Can you abruptly stop taking hydroxyzine
My attempt to write
2017.03.12 22:54 feedmequick My attempt to write
Inspired by writingprompts I started a story based on a character called The Keymaster that I now try to update two times a week. Originally, he was a man who set villains free, but the story gets a bit more complicated. Basically this subreddit is where I will upload any updates to that story, or add any new writing prompts I decide to try.
2013.09.14 23:44 MillennialDan Sunset Shimmer
Sunset Shimmer is taking over this pathetic world, and there's nothing you can do to stop her! Sunset is a lead character from the My Little Pony: Equestria Girls series.
2012.03.01 09:12 sayaphsy Ankylosing Spondylitis
/ankylosingspondylitis is a place for patients of ankylosing spondylitis and other axial spondyloarthritis. These conditions are autoimmune diseases that cause inflammatory arthritis of the lower back, hips, and other joints.
2023.03.31 17:59 lRyex Living Sand A monster that doesn't attack
 | submitted by lRyex to UnearthedArcana [link] [comments] |
2023.03.31 17:59 DharmaSurfer38 20yr+ UC survivor - over it!
So I have had this disease for 20+ years now, and I am pretty sick of the standard routine that we all go through every time we have a flareup. Aren’t we all!
I am not taking any sort of medication. I have decided to cancel my G.I. appointment.
QUESTIONS: - I want to know what others think about just ‘riding out’ a flareup how long do you think One can ‘ride it out’ for?
submitted by DharmaSurfer38 to UlcerativeColitis [link] [comments]
I am not taking any sort of medication. I have decided to cancel my G.I. appointment.
QUESTIONS: - I want to know what others think about just ‘riding out’ a flareup how long do you think One can ‘ride it out’ for?
- How long have you ‘ridden out’ a flareup with no treatments/medications?
- At what point do you surrender to the ‘treatments’? (Go to GI or ER)
2023.03.31 17:59 Ok-Percentage1128 How to rescind offer to a bridesmaid
So I am getting married in less than 5 months. I have had some issues with trying to decide bridesmaids. About 3 weeks ago, I asked a good friend from college if she would like to be a bridesmaid, although I understood if she would be too busy. For context, I am getting married in Michigan (where we both went to undergrad) and she is currently in medical school in Alabama. When I asked, I completely understood if she would be too busy as I’m also in grad school and I know it would probably be difficult for me to travel that far to be in a friend’s wedding, however, she said she would ask an older classmate if they had any exams near the time of the wedding where she possibly would be able to take a day or 2 off to come to the wedding. It’s now been 3 weeks and I haven’t heard from her yet.
Here’s the dilemma. My fiancé and I are starting to get more details moving and would like to have our bridal party set in stone so we can move forward with planning with them since time is starting to go by faster and I only have so much time to plan due to grad school. Is there any way that I can kindly tell my friend “hey, I love you, but I don’t think you’ll have the time to be in my wedding and I want you to focus on your future?” I texted her on Monday that I needed an answer by tonight but I’m worried I won’t hear from her.
submitted by Ok-Percentage1128 to weddingplanning [link] [comments]
Here’s the dilemma. My fiancé and I are starting to get more details moving and would like to have our bridal party set in stone so we can move forward with planning with them since time is starting to go by faster and I only have so much time to plan due to grad school. Is there any way that I can kindly tell my friend “hey, I love you, but I don’t think you’ll have the time to be in my wedding and I want you to focus on your future?” I texted her on Monday that I needed an answer by tonight but I’m worried I won’t hear from her.
2023.03.31 17:59 mannie007 Hi! I just started using the Caden app to take control of my data, earn points that I can exchange for real money, and learn insights about the way I shop, travel, spend, watch and listen! We’ll both earn 2,000 points if you sign up with my code: A93E https://app.caden.io/referral
submitted by mannie007 to referralcodes [link] [comments]
2023.03.31 17:58 100unskippableads [21F] Me and my BF [22F] are incompatible but he refuses to leave me, it's making me feel drained.
I've been dating this guy for 11 months now, and we started well because of some common interests. However, a few months ago I realized that we were just incompatible as lovers but good as friends.
He's a great guy truly but he has drained me.
In conversations, I mostly have to initiate or it ends up in silence and his responses are so short or just 'idk'. When he tells me about his day, I ask about them but when I tell him about mine, it's mostly 'oohhh' or silence or he changes the topic. I thought he didn't like my conversation topics but he says he likes it, he just struggles with responding or making up topics. I understand but I have limits too.
When he gets ill, I remember and cancel shared plans so he can rest. When it's me, he forgets about it an hour later, and if I cancel plans? He gets upset thinking I'm making an excuse. When I speak with him, I often ask him how he was and how his day was and never get the same until later after I started getting distant.
I just feel like his personal cheerleader that he has sex with. I feel like a mother, a caretaker.
Months ago, I opened up about how we might be incompatible as lovers because I was having anxieties again I can't take it anymore. He wasn't happy and begged me to stay saying that he felt cared for, he felt loved by me, and he loves me. I felt like an asshole, so guilty so I stayed and tried pushing effort but it was not really working anymore so I tried breaking up again but he begged so much that I felt like a toxic asshole. His friend later has an accident and I feel awful for thinking of leaving him again.
He's not bad, I know he just has his own issues to work with but I'm not a therapist, and I'm not responsible for his character development. I'm not his mother. I feel like if I stayed, it will only destroy and give us both more issues. Even more, we are incompatible with our needs and wants and it became unhealthy.
However, the guilt- is too much for me. I feel like a monster and it makes me hate myself so much it's ruining my other relationships.
How do you break up with guys like this? How do you handle the pain and guilt of leaving someone good? How do you not break knowing they're in pain from your rejection?
-------
TLDR: BF and I are incompatible and the relationship is now unhealthy but every time I try to leave he begs so much that I feel guilty and evil so I stay but I can't do this anymore. How do I handle the heavy guilt of having to leave?
submitted by 100unskippableads to relationship_advice [link] [comments]
He's a great guy truly but he has drained me.
In conversations, I mostly have to initiate or it ends up in silence and his responses are so short or just 'idk'. When he tells me about his day, I ask about them but when I tell him about mine, it's mostly 'oohhh' or silence or he changes the topic. I thought he didn't like my conversation topics but he says he likes it, he just struggles with responding or making up topics. I understand but I have limits too.
When he gets ill, I remember and cancel shared plans so he can rest. When it's me, he forgets about it an hour later, and if I cancel plans? He gets upset thinking I'm making an excuse. When I speak with him, I often ask him how he was and how his day was and never get the same until later after I started getting distant.
I just feel like his personal cheerleader that he has sex with. I feel like a mother, a caretaker.
Months ago, I opened up about how we might be incompatible as lovers because I was having anxieties again I can't take it anymore. He wasn't happy and begged me to stay saying that he felt cared for, he felt loved by me, and he loves me. I felt like an asshole, so guilty so I stayed and tried pushing effort but it was not really working anymore so I tried breaking up again but he begged so much that I felt like a toxic asshole. His friend later has an accident and I feel awful for thinking of leaving him again.
He's not bad, I know he just has his own issues to work with but I'm not a therapist, and I'm not responsible for his character development. I'm not his mother. I feel like if I stayed, it will only destroy and give us both more issues. Even more, we are incompatible with our needs and wants and it became unhealthy.
However, the guilt- is too much for me. I feel like a monster and it makes me hate myself so much it's ruining my other relationships.
How do you break up with guys like this? How do you handle the pain and guilt of leaving someone good? How do you not break knowing they're in pain from your rejection?
-------
TLDR: BF and I are incompatible and the relationship is now unhealthy but every time I try to leave he begs so much that I feel guilty and evil so I stay but I can't do this anymore. How do I handle the heavy guilt of having to leave?
2023.03.31 17:58 AntiSaby Road trip from Toronto to Calgary
I’m planning a road trip with my friend from Toronto to Calgary next week in his car. It’s almost a 36 hours drive so we are planning to drive around 10-12 hours a day and stay at motels at night on the way. This is my first time doing such a road trip so I’m not really sure how I should plan it. Can you guys please suggest where we should stop on the way? Any interesting places or interesting cities perhaps? Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
submitted by AntiSaby to askTO [link] [comments]
2023.03.31 17:58 lifedesignleaders 𝐐𝟏 𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐄! (𝟓 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡/𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡)
𝐐𝟏 𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐄! (𝟓 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡/𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡)
3 months ago, wide-eyed and bushy tailed, ready for anything..
Now..?
That was up to us! I hope you’ve made huge strides on your intentions.
I find the best way to continually improve is through constant course correction, meaning, taking 30 or 40 minutes to reflect back on the past 3-months and consider what went right and what went wrong. What could be improved or modified to work better? Where do I need to skill up? How can I streamline my business to get time back?
It’s not a natural intuition for most health or life coaches to do this sort of thing because their passions usually lie in coaching and not in business, but taking this simple step (now that you know) can lead to pretty interesting revelations sometimes..
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝟑𝟎-𝟒𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝟓 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:
Understanding and clarity are step 1. Step 2 is to apply course corrections where you see potential for improvement. That is the critical step.
Let me know how this goes for you and feel free to ask about whether your proposed course corrections make sense for what you’d like to see happen as a result.
Aar
submitted by lifedesignleaders to healthcoachmarketing [link] [comments]
3 months ago, wide-eyed and bushy tailed, ready for anything..
Now..?
That was up to us! I hope you’ve made huge strides on your intentions.
I find the best way to continually improve is through constant course correction, meaning, taking 30 or 40 minutes to reflect back on the past 3-months and consider what went right and what went wrong. What could be improved or modified to work better? Where do I need to skill up? How can I streamline my business to get time back?
It’s not a natural intuition for most health or life coaches to do this sort of thing because their passions usually lie in coaching and not in business, but taking this simple step (now that you know) can lead to pretty interesting revelations sometimes..
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝟑𝟎-𝟒𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝟓 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:
- What were my revenue and profit margins for the quarter and how did they compare to my projections?
- Did I achieve my goals for the quarter and what factors contributed to my success or lack thereof?
- Did I acquire new clients or retain existing ones? How did my client results, reviews and feedback look?
- Did I invest in any marketing campaigns or training and how effective were they in generating leads and sales?
- What were my biggest challenges and obstacles this quarter and how can I address them in the upcoming quarters?
Understanding and clarity are step 1. Step 2 is to apply course corrections where you see potential for improvement. That is the critical step.
Let me know how this goes for you and feel free to ask about whether your proposed course corrections make sense for what you’d like to see happen as a result.
Aar
2023.03.31 17:58 rokok3 Friday, March 31, 2023 Non-Real-Time Meeting of OA
Welcome to this non-real time meeting of Overeaters Anonymous! I’m rokok3. I’m a compulsive eater and your leader for this meeting. Will those who wish, please join me in the Serenity Prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
Overeaters Anonymous is a Fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience, strength, and hope, are recovering from compulsive overeating. We welcome everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively. There are no dues or fees for members; we are self-supporting through our own contributions, neither soliciting nor accepting outside donations. OA is not affiliated with any public or private organization, political movement, ideology, or religious doctrine; we take no position on outside issues. Our primary purpose is to abstain from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors and to carry the message of recovery through the Twelve Steps of OA to those who still suffer.
Our Invitation to You
The Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous
Abstinence in Overeaters Anonymous is the action of refraining from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors while working towards or maintaining a healthy body weight. Spiritual, emotional, and physical recovery is the result of living the Overeaters Anonymous Twelve Step program.
The OA tools of recovery help us work the Steps and refrain from compulsive overeating. The nine tools are: a plan of eating, sponsorship, meetings, telephone, writing, literature, an action plan, anonymity, and service. For more information, read The Tools of Recovery OA page.
Sponsorship is one of our keys to success. Sponsors are OA members committed to abstinence and to living the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions to the best of their ability. Sponsors share their program up to the level of their experience and strengthen their recovery through this service to others. To find a sponsor, look for someone who has what you want and ask how he or she is achieving it. Will all abstinent sponsors please identify themselves in their post?
According to our Seventh Tradition, we are self-supporting through our own contributions. Our group number is 99038. Please use the group number when making your contribution. As our virtual group currently has no expenses please consider donating directly through this link to the OA World Service Office, who provides resources for OA groups all around the world to carry the message to other compulsive overeaters.
Suggested guidelines for sharing: As you share your experience and strength in OA, please also share your hope. Please confine your sharing to your experience with the disease of compulsive eating, the solution offered by OA, and your own recovery from the disease, rather than just the events of the day or week. When responding to other member’s posts, please focus on your personal experience rather than advice giving. If you are having difficulties, share how you use the program to deal with them. If you need to talk more about your difficulties and seek solutions, we suggest you speak to your sponsor and other members after the meeting.
*This is a literature meeting. Today we are studying the Big Book of Alcoholics Pg 18-19
That the man who is making the approach has had the same difficulty, that he obviously knows what he is talking about, that his whole deportment shouts at the new prospect that he is a man with a real answer, that he has no attitude of Holier Than Thou, nothing whatever except the sincere desire to be helpful; that there are no fees to pay, no axes to grind, no people to please, no lectures to be endured—these are the conditions we have found most effective. After such an ap- proach many take up their beds and walk again.
Closing By following the Twelve Steps, attending meetings regularly, and using the OA Tools, we are changing our lives. You will find hope and encouragement in Overeaters Anonymous. To the newcomer, we suggest attending at least six different meetings to learn the many ways OA can help you. The opinions expressed here today are those of individual OA members and do not represent OA as a whole. Let us all reach out by private message to newcomers, returning members, and each other. Together we get better.
submitted by rokok3 to OvereatersAnonymous [link] [comments]
Overeaters Anonymous is a Fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience, strength, and hope, are recovering from compulsive overeating. We welcome everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively. There are no dues or fees for members; we are self-supporting through our own contributions, neither soliciting nor accepting outside donations. OA is not affiliated with any public or private organization, political movement, ideology, or religious doctrine; we take no position on outside issues. Our primary purpose is to abstain from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors and to carry the message of recovery through the Twelve Steps of OA to those who still suffer.
Our Invitation to You
The Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous
Abstinence in Overeaters Anonymous is the action of refraining from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors while working towards or maintaining a healthy body weight. Spiritual, emotional, and physical recovery is the result of living the Overeaters Anonymous Twelve Step program.
The OA tools of recovery help us work the Steps and refrain from compulsive overeating. The nine tools are: a plan of eating, sponsorship, meetings, telephone, writing, literature, an action plan, anonymity, and service. For more information, read The Tools of Recovery OA page.
Sponsorship is one of our keys to success. Sponsors are OA members committed to abstinence and to living the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions to the best of their ability. Sponsors share their program up to the level of their experience and strengthen their recovery through this service to others. To find a sponsor, look for someone who has what you want and ask how he or she is achieving it. Will all abstinent sponsors please identify themselves in their post?
According to our Seventh Tradition, we are self-supporting through our own contributions. Our group number is 99038. Please use the group number when making your contribution. As our virtual group currently has no expenses please consider donating directly through this link to the OA World Service Office, who provides resources for OA groups all around the world to carry the message to other compulsive overeaters.
Suggested guidelines for sharing: As you share your experience and strength in OA, please also share your hope. Please confine your sharing to your experience with the disease of compulsive eating, the solution offered by OA, and your own recovery from the disease, rather than just the events of the day or week. When responding to other member’s posts, please focus on your personal experience rather than advice giving. If you are having difficulties, share how you use the program to deal with them. If you need to talk more about your difficulties and seek solutions, we suggest you speak to your sponsor and other members after the meeting.
*This is a literature meeting. Today we are studying the Big Book of Alcoholics Pg 18-19
That the man who is making the approach has had the same difficulty, that he obviously knows what he is talking about, that his whole deportment shouts at the new prospect that he is a man with a real answer, that he has no attitude of Holier Than Thou, nothing whatever except the sincere desire to be helpful; that there are no fees to pay, no axes to grind, no people to please, no lectures to be endured—these are the conditions we have found most effective. After such an ap- proach many take up their beds and walk again.
Closing By following the Twelve Steps, attending meetings regularly, and using the OA Tools, we are changing our lives. You will find hope and encouragement in Overeaters Anonymous. To the newcomer, we suggest attending at least six different meetings to learn the many ways OA can help you. The opinions expressed here today are those of individual OA members and do not represent OA as a whole. Let us all reach out by private message to newcomers, returning members, and each other. Together we get better.
2023.03.31 17:58 please-Fix-5712 Both test positive yet two different high?just the cut?
 | Both bags tests positive assumed was all cut when some turns brown and semi waxy. One gets you all disoriented blurry vision the other pretty tweak.....but still waxy...read another and seen a lot of people getting ripped off with large crystals everyone thinks is iso....but a homeless person can make a 15 inch crystal some tweaker secret for cut I think its Epson salt and something added. . Also dope dissolves like oil in water.....the dope in prison is straight dope no bullshit.it dissolves but takes awhile like sugar and ten cents has you gone and u can snort it submitted by please-Fix-5712 to ReagentTesting [link] [comments] WHATS UP WITH THIS STUFF ON THE STREETS EVERYONE ON HERE (REDDIT)THINKS IS ISO? IS MY DOPE HELLA CUT CUZ IT STILL REACTS?DOES CUT REACT? |
2023.03.31 17:58 enriquerojas15 This song was requested in my YouTube channel and now I can’t stop playing it. Check out my latest arrangement of the song How To Save a Life by The Fray (Fingerstyle Guitar Cover with Tabs and Lyrics). Let me know what you think!
 | submitted by enriquerojas15 to fingerstyleguitar [link] [comments] |
2023.03.31 17:58 Putrid_Manufacturer6 [WTS] Bake and Slab $85-95
![[WTS] Bake and Slab $85-95](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/bq3pWo-597wdWFNScHYlSBc0q_R7YBEfOItse6DwdSg.jpg "[WTS] Bake and Slab $85-95") |
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2023.03.31 17:58 Sooperdude24 Britney goes to school 37
The "we're not dead" chapter from u/eruwenn and I. No promises on how fast the next chapter arrives, but it is underway.
First / Prev / Next ------------------------------
Sam Jakobs strode through the lobby of Umgrol Tower with all but one of his most trusted friends. Black suits slipped through the crowd; much like a shark’s fin through waves, they simply parted without a ripple of effort. Faces were grim, eyes focused, and a tension sat on their combined shoulders like a weight they all knew too well.
“I could make an excuse,” Duong offered, deciding to try and break the mood. “No need for you to attend this meeting in person.”
“It’s fine,” former Colonel Jakobs answered with a resigned sigh.
“But, shouldn’t you be with Britney?” Lopez attempted to change his mind with an appeal to his emotions. “She was looking forward to taking you on a roller coaster.”
“I’m doing this for Britney,” the loving father replied without hesitation.
“Avoiding conflict is a good lesson,” Jabari offered his advice.
“True.” Sam conceded the point.
“Knowin’ how to punch a Wachoto so their heart fails is also a good lesson,” Snake said drily.
“Also true,” the group’s leader said, allowing himself a brief chuckle.
“Sam!” Lopez struck his shoulder with the back of her open hand. “Don’t even joke-”
“We’re not killing Hopper’s replacement,” Sam confirmed, allowing himself an almost imperceptible shrug. “Not today, anyway.”
The small ripple of laughter that had passed between them had helped alleviate some of the tension that had been building. Duong paused as one of the tower assistants came jogging up to them, and he held up a hand to stop the others. As the young man approached, the terror was visible in his face. "Your order, Sir." He held up a white box from Pierre's, large enough to require both hands to hold, and instead of saluting he simply bowed his head and extended the package towards them.
“Thank you,” Sam replied, accepting the box and tucking it under his arm. He saw the others staring in confusion. “A gift,” he explained.
“From you…” Jabari said slowly. “To?”
“Did Choco make an exploding cake?” Duong jokingly asked.
“Another exploding cake,” Jabari clarified. “There was that thing in the Whethan Sector.”
Elevator doors opened, and their conversation fell silent as they entered, only to start up again once it began to move.
Jabari had found that humorous antics, or the mere memory of them, often eased tension before combat. He tried the interrupted tactic again. "Remember that time he stole a light cruiser from the Odesza Fundamentalists?" After a brief pause to allow the memories to flow, he added, "What happened to that thing, anyhow?"
“Who knows,” Duong hastily replied, nudging his large friend in the side and nodding to the camera watching them. “Lot of stuff goes missing in war, you know-”
“Cameras are off, dumbass,” Choco’s voice came in over their earpieces.
“Better safe than sorry,” the handsome man replied, flashing a smile to their Erinal in the machine, and began fixing up his hair in the reflection of the camera lens. The elevator stopped, and the conversation paused with practiced precision as the doors parted. The black suits marched silently through the underground military base of Umgrol Tower basement level three, eventually reaching a set of secure doors. Two black armoured soldiers stood either side.
“Death’s Head?” Snake muttered the question to the others, nodding to the unmoving men and the smooth black mirror that made up the face of their helmets. “I thought we were playing nice with the locals?”
“Purely for the new general’s personal security.” Choco supplied the answer over their secure comms channel, as they passed into the room beyond. “Seems he’s the nervous type.” He slurped loudly on something, causing the others to wince at the noise. “Can’t figure why, ha.”
A dozen more of the faceless sets of black armour waited in the room, weapons ready. Near them stood full body scanners, as well as deep, metal trays.
“Weapons,” one of the Death’s Head Dragoons said, gesturing to the waiting receptacles.
The War Rats glanced at each other, smiled, and began unbuttoning their suit jackets. Things began to be deposited at an alarming frequency by everyone present, aside from one. Sam shook his head at the others as he held his box of confections. “I thought I said unarmed?” he asked.
“This is unarmed,” Snake replied, tossing a sixth knife into the tray.
“Oh, you meant unarmed unarmed.” Jabari’s deep voice was full of humour, and he failed to stifle his rumbling laughter as he tossed a large, brightly-coloured grenade into his tray.
The closest guard flinched at the sight of the explosive, and immediately asked, “Is that an Oracle?” He took several steps back, despite knowing that the explosive could vaporise several floors of even this reinforced building. Something whose very name spoke of being a message from god, a literal invite to hell. “Isn’t owning one of those a war crime?”
“In Triumvirate space, sure,” the big man answered, shrugging off the obvious obfuscation. “No local laws are being broken. Besides, I’ve been working on making a better version.“ He smiled at his reflection in the man’s visor. “This one lacks the wow factor.”
Two of the other guards were muttering back and forth, clearly nervous, and Sam stepped in to ask, “Do we have a problem?”
“Err...” One of the indistinguishable soldiers glanced nervously at Lopez, who had stepped through the scanner. "Her arm, Sir. It's been augmented with-"
"You want me to take my arm off?" Lopez laughed, well-acquainted with the multiple warnings her Choco-manufactured appendage had set off. "I guess you really did mean unarmed unarmed.
Sam took control of the situation, his voice calm and even. “We’re all on the same team here. General Midysus requested this meeting himself.” He gestured back towards the door. “I can head up to my office, and he can-”
“It’s fine,” Maria gently interrupted, reaching up to start unfastening her shirt so she could remove the artificial limb. “No me importa, we just need to-”
“No.” Sam’s voice was iron, an infinitesimal amount of the rage that was brewing inside him seeping into that singular syllable. “I care.” His eyes had not left the dragoon who had made the request, and they took a faltering step backwards. “My men brought weapons, which I will punish them for later” -his subordinates grimaced at those words- “but, bad jokes aside, we are allies.” He turned to look at the elevator doors, then asked, “Unless you would like to alter the terms of our agreement?”
In response to his words the elevator doors slid open.
Duong was swept up in the moment, and he leaned in close to one of the dragoon’s. “That’s right. Los-”
“Let’s go,” Sam commanded, and his group straightened, following him through the now open doors.
“Sorry,” the others began as the doors closed.
“I’m not so-” Snake began before being elbowed roughly by Lopez’s metal arm. “Damn it, that hurt.”
“Can we all focus?” Sam's reminder was audibly weary. "Remember why you're here," he said.
"To stop you from killing him," Duong swiftly answered. It was most certainly not a recreational outing they were on.
“Exactly,” the colonel answered, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles were white.
Jabari looked at the group gathered, and muttered, “We should have brought more people.”
“Numbers never stopped him before,” Maria said, leaning in close and using her non-metal shoulder to lean into Sam. “We just need to keep reminding him of the reason he chose peace.”
“Speaking of which,” Choco’s voice cut in over the comm’s channel, “guess how many kids threw up on the bumper cars?”
-------------------------------------
Haruki Sasaki stood in front of a large cartoonish castle, talking with several members of the park staff. They were gathered on a wide drawbridge over a moat, in which many waterfowl of different colours and sizes swam. The crenellated wall was tall, boasting minarets at all four corners, and an impressive keep at the centre. Flags and banners of an eye-searing myriad of hues flapped colourfully in the breeze. As the wind slowed down, the colours suddenly shifted, becoming an even mix of red and blue. It was historically inaccurate, strategically flawed, and the children had all loved it.
“All of the suits are working correctly?” the tailored lawyer asked, maintaining fixed eye contact with a pale and perspiring park worker in an orange jumpsuit. “I want them to enjoy this more than they did the bumper cars.”
“The enjoyment comes from the acceleration, and sudden deceleration,” the sweaty lead park engineer began. “It is very fine tuned, and the intra-species variation in tolerances is something we need to work on.”
“Kids get sick.” A junior worker shrugged off the issue. “That’s why we have the cleaner bots, and disinfectant hoses.”
“Brian… we’ve talked about this,” the lead engineer warned her underling. “If a Gr’darian was to vomit on a Peil, during their mating season, what would happen?”
“Errr..” Brian paused, having no idea what the answer might be. “Failed mating season?” he guessed.
“No!?” Her angry response contained both shock at his flippancy, and incense at his poor knowledge base. “How many times have I told you to study the secretions of the gelatinous races? Combining those two xeno bodily fluids would create chlorine gas, do I have to remind you why that is a bad thing?” Barry hung his head in shame, his long blonde hair covering his increasingly red face. “My apologies, Sir,” the lead engineer said as she returned her attention to the man in the immaculate black suit. She held up her thumb and forefinger with the slenderest of gaps between them. "I am this close -- this close! -- to shipping him back to Disneymoon seven. A few cycles of repairing the Star Wars Lightsaber Academy animatronics would serve him right.”
“We don’t have either of those species present, Ms. Bizhan,” the lawyer was relieved to point out, feeling a small hint of sympathy for the now cowering Brian. “And we are getting a lot of useful information, which is the purpose of this park.”
“Most definitely.” The head engineer nodded emphatically, adding, “And please, call me Fariba.” She pulled a small tablet from a large pocket on her leg, quickly skimming her notes. “In addition to the expected biology-based observations, we've definitely found several potentially lucrative markets to expand into.”
Haruki nodded. “The Triumvirate will find a way to make you their prey,” he murmured. “Physically or economically.”
“Preferably the latter,” Fariba said with a well-practised smile. “But we must know our enemies better than we know our friends, even if we don’t know which of them will choose which path.” She tapped her tablet once more. “They were all shocked that we could manufacture inertial dampeners small enough to fit in the bumper cars, so we can open up a lot of trade with that minor technology.” She used her thumb to point over her shoulder without looking back. “With those we deem our friends, of course. Helping them get a step ahead of those who choose to be more resistant.”
“Resistance is futile,” Brian added with a grin, having spent an entire summer assembling Borg animatronics for a Trekkie battle arena experience.
“Ignore him,” Fariba quickly said, flapping a hand behind her back to shoo the junior engineer away. “I can assure you, the full dive VR suits are calibrated to the lowest tolerance levels known for each species.” Her sweet smile was pasted onto her face once more. “You will have nothing but positive things to report to Mr Jakobs, I assure you.”
“Of course,” Haruki nodded, realising all eyes were on him, and they were afraid. “I take responsibility for the earlier incident, I should not have allowed them to follow a Britney diet.” He saw them visibly relax, and continued, “I will make sure to monitor their food intake more carefully.” He stepped to one side, and began walking into the castle, giving a polite bow of his head. “I’ll go to the observation room, and see how they’re getting on.”
“They’re still being scanned,” the head engineer answered swiftly, wanting to prove her usefulness. “The match will begin once they’re all ready.”
“Fine, fine,” the lawyer replied, waving over his shoulder as he left them standing on the drawbridge. His swift stride carried him through the portcullis, and away from the engineers.
Fariba let out a huge sigh of relief, and she sagged like a deflated balloon animal found a week after a birthday party. This physical response was soundlessly mirrored throughout the group, except for their newest member. The head engineer rounded on Brian, glaring furiously. “What the hell were you thinking?” she demanded. “You don’t make jokes around people like that!”
“Lawyers?” the slightly slower member of the group innocently asked.
“No. Not lawyers,” Fariba replied sarcastically, waving her hand yet again and dismissing the rest of her team. “Well actually, you shouldn’t make jokes around the Triumvirate lawyers either, but especially not around that lawyer.” She leaned in close, and lowered her voice to barely a whisper. “You served?” she asked, although his presence here meant the answer was a foregone conclusion.
“Thirty-Seventh Avionic Engineer Battalion,” he rattled off his unit immediately, standing a little straighter. “Assigned the Illustrious, maintaining the X-7 Raptors, and the old Higgins Orbital Landers.”
“Well even a wrench bender from Ol’Lusty should have heard of the War Rats.” She eyed his youthful face, waiting for the moment things fell into place.
“Pfft,” he derisively scoffed, rolling his eyes. “It may be that I was sent to requisition clear black paint, and I went without question. I might also have spent two hours at the quartermaster's station when I was ordered by the rest of my team to requisition a Long Stand." He shook his shaggy blonde head in disbelief at his earlier naivety. "But, I never fell for those stories." His claim was punctuated with a guffaw of contempt. "Pure propaganda, to keep the systems in line. There's no way that even half the shit they're supposed to have done could be true.”
Fariba’s eyes were wide. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she stared into the stupidity of his youth. “Why don’t you go home for the day,” she gently instructed him, deciding that someone who could stand next to a shark, and not see its teeth, was not a person who should be around apex predators.
—-----------------------------
“It tickles,” Fah’Zi squeaked as he walked through the full body scanner.
“It’s reading your skeletal and muscular structure, and mapping your neural paths,” Penny explained. “Completely harmless, and necessary for the synapse translators to perform correctly.”
“And we just lie in the pods,” Pu’Sha hesitantly asked, looking over to the devices plugged into the wall. “And then we’ll be in the game?”
“Exactly.” The tower assistant was pleased they were paying attention.
There was a vibration felt in everyone’s bones, and Britney replied to Ung, “You’re not allowed to have them at home.”
“That’s right.” Though Penny hadn’t understood the question, the response made the enquiry clear. “Full-dive VR is heavily restricted, due to its highly addictive nature.” Always keen to add context to a rule, so that it was seen as protective rather than punishing, she elaborated; “A long time ago there was a group called the Neo-Utopian Transitioners, who believed humanity’s future was inside the machine. They fully embraced the virtual world, leaving behind automated systems to take care of the world around them." She took a deep breath, rapidly deciding on the best way to end the tale for these school children. "It... didn't end well. To prevent any future mishaps, the Triumvirate set up a strict regulatory body.”
“This thing’s dangerous?” Inaue asked. The small red Yaou was prodding the machine with his prehensile tail. “And you want us to get in there?”
“The machines are perfectly safe,” Britney replied. Choco had told her all about the N.U.T.’s, when he showed her his highly illegal home VR setup. “They just took it too far. Hooked themselves up to life-support systems, and fully lived in their own world.” She smirked as only a child about to reveal a disgusting factoid could. “Even had tubes to remove-”
“Nobody needs all the details,” Penny interrupted.
“I do,” Fah’Zi insisted.
“Fine,” the mischievous young girl relented, skipping the poop-shoot joke for Penny's sake even though the gag was one of Choco's favourites. "Everything worked fine for a long time, and eventually people stopped going round to check on them.”
“Unfortunately,” Penny interjected, once again taking over the narration of this tragic tale, “with everyone in their own world, nobody was performing basic maintenance. The bioreactor tasked with producing many of their key proteins had been running for decades without issue, but a forced update added advertisements, as well as something called a Captcha to stop them and run the program as intended. There was nobody to select which squares contained traffic lights, and so the bioreactor was effectively disabled.”
“I don’t understand many of the things you just said,” Mike249 said, putting into words what was on the mind of all of the students present.
“They starved while pigging out on imaginary food,” Britney bluntly blurted out, as if this was the worst thing imaginable. “Inside their utopia people started going crazy, then vanishing.”
“Prolonged life in VR requires a medical team to bring you out,” the older human explained. “So they were stuck. Unable to escape. Not knowing why their friends, and family, were acting increasingly bizarrely.”
“What the j’rak?” the green-skinned Zilithian, Todd, exclaimed, looking at the pod and then to the humans who were now suggesting they enter this device for fun.
“Humans have to eat very regularly,” Pu’Sha explained to the newer members of their group who had not spent a great deal of time around Britney. “Without food they become less rational, and aggressive. They even have a special word, hangry, and you don’t want to deal with a hangry human.” She spoke with a very serious tone, as if this single piece of advice was a vital life lesson. Finally, with even greater emphasis, she added, “Always keep your human adequately fed.”
“I’m not a pet,” Britney argued. Realising the advice actually worked in her favour she also added, “But, it’s not a bad rule.”
“So, what happened to the V.R. people,” Mike249 asked, a trembling in his voice accompanied the sagging of his worried antennae. “Were they rescued?”
“Unfortunately not,” Penny gently informed him. “It was actually many years before anyone even noticed.”
“Years?” Aekara whimpered.
“How did nobody notice,” Fah’Zi asked incredulously, thinking practically about dead bodies. “Wouldn’t they notice the smell?”
“People died,” the tufty-tailed Emsalio, Li Gorblek, began. “And nobody noticed?” She seemed angry on behalf of these forgotten strangers of another race. “How many?”
“Seventeen billion,” Haruki answered her, as he entered the room. “They had dedicated their entire world to their Neo-Utopia.” He lowered his voice, to make sure they were listening. “Starvation does strange things to our people. Even our brain chemistry alters, and this eventually disconnected them from their VR… forcibly. The shock of reality was enough to kill the lucky ones. The unlucky ones were trapped in their withered, dying bodies. Locked in their pods until they died. Rejecting the real world, and those who lived in it, meant that there was nobody to save them. There’s an important lesson for all of you.”
“Don’t get in that thing,” Inaue guessed, retracting their red tail from the pod it had been prodding.
“Everything in moderation,” Aekara murmured.
“Have a back-up protein thingy,” Fah’Zi said, his hand raised excitedly, hoping to get praise from his senior Sirius comrade.
Britney repeated the mantra Choco had drummed into her as he recounted the story in gruesome detail. “Don’t allow updates on essential equipment without a qualified engineer present. Oh, and VR lovin’ ain’t real lovin’.” She quoted her Erinal teacher directly.
“Not sure that last part is relevant,” Penny said, her cheeks flushing red. “Anyway…” She raised the lid on the first VR pod. “Who’s going first?”
All of the students took a step back, except for two. Britney immediately leapt into the pod. Ung also moved towards the next pod, having a burning passion for human video games.
“Come on,” the energetic blonde human encouraged. “You’re not scared are you?” Her taunts were enough to get Fah’Zi and Li to start moving.
Pu’Sha looked over to where the human in the suit was observing them, and she sighed. Scary stories and indulgent food aside, the humans would never put them in danger. “Fine,” she said, stepping forward. “Come on, Mike249,” she called, waving him to the pod beside hers. “And you, Aekara.” The Verg was already clambering inside her pod when she looked at the nervous newcomers. “You scared to do something the Bubbles are doing?” she asked, taking a cue from Britney in provoking them.
“Never,” the large grey Runuck – Fraskar – grunted, taking a cautious step forward. He turned and glared at the others from the non-bubble classes. “Get in, let’s put them in their place.”
“Oh?” Britney’s eyes glinted happily. “You want to play teams?” She smiled happily. “Fine by me. Six vs six. O.G.’s against Newbies.”
“If you include Ung, there are seven of us,” Mike249 politely corrected his fearless, if forgetful, leader. “Pu’Sha, Aekara, Fah’Zi, Kenra, you and I.” He held up a claw for each name, demonstrating to the human how that added up. “I could join the others? I am always happy to make new friends.”
“Fine,” the human agreed, though she was annoyed to have lost one of her teammates.
There came a high level vibration, accompanied by thunderous drumming; Ung was clapping her hands excitedly. She was on Britney's team! The vibrations continued as the Da descended a reinforced set of stairs and clambered into an enlarged pod that had been sunk into the ground.
The small human listened carefully to her guildmate, then shook her head. "No, this is definitely not a friendly match," the O.G. leader said. Her eyes locked on to Li's fierce gaze and held steady.
—------------------------------
Next
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First / Prev / Next ------------------------------
Sam Jakobs strode through the lobby of Umgrol Tower with all but one of his most trusted friends. Black suits slipped through the crowd; much like a shark’s fin through waves, they simply parted without a ripple of effort. Faces were grim, eyes focused, and a tension sat on their combined shoulders like a weight they all knew too well.
“I could make an excuse,” Duong offered, deciding to try and break the mood. “No need for you to attend this meeting in person.”
“It’s fine,” former Colonel Jakobs answered with a resigned sigh.
“But, shouldn’t you be with Britney?” Lopez attempted to change his mind with an appeal to his emotions. “She was looking forward to taking you on a roller coaster.”
“I’m doing this for Britney,” the loving father replied without hesitation.
“Avoiding conflict is a good lesson,” Jabari offered his advice.
“True.” Sam conceded the point.
“Knowin’ how to punch a Wachoto so their heart fails is also a good lesson,” Snake said drily.
“Also true,” the group’s leader said, allowing himself a brief chuckle.
“Sam!” Lopez struck his shoulder with the back of her open hand. “Don’t even joke-”
“We’re not killing Hopper’s replacement,” Sam confirmed, allowing himself an almost imperceptible shrug. “Not today, anyway.”
The small ripple of laughter that had passed between them had helped alleviate some of the tension that had been building. Duong paused as one of the tower assistants came jogging up to them, and he held up a hand to stop the others. As the young man approached, the terror was visible in his face. "Your order, Sir." He held up a white box from Pierre's, large enough to require both hands to hold, and instead of saluting he simply bowed his head and extended the package towards them.
“Thank you,” Sam replied, accepting the box and tucking it under his arm. He saw the others staring in confusion. “A gift,” he explained.
“From you…” Jabari said slowly. “To?”
“Did Choco make an exploding cake?” Duong jokingly asked.
“Another exploding cake,” Jabari clarified. “There was that thing in the Whethan Sector.”
Elevator doors opened, and their conversation fell silent as they entered, only to start up again once it began to move.
Jabari had found that humorous antics, or the mere memory of them, often eased tension before combat. He tried the interrupted tactic again. "Remember that time he stole a light cruiser from the Odesza Fundamentalists?" After a brief pause to allow the memories to flow, he added, "What happened to that thing, anyhow?"
“Who knows,” Duong hastily replied, nudging his large friend in the side and nodding to the camera watching them. “Lot of stuff goes missing in war, you know-”
“Cameras are off, dumbass,” Choco’s voice came in over their earpieces.
“Better safe than sorry,” the handsome man replied, flashing a smile to their Erinal in the machine, and began fixing up his hair in the reflection of the camera lens. The elevator stopped, and the conversation paused with practiced precision as the doors parted. The black suits marched silently through the underground military base of Umgrol Tower basement level three, eventually reaching a set of secure doors. Two black armoured soldiers stood either side.
“Death’s Head?” Snake muttered the question to the others, nodding to the unmoving men and the smooth black mirror that made up the face of their helmets. “I thought we were playing nice with the locals?”
“Purely for the new general’s personal security.” Choco supplied the answer over their secure comms channel, as they passed into the room beyond. “Seems he’s the nervous type.” He slurped loudly on something, causing the others to wince at the noise. “Can’t figure why, ha.”
A dozen more of the faceless sets of black armour waited in the room, weapons ready. Near them stood full body scanners, as well as deep, metal trays.
“Weapons,” one of the Death’s Head Dragoons said, gesturing to the waiting receptacles.
The War Rats glanced at each other, smiled, and began unbuttoning their suit jackets. Things began to be deposited at an alarming frequency by everyone present, aside from one. Sam shook his head at the others as he held his box of confections. “I thought I said unarmed?” he asked.
“This is unarmed,” Snake replied, tossing a sixth knife into the tray.
“Oh, you meant unarmed unarmed.” Jabari’s deep voice was full of humour, and he failed to stifle his rumbling laughter as he tossed a large, brightly-coloured grenade into his tray.
The closest guard flinched at the sight of the explosive, and immediately asked, “Is that an Oracle?” He took several steps back, despite knowing that the explosive could vaporise several floors of even this reinforced building. Something whose very name spoke of being a message from god, a literal invite to hell. “Isn’t owning one of those a war crime?”
“In Triumvirate space, sure,” the big man answered, shrugging off the obvious obfuscation. “No local laws are being broken. Besides, I’ve been working on making a better version.“ He smiled at his reflection in the man’s visor. “This one lacks the wow factor.”
Two of the other guards were muttering back and forth, clearly nervous, and Sam stepped in to ask, “Do we have a problem?”
“Err...” One of the indistinguishable soldiers glanced nervously at Lopez, who had stepped through the scanner. "Her arm, Sir. It's been augmented with-"
"You want me to take my arm off?" Lopez laughed, well-acquainted with the multiple warnings her Choco-manufactured appendage had set off. "I guess you really did mean unarmed unarmed.
Sam took control of the situation, his voice calm and even. “We’re all on the same team here. General Midysus requested this meeting himself.” He gestured back towards the door. “I can head up to my office, and he can-”
“It’s fine,” Maria gently interrupted, reaching up to start unfastening her shirt so she could remove the artificial limb. “No me importa, we just need to-”
“No.” Sam’s voice was iron, an infinitesimal amount of the rage that was brewing inside him seeping into that singular syllable. “I care.” His eyes had not left the dragoon who had made the request, and they took a faltering step backwards. “My men brought weapons, which I will punish them for later” -his subordinates grimaced at those words- “but, bad jokes aside, we are allies.” He turned to look at the elevator doors, then asked, “Unless you would like to alter the terms of our agreement?”
In response to his words the elevator doors slid open.
Duong was swept up in the moment, and he leaned in close to one of the dragoon’s. “That’s right. Los-”
“Let’s go,” Sam commanded, and his group straightened, following him through the now open doors.
“Sorry,” the others began as the doors closed.
“I’m not so-” Snake began before being elbowed roughly by Lopez’s metal arm. “Damn it, that hurt.”
“Can we all focus?” Sam's reminder was audibly weary. "Remember why you're here," he said.
"To stop you from killing him," Duong swiftly answered. It was most certainly not a recreational outing they were on.
“Exactly,” the colonel answered, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles were white.
Jabari looked at the group gathered, and muttered, “We should have brought more people.”
“Numbers never stopped him before,” Maria said, leaning in close and using her non-metal shoulder to lean into Sam. “We just need to keep reminding him of the reason he chose peace.”
“Speaking of which,” Choco’s voice cut in over the comm’s channel, “guess how many kids threw up on the bumper cars?”
-------------------------------------
Haruki Sasaki stood in front of a large cartoonish castle, talking with several members of the park staff. They were gathered on a wide drawbridge over a moat, in which many waterfowl of different colours and sizes swam. The crenellated wall was tall, boasting minarets at all four corners, and an impressive keep at the centre. Flags and banners of an eye-searing myriad of hues flapped colourfully in the breeze. As the wind slowed down, the colours suddenly shifted, becoming an even mix of red and blue. It was historically inaccurate, strategically flawed, and the children had all loved it.
“All of the suits are working correctly?” the tailored lawyer asked, maintaining fixed eye contact with a pale and perspiring park worker in an orange jumpsuit. “I want them to enjoy this more than they did the bumper cars.”
“The enjoyment comes from the acceleration, and sudden deceleration,” the sweaty lead park engineer began. “It is very fine tuned, and the intra-species variation in tolerances is something we need to work on.”
“Kids get sick.” A junior worker shrugged off the issue. “That’s why we have the cleaner bots, and disinfectant hoses.”
“Brian… we’ve talked about this,” the lead engineer warned her underling. “If a Gr’darian was to vomit on a Peil, during their mating season, what would happen?”
“Errr..” Brian paused, having no idea what the answer might be. “Failed mating season?” he guessed.
“No!?” Her angry response contained both shock at his flippancy, and incense at his poor knowledge base. “How many times have I told you to study the secretions of the gelatinous races? Combining those two xeno bodily fluids would create chlorine gas, do I have to remind you why that is a bad thing?” Barry hung his head in shame, his long blonde hair covering his increasingly red face. “My apologies, Sir,” the lead engineer said as she returned her attention to the man in the immaculate black suit. She held up her thumb and forefinger with the slenderest of gaps between them. "I am this close -- this close! -- to shipping him back to Disneymoon seven. A few cycles of repairing the Star Wars Lightsaber Academy animatronics would serve him right.”
“We don’t have either of those species present, Ms. Bizhan,” the lawyer was relieved to point out, feeling a small hint of sympathy for the now cowering Brian. “And we are getting a lot of useful information, which is the purpose of this park.”
“Most definitely.” The head engineer nodded emphatically, adding, “And please, call me Fariba.” She pulled a small tablet from a large pocket on her leg, quickly skimming her notes. “In addition to the expected biology-based observations, we've definitely found several potentially lucrative markets to expand into.”
Haruki nodded. “The Triumvirate will find a way to make you their prey,” he murmured. “Physically or economically.”
“Preferably the latter,” Fariba said with a well-practised smile. “But we must know our enemies better than we know our friends, even if we don’t know which of them will choose which path.” She tapped her tablet once more. “They were all shocked that we could manufacture inertial dampeners small enough to fit in the bumper cars, so we can open up a lot of trade with that minor technology.” She used her thumb to point over her shoulder without looking back. “With those we deem our friends, of course. Helping them get a step ahead of those who choose to be more resistant.”
“Resistance is futile,” Brian added with a grin, having spent an entire summer assembling Borg animatronics for a Trekkie battle arena experience.
“Ignore him,” Fariba quickly said, flapping a hand behind her back to shoo the junior engineer away. “I can assure you, the full dive VR suits are calibrated to the lowest tolerance levels known for each species.” Her sweet smile was pasted onto her face once more. “You will have nothing but positive things to report to Mr Jakobs, I assure you.”
“Of course,” Haruki nodded, realising all eyes were on him, and they were afraid. “I take responsibility for the earlier incident, I should not have allowed them to follow a Britney diet.” He saw them visibly relax, and continued, “I will make sure to monitor their food intake more carefully.” He stepped to one side, and began walking into the castle, giving a polite bow of his head. “I’ll go to the observation room, and see how they’re getting on.”
“They’re still being scanned,” the head engineer answered swiftly, wanting to prove her usefulness. “The match will begin once they’re all ready.”
“Fine, fine,” the lawyer replied, waving over his shoulder as he left them standing on the drawbridge. His swift stride carried him through the portcullis, and away from the engineers.
Fariba let out a huge sigh of relief, and she sagged like a deflated balloon animal found a week after a birthday party. This physical response was soundlessly mirrored throughout the group, except for their newest member. The head engineer rounded on Brian, glaring furiously. “What the hell were you thinking?” she demanded. “You don’t make jokes around people like that!”
“Lawyers?” the slightly slower member of the group innocently asked.
“No. Not lawyers,” Fariba replied sarcastically, waving her hand yet again and dismissing the rest of her team. “Well actually, you shouldn’t make jokes around the Triumvirate lawyers either, but especially not around that lawyer.” She leaned in close, and lowered her voice to barely a whisper. “You served?” she asked, although his presence here meant the answer was a foregone conclusion.
“Thirty-Seventh Avionic Engineer Battalion,” he rattled off his unit immediately, standing a little straighter. “Assigned the Illustrious, maintaining the X-7 Raptors, and the old Higgins Orbital Landers.”
“Well even a wrench bender from Ol’Lusty should have heard of the War Rats.” She eyed his youthful face, waiting for the moment things fell into place.
“Pfft,” he derisively scoffed, rolling his eyes. “It may be that I was sent to requisition clear black paint, and I went without question. I might also have spent two hours at the quartermaster's station when I was ordered by the rest of my team to requisition a Long Stand." He shook his shaggy blonde head in disbelief at his earlier naivety. "But, I never fell for those stories." His claim was punctuated with a guffaw of contempt. "Pure propaganda, to keep the systems in line. There's no way that even half the shit they're supposed to have done could be true.”
Fariba’s eyes were wide. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she stared into the stupidity of his youth. “Why don’t you go home for the day,” she gently instructed him, deciding that someone who could stand next to a shark, and not see its teeth, was not a person who should be around apex predators.
—-----------------------------
“It tickles,” Fah’Zi squeaked as he walked through the full body scanner.
“It’s reading your skeletal and muscular structure, and mapping your neural paths,” Penny explained. “Completely harmless, and necessary for the synapse translators to perform correctly.”
“And we just lie in the pods,” Pu’Sha hesitantly asked, looking over to the devices plugged into the wall. “And then we’ll be in the game?”
“Exactly.” The tower assistant was pleased they were paying attention.
There was a vibration felt in everyone’s bones, and Britney replied to Ung, “You’re not allowed to have them at home.”
“That’s right.” Though Penny hadn’t understood the question, the response made the enquiry clear. “Full-dive VR is heavily restricted, due to its highly addictive nature.” Always keen to add context to a rule, so that it was seen as protective rather than punishing, she elaborated; “A long time ago there was a group called the Neo-Utopian Transitioners, who believed humanity’s future was inside the machine. They fully embraced the virtual world, leaving behind automated systems to take care of the world around them." She took a deep breath, rapidly deciding on the best way to end the tale for these school children. "It... didn't end well. To prevent any future mishaps, the Triumvirate set up a strict regulatory body.”
“This thing’s dangerous?” Inaue asked. The small red Yaou was prodding the machine with his prehensile tail. “And you want us to get in there?”
“The machines are perfectly safe,” Britney replied. Choco had told her all about the N.U.T.’s, when he showed her his highly illegal home VR setup. “They just took it too far. Hooked themselves up to life-support systems, and fully lived in their own world.” She smirked as only a child about to reveal a disgusting factoid could. “Even had tubes to remove-”
“Nobody needs all the details,” Penny interrupted.
“I do,” Fah’Zi insisted.
“Fine,” the mischievous young girl relented, skipping the poop-shoot joke for Penny's sake even though the gag was one of Choco's favourites. "Everything worked fine for a long time, and eventually people stopped going round to check on them.”
“Unfortunately,” Penny interjected, once again taking over the narration of this tragic tale, “with everyone in their own world, nobody was performing basic maintenance. The bioreactor tasked with producing many of their key proteins had been running for decades without issue, but a forced update added advertisements, as well as something called a Captcha to stop them and run the program as intended. There was nobody to select which squares contained traffic lights, and so the bioreactor was effectively disabled.”
“I don’t understand many of the things you just said,” Mike249 said, putting into words what was on the mind of all of the students present.
“They starved while pigging out on imaginary food,” Britney bluntly blurted out, as if this was the worst thing imaginable. “Inside their utopia people started going crazy, then vanishing.”
“Prolonged life in VR requires a medical team to bring you out,” the older human explained. “So they were stuck. Unable to escape. Not knowing why their friends, and family, were acting increasingly bizarrely.”
“What the j’rak?” the green-skinned Zilithian, Todd, exclaimed, looking at the pod and then to the humans who were now suggesting they enter this device for fun.
“Humans have to eat very regularly,” Pu’Sha explained to the newer members of their group who had not spent a great deal of time around Britney. “Without food they become less rational, and aggressive. They even have a special word, hangry, and you don’t want to deal with a hangry human.” She spoke with a very serious tone, as if this single piece of advice was a vital life lesson. Finally, with even greater emphasis, she added, “Always keep your human adequately fed.”
“I’m not a pet,” Britney argued. Realising the advice actually worked in her favour she also added, “But, it’s not a bad rule.”
“So, what happened to the V.R. people,” Mike249 asked, a trembling in his voice accompanied the sagging of his worried antennae. “Were they rescued?”
“Unfortunately not,” Penny gently informed him. “It was actually many years before anyone even noticed.”
“Years?” Aekara whimpered.
“How did nobody notice,” Fah’Zi asked incredulously, thinking practically about dead bodies. “Wouldn’t they notice the smell?”
“People died,” the tufty-tailed Emsalio, Li Gorblek, began. “And nobody noticed?” She seemed angry on behalf of these forgotten strangers of another race. “How many?”
“Seventeen billion,” Haruki answered her, as he entered the room. “They had dedicated their entire world to their Neo-Utopia.” He lowered his voice, to make sure they were listening. “Starvation does strange things to our people. Even our brain chemistry alters, and this eventually disconnected them from their VR… forcibly. The shock of reality was enough to kill the lucky ones. The unlucky ones were trapped in their withered, dying bodies. Locked in their pods until they died. Rejecting the real world, and those who lived in it, meant that there was nobody to save them. There’s an important lesson for all of you.”
“Don’t get in that thing,” Inaue guessed, retracting their red tail from the pod it had been prodding.
“Everything in moderation,” Aekara murmured.
“Have a back-up protein thingy,” Fah’Zi said, his hand raised excitedly, hoping to get praise from his senior Sirius comrade.
Britney repeated the mantra Choco had drummed into her as he recounted the story in gruesome detail. “Don’t allow updates on essential equipment without a qualified engineer present. Oh, and VR lovin’ ain’t real lovin’.” She quoted her Erinal teacher directly.
“Not sure that last part is relevant,” Penny said, her cheeks flushing red. “Anyway…” She raised the lid on the first VR pod. “Who’s going first?”
All of the students took a step back, except for two. Britney immediately leapt into the pod. Ung also moved towards the next pod, having a burning passion for human video games.
“Come on,” the energetic blonde human encouraged. “You’re not scared are you?” Her taunts were enough to get Fah’Zi and Li to start moving.
Pu’Sha looked over to where the human in the suit was observing them, and she sighed. Scary stories and indulgent food aside, the humans would never put them in danger. “Fine,” she said, stepping forward. “Come on, Mike249,” she called, waving him to the pod beside hers. “And you, Aekara.” The Verg was already clambering inside her pod when she looked at the nervous newcomers. “You scared to do something the Bubbles are doing?” she asked, taking a cue from Britney in provoking them.
“Never,” the large grey Runuck – Fraskar – grunted, taking a cautious step forward. He turned and glared at the others from the non-bubble classes. “Get in, let’s put them in their place.”
“Oh?” Britney’s eyes glinted happily. “You want to play teams?” She smiled happily. “Fine by me. Six vs six. O.G.’s against Newbies.”
“If you include Ung, there are seven of us,” Mike249 politely corrected his fearless, if forgetful, leader. “Pu’Sha, Aekara, Fah’Zi, Kenra, you and I.” He held up a claw for each name, demonstrating to the human how that added up. “I could join the others? I am always happy to make new friends.”
“Fine,” the human agreed, though she was annoyed to have lost one of her teammates.
There came a high level vibration, accompanied by thunderous drumming; Ung was clapping her hands excitedly. She was on Britney's team! The vibrations continued as the Da descended a reinforced set of stairs and clambered into an enlarged pod that had been sunk into the ground.
The small human listened carefully to her guildmate, then shook her head. "No, this is definitely not a friendly match," the O.G. leader said. Her eyes locked on to Li's fierce gaze and held steady.
—------------------------------
Next
2023.03.31 17:58 kookily_warmhearted GF Rally Snacks
Hey y’all! Rally season is starting. I just registered for a rally in two weeks. This is my first year being gluten free and so my standard stop snack of cookies is out the window. What are some good little snacks I can take with me for quick fuel?
submitted by kookily_warmhearted to ladycyclists [link] [comments]
2023.03.31 17:58 Leather-Assistant902 *Originally posted 28/03/2023*
 | Lock update: submitted by Leather-Assistant902 to staylocky [link] [comments] 4670 tries now and still no luck! Approaching half the possible combinations. Thanks for all the advice I’m receiving - I am pushing and pulling it twice on each number and making sure all the number are lined up correctly. Unfortunately the “evil wife” says we have to go shopping now (probably to get a new broomstick 📷) - she’s a nightmare around the shops as well so this might take hours! Back with more updates later. You can follow this on The Boring Group and Dull men’s club Facebook groups where I’m becoming moderately famous 📷 Stay locky! https://preview.redd.it/defle0shk3ra1.png?width=526&format=png&auto=webp&s=3207dad314fb4894a052892e677b08721f3179c4 |
2023.03.31 17:57 DryHJ I watched a child get hit on Park Street yesterday.
The kid was crossing Park in a crosswalk and the flashing yellow crosswalk lights were on. The kid sprinted across the road and the car in the left lane could not see him because there was a SUV in the right lane blocking her view. Legally, she is in the wrong, but we must teach our kids how to be careful when crossing the roads. 1. Walk in the crosswalk. 2. Stop and look before you enter every single lane to make sure the car sees you. 3. Never assume that the road is clear, people can be distracted, or in this case, absolutely could not see you.
Seeing this was very upsetting, the car came a few feet from crushing his body after he was hit. I will say that he seemed OK before AFD transported him.
submitted by DryHJ to alameda [link] [comments]
Seeing this was very upsetting, the car came a few feet from crushing his body after he was hit. I will say that he seemed OK before AFD transported him.
2023.03.31 17:57 Nakivo_official Test your knowledge with Our World Backup Day
 | On this World Backup Day, it is our duty to remind you of the crucial role of data backup for organizations of all sizes and in all industries. Take this quiz to test your knowledge and learn how you can leverage backup processes to protect business-critical data: https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/ugc/story.php?title=test-your-knowledge-with-our-world-backup-daym3 submitted by Nakivo_official to u/Nakivo_official [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/fhxkm80fk3ra1.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=66d9b3c98c03a10adf5439b12e8c8f871281bf6d |
2023.03.31 17:57 Honest_Sky_1177 96errt
 | submitted by Honest_Sky_1177 to u/Honest_Sky_1177 [link] [comments] |
2023.03.31 17:57 A7X2 The spawns on Vineyards are so fucking unfair
The spawn that has B cap is so much better compared to the A cap spawn. The ruins area is much more suited for B cap rather than A to the point where it’s almost a guaranteed win if you secure these spots.
In the ruins area, there’s a perfect hull down area past the river where you can fire straight into A cap, spot any meds/heavies crossing, and have TD cover fire in case of yoloers.
Fast heavies like the 5A, 113, etc.. can easily take this position, stay hulldown, and farm anyone who goes A and the game is basically won if that spot is secured.
There’s 2 spots that the B cap spawn has the A cap spawn doesn’t really have an equivalent of. You can also spot up TDs in the A cap spawn or slower heavies going town if you have the view range (this can also be done in the center encounter cap circle position which both sides have).
submitted by A7X2 to WorldOfTanksBlitz [link] [comments]
In the ruins area, there’s a perfect hull down area past the river where you can fire straight into A cap, spot any meds/heavies crossing, and have TD cover fire in case of yoloers.
Fast heavies like the 5A, 113, etc.. can easily take this position, stay hulldown, and farm anyone who goes A and the game is basically won if that spot is secured.
There’s 2 spots that the B cap spawn has the A cap spawn doesn’t really have an equivalent of. You can also spot up TDs in the A cap spawn or slower heavies going town if you have the view range (this can also be done in the center encounter cap circle position which both sides have).
2023.03.31 17:57 lRyex [OC] Living Sand A monster that doesn't attack
submitted by lRyex to DnD [link] [comments]
2023.03.31 17:57 H_Dot Join Ibotta and get a $10 welcome bonus after submitting your first grocery store receipt
I signed up using someone's link here and got a $10 bonus after submitting my first receipt. Consider signing up with this referral link to get a $10 welcome bonus yourself:
https://ibotta.com/ywvssoq
NOTE: USA residents only
App can be downloaded from the google play store or apple app store.
Submit a grocery receipt (not an online purchase) within 7 days to get the referral reward as a new user. All receipts must be less than 7 days old. The app also offers grocery and convenience store cash back -- just search for your store (Target, Walmart, Walgreens, etc.), select the offers you want to redeem, then take a picture of your receipt.
submitted by H_Dot to referralcodes [link] [comments]
https://ibotta.com/ywvssoq
NOTE: USA residents only
App can be downloaded from the google play store or apple app store.
Submit a grocery receipt (not an online purchase) within 7 days to get the referral reward as a new user. All receipts must be less than 7 days old. The app also offers grocery and convenience store cash back -- just search for your store (Target, Walmart, Walgreens, etc.), select the offers you want to redeem, then take a picture of your receipt.
2023.03.31 17:57 Leading_Stonk Hey everyone, basically I just finished developing this thing for you to pleaseee try out <333
Hey everyone,
I promise you this isn't an advertisement, read please <3
I wanted to share my story with you all and introduce you to Chamberly, an app that I've poured my heart and soul into. As someone who's struggled with mental health and finding a safe space to express my emotions, I felt compelled to create a platform where people could come together, vent, and find support in each other.
Growing up, I always felt like I had to keep my emotions bottled up. I was afraid to share my true feelings with friends and family, worried that they might judge me or not understand :/. I wanted a safe, anonymous space where I could share my thoughts, feelings, and experiences without fear of judgment or backlash. Tbh, after creating this thing, it was kind off crazy that I knew for a fact no one can find out who I am and I have the ability to seriously let it all out. I want all of you beautiful people to feel the same thing that I did.
This thing that I built is a labor of love, born out of my own experiences and a deep desire to help others. It's a place where you can find comfort, solace, and a listening ear when you need it most. <333
I am not trying to profit from this, the in-app purchase is 1$/month for few not so needed features. I am losing a lot of money on this but I want to help people too :')) Sorry <3333
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope to see you all in the Chamberly community soon.
It's only on the apple app store right now, takes time to build this :'(. Link to the app store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1638094400
submitted by Leading_Stonk to mentalhealth [link] [comments]
I promise you this isn't an advertisement, read please <3
I wanted to share my story with you all and introduce you to Chamberly, an app that I've poured my heart and soul into. As someone who's struggled with mental health and finding a safe space to express my emotions, I felt compelled to create a platform where people could come together, vent, and find support in each other.
Growing up, I always felt like I had to keep my emotions bottled up. I was afraid to share my true feelings with friends and family, worried that they might judge me or not understand :/. I wanted a safe, anonymous space where I could share my thoughts, feelings, and experiences without fear of judgment or backlash. Tbh, after creating this thing, it was kind off crazy that I knew for a fact no one can find out who I am and I have the ability to seriously let it all out. I want all of you beautiful people to feel the same thing that I did.
This thing that I built is a labor of love, born out of my own experiences and a deep desire to help others. It's a place where you can find comfort, solace, and a listening ear when you need it most. <333
I am not trying to profit from this, the in-app purchase is 1$/month for few not so needed features. I am losing a lot of money on this but I want to help people too :')) Sorry <3333
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope to see you all in the Chamberly community soon.
It's only on the apple app store right now, takes time to build this :'(. Link to the app store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1638094400
2023.03.31 17:57 TheDoomedHeretic [Friendship/Hobby] [25F] "Apathy is Death." Looking for RP partner, mostly Star Wars.
I'm looking for a GM for the title. I'll be providing a writing sample down below; I've a variety of ideas in mind, including unrelated fandom stories such as WH40K, Dragon Age, KOTOR, Cyberpunk, and ASOIAF/AGOT/HOTD. That's all, folks, thanks.
If a writing sample isn't shared in your first message, I'll block you immediately.
submitted by TheDoomedHeretic to MeetPeople [link] [comments]
If a writing sample isn't shared in your first message, I'll block you immediately.
The boar is not dead, though to all the other hunters’ senses it is. It lays motionless on its side within the sled, tied down by rope with two arrows sticking discordantly out of its hide like seams of broken bone. Frozen blood pools in the cracked stomach of the sled, collecting rather than leaking now that red ice has sealed the wood. Poison leaching out of the arrowheads keeps the boar docile, and its breathing so light that only Trapper can see. An ovate in too-thin robes shivers as she ties a garland of rosemary around the beast’s neck, murmuring prayers to the ancestors that they might find the kill worthy.
Winter has seized the land in its vise, its unending waves of cold and snow having transformed the Barony of Marlas into a crueler scape, one Trapper doesn’t quite recognize. Tranquility abounds along the driven snow, all through the clearing, hiding the buried world and the woes of man but unable to snuff them out. Trapper knows well what a mirage it is, the oppressive winters of his homeland no less savage than the bloodletting summers. The numbing cold does not soothe his aches, for he knows they’ll be worse come morning, come the thaw. Too soon this clearing will melt, its river gone from white to red, the whole Septima Line thrust back to war.
Baron Orys refuses to yield to midnight season, to accept its peace, and so from his great warhorse’s saddle he brazenly belts out a mixture of drunken lyrics and commands, determined to master this hunt even if he does not partake. An entourage on horseback spreads out in his orbit, ranging from eager young footmen to grizzled junkers, all in varying states of inebriation at his command. Their braying is nearly louder than the hounds’, who hungrily stalk between the sled and the hole they pulled the boar out from. Teased by the hunt but yet unrewarded, they’re too unruly to be kept in check by the kennel master.
On foot slog the unfortunates who actually have to take part in the hunt, Trapper among them. They huddle into their hemp canvas cloaks, glancing up at the moody afternoon sky threatening to crack open with another snowstorm. Dark clouds sweep in low from the south like a riptide, a single vast current swept in from the mountains already menacing the Oldwoods. Its furthest gales reach them as tongues of vengeful cold, flecks of whipped-up snow biting into Trapper’s exposed skin.
By the boar’s nest leans a typical Mallean, one of Trapper’s two erstwhile comrades. Sigorn is tall, pale, broad, with the close-set, wide-boned features of a commoner, and a shock of red hair grown out to protect against the elements. Beneath his cloak he proudly bears his blood-flecked armor, each dent a Darkman put into it a point of dear pride. He’s not the only one, either, the clearing filled with dozens of youths whose first blooding ended in victory amid a blizzard. Baron Orys, deep into his cups after six days of nonstop celebration, saw a break in the storms and gladly called a hunt. When informed he could not go on account of his shattered knee - he simply grinned, and ordered himself tied to his saddle.
Trapper remembers the moment his lord fell from the saddle, burned into his nerves. The screaming of horses, skidding hooves catching on the frozen ground. On the edges of his vision a rider smashes into a branch in the din, others don’t move at all for fear of the blizzard. His spurs dig, his borrowed steed whines, and he races for his lord - only for another to reach him first.
“What a woman.” Sigorn sighs beside Trapper, craning his neck to look at one of their lord’s companions of honor. Susannah Oye junker unlike the others, a pretty, willowy noblewoman well into motherhood, with the lean, ruthless look of a ranger. Her two poisoned arrows are what struck the boar down, and her pride curls off her body like steam. Sigorn’s face cracks into exaggerated appreciation, and then he turns to their lord’s other honored companion. Another woman, this one as young as they are, haughtily-built and leering with none of Susannah’s refinement. Many of those looks are reserved for Trapper, forced to slog on foot as just another hunter. “Anya too. I think she fancies you, eh?"