Hello friends. I am willing to bundle or trade all of these knives together for a cheaper sale or trade value. Make me an offer!
Trade preferences: Folders or fixies

• Italian made knives - lionsteel, fox, viper, mkm, giantmouse, beretta
• Kizer
• Kershaw (Leek, Bel Air)
• Civivi
• Spyderco
• Zero Tolerance
• Willing to entertain any trade. I prefer smaller form factor knives in general.

Budget OTF Bundle

I bought these two knives brand new (along with another automatic that I already sold here) from an auction. I thought I'd be into the whole automatic thing, but I'm not. At least not yet. Unfortunately, since it was an auction, I can't return these. Both of these seem to retail at $45-$55 each.
Smith & Wesson SWOTF9TB - Black handle, Black Tanto AUS-8 Oxide Coated Blade - Imgur link with video and detailed photos
Description

• Edge Condition: Brand New.
• Ownership: First owner. They're both about 1 month old. Both came to me sealed in box.
• Centering/Lockup: See photos. No noticeable centering issues to my eye.
• Action: Seems solid to me. Video in imgur link shows the action.
• Body Condition: No issues.
• Box and papers: Included. The box for this one is a bit ratty on the edges (as shown in photos)
• Modifications: None
• Disassembled: Never

M&P by Smith & Wesson 1084315 - Flat Dark Earth handle, Black Spear Tip AUS-8 Oxide Coated Blade - Imgur link with video and detailed photos
Description

• Edge Condition: Brand New.
• Ownership: First owner. They're both about 1 month old. Both came to me sealed in box.
• Centering/Lockup: See photos. No noticeable centering issues to my eye.
• Action: Seems solid to me. Video in imgur link shows the action.
• Body Condition: No issues.
• Box and papers: Included. This box is much neater.
• Modifications: None
• Disassembled: Never

Updated Timestamp for both
SV: $65 $58 $50 for both. $40 for both if paired with one of the knives below.
TV: $80 $70 $60 for both.

Spyderco Caly 3 Hap40/SUS410 Sprint Run C113GPGR with RGT Clip

I'm the second owner of this knife. I have never used it, but it was used by the first owner. It's a sprint run and it's a neat forest green. The blade appears a bit scratched and the previous owner said they did strop it.
Imgur Link with Detailed Photos and Video
Updated Timestamp
Description

• Edge Condition: stropped, but I don't believe it's been sharpened
• Ownership: Second owner.
• Centering/Lockup: See photos/video, may be slightly off center, but overall appears centered
• Action: Seems solid and smooth to me. Video in imgur link shows the action.
• Body Condition: Handle has some markings but nothing major. Clip has a snail trail near the screw. Blade has some snail trails / light scratches. See video for detailed video in natural light.
• Box and papers: Included. The box is fairly worn.
• Modifications: RGT clip. Comes with original clip as well.
• Disassembled: The previous owner added the clip, but that's all I'm aware of.

SV: $170 $150
TV: $200 $180

Kizer Feist S35VN Frame Lock Knife Black Titanium Ki3499A5 (2.8" Black)

I'm the first owner. Bought this knife brand new. I opened it a handful of times, but never cut anything. Overall it's in great condition.
Imgur link with detailed photos and video
Updated Timestamp
Description

• Edge Condition: Unused (LNIB)
• Ownership: First owner
• Centering/Lockup: No apparent issues
• Action: Buttery smooth. Really fun and fidgety.
• Body Condition: There is a very small mark on the handle up towards the action. Blade looks brand new. There is a small splotch that came on the knife when I bought it (I guess a small splotch of knife oil?)
• Box and papers: Included. Good condition except some markings on the bottom of the exterior sleeve
• Modifications: None
• Disassembled: Never

SV: $75 $60
TV: $90 $80

Hello everybody, I am happy to have found you here.
I hope you won't mind, but as the title suggests, I am asking for advice about what to do with a ~60 years old spruce tree, which my grandfather planted near the house, around the year 1958-1960. It has grown quite tall, and it is in a residential area, and I am starting to become a bit worried that the spruce might become a risk. I found out recently from an acquaintance that spruce trees are susceptible to fall under heavy winds because of their root system (more sideways than downwards). I would not say that the area is particularly windy but we do have our share of summer storms with gusts up to 90km/h (56 mph), maybe sometimes more than that (I don't know how to accurately measure this).
The spruce looks quite healthy to me (an untrained eye), and with the exception of the resin that I'll show in a picture below I do not observe any other particularity to it, it has grown straight and I did not detect any curvature to the trunk that might create an awkward center of gravity.
In the video, in the part where I gesticulate I am showing an area where I had to do some digging in 2020 and I damaged the roots there, but I did not notice any difference after that. The yellow metal pipe is the gas pipe, which adds to the fear factor a bit as it nearly touches the tree,
The spruce diameter at the chest level is 45-47cms (17.7-18.5 inches), and the circumference is approx. 156cm/5.11 feet, measured with a tailor measuring tape. I am not good at estimations for the height but I would say it is around 11-13 meters (33-39 feet).
I wanted to hire an expert to measure the health status of the tree trunk with some sensor scanners but I was told that it might be useless if I don't measure the roots health as well, which is unavailable in my area. (a town in a forested area in Transylvania, in Romania).
I spoke with a company specialized in pruning/felling and they told me that I could get away with just removing parts of the branches, to keep it's shape and make the wind apply less force to it (I hope this made sense). They said that removing the top is not an option for this tree, and they did not rule out the option of cutting it altogether, but the final choice is up to me.
The truth is that if, worst case scenario, the tree will crash, it might cause damage to infrastructure and/or other property, not to mention endangering other people's lives. The fact that it touches my house and roof, and it fills it up with needles is not that big of a problem as I clean it up regularly.
It would break my heart to cut this tree down as it has special meaning to me as it was planted by my (now deceased) grandfather, and I love the beautiful symmetrical shape it has grown into (not to mention the fact that it adds character to an otherwise dull street), but I realize that its time will come at some point, and I must admit that I am a bit anxious about this (that house has become a sort of vacation home for me so I can not always be there to check for any early warning signs, not that I would know them). If you feel that I must take action then I'll do just that, be it pruning or felling it. If it's the latter I will take the advice of someone from the company I talked to and plant other 2-3 trees after.
To sum it up, judging after the pictures and my description of it, what would you recommend to do with this tree? Will it be enough to prune some branches for now, or would it be best to cut it down? What are some warning signs I should look out for if that is the case?
My apologies for the long read, and thank you very much.
https://preview.redd.it/mazpm4lpxm4d1.jpg?width=2736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a4edbbb4b3630daa06410db88c5937486daf8315
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https://reddit.com/link/1d8aqo9/video/nsuk7k6rxm4d1/player

After seeing the previous post of the WRX and BRZ sales being low, I was curious to know which Subaru vehicles are doing well in this market and the fluctuation in market trends, so I did some digging around.
Only the Crosstrek, Forester, and Solterra are selling better than last year's figures, while the WRX, BRZ, Outback, Ascent, Impreza, and Legacy are trending down in sales. I know this data doesn't paint the entire picture, but it seems like, from looking at the data, that their brand is focusing on niche outdoor crossovers/SUVs rather than performance cars. And, of course, factoring in the increase in new car prices nowadays.
2024 US Vehicle Sales Figures By Model GCBC (goodcarbadcar.net)

I'm attempting to map out a fight where the players have to stop some magical constructs from destroying the forest and killing its inhabitants.
My idea is that the constructs are automated with spinning saws/grinders in front and will just move a set distance towards the treeline every round, while enemies try to protect the constructs from being destroyed by the party and their allies.
My question is, how do I determine the HP for these "bulldozers" (for lack of a better word) while still factoring in that the party is also going to have to fight some goblins and bugbears?
My initial thought was that they'd have NPC allies that need to be conscious for a certain number of rounds on top of the bulldozers disabling their magic shields, and then the party doesn't have to do much damage to the dozers to destroy them.
But I think it would be more engaging if there was no "time gate" on killing the bulldozers, and they'd need to budget their damage between the dozers and the enemy combatants. If I go that route, how do I determine the health of these bulldozers?
Another idea is Perhaps even let THEM disable the shields (which could be represented as temporary HP) by jumping on top and rolling some skill checks.

Introduction:

Hello, Hello everyone! I hope yall are doing good, and a Happy Pride Month to any and all who celebrate it. With a new month, comes a new challenge, and this one was right up my alley. Some of you will remember this concept from a couple of weeks ago, when it was a mere rough concept, but after taking feedback and seeing this month's challenge, I have fully ironed it all out. This is also the first time I have designed a Support Champion instead of a Carry or Bruiser style, and as you can probably tell from my submission history, I love making Mechanically Complex and Unique Champions. A Mechanically Complex/Unique Support was difficult for me, but as I mentioned, I got a lot of good feedback from people, and was able to create O'Rin, Lady of Butterflies
O'Rin is an Ionian, Vastaya that is supposed to be a mix of Battle Mage (or Warlock as I like to call them) and Enchanter, similar to Karma in that intrinsically she is a Support Champion that needs to be with an Ally in order to function, however she provides extreme amounts of Battlefield Utility and Damage, in this case through her Butterflies. Unlike Karma however, O'Rin is almost firmly set as a Bot LaneSupport Champion because her abilities revolve and rely on her allies. She could be a Mid Laner, in conjunction with a very tempo-oriented or Snowballing style Jungler, however she has very little tools in her kit that this would require, namely waveclear, consistent damage abilities and Lane Pressure of her own. On the other hand, just like Karma, O'Rin is designed to forego the traditional Support Items, barring World Atlas and maybe Imperial Mandate, in favor of AP Items as she scale incredibly well with Raw AP and Mage items in general. I foresee her Core build being World Atlas (Zak'Zak's Realmspike) > Imperial Mandate > Rabadan's Deathcap > Banshees's Veil/Cosmic Drive/etc in order to maximize the AP that she can get to turbocharge not only her Butterflies but also her abilities, especially considering that the abilities come with decently long cooldowns.
As to how she support's her Allies, O'Rin provides devastatingly powerful effects at the cost of long Cooldowns and Conditional Activation that relies on her teammates. She is very clearly designed to work in Higher Elos with Higher Skill pilots, however she provides a vast array of tools within her kit. The Butterflies on their own provide True Damage, Nearsighting. Crowd Control Amplification, Executes, %Max Health Burn Damage, Damage Amplification and Healing. Of course you cannot access these effects at the same time, but similar to Viego, participating in a Takedown Chain will allow you to rapidly cycle between effects of your choosing, allowing you to rapidly inflict whatever effects you want while in the middle of combat. In addition, her actual abilities provide Knock backs, Stuns, Heals, Shields, and of course work with her butterflies, creating a very potent Support Champion, at the cost of being incredibly squishy, incredibly complex and incredibly team reliant. More specific detail will be talked about in the Analysis Section below.

Base Stats:

Base Health: 530 + 90/Level
Health Regen: 4.0 + 0.5/Level
Base Mana: 400 +35/Level
Mana Regen: 7 + 0.5/Level
Armor: 30 + 4/Level
Magic Resist: 28+ 2/Level
Base AD: 50
Base AP: 70
Movement Speed: 335
Attack Range: 575

Abilities:

Passive: Butterfly Swarm:
O'Rin has a swarm of 3 Butterflies surrounding her, increasing by 1 when she reached Level 6, 11 and 16. Damaging Abilities and Applying Crowd Control send a Butterfly with a Unique Effect to that enemy. Healing or Shielding an Ally will instead send a Butterfly to them, empowering them to send a Butterfly of their own via the same conditions. Butterflies will stay with Allies for 15 seconds, before returning to O'Rin. If an Ally dies while bonded to a Butterfly, the Butterfly will immediately return to O'Rin.
Enemies can only be affected by a Butterfly' sent from the same Host every 10 seconds, unless Monarch's Ascension is used, Once a Butterfly has applied its' effects, it takes 1-5 Seconds, depending on distance from O'Rin, to return to her, and it cannot be sent to an enemy or ally until it is fed again.
O'Rin's Butterflies apply Unique Effects, depending on what plant O'Rin has fed them. Once all of O'Rin's Butterflies have been sent to an Enemy and returned, they must be fed again for the next 1.5 seconds, during which they are unable to be sent to an Enemy or Ally. O'Rin can choose what plant to feed them, to change what effect they apply:
White Lotus: Butterflies will deal an additional 12.5% Current Health True Damage to their Target
Black Nightshade: Butterflies will Nearsight Enemies and reduce their Movement Speed by 50% for 3 seconds. Additionally, the duration of any Crowd Control Effects applied within this time is amplified by 50%
Green Hemlock: Butterflies will Execute target Enemies if they fall below 7.5% Max Health. This effect will apply up to 1.5 seconds after the Butterfly lands on a target.
Red Wisteria: Butterflies will burn Enemies for 7.5% Max Health Magic Damage over 3 seconds
Blue Jasmine: Butterflies will deal an additional 40 + 20% Bonus AP Magic Damage to the target, and heal O'Rin or the ally which they where bonded to by 150% of the damage dealt.
Additionally, Butterflies will apply O'Rin's On-Hit and On-Damage effects only, however an Ally's Attack or Ability will apply their On-Hit or On-Attack effects like normal, via their own Attack or Ability.
Q: Chrysalis Kunai
Passive: O'Rin can store an amount of charges of this ability equal to the maximum amount of Butterflies she has. She regenerates a charge every 3 seconds. When she runs out of charges, O'Rin must be out of combat for at least 5 seconds before she will start regenerating charges again. Each charge has a 0.5 second, static cooldown between uses.
Enemies hit with 3 Kunai within 3 seconds are Knocked Away from O'Rin. If they hit Terrain, they are stunned for 0.75 Seconds, and a Butterfly is sent to them, if one is available and will apply its' effect, regardless of Butterfly Swarm.
Active: O'Rin throws an enchanted Kunai at a target enemy, dealing 20/30/40/50/60 + 35% Total AP Magic Damage.
Static Cooldown: 0.5 Seconds
Static Mana Cost: 25
W: Nectar of the Ancients
Passive: On Takedown, O'Rin can re-feed her Butterflies.
Active: O'Rin gives a target Ally some of her Sacred Nectar, healing them for 50/60/70/80/90 +40/45/50/55/60% Bonus AP and giving them 25/30/35/40/45% Bonus Movement Speed for the next 2.5/2.75/3/3.25/3.5 Seconds.
Cooldown: 15 Seconds
Mana Cost: 75
E: Flight of Beauty
Passive: While under the effects of Flight of Beauty, Allies cannot receive a Butterfly from O'Rin via Nectar of the Ancients, or Items, unless O'Rin is the target, in which case all of her Butterflies will contribute towards this ability.
Active: O'Rin surrounds herself or an Ally with half of her Butterflies, prioritizing ones that must be fed, granting them a (30/40/50/60 + 15/20/25/30/35% Total AP) per Butterfly, Shield for the next 2.5 Seconds. During this time, if any of the Butterflies can still apply their effects, and O'Rin or her Ally attempts to send a Butterfly to an enemy, then they will leave their Host and the Shield will decrease by the aforementioned amount.
Cooldown: 22/19/16/13/10 Seconds
Mana Cost: 125
R: Monarch's Ascension
Passive: If O'Rin dies while her Butterflies are in a Frenzy, the Butterflies will leave their hosts, and the Frenzy will dissipate.
Active: O'Rin summons all of her Butterflies back, feeds them with a plant of her choosing, puts them into a Frenzy for the next 15 seconds, and then sends her Butterflies to all of her nearby Allies. While in a Frenzy, they gain the following benefit;

• Butterflies can now apply their effects 3 times before they must be fed again
• Butterflies will now travel 2x faster to and from Targets, Allies and O'Rin
• While in a Frenzy, Butterflies will return to their Host instead of O'Rin
• Butterflies from the same Host can affect the same Target every 3 seconds now

Once all Butterflies have calmed down, they return to O'Rin and must be fed once again.
Cooldown: 180/120/60 Seconds
Mana Cost: 100

Lore:

Long Ago, when peace and harmony covered the land, the Spirits walked freely across the Land of Ionia. With them, the Vastaya did as well, romancing the humans and embracing the calm and steady life that Ionia was known for. Each Spirit took the form of an animal native to Ionia, and roamed the land, wholly unknown to the commonfolk and sustaining the Spirit of Ionia itself.
Mirithra, the Spirit of Nature itself, was oft to take the form of a Large, Colourful Butterfly and roamed the land, making sure that the Humans and Vastaya alike kept it proper. Myths and Legends grew from this, describing either a gentle, protective Butterfly that blessed those who came upon it, or a monstrous, cannibalistic flying creature that consumed any and all who dared tread foot on its' land. Nobody knew which story was true, yet all who walked amongst the sleepy forests, along the ivory coasts, up the craggy, granite peaks kept this story in mind. At the same time, others dismissed such things as the story that it was.
Indeed, there where some that took this the other way, and instead of treading carefully, took it upon themselves to hunt and slay this creature, not understanding what it actually was. Most failed, however after the son of a Lord was killed, the Spirit was hunted and slain. The beautiful butterfly that once flew through the forests, was cast into the depths of a dark cave. Its wings broken, its body full of stone and lead, it reverted into a Chrysalis and the Spirit went into a deep hibernation.
Millennia passed, and the tectonic forces of the world eventually revealed the entrance to the cave once more, and this was how O'Rin's ancestors found it. Still in the Golden Age of Ionia, her ancestors nurtured the Chrysalis, for they where stewards of the land instead of defilers of nature. After many years, the Spirit awoke yet again, but this time forsoke its bestial form. The only remnant was an intricate tattoo in the shape of a butterfly, that lain upon the chest of the clan's newborn child. But this was no ordinary marking, for rather it was a blessing by the Spirit upon its' caretakers, that gave them an extended life of eternal youth and the ability to commune with the Spirits themselves.
The ones marked by such a tattoo where elevated to Matriarch or Patriarch of the clan itself, for such powers where a sight to behold, and came with great wisdom and a long, powerful life. Yet for all these gifts, only the first born child of the Blessed could be granted such powers as well, and upon that child's birth, the Blessed would be found dead and a Butterfly would be found amongst the child's cradle. The butterfly would be a lifelong companion of the new Blessed, as they grew and matured both into a caretaker of Ionia and as the head of the clan.
O'Rin was the newest in this line. Just as previous generations had, her mother had died in childbirth, and her father had vanished, and in their place O'Rin was born with the tattoo upon her chest and a venom black butterfly resting upon her cradle. Such an ominous sign was not forgotten by the clan's elders, for this was the first time in history that a Black Butterfly was found with a child. In a quick, panic-driven, fear-induced coup, they cast out O'Rin as the head of the house, throwing her into the deepest, darkest prison within the massive estate.
Located amongst the high peaks of Northern Ionia, within the dense granite, the prison was O'Rin's home for the first part of her life. Yet within the darkness, amongst the cool air, isurrouunded by unyielding stone, the Black Butterfly found its way to O'Rin and just as previous generations, accompanied her as she grew within the the Prison known only as The Well of Despair. Yet instead of despair, O'Rin grew and matured with a sense of defiance. Instead or murderers, rapists and all other sort of criminals, she found instead people who where loyal to the estate rather then the Elders. Unbeknownst to the recent generations, the clan's elders had slowly corrupted and consolodated power to themselves, deposing all who stood in their way, and turning O'Rin's family into a puppet, while they ran the estate for themselves. With the Black Butterfly at her side, these former soldiers, stewards, clerics and advisors raised O'Rin in the ways of her ancestors. Reading by the ghostly candlelight, sh learned of the legends behind her family. Training by the handful of hours fo snlight, she became adept at a multitude of martial arts. Speaking in echoes through the mountains, she learned the Common Languages and the Uncommon languages.
In time, her Vastayan Roots came to fruition as well. From a young age, her skin was mottled and grew into rough scales. Her tongue, grew longer, and eventually split into a fork during her teenage years. Her irises changed from wholly circular to narrow slits, yet her vision became acutely stronger. Through her childhood, such changes where met with awe, and could not be controlled,yet in her teenage years she became adept at changing herself at will. She could disguise her mottled, scales as pale, smooth skin. She coudl shorten and fuse her tongue for a short time. She could rapidly grow out her hair after much exhaustion, to lose it days later.
Soon, her day of reckoning came, for upon her ascent to womanhood, she and her adoptive family escaped from the mountain prison, and set off for her ancestral home. Behind her a massive vanguard followed, made up of all those who who where falsely imprisoned with her, but also the humans and vastaya alike who where downtrodden by the clan's elders. Yet beside her always, was the same Black Butterfly that had been with her since birth.
She and her allies quickly overwhelmed the Elder's soldiers, and she retook her ancestral position back. With great speed and brutal efficiency, she purged the corruption and rot within the estate and instituted people who where not only loyal, but also capable in their place. Nevermore, was anything like this going to happen to her family again, and indeed the estate continued to thrive. Notably, she had her people hide and protect her lands with the strongest magic they knew of. Nestled between a mountain ranges, and amongst sleepy forests, these magiks guaranteed their survival from any potential physical and political invaders.
By in large the estate functioned like normal. Her vassals continued with their life, living in peace and prosperity like all before them, but she instituted a strict return to the stewardship that had been lost generations ago. Her land, while physically hidden, was quite easily accessible, and it became a respite for the Spirits, be they escaping from Human Hunters, or the Azakana that opposed them. Make no mistake, Humans, Vastaya and all in between lived amongst her estate, but only the Spirits could come and go as they pleased.
The heart of this Stewardship, was the Butterfly Shrine, where not only the original Spirit of Nature, Mirithra, permanently lived, but any other Spirit could visit to rest and recover in either their Mortal Form or their Animalistic Form. The Butterfly Shrine was half in the physical realm and half in the Spirit Realm, and was the crown jewel of O'Rin's estate. Humans could come and go, offering prayers and offerings to the Spirits, while the Spirits themsleves could rest, safe from the influence of physical hunters and Azakana alike.
The smoke from prayer incense drifted constantly through the air. Silent prayer took place amongst the Courtyards and Gardens. Food and other offerings where placed at the numerous shrines. The Gardens themselves where tended and amongst the plants, an incomprehensible collection of Butterflies lived with the Spirits. Notably, O'Rin's signature Black Butterfly could always be seen amongst the swarm of rainbow colored insects, for just like her ancestors, O'Rin had the power to commune directly with the Spirits directly within the realm, and served as bridge between worlds, and Mirithra had quickly bonded with her, re-uniting her family line, with the Spirit itself.
It was her duty as the Speaker of the Spirits to commune with them, but it was also her duty as Aegis of the Ancients to protect them as well. Such was the case, when invaders pierced the veil between worlds and began to defile the land with chaotic, dark magic. Yet as quick as they came, they fell quicker still for O'Rin wielded powers that where hitherto unseen. The gardens of the Butterfly Shrine, home to Butterflies and Spirits alike, rose up against the invaders. Thought quite beautiful, the Butterflies where capable of destruction themselves and O'Rin was their caretaker.
In time, she met a handful of outsider, that somehow traversed through the Spirit World and had arrived at the Butterfly Shrine. She knew not how they had survived, nor why they had come, yet all who arrived where clearly strong enough to survive amongst the Spirit Wilds, and respectful of the Spirits themselves to travel amongst them for so long. She met a tall, lithe swordsmen, with a red mask bound to his face, bleeding from many wounds and collapsed upon the forest's floor. She met a Ninja Master and his Apprentice, traveling amongst the Wilds, in search of the Spirits themselves, in search of harmony. She met an armored warrior. and his Acolytes, wielding shadowy, chaotic magic also in search of a Spirit. She offered them a respite, amongst her people and Spirit's alike and it was only their respect of the Spirits that kept them alive. As for keeping the Butterfly Shrine a secret, O'Rin bound all of them with a Blood Oath before they left the refuge, cursing them to hold their tongue lest they immolate in unending Spirit Fire.
In time, she found herself growing older, and with it came new responsibilities. She was of child-bearing age, and Tradition and Fate meant that she was to take a lover and give birth to a new heir, one who would take up the mantle as Speaker of the Spirits and Aegis of the Ancients. Yet O'Rin took care in whom she pursued, for haste was of nigh importance to her. She did eventually take a lover after many years, and many years after that they married, and years after that she found herself heavy with child. By no means, was she her young self that had overthrown the Elders but nor was she an old, demented Lady like the Elders that she had overthrown. Her pregnancy would be long and hard, but she was determined to uphold her duties till the birth of her daughter. In her mind,she knew that her life's end was near upon her, yet she felt a serene sense of happiness, knowing that child would be born into a safe world, accompanied by a Butterfly of their own, and would serve the Spirits as she had, reaping the same benefits she had.

Quotes and Interactions:

Pick Quote: Behold! The Butterfly Swarm takes flight!
Ban Quote: The Swarm will not rest!
Zed: My Butterflies will devour you and your dark magic, Defiler!
Shen: My praises, Spirit Walker. The Spirits themselves bow to you...
Akali: Careful young one! Your blades are Sharp, but my Butterflies are hungry!
Kennen: Where you to visit the Butterfly Shrine, you would achieve the Enlightenment that you so desperately desire...
Syndra: I pity thou. An unjust fate, for a woman whom was destined for greatness...
Karma: Your play at serving the Spirits! My family has served for Millennia!
Yone: The Azakana have been culled, and for that you have my thanks!
Xayah: Your actions are admirable! Mayhaps you would join our Sanctuary?
Rakan: A pity that you are spoken for, but your loyalty is admirable nonetheless!

Inspiration:

I was debating whether to put this above, but I decided to put it here. Apologies in advance to TheHerald for having to read all the way down here in order to see if this qualifies for the competition. This champion qualifies for the competition under the Art of Inspiration. My initial Inspiration was from Vincent van Gogh's Butterfly Series, however the specific Inspiration behind the Butterfly Swarm Theme and the Feeding Mechanic is Long Grass and Butterflies as well as Grass and Butterflies. The paintings are an abstract work where you can interpret the paint as either long grass in a field while blowing in the wind, or Butterflies feeding upon grass in a field. This became the initial inspiration, and of course I took it and ran to create the fundamental mechanics behind O'Rin.

Gameplay Analysis:

Writing a Gameplay Analysis is almost as fun as designing the champions themselves. It allows me to explain how my vision for the Champion and their gameplay, while also allowing me to reflect upon the design process and fix any errors or ambiguities that arise. But anyway, I digress.
O'Rin's main Mechanic is of course the Butterfly Swarm that she manipulates. Just a disclaimer, this is the first time I have ever build a Support Champion, however I think I did a decent job. Initially the effects that the Swarm can apply look to be incredibly strong on their own, in fact when I designed them I thought about what sort of passive would I give to a BruiseHypercarry, ie:

• %Current Health True Damage is very similar to Fiora's passive, and incredibly strong in the hands of a Bruiser or Assassin
• Nearsighted and Crowd Control Amplification are rare enough effects that a Support's entire Passive could be just this and it would be strong.
• Green Hemlock is The Collector's Passive but slightly better, and while you don't necessarily build The Collector for the Execute, and Execute is an Execute. This is incredibly good for Bruisers and/or Marksmen
• Red Wisteria is Burn effect that scales with Max Health. Everyone knows how annoying Brand is, and the ability for multiple people to apply this is similar in that vein. This could very well be a Mage's Passive on its' own.
• Blue Jasmine is a decently strong Damage Modifier, that also heals for a huge portion of the damage dealt. On its' own this could be the passive for a BruiseAssassin

However, these strong effects are gated behind some conditions that neuter O'Rin from spinning out of Control. Namely, that you can only apply these effects from the same "Host" once every 10 seconds, or in the case of her Ultimate, once every 3 seconds. Coordinating these effects would mean having a team that actually knows what O'Rin does and can function around her, which is the second Mechanism that keeps her balanced. O'Rin's intrinsic Butterfly Mechanics rely on your ADC/Team as a whole to understand what they do, and how it affects the rest of the kit. For example, Flight of Beauty is a shielding ability, but it can also be turned into an Offensive Ability at the cost of the Shield itself. The final effect that gates O'Rin, is the fact that all of her Butterflies have the same effect, which means that based on your Gamestate and Team Composition, you may want a different effect. For example, if you have a high octane, early game comp, White Lotus and Blue Jasmine are going to be more valuable compared to Black Nightshade or Red Wisteria. Consequently, if you are facing a heavy BruiseTank/Juggernaut Comp, then Red Wisteria and Green Hemlock will be more valuable. Even if you are skirmishing in 2v2s instead of 5v5s, then Black Nightshade would be more valuable then anything else, because you can lock down and kill the carry int he skirmish fast. What ability to use and spread to your Allies is going to depend on a lot of factors, and having a good team that can capitalize on your decision is also important for O'Rin to function properly
As mentioned, Flight of Beauty and Nectar of the Ancients are the abilities that synergize the best with the overall Butterfly Mechanic. Nectar of the Ancients is a decently strong, scaling heal, but more importantly this is the main way that O'Rin can get a Butterfly onto an Ally. Butterflies will only go to an Ally if O'Rin can heal or Shield them, so she needs one of each type of ability. The Heal itself scales incredibly with AP and also applies a MS Bonus that scales with rank in how long it lasts and how large the bonus is. Truth be told, this is a very powerful ability on its' own, but combine it an the Butterfly Mechanic, and you have an Enchanter that is unquely suited for more aggressive ADCs instead of scaling Hyper Carries. Flight of Beauty is the shielding ability, and uniquely it scale not only with rank, with AP but also with Butterflies. Specifically, the AP Ratio increases with Rank, and because O'Rin intrinsically scales the amount of Butterflies that she has, it also increases the total Shielding AP Ratio that is used.
Then we come to the Coup de Grace of the kit, Monarch's Acension. In essence, t is really simple, because it is a huge stat boost at the end of the day, but it allows O'Rin to make her Buttrflies and in extension her teammates extremely lethal and punishing. First, it automatically allows O'Rin to re-feed her Butterflies, which means that she can change what effect they apply just before or just after a teamfigth starts. From there it provides utility, such as the ability to re-apply effects on the same target every 3 seconds instead of 10, as well as being able to apply said effects 3 times instead of 1 before needing to be fed. This makes her O'Rin absolutely lethal in team fights, as applying something like Black Nightshade or White Lotus on a significantly lower cooldown and with the ability to do it multiple times means that unless O'Rin is dealt with immediately or before a fight, it will be very hard to combat, given the sheer amount of stats and effects that she allows her team to apply. However, killing O'Rin will dissipate the swarm, and therefore if you can kill her early in the fight, then the combat pressure she applies will also be gone
The main point behind having such High AP Ratios that scale as hard as they do was to incentivize O'Rin to not build Support Items, but rather AP/Mage Items. All of her abilities scale incredibly hard with AP, and this is because I wanted to push her towards a more Karma-esque build path. My intended, or rather predicted build path would be a World Atlas (into Zak'Zak's Realmspike) into a Blackfiretorch, followed by an Imperial Mandateand finished by a Rabadan's Deathcap. This gives the Mana and Raw AP, which O'Rin desperately needs/wants to turbo charge her abilities, whilst till providing some form of Support Utility. Namely, Imperial Mandate is arguably the best Support Item in the game, and O'Rin perfectly synergies with it, given her poke with Chrysalis Kunai and the Crowd Control Effects on Black Nightshade. Dipping into Imperial Mandate reduces the total amount of AP you can get in 3 items, which realistically Supports most commonly hit only 3 items or so, but the Coordinated Fire effect synergizes too much with the kit to not dip into it. Blackfire Torch gives her the Mana she needs, and also AP, but more importantly the Burn from BFT will spread via her Butterflies that deal damage. This means that with the help of her Allies, she can very quickly spread the Burn to many enemies, which in turn amplifies her AP temporarily, which in turn amplifies her Healing and Shielding. Rabadan's Deathcap is a must for any AP Centric Build, so that is why its the Capstone of this build.
Rune Wise, I actually think that O'Rin would take Unsealed Spellbook more then any other Keystone Rune. She is unique in that she does not really benefit from any other runes specifically, as the entire kit is really around enabling her teammates, but on the flip side, the traditional support runes really do not feel like they would fit either. Summon Aery would be the other potential Keystone Rune, but at the same time O'Rin actually benefits from being able to cycle her Summoner Spells because it would give her the flexibility she needs in order to survive or switch gears to help her teammates. Beyond that, I catered her Base Stats to be very Mana Hungry, so going Inspiration Primary with Boots + Biscuits > Sorcery Secondary with Mana Runes would probably be her most optimal Rune page.
Finally, in terms of weakness, O'Rin is designed to be incredibly squishy and immobile. Her Cooldowns are pretty long, and her envisioned build path has little little CDR. As well, her abilities are impactful when used offensively or on other people, so not wasting it on herself and using it on the proper target is important. Additionally, her high dependence on AP means that she is goign to be buying the most expensive item in the game, being Rabadan's Deathcap, which not only has a terrible buildpath but is coming off the income of a Support. In total, O'Rin really wants to play aggressively and snowball her lane matchups, while simultaneously being incredibly squishy and immobile. As well, she wants to be paired up with an aggressive ADC, which means that she will often be putting herself in danger, but if she can be piloted correctly, she can take over games on her own, given how strong her Butterflies are and how fasts he scales with AP.

Hey everyone
I am currently trying to decide for a camera body for my sigma 150-600mm lens. Until now I used the Canon 80D and i tried my friends eos R and I was blown away by the light sensitivity. I mostly do wildlife photography when I am on field trips in the tropics (mostly dark and dense forests). I often encounter situations with very very low light but also a lot of situations where the desired object is far away.
I am aware of the advantages of the crop factor of an apsc camera but the full frame cameras seem to be much better with low light conditions. I just wanted to ask your opinion and experiences to make a better decision.
I am currently looking at the R8 which i could get a great deal on at the moment and also eyeing the R7 (a bit over budget tbh) or the R10.
I am just trying to decide what is the priority for me at the moment: resolution or light sensitivity
If you could help that would be awesome!

Are you looking to take your gardening game to the next level? Look no further than a natural composter! Not only does this eco-friendly solution help reduce waste, but it also provides a plethora of benefits for your garden. From enriching soil to promoting healthy plant growth, using a natural composter is a win-win for both your garden and the environment. In this blog post, we'll explore 10 amazing benefits of incorporating a natural composter into your gardening routine. Let's dig in!
Introduction to Natural Composting and its Benefits
Composting is a natural process that involves the decomposition of organic materials into a nutrient-rich soil amendment known as compost. This process has been practiced for centuries by farmers and gardeners alike, but it has gained more popularity in recent years due to its numerous benefits for both the environment and gardens.
Natural composting utilizes microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, to break down organic materials like food scraps, yard waste, and paper into a dark, crumbly substance that resembles soil. These microorganisms thrive in an oxygen-rich environment, which is why turning or aerating the compost pile is essential.
One of the main benefits of using a natural composter in your garden is its ability to improve soil health. Compost contains essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that plants need to grow strong and healthy. It also acts as a natural fertilizer that slowly releases these nutrients into the soil over time. This slow-release feature makes it less likely to burn plant roots compared to chemical fertilizers.
Additionally, compost improves soil structure by adding pore spaces that allow for better root growth and water retention. It also helps balance pH levels in acidic or alkaline soils, making it suitable for a wide range of plants.
Using natural compost can also help reduce waste sent to landfills. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), about 30% of household waste consists of organic materials that can be composted instead of ending up in landfills where they produce harmful greenhouse gases like methane. By diverting this waste to your backyard composter instead, you are not only helping reduce landfill space but also preventing harmful emissions.
Another benefit of natural composting is its cost-effectiveness. Organic fertilizers can be quite expensive when compared to chemical ones; however, with a composter at home, you can create your own nutrient-rich fertilizer at no additional cost besides purchasing or building the composter itself.
In addition to these benefits, natural composting also helps promote biodiversity by attracting beneficial organisms like earthworms and insects that contribute to a healthy soil ecosystem. This can lead to increased pollination, pest control, and overall plant health in your garden.
Natural composting is a sustainable and eco-friendly way to enhance the health of your garden while reducing waste. It is easy to do at home with minimal effort and has numerous benefits for both you and the environment. In the following sections, we will discuss how to get started with natural composting and some tips for maintaining a successful composter in your backyard.
How Does a Natural Composter Work?

1. How Does a Natural Composter Work?

A natural composter is a great addition to any garden as it helps in creating nutrient-rich soil and reducing waste. But how exactly does it work? In this section, we will delve into the details of how a natural composter works and its benefits for your garden.
Firstly, let's understand what composting is. Composting is a process where organic materials such as kitchen scraps, yard waste, and other biodegradable materials are broken down by microorganisms into a dark, crumbly substance known as compost. This process is similar to how nature breaks down waste in the forest floor.
In a natural composter, this process is accelerated by providing an ideal environment for microorganisms to thrive. These microorganisms include bacteria, fungi, worms, and insects that break down the organic matter into smaller particles. As they feed on the decomposing matter, they release beneficial nutrients that enrich the compost.
The key to successful composting lies in maintaining the right balance of ingredients - greens (nitrogen-rich) and browns (carbon-rich). Greens include fruit and vegetable scraps, grass clippings, and coffee grounds while browns include dry leaves, twigs, shredded newspaper or cardboard. The ideal ratio for composting is 3 parts browns to 1 part greens.
The decomposition process also requires oxygen and moisture. A good rule of thumb is to keep the compost pile moist but not soggy by adding water regularly or covering it with a tarp during rainy periods. Turning or aerating the compost pile every few weeks also helps in increasing oxygen flow which speeds up decomposition.
As the organic materials break down over time through microbial action and heat generated from their activity; they transform into rich humus-like material called compost. This finished product can then be added to your garden soil as an amendment or used as mulch on top of your plants' root systems. Compost provides essential nutrients, improves soil structure, and helps retain moisture - resulting in healthier plants with stronger roots.
Apart from enriching the soil, composting also has additional benefits for your garden. By diverting organic waste from landfills, it reduces methane emissions and promotes a more sustainable environment. It also reduces the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides, making your garden more eco-friendly.
A natural composter works by harnessing the power of microorganisms to break down organic matter into nutrient-rich compost. By incorporating this simple process into your gardening routine, you can achieve a healthier and more sustainable garden while reducing waste at the same time.
Benefits of Using a Natural Composter for Your Garden:
Using a natural composter for your garden has numerous benefits that go beyond simply reducing waste. Not only does it provide you with a sustainable way to dispose of kitchen scraps and yard waste, but it also enriches your soil and promotes healthy plant growth.
One of the main advantages of using a natural composter is the nutrient-rich compost it produces. As organic matter breaks down in the composter, it creates a dark, crumbly material known as humus. This humus is full of essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium – all necessary for healthy plant growth. When added to your garden soil, this compost acts as a natural fertilizer, providing your plants with the nourishment they need to thrive.
Composting also helps improve soil structure by increasing its ability to hold water and air. The decomposition process in the composter creates channels throughout the compost that allow for better drainage and aeration when added to the soil. This improved soil structure not only benefits your current plants but also aids in preventing erosion and runoff during heavy rain.
Moreover, using a natural composter eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers or pesticides in your garden. By creating nutrient-dense soil through composting, you can avoid harmful chemicals that can harm beneficial microorganisms in the soil and pollute groundwater.
Another advantage of using a natural composter is its cost-effectiveness. Instead of purchasing costly fertilizers or disposing of organic waste through municipal services, you can create your own high-quality compost at home for free. This not only saves money but also reduces carbon emissions from transportation associated with buying store-bought fertilizers.
But perhaps one of the most significant benefits of using a natural composter is its positive impact on environmental sustainability. Composting diverts organic waste from landfills where it would otherwise release methane gas – a potent greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. It also reduces reliance on synthetic fertilizers made from non-renewable resources and decreases the need for chemical pesticides, leading to a healthier environment.
Using a natural composter for your garden has numerous benefits – from improving soil health and reducing waste to promoting sustainability. Whether you have a large backyard or a small balcony garden, incorporating composting into your routine can greatly benefit both your plants and the environment.

• Reduces Waste and Landfill Impact

1. Reduces Waste and Landfill Impact

One of the major benefits of using a natural composter for your garden is its ability to reduce waste and minimize landfill impact. In today's world, where environmental sustainability is becoming increasingly important, it is essential to find ways to reduce our carbon footprint and limit the amount of waste we produce.
Natural composting involves converting organic materials such as food scraps, grass clippings, and leaves into nutrient-rich soil amendments. By utilizing these materials for composting instead of disposing them in landfills, we can significantly reduce the amount of waste that ends up in these already overcrowded facilities.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that approximately 30% of all household waste consists of organic materials that are suitable for composting. When these materials are left in landfills, they break down anaerobically (without oxygen), producing methane gas – a potent greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. However, when properly composted, these same materials break down aerobically (with oxygen), resulting in less harmful byproducts like carbon dioxide.
Moreover, using a natural composter at home eliminates the need to transport organic waste to distant landfills or recycling centers. This not only reduces fuel consumption but also decreases air pollution from transportation emissions.
In addition to reducing landfill impact and promoting cleaner air quality, natural composting also helps conserve valuable landfill space. As landfills continue to reach their capacity limits around the world, there is an urgent need to divert as much waste from them as possible. Composting provides a simple solution by reducing bulk volume and slowing down the filling rate of landfills.
Furthermore, using natural compost produced from your own garden ensures that you have complete control over what goes into your plants' soil. Unlike commercial fertilizers or synthetic pesticides which may contain harmful chemicals or additives detrimental to plant growth and human health; natural compost offers an eco-friendly alternative that minimizes any negative impacts on the environment.
Utilizing a natural composter for your garden not only benefits your plants but also has significant positive effects on the environment. By reducing waste and minimizing landfill impact, we can all do our part in promoting a sustainable future for generations to come.

• Creates Nutrient-Rich Soil for Healthy Plants

Using a natural composter in your garden is an excellent way to create nutrient-rich soil for healthy plants. Composting is the process of decomposing organic materials, such as food scraps, yard waste, and other plant-based materials, into a rich and dark soil amendment. This natural fertilizer is packed with essential nutrients that can greatly benefit your garden plants.
Firstly, using a natural composter helps to recycle organic waste and turn it into valuable nutrients for your plants. Instead of sending these materials to landfills where they will take up space and release harmful greenhouse gases, composting allows you to repurpose them. As the organic matter breaks down in the compost bin, it releases vital nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that are essential for plant growth. These nutrients act as slow-release fertilizers that are easily absorbed by plants without the risk of over-fertilization or chemical burn.
Moreover, composting helps to improve the overall health of your garden soil. Adding compost to your garden beds improves its structure by increasing its ability to hold water and air. This creates an ideal environment for beneficial microorganisms like bacteria and fungi that break down organic matter further and make additional nutrients available for plant uptake. These microorganisms also help suppress harmful pathogens that can cause diseases in plants.
In addition to providing essential nutrients and improving soil structure, compost also acts as a natural pH balancer. Many synthetic fertilizers have high levels of acidity or alkalinity which can alter the pH level of your soil over time. However, compost has a neutral pH level which helps maintain optimal conditions for plant growth without causing any harm.
Another significant benefit of creating nutrient-rich soil through composting is that it reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers in your garden. Chemical fertilizers may provide immediate results but can be harmful to both plants and the environment in the long run. By using compost instead, you are promoting sustainable gardening practices while still achieving healthy and thriving plants.
Investing in a natural composter for your garden is an excellent way to create nutrient-rich soil that will benefit your plants in multiple ways. It not only recycles organic waste and improves soil health but also acts as a pH balancer and reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers. By incorporating compost into your gardening routine, you can ensure that your plants are getting the necessary nutrients they need for optimal growth while promoting sustainable practices.
In addition to improving soil structure, compost also enhances aeration in the garden bed. Aeration refers to the movement of air within the soil, which is crucial for plant root health as it promotes gas exchange with carbon dioxide released by plant roots during photosynthesis.
Compost contains microorganisms that play an important role in maintaining good aeration levels by breaking down organic matter into smaller particles that create air pockets within the soil. These microorganisms also help improve nutrient availability for plants by breaking down complex compounds into simpler forms that can be easily absorbed by plant roots.
Furthermore, adding compost to your garden helps prevent erosion by stabilizing loose soils that are prone to washing away during heavy rainfall or strong winds. The binding properties of compost hold onto moisture and prevent it from evaporating, which is especially beneficial in areas with dry and arid climates.
Using a natural composter in your garden not only improves soil structure and aeration but also promotes healthier plant growth, reduces the risk of erosion, and benefits the environment. So why not start composting today and reap these incredible benefits for your garden?

• Helps Retain Moisture in the Soil

One of the key benefits of using a natural composter in your garden is its ability to help retain moisture in the soil. This may not seem like a significant factor, but it plays a crucial role in the overall health and productivity of your plants.
Soil moisture refers to the amount of water present in the soil. It is essential for plant growth as it supplies necessary nutrients and helps with various processes such as photosynthesis and root development. When there is insufficient moisture, plants can become stressed, leading to stunted growth or even death.
A natural composter works by breaking down organic materials such as food scraps, yard waste, and paper into nutrient-rich compost. This compost can then be added to the soil, improving its structure and increasing its ability to hold onto water.
The addition of compost to your garden also enhances its water-holding capacity through the creation of small air pockets within the soil. These air pockets act as reservoirs, trapping excess water during heavy rainfall or watering and releasing it slowly over time when needed by plants.
Furthermore, compost helps create a healthy balance between drainage and retention. Too much drainage can cause water to pass through too quickly without being absorbed by plant roots. On the other hand, excessive retention can lead to waterlogging, which can suffocate plant roots.
Moreover, natural composters add beneficial microorganisms to the soil that help break down organic matter further and increase its water-holding capacity. These microorganisms form symbiotic relationships with plant roots known as mycorrhizae. They extend their filaments into the surrounding soil, greatly expanding their reach for absorbing moisture and nutrients.
Using a natural composter also reduces evaporation from bare soil surfaces by providing a layer of mulch on top. This helps keep moisture locked in while protecting against extreme temperatures that could dry out soils more quickly.
Incorporating a natural composter into your gardening routine is an effective way to improve soil moisture retention. It not only increases the availability of water to your plants but also helps maintain a healthy balance of drainage and retention in the soil. With consistent use, you will notice healthier, more resilient plants that can thrive even during dry spells or periods of low rainfall.

• Reduces Erosion and Runoff

One of the major benefits of using a natural composter in your garden is that it helps to reduce erosion and runoff. Erosion and runoff are two common problems faced by gardeners, especially those who have gardens on sloped or hilly terrain.
Erosion occurs when the topsoil in your garden gets washed away due to heavy rain or strong winds. This can be damaging to your plants as the topsoil contains essential nutrients that are needed for growth. It can also lead to uneven surfaces and make it difficult for you to plant new seeds or seedlings.
Runoff, on the other hand, happens when excess water from rain or irrigation flows over the surface of your soil instead of being absorbed into it. This not only wastes water but can also carry away important nutrients from the soil, leaving it depleted and unhealthy for plants.
Natural composting can help mitigate these issues by improving the quality of your soil. When organic waste such as food scraps, leaves, grass clippings, and twigs are added to a compost bin, they decompose naturally over time. As they break down, they release valuable nutrients into the soil which makes it more fertile and able to hold onto moisture.
This improved soil structure helps prevent erosion by creating a stable base for plants to grow in. The addition of organic matter also increases the water-holding capacity of soils, reducing runoff and allowing plants to access moisture more efficiently.
Moreover, adding compost to your garden regularly can help control erosion caused by wind as well. The compost acts as a protective layer over exposed areas preventing nutrient loss while holding onto moisture that would otherwise be blown away.
Another way natural composting reduces erosion is through its ability to improve root development in plants. With stronger root systems anchoring them firmly into place, plants are less likely to get uprooted during heavy rain or windstorms.
In addition to reducing erosion and runoff directly, natural composting also has a positive impact on the environment. By turning organic waste into nutrient-rich soil, it helps reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills, where it produces harmful greenhouse gases.
Using a natural composter in your garden not only benefits your plants but also helps to protect the environment by reducing erosion and runoff. Its ability to improve soil structure and provide essential nutrients makes it an indispensable tool for any gardener looking to maintain a healthy and sustainable garden.

Hello there!
I have few questions for you!

Do you feel like there are people around but they somehow feel alien and you are not really comfortable around them? You would rather have someone that you can be yourself around? Someone who is not your friend just because they are bored? - Yeah me too!
Do you maybe miss that rush of excitement when you discuss something completely dumb or you are on your way to make a discovery of a century that arose in a restroom? - Yeah me too!
Do you go through and think or find interesting things and there is this strange emptiness? Feels like it's not as exciting as it was in the moment? Having someone that would share that excitement at that moment sounds like it would make things better? - Yeah me too!
Do you maybe feel like there was a point where you played video games and had the biggest blast? You were talking about it non stop and were trying to figure out how to proceed and theorycrafting and can't wait to jump in voice chat when you are done with the day? And now its somehow lacking? Maybe if you think about it, there was someone who shared that excitement and that made a huge difference? - Yeah me too!
Do you maybe get a bit clingy once you get comfortable and almost spam the other person, care about the other person to a point that you are actively interested in being involved in the others life and vice versa, having someone you can be comfortable with to a point that it doesnt matter if your social battery is high or low, because there is no need, maybe share that secret and know its safe, do you LOVE gaming daily? - Yeah me too!
Do you like the idea of doing some other activities together based on our mood, maybe just chilling for the evening and watching the other person trying to drop something with a low chance and rooting, or maybe watching movies / tv series, the idea of establishing some activities or maybe challenges sound good? - Yeah me too!

Me with decent english as second language, loving gaming and other things nerd related, silliness, dad jokes and memes, discussions about ANYTHING once comfortable, online big part of the day (or on a phone), usually chill but can have overthinking moments.
Few games / genres that I enjoy (or enjoyed in the past and might want to revisit at some point: WoW (big part of my life, but played other mmos aswell), COOP (we were here, trine, it takes two, a way out, human fall flat... just LOVE those to play with a friend where we are both involved! Still waiting to play stardew and other games with someone), Survival (Enshrouded, Abiotic factor, Grounded, The forest, Terraria, MC, Core keeper...), rpg's (BG3, TES, Fallout..), Factory sims (Satisfactory, Factorio, ..), ARPG's (Diablo, PoE, No rest for the wicked..), Roguelikes, City sims, open world, tabletop (sim), DnD.. and much much more. Not really into "ladder" pvp grinding.
Honorable mention: I think a good starter is to talk a bit to get to know each other a bit and soon pick up a game as I feel like games are pretty good ice breakers if chosen well. Right now I would be down to play some Abiotic factor (just bought it), Enshrouded, Core keeper, we were here series, maybe stardew valley or factory sim. (Also wow is a bit of a plus always especially pve farming and collecting stuff).
Just send me a DM and tell me a bit about yourself! As a starter you can answer the questions or just some of them and tell me a bit about yourself!

Hello there!
I have few questions for you!

Do you feel like there are people around but they somehow feel alien and you are not really comfortable around them? You would rather have someone that you can be yourself around? Someone who is not your friend just because they are bored? - Yeah me too!
Do you maybe miss that rush of excitement when you discuss something completely dumb or you are on your way to make a discovery of a century that arose in a restroom? - Yeah me too!
Do you go through and think or find interesting things and there is this strange emptiness? Feels like it's not as exciting as it was in the moment? Having someone that would share that excitement at that moment sounds like it would make things better? - Yeah me too!
Do you maybe feel like there was a point where you played video games and had the biggest blast? You were talking about it non stop and were trying to figure out how to proceed and theorycrafting and can't wait to jump in voice chat when you are done with the day? And now its somehow lacking? Maybe if you think about it, there was someone who shared that excitement and that made a huge difference? - Yeah me too!
Do you maybe get a bit clingy once you get comfortable and almost spam the other person, care about the other person to a point that you are actively interested in being involved in the others life and vice versa, having someone you can be comfortable with to a point that it doesnt matter if your social battery is high or low, because there is no need, maybe share that secret and know its safe, do you LOVE gaming daily? - Yeah me too!
Do you like the idea of doing some other activities together based on our mood, maybe just chilling for the evening and watching the other person trying to drop something with a low chance and rooting, or maybe watching movies / tv series, the idea of establishing some activities or maybe challenges sound good? - Yeah me too!

Me with decent english as second language, loving gaming and other things nerd related, silliness, dad jokes and memes, discussions about ANYTHING once comfortable, online big part of the day (or on a phone), usually chill but can have overthinking moments.
Few games / genres that I enjoy (or enjoyed in the past and might want to revisit at some point: WoW (big part of my life, but played other mmos aswell), COOP (we were here, trine, it takes two, a way out, human fall flat... just LOVE those to play with a friend where we are both involved! Still waiting to play stardew and other games with someone), Survival (Enshrouded, Abiotic factor, Grounded, The forest, Terraria, MC, Core keeper...), rpg's (BG3, TES, Fallout..), Factory sims (Satisfactory, Factorio, ..), ARPG's (Diablo, PoE, No rest for the wicked..), Roguelikes, City sims, open world, tabletop (sim), DnD.. and much much more. Not really into "ladder" pvp grinding.
Honorable mention: I think a good starter is to talk a bit to get to know each other a bit and soon pick up a game as I feel like games are pretty good ice breakers if chosen well. Right now I would be down to play some Abiotic factor (just bought it), Enshrouded, Core keeper, we were here series, maybe stardew valley or factory sim. (Also wow is a bit of a plus always especially pve farming and collecting stuff).
Just send me a DM and tell me a bit about yourself! As a starter you can answer the questions or just some of them and tell me a bit about yourself!

WordPress Block Templates: A Guide to Online Directories

Introduction
Struggling to find design inspiration for your WordPress website? Block templates are here to save the day! This guide dives into the world of online directories, your one-stop shop for pre-built block templates to elevate your website.
What are WordPress Block Templates?
Block templates are pre-designed layouts that combine WordPress blocks, the building blocks of your website's content. They offer a faster and more efficient way to create beautiful websites without extensive coding.
Benefits of WordPress Block Templates

• Faster Design: Achieve professional-looking websites without the hassle of starting from scratch.
• Easy Customization: Tailor templates to match your brand identity and website goals.
• No Coding Required: Perfect for those who aren't comfortable with coding.

Finding Block Template Directories
The internet is brimming with directories offering a vast collection of block templates. Here are some popular options:

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After much deliberation I have purchased a 2024 Trax. I know this decision violates the cult of Toyota, Honda, Mazda. And I will digently report any catastrophic mechanical failures. But I wanted to report on my experience and how I came to this decision.
I set out aiming to spend less than 30k CAD (to avoid financing if possible). I test drove many cars and considered a number of subcompact SUVs and used compact SUVs.
The car was purchased for my partner to accomodate 2 small children and 2 adults. Fuel economy, cost of ownership, spaciousness were all considerations.
I considered:
Mazda CX30 - nice inside, nice ride, cramped inside - 31,500k CAD Used CX5 - nice ride, nice inside, surprisingly cramped - 31k CAD (2021 ~50k km) Used Rav4 - kinda noisy, drove well enough, likely great reliability - 34k CAD (2020 ~50k km) Used Tiguan - nice inside and out, drove great, concern about reliability - 32k CAD (2021 ~50k km) Hyundai Venue - feels cheap, drives cheap, loud and crappy, tiny inside - 26k CAD New Rav4 hybrid - again not particularly impressed with the inside, hybrid drove nice, fuel efficient, reliable - 45K CAD Kia seltos - nice inside, decent ride, spacious - 32K CAD Subaru Forester - amazing visibility, drove well, reliable - 39K CAD Corolla Cross - meh inside, presumed good reliability, crap value equation - 36k CAD
The used market is still absolutely terrible where I am located. Most of what we considered was at or near base trim. All the prices are after tax in Ontario. Being able to purchase cash and avoid high interest fees was a factor.
In the end we purchased a 2024 Chevy Trax LS w convenience package for 27k CAD. The Trax is significantly more spacious than most subcompact SUVs and the ride quality has been great. It has all the features that matter to us and has been exceeding fuel economy marks. I do have concerns about the future reliability but in the end the price compared with what we felt we were getting pushed it above many other competitors.

This story may seem a bit outlandish, insane even. But when you’re a scientist at a lab that no one even knows about and a strange man in a tube is begging you to tell their story and screaming to get it out to the public, you feel obliged to tell it. Now, I know this may result in my immediate termination, if not worse, but honestly? I don’t quite care. If there is even a grain of truth to this story, people deserve to know. I’d also like to tell you that I am no writer, so if this isn’t great, I do apologize.
“And for the missing person reports that date back many years, police still have not found any leads to the odd disappearance of multiple people around our little town of Welks, Utah. If police find any new leads, I, Nathan White, will be the first to give you the news.” Nathan White is a small town reporter who is finishing up his final words of the day's news. Charlie Akins, Nathan’s colleague and long time friend is manning the camera. Nathan is your typical guy who never gives up and has the determination of a beaver building its dam. He will take any story he is given and will do his best to make it the best. Charlie on the other hand is about as outgoing as a sloth and so paranoid he can’t go anywhere without thinking the worst, but will never leave his friend’s side.
Soon after the two wrap up, Charlie gets a call from their boss who claims to have a new story they could cover. Nathan places their gear in the news van as Charlie walks over. With the way Charlie nervously walks over, Nathan knows something is odd. “So what’s the deal? We got a story or what?” Charlie gets in the driver seat of the van without saying a word and Nathan quickly follows, getting into the passenger seat.
As Charlie begins driving, he tells Nathan what their boss had spoken to him about. An old abandoned government facility sits out in the farthest outskirts of the town. It’s in the shape of a dome that’s large enough to house an entire town. There’s no records of anyone ever entering the facility since the 50’s and no one seems to know what it was for. Only thing anyone knows, or suspects, is that it may be cursed or haunted as people who have ever been near it claim to hear screams and voices coming from within. Charlie is hesitant of even the thought of covering the story but continues to drive assuming Nathan will be intrigued. Charlie was correct, of course, as Nathan quickly calls their boss to inform him that they’re checking it out.
Without question, Charlie continues driving until they are so far out that Welks is completely out of sight in the rearview mirror. They eventually see a large structure in the distance that they quickly realize is the center of their new story. “Holy shit, Charlie! I’ve never seen this place before and just… Wow,” Nathan says excitedly.
“Nathan, I don’t know about this one. Something seems off. Even the boss seemed hesitant to tell me about this place,” Charlie responds.
“Come on, Charlie. We’ve always wanted to cover a GHOST STORY.”
“No, YOU have always wanted to cover a ghost story. I’ve always wanted to get the hell away from every single person I come in contact with and sleep in my bed.”
“Don’t do me like that.”
“You know I’ve got your back through thick and thin, Nate. But I’ve seriously got a bad feeling about this one.”
“I know but come on, serious-... ly…”
Nathan is awestruck by the sight of a large sign on the outer brink of a long driveway leading to the entrance of the dome. The sign reads:
RESTRICTED AREA
ENVIRODOME
“WE EXPERIMENT FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR PEOPLE”
SPECIAL ACCESS IS NEEDED BEYOND THIS POINT
Although it was obvious by the city-sized dome in the middle of the desert, this sign fully confirmed they were in the right place. They continue down the driveway until they finally reach a parking lot that lies in front of the only noticeably cube-like design of the entire facility. The parking lot was small, or at least it seemed that way based on how huge the building was.
Nathan and Charlie assumed it would be glass, but instead, the decrepit building, now known to be The Envirodome, was made of a strong thick, yet rusted metal. They realized this was most likely by design considering the people who created it wouldn’t have wanted anyone to know what went on inside. Almost the entire building was covered in a thick layer of vines except for the front door. The doors at the entrance were oddly only covered in smaller vine growth that was far more fragile than the rest.
Charlie parks the van as an awestruck Nathan barely waits for him to stop and exits the passenger side. Charlie hesitantly follows suit. Nathan reaches the double entrance doors and rips away the vines. He quickly finds the handle of the right door and much to his surprise, it cracks open.
“Ooh spooky,” Nathan jokingly says to Charlie.
“Shut up,” Charlie snaps back.
As Nathan and Charlie open the large metal door and walk inside, they find far more than, yet somehow everything, they had expected. The duo walk inside only to find an entire small community within. Businesses, homes, trees and more fill the miles long dome in all directions, seemingly to no end.
“There’s a whole damn town in this place?! How the hell did not a single person know this existed,” Charlie exclaims out of pure shock.
“Dude… How the fuck am I suppose to know? That’s why we’re here, remember? To cover the story of this place and get it out to the people…” Nathan sarcastically snaps back.
Charlie, nervous as all hell, ignores Nathan as they continue forward in the hopes to find information on this place somewhere inside. They don’t even reach but about 10-15 feet inside before the door slams shut behind them and locks itself into place. Once fully locked, the doors start to change as if there was never a door or wall there at all. It quickly changes into a hyper-realistic hologram of more trees and roads. Soon enough, it looked as if an exit never even existed.
Nathan quickly realizes that there seemingly are no walls in any direction. However, realistically and logically, there must be dead ends in all directions, the dome was obviously designed in a special way. Although there was a dome surrounding the town inside, there were still plenty of places Nathan and Charlie could explore. With beautifully green trees all around, houses and even rundown businesses, the entire place looked and felt like a normal little town instead of the inside of a previously government owned facility. Despite absolutely not a single structural flaw in the dome, a small breeze glides through the air, whistling to the ears of any who would listen.
Both Nathan and Charlie are confused, yet in awe, by the experience at hand, but still they carry on. Nathan suggests going to the nearest building to search for information as he takes his next steps into the oddly beautiful scenery. Charlie, however, hesitates his next step until he realizes Nathan is already further ahead of him. Trees dance and sway in the cool breeze, grass and vines grow over large rocks and multiple buildings, and even clouds sail through the beautifully blue skies that couldn’t possibly be real but at this point it’s not unbelievable. With so much to admire, Nathan quickly loses focus on the task at hand until Charlie speaks up.
“Hey, Nate. Shouldn’t we hurry up and get to wherever the hell we’re going?”
“Huh? Oh… Yeah, yeah. Sorry…”
Nathan snaps back to his senses and continues forward. As they continue to what seems like a small neighborhood, they notice something in the distant wooded area. It’s a four-legged creature that could be a wolf or coyote. Nathan and Charlie pick up speed as they are unsure of what it could really be and prefer not to be attacked.
On arrival to the neighborhood, the two men notice that multiple mannequins are oddly placed around as if they had been living a life. An eerie feeling washes over them as they both become a little more skeptical of being there. Nathan looks back to check on his friend and notices Charlie is visibly paranoid as he looks around. He feels a moment of guilt for making him come here for a story to cover, but that moment was just that. A moment. Nathan quickly nudges Charlie to get him to come with him as he walks up to an open house.
As they walk in, they split up. Charlie searches the living room and kitchen. Nathan goes straight to the farthest bedroom in the back. Searching every nook and cranny, Nathan finds absolutely nothing but an old withered bible. He begins to walk into another room when suddenly, Charlie’s voice echoes through the empty hallway.
“Holy fuck,” Charlie exclaims.
“What’s wrong,” Nathan yells while running into the living room.
Nathan finds Charlie holding an old yellowed stack of papers. Charlie hands them to Nathan without uttering a single word. On top is an old document that reads:
Aug. 17, 1953: Testing is ready to commence for Project 718/Operation “SUPER” in the environment dome. However, there are no volunteers for testing just yet.
Aug. 18, 1953: Chief scientist, Dr. Maximus Woods, has volunteered as prime subject under the name: Subject Zero. All tests are now being prepared.
Aug. 20, 1953: Day 1 of testing has started. The Super Serum has been injected into Dr. Maximus Woods A.K.A Subject Zero at approximately 12:53 A.M. It has been hours and nothing has happened thus far.
Aug. 25, 1953: Subject Zero has gained a slight form of telekinesis. Small signs of abnormally quick healing factors have also appeared, taking only a couple of hours to fully heal mid-large wounds made on the subject's body. Tests, so far, seem to be successful with no side effects.
Aug. 30, 1953: Subject Zero has had impressive changes with easy to control telekinesis, rapid healing, and even large amounts of strength.
Sep. 5, 1953: Over the past week, Subject Zero has been undergoing small changes in personality, possibly a slight side effect of the serum. This will be monitored.
Sep. 10, 1953: Subject Zero has become rapidly unstable, showing major signs of insanity. Subject does not seem to realize the environment is simulated and treats test mannequins placed around the environment dome as if they were living beings.
Sep. 17, 1953: Multiple teams have been sent in to try and allow real communication with living beings. However, all teams have been killed by Subject Zero. He also does not allow anyone to retrieve the bodies and it is unclear what he does with them.
Oct. 3, 1953: Subject has become far too unstable to continue any further testing. All research will be abandoned but a small team will remain in the overseer’s office. For full safety measures, this team has agreed that if the facility must be destroyed then they will die with it. This was the intended way in case of emergency. If the facility is self-destructed, no one inside will survive.
“What the hell…” Nathan says fearfully.
“Read the newspaper article that’s attached,” says Charlie.
The newspaper article reads:
October 3, 1953
Today, the government-run facility, Envirodome, had been shut down after multiple men had been slaughtered at the hands of the company’s very own test subject, Subject Zero. The few men who made it out alive today could not speak of or about the tests done but we were told that their subject is still inside the facility. Test Subject Zero was locked inside only as a safety protocol but many wonder, how long will he remain there?
Upon this discovery, Nathan stops to think and wonders if he screwed up by taking on this story to cover. Nathan, being himself, tries to lighten the mood but before uttering a single word, he is cut off by a rough and deep voice in the distance. The voice now being the only thing to focus on, Nathan and Charlie look out the front windows of the old house and spot the figure of a man playing baseball with a mannequin.
Upon further inspection, the man is wearing clothes obviously not of this era. With an old 50’s jacket that is nearly torn to shreds, an old pair of blue jean slacks, a red shoe on one foot and a black one on the other and hair that clearly hasn’t been washed in years, the man is the exact look and description of pure insanity. Not just with his looks but also with his actions, he clearly is not a stable man.
In the yard of the next house over, the man is talking and playing catch with a mannequin. “For the last time Jimmy, I’m tired of your shit! Catch the damn ball or at the very least attempt to instead of just standing there,” the crazed man screams as he chucks a baseball at its head resulting in its immediate decapitation. Nathan, with a humor full of bad timing, nearly bursts into laughter.
“Shut the fuck up, Nathan! That’s the guy from the document and newspaper article. He’s Dr… Uh… Maximus Woods! Subject Zero! He’s been here since the 50’s,” Charlie fearfully exclaims.
“There’s no way in hell, Charlie. The guy doesn’t even look like he’s past his mid-30’s.”
“I told you to call me Subject Zero! That old name is dead to me!” The man, now confirmed to be Subject Zero, yells out to another mannequin.
“Believe me now, asshat,” Charlie snaps at Nathan.
“Shush! What was that?” Subject Zero quickly snaps his attention to Nathan and Charlie’s direction and begins to walk to them. The two men look at each other in fearful confusion and simultaneously say, “oh shit.”
Instinctually, Charlie runs out of the house from fear and with a quick, “FUCK!” Nathan follows him. Running out of the house like a couple of preyed upon animals, they run up the street further into the neighborhood. Taking a quick glance, Nathan spots a strange sight. Subject Zero and many other figures are chasing after them. Upon further examination, Nathan realizes that what he’s witnessing is something straight out of a horror movie. The other figures are , in fact, not even humans. They’re mannequins! All the mannequins they had seen back at the other houses are now moving like humans and coming right for them alongside Subject Zero.
Nathan is running so fast you could mistake him for a train breaking loose from its tracks, but sadly, Charlie is slowing down, unable to keep up with his friend. Nathan manages to reach a hiding spot behind a dumpster, unintentionally leaving Charlie to await his own horrors as Nathan is nothing but forced to watch.
Charlie begins to stumble and trips over his own feet. Soon after, the mannequins catch up to him. Nathan wants to help, but knows he can’t so all he does is watch in horror. Lying on the ground, Charlie gasps for air as the mannequins and Subject Zero surround him. They stare at him for a moment before eventually beating him simultaneously until Charlie is soaked in his own blood, barely alive. Suddenly, they stop. Charlie, nearly lifeless, drags his gaze in Nathan’s direction. He mouths, “GO” before coughing up blood. Nathan holds back tears and vomit as he looks away in guilt. All the mannequins that were once beating the life out of Charlie turn around and scatter before ultimately becoming, once again, inanimate objects. Like a lion searching for its prey, Subject Zero scans the area.
With danger nearby, Nathan looks around to find a house with any open doors to attempt to find safety. He spots a nearby house with an open window and decides it's his best option. Without hesitation, Nathan sprints to the window and leaps in like a gazelle escaping its demise. Much to his surprise, he went unnoticed.
“I might be insane, but I know I wasn't just seeing double of your little friend here. Where the hell are you,” screams Subject Zero as two mannequins carry Charlie's bloodied, yet still alive, body away. Nathan, afraid, yet determined, locks himself inside the house and sits behind a kitchen counter.
He looks up to see if it's safe enough to search the house. Once he realizes it is, he begins to look around. The kitchen is oddly empty. Not a single piece of silverware, plate or food. Out of the entire house, the living room is the best looking part, even though it still looks like a tornado came through it. With hopes of finding something, Nathan scrummages through everything lying on the decrepit wooden floor.
After a moment of searching, Nathan notices multiple papers scattered around all dated October of 1953. All the papers say different things about Project ‘SUPER’ and Subject Zero. Although most papers essentially say the same things, one paper stands out the most. It’s a newspaper dated a few days after the imminent shutdown of the facility.
October 9, 1953
The project was abandoned and only a few escaped but one former employee of Envirodome decides to speak up about the events. “The main doors may have been closed but they sadly were not locked,” the scientist tells our interviewer, “Oddly, the doors were made to allow people in but not back out unless you went to the overseer’s office and unlocked the main doors. All this means, anyone who decides to go inside without knowing this info will be trapped forever with a psycho maniac. Fortunately, Subject Zero’s insanity affected his mind so badly he doesn’t even realize he’s in a fake little world that’s specially made for him.”
A little further down the same newspaper article it reads:
The former Envirodome employee continues. “All documents will state that Dr. Maximus Woods volunteered to be Subject Zero, but that just isn’t true. We tricked him. You see, we needed someone and Dr. Woods was just this weird scientist that no one really liked. We convinced him that if he volunteered that he would be a hero. Someone who could save our world if the serum worked. He was so happy and we just laughed at him but knew we needed him for the tests. As soon as everything began, it all ended. As he became more and more deranged, he also became more determined to make the serum work. He eventually took living people he kept with him and made his own serum to try and perfect it. But it never worked. It just leads to each person to become crazier and far quicker. He ended up just killing everyone that the serum didn’t work on. God knows what he does to any poor soul that innocently walks into that building and gets trapped.”
With this new knowledge, Nathan knew he fucked up by coming into this beautiful hell. Now filled with dreaded emotions, he gets onto his feet and sets onward through the hallway. As he reaches the beginning of the hallway, the front door is unexpectedly busted down by an already all too familiar figure, Subject Zero.
Reacting quickly, Nathan sprints to the farthest back room of the house. Being the master bedroom, it has plenty of space but sadly doesn’t have a lock on the door. Thinking quickly, Nathan slams the door and nervously shoves a large stand up dresser down on its side and in front of the doorway. He knows it won’t hold for long, especially considering, just a mere seconds ago, he witnessed Subject Zero burst a door off its hinges in the blink of an eye.
Subject Zero is on the hunt, looking in every room all while Nathan stands in the master bedroom freaking out. Eventually, he comes to his senses and looks out the room's only window. It’s quite a drop below due to the house sitting on a slanted yard. Without hesitation, Nathan prepares himself for his only option. He opens the window and prepares to jump as the door of the room begins to be beaten upon. The door eventually breaks in half and standing on the other side is Subject Zero. Nathan slings himself out the window but it inevitably leads to pain.
Nathan, with a possibly broken ankle, stands against the wall to stay as Subject Zero looks through the window wondering how he could lose his only entertainment so easily. Subject Zero eventually angrily wanders off as he cusses at himself. Nathan takes that as his cue to stumble his way into the nearby forest.
Nathan manages to make it a decent distance into the forest before stumbling and falling next to a large oak tree. Expecting to be free from danger for at least a while, he relaxes against the tree and closes his eyes. Far too early for assumptions, he hears something and quickly opens his eyes to see Subject Zero’s fist unexpectedly rushing to his face, resulting in a knockout.
After a while, Nathan cracks his eyes open, barely able to see. He looks around in a trance until he hears a familiar voice.
“Hey, Nate! Nate! Wake the fuck up! I’m not dead!”
Nathan fully comes to and looks over to see an upside down Charlie. Confused, he looks at Charlie unsure of what to say. Eventually he speaks.
“What the fuck…? Why the hell are you upside down?”
Charlie points to Nathan’s feet, revealing he is in fact, the one upside down hanging by his feet.
“Oh, fuck… WHAT THE FUCK?!? Get me down, you asshole!”
Charlie unties the rope, leading to Nathan falling on his head. Rubbing his head, Nathan gets up with ease, which leads him to wonder why there’s no pain in his ankle. He quickly shrugs it off and looks back at Charlie as he finally realizes the situation.
“Wait a damn minute, how the hell are you alive? I saw you get beaten to a pulp.”
“Yeahhhh… Well, first off, thanks for leaving me, but I’ll tell you everything I know, just as they did for me.”
Charlie points over to a small crowd of people waiting behind the dark shadows of the room. With a short, yet detailed, briefing, he tells Nathan that these people are all the missing people they’ve been reporting about. They all have been curious people who have wandered into the facility but inevitably became a morbid science experiment by Subject Zero. Charlie continues on to tell Nathan that every single one of these people have been injected with a similar serum as Subject Zero but each one is a slightly altered version.
“So, let me get this straight… These people have all been injected with the same damn insanity poison as that madman and there’s absolutely no telling who could lose it and kill us with FUCKING TELEKINISIS!”
“Yeah, pretty much. But I’ve been told that Subject Zero murders every failed attempt before they hurt any of his other precious test subjects. So far, all he’s done is prolong the insanity effects.”
“Charlie, we have to somehow get the fuck out of here.”
“We can’t. Do you not understand what I just said?”
“Look, I get that these people are innocent but they’re obviously going to be massive dangers to humanity. We can get out of here. I don’t know how but… Somehow!”
“Nate! I can’t get out of here.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Charlie raises up his arm and reveals a small pinprick of a needle in his skin.
“Charlie, what is that? No… Wait, you were injected too?”
“Yeah.”
“FUCK!”
“Look, as far as I’m concerned, you haven’t been injected. There’s no needle mark in your skin. YOU could actually get out of here.”
“I’m not leaving you behind again, Charlie! It was a nightmare seeing what they did to you the first time.”
“Nathan, I -”
Suddenly and very unexpectedly, one of the people in the crowd begins to scream from within the shadows. Nathan, confused and afraid, looks over at the man losing his sanity. Within seconds, the man stops screaming as the entire room falls into a deafening silence. The man looks in Nathan’s direction and shines a demonic grin with a stare that could pierce the soul of any mortal man.
Knowing the man is coming toward him, Nathan slowly starts backing up against the cold concrete walls. The man, with all new senses, uses his new telekinetic ability to push others from the crowd aside. Charlie, being brave for the first and possibly final time in his life, attempts to stand in the way but is quickly subdued as he’s flung against the wall. Finally reaching Nathan, the man brings his gaze into a full on stare into Nathan’s soul. For Nathan, it’s as if death has come for him. Suddenly, the man’s gaze is ripped away by a familiar face of evil. Subject Zero heard the screams and came to claim his failed experiment.
This led to an all-out brawl between the two men. Anyone would describe it in the same way you would if two rabid dogs were fighting over food. One dog gets up after being ripped open and the other gets its face gashed by a hard hitting blow, yet they still fight. Only difference between the two, one is just a dog wanting its food and the other is trained to kill. Suddenly, with a vicious blow, Subject Zero wins the fight when he takes the man’s head and slams it so hard into the concrete floor that his skull cracks open causing blood, brains, and skull fragments to fly over the silent crowd.
With one final glance, Subject Zero looks over the entire crowd. He ends his gaze by making sure Nathan is the last to see his devilish eyes. Soon after, he leaves the room and locks the door. Nathan stares at the corpse lying on the ground with a look of pure terror and proceeds to collapse onto the floor while holding back tears.
The small concrete room soon fills with despair as everyone watches the tears of pain and fear run down Nathan’s face. Charlie tries to make his long-time friend feel a little more hopeful, although he soon gives up as well until he has a moment of realization. He remembers back to when they first were searching for information he had found an article with some intriguing details.
“Okay, so, there may be some hope after all.”
“Charlie, what hope is there? Huh?! You’re pretty much fucked and I don’t exactly see a way out of here.”
“One of the articles back at the house we were in said something about a self-destruct button. That’s also how you open the main doors. Apparently, no one ever bothered, or I guess, never got the chance to hit the self-destruct timer and run their asses to the door. What if we- I mean, YOU could actually do that?”
“Charlie, I already told you I don’t want to leave you behind.”
“GOD DAMN IT, NATHAN! I know… FUCK! I know. But I want you to survive. Can’t you just listen to me for once?! I would follow you through hell and back and it kind of feels that way right now. So? Can you just listen to what I want you to do for once while I’m practically on my deathbed?!”
“Okay! Okay…”
Suddenly, an unexpected chance of escape arrives at their feet. Subject Zero and a few of his mannequins walk in to remove the mutilated corpse from the room. Unexpectedly, one of the people in the crowd begins to scream out in pain just like the other man did moments ago before his demise. “Oh, great…” Subject Zero says irritated. Soon after, multiple others begin to scream out in pain until eventually the entire crowd follows suit. Nathan, and somehow Charlie have not been affected. The room quickly becomes engulfed in a hurricane of insanity. This leads Subject Zero and the mannequins to getting distracted by the madness and accidentally leaves the door open. Subject Zero quickly gets attacked by everyone in the room but he holds his ground firmly. Nathan knows this is the perfect chance to escape and signals Charlie to come with him. Charlie hesitantly comes along but right as they reach the door Nathan turns to hear the sounds of Charlie going through the worst pain of his life.
Nathan looks in confusion but quickly realizes he’s about to have to accept his friend’s fate. Nathan refuses to accept it, but he knows he needs to. Charlie suddenly lunges at Nathan and uses his last act of sanity and control to push him out the door.
“Get. To the button. Please.”
“Charlie, I- I’m-”
“I’m sorry…”
Charlie finally snaps and is engulfed in pure raging insanity. He lunges at Nathan but before he reaches him, Nathan, with teary eyes, slams the door onto his friend, turns, and begins running out into the seemingly vast wilderness. As he runs, Nathan hears the cries of a dozen men and women as they get ripped apart. Knowing that among them is his best friend, Nathan begins to cry as he continues to run away from his previous hell.
This is where the man in the tube, now known as Nathan White, stops due to bringing up too many memories. He's willing to finish his story with me but only if I get this part out to the world. If enough people care about his story, then he will finish it. Otherwise, he will give in to his new life in a tube. I'm far too curious to give up on his story so I hope people will care. For now, goodbye.
PART 2:
https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/1d8czbv/im_a_scientist_and_a_man_in_a_tube_is_telling_me/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Previous Chapter - https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/1d7fmlv/from_the_ashes_chapter_1_new_circumstances/
I've been on trains before, but it was always for short trips. The last time I've been on a train for a longer trip was when I first arrived at Weser from my hometown up north. But this trip to the Aesir District is far the farthest I've strayed from home...
I looked out the window as the train started rolling down the tracks. I heard the familiar whistle as we departed the station. My mind wandered as I saw the city slowly turn into fields and suburbs.
I laughed to myself as I sat in the carriage, how quickly can one's life be turned upside down? I heard these kinds of things only in stories. But life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
I didn't linger on the absurdity of the situation. And how it caught me at the wrong time, smack dab during the semester, curing a bad hangover of all things. But I still had a feeling I was missing something, though I couldn't tell what exactly. I hoped it was just my paranoia.
I tried to remember anything from my childhood that indicated I had some relatives other than my late parents. The memory is a blur, I tried my best to push that night to the back of my mind. I tried to avoid that memory specifically, but any other memory just led straight to it...
I can't remember their faces... My mother's voice is not there. I can distinguish the words and the tone. But the voice is not there. I can see the silhouettes of armed men... The robed figure. The ears...
„Run...“
I shook my head trying in vain to push that memory back again. I focused my gaze back out the window.
The sight of paved roads and the occasional house that dotted the landscape, hills, and the distant sight of mountains to the north. Somewhere out there is my old home...
„Goddamn it...“ I said under my breath.
„Hmph?“ A middle-aged gentleman who was seated across from me said, looking up from the newspaper he was reading.
„Nothing, just talking to myself.“
The man shrugged and continued reading the paper.
I looked out of the window again.
I was tired, and the train trip lasted about a day and a half to reach the Lydas River.
I slept for some time, dozing off, and then waking up. I saw the mostly familiar sight of hills and roads, and some houses. We passed smaller towns and cities.
Then again, dozing off, waking up. This time it was a forest, sometimes there was a clearing. One or two stations in what seemed to be bubbles of civilization surrounded by wilderness.
The food on the train was mediocre, but it was filling.
Then as I arrived nearer to the Lydas River I saw as the roads turned into mud and dirt. There were more abandoned houses than those who were inhabited. We passed through villages that seemed more like ghost towns than anything.
And I started seeing more and more military wagons and soldiers the closer we came to the Lydas.
Then finally, we reached my destination.

„Sir, this is the final station.“ I heard a voice.
„Hmmm... Final? We're at the Lydas?“ I asked, still a bit groggy as I opened my eyes.
„Yes, this is the final station. I have to ask you to depart the carriage once you grab your luggage.“ The conductor said before he left the carriage. I got up and grabbed my bag and exited the carriage. Most of the passengers already left.
Surprisingly, the train station was filled with activity. Most of the people there were men of my age wearing military uniforms. Some were entering and exiting the train, some were just walking about. I paid no mind to it and walked to the nearest info booth.
I saw a man smoking a cigarette inside, looking at some papers.
„Hello, I'd like to know where the nearest crossing to the Aesir District is?“ I asked.
Without looking up, the man spoke with a cigarette in his mouth.
„What's your unit?“
„I'm not in the army...“ I replied.
The man looked up at me and put the cigarette in an ashtray.
„Civilian? Visiting a family member?“
„Yeah... I just need to know where the crossing is.“
„Alright.“ He gave me a neutral and uninterested look. „Go down the hall back there to exit the station and turn right. Keep walking straight and you'll be at the bridge.“
I thanked him and made my way to the exit. Once out of the station, I felt like I was in a military base. Almost all of the people around me were with the army. I saw most of them were armed now, having rifles slung over their shoulders.
I stuck out like a sore thumb due to my civilian clothing. But I saw everyone paid me no mind, focused on whatever else they were doing. As I walked on the dirt road I saw some civilians here and there, even some women and children. Presumably doing what the man in the booth said, visiting family.
I saw the place had a lot more infrastructure than the surrounding countryside. That was to be expected, this is one of 6 or 7 crossings at the Lydas. What I do know from history is that there used to be a lot more of them, hundreds probably. But since the previous war against the Elves, most of them were demolished and a few important crossings were fortified and secured.
Once I arrived at the bridge, I saw it was just a small outpost around it. But I saw that there was a lot of fresh construction going on around the bridge. There were a few signs that were placed around with the name of the bridge itself, the „Merk Crossing“.
The bridge itself was quite a sight, it was significantly wider than I previously imagined and quite long to boot, considering that the Lydas is quite wide itself.
I saw soldiers patrolling and standing guard at various posts. But I also saw what I was searching for as well, a line of wagons and their drivers.
I approached one of them, asking whether or not they could lead me across.
„Sorry, I just work on this side of the river... You can go over to that guy over there. He's been crossing for as long as I remember.“ The driver told me while pointing to an older man with a well-groomed mustache. He was feeding one of his two horses while having a tobacco pipe in his mouth.
I thanked the driver and approached the man with the pipe.
„Hello, sir. Do you lead people across by any chance?“ I asked.
The man turned around and looked me over.
„For the right price young man.“ He said in a raspy voice.
„How much?“ I asked.
„Depends where you're going. If you just need to cross to the town across the river, you can do that on foot. But if you're going in deeper into Aesir... Well, you have me... So where do you need to be?“ He asked me.
I opened my bag and riffled through it for a few moments before retrieving the book I borrowed from the library. Going through the pages I found the map of Aesir with the land designations.
„Right here.“ I pointed to the map.
The old man looked at the map for a few moments.
„Two hundred Gelders up front.“ He said.
That's half of my monthly stipend!
„Alright... Two hundred. We have a deal.“ I said, trying not to look surprised at the price. I had the money for it, yes. But still... That's quite expensive.
„You have the papers right? The valid reason to cross. I'm not the one to ask, I don't care... But the guards do...“ The man asked me.
Now that's why I had that feeling in the train...
I sighed in frustration of my own utter stupidity. „I don't have whatever papers I need... I do have an inheritance paper, confirming I have land across the Lydas. If that means anything?“
The man leaned on his wagon and took a whiff of his pipe.
„You have land across? Hmph...“ He took a few more whiffs of his pipe. „That might work, not every day someone west of the Lydas comes here saying they have land across, especially if you're not a native of Aesir... I can pull something off. I ain't refunding you just yet.“ The man jumped on the wagon and gestured for me to get in. I obliged, getting into the wagon with my bag.
„You can call me Owen... You are?“ He said.
„Wyatt, Wyatt Rosallyn.“ I replied. He didn't reply immediately.
„Hmph... Anyway, I'll just do my thing. I have my ways to get you past the guards. Of course, it ain't free, kid. But we'll take care of that later. We're going now.“ Owen smacked the reins and the two horses began going forward.
We slowly made our way to the bridge. We approached the first checkpoint and then stopped. I heard Owen clear his throat, I saw some of the soldiers go to the back of the wagon and stare inside with indifferent faces. I felt the tension in the air as Owen started to talk.
„My client has important and urgent business across...“ I heard him say before he started talking in a hushed tone.
I saw him nod to someone before hearing someone run to the back. Gazing out I saw a soldier go to the back near a small building. A man stood there, an officer of some kind seeing the uniform, who was smoking and talking to another soldier.
The soldier ran up to the officer and saluted him, telling him something. The officer nodded before he approached the wagon with a leisurely pace, throwing his cigarette and stepping on it mid-walk.
He stopped at the back and looked at me. After that, he went to the front to talk with Owen.
I heard a few snippets of the conversation, but nothing concrete to get the full picture.
„Yeah, I know. Thanks.“ Owen said in a normal tone now. He smacked the reins once more and we were off.
I released a sigh of relief.
„Kid, this is the first checkpoint. They'll perform a search on the second one.“ Owen told me, still looking forward.
After about half a minute we stopped again, this time right before the bridge. I saw there was a wooden gate blocking our path.
Owen nodded to the soldiers there once he stopped.
I saw a soldier get to the back, he looked at me.
„Get out, search.“ He said. I grabbed my bag and obliged, exiting the wagon.
„Bag, please.“ Another soldier asked me, I handed him the bag.
The first one patted me down, while a third entered the wagon, presumably checking the wagon itself.
After a thorough pat down the first soldier spoke.
„You find something?“ He asked the other soldier.
„Nah, nothin'.“ The other one replied.
Just then the third one got out of the wagon, he shook his head.
„You may return to the wagon.“ The first soldier said and the second one handed me my bag back.
Once I returned back to the wagon I heard someone shout outside.
„Let 'em through!“
After that I saw the gates open, once fully ajar Owen smacked the reins once again. And we were on the bridge, finally. The duration of the trip across the bridge was spent in silence. I wondered whether or not this was all of the checkpoints. But I decided not to ask any questions just yet. I'd speak once Owen speaks.
It took us some time to cross the bridge, once we were across I saw there was another guarded gate. But this time we only needed to stop for it to open. Once inside I saw we entered what was basically a modern fort made within the old stone walls of an even older fortification.
We passed through without much hassle, going through the fort we came upon yet another gate where we stopped.
„I'm going a bit farther in today.“ I said Owen said to someone.
„Farther in? Alright, you need the gun?“ The person asked.
„Yes.“ Owen replied.
A few moments later Owen was handed a rifle with a small bag which I assume contained ammunition. The rifle looked old and worn out.
„Ah, this old breech loader...“ Owen said as he popped open the gun, loading a single bullet inside before closing it back up and slinging it across his shoulder.
„Blessed journey, keep safe out there.“ The other person said as the gates slowly opened.
„I'll try my best.“ Owen replied.
Once the gates were open we passed through onto a dirt road. I watched behind as the gates slowly closed back up.
„The mildly infuriating part is over young man... You can relax for now.“ Owen finally spoke up.
„Mildy infuriating? What do you mean by that?“ I asked Owen, he looked back for a second before returning his gaze to the road.
„You see before, crossing the river was a bit more simple. The regulations were a bit more relaxed. But in the last year, there was a spike in banditry and crime across the river, here in Aesir. I think you also saw the new construction back there. The army has a lot more authority and a larger presence than before... And I expect it to only get worse.“ Owen replied.
„I assumed it was always like this? Aesir is under our control, I would assume the army has a lot more people in the field, especially if crime and banditry are on the rise.“ I said.
„Look, young man. I see you've never been around here... People don't like going here. Outlaws are running about here, however much the papers say is under 'our control'... Frankly, it is more of a no man's land. A buffer between us and the Elves. The army doesn't go deep into the territory if they don't need to. You have both human and elven bandits prowling about... Especially where we're headed. That's why I have a rifle with me... This old piece of junk won't do much against a mage if we encounter one, or a group of armed bandits, but it's better than nothing.“ Owen told me, just how bad is the situation here?
„Why didn't they give you a newer rifle then? A bolt-action would be a lot better.“ I asked.
„It most definitely would, but the army doesn't want the newer gear to get into Elven hands. That's why they give us obsolete gear if we're going deeper into Aesir. Like it matters in the end... Where exists demand there shall be supply, and the smugglers are more than happy to create a supply.“ Owen said, lighting up his pipe again and taking a few whiffs.
„What good does a rifle do to an elven mage?“ I asked.
„A mage must train for years before he is a competent combatant. With a rifle you need at least two arms and a single functional eye and you're good to go. Elves use our weapons. The gun is the great equalizer around here, most of the time. You can deal with the younger mages who know a few tricks with a single bullet to the chest... The older ones are the issue. But we won't be seeing one, it's a rare sight.“ Owen said.
„I assume the older ones have better things to do. The younger ones seek approval and glory...“ I said.
„Precisely. Well, there are other things to factor in. But all in all yes. Just keep your eyes peeled. The journey to your destination will take us around two days, maybe three. Depends how the weather is going to act, and whether or not we'll run into trouble.“ Owen said. Just then I remembered something.
„Don't you need a map or something? I showed you where I need to go only once.“ I asked Owen.
„I was born here... Grew up, and when I finally escaped to the other side of the river before something pulled me back. That being the prospect of money. I've been crossing and going through this shithole for 30 years and counting. I've been to every nook and cranny of the place, and believe me, not a single thing changed in the last 30 years...“ Owen sighed and took another whiff of his pipe. „I've passed by that place a few times over the years, so I don't need a map.“
„Alright, I trust in your navigation...“ I thought it over for a few moments, I had another question.
„What is your main customer base, if you mind me asking? Just curious.“ I asked him.
„Government, they use me as a guide to take them to where they need to be. Mostly administrators, and military personnel. Every few years I have to take some city folks to take a census of some areas, those pay well... And every once in a while comes a civilian that has some unspecified business across the river. Sometimes some young budding adventurers are trying to enact their fantasies of acquiring wealth, glory, and fortune by taming this land, and so and so forth... Most of 'em come back either traumatized or maimed... More often than not they just disappear. Swallowed up in the dense forests of Aesir by Gods know what. Now put the Elves into the mix, they ain't so different from us and them. Same shit, different package. The other just has longer ears and the ability to kill with their imagination, but hey... They're all after something. As are we.“ Owen finished his monologue, I shuddered once he finished.
Just into what I have gotten myself into... I'm not cut out for this. But I still need answers.
„You've seen Elves? Have you met any of them before? What are they like?“ I asked. For all the apprehension I felt about hearing any more of this place, I still needed to know. Not just out of curiosity, though it was a factor. I needed to know because I needed further context and information. The more I know the better I can respond if things go down south.
„I have...“ Owen put down his pipe, still looking to the road. „Most of them will leave you alone if you leave them alone. At least that's how it works with the natives of Aesir... The visitors from across the other border tend to be a bit more aggressive... They are the type to shoot first and ask questions later. They're the Elven versions of our budding adventurers. Stupid, naive, and trigger-happy... Or spell-happy for the elves, or whatever equivalent they have for that.“ He said.
"Isn't there some kind of control for Elves who come across the other border or something?" I asked.
"No, what'd I tell you before, the military isn't going deep into Aesir. If they so want to come here and cause trouble, they are free to do so... As long as they don't come too close to the Lydas or obstruct any official business here, they can do whatever they want."
"Seems..." I began.
"Unorganized, corrupt, incompetent..." Owen continued.
"Yeah." I replied.
"Because it is. When I was a young man, about your age, the situation was similar in the eastern parts of the country, leagues better than Weser, but still. Can't comment on Hym or Turin, but I would guess it was the same thing. Crime was rampant. But ever since they began building those rail lines the fabled Weserian bureaucracy with all its checks and regulations, laws... They put their tentacles around the east as well... Maybe one day it will be the same in Aesir, though I don't know if I'll live to see that day." Owen paused momentarily and took a deep breath before letting out a long sigh.
„I'm going to retire soon probably... I'm tired of all of this...“ He said.
„You've got a family?“ I asked him.
„I do, one daughter and two grandkids. I've got more than enough money to enroll the two troublemakers to a good school. Make sure they have it better than me.“ Owen said.
He didn't mention his wife... I can only assume. I won't pry any further.
„Nice... Anyway, I'll be on the lookout as well. I'll tell you if I see anything amiss.“ I said, trying to change the topic.
„No need for now, we're still in the clear. We'll be stopping and making camp at the halfway point. You just relax, enjoy the ride...“ Owen told me.
„I'll try...“ I responded in a whisper. I stared out from the back of the wagon at the disappearing fort in the distance as we slowly exited the clearing and entered the Aesir forest. Sunlight was replaced by the shade of the tall dark trees. The only sound that accompanied us was that of the horses and the sound of the wooden wheels crushing a few small rocks here and there.
I felt the atmosphere change as we went deeper inside the forest. Owen said that I should relax, but there was some feeling in my stomach... I can't really describe it. The air had a different texture as well. As if we entered the maw of an ancient creature.
This is the land of magic after all... Of course, it's going to feel different.

We traveled for hours and we only sighted one other wagon going in the opposite direction. Owen knew the guy apparently, well no surprise there. I knew this place was not densely inhabited but I saw no evidence of civilization for who knows how long. Only the dirt roads we trudged through and the occasional clearing.
Owen did point me to an old fort in the distance at some point, but I barely saw it. It looked more like an amalgam of rocks on a hill.
Despite us being the only human beings in who knows how far I still felt as though we were being watched. I told Owen how I felt, but he said it was probably the forest critters staring at us. And they know better than to approach a wagon. Unless it is a large predator... That's another reason he has a rifle with him.
As the sun slowly set on the horizon, we finally arrived at the resting place he told me about.
It was a small clearing in the trees just off the road. There was just enough space to somehow push the wagon through into the clearing.
„Alright, we'll be spending the night here.“ He jumped off the wagon, patted one of the horses, then walked to the clearing.
„I'm just going to check it out real quick...“ He took a few steps forward, just as I got out of the wagon myself...
Owen sniffed the air a few times.
„Is everything alright?“ I asked him.
He sniffed the air a few more times, then he unslung his rifle. He opened it and checked if it was loaded again, and he closed it up again.
„Wait here.“ Owen said as he went to the clearing on foot.
After a tense minute of waiting I heard him shout for me to come over.
As I approached I smelled something... Something akin to burnt rubber, but not quite.
„See this, kid.“ Owen pointed to the ground to a patch of burnt grass.
„This was made by a mage, and they don't use fire magic that often. And this ain't the only one.“ He pointed to a few points in the clearing. I saw the same black patches in the grass as well, but of differing sizes.
„This was a site of a battle it looks like... And it wasn't all too long ago. A few hours ago, maybe...“ Owen got up, scanning the tree line.
„I guess we're not staying here?“ I asked.
„Yeah... I'll set up camp once I drop you off where you need to be. We have to be on the move. Looks like this area is not as safe as it was last week.“
„It's going to be dark, are you sure you can still navigate?“ I asked him.
„Not my first rodeo.“ He turned around and began walking back to the wagon. „We'll stop briefly by a stream not too far from here. The horses have to drink... Then we're getting out of there as well. C'mon, hop in.“ Owen jumped back into the wagon and lit up a lantern
I went back to the wagon and we began going down the road again. I felt the pace was a lot faster this time. Owen smacked the reins a few times... I felt his demeanor became a lot more serious from this point on.
As we went through the forest I could see Owen swing his head around a few times. He scanned the tree line carefully. His rifle was no longer slung on his shoulder, rather he held it in his lap.
I felt tired honestly, this was a long day. I wanted to sleep, but anxiety kept me awake through most of the trip to the stream.
Nothing much happened there, we stopped at another small clearing where the stream was. The horses drank and we had a quick bite to eat. We stayed for about 15 minutes, maybe 20. When the horses finished we hopped back on and continued.
I still felt Owen was tense, but more relaxed than before.
I decided to lie down on the bench of the wagon, using my bag as a pillow.
I closed my eyes for a few moments... Just to rest them for a bit. The sound of the hooves beating on the dirt road... The wheels crushed the small rocks and the occasional bump. It was strangely relaxing.
Before I knew it I saw light shine in my face. I opened my eyes.
I was greeted by Owen standing over me, shining a lantern right into my face.
„You fell asleep... Can I check that map you showed me again?“ Owen asked me.
„Ugh... Yeah, sure... Did you take a wrong turn or somethin'?“
„No, I'm fairly certain we're near your destination.“ He replied.
„Already?“ I asked, slightly shocked at how time flew by.
I saw it was still nighttime outside.
„How long was I asleep?“ I asked while I opened and rummaged through my bag.
„Three or four hours.“ He answered.
After rummaging for a few more moments I found the book and flipped through it to the page where the map was then handed it to Owen.
He looked at the map, lifting the lantern to light up to the page.
„It should be just down the road.“ He said.
„I thought you said it would take two or three days?“ I asked him.
„It would if we were to sleep through the night... It seems we weren't followed. But I couldn't take any chances.“
He gave me back the book and went to the front again.
„C'mere kid, have a seat here at the front. Since the place you're looking for is in the interior, there should be some road leading directly to it. Can't see all too well in the dark...“
I got up and sat in the front of the wagon with Owen. I saw that the road was overgrown and not well maintained. To be expected, but it made going through a lot more difficult and slow.
To our left was a sizeable clearing, probably a former farm or something. To our right was a dense patch of forest.
As we trudged on in the wagon for a few minutes I saw something.
„Wait, there's something there.“ I said, Owen stopped the wagon.
„Whatcha see, kid?“ Owen asked.
„It's... Some kind of sign?“ I answered. I saw a wooden board with something written on it.
Owen grabbed the lantern and hopped off, I followed quickly behind.
Once we approached the sign I saw there were only two letters written on it.
„K.R“
Kellynstir Rosallyn
There was a narrow dirt road leading deeper into the forest, I couldn't see more than a few meters inside. After that, it was pitch black.
„This is the place... I think.“ I said, unsure of it myself. But what were the chances of the K.R standing for someone, or something else? I don't know.
„My recommendation is that you wait until morning before venturing inside.“ Owen told me.
He was right, not only is it pitch black in there. It's also very dangerous. I am not familiar with the local wildlife but from what Owen told me, they aren't friendly. Not to mention bandits which might be hiding in there...
But I was impatient. And morbid curiosity borne out of my love for discovery... It overpowered my common sense.
„No, I'll go in now...“ I told Owen.
Surprisingly, Owen didn't try to convince me otherwise.
„In that case...“ Owen turned around and jumped back into the wagon. He rummaged through for a few moments before getting out. He held another unlit lantern and something else in his hand.
„Here, I ain't letting you out there without light and unarmed.“ He handed me the lantern and a hunting knife.
I didn't know how a hunting knife would help me if something attacked me... But it was better than nothing I guess.
„Thanks...“ I said to Owen.
He hopped back up onto the wagon.
„If you're not back by sunrise... I'll consider you dead. I'll be in the clearing here to the left. You'll see me once you get out. Be safe out there kid.“
I nodded, and with that, Owen smacked the reins and turned to the left off the road into the clearing.
Now I was alone, with a lantern and a knife.
Gods know how far from home, in the middle of nowhere.
I took a deep breath and stepped through the brush onto the narrow dirt road leading into the forest.
Next Chapter -https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/1d7fx2m/from\_the\_ashes\_chapter\_3\_the\_house/

An essential debate

A controversy over a dietary recommendation for omega-6 fatty acids shows no sign of resolving itself.By Rajendrani MukhopadhyayNov. 2, 2012
Is a particular dietary recommendation harming people in the U.S.? For almost 20 years, scientists have been arguing over whether Americans and others on a typical Western diet are eating too much of omega-6s, a class of essential fatty acids. Some experts, notably ones affiliated with the American Heart Association, credit our current intake of omega-6s with lowering the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Others, which include biochemists, say the relatively high intake of omega-6 is a reason for a slew of chronic illnesses in the Western world, including asthma, various cancers, neurological disorders and cardiovascular disease itself.
At the center of this dispute is how omega-6s and their cousins, omega-3s, are biochemically processed in the body and the physiological outcomes of the metabolism (see box on the EFA naming convention). Both camps agree that a healthy diet requires both omega-3s and omega-6s. Omega-3s are sorely lacking in Western diets, so people need to increase their consumption of them. But the split comes over omega-6s: Are we or are we not eating too much of them?
To make their case, both camps point to the same body of biochemical and clinical trial data but say the other camp is misinterpreting the data. “It’s a real can of worms,” says Norman Salem Jr., a biochemist at DSM Nutritional Products, a company that makes essential fatty acids and other food supplements.

Opening the can of worms

In 1985, Artemis Simopoulos, then the chair of the nutrition coordinating committee of the National Institutes of Health and now the president of the Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health, described how, from the 1950s onward, Western diets were becoming dominated by omega-6s at the expense of omega-3s. Fish intake, a critical source of omega-3s, had dropped considerably, even among American Catholics after Pope Paul VI decreed in 1966 that Fridays no longer had to be meatless (1). “By 1985, fish consumption was minimal. Something like 25 percent of the U.S. population did not eat any fish at all,” says Simopoulos. “In the meantime, agriculture and agribusiness had changed animal feeds. The omega-3 fatty acids that are normally found in grass-eating animals had disappeared because the animals were fed corn.” Corn and other grains are generally high in omega-6s.
The oils people consumed also changed. People began to eat more corn, soybean and safflower oils, which are high in omega-6s and plentiful in industrially processed foods. Another source of the dietary change came from the work of Ancel Keys. In 1965, Keys and his colleagues at the University of Minnesota published an equation that quantified the relationship between saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and serum cholesterol levels (2). The equation helped to sway public health dietary emphasis toward the polyunsaturated fats, which include EFAs, to lower blood cholesterol levels. But the Keys equation treated all unsaturated fats the same. It didn’t distinguish between omega-3s and omega-6s. But biochemical studies, such as those by Nobel laureates Bengt Samuelsson and Sune Bergström at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and John Vane at the Wellcome Foundation in the U.K., were demonstrating that the two classes of EFAs formed different kinds of bioactive eicosanoids.
In 2009, the dispute over omega-6 consumption came to a head when the American Heart Association recommended that omega-6s comprise at least 5 percent to 10 percent of the energy intake in a diet (3). If omega-6 intakes were less than that, said the AHA, the risk of cardiovascular disease likely would increase. According to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey overseen by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American currently gets 6.5 percent of his or her energy intake from linoleic acid, the major omega-6 in the diet.
William Harris, an expert in cardiovascular disease at the University of South Dakota and president of the company OmegaQuant Analytics, says that much of the evidence, both from dietary studies and measurements of blood levels, has shown that higher blood levels of omega-6 are associated with reduced risks for cardiovascular events. Harris, who spearheaded the heart association’s scientific advisory group, adds that this is why “the American Heart Association encourages people to eat omega-6 fatty acids and specifically not to buy into this idea that we’re eating too much.” Walter Willett, an expert in nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard University, goes one step further and calls the assertion that high omega-6 intake is harmful “an urban myth.”
But lipid biochemists are alarmed. For example, Floyd Chilton is a biochemist at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and a consultant to the company GeneSmart. He says that the AHA recommendation was made without considering the biochemistry of EFAs and solely focused on the outcomes of clinical trials that were not well designed. “I think it led to some very troubling decisions,” he says, a sentiment echoed by others, such as Simopoulos, Salem and William Lands, a biochemist at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

The biochemical debate

Essential fatty acids were discovered on the heels of vitamins in the early 1900s. In 1929 and 1930, George and Mildred Burr demonstrated that essential fatty acids were critical for the well-being of laboratory rats and discovered the first essential fatty acid, the omega-6 linoleic acid (4). In 1933, one of George Burr’s graduate students, Arild Hansen, showed that humans, like the laboratory rats, could suffer from deficiencies in essential fatty acids. Soon both omega-3s and omega-6s were accepted as nutrients like vitamins that had to be consumed through food for optimal health.
EFAs have several functions, which include producing bioactive molecules, making up our tissue composition and contributing to the skin’s barrier function. EFAs go through one well-documented biochemical pathway to make a class of bioactive molecules called eicosanoids. This pathway is also a source of contention between the two camps.
Chemical structure of linoleic acidWIKIPEDIA
Linoleic acid, the main omega-6, enters the pathway through the Δ6 desaturase. The resulting molecule then gets elongated by an enzyme whose identity has not yet been established. Next, the molecule goes through the Δ5 desaturase. The result is arachidonic acid, a 20-carbon chain that gets converted by cyclooxygenases into eicosanoids, such as leukotrienes, prostaglandins, and thromboxanes, which regulate inflammation and thrombosis. (Aspirin and its fellow nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs inhibit cyclooxygenases.)
α-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid, also enters the biochemical pathway through the Δ6 desaturase and is transferred to the Δ5 desaturase. The product from the Δ5 desaturase, eicosapentaenoic acid, goes on to form docosahexaenoic acid through additional steps involving elongases. EPA and DHA, like arachidonic acid, help to build eicosanoids. But these eicosanoids are not as potent as the ones made from arachidonic acid.
Here is the contention between the two camps. The camp that believes we eat too much omega-6 says that linoleic acid swamps out the biochemical pathway, not giving α-linolenic acid much of a chance to get to the Δ6 desaturase. All you get with the high linoleic acid amount, argues this camp, is an accumulation of the powerful arachidonic acid, which shifts the body into a state of constant inflammation. But the camp that argues that our omega-6 intake is fine gets frustrated by this argument. Penny Kris-Etherton, a nutrition expert at Pennsylvania State University who was in Harris’ advisory group, says the conversion issue goes away if people just eat adequate amounts of EPA and DHA. If EPA and DHA are sufficient in the diet, the need to convert α-linolenic acid into those molecules gets bypassed. “Just eat a lot of fish and we don’t have to worry about the conversion issue,” she says. Fortified foods that contain EPA and DHA, like milk and eggs, can also be sources of omega-3s.
Even then, says Salem, the products of arachidonic acid compete against those from EPA and DHA for incorporation into complex lipids and into cells and organs. Indeed, arachidonic acid is a better substrate for cyclooxygenases than EPA. William Smith, a biochemist at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, says that cyclooxygenase 1 uses EPA at 5 percent to 10 percent of the efficiency of arachidonic acid; cyclooxygenase 2 uses EPA at a somewhat greater efficiency but no more than 20 percent to 30 percent. “If you have a fairly high level of arachidonic acid over EPA, you’re opening the floodgates for all the things that prostaglandins do,” which includes stimulating inflammation, says Smith.
Even if products from arachidonic acid dominate, Harris argues, products of arachidonic acid can’t all be painted with the same brush. He says some of the molecules produced by omega-6s are proinflammatory but some are anti-inflammatory. “One can’t certainly say the omega-6s are pro-inflammatory,” states Harris. “That’s far too simple, because there are several examples of omega-6 metabolites that are either anti-inflammatory or antiplatelet aggregation.”
Lands says Harris’ point about omega-6s producing both pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules is correct. But as a whole, he counters, the proinflammatory molecules from omega-6s dominate their anti-inflammatory counterparts. These proinflammatory molecules, Lands, Chilton, and others in the camp advocating lower omega-6 levels assert, accumulate in the body and result in several diseases for which inflammation of some sort is the root cause.
Genetics also now has entered the fray. In recent years, Chilton’s laboratory has been studying the FADS cluster, which codes for the Δ5 and Δ6 desaturases (5, 6). His team has shown that people of African descent have much higher frequencies of genetic variants that efficiently convert linoleic acid to arachidonic acid than people of European descent. As a result, African-Americans have much higher circulating blood levels of arachidonic acid, says Chilton.
This difference in conversion rate is important for an assertion often made by those advocating for the current omega-6 levels. They say that the biochemical pathway self-regulates, turning itself off after a certain amount of arachidonic acid is made. “If we eat more omega-6s in the diet, it doesn’t increase arachidonic acid levels, because there is so much regulation,” says Willett.
But Chilton says his research suggests an individual’s background does matter. “Many people have argued that the system saturates itself at relatively low concentrations of dietary linoleic acid, limiting the amounts of arachidonic acid that can be made,” he says. But, he adds, the studies were almost exclusively carried out in European and European-ancestry populations. Given that individuals of African descent have higher frequencies of the variants that convert linoleic acid to arachidonic acid at higher rates than European descendants, Chilton says it is likely that the saturation of the linoleic–acid-to-arachidonic-acid pathway occurs at higher levels of dietary linoleic acid in people of African descent. “With recommendations like that from the American Heart Association, I am particularly concerned we may be driving health disparities,” says Chilton.
Lands and other biochemists decry what they see as a complete dismissal of the biochemistry of essential fatty acids in making dietary recommendations. But to that critique, Harris says public health policy should be dictated by clinical trial data. “You don’t do it by looking at biochemical pathways,” he says. “You look at randomized controlled trials and population cohort studies where disease endpoints are being measured. That’s what you care about.”

Clinical conundrum

In coming up with its 2009 recommendation, the AHA looked at the literature describing various clinical trials that included omega-6s. The AHA used evidence from observational trials that lasted up to 20 years and randomized controlled trials in which participants were given special diets. Subsequently, biochemist Joseph Hibbeln and clinician Christopher Ramsden at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism analyzed the oils used in the randomized controlled clinical trials (7). They asked if the evidence for the AHA recommendation was specific to linoleic acid or if an increase in omega-3s could be responsible for the benefits.
Ramsden and Hibbeln describe the problems they see: The trials involving only omega-6 didn’t give any indication of benefit and even suggested a hint toward increased risk; only the trials that increased omega-3s along with omega-6s presented a benefit. The AHA, they say, did not separate the trials involving only omega-6s from those that also increased omega-3s.
“Here’s the analogy,” says Hibbeln. “Say I give marshmallows infused with penicillin to people who have an infection and they get better. By gram weight, the intervention was mostly marshmallows. But there was penicillin. Do I then overgeneralize, as the American Heart Association has done, and recommend that people eat marshmallows to cure their infections? I don’t think so.”
Harris doesn’t buy that argument. Biochemistry dictates that an excess of linoleic acid should suppress the conversion of α-linolenic acid to EPA and DHA. It must be linoleic acid that is the main factor in preventing cardiovascular disease in these clinical trials, Harris says, adding that the molecule is known to have beneficial effects, such as lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The onus is still on Hibbeln’s group “to explain how a small amount of α-linolenic acid contained in a virtual ocean of linoleic acid” can have cardioprotective effects, says Harris.
But Ramsden counters that the one trial that increased the daily intakes of EPA and DHA to 5 grams, a large amount equivalent to 16 fish-oil pills a day, showed major benefit. If that trial, called the Oslo Diet Heart Study, was excluded from the meta-analysis, none of the other clinical trials showed a benefit from the omega-6s.
There aren’t any data showing what happens when linoleic acid in people’s diets is dropped to less than 5 percent, an amount at which it’s thought that linoleic acid doesn’t crowd out α-linolenic acid. What’s needed is a clinical trial that carefully tracks a large range of linoleic acid amounts in the diet and catalogues health outcomes.
“That trial will never be done. It would take 10 years or longer and cost perhaps $100 million,” says Salem. “No one is ever going to pay for that trial.” Harris concurs, saying the randomized, controlled trial would be extremely hard to pull off, because the entire food supply would have to be manipulated to test different amounts of linoleic acid.

“We’re the experiment”

No one is disputing that we’re eating more omega-6 than our predecessors did. Over the past 100 years, consumption of linoleic acid has increased dramatically in the U.S., mainly through the use of soybean oil. Soybean oil intake has gone up from being 1 percent of calories in the American diet to as much as 10 percent, according to Hibbeln. Lands, Salem and others contend that the rise, driven by the processed food and agriculture industries, has happened without anyone knowing its effects. “If I were now to try to get permission to change 10 percent of the calories in the U.S. diet, I would need a very large body of data unequivocally proving that it was safe,” says Hibbeln. “No such body of data exists for soybean oil. But it’s in our diet. We’re the experiment. It’s been a very large, uncontrolled intervention.”
Experts like Harris and Willett say this increase has been to our benefit. “We have seen a massive decline in cardiovascular disease mortality and huge increase in life expectancy,” says Willett. “Not all the benefit is due to the increase in linoleic acid, but almost certainly much of it is. It was not an absolute disaster.” But the lipid biochemists counter that it’s not just cardiovascular disease at stake. They say diabetes, obesity and even psychiatric disorders are some outcomes of a diet heavy on omega-6s.
Both sides agree that there is much more research to be done on the various pathways in which EFAs participate. Ramsden says nonspecialists may have the impression, based on the well-known body of work on prostaglandins and a few other categories of compounds derived from EFAs, that the biochemistry of omega-6s and omega-3s is firmly established. But that is not the case, because “it’s really more complex than anyone had ever thought.” Ramsden continues: “I look at this field as having a long way to go.”
For this reason, the current experts in the field urge more scientists and clinicians to join in the efforts to understand the impact of EFAs on health outcomes and perhaps finally lay the omega-6 dispute to rest. As Harris says, “The more people are tuned into the question, the more research will be done on the topic and the less uncertainty we will have around the issue.”

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5. Sergeant, S. et al. Br. J. Nutr. 107, 547–555 (2012).
6. Mathias, R. A. et al. BMC Genet. doi: 10.1186/1471-2156-12-50 (2011).
7. Ramsden, C. E. et al. Br. J. Nutr. 104, 1586–1600 (2010).
8. An essential debate