The days are short, the nights are extensively long. Those who survive, do so thanks to the endless charity of the ruling class, but none thrive. Those who are mighty, get inducted. Those who are a threat, get ended. Bounty hunters are aplenty, and all those who are scorned from all corners of society are welcomed under the embrace of Lenssle's darkened skies.

Campaign Info

• Scheduling - Scheduling is fairly flexible around GMT timezones. 5 PM GMT and after is generally the go to. Thursdays/Saturdays/Mondays are the available days. The time is fairly flexible, and the day/time of sessions will be determined based on the availability of attendees, that's to say, once the players are decided, we'll figure out a consistent schedule.
• Requirements - A working mic, a computer, and time.
• Campaign - The campaign is set in a homebrew city adjacent to Faerun. It's a city cursed with ancient, inexplicable magic that forces it to only ever get about two hours of shitty sunlight a day, and the rest is just clouds and general darkness. This has made it a haven for all those rejected by society, whether due to taboo or due to their nature or afflictions. It's ruled by a set of noble vampire families, a mercenary company, and a family of cutthroat werewolves. The city serves as a central location for bounty hunters, loreseekers, and those interested in arcane arts that are banned everywhere else.
• Rulings - As a DM, I'm incredibly flexible with game rules as I tend to favour fun a lot more. I also have a habit of homebrewing absolutely insane magic items for my players and my general goal is to let each player "do the cool thing" so to speak. I don't actually give much of a damn about official rulings if they get in the way of people enjoying the game.
• Questions - If you have any further inquiries, feel free to either leave a comment or text me directly. I will respond to things as soon as I can, however do not expect a very swift response.

________
The Setting:
The setting is largely centred around subverting the general themes of what you'd expect from a high fantasy campaign. This isn't exactly dark fantasy, but it leans very heavily into the themes. There is also an aspect of cosmic horror attached at higher levels.

• The City - The central focus of the campaign. Technically there is a main storyline to follow, however if the party doesn't wish to stick with that, there's a quest board and a bounty board. The environment is highly reactive, and the goal is to build a narrative centred around the PCs and not the other way around.
• The Story - Beyond the introductory quest that gets everyone together, the story follows a web of lies, questions, and secrets untangle themselves as the PCs explore. The idea is that each portion of the city has its own reasons to tie into the story, so ultimately the experience wouldn't be lost, but a lot of angles are provided to come at the story from.
• The People - Most NPCs aren't meant to be generic. Everyone in this city has a story and a reason to be here. Be it that they were born here, escaped a previous life, or have chosen to settle down somewhere less temperamental than the average village or city within Faerun. Each family has its own history and lore, however I'll only dive into those if asked. Lore dumping isn't to be expected unless prompted.

The campaign will likely stay within the confines of the city, but I'm open to suggestions about going beyond at higher levels.
________
About me: Name's Yusuf. I'm 23 years old. I live in Egypt. I've been running 5e consistently (1/2 sessions a week save for skips) for the past 4.5 years, and have experimented a lot with other systems. The reason I like 5e is because it offers a lot of flexibility for both player and DM, allowing a curated experience outside of the Intended Game Design™ of most TTRPGs. Having said that, it comes with an ungodly amount of jank that you have to weave through. Funnily enough, that is a very fair description of me as well, since I have a fairly fringe sense of humour but I do dabble into most things in life if just to try them. Ultimately, I don't judge anyone for doing anything long as it isn't too degenerate or outright criminal.
Application link: https://forms.gle/MddwwowQ5m9otW7BA

I’m one of the good people, I say to myself – ah, but on the borderline, says my contrarian voice, wagging a finger at some abstract wall of my mind, on which likely hangs a mirror, making the futility of the gesture complete. At the silent Buddhist retreat, I fight the urge to sexualize every single person in the room, one by one, all day long, instead of meditate, and I resist that – but I do indeed sexualize a bit, not graphically so, just the willingness of the mind to wander, which is such a strange thing to do under any circumstance, like your mind is a restless dog that paces from room to room or like the shadows on the floor decide to leap up, make love on the ceiling. The light seems to flicker now and then when the silent retreat folks and I lean into it. I picture high school meditation teams taking on other high school meditation teams, tournaments even.
I don’t want to make too much of this, but there’s an obvious contrarian dimension to the ethos of silent retreats – this is my take – in that they seem so serious from the outside, but once you get into it, you notice the essential feeling is erotic, as least on an interpersonal level. See, when you commit to staying silent all day – as you sit together, as you pass each other in the hall, as you hold doors open for each other – you are hearing the body, and you are listening to your own. The body is the star of the show at a silent retreat, as least among those new to it, meeting as strangers, and when bodies are principally speaking to bodies, if you aren’t actively forcing each other to grow crops or dig minerals out of the ground – if what you are all doing is sitting on big pillows and comfy chairs – then eroticism is in the air. Pleasure is adjacent to inner peace.
The petal in the rose oil is that some of us are living through two-fold consciousness and thus, in various stages of suffering and duress, and so the eroticism must be steered toward empathy and not, for instance, condemnation, which is like what bad bosses get off on. The silent retreat is very anti-bad boss, punctuated by the sort of crises that distinguish mature human concerns from all the rest, and many people in the room are grieving. A father dies. A mother dies. Some part of our lives comes apart – you open the door to see, and the room once there is missing – open air, blue sky, some scrap of a curtain where a window used to be. When the time comes to dedicate the retreat to others outside of the circle, a third of the room says Gaza. Faith and the encampment protestors, I add. Anti-bad boss – may a benevolent spirit make the world right.
Over lunch, I sit in the grass, eat seasoned tofu and pasta, then lay back and let the sunshine throw cosmic fragments through my body, which distinguishes between the impermeable and the permeable by heating up my skin. The rest, which is most of it, goes right through me and then right through the planet, on its way to the end of the universe probably. What I remember, though, is the heat – my body listening to the sun like it's singing high notes, especially across my clavicle and along the bridge of my nose. A clavier is the keyboard of a musical instrument, and adversaries swap prisoners every time I sneeze. Does that make sense? The sun is investing my body with a belief in levitation, like it's growing the way dandelions do, and soon I’ll float away. Maybe gravity is going to seed – carried inside lighter-than-air clouds of indeterminacy.
The clouds – my gosh, the clouds – cumulonimbus sweethearts with passion blooming in their breasts. When someone says clouds look like curds of cauliflower, they mean that the same sort of influence that makes cauliflower look that way is likewise producing these formations on the cloud deck. Or maybe they look like mashed potatoes, scoops of lemon sorbet, but none of this really captures the manifestation of such things in the sky. When the edges of the clouds catch the sun, I have to squint to look at them, and the potential for transmogrification seems present – like the clouds become beach sand, the sky the absence of our discontent. The clouds become flashbulbs, and fame-seekers down below keep waiting for it to rain. The clouds are utterly still, like a personal insight that causes the body to stop, the mind to freeze – hours that way. Years.
Later, sitting on a set of steps miles away from the silent retreat, I see the clouds from a different angle, as different seeds float past. Someday the former will pour forth upon the land, and then the latter will pour forth into the air – one tiny seed producing a plant that grows taller than me, like tossing a brick down a well and watching a whole city erupt from it. Above and behind me, beneath the eaves of the auditorium, the sudden and familiar sound of baby birds cheeping for a meal, and I picture a parent pouring everything their child will ever need into their wide open beaks, one after another. The cheeping is continuous, like a rolling metal wheel, so my attention turns to a photographer snapping pics of a recent graduate in white heels, tasteful skirt and red lipstick. A clicking sound comes from a shutter opening and closing, camera set on burst mode.

Structure and Properties of Auxochromes

Influence of Auxochromes on the Energy of π Orbitals of Benzene

Auxochromes are groups of atoms attached to a chromophore that modify the ability of that chromophore to absorb light. In benzene, auxochromes influence the energy levels of π orbitals through their electron-donating or electron-withdrawing properties. When an auxochrome is attached to benzene:

1. Electron-Donating Auxochromes: These groups (e.g., -OH, -NH₂) have lone pairs that can be delocalized into the π system of benzene, raising the energy of the π orbitals. This happens because the electron density is increased, making the π electrons more available for excitation.
2. Electron-Withdrawing Auxochromes: These groups (e.g., -NO₂, -COOH) pull electron density away from the π system, lowering the energy of the π orbitals. This occurs because the electron density is decreased, making the π electrons less available for excitation.

Influence of Auxochromes on the Energy of Transition of the Absorption Bands

The energy required for electronic transitions in benzene changes significantly when auxochromes are present:

1. Bathochromic Shift (Red Shift): Electron-donating auxochromes can cause a bathochromic shift, which is a shift to longer wavelengths (lower energy). This happens because the auxochrome donates electron density into the conjugated system, stabilizing the excited state more than the ground state.
2. Hypsochromic Shift (Blue Shift): Electron-withdrawing auxochromes cause a hypsochromic shift, which is a shift to shorter wavelengths (higher energy). This occurs because the auxochrome withdraws electron density, stabilizing the ground state more than the excited state, thus requiring more energy for the transition.

Why the Energy of the π Orbitals of Benzene Does Not Vary in the Same Way

The variation in energy of the π orbitals of benzene due to auxochromes depends on the specific electronic nature of the auxochrome. Electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups have opposite effects on the electron density of the π system:

• Electron-Donating Groups: Increase electron density in the π system, raising orbital energy levels.
• Electron-Withdrawing Groups: Decrease electron density in the π system, lowering orbital energy levels.

These differing influences lead to varying shifts in the absorption spectrum depending on the type and position of the auxochrome.

Influence of Auxochromes on the NMR Shielding Constant

The NMR shielding constant of a proton (or other nucleus) in benzene is influenced by the electron density around it. Auxochromes affect this electron density in the following ways:

1. Electron-Donating Auxochromes: These increase the electron density around the aromatic ring, leading to greater shielding of the protons. This results in a lower chemical shift (upfield shift) in the NMR spectrum.
2. Electron-Withdrawing Auxochromes: These decrease the electron density around the aromatic ring, resulting in less shielding of the protons. This causes a higher chemical shift (downfield shift) in the NMR spectrum.

The specific changes in shielding can be understood in terms of the inductive and resonance effects of the auxochromes on the aromatic system, as described in NMR theory【13:0†source】.
auxochromes significantly impact the electronic and spectroscopic properties of benzene by altering the energy levels of π orbitals, shifting the absorption bands, and modifying the NMR shielding constants, all of which depend on whether they donate or withdraw electron density from the aromatic system.

Diamagnetic Anisotropy and its Effects on the C=C Double Bond

1. Influence on Electron Distribution: Diamagnetic anisotropy significantly affects the electron distribution in a C=C double bond. The anisotropy arises because the π-electrons in the double bond generate a local magnetic field when subjected to an external magnetic field. This local field is non-uniform and creates regions of varying electron density around the double bond. The induced magnetic field tends to oppose the applied magnetic field within certain regions, leading to areas of shielding and deshielding.

2. Shielding Zones and Deshielding Cones:

In the context of a C=C double bond:

• Shielding Zones: These are regions where the local magnetic field created by the circulating π-electrons opposes the applied magnetic field, leading to a decrease in the effective magnetic field experienced by nuclei in these regions. Typically, positions directly above and below the plane of the double bond are shielded due to the circulation of π-electrons.
• Deshielding Cones: These are regions where the local magnetic field enhances the applied magnetic field, increasing the effective magnetic field experienced by nuclei in these regions. The regions adjacent to the plane of the double bond, along the axis of the bond, are deshielded due to the same π-electron circulation.

3. Induced Currents in the C=C Double Bond: When an external magnetic field is applied, it induces a circulation of π-electrons in the C=C double bond. These induced currents are responsible for generating the local magnetic fields. In the case of the C=C bond:

• Longitudinal Currents: These occur along the axis of the double bond.
• Transverse Currents: These are perpendicular to the plane of the double bond.

4. Prevailing Induced Currents: In the case of the C=C double bond, transverse currents are the primary contributors to the observed diamagnetic anisotropy. These transverse currents circulate above and below the plane of the double bond, creating the characteristic shielding and deshielding regions.
5. Influence on the NMR Spectrum: Diamagnetic anisotropy significantly impacts the NMR spectrum of molecules containing C=C double bonds. The key effects include:

• Chemical Shift: The anisotropic effects of the π-electrons lead to characteristic shifts in the NMR signals of protons or other nuclei near the C=C bond. Protons in the shielding zone (above or below the double bond) experience an upfield shift (lower chemical shift), while those in the deshielding cone (adjacent to the bond plane) experience a downfield shift (higher chemical shift).
• Signal Splitting: The induced magnetic fields can cause splitting of the NMR signals if multiple protons are differentially affected by the shielding and deshielding effects.

Example from Literature

For instance, the shielding and deshielding effects due to diamagnetic anisotropy explain why the protons in alkene and aromatic compounds have distinct chemical shifts. In benzene, the ring current effect, a type of diamagnetic anisotropy, leads to significant deshielding of the protons on the ring, resulting in a downfield shift in the NMR spectrum .
These principles help in interpreting NMR spectra and understanding the electronic environment of molecules, particularly those with conjugated π-systems such as alkenes and aromatic compounds.
Let’s delve into the detailed explanations of the concepts you asked about: diamagnetic anisotropy, the Cotton effect, and NMR analysis of racemic mixtures.

Diamagnetic Anisotropic Shielding Constant

Diamagnetic anisotropy refers to the direction-dependent response of a molecule’s electrons to an applied magnetic field. This concept is particularly relevant in NMR spectroscopy, where it influences the chemical shifts observed in different types of protons or carbons within a molecule.

• Influence on Electron Distribution: In a C=C double bond, the π-electrons are able to circulate more freely compared to σ-electrons. When an external magnetic field is applied, these π-electrons generate a secondary magnetic field. If the molecule is oriented such that the π-electrons circulate perpendicular to the applied field, they generate a shielding effect for the protons along the axis of the applied field.
• Shielding and Deshielding Zones:
  • Shielding zones are areas where the induced magnetic field opposes the external field, thus reducing the overall magnetic field experienced by the nucleus, leading to an upfield shift (lower chemical shift).
  • Deshielding cones are regions where the induced field adds to the external field, increasing the magnetic field experienced by the nucleus, leading to a downfield shift (higher chemical shift)【21:0†source】【21:2†source】.
• Induced Currents: In a C=C double bond, the circulation of π-electrons in response to the external magnetic field generates these induced currents. The longitudinal induced currents (along the length of the bond) usually prevail in creating the anisotropic effect.
• NMR Spectrum Impact: Due to diamagnetic anisotropy, protons in the deshielding zone of a C=C bond (typically the vinylic protons) will experience a downfield shift, whereas protons in the shielding zone (e.g., protons adjacent to a triple bond) will experience an upfield shift【21:2†source】.

Cotton Effect

The Cotton effect is an important phenomenon in chiroptical spectroscopy and refers to the differential absorption of left and right circularly polarized light in the vicinity of an absorption band, resulting in circular dichroism.

• Measurement and Interpretation: The Cotton effect can be observed as positive (when left circularly polarized light is absorbed more than right) or negative (when right is absorbed more than left). This effect provides information about the absolute configuration of chiral molecules and their electronic transitions.
• Effect of Substituent Position: The position of substituents on a chiral center can significantly alter the magnitude and sign of the Cotton effect. Substituents influence the electronic environment and thus the differential absorption of circularly polarized light.
• Equatorial Substituents: Substituents in the equatorial position generally have a more pronounced effect on the Cotton effect compared to axial substituents due to their spatial orientation and electronic interactions with the chiral center【21:4†source】.

NMR Analysis of Racemic Mixtures

In NMR spectroscopy, racemic mixtures (equal mixtures of enantiomers) present unique challenges and opportunities:

• Chiral Solvating Agents (CSAs): Using chiral solvents or chiral additives can induce chemical shift differences between enantiomers, allowing for their differentiation in the NMR spectrum.
• Diastereotopic Proton Splitting: Near a chiral center, protons that are diastereotopic (non-equivalent in a chiral environment) will show distinct chemical shifts. This can be exploited to analyze the ratio and configuration of enantiomers.
• Enantiomeric Excess Determination: By integrating the areas under NMR peaks corresponding to each enantiomer, the enantiomeric excess (ee) can be determined. This is crucial for assessing the purity and yield of chiral compounds in asymmetric synthesis【21:4†source】.

Stability of Stable and Metastable Ions in Mass Spectrometry

Criteria for Stability:

1. Thermodynamic Stability: Stable ions have low internal energy and are less likely to fragment.
2. Kinetic Stability: Metastable ions have higher internal energy but do not immediately fragment; they require additional energy input or time to do so.
3. Resonance Stabilization: Ions with delocalized charge, such as aromatic ions, tend to be more stable.
4. Hyperconjugation and Inductive Effects: These effects stabilize the charge by distributing it over a larger volume or through sigma bonds.

Relation to Fragmentation Energy:

• Stable ions have lower fragmentation energy, meaning they are less likely to break apart.
• Metastable ions have higher fragmentation energy, indicating they are more prone to fragmentation under specific conditions.

Types of Fragmentation in Mass Spectrometry

1. Homolytic Cleavage: Produces a radical cation and a neutral radical. This involves the equal splitting of a bond where each fragment takes one electron.
2. Heterolytic Cleavage: Results in a cation and a neutral molecule, where the bond electrons move together to one fragment.
3. Alpha Cleavage: Common in carbonyl compounds, where the bond adjacent to the functional group is cleaved.
4. McLafferty Rearrangement: Specific to compounds with gamma hydrogens relative to a carbonyl group, leading to a transfer of hydrogen and cleavage.
5. Retro-Diels-Alder Reaction: Common in cyclic compounds, where a six-membered ring splits into two smaller fragments.

Karplus Equation in NMR Spectroscopy

The Karplus equation relates the vicinal proton-proton coupling constant ((J)) to the dihedral angle ((\phi)) between the protons: [ J = A + B \cos(\phi) + C \cos(2\phi) ] where (A), (B), and (C) are empirical constants specific to different types of vicinal coupling.

Influence of Inductive and Mesomeric Effects on Chemical Shifts in Alpha-Keto Compounds

• Inductive Effect: Electronegative atoms or groups withdraw electron density through sigma bonds, increasing deshielding and leading to downfield chemical shifts of alpha protons.
• Mesomeric (Resonance) Effect: Electron-donating groups can delocalize electron density through pi bonds, leading to upfield shifts (shielding) of alpha protons.

Bipolar Field Effect vs. Inductive Effect

• Bipolar Field Effect: Involves the overall electron distribution around a molecule, particularly in the presence of multiple polar substituents, influencing the chemical environment.
• Inductive Effect: A localized effect where electron-withdrawing or donating groups influence nearby atoms through sigma bonds.

Chetoenic Effect in Cyclohexanone

• Chetoenic Tautomerism: The keto-enol tautomerism can influence NMR chemical shifts by altering electron density around protons.
• Configuration Determination: The axial or equatorial position of substituents can be inferred from the chemical shift changes due to the different electronic environments.

Stability and Fragmentation in Mass Spectrometry

Criteria for Stability:

1. Thermodynamic and Kinetic Stability: Stable ions have low internal energy; metastable ions have higher energy but do not immediately fragment.
2. Resonance and Hyperconjugation: Stabilize the ion by delocalizing charge.

Types of Fragmentation:

1. Homolytic and Heterolytic Cleavage: Homolytic produces radical cations and neutral radicals; heterolytic results in cations and neutral molecules.
2. Specific Fragmentations: Alpha cleavage and McLafferty rearrangement involve characteristic bond cleavages and hydrogen transfers.

Karplus Equation:

• Relates vicinal coupling constants to dihedral angles in NMR, aiding in conformational analysis.

Influence of Effects on Chemical Shifts:

• Inductive Effect: Electronegative groups deshield alpha protons.
• Mesomeric Effect: Electron-donating groups can shield protons.

Bipolar Field Effect:

• Involves overall electron distribution, affecting the chemical shift differently than the inductive effect.

Chetoenic Effect:

• Tautomerism can be used to determine the axial or equatorial positions of substituents in cyclohexanone based on NMR shifts.

Alpha-Alketo Compounds as Indicators in Spectroscopic Techniques

Alpha-alketo compounds are often used in spectroscopic techniques due to their characteristic absorption properties. These compounds contain a carbonyl group adjacent to an alkene, making them useful in various spectroscopic analyses such as UV-Vis and NMR spectroscopy.

Influence of Bromine Atom Position on UV-Vis Spectrum

The presence of a bromine atom in an alpha-alketo compound significantly affects its UV-Vis spectrum. Whether the bromine is in the axial or equatorial position can influence the electronic environment around the carbonyl group. Generally, bromine, being a heavy atom with significant electron-withdrawing capabilities, can induce changes in the absorption maxima (λ_max) of the compound:

• Axial Position: Bromine in the axial position may cause less steric hindrance, potentially leading to a slightly higher energy absorption due to less stabilization.
• Equatorial Position: Bromine in the equatorial position might cause more steric hindrance and thus stabilize the molecule more, potentially leading to a lower energy absorption (bathochromic shift).

Overlap of p Orbitals and Sigma* Orbitals

The overlap of the p orbitals of the carbonyl group and the σ* (sigma star) orbitals of the adjacent carbon influences the UV-Vis spectrum of alpha-alketo compounds. This interaction, known as hyperconjugation, can lead to:

• Stabilization of the Transition State: This overlap allows delocalization of electrons, lowering the energy required for electronic transitions and thus leading to a bathochromic shift (shift to longer wavelengths).
• Increased Absorption Intensity: The transition involving π to π* (pi to pi star) transitions becomes more allowed, increasing the intensity of absorption bands.

Determinants of Bathochromic Shift

The bathochromic shift in the UV-Vis spectrum of alpha-alketo compounds can be influenced by several factors:

1. Conjugation: Increased conjugation with the carbonyl group leads to a delocalization of electrons, resulting in a lower energy transition and a shift to longer wavelengths.
2. Substituents: Electron-donating groups (EDGs) attached to the conjugated system can further stabilize the excited state, causing a bathochromic shift.
3. Solvent Effects: Polar solvents can stabilize the ground and excited states differently, leading to shifts in absorption maxima.

Example Analysis Using UV-Vis Spectroscopy

Consider an alpha-alketo compound with a bromine substituent. When analyzing its UV-Vis spectrum:

• Identify λ_max: Determine the absorption maxima.
• Compare Axial vs. Equatorial: Assess any shifts in λ_max due to the position of bromine.
• Look for Hyperconjugation Effects: Evaluate changes in intensity and wavelength due to p orbital and σ* orbital overlap.

Alpha-alketo compounds exhibit distinct spectral characteristics due to their unique electronic structures. The position of substituents like bromine can significantly influence their UV-Vis spectra through effects on the electronic environment and hyperconjugation. Understanding these influences aids in the interpretation and application of spectroscopic data for these compounds.

How Alpha-Alkyl Ketones are Used in 1H NMR Spectroscopy

Alpha-alkyl ketones (α-alkyl ketones) are significant in 1H NMR spectroscopy because they provide distinctive signals for protons adjacent to the carbonyl group. These protons (α-protons) are deshielded due to the electron-withdrawing nature of the carbonyl group, which generally causes their chemical shifts to appear downfield (at higher ppm values) compared to typical alkyl protons.

Influence of Vicinal Coupling Constant (J) on the 1H NMR Spectrum

The vicinal coupling constant (J) represents the interaction between protons on adjacent carbon atoms (three bonds apart). For α-alkyl ketones, the J value affects the splitting patterns of the α-protons. Typically, vicinal coupling constants for such protons in a standard alkyl chain are in the range of 6-8 Hz. In the context of α-alkyl ketones, the deshielding by the carbonyl group might slightly modify these values:

• Higher J values: Can indicate rigid structures or interactions through double bonds or rings.
• Lower J values: Suggest more flexible structures or reduced electron density around the intervening bonds.

The typical splitting pattern (e.g., doublets, triplets) observed in the 1H NMR spectrum directly reflects these J values and can help identify the number and types of neighboring protons.

Distinguishing Axial and Equatorial Protons Using 1H NMR Spectroscopy

In cyclic ketones like cyclohexanone derivatives, protons can occupy axial or equatorial positions. These positions significantly influence their NMR chemical shifts due to different spatial environments and magnetic anisotropies:

1. Axial Protons: Typically appear at different chemical shifts compared to equatorial protons due to the ring’s anisotropic effects. Axial protons are usually more deshielded because they are aligned with the ring current, leading to higher ppm values.
2. Equatorial Protons: Experience less deshielding and are more shielded than axial protons, resulting in lower ppm values.

Example: Cyclohexanone Derivatives

In cyclohexanone, rapid chair flipping usually averages the chemical environments of axial and equatorial protons. However, substituents can slow down this flipping, allowing separate observation of axial and equatorial proton signals in the NMR spectrum.

• Temperature Dependence: At lower temperatures, chair flipping slows, and distinct signals for axial and equatorial protons can be observed.
• Substituent Effects: Large or polar substituents can create significant differences in chemical shifts between axial and equatorial protons.

By analyzing these chemical shifts and coupling constants, the positions (axial or equatorial) of protons in α-alkyl ketones can be inferred, providing valuable structural information.
1H NMR spectroscopy of α-alkyl ketones reveals important information about the chemical environment and spatial arrangement of protons. The chemical shifts of α-protons are influenced by the electron-withdrawing effect of the carbonyl group, and the vicinal coupling constants provide details on the interactions between neighboring protons. Distinguishing between axial and equatorial protons in cyclic structures further enhances our understanding of the molecule’s 3D structure. These insights are crucial for interpreting the NMR spectra and determining the detailed structure of α-alkyl ketones.

Influence of Field-Dipole Effects on the Vibrational Frequency of the C=O Bond in Alpha-Alketones

Field-Dipole Effects

The field-dipole effect arises from the interaction of the electric field generated by the dipole moments of substituents with the vibrational motion of the C=O bond. This effect can either increase or decrease the vibrational frequency of the C=O bond depending on the nature and orientation of the dipole relative to the bond.
In alpha-alketones, the presence of a substituent with a strong dipole moment can affect the electron density around the carbonyl group, thus influencing its vibrational frequency. For example, an electronegative substituent like bromine can withdraw electron density through its inductive effect, increasing the partial positive charge on the carbonyl carbon and thereby increasing the force constant of the C=O bond, which results in a higher vibrational frequency.

Difference in Vibrational Frequency between Alpha-Alketones with Bromine in Axial and Equatorial Positions

The vibrational frequency of the C=O bond in alpha-alketones can differ significantly depending on whether a bromine atom is in the axial or equatorial position. This difference is not solely explained by the field-dipole effect. When bromine is in the axial position, there is greater steric hindrance and potential electronic interactions with the neighboring hydrogen atoms in the 1,3-diaxial positions. These interactions can increase the vibrational frequency by increasing the rigidity of the molecule and reducing the bond length slightly.
In contrast, when bromine is in the equatorial position, the steric hindrance is minimized, and the molecule is generally more relaxed, resulting in a lower vibrational frequency for the C=O bond. This illustrates that steric effects and electronic interactions beyond the simple field-dipole effect play significant roles.

Distinguishing Field-Dipole Effects from Inductive Effects

To distinguish between field-dipole effects and inductive effects in alpha-alketones, one must consider the nature and magnitude of the shifts in vibrational frequencies:

• Field-Dipole Effects: These primarily arise from the orientation and strength of the dipole moments of the substituents. They tend to cause shifts that are more directionally dependent. For instance, changing the position of a substituent like bromine from axial to equatorial can significantly alter the vibrational frequency due to changes in the spatial arrangement of dipoles.
• Inductive Effects: These are due to the electron-withdrawing or electron-donating properties of the substituents through sigma bonds. Inductive effects are usually less sensitive to the spatial orientation of the substituent and more related to the nature of the substituent itself. For example, replacing a hydrogen with a bromine atom will generally increase the vibrational frequency of the C=O bond due to the
• Field-dipole effects influence the vibrational frequency of the C=O bond based on the orientation and strength of the dipole moments of substituents.
• The difference in vibrational frequency for alpha-alketones with bromine in axial versus equatorial positions is not solely explained by field-dipole effects but also involves steric and electronic interactions.
• To distinguish field-dipole effects from inductive effects, one must consider the directionality and the nature of the substituent. Inductive effects are more related to the electron-withdrawing or donating nature, while field-dipole effects are more influenced by the spatial arrangement of substituents.

Our return to Glen Ridge was obviously after many weeks had passed following the previous episode, since conditions had changed dramatically from the former late summeearly fall with trees still in leaf to snow on the ground. Kevin begins with a review of some the major jobs on the exterior though he overlooked the new 2-storey addition before taking us inside. There, he indicated there were only a couple of weeks left and there was much left to do. Perhaps he was talking in terms of episodes. New white oak floors were now laid, some trim work was installed, and bathroom tiling was underway. We got a quick peek at the parental unit on the third floor which looked rather compact. Kevin reviewed the fallback plan to allow them to relocate to the first floor by closing off the front room from the family room using pocket doors to let it become their bedroom, which seemed less than ideal.
We received the results of a blower door test from the energy auditor, who said the new version of the house had 2.9 air changes per hour, whereas prior to the renos it exceeded 10ACH, so a very good result. Tommy and Zack then tackled trim work on a staircase where the architect wanted a radius on the baseboard/skirt board downward transition instead of an angled cut. We then got into a very baffling process of finding the centers of the desired radii which I found difficult to follow and do not think that a contractor would want to tackle without telling the architect to come up with a better option. Then they used an unspecified type of flexible base cap molding that could bend to the radius. Once installed it looked like it needed some autobody shop bondo work to smooth and fill the uneven parts and gaps.
We segued back to summefall for a meeting with the Chair of the town’s Shade Tree Commission which was re-established in recent years to refresh the street trees in the area following the loss of many old, large trees. Their tree of choice was Yellowwood, a species I was unfamiliar with which the Chair stated was from the southwest but Google claims it is a southeast species. We then visited with the tile installer working on the 2nd floor master bath who was about to install a premade Schluter shower niche. Bending credibility, he determined the location once his wall tile were adjacent to the desired location without regard for any structure that might be behind the substrate. Amazingly, once it was removed, there was no structure in the way, what luck! We then got to see Zack’s preferred way to install window trim by preassembling the trim kit for each window assembly and backing it with a plastic sheet to allow the painters to spray paint the trim and then carefully cut away the plastic masking once done. And that was it. Next time kitchen cabinets go in, the floors get finished, and lots of finishing details!
I thought this episode was OK but the flexible molding segment seemed to bend credibility as one of those things that could be done but without much regard for why you’d want to do it, and the tile guy’s supposed good fortune with the niche bends belief for me. It would have been a better teaching moment regardless if he had found a stud in his way and had to resolve that first, as would typically be the case for most of us. Ah well, that’s showbiz.

I have a modded FO4 game that has started to have some bugs regarding the visuals. I started a new game today and when I reached the Sanctuary adjacent Red Rocket, I noticed that the posters on the walls and some of the unscrappable foliage would disappear when in close proximity or when viewed at certain angles. I noticed similar behavior in a previous save in Vault 81 in the hidden area while getting the cure, with entire sections of wall and floor becoming invisible until I got close, at which point it appears normally. I believe I've placed my plugins in the correct order (I use Mod Organizer 2) and that most of the mods are next-gen update compatible, but I'm at a loss as to how to troubleshoot this. Any advice would be appreciated.

Life is supposed to be a 'gift' because of the great relationships (familial or romantic) and friendships we can have.
However, I get little net benefit out of any of these. I'm not talking 'benefit' like money or anything - I'm talking on a purely emotional, connection level. Both of my parents, particularly my father, were abusive. I have a dissociative disorder because of my dad's neglect. I have an eating disorder because of my mother (on 32nd day of water fasting, thanks mum!)
Then there's the romantic 'options' we women have - men have made sex & the visual their entire personality. You're supposed to be grateful for the bare minimum. While the majority of people understand that fathers are neglectful en masse, we haven't, as a society, recognised that straight men have emotionally neglected straight women en masse (because they only care about sex or what they can take - what should be the absolute basics of a relationship - emotional connection and conversation - are seen as 'luxuries' that women are lucky to have, and sure to lose imminently when they turn 30!). I refuse to put 'not all men'. If the moderators remove this, idc. I'm going to write objective truths - if it's removed, then it's just censorship.
Then there's friends. In the same way I'm turned off having relationships because of how misogynistic/low effort men are, I'm also turned off having friendships with women because of how allistic they are to the patriarchy. Even on Reddit, I'll be scrolling through so-called 'feminist' subreddits and it's all about women supposedly being 'empowered' by hook-up culture.. Meanwhile, complaining that men ghost them after sex (which is r*pe, btw). Apparently, we can't put two-and-two together... If you stop engaging in a culture that was obviously created by men, for men, then they'll have to become better partners or gth. Unfortunately, real feminism is sacrilegious nowadays, due to neoliberalism.
I had some amazing friends in school, but even then, to access my friends I had to ensure extreme bullying from others. Whenever something positive happens, I seem to have to endure knives from all other angles to keep 'access' to it, if that makes sense.
Trauma (from r*pe, abuse and my eating disorder) has fundamentally changed my brain. I have a permanent (thus far) dissociation disorder, rather than periodic episodes of it. I can't connect to anyone, and now I can see that those relationships did not serve me whatsoever. The only relationships I valued were my school friends, who I accidentally ghosted in the 'pushing everyone away' phase of PTSD. I feel too awkward to reach out to them now.
Given that the brain often 'checks out' of emotional connection in response to trauma... It's almost like we know deep down that these relationships are fraught with risk.
What I'm going to say now is quite radical:
We don't actually 'need' connections. Many animals live a solitary life. We evolved to 'need' connections because it was evolutionarily beneficial - it helped us to survive. Antinatalism seems like a good place to post this, because many of us reject the notion that 'what's natural is good' - a naturalistic fallacy. Indeed, many related subreddits discuss how morbid 'mother nature' is.
I argue that a great number of people are actually hurt by our 'need' for connection - particularly in the familial and romantic sense (most parents are quite cruel, and most partners are abusive or cheaters). Even when it comes to friendships, we're deathly afraid of social rejection and bullying is part-and-parcel of everyday life. And don't get me started with 'colleagues'.
I read a great article that said "society is inherently violent, because everyone is trying to control other people." I think this is a great summary of the life we're thrust into - the unique miseries that humans experience, unlike other species. Interacting with people seems to be overwhelmingly fraught with risk with little return, just as dating men as a straight woman is.
I would be quite happy living in solitude, but my biology betrays me. I become lonely and depressed, even though I am free from miseries. There's no actual -reason- for this depression - humans naturally become depressed from loneliness if we have too much solitude, because of our evolutionary drive to survive. Someone like me doesn't actually even miss the interactions!
And that leads me to a final point: I think the evolutionary process is the cause of much pain we have to endure. It's a barrier to antinatalism (we have a biological drive to reproduce - I would love to be a mother, but logically I could never bring a child into the world). It pushes me to try to date men when I objectively get nothing out of it. It pushes me to socialise when I'm actually very content in my own company, until my brain betrays me. etc. etc.
Anticipating some replies: "but we do need to interact sometimes to survive!" Agreed, but we don't necessarily need connections or relationships. I'm a doctor - I'm not besties with people who come to me for a scan. I do it because I care about peoples' wellbeing in general, and I'm paid for it.
Just to reiterate that this does link to AN: I don't think life is worth it because we have pain baked-in, due to the evolutionary process; we humans have to endure unique miseries because of our 'need' for socialising; and, in life, you either have to accept abuse/harassment/cheating from your relationships or be alone, which, as detailed above, our brains and bodies are allergic to needlessly.
I'm a bit weary of rule number 5: 'no venting or lamenting' lol - I'm not sure how I can discuss things that make me AN without venting a little. I prefer to call it 'giving a detailed explanation'. a. These adjacent, related issues make me feel AN -> b. Here's a detailed explanation as to why that is the case. I hope I've at least clarified how it links to AN.

Since the June DSAT is coming up I thought I'd make a post on tips and resources I used to help me study for the May 4th sat. This post goes into decent depth so read it all carefully and remember what worked for me might not work for you.
If you're like me and procrastinated studying until now then this post is definitely for you. All my prep for the May 4th test was done in like 14 days and I expect a score of 1540 or above.
My scores for the college board practice tests:
Practice Test 1: 1220
Practice Test 2: 1190
Practice Test 3: 1530
Practice Test 4: 1360
Practice Test 5: 1460
Practice Test 6: 1530
PRACTICE TESTS EXPERIENCE: Practice Test 1 and 2 were done without desmos since I didn't even know I could use it, so I basically wasted those two. I did test 2 after doing khan academy, test 3 was done using desmos and I did it after I grinded through like 80% of khan academy. Practice Test 4 truly humbled me and I realized how unprepared I really was which was when I started watching more youtube videos. I took the practice test 5 only 2 days after test 4 and my score increased like crazy which made me confident again.
NOTE: PRACTICE TEST 4, 5, AND 6 ARE THE CLOSEST IN DIFFICULTY TO THE REAL DEAL, TEST 1, 2 AND 3 ARE VERY EASY COMPARED TO THE REAL THING.
BASICS FOR BEGINNERS: If you have not studied yet at all you should start with basic concepts on Khan academy, grind through the lessons and videos, do the practice questions in the foundation section and medium section. Also learn how to use desmos, I used desmos for things I didn't even know was possible. Learning how to use desmos got rid of easy constant questions, inequalities, system of equations. Make sure to watch the 3 part desmos videos I talked about below in the youtubers section, it truly helped me a lot.
YOUTUBE: Youtube was one of the key reasons my score increased, I watched videos on the dsat constantly, while I ate food, even on my breaks I just watched videos running through the practice test I had already taken over and over again. I went over each practice test and the mistakes I made probably like 3 - 4 times throughout the 15 days.
QUESTION BANK: After I finished every practice test provided by the college board, ONLY THEN did I go to the college board question bank. This is because a good amount of the questions off of the practice tests are in this bank so without knowing it your brain could memorize how to do it and recognize it when doing the practice test which would inflate your marks. I probably went through hundreds of questions from the question bank (English and math) within the last 3 days before the may 4th test.
EXTRA TIPS: Sleep and exercise are also very important and something that I think isn't talked about enough, this applies more to people who are in my boat and are studying last minute and want a really high score. I slept crazy every night and it really helped me retain more information. Exercise is an amazing break even a walk works, anytime I hit a wall during my study periods I'd just go to the gym for 45 minutes to and hour and I would always come back refreshed ready to study again.
Youtubers I used:
Not promoting these guys in any way but they're just the only youtubers I used and I think other people here would probably find them useful.
Here are all the youtubers I used, Scalar Learning, Settele Tutoring, Tutorllini Test Prep, Strategic Test Prep, Method Learning.
Scalar Learning: He has some decent videos teaching basic concepts and his shorts have some good practice questions that he goes through.
Settele Tutoring: Settele was the one I watched the most, he went through every single question (in separate videos) on every single practice test given by the college board, I also watched some of his free concept learning videos on english, I think he explains a lot of the stuff pretty well. He’s amazing at english and helping you learn english, he made something called a “dumb summary” which I actually used a lot on my may 4th sat, it’s essentially a method where you can summarize a massive paragraph in like 30-40 seconds easily.
Tutorllini Test Prep: Has some good concept videos and also goes through all the math questions on all the practice tests really well, sometimes giving like 2-3 different methods you can use to solve a single question. He also goes through some of his own worksheets that he’s made and some of them are pretty good practice.
Strategic Test Prep: She gives some good test day tips and tips and shortcuts in general for the SAT, her explanations on the practice tests are also pretty decent.
Method Learning: Method Learning is what I’d say really boosted my score in the very beginning stages of my studying. This is only because of his 3 part desmos videos, I didn’t watch any of his other videos but that 3 part seriously was a game changer. The desmos tips he gives are amazing. An example is if a question gives you a linear or quadratic equation and then a constant in it, you can plug that exact equation into desmos and move the slider around to find what the constant is, this takes no more than 30 seconds.
Formulas I memorized for the DSAT:
You will have to memorize some formulas for the DSAT and some will make your life easier.
Sum of interior angles in a polygon: 180(n-2)
Area of a sector: πr^2 ⋅ θ/360
Arc Length: 2πr ⋅ θ/360
Mass/Volume/Density: m = v(d)
X cord. of vertex: -b/2a
Sum of solutions: -b/a
Product of solutions: c/a
If anyone needs any tips or anything just let me know I'll try my best to respond.
Whatever score you want is possible if you're willing to put in the work and time.

Since the June DSAT is coming up I thought I'd make a post on tips and resources I used to help me study for the May 4th sat. This post goes into decent depth so read it all carefully and remember what worked for me might not work for you.
If you're like me and procrastinated studying until now then this post is definitely for you. All my prep for the May 4th test was done in like 15 days and I expect a score of 1540 or above.
My scores for the college board practice tests:
Practice Test 1: 1220
Practice Test 2: 1190
Practice Test 3: 1530
Practice Test 4: 1360
Practice Test 5: 1460
Practice Test 6: 1530
PRACTICE TESTS EXPERIENCE: Practice Test 1 and 2 were done without desmos since I didn't even know I could use it, so I basically wasted those two. I did test 2 after doing khan academy, test 3 was done using desmos and I did it after I grinded through like 80% of khan academy. Practice Test 4 truly humbled me and I realized how unprepared I really was which was when I started watching more youtube videos. I took the practice test 5 only 2 days after test 4 and my score increased like crazy which made me confident again.
NOTE: PRACTICE TEST 4, 5, AND 6 ARE THE CLOSEST IN DIFFICULTY TO THE REAL DEAL, TEST 1, 2 AND 3 ARE VERY EASY COMPARED TO THE REAL THING.
BASICS FOR BEGINNERS: If you have not studied yet at all you should start with basic concepts on Khan academy, grind through the lessons and videos, do the practice questions in the foundation section and medium section. Also learn how to use desmos, I used desmos for things I didn't even know was possible. Learning how to use desmos got rid of easy constant questions, inequalities, system of equations. Make sure to watch the 3 part desmos videos I talked about below in the youtubers section, it truly helped me a lot.
YOUTUBE: Youtube was one of the key reasons my score increased, I watched videos on the dsat constantly, while I ate food, even on my breaks I just watched videos running through the practice test I had already taken over and over again. I went over each practice test and the mistakes I made probably like 3 - 4 times throughout the 15 days.
QUESTION BANK: After I finished every practice test provided by the college board, ONLY THEN did I go to the college board question bank. This is because a good amount of the questions off of the practice tests are in this bank so without knowing it your brain could memorize how to do it and recognize it when doing the practice test which would inflate your marks. I probably went through hundreds of questions from the question bank (English and math) within the last 3 days before the may 4th test.
EXTRA TIPS: Sleep and exercise are also very important and something that I think isn't talked about enough, this applies more to people who are in my boat and are studying last minute and want a really high score. I slept crazy every night and it really helped me retain more information. Exercise is an amazing break even a walk works, anytime I hit a wall during my study periods I'd just go to the gym for 45 minutes to and hour and I would always come back refreshed ready to study again.
Youtubers I used:
Not promoting these guys in any way but they're just the only youtubers I used and I think other people here would probably find them useful.
Here are all the youtubers I used, Scalar Learning, Settele Tutoring, Tutorllini Test Prep, Strategic Test Prep, Method Learning.
Scalar Learning: He has some decent videos teaching basic concepts and his shorts have some good practice questions that he goes through.
Settele Tutoring: Settele was the one I watched the most, he went through every single question (in separate videos) on every single practice test given by the college board, I also watched some of his free concept learning videos on english, I think he explains a lot of the stuff pretty well. He’s amazing at english and helping you learn english, he made something called a “dumb summary” which I actually used a lot on my may 4th sat, it’s essentially a method where you can summarize a massive paragraph in like 30-40 seconds easily.
Tutorllini Test Prep: Has some good concept videos and also goes through all the math questions on all the practice tests really well, sometimes giving like 2-3 different methods you can use to solve a single question. He also goes through some of his own worksheets that he’s made and some of them are pretty good practice.
Strategic Test Prep: She gives some good test day tips and tips and shortcuts in general for the SAT, her explanations on the practice tests are also pretty decent.
Method Learning: Method Learning is what I’d say really boosted my score in the very beginning stages of my studying. This is only because of his 3 part desmos videos, I didn’t watch any of his other videos but that 3 part seriously was a game changer. The desmos tips he gives are amazing. An example is if a question gives you a linear or quadratic equation and then a constant in it, you can plug that exact equation into desmos and move the slider around to find what the constant is, this takes no more than 30 seconds.
Formulas I memorized for the DSAT:
You will have to memorize some formulas for the DSAT and some will make your life easier.
Sum of interior angles in a polygon: 180(n-2)
Area of a sector: πr^2 ⋅ θ/360
Arc Length: 2πr ⋅ θ/360
Mass/Volume/Density: m = v(d)
X cord. of vertex: -b/2a
Sum of solutions: -b/a
Product of solutions: c/a
If anyone needs any tips or anything just let me know I'll try my best to respond.
Whatever score you want is possible if you're willing to put in the work and time.

PART ONE THOUSAND AND TWELVE
[Previous Chapter] [Next Chapter] [The Beginning] [Patreon+2]
Sunday
Lucas stretched and yawned in bed, taking a moment to enjoy the complete lack of needing to rise before his hand stretched out in search of Boyd.
And once again, that side of the bed was empty.
Biting back a whine of dismay, Lucas rolled until he was face down on Boyd’s pillow, breathing in the cologne they both now wore. The detective in him quickly deduced that Boyd had been gone a while based on the chill in the sheets. He curled his hands around the pillow and hugged it tight, wishing it was the big mountain of a man himself instead of this weak substitute.
As thrilled as he was about Boyd finding a new career that he was so passionately driven about, he was equally happy that his fiancé took his responsibility to his clients seriously. Still, would it have killed him to sleep in just one morning instead of abandoning their wrecked bed the morning after their engagement party?
After several minutes of wallowing, he finally accepted the inevitable that no amount of wishful thinking was going to make Boyd appear and climbed out of bed. He removed his snore rings and took a quick shower.
Once he was dressed, he felt a little better.
The next thing he had to do was strip down the bed and remake it. They’d been very busy last night, which was why he’d only just woken up at—his gaze fell upon the clock— DAMN! It’s nearly lunchtime!
“I’m gonna kill him for letting me sleep in so long,” he muttered under his breath, carrying the linen through the apartment and into the kitchen, which doubled as a laundry on their end. After nine years of living in this layout, he didn’t need to see over the pile in his arms to know precisely where he was, and with the load balanced on one arm, he turned at the right moment, opened the massive frontloading washing machine and stuffed it all in.
“Hey, Unca Luke!” Maddy’s shrill voice had him leaping into the air, slamming the door shut and swivelling around in front of it to hide the evidence. “Didja pee the bed?”
His brother and his niece were sitting at the island, Maddy with her breakfast of honey-and-cream-covered waffles, which were only half-eaten, and Levi patiently waited for her to finish since the plate in front of him was empty. The latter was grinning at him as only a brother could.
He’d forgotten all about them staying over.
It took a hot second for what Maddy asked to register with him, and when it did, his mouth dropped, and he glanced at his brother, who was twisting himself into a pretzel to avoid laughing out loud. Asshole. “No, Peaches,” he said, glaring daggers at Levi for not even trying to help him out. “Boyd and I like clean sheets every day, and it’s not fair to make somebody else wash them for us, is it?”
Bright red ringlets of hair swayed as the little girl shook her head. “Daddy makes me fix stuff too.”
Lucas moved the three feet between the washing machine to his brother sitting in Mason’s seat at the corner. “That’s because Daddies always know what’s best.” He wrapped an arm around his brother’s neck in a loose chokehold and gave him a noisy morning kiss on the cheek. “Ain’t that right, Daddy?” He said that last word in a sultry purr the way Robbie would, and the reaction from Levi was priceless.
“Fuck off with that shit, you prick!” his brother swore, shoving Lucas away with all his might.
“DADDY!” Maddy squealed in horror, and Lucas clapped his hands together once behind Maddy’s chair and raised his clenched fists in victory. He’d been angling for one swear word, maybe two to distract young Maddy from his not-so-discreet linen run. Three was a veritable home run.
Snickering quietly to himself, he went back to the washing machine, loaded it up with soap and softener and turned it on. Then, he walked over to the wooden box under the window. ‘Just think what you want,’ Charlie had told him at the party. ‘It’s a Nascerdios box that Robbie fills up throughout the night.’
He stared hard at the box while he considered his options, settling on a plate of breakfast tacos with seasoned mince, fried eggs, tomatillos, shredded lettuce, and cheese wrapped in soft tortillas buttered with a thin spread of mashed avocado.
After the last month, it didn’t surprise him in the least when he opened the lid and found that exact meal sitting there, waiting for him. Maybe the quantity, since they were piled three high, but not the meal itself.
The same could not be said for Levi when Lucas turned around with the plate in his hand. “Robbie had that ready for you too?” he asked, as Lucas grabbed a glass from the cupboard and placed it and the plate in his regular sitting place adjacent to his brother before sliding into his seat. He knew Levi wasn’t questioning Viola since the box itself was made and gifted by someone with the last name Nascerdios.
The veil was an ass.
“I told you; he did most of the catering yesterday, too,” Lucas said, reaching for the jug of juice. He was curious what it would be today. Yesterday, it had been orange and mango juice, with apple the day before.
A quick sniff made it most likely grapefruit.
He tightened the roll on the first taco and lifted it to his lips, enjoying the flavours that exploded in his mouth. Because Levi had finished whatever had been on his plate, he was watching him eat as if he’d never seen it before. It finally clicked why. “You want to try one?” Lucas asked, nudging his plate towards his brother. “There’s plenty here if you want one. Too many, if anything.”
Levi didn’t need to be told twice and reached over, using his fingers just as Lucas had. “How did he learn to cook so well?” Levi demanded, almost fitting the whole thing in his mouth.
“He’s always cooked,” Lucas answered, fudging things slightly. “When he was growing up, cooking was his chore while his mom was at work. He only stopped because Mom refused to let him help in the kitchen.”
“I would’ve fought that a lot harder if I’d have known he could produce this.”
“Yeah, you and me both, bro. Even when we were upstairs, he was forever watching the cooking channels for new ideas.” Lucas didn’t want to mention that these days, Robbie only did so to critique the so-called experts. “Have you seen Boyd?”
Levi shook his head. “I was assuming he was still in with you. If I’d known you were in there alone, I’d have sicc’d Maddy onto you.”
“I can wake Daddy and Unca’ Austin good!” Maddy said proudly. “I gets me a dolla’.”
“Ssshhh, Peaches. That’s our secr—wait. Does Uncle Austin pay you, too?”
Maddy was adorable the way she looked at Lucas like he would intervene for her. “Sorry, baby girl,” he laughed, eating another taco. “You’re on your own.”
The two brothers bantered as Lucas ate, with Levi stealing another taco, bringing Lucas’ total number down to five. Maddy told them both about wanting to be a vet, and Lucas knew precisely who to blame for that. Still, it was better than her previous choice of ‘stripping’ the way Robbie and Angelo used to. Levi’s meltdown over that revelation had been priceless, even if he, too, was firmly in the ‘fuck that noise’ camp.
When he polished them and half the juice off, he poured the last into Maddy’s cup and put his things and the jug in the dishwasher. “You can hang out here if you want,” Lucas said. “The guys and I are heading out this afternoon to play some ball over at Angus’ place, but if you call Austin and find out Pepper’s roommate is still with him, the TV over there has…”
“Every cable channel imaginable, I know. Charlotte—”
“Charlie.”
“Charlie told us last night.” Levi sat back in his seat and stared at his brother. “What do you make of Larry, Luke? Does he have kids?”
“Why?”
“He watched Maddy for me last night while I was having a shower, and Maddy loves him. You know how picky she is about people she doesn’t know.”
“I know he’s married to a career soldier and was one too before being assigned to us. I’m not sure about his past, but he’s a good guy and ridiculously protective of those either in his charge or that he happens to care about.”
Levi grunted. “Charl —lie said so too. He certainly knows his Spongebob.”
Lucas squinted. “Why all the questions?”
“Just thinking out loud. If he’s going to be here all the time with Robbie, and Austin and I get called into the house together, it’s always been a struggle figuring out where we can leave Maddy on short notice. We don’t exactly have time to drive all the way over to Queens to drop her off at either Mav’s or Mom and Dad’s. I mean, so far, we haven’t needed to, but it’s a constant concern.”
Lucas frowned at him. “We’ve been here for years. Why didn’t you ask before now?”
Levi seemed suddenly uncomfortable. “You know…” he said, gesturing to the ceiling without finishing that sentence.
And just like that, Lucas did understand.
Six men, all sharing one shoebox-sized apartment with two of them being sex workers, was not where anyone would want to drop off a little girl. Even if Lucas did vouch for all of them and swore they’d all be protective as hell over little Maddy. “Look, I can’t speak for them specifically, but Charlie’s here under house arrest for the next ten months, and Boyd now works out of his studio, so technically, someone will be here all the time. There’s not a chance in hell we’ll turn you away.”
“I’ll ask her and Miss W before we go.”
Lucas looked at what the two of them were wearing. “You know, I could duck out and grab you and Maddy some clothes just as soon as I check in with Boyd, if you like.”
He watched Levi look down at the shirt and boxers that were a little big on him width-wise and across at Maddy, who still wore Charlie’s favourite Giants’ shirt.
“That’d be good, thanks,” he admitted.
“I’ll get extras, and that way, she can have a few changes of clothes here. Actually, do you want me to grab you some spare stuff too?”
Levi stiffened in his seat. “I don’t need you to buy me clothes.”
Lucas wanted to slap him in the back of the head (and would’ve if Maddy wasn’t there). “Stop,” he commanded instead. “I’m already going to a clothes shop. It’s not going to be anything fancy, and if you hate it, you can swap it out with your own stuff later.”
Knowing his brother was still uncomfortable, Lucas waved his hand at the kitchen. “Seriously, Levi, look around. Look at how I’m living, and I’m not paying a dime in rent. Llyr won’t let me since we’ve been looking out for Sam for years. Let me do this for you, so you’ll always know you and Maddy have somewhere safe to go.”
Levi glanced around, his lips tightening before he finally nodded, unwilling to say the words out loud, and Lucas clapped him on the shoulder. “We’re family, dumb-ar—dumb,” he amended, with little ears sitting on the other side of his brother. “Dumb-dumb. I meant Dumb-dumb.”
Levi chuckled and patted his brother’s hand. “I appreciate it, bro. We’ll chill here until you get back. Don’t rush … apparently, you have a gazillion cable channels to choose from, and Maddy doesn’t want to leave until she’s seen them all.”
“I don’t think you’ll live that long,” Lucas laughed and headed back to his room to grab his gear since he was now leaving the apartment. As he clipped and slid everything from sunglasses to his wallet, keys, phone, badge bifold, and ankle-holstered BUG, he almost envied women with carryall handbags that could be grabbed on their way out the door.
Almost.
[Next Chapter]
* * *
((All comments welcome. Good or bad, I’d love to hear your thoughts 🥰🤗))
I made a family tree/diagram of the Mystallian family that can be found here
For more of my work, including WPs: Angel466 or an index of previous WPS here.
FULL INDEX OF BOB THE HOBO TO DATE CAN BE FOUND HERE!

This is a (probably unrealistic) game idea based around building and destroying ( I haven't thought about the specifics/scoring much ). This game would have 3 parts (each 3-5 minutes long).
Part 1: Each team would be given 2 builds, they would have to break one to get the blocks to replicate the other one (both builds would be made from the same blocks), then a new one would appear when completed, similarly to how build mart works. Maybe scoring would be based off of the speed for each separate build (so one could give more points if less people build it).
Part 2: Each team would be given a structure to destroy using TNT. Each player would start with 1 TNT, and after placing it would receive a new one after 5-10 seconds. There would be powerups around the map (e.g an extra TNT, pickaxe) and maybe combining multiple player's TNT could make larger explosions or have other benefits. Scoring would probably be based off of how much they destroyed or a placement bonus compared to other teams.
Part 3: All teams would be given identical adjacent plots where they must build the same thing (that could combine to make one giant build) but they have to use a book to know what and where to build. The book would either give the block positions in layers (starting from the floor) or just state the blocks seen from a given angle (e.g above). Teams would be able to fly around and look at other team's builds to copy them and could use their blocks to build off of if they are on the edges of their plot. Scoring would probably be based off of speed or placement.
I don't know if this game would work or be a good fit in MCC ( or be fun more than once) but it's a different idea for a building-style game

Blachowicz here.
Kept yah’ waiting, huh? Heh, sorry about that one, but I can explain. As we all know… we lost a few good men the last few months.
That’s the brutal part of a hybrid war like ours: We’re fighting a foe unconventional, with half our arsenal tied down because those who grant us authorization are either in disbelief of the true facts, or scared… or already assimilated. That being said our momentum recently was a change not seen in years, and because of that… despite the losses we have garnered, we were close through a breakthrough. One last night Krol pulls myself and other two must trusted squad leads into the back of our COP. There is one of our equipment cages, surrounded by m-bitter radios, tripods, and several hundred thousand dollars of equipment he brought us around a simple worn table. Before us he laid a map of eastern poland… red markings indicating cells that seemed to dot the countryside like a pestilence, or used to… as deep gashes of advance from raids had trisected their lines, even if ones did pop up in the interior.
It was a back and forth; an outside virus infecting Polska at it’s heart, and we were the antibodies sent to drive them out. To which… Major Krol points to one of the largest symbol on the map: a dark red diamond, the NATO symbol for an enemy unit, deep inside of an untouched wooded area, adjacent to a mountain ridge. Several jagged lines indicated entrenchment, with red horizontal lines indicating possible enemy control… or our contested control, for over 20kms surrounding it. Letting us all look, the Major lit himself a cigarette.
“Sir, you sure it’s wise to smoke in here with the dive tanks just behind us” 1st Squad’s lead quipped. “Fuck off” Krol dryly said.
“Alright… this is it… this is the one we’ve been searching for for years, this is the nucleus my predecessor commander died trying to find” he says, pointing to it. Not far from Zamosc, it was almost touching the border with Belarus, the contested area indicating the Strigoi did operate over it… indicating one of the largest spill through points. “-It’s an old soviet bunker, made during their 1960s initiative it was designed to hold the munitions and manpower of several units in the event of a NATO first strike” Krol explained. “It’s gotta be massive then…” I said gazing at the map; “Didn’t the army demolish all of the old soviet hulks near Belarus to prevent any infiltrations?” 3rd Squad’s lead asked. “National Police took the effort over… and by extension, the Strigoi. It was halfway demo’ed before they burrowed into it and have been using it as a bridgehead ever since. This is it…” Krol said. He looked around at all of us, a sense of certainty I had never seen before as he blew smoke from his nostrils; “We’ve been fucking around in the dark for so long, it’s hard to believe we’ve made any progress, but this is it. With this gone, this will set them back over a decade and the momentum will finally shift into our favor… into Poland’s… -Europe’s”.
I swear there was almost a flash of joy, of pride in his eyes and a phantom of a smirk before reality set back in “That being said… we can’t leave this to chance, especially not something as important as this. We’re going to have to go there ourselves… clear through every inch of that place, and tear it all down, piece by piece. I will be straight with you all… when we go, there will be some of us that aren’t coming back. -but we are going… a whole generation is counting on us, and unborn billions rely on us to succeed”. We all nodded, a silent agreement washing over us as we took this upon ourselves. Echo-1 spoke up: “So… They’re authorizing a raid? How big?”. “We’re rolling in as a hard target, armor, explosives, and air support” Krol answered, taking a drag off his cigarette. “Aviation? How the hell did we get that approved, we’ve gotten attempts shot down four times due to those leeches” I said in disbelief. “There’s too much evidence here pointing to the human trafficking tied to their actions… We’ve finally got too much weight pinning them down, to keep the hammer from slamming into their necks” Krol chuckled. He looked around “Any questions?”. “When?” Echo-3 asked. “Three hours. We’re hitting them in the dead of night, only time we could get the birds authorized. Get your boys ready. We’re rolling out” Krol said, dying the cigarette bud out on the table. I can’t begin to tell you the euphoria we felt leaving that cage, as our men started arriving, they did so a lot quicker, and with their heads a lot higher than they had in weeks. As Second Squad’s lead we were going to be one of the main arms of attack into the bunker, thus I made sure we had a breacher loaded with enough thermite, charges, and tools to cut through anything. Our shield bearer we ready to go, as was our assaulters, grenadiers, and machine gunner. I double checked each and everyone of their weapons; ensuring the feeder paws of our squad’s belt fed were intact, making sure every breach charge we had was properly set and packed. There was going to be no mistakes, no slip ups. The margin of error needed to be the smallest it had ever been for us tonight if we were going to make the gore spilt worth it.
Finally… there on the outside of the building, the bright LED lights kept the darkness of the ensuing night at bay as the roar of our MRAPs could be heard. It was said once that war is 99% peace, and 1% chaos, they were right. The slow periods where the blood slowed and the doubt creeped in was the worst… yet we all kept it at bay. We needed to, there was going to be no backing down tonight. All three squads were up, all of us ready to go… we circled up… short stares and shaky nods telling us one things: We were in this together, till the end… the finish line so many before us had been searching for, we were being granted tonight.
A single set of footsteps could be heard as we turned, Major Krol stepping into the center. He took the last drag of a cigarette, throwing it down to the ground and stamping it out onto the damp concrete. He looked around… his chin strap blowing in the weak air as he met everyone of our gazes… then mine… then looked around. “I want you to remember every detail of tonight, as you have every other night… when you are situationally aware, scanning for the enemy, liberating the subjugated, I want you to remember the sting of anxiety, the shake of adrenaline, the chill of the bunker, the heat of your weapon as it cuts them down… because tonight we are going to write every fine detail of our victory, their defeat, in history…” Krol’s words echoed deep into our souls. He paused for a moment, staring around he looked down… a small pause before he said “When you are ruthless in combat, remember to be patient, and reserved in victory. This conflict is for our existence… a lot of innocents have bled due to the mistakes of those who failed to listen, a lot of our brothers are now laid under because we had to bridge the gap of uncertainty with their lives. We remember them now… but in an hour? We forget them… when we raise our barrels, when we cut into those foes, and we liberate Polska!! This does not end tonight, but history puts everything in it’s place, and patience is the companion of the victor… All of our hard work will be cemented, no matter the obstacles we face in that darkness… no matter the demons, the blood, no matter what incomprehensible horrors, we will make them comprehend that to invade our land, to bleed our people, the justice will be paid in full… Load up. It’s time*”*.
The purpose in our steps was heavy as we climbed the back ramps of the MRAPS; Four of the heavily armored vehicles, one for each squad with an additional for attached personnel including our JTAC, the term means Joint Terminal Attack Controllers. With air support requisitioned to us for this operations, there needs to be a definite liaison on the ground who can directly communicate to the birds, and coordinate their fire and progress. I’d worked with many of them in the past, resourceful guys, quick thinking though I guess that comes with the position they hold of needing to quickly figure out what bombs to drop, on which target, at what precise points, whilst taking contact. He loaded in the lead vehicle with Major Krol… and soon, our convoy kicked off.
The drive was several hours as myself and my squad sat in the back of that forty ton goliath, the rumbling of the engine keeping us awake as the crap heater fought to keep the cold from the outside frost from setting in. I looked around to each of them, some were catching some sleep because even with the circumstances… better to get all the energy you can, than to stay awake for nothing. Others were checking their weapons… My gunner locked eyes with me, the same one from the village extraction… many of these men I had trained with for a while now, fought with for months.
We may have met on unconventional circumstances but those in JW Grom thrive on austere chance and create opportunity from scratch. I was pulled from my thought by the sound of a transmission, my peltors were set up for dual comms so I could both receive information from the Major and other leads, whilst communicating with my team.
Krol himself sent out: [“Approximately 10 minutes from enemy AO…”]. As the rest of the squads acknowledged, I quickly sent out [“Echo-2 Copies”], before kicking the boots of any of them sleeping: “Look alive, we’re here”. Through the exterior net armor of the MRAPS, and the bars protecting the small reinforced windows, we could barely see jack shit. I reached up, turning off the overhead light as we all looked through our nods to scan the outside. A dark wall of dense trees was shown before us, making it difficult to see… in addition to night vision capabilities we had also requisitioned ourselves some thermals… when mounted onto rifles they were bulky, made it a pain to aim down quickly, but considering the supernatural capabilities of spotting our foes we needed every advantage necessary.
I flipped out one of my tubes… scanning the outside with my scope. I looked over to one of my assaulters who had been assigned to man the turret of the MRAP, seated near the view screen as he controlled the 50. Cal. Each of the vehicle turrets had been assigned a direction to cover… we took the 9 o’clock, the left flank. “See anything?” I asked. He shook his head; “Negative… wait… I’ve got two cold signatures, front left heading to our rear”.
I quickly scanned the far tree line, at approximately 60 meters off our left were two cold signatures… followed by a third heading to our front… then another. They were surrounding us, moving at speeds so fast I could barely keep my reticle on them. Is this what the National Police saw? What they faced at that lodge without the benefit of a foot of heavy armor protecting them on all sides. Then… suddenly. Something slammed into the side of our MRAP so hard, it caused it to shake. From over the leader comms, Echo-3 quickly shouted [“Contact right!! 4 hostiles!!”].
One of the Strigoi… so bold, had charged and slammed into the side of our MRAP. I quickly looked to see the figure, a dark blue mass of cold energy through my thermal, back away without so much as a stagger… as they tried to flee into the woods, the white hot justice of Echo-3’s gun fired at them, cutting them down. “Blachowicz I’ve got a few breaking for our vic” my man on the turret called out, I spun around, spotting out the window.
Just then, Major Krol announced [“weapons free, watch and shoot for targets of opportunity…”]. I turned to him… “take those fuckers out-”. Without hesitation my vic’s turret began to quickly target them, and through the darkness I saw a stream of outgoing fire bisect one of them, the ISR of the black blood freaking out the optic so badly it didn’t know what temperature to register it as… but it did register it. As another was cut down, one broke through the tree line and latched onto the side of our MRAP. The thing tore at one of the outer net armor panels, usually made to stop RPGs. It grabbed at the bars near the windows, tearing one off… I lowered my rifle as we locked eyes through the reinforced window.
The thing… the Strigoi looked at me, skin cracked as putrefied muscle fibers seemed to leak through dead flesh. It’s teeth were corroded and worn down to sharp fragments, alongside newly mutated fangs that messily protrude from the jaws. Even through the thick walls of the MRAP I could hear it’s roar, as it then tried to punch it’s way through… it cracked the outer coating of the vehicle… but it wasn’t getting anywhere near. My machine gunner, seated next to me, seemed to chuckle at the sight, quippily saying “Yeah… fuck you too”. It’s then our vehicle lurched upwards, as we began to climb the small incline of the bunker. I knew the layout, mapped it in our head, the main entrance was built into the rocky side of an old cliff meaning we could easily set up a defensive perimeter around it, a horseshoe. Krol’s vehicle was first, taking to the right as Echo-3’s MRAP followed. My vehicle, third, left the incline and took a left and… that’s where things got complicated.
We’re still trying to work out what happened but… from what Joakim says his drone captured. Right when the MRAP turned, several of the monsters quickly slammed into the side of the vehicle, as another more bulkier one, pushed at it’s undercarriage. The result.. Was the 40 ton armored vehicle tipped over. It wasn’t uncommon, hell in some cases a well placed IED, a good shot with a recoilless rifle, have been known to tip over Oshkoshs and Maxpros all the time. But this beast? Needless to say we barely had a second to comprehend it as it leaned to the left; “Grab on to something-” is all I had time to shout. A mess of gear and men spilled onto one side of the vehicle as it slammed into the old gravel and dirt.
Several of my assaulters, my grenadier planted right ontop of myself and the others as we came to a stop. Someone’s knee slammed directly into the side of my skull, causing me to dazily bob in and out of consciousness as my face was smushed against the glass of one of the windows.
Through my peltors, the other squads were erratic;
[“Echo-2’s vehicle is down!!”].
[“Echo-3 to Echo-2… Echo-3 to Echo-2…”].
Krol’s voice came through the comms;
[“Echo-Lead to Echo-2… Fuc-... Echo-1 secure Echo 2’s flank, Echo-3”].
[“Echo-3 to other units, they’re spilling through, I’ve got several enemy combatants converging on Echo-2’s vehicle”].
I pushed the legs of my grenadier off my head as I fought to my hands and knees, unfucking my nods as I looked around… “Fuck it… we’re going lights on, shield your eyes” I muttered as I reached for the overhead lights and flipped them on. The bright LEDs bathed the inside of the vehicle as we all gained our bearings, a mess of multicam, gear, and weapons as we quickly pushed each other off. My gunner caught as he fought to realign his promask, from what I gathered one of the assaulters had landed directly into his gun, pushing it directly into his jugular, as pulled back at the rubber and coughed, freeing up his esophagus. We didn’t have time to think however… the sound of bending metal caught our attention… as the back ramp door of the MRAP was ripped clean off. I could barely believe it but as the white light of the MRAP’s interior poured to the outside, a hulking mass leaned in, the dead flesh on it’s face nearly fallen off as the hideous Strigoi leaned inside.
Without hesitation I aimed took aim, yelling “Keep to the deck!!” to any of those inbetween myself and the invader as I opened fire. A burst of full auto fire tore through it’s collar and neck, my men quickly clung to either sides of the fallen MRAP as a few more fired out. As the thing backed up, a blast of .50 cal fire quickly tore it to shreds, along with several others as I realized they were fuckin swarming over the outside of our vehicle. Echo-3’s vehicle continued to carefully fire on the Strigoi on the outside, the sounds of .50 cal ricocheting off the outside of our armor was enough to make the pucker factor set in.
[“Echo-3 to Echo-2”].
[“This is Echo-2, we’re green on ammo, equipment, men”].
[“Roger, we’re shifting fire, exit the vehicle”].
“Hurry up let’s go!!” I barked to my men, leading the way as I staggered out. I turned on my peq, taking aim at silhouettes in the brush as I began to fire. The sounds of machine guns lighting up the brush, as a sea of growls, howls, and incomprehensible roars fired back at us was the ambient noise of the night. My men quickly exited, my gunner being the last as he and I pulled back to the rest of the defensive perimeter. I set in my men to take up the frontal security, as 3rd squad took the right flank, 1st squad to the left. Major Krol and the JTAC were bickering with each other; “How far out are the birds”. “They’re entering airspace now…” Joakim said, already scanning his smart book.
I asked “What’ve we got?”. He then flipped through… to the NATO combined arms segment, quippily saying; “Apaches…”. This caused me to pause as Echo-3 turned their head whilst directing their squad’s fire “The hell… where did we get apaches from?”. “The Americans… they volunteered” Krol said dismissively as he took aim at the darkness, firing off a controlled trio. “Volunteered? They’re aware of what’s going on?” I asked.
Krol seemed to stop, glancing back at me before returning his focus “There’s a lot more going on than you realize, Blachowicz… Prep the breach, you and 1st are going on”.
I quickly pulled my breacher off the line, securing some thermite as the reinforced bunker door wasn’t going to go as easily as a conventional door breach would. 1st Squad pulled back, stacking up and preparing themselves to be the first in. All the while… Joakim gave his firing solution; “Alpha Hotel Two Five Nine, This is Bravo-4…… Type 2….”.
I snapped to my right, watching as a Strigoi managed to dark across the clear gravel field, only to be cut down by my gunner, the peq’s laser marking the burst as it tore through the beasts’ hips, as it hit the ground and still continued to claw, another GROM operator took aim and fired into it’s skull. Joakim popped up to his feet…. “Marking laser, high power…”. He then pulled out a target marking laser… if you’ve watched night operations, you’ve probably seen them.
The green laser than as it says on the label, marks targets. The pattern of which can vary… if it’s a point target, it’ll usually lasso an area, or remain on target until the target is removed with extreme prejudice. If its close air support, then it’ll be a line of the general area… and Joakim damn near marked the entire perimeter around us. He quickly pocketed the tool, turning back to Krol; “Don’t go past 20 meters unless you want to be liquidated”.
With that… 2nd and 1st stacked up at the door as 3rd squad took up the perimeter security. As Major Krol went over to Echo-1… I saw them. A single blinking IR strobe from the beasts as they moved on the far off horizon, converging from several angles… and fired. The sound of the Apache’s main gun, the M230, truly sounds like the hammer of god… the 30mm cannon shot through the dark sky, lighting it up as we saw three incoming streams tear up the woods. Only then as the sound broke did we start to hear their rotors as they broke and began to circle, firing again… then… Joakim dipped his head and looked to Krol; [“Foxtrot Mike, hang onto your teeth…”]. One of the Apaches fired off a AGM-114… a Hellfire. I barely saw it out of the corner of my eye as the Apache from our right flank fired off at a target approximately 200 meters off. A fireball lit up the forest as the horrendous roar echoed throughout… then went silent.
Echo-3 scanned the horizon carefully;
[“Echo-3 to Echo-Lead, enemy contact is starting to die down”].
[“Maintain perimeter, Close Air is to maintain fire mission until we are boots up, Break…”].
[“Echo-Lead to Echo-1, condition white has been met. Proceeds”]. I saw Echo-1 and his men quickly stack up close to the wall and gesture to me; Breaching. I quickly pulled my stack back against the wall as his and mine breacher quickly hit their actuators. Now under normal circumstances, it doesn’t take much for thermite to melt the locks off of a metal surface, in fact it’s a more precise took as alternative means get real medieval like saws, pry bars… we weren’t in the mood for precision, we need to breach their little lair, and drag them out. The sound of several pounds of hellfire burning through the metal could be heard around the corner as a sea of white and red sparks flew out… after several seconds, two of our men tossed a fragmentation grenade and a nine-bang through the opening… a series of concussive blasts and a large explosion rang out.
Echo-1 and his men maneuvered. 1st Squad quickly converged as we followed them in.
Stepping through the black wall of smoke, the dark abyss of the interior was illuminated in a white light as entered barrels raised. Shots rang out as several of the beasts near the entrance were cut down, though not immediately, rounds disconnected the shoulder of one of them, leading to their arm hanging limply by a single tendon as they roared… another series of rounds putting them down. What greeted us was a messy concrete hell of rust and debris, fecal matter, trash, and all kinds of obstacles laid in our way, our boots sticking to the floor. I thank every god we had promasks that night. I called my shield bearer up, 2nd squad leapfrogging ahead to take the next corridor as 1st squad checked their weapons.
One of my men mule kicked the metal door ahead, twice, finally the latch gave away as we tossed in a grenade. A horrifying roar was cut off as an M67 shook the walls of the ancient soviet mausoleum, frag and spall kicked off the walls as I moved in right behind my shield man. The cramped russian design meant there was barely enough space for three people, and that’s three normal people, not in 50kgs of kit, moving slowly and maneuvering against creatures of the dark. Still… we moved forward, my shield bearer and I pushing the pace as two stacked of either squad formed on either wall.
As we passed doorways they flowed in… “Door Left!!”, “Door Right!!”. “Move!!”.
Two men entered each side, no gunshots, we moved up, a roar came.
“Door left!!-”. A series of gunshots came out as we continued to push forward.
“Two down!!”. “Confirm them” Krol commanded, as a series of gunshots run out in response. From one of the doorways, a Strigoi emerged… a female… clumps of hair had been ripped from her decaying skull, as her blooded eyes locked on myself and my shieldman. The skin on her hands had been tore down to the point where barely her bones and tendons remain… looking like huge talons as she roared and lunged at us. He fired off his pistol, though the rounds did little to stop her as she pushed against our stack.
“Fuck!!” he muttered, somehow her strength caused him to stagnate, holding up the advance… fuck that. I shoved the muzzle of my MK18 into her ribcage, flipping the weapon to auto as I fired of round after round. The 5.56 salvo disconnecting her spinal column, causing her to fall as I continued to fire, along with a man to our right and left as the stacks reformed as we pushed to the end of the hall. I fell back, dropping the magazine and loading a fresh one, like clockwork a GROM Operator from 1st squad took my place. Krol was beside me as we approached the end of the hall.
[“-Prep an entry”] I radioed to my breacher, a comrade handed him one of the charges from his back panel as he took to the door, quickly securing it. We all moved as far back as we could, look away, exhale. The blast knocked metal and wood in all directions, scrapping against our uniforms and kit as we made our way in and what laid before us was… it used to be the center atrium of one of these bunkers. Soviet’s loved their grandiose designs, the complex was supposed to be a circular room around a central planning table… instead. It had been turned into some sort of church. Runes and old eastern Romuva pagan symbols written in black ink and blood across the walls, old rotten filing cabinets, long receipt terminals. In the center… several of the Strigoi were kneeling before the table where someone had been tied down, flayed, and… shared amongst the group. They rose to their feet, we aimed our barrels…
The ladder amongst turned to us… his skin wasn’t cracked, or flayed, it was smooth… it still looked dead as the body on the table but it seemed more… accustomed to it. I don’t know… evolved? Under the surface however I could see it’s darkened veins pumping whatever cursed blood ran through them as it locked two blood red eyes onto each of us. It’s nose had long since been turn off, exposing boney nostrils to the open air as it seemed to smirk. All across it’s body were the same symbols on the walls, in every cell… markings of death, of rebirth, of assimilation… From behind this seemingly Alpha emerges another figure I had never seemed before… dressed in a white cloak with a deer head.
"So they've followed the trail... they're too late" the Deer headed individual spoke, definitely not from here, a dialect similar to an Americans but... aristocratic? Each word was drawn out, assurance as if they had everything mapped down to our actions. They didn’t sound like they were from Poland or the east.
“Doesn’t matter…” the Alpha growled… and then, it lunged at us. Quickly breaking from their ground it slammed into my shield man knocking both him and myself at the ground as it displayed an intense feat of strength. Around us I could see several of the Strigoi leap at our comrades… though to no fruitful endeavor as I could see one GROM operator cut two down, as another got into a hand to hand confrontation… my breacher, crafty as they were, reached back and slammed one of the prybars of his kit into the skull of the beast.
The Alpha however was not content as it threw away the 90lb shield, sending it flying across the room as it grabbed my comrade by the skull. I quickly kicked up at it, firing my MK18 into it’s body as the rounds pierced it’s gray and rune covered flesh. The thing simply seemed to chuckle… that was until Major Krol blasted away at the side of it’s head, the alpha turned… and it’s smirk turned to a scowl when face to face with the major. A knowing pause almost like they had done this dance before…
The creature lunged, locking up with Major Krol as it swung and slammed railing. Krol didn’t back down however as he pushed against the creature, hiptossing it to the ground even as it tore at his armor and gear. But the beast pulled, both of them rolled and the Major was on his back as the thing reached for his neck. I fought to a kneel, firing into the creature messily with my MK18, trying not to hit my commander… then…
Click. A sound sends a chill up the spine of every warfighter during a firefight.
My gun ran dry. I dropped the magazine, looking to load another, but the thing came up and with one of it’s claws, sliced deep into my cheek, through the pro mask. I could feel my own blood go flying through the air as I landed hard on my back plate, spitting out red iron as I quickly tried to adjust my mask. Through my fogged up, blood covered lense… I saw my shield man raise his pistol, firing into the skull of the thing staggering it with a roar. Krol came from behind, drawing his knife he sunk it deep into the neck of it…. I reached for my rifle, forcing a new magazine in and damn near punching the bold release. ““Sir, down!!” I shouted, Krol rolled away, back to his own rifle as I fired. So did my comrade as he continued to fire his pistol… so did the Major as he fired his rifle. All of us chewing through that apex predator of darkness, that beast… the leader that had been preying on our people for so long. Layer by layer, muscle group by bone… eventually… the alpha landed on whatever was left of his back.
The silence of the fight died down as all of us checked our surroundings, GROM Operators putting controlled pairs in the heads and nerve stems of any Strigoi laying around… I flicked my weapon onto safe, letting it hang as I pulled off my mask. I dared not touch the wound on my face… the pain nearly crippling me if it wasn’t sheer will pushing me through, and adrenaline doing all it could to subdue it. The sound of the apaches continuing to lay hate drew us from our moment of contemplation as the Major went back to work; [“Confiscate any info, burn the rest…”]. He turned back to me as I shoved my damaged M50 mask back into it’s bag, chuckling as he looked at the sight; “You need a medevac, Blachowicz?” he quipped.
I shook my head, barely able to speak as I muttered; “Negative sir…”. The two of us scanned the room as my shield bearer went to collect his defense implement turned 90lb projectile, we scanned the center of the room, checking and confirming bodies, until we got to the last one alive. His white gown was soaked in red crimson and black ooze, as his dear head was mangled from bullet fire and impact from falling on it. I swear… the way his blood poured out of it though made me wonder if it was a mask. I gave it no second thoughts as he looked to Krol; “You… you can’t stop this, they’ve already-”.
The Major was in no mood for communication as his rifle snapped up and fired off three rounds to the body, four the head. The violent yet quick salvo ending the cultists life, I looked down at it, then to him as he remarked; “Have your squad drag him out to the front, burn the rest”. I stood alongside him, looking down as the sight of it’s deer head was both captivating and horrifying… the curiosity in me wanting to look closer at it fighting the primal instinct I had to burn the thing to ash. “-Haven’t seen one of those before…” I muttered, thinking the Major had an answer.
He didn’t. Krol saying “Neither have I…” shortly before he walked away, was what truly shook my soul about that entire night. Victory stood firm in our hearts that night as we stood outside of the bunker. The night sky burning with fire and white phosphorus as we watched the ruin burn from the inside from the other side of the lot. In the distance, the Apaches continued to scan and circle the forests, no longer firing…. Which meant they had driven any or turned to glass any enemy combatants within a four miles, probably both, more than likely the latter. Echo-1 patted me on the shoulder as we stood there, soaking it all in, though Krol looked none to pleased. “In the time it took us to take this one down, they’ll be trying to set up three more cells… that being established…” he said, looking to either of us, then to Echo-3. “-Hell of a thing we did tonight, been waiting for this one for a decade, cleanly, maybe more… but no time to rest on our laurels… we’ll have another task for us as soon as we’re boots down back home” he said, to which his eyes followed mine, the body of whatever cultist that was zipped up in a black body bag beside the wheel of one of the MRAPs. The fire from the bunker casting an orange hue over it’s shiny jet black outside, something didn’t sit right with me… “That wasn’t a Strigoi…” I said to Krol.
“That’s very clear…” the Major said, shoving his mask under his arm and lighting a cigarette. “So… someone’s helping them?” I asked. The meer notion of it shook me to my core, sickened me. This parasite was already badly infecting Europa, Polska… if it was spread like this throughout the world. Krol settled my nerves: “We’ll be ready… It’s not just us anymore”. As he said that, I realized what he meant… my eyes looking to the Apaches as they started to form up, leaving the areas as their thunderous propellers melted into the night’s calm, unnerving ambience.
It’s been a couple of weeks since then, Echo Detachment has been busy. We’ve gained good ground against the enemy and honestly I think in a few years, we might see a much larger change. For now… we must keep going, that being said the Strigoi aren’t the only ones we’ve been combating. Recently we’ve made contact with of some sort of extermination coalition, they’ve known about the Strigoi, and others plaguing the world, the level of corruption and corrosion on society goes deep. Regardless a lot of the units we’ve been working with are apart of NATO, such as this “4th Special Forces Group” of the American Military. I don’t know where the road from here leads, but we’ve gotten momentum on our side, finally. Just remember… these things are out there, in every town, every city, every nation… preying and waiting for you to be alone, vulnerable, so they can take you and replace you.
Watch your back, and stay safe.
For now, Blachowicz signing out. Until next time

I am sitting in one of the disused but quite beautiful parts of the neighborhood, waiting for it to rain.
The rain has already come and gone, a light rain that left traces of dampness on the pavement – the shade of the spring day darkens, becomes real, which is a comfort because that realness, that feeling of extra substance, comes from the water cycle working the way it's supposed to.
I feel it around my nostrils, on the cheeks of my face near the eyes, like I'm a frog looking up from its pond water, which is a pleasant feeling to sashay around town with. This is the spring we all know, the moisture appearing on my skin after drifting miles above the earth ten minutes earlier –
an epic plunge is what we are walking through, but it's already rising again, and let's face it – we live in a cook pot set on media, I mean medium – medium is the setting on the cook pot, which notice is more than a crock. From the frog’s point of view, it is ideal.
From our point of view, standing in the chop of the water cycle, we are soaring in the air – then minutes from now, we might be walking in the clouds, and who knows after that, but this is the context for comings and goings this mid-afternoon – this potential for levitation.
I find a broad and elegant tree stump to sit on and record the concrete. Someday we'll all have concrete recorders but today, we just have me.
The stumps are not indigenous to the property, at least I don't think so, but I'm not exactly sure why I don't think that, given that the facility that occupies the block was once probably a forest with abundant marshy places. The forest went, then some infrastructural evolution played out that upcycled into a world-class performing arts center.
Given that my art, before it is anything, is performative – watch the monkey paint words with a stick – I'm hand-in-glove with the performance of the plaza.
I am sitting in a grove of tree stumps, which automatically brings to mind entropy – we all will die someday, become handsome all-weather furniture that slowly disintegrates – but then the overwhelming pleasantness of the day causes the thought to move on, and the stumps become a moment in time that is also a cross-section of full biography, which is quite a thing to be sitting on, waiting for the rain.
The forecast, which I predict would be one of the more impressive modern achievements to the humans who lived through the ice age – just an opinion – the forecast –
I picture ice-age human faces in stunned wonder as weather prediction after weather prediction comes true. The forecast
says there is a one-hundred percent chance of rain later this afternoon, time precise to the quarter hour, but with Doppler weather radar, one can make one's own data-driven prediction about when the rain will start to the nearest few minutes.
Someday we'll wear watches that are nothing but countdown clocks ’til the next time the forecast calls for rain – when the clock reaches the nearest minute, it switches to seconds.
This broad, elegant stump I'm sitting on sets on a bed of gravel which, when it rains, can convince me it is river gravel – pick up a few of the rounded stones, give them a close look for evidence of the past. I briefly imagine
finding the remains of a sauropod, each piece of gravel containing a tiny piece of a single sauropod, which together add up to the most complete sauropod skeleton yet discovered.
The stump is all take and no give, and yet I think I prefer it to popping open a lawn chair – the imperviousness of the stump being conducive to recording the concrete.
My backside is about eighty-years wide, which is older than my age, which inspires thoughts about backing into predestination, at least where just sitting around on a fine spring day is concerned. Like a bump on a log in a way, and let's face it – the concrete doesn't get much more concrete than that. A splashing sound
comes from the page. I scan the paper like it’s the sky, and I'm waiting for an aerial firework to open, then I find the spot of rain splashed across the phrase think so – think so, is the phrase – which is followed by a second raindrop, this one hitting the word water, causing the ink to run a little.
A one-hundred percent chance – does that even make sense? I picture a barrel of rain, rolling across the plains. Perhaps we should feel lucky for being visited by such a probability – possibly years before it rolls around again.
Rain will undoubtedly fall at this time, we say to our ice-age guests, and they will hold up the one hand like it's rain, hold up the other like it's time, weigh the two sides side-by-side maybe, maybe invent that gesture where the dancer holds both palms above their heads, lifts them up and down like they're raising the roof.
Still, I'm not sure they'll really understand all those computer models, hypotheses wrapping themselves around big-data projects involving sensors and rain gauges deployed across the land, starting centuries ago. Science raised the roof, we might say, at least as far as weather prediction is concerned.
I sense the rain not exactly letting up, retreat to the interior of the performing arts center after taking a few notes.
Along part of the gravel is a long puddle of water from the overnight rain, and I would need but a few fish bones or raccoon tracks to believe the whole thing was situated beside a river, the sort of gravel bed surging with snow melt earlier in the season.
This being the Midwest, higher elevations are usually metaphorical, metaphorical before they are anything else, and I think about the campus surging with graduates this past weekend, the landscape of human potential, in all directions, inundated by them.
Inside now, I see a balloon bouquet along one wall of the concourse, with gold Mylar affirmation – The Best Is Yet to Come! – floating on the end of a ribbon.
A one-hundred percent chance of rain – imagine telling all those graduates, you have a one-hundred percent chance of finding love within a fortnight. Call it a graduation gift, then imagine all those rain gauges quivering in their brackets at the thought of measurements certain to be made, collated, used to improve the algorithms that animate the global gods of rain.
At the far end of the concourse, a lady is teaching a gentleman how to dance – they aren’t touching, aren’t even facing each other – side-by-side – and I hear her call out the moves, move-by-move.
Maybe he’s an actor and she’s going over a certain bit of choreography for an upcoming production. Maybe he’s a restless spirit, and she’s teaching him the art of haunting.
That ghost forest in the gravel outside is adjacent to one of the busiest intersections on campus, and yet, turn your back to it, and it becomes just another element in the stopping and starting of the cosmos.
I could see to either end of the block from that broad, elegant tree stump I was sitting on without really being seen from the street which, along with a lush stand of grass in a nearby raised garden bed, brings to mind the wide-open prairie from centuries past.
I picture deer bounding over golden rod. I picture foxes negotiating cone flowers.
The interior of the performing arts center is designed around the premise of potential – four theaters in league with the cardinal directions, plus a blindingly white amphitheater and a low stage in the concourse itself, where they hand out complimentary spliffs and pass around community bongs during free upbeat life-affirming musical programs, attended by folks after the workday is over, plus a helping of retirees.
Okay, not grass but alcohol, but you get the point – people enjoy shindigs now and then. The lady and gentleman are out of sight, but she’s still giving direction – I can hear their back and forth somewhere around the curve in the wall,
which might stand for the passing of time. I imagine myself performing the pasodoble – no, I take it back. I imagine myself performing the pasodoble – no, I take it back! For real this time! I imagine myself destroying the pasodoble – no, god, my boot heels! The planks on the floor! I take it back!
The sun returns, so I pick up my things, head back out to that secluded space, spend a few minutes admiring the resoundingly designed program of the building.
Preformed white concrete panels are suspended twelve feet off the ground to establish the roof of the entrance. Ninety-degree angles abundantly in evidence. Brick pixelates the angled outer walls with the stuff of the earth. Ultra-high resolution, they call it around the masonic lodge.
Someone in the amphitheater is having their photo taken by a professional – everyone loves to do photo shoots there. She is wearing dark knee socks, a navy jumper and a blue bowl haircut, or maybe it’s a wig – I can’t tell from here. I picture anime or promotional material for this fine spring day.
A squirrel bounds through the grass – then poses in front of me, paws together, as though summoning oration.
A robin alights on the stone cladding of the raised beds, begins to stand exclusively on its left leg. The leg is angled under the center of mass – it’s a practiced move.
No one knows why the American robin does this – maybe it’s like bird meditation, though the memory of the American robin is so specifically extraordinary when it comes to navigation and geospecific locations that effectively, at the sensual level on up, it is living in a reality separate from our own, so who knows what meditation might mean.
They can see the magnetic fields of the earth in their eyes using a protein called cryptochrome, which reacts to magnetism. Cryptochrome – like something from the Marvel universe.
Maybe when the American robin stands on its left leg, it’s spacing out to the daytime reality of solar storms, the whole environment all aflutter with a phenomenology of waves passing around the material world.
The robin and the squirrel go their separate ways, and I feel the temperature drop – ah, me! the pasodoble! – as the next part of the front crosses campus.
A peel of thunder indicates the breaking of the sound barrier by means of electromagnetism and the displacement of gasses. Electromagnetic properties experience disequilibrium as a kind of earthquake in the sky that causes the air to vibrate in an awe-inspiring way – the sound magnetic fields make when they rearrange themselves in a gaseous atmosphere.
We are fluid dwellers, through and through, we humans and mammals and reptiles and amphibians and lichen gnawing on patches of the plaza’s concrete. Maybe from the standpoint of the atmosphere, land is just one big coral reef.
When that perfect destiny began to drop rain, the sound at first was curious, expectant – an all-squinty-eyed-and-kissy-faced sort of rain began to fall that grew into a snowy hum that seemed to have a simple song playing inside it, like someone playing a ukulele in the room next door, singing along.
The gig carries on for twenty minutes or so – an opening act – before the rain begins to march double time through the streets – barely soldiers even when they were soldiers.
Less tactic and more matador, this rain storm, and its boot heel crashes down on the planking of the still-lovely spring day. These magnetic storms are not
for war making, nor fighting bulls, nor even for entertaining that cosmic bird called the American robin. What are they for then?
American robins also configure their flight by the stars, by remembering features on the land, by creating mental maps of it all.
And they swim with both grace and endurance, as they navigate this liquid world, this concrete way of life.
In the moment, they are roosting in a tree, observing the silver magnetic waves marching through the streets. Made of what? The pasodoble! Concrete.

Wisdom teeth removal, also known as third molar extraction, is a common dental procedure that offers several benefits:

1. Prevention of Impaction: Wisdom teeth often don't have enough room to emerge properly, leading to impaction, where they become trapped beneath the gum line. Impacted wisdom teeth can cause pain, swelling, and even infection. Removing them before they become impacted can prevent these issues.
   
2. Prevention of Crowding:- Wisdom teeth can exert pressure on neighboring teeth as they try to emerge, leading to crowding and misalignment of teeth. Removing them can prevent overcrowding and preserve the alignment of your teeth.
   
3. Prevention of Damage to Adjacent Teeth: Impacted wisdom teeth can push against adjacent teeth, causing damage such as decay, erosion, or even displacement. Removing them can prevent damage to nearby teeth.
   
4. Reduction of Pain and Discomfort: Wisdom teeth can cause pain and discomfort, especially if they are impacted or erupting at an angle. Removing them can alleviate this pain and improve oral comfort.
   
5. Prevention of Infections: Impacted wisdom teeth can create pockets where bacteria can accumulate, leading to infections such as gum disease or abscesses. Removing them reduces the risk of such infections.
   
6. improvement of Oral Hygiene: Wisdom teeth can be difficult to clean properly due to their location at the back of the mouth. Removing them can make oral hygiene practices more effective and reduce the risk of cavities and gum disease.
   
7. Prevention of Cysts and Tumors: Impacted wisdom teeth can sometimes develop cysts or tumors, which can cause damage to the jawbone and surrounding teeth. Removing them reduces the risk of these complications.
   

Overall, wisdom teeth removal can promote oral health and prevent various dental issues, providing long-term benefits for your overall well-being. However, it's essential to consult with a dentist or oral surgeon to determine whether wisdom teeth removal is necessary for your specific situation.

I've been wanting to get more serious about losing weight, I put on abit of extra weight during my relationship with my n-ex by stress eating.. With the weight gain being adjacent with the overall abuse within the relationship, I feel very angry about it and have been wanting to lose the weight but moving back in with my nparents has made this a challenge due to Their pressure and want to CONTROL me and the still present stress factor.
I got triggered scrolling social media and started thinking about all the unflattering pictures my nmom has posted of me and my older sister over the years. IT'S FUCKING RIDICULOUS. She even has a couple of unhinged screenshotted photos of my uncle just sitting on the couch from her fucking surveillance cameras... and he wasn't even looking at the camera.
She's been addicted to Facebook and making stupid ass posts and posting stupid ass pictures that no one even cares about FOR YEARS...
IT'S LIKE YOU CAN TELL SOMETHING'S OBVIOUSLY NOT RIGHT WITH HER AND NO ONE EVEN CARES!!
I'm not even kidding, there's 1,000s of pictures on her FB... and among them there's several pictures posted of me where I'm not looking at the fucking camera, or I blinked, bad hair days, unflattering angles, ETC... Basically if I want to feel ugly, I just have to scroll through her FB photos... whereas I look like a COMPLETELY different person in the photos that I take of Myself.
Seriously, WHO Does THAT??? Who the fuck posts pictures of people when they're not even aware or clearly not even looking at the camera... She's always made me and my sister feel so ugly and unattractive that whenever I had guys in highschool or at work as an adult hit on me and flirt I'd be taken so off guard... at every job I had I've always had people flirt with me and I'm not trying to fucking brag I'm just saying nmom legitimately gave me mild body dysmorphia... for years I'd look in the mirror and feel so confused as to what I was looking at, never saw myself attraction until I started HEALING.

Good afternoon, Reddit community. Tough to make this a short summary (as this has been my work life for the last 25 years). The question(s) will be at the end. First, I want the community to know that I am grateful every day to do what I love for a living. For a retail job, I love most everything about it: the people I work with, the clients I serve, the product I sell, the location, and for the most part, my compensation. Here's the timeline with some relevant facts:
-Began as a college job in 1999 for small family business. I was one of 5 part-timers (all students) working under two owners/managers/partners. Although family, one partner was seldom present and was effectively a silent partner. My long-term plan was not to be with this company once I was done with school.
-Partner I worked for had a newborn and was needing to be out of the store more often to raise the baby. Upon graduation, I interviewed many places in my field of study, and received several offers. At this point, the business had never had a full-timer outside the family. A few factors forced the need for a full-time manager outside of the family. The offer presented to me was very low. When I declined, they inquired what I was being offered from the other organizations. I gave them info on salary, benefits, insurance, etc. They went back to the drawing board and came back with a decent starting salary, but with no benefits. In lieu of benefits, etc, that they couldn't initially offer, they said there would be some investment opportunities I could participate in with them in to make up for what the offered package was lacking.
-Several opportunities came and went that the tow partners kept secret, and I wouldn't find out about until it was too late. I was never invited to participate in what have now become some very lucrative revenue streams. I was young, broke, naive, and hopeful. For reasons I won't get into here (not because of privacy, but in the interest of best use of your time), I stayed because the money was getting gradually better, and I was building a good reputation for myself. Now, my reputation and craft is held in high regard.
-Very, very long story short, the company has gone from 6 people in the organization to over 30 employees, most of which are full-time. The two owners are absent and have been for the most part since I began. They are millionaires several times over, and because of me and one other employee (that are the faces of the business), they have been able to be freed up to go find other investment opportunities that have created them significantly high passive income.
-3 or 4 years in, I attempted (and have attempted many times since with no success) to buy into the business, no matter how small of a percentage it is. No selling any portion, no benefits, no 401K, no insurance, no profit sharing, no options of any type. I finally had a breakthrough when I talked them into a group health insurance plan, then a 4% match 401k plan. Yes, I want those things for myself, but from a business perspective, those are things that will attract and keep great help around. Here's the kicker: the full health insurance premium is deducted from my pay, and they will only match 1% of the 401k contribution because that's all they can write off. If I want the other 3%, I have to contribute it myself on their own behalf. Pretty f'd up and I believe illegal. I stayed, because I was single, loved the overall environment, and was making good commissions for a person in their 20's and early 30's, and other reasons too long to explain here. Yes, I should've left, but I didn't.
-For years, I made a decent salary, with a good commission, but it felt lacking. No matter many times and how hard I fought to convince them to bring their pay and benefits structure into the 20th century (much less the 21st), it would never come. About 8 years ago, there was somewhat of a breakthrough. In recognition of my (and the other 'face of business' employee), they offered us a 'override' pay structure...a good base salary and/or a percentage of total organization sales, whichever greater, to be settled every month. Even though we wouldn't be allowed to become partners, this at least made the pay feel 'partner-adjacent'. Major plus and a long time coming.
-Early last year, we took about 10 steps back. The company's volume has had a significant increase every year with 2020 being the exception. The owners called us into a meeting in early 23 to say that we (not me but buyers, and the owner is a buyer) had been overbuying for a few years, and needed us 'to take one for the team' for a while until the buys and inventory was back under manageable control. Revoked our override and put back on salary with commission, collectively reducing our total incomes by 33-40%. They came from a sympathetic angle claimed to not have taken a check from the business for themselves for a couple years, which I actually believe....but if your other business interests generate plenty of $, taking no money from the store serves wonderfully at tax time for loss claims, saving tremendous amounts of $ in taxes. At the conclusion of the meeting, they gave us hope, saying that we would monitor the progress we've made by trimming the fat and have meeting in the 4th quarter to see where we've improved, and although we might not get back to the override structure, that maybe would be an improvement and a compromise going forward beginning in 24. We never had those progress meetings, and well into the 4th quarter when I reached out in a group message with my other coworker and the two owners, one of them called me out for my 'audacity' to call them out in a group. I blew up on them, saying that was their words, their plan, not mine. The offending owner later text me to apologize.
-The reason for this post is I blew up again a few days ago at the end of the day on my other 'face of the business' coworker. The major change is now this person does more of the sales managing, scheduling, buying, and other mundane but necessary tasks, but my success depends on sales. I had a family member pass, and wanted to be out of town to attend the funeral, and I did. Under the improved, preferred pay structure, where the store 'watches out for me' when I have to be away, I would've made a healthy day of pay, which I have earned. Instead, missing the one day, I lost at minimum $600 but more likely up to nearly $2000.
-In an organization of 26-35 employees depending on the time of year, my sales account for a minimum of 15% of total sales, most of the time averaging 23-25% of total sales, and on slower weekdays, sometimes upwards of 80%.
-The senior owner has called a meeting between the two of us for tomorrow morning.
The question: If you were in a work position where you're a high producer, and all other details you love, would you stay or would you go? Early on, I was made to believe I would be included in some of what I call 'empire-building', but have been excluded at every turn. All the while, treating the business like I own it, take pride in it, and want to do everything I can to make it a better 'mouse-trap' for clients as well as good help...Why do the owners not want those things for their own business too?
TL;DR--- In long-term career, hit the ceiling years ago, great business with bad ownership (with endless promises and good intentions that never come to fruition)...Even with pay cut, I make good money, but feel completely disrespected. A hard-earned pay structure was given for a few years then revoked. I have little savings because of unforeseen circumstances over the years. Feeling resigned, and that I've thrown my prime working years away. If I stay, it could be more of the same. If I go, and re-start, I wouldn't earn 1/2 of what it's taken so long to get to, but I will gain the most valuable commodity...time with people and interests I love. What would you do?