9.5+1.20 com\_electronwill\_night-config\_core: core 3.6.6 com\_electronwill\_night-config\_toml: toml 3.6.6 creativecore: CreativeCore 2.11.26 net\_neoforged\_bus: bus 7.2.0 elytra\_aeronautics: Elytra aeronautics 1.3.0 com\_google\_code\_gson\_gson: gson 2.10.1 fabric-api: Fabric API 0.97.0+1.20.4 fabric-api-base: Fabric API Base 0.4.37+78d798af4f fabric-api-lookup-api-v1: Fabric API Lookup API (v1) 1.6.50+82b1bb3e4f fabric-biome-api-v1: Fabric Biome API (v1) 13.0.17+78d798af4f fabric-block-api-v1: Fabric Block API (v1) 1.0.17+3e2216cb4f fabric-block-view-api-v2: Fabric BlockView API (v2) 1.0.5+78d798af4f fabric-blockrenderlayer-v1: Fabric BlockRenderLayer Registration (v1) 1.1.47+78d798af4f fabric-client-tags-api-v1: Fabric Client Tags 1.1.8+78d798af4f fabric-command-api-v1: Fabric Command API (v1) 1.2.42+f71b366f4f fabric-command-api-v2: Fabric Command API (v2) 2.2.21+78d798af4f fabric-commands-v0: Fabric Commands (v0) 0.2.59+df3654b34f fabric-containers-v0: Fabric Containers (v0) 0.1.87+df3654b34f fabric-content-registries-v0: Fabric Content Registries (v0) 5.0.16+78d798af4f fabric-convention-tags-v1: Fabric Convention Tags 1.5.11+78d798af4f fabric-crash-report-info-v1: Fabric Crash Report Info (v1) 0.2.24+78d798af4f fabric-data-attachment-api-v1: Fabric Data Attachment API (v1) 1.1.5+b90db5744f fabric-data-generation-api-v1: Fabric Data Generation API (v1) 13.2.5+5c0133444f fabric-dimensions-v1: Fabric Dimensions API (v1) 2.1.62+78d798af4f fabric-entity-events-v1: Fabric Entity Events (v1) 1.6.2+09fc25014f fabric-events-interaction-v0: Fabric Events Interaction (v0) 0.7.2+389931eb4f fabric-events-lifecycle-v0: Fabric Events Lifecycle (v0) 0.2.75+df3654b34f fabric-game-rule-api-v1: Fabric Game Rule API (v1) 1.0.47+78d798af4f fabric-item-api-v1: Fabric Item API (v1) 2.3.0+bcdd12964f fabric-item-group-api-v1: Fabric Item Group API (v1) 4.0.27+ee30b13a4f fabric-key-binding-api-v1: Fabric Key Binding API (v1) 1.0.42+78d798af4f fabric-keybindings-v0: Fabric Key Bindings (v0) 0.2.40+df3654b34f fabric-lifecycle-events-v1: Fabric Lifecycle Events (v1) 2.3.1+a67ffb5d4f fabric-loot-api-v2: Fabric Loot API (v2) 2.1.10+78d798af4f fabric-message-api-v1: Fabric Message API (v1) 6.0.6+78d798af4f fabric-mining-level-api-v1: Fabric Mining Level API (v1) 2.1.66+78d798af4f fabric-model-loading-api-v1: Fabric Model Loading API (v1) 1.0.9+78d798af4f fabric-models-v0: Fabric Models (v0) 0.4.8+9386d8a74f fabric-networking-api-v1: Fabric Networking API (v1) 3.1.8+2e5ac5484f fabric-object-builder-api-v1: Fabric Object Builder API (v1) 13.1.0+dba1195c4f fabric-particles-v1: Fabric Particles (v1) 1.1.8+78d798af4f fabric-recipe-api-v1: Fabric Recipe API (v1) 2.0.21+78d798af4f fabric-registry-sync-v0: Fabric Registry Sync (v0) 4.0.20+ee30b13a4f fabric-renderer-api-v1: Fabric Renderer API (v1) 3.2.5+78d798af4f fabric-renderer-indigo: Fabric Renderer - Indigo 1.5.5+78d798af4f fabric-renderer-registries-v1: Fabric Renderer Registries (v1) 3.2.54+df3654b34f fabric-rendering-data-attachment-v1: Fabric Rendering Data Attachment (v1) 0.3.43+73761d2e4f fabric-rendering-fluids-v1: Fabric Rendering Fluids (v1) 3.1.2+e761c6694f fabric-rendering-v0: Fabric Rendering (v0) 1.1.57+df3654b34f fabric-rendering-v1: Fabric Rendering (v1) 3.2.1+6fd945a04f fabric-resource-conditions-api-v1: Fabric Resource Conditions API (v1) 2.3.15+78d798af4f fabric-resource-loader-v0: Fabric Resource Loader (v0) 0.11.21+ee30b13a4f fabric-screen-api-v1: Fabric Screen API (v1) 2.0.18+78d798af4f fabric-screen-handler-api-v1: Fabric Screen Handler API (v1) 1.3.56+78d798af4f fabric-sound-api-v1: Fabric Sound API (v1) 1.0.18+78d798af4f fabric-transfer-api-v1: Fabric Transfer API (v1) 4.0.12+90f2d7b14f fabric-transitive-access-wideners-v1: Fabric Transitive Access Wideners (v1) 5.0.15+78d798af4f fabric-language-kotlin: Fabric Language Kotlin 1.10.20+kotlin.1.9.24 org\_jetbrains\_kotlin\_kotlin-reflect: kotlin-reflect 1.9.24 org\_jetbrains\_kotlin\_kotlin-stdlib: kotlin-stdlib 1.9.24 org\_jetbrains\_kotlin\_kotlin-stdlib-jdk7: kotlin-stdlib-jdk7 1.9.24 org\_jetbrains\_kotlin\_kotlin-stdlib-jdk8: kotlin-stdlib-jdk8 1.9.24 org\_jetbrains\_kotlinx\_atomicfu-jvm: atomicfu-jvm 0.24.0 org\_jetbrains\_kotlinx\_kotlinx-coroutines-core-jvm: kotlinx-coroutines-core-jvm 1.8.0 org\_jetbrains\_kotlinx\_kotlinx-coroutines-jdk8: kotlinx-coroutines-jdk8 1.8.0 org\_jetbrains\_kotlinx\_kotlinx-datetime-jvm: kotlinx-datetime-jvm 0.5.0 org\_jetbrains\_kotlinx\_kotlinx-serialization-cbor-jvm: kotlinx-serialization-cbor-jvm 1.6.3 org\_jetbrains\_kotlinx\_kotlinx-serialization-core-jvm: kotlinx-serialization-core-jvm 1.6.3 org\_jetbrains\_kotlinx\_kotlinx-serialization-json-jvm: kotlinx-serialization-json-jvm 1.6.3 fabricloader: Fabric Loader 0.15.11 mixinextras: MixinExtras 0.3.5 forgeconfigapiport: Forge Config API Port 20.4.3 immersivemc: ImmersiveMC 1.5.0-beta1 inventoryprofilesnext: Inventory Profiles Next 1.10.10 java: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM 17 lambdynlights: LambDynamicLights 2.3.4+1.20.4 pride: Pride Lib 1.2.0+1.19.4 spruceui: SpruceUI 5.0.3+1.20.2 libipn: libIPN 4.0.2 lithium: Lithium 0.12.1 minecraft: Minecraft 1.20.4 modmenu: Mod Menu 9.2.0-beta.2 presencefootsteps: Presence Footsteps 1.9.4+1.20.4 kirin: Kirin UI 1.17.1+1.20.4 reacharound: Reacharound 1.1.2 sodium: Sodium 0.5.8+mc1.20.4 vivecraft: Vivecraft 1.20.4-1.1.9 org\_lwjgl\_lwjgl-openvr: lwjgl-openvr 3.3.2 org\_lwjgl\_lwjgl-openvr\_natives-linux: lwjgl-openvr 3.3.2 org\_lwjgl\_lwjgl-openvr\_natives-macos: lwjgl-openvr 3.3.2 org\_lwjgl\_lwjgl-openvr\_natives-windows: lwjgl-openvr 3.3.2 vrapi: mc-vr-api 3.0.7 Launched Version: fabric-loader-0.15.11-1.20.4 Launcher name: minecraft-launcher Backend library: LWJGL version 3.3.2-snapshot Backend API: Unknown Window size:  GL Caps: ERR GL debug messages:  Using VBOs: Yes Is Modded: Definitely; Client brand changed to 'fabric' Universe: 404 Type: Client (map\_client.txt) Locale: en\_US CPU:  

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Severe thunderstorms in the Southeast

Forecast Today & 7 Day
National Severe Weather Map
Breaking News

Houston area grapples with heat, power cuts after major storms

Trump pledges to 'roll back' Biden gun rules, fire ATF chief at NRA rally

U.S. Homeland Security Department confirms attempted breach of military base

US flag is sacred, White House says, amid flap involving Supreme Court's Alito

Bird flu found in western China as US combats cattle outbreak

Ontario reports first death from measles in over a decade

Ontario reports first death from measles in over a decade

Obesity and high blood sugar play ever growing role in ill-health, study shows

Caramel corn and candy recall, possible Salmonella contamination

Macaroni salad recalled

Helpful Links
National Severe Weather Map
Threat and Terrorism News