Planet fitness membership
For members past present and future
2019.06.03 00:44 Mrcombsky For members past present and future
Planet fitness is a value oriented gym. It's mostly for people looking to improve their fitness and not aimed at bodybuilding.
2021.05.16 02:27 CraftyCarter PlanetFitnessTheories
DO NOT RESEARCH DO NOT ENTER AT 3AM For those that care, this video, https://youtu.be/AcwhvFEyt_o is a good starting point.
2010.10.25 08:58 someprimetime Life Pro Tips
Tips that improve your life in one way or another.
2023.05.28 07:43 TheMightyBox72 Respect The Beyonder (Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur)
"Speaking of funny, you're going to love this one, it's one of those things you humans call riddles. What's better than being all-powerful? Being all-knowing."
The Beyonder is... well, I'll let him explain it himself.
Physicality
submitted by TheMightyBox72 to respectthreads [link] [comments]
- Grows a dozen extra arms, which come in from all kinds of different angles disconnected from his body, one of which sends Lunella flying several meters with a shove.
- Becomes large enough to physically manhandle several Coney Island rides, and send them running absurdly fast, though evidently not fast enough to be lethal.
- Briefly becomes tiny.
- Breaks apart his face to let an attack pass through, intercepts several of Lunella's projectiles, and outpaces her flight speed.
- When Lunella tries to push him away, his head stays behind, and then teleports back onto his neck.
- Talks through his hand.
- Disguises himself as several people in Lunella's life, immitating their appearance and voices perfectly.
- Has a unique child form to blend in at Lunella's school.
- Disguises himself as a random passerby, and simultaneously takes the form of a kid and a seagull.
- Transforms into a giraffe centaur.
- Transforms into a rocket powered merry-go-round horse.
- Can fit infinity tortas in his mouth.
- Teleports around the physical space, even using the medium of animation to move.
- Appears in the foreground to push his background self off-screen. Also, important to note, while never shown the plot of this episode does revolve around Beyonder potentially erasing all of humanity from existence and potentially destroy the planet.
- Teleports Lunella to him, then teleports her back.
- Causes Lunella to loop around the physical space.
- Produces a mirror.
- Changes the ambient lighting to be scarier.
- Changes the grafitti in Lunella's hideaway to read his name. And yes, it has always been like that.
- Turns several of Lunella's projectiles into harmless confetti.
- Gives Devil big beefy arms, and gets Selena Gomez to follow Casey. And just as easily undoes it.
- Turns Devil tiny, and wraps Moon Girl's rockets around her to bind her.
- Seemingly creates a building fire across town and sends Lunella an alert about it.
- Can create a pellet that contains all the nutrients humans need to live.
- Turns Lunella's CO2 absorber into a stack of pickles and disappears through a window in space.
- Disappears a section of roller coaster track.
- Animates a scary clown mannequin.
- Creates a stack of tortas that reaches well into space.
- Creates an anti-gravity, color draining effect around at bare minimum the LES, which is intense enough to cause buildings to crash into each other, puts Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur alone in an empty void, then finally undoes it all.
- Stops time across Coney Island, disappears Mimi to a hidden location, and threatens to send her to another dimension entirely.
- Creates a planet-sized magnifying glass, which creates a planet-sized fire, which he puts out with a planet-sized bandage.
- Beyonder serves as the show's narrator, delivering explanations on character backstories which he presumably knows through some cosmic awareness. Most of the time characters within the show can't hear them, but they can if he wants them to.
- Knows the plan conspired against him as soon as it was said.
- Looks back in time to discover Lunella's greatest fear.
- Able to know of and foreshadow future events.
2023.05.28 07:20 KingoftheRednecks The Void Hunt ch 2
First/Prev
Mogan was more than a little woozy after repeatedly toasting his deal with the two ladies. Shidhu had an interesting taste to it, but it was also strong. The San had alcohol, but fermenting berry juice or birch sap was a long procedure and took a lot of work and space. There had never been much to drink, and what they had wasn't nearly so strong.
They had also never needed an antidote for alcohol, while those who had alcohol had seen all its dangers many times over. A fizzing, nasty-tasting drink—once the women had left--had his head clear within minutes, and he walked easily, and steadily, out of the bar.
The bar did not look like the kind of drinking establishment that would be favored by the custom of a man who owned and commanded a ship three kilometers long. It was, to put it bluntly, a dive, the kind of place that the constables avoid. The Tortuga was the kind of place where an enterprising individual could buy weapons that weren't normally allowed on Haitac Station, or drugs that weren't allowed, or discrete passage on a ship if he needed to leave in a hurry. It was not the kind of place to bring the family, or a lover, or anybody who was not engaged in activity that was illegal or close to it.
Technically, Mogan could hire whoever he wanted, but since the companies that Races-through-the-Marshes and Wakawa ran had a somewhat... checkered... history, they generally preferred to stay where they could make an easy escape.
Then again, Mogan didn't look like the kind of man who owned a three-kilometer ship. Or commanded, at least; ownership was in the name of the San tribe. Mogan wore a loincloth, a strip of material about three meters long and a tenth as wide, wound between his legs and around his waist for a snug fit. Once upon a time these were doeskin, soft and supple, but nobody but his own tribe within a few thousand light-years had ever seen a doe, or tanned a hide.
His leggings were of tougher material, fringed to help keep the rain off, and his shoes were of a softer sole than most wore. Most Sylfa, at least; many species went barefoot. A tunic of the same material covered his torso down to his hips, likewise fringed. Like the loincloth, these were once deerskin, and in the cold he would wear a heavier coat over it. These were colored and patterned like leather, but he couldn't even identify the material. Softer than leather, it was tougher as well, and a few controls from the pad in his left hand could even make it as warm or as cool as he liked.
The latter was standard for most clothing, protecting from all but the most extreme temperatures, but the rest looked as primitive as it did before his tribe had ever seen a ship.
A rod was tucked into his belt on the left side, bent slightly back. At one end was a hand grip, with straps looped to fit two fingers into, and on the other end was a beautifully-carved ibex,with its horns forming a small but dull hook to the weapon. The atlatl could hurl a spear twice as far or more, and with almost exponentially more force, but Mogan carried no spears.
He did once, in a quiver made of birch-bark, with the bottom third of the spears covered and the feathered ends sticking over his head, but by now the weapon was more a mark of office than a tool he used. Back in those days it was tucked into the right side, in easy reach of his throwing hand, but no more. On the right, it would have gotten in the way of the laser pistol in its low holster on his right hip.
Most people who carried a rifle or pistol either wore or carried a targeting monocle, a lens that would adjust for moving targets and tell the shooter where to aim, but the San needed no such thing, neither the expense nor the time the device took to find a solution and adjust.
The humans were unique in this.
On his cheek was a mark; a simple tattoo, of only two lines in a pattern like an inverted y, the mark of his tribe. He was of average height and build, with brown hair and eyes, skin bronzed from many different winds and many different suns, but among the two thousand people of the San he was high chieftain. And captain, soon.
Mogan continued to walk up the wide hallways, avoiding the central areas, until he spotted the old man. A small wave, and he turned to head that way.
Shett was once one of the Yil, the hereditary nobility of the Sovereignty. The Yil were untouchable within the Sovereignty, able to do as they wished to such an extent that only protection a citizen had was the possible protection of another Yil. Rather than Yil Shett, the man was now simply Shett, a citizen of the Confederated Settlements. And a traitor as far as the Sovereign was concerned, almost certainly.
Yil Shett had been a wise man with a sharp mind, but a little more than heavyset, nearly locked into his office by duty and stress. Now the man was whipcord-thin, typical of the Sylfa, walking easily. Defecting from the Sovereignty had meant giving up unimaginable wealth—the man had literally owned three planets—but it had clearly been a good thing for him.
The Sylfa waved an arm to make sure Mogan saw him, and tapped a panel on the wall. “Good evening, Captain.”
Mogan shrugged a little. It was “evening” in the sense that they were nearing the end of the cycle, but on the station there was no difference between night and day. Haitac was in orbit around a star, so they didn't even have the shadow of the planet to contend with. But the lack of sun and moon often threw off his mental sense of time, and the twenty-hour day did not help.
“Whatever it is at the moment,” he chuckled, “I hope it goes well for you.” The walls of the station had rails near the ceiling. Hanging from them was something that looked more like saddles on cords, so that nearly any creature could sit on them, extending from beams. Some species had tails, after all, and sitting on a bench was uncomfortable for them at best.. The beams moved swiftly down the corridors, an important feature in a station that was mostly corridor.
Haitac Station was part dock, part shipyard, part admiralty court, part military base, and part entertainment complex. The court could be centralized, and was. The military was as centralized as it could be, although patrols also kept the peace in the rest of the station. The entertainment could be centralized, but for some reason was not, with bars and brothels and hotels and sports complexes and libraries and theaters of various kinds in odd and unlikely places. The docks and shipyards could not be. The dreadnoughts that were the backbone of any fleet were four kilometers long, and some were as much as twice that. A massive tanker or cargo hauler could be four or five times as long, and the end result was that the ships needed a great deal of room between each dock. In addition, since it was partly military, sponsored by the Settlements, there were areas, such as the one they were bound to now, that were not open to the general public.
Mogan climbed onto one of the saddles, and Shett onto another. The average Sylfa was about a head taller than a human, but about two-thirds the weight. An evolutionary past that stayed in the trees for longer granted them a lighter build than humans, and six limbs compared to humanity's four, but they could not walk as well as humans.
Then again, nothing could. Nor did any species, sapient or not, hold the endurance that humans had. The Sylfa could scramble up surfaces with an ease that astounded humanity, leap over a human's head from a standing start, and sprint nearly twice as fast, and others like the Shawing could move even faster over a short distance, but nothing matched a human over long distances.
Mogan had carried a Sylfa once, as he ran, but that was his woman, not a friend. Instead, he held to the saddle as the beam returned to the rails at the upper edge of the wall. It adjusted to their heights by simply changing the length of the cords. The Zerda came no higher than his knee for a tall one, while the Mantu were easily three times his height, so very few affairs were one-size-fits-all measures... another difference from the Sovereignty.
The beam rose into the air, moving along the ceiling at a place slightly faster than Mogan could sprint. Up ahead of them a light indicated a spot where they could make the beams lower to the floor again, but they were going well beyond that point. A small field in front of them kept the wind of their passage from getting too bad.
Mogan was familiar with hard light shields, since every ship had them, but he did not think this was hard light. Hard-light was impossible to make without Reagnium-80. Considering every single interplanetary vessel needed a supply of it and its relative rarity, Reagnium-80 was so valuable that the Settlements used it as the value standard for their currency. There were thousands of these beams, all throughout the station. Not only would they have had to spend an obscene amount to make them, but anything that valuable would have been stripped out and stolen within days... cycles, here.
“The war?”
Shett nodded in reply. “We got news not long ago of a large battle at Manna-6. Ground battle. Our forces were outnumbered about half-again-to-one, but it was a heavy victory.”
Mogan nodded and relaxed, thinking. In a sense, this war was his fault.
Two years ago, he had been little more than a shaman of a small village, of a small tribe, on his homeworld—and on the entire planet, only he had understood even the concept of a homeworld. The term the Sovereignty used for the tribe's introduction to the greater galaxy was “upliftment.” Mogan didn't like it; it implied that he was somehow below the others, raised to true sapience by their own beneficence.
Perhaps every “upliftment” had an ulterior motive, but that of the San certainly had. Mogan did not regret his actions on Noepe; he had saved the lives of men and women breaking the law to survive, shot and stabbed a great many people enforcing what was in truth simple tyranny, and electrocuted the governess who had arranged for his woman to be marooned. No, he still looked upon their mission with pride, but one of the Yils had arranged it themselves, as a pretext to invasion. The few who know of humanity knew that Yil Shett had been a friend and advocate for the species, and the many who knew of Yil Shett knew that he had given up his titles and lands and betrayed the Sovereignty to join the Settlements.
Shett tapped a button on the saddle, and as the next light showed ahead the beam lowered to the floor so they could climb off. It wasn't far from here, and they could walk. They did so, for about two hundred yards before they came to a window.
“There's your dock,” Shett said. “I suppose I could have made a holo easy enough, but I thought your first look at her should be with your own eyes.”
Windows were more common in the public areas, where diners—or guests in the more expensive hotels—could look out on the void, and rarer in the corridors that were mostly just for reaching ships with crew or passengers or supplies. Mogan stepped out to this one, looked out over the dockyards, and stared, mesmerized.
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Mogan was more than a little woozy after repeatedly toasting his deal with the two ladies. Shidhu had an interesting taste to it, but it was also strong. The San had alcohol, but fermenting berry juice or birch sap was a long procedure and took a lot of work and space. There had never been much to drink, and what they had wasn't nearly so strong.
They had also never needed an antidote for alcohol, while those who had alcohol had seen all its dangers many times over. A fizzing, nasty-tasting drink—once the women had left--had his head clear within minutes, and he walked easily, and steadily, out of the bar.
The bar did not look like the kind of drinking establishment that would be favored by the custom of a man who owned and commanded a ship three kilometers long. It was, to put it bluntly, a dive, the kind of place that the constables avoid. The Tortuga was the kind of place where an enterprising individual could buy weapons that weren't normally allowed on Haitac Station, or drugs that weren't allowed, or discrete passage on a ship if he needed to leave in a hurry. It was not the kind of place to bring the family, or a lover, or anybody who was not engaged in activity that was illegal or close to it.
Technically, Mogan could hire whoever he wanted, but since the companies that Races-through-the-Marshes and Wakawa ran had a somewhat... checkered... history, they generally preferred to stay where they could make an easy escape.
Then again, Mogan didn't look like the kind of man who owned a three-kilometer ship. Or commanded, at least; ownership was in the name of the San tribe. Mogan wore a loincloth, a strip of material about three meters long and a tenth as wide, wound between his legs and around his waist for a snug fit. Once upon a time these were doeskin, soft and supple, but nobody but his own tribe within a few thousand light-years had ever seen a doe, or tanned a hide.
His leggings were of tougher material, fringed to help keep the rain off, and his shoes were of a softer sole than most wore. Most Sylfa, at least; many species went barefoot. A tunic of the same material covered his torso down to his hips, likewise fringed. Like the loincloth, these were once deerskin, and in the cold he would wear a heavier coat over it. These were colored and patterned like leather, but he couldn't even identify the material. Softer than leather, it was tougher as well, and a few controls from the pad in his left hand could even make it as warm or as cool as he liked.
The latter was standard for most clothing, protecting from all but the most extreme temperatures, but the rest looked as primitive as it did before his tribe had ever seen a ship.
A rod was tucked into his belt on the left side, bent slightly back. At one end was a hand grip, with straps looped to fit two fingers into, and on the other end was a beautifully-carved ibex,with its horns forming a small but dull hook to the weapon. The atlatl could hurl a spear twice as far or more, and with almost exponentially more force, but Mogan carried no spears.
He did once, in a quiver made of birch-bark, with the bottom third of the spears covered and the feathered ends sticking over his head, but by now the weapon was more a mark of office than a tool he used. Back in those days it was tucked into the right side, in easy reach of his throwing hand, but no more. On the right, it would have gotten in the way of the laser pistol in its low holster on his right hip.
Most people who carried a rifle or pistol either wore or carried a targeting monocle, a lens that would adjust for moving targets and tell the shooter where to aim, but the San needed no such thing, neither the expense nor the time the device took to find a solution and adjust.
The humans were unique in this.
On his cheek was a mark; a simple tattoo, of only two lines in a pattern like an inverted y, the mark of his tribe. He was of average height and build, with brown hair and eyes, skin bronzed from many different winds and many different suns, but among the two thousand people of the San he was high chieftain. And captain, soon.
Mogan continued to walk up the wide hallways, avoiding the central areas, until he spotted the old man. A small wave, and he turned to head that way.
Shett was once one of the Yil, the hereditary nobility of the Sovereignty. The Yil were untouchable within the Sovereignty, able to do as they wished to such an extent that only protection a citizen had was the possible protection of another Yil. Rather than Yil Shett, the man was now simply Shett, a citizen of the Confederated Settlements. And a traitor as far as the Sovereign was concerned, almost certainly.
Yil Shett had been a wise man with a sharp mind, but a little more than heavyset, nearly locked into his office by duty and stress. Now the man was whipcord-thin, typical of the Sylfa, walking easily. Defecting from the Sovereignty had meant giving up unimaginable wealth—the man had literally owned three planets—but it had clearly been a good thing for him.
The Sylfa waved an arm to make sure Mogan saw him, and tapped a panel on the wall. “Good evening, Captain.”
Mogan shrugged a little. It was “evening” in the sense that they were nearing the end of the cycle, but on the station there was no difference between night and day. Haitac was in orbit around a star, so they didn't even have the shadow of the planet to contend with. But the lack of sun and moon often threw off his mental sense of time, and the twenty-hour day did not help.
“Whatever it is at the moment,” he chuckled, “I hope it goes well for you.” The walls of the station had rails near the ceiling. Hanging from them was something that looked more like saddles on cords, so that nearly any creature could sit on them, extending from beams. Some species had tails, after all, and sitting on a bench was uncomfortable for them at best.. The beams moved swiftly down the corridors, an important feature in a station that was mostly corridor.
Haitac Station was part dock, part shipyard, part admiralty court, part military base, and part entertainment complex. The court could be centralized, and was. The military was as centralized as it could be, although patrols also kept the peace in the rest of the station. The entertainment could be centralized, but for some reason was not, with bars and brothels and hotels and sports complexes and libraries and theaters of various kinds in odd and unlikely places. The docks and shipyards could not be. The dreadnoughts that were the backbone of any fleet were four kilometers long, and some were as much as twice that. A massive tanker or cargo hauler could be four or five times as long, and the end result was that the ships needed a great deal of room between each dock. In addition, since it was partly military, sponsored by the Settlements, there were areas, such as the one they were bound to now, that were not open to the general public.
Mogan climbed onto one of the saddles, and Shett onto another. The average Sylfa was about a head taller than a human, but about two-thirds the weight. An evolutionary past that stayed in the trees for longer granted them a lighter build than humans, and six limbs compared to humanity's four, but they could not walk as well as humans.
Then again, nothing could. Nor did any species, sapient or not, hold the endurance that humans had. The Sylfa could scramble up surfaces with an ease that astounded humanity, leap over a human's head from a standing start, and sprint nearly twice as fast, and others like the Shawing could move even faster over a short distance, but nothing matched a human over long distances.
Mogan had carried a Sylfa once, as he ran, but that was his woman, not a friend. Instead, he held to the saddle as the beam returned to the rails at the upper edge of the wall. It adjusted to their heights by simply changing the length of the cords. The Zerda came no higher than his knee for a tall one, while the Mantu were easily three times his height, so very few affairs were one-size-fits-all measures... another difference from the Sovereignty.
The beam rose into the air, moving along the ceiling at a place slightly faster than Mogan could sprint. Up ahead of them a light indicated a spot where they could make the beams lower to the floor again, but they were going well beyond that point. A small field in front of them kept the wind of their passage from getting too bad.
Mogan was familiar with hard light shields, since every ship had them, but he did not think this was hard light. Hard-light was impossible to make without Reagnium-80. Considering every single interplanetary vessel needed a supply of it and its relative rarity, Reagnium-80 was so valuable that the Settlements used it as the value standard for their currency. There were thousands of these beams, all throughout the station. Not only would they have had to spend an obscene amount to make them, but anything that valuable would have been stripped out and stolen within days... cycles, here.
“The war?”
Shett nodded in reply. “We got news not long ago of a large battle at Manna-6. Ground battle. Our forces were outnumbered about half-again-to-one, but it was a heavy victory.”
Mogan nodded and relaxed, thinking. In a sense, this war was his fault.
Two years ago, he had been little more than a shaman of a small village, of a small tribe, on his homeworld—and on the entire planet, only he had understood even the concept of a homeworld. The term the Sovereignty used for the tribe's introduction to the greater galaxy was “upliftment.” Mogan didn't like it; it implied that he was somehow below the others, raised to true sapience by their own beneficence.
Perhaps every “upliftment” had an ulterior motive, but that of the San certainly had. Mogan did not regret his actions on Noepe; he had saved the lives of men and women breaking the law to survive, shot and stabbed a great many people enforcing what was in truth simple tyranny, and electrocuted the governess who had arranged for his woman to be marooned. No, he still looked upon their mission with pride, but one of the Yils had arranged it themselves, as a pretext to invasion. The few who know of humanity knew that Yil Shett had been a friend and advocate for the species, and the many who knew of Yil Shett knew that he had given up his titles and lands and betrayed the Sovereignty to join the Settlements.
Shett tapped a button on the saddle, and as the next light showed ahead the beam lowered to the floor so they could climb off. It wasn't far from here, and they could walk. They did so, for about two hundred yards before they came to a window.
“There's your dock,” Shett said. “I suppose I could have made a holo easy enough, but I thought your first look at her should be with your own eyes.”
Windows were more common in the public areas, where diners—or guests in the more expensive hotels—could look out on the void, and rarer in the corridors that were mostly just for reaching ships with crew or passengers or supplies. Mogan stepped out to this one, looked out over the dockyards, and stared, mesmerized.
2023.05.28 05:12 Neat-Discussion-2049 General Opinion of Mahouka (A little long, but I hope you enjoy)
I have watched the anime (S1 and S2 and the two movies, but I did not watch Miyuki's POV season cause I read the light novel until the latest volume, which you guys can find on a site called Lightnovelreader), and I have quite a bit to say. I didn't try to over or under-analyze anything, rather, these are just my observations and I tried to base them on common sense or objective reasoning I guess.
Please add your opinion! Sadly, I don't know any other Mahouka fans :( and the ones I know who have heard of it don't like it thanks to the obvious brother-sister relationship.
Anyhow, let's start from the over-arching aspects I guess.
Wonderful beginning in both the light novel and anime! I love the world-building, and some of the characters are just to die for! The show doesn't border on being too informational like others, nor too generic, rather, it has its own peculiar merits which make it stand out to me. The main character's premise is nice, he is definitely OP at pretty much everything he does, and that can get boring really fast, but thankfully, Mahouka doesn't take that obvious route with him (Sadly, it feels like it doesn't take any route with him, but that might be why it stands out I guess). Most side characters are bland (like in nearly all anime), so I didn't expect much there, however, some characters are surprisingly more complex or interesting than they seem! (Maya is a great example. I had a negative view of her when she was introduced with no backstory and in a negative light by the MC. That's why I originally pictured her as the archetype 'I am the power-hungry relative that killed your family to take their authority or whatever' character, but when I read her backstory, I was like 'Damn, even after all that, she's the strongest women on the planet. She also pretty much takes no shit from anybody. Damn.' and I couldn't really bring myself to give her a basic label like that again).
Anyhow, Miyuki is also a character with a great premise, but, and I'm not trying to sound mean, she clearly has no relevance in the story if not for Tatsuya's existence. I'm sure the author knows what she's doing and all with Miyuki, but before we even reached the halfway point of season 1, she became fan service material that loves saying 'onii-sama' like a dozen times a sentence. I don't hate her, but she never grew on me, even when I reached the end. (Sort of like Casca! She is an amazing character, but after the eclipse, she sort of became material to push the plot forward by forcing Guts into a bad situation at every possible moment).
Now, onto the only relevant side characters: MC's friends, Senpais, and Masaki + his friend. I like how each of his friends has a different personality, but honestly, Honoka shouldn't have been a character in the first place (It felt like she was there to just constantly remind everyone that Tatsuya has a female posse, or to just keep Miyuki and Tatsuya's relationship alive in their school setting). Shizuku was a wonderful character because she wasn't attracted to Tatsuya like the rest (at least not openly), but after the advice she gave Honoka, she died to me. It just doesn't make sense why she told Honoka to either share or steal Tatsuya with or from Miyuki😂. Logically, she would convince her otherwise, but once again, it's for the plot. The rest of the Mc's friends are good (Especially Erika! She has a personality that sticks out and isn't that overused Tsundere-type female that nearly every anime has). As for his seniors, I respect Katsuto, but I find him stale and don't really like him. Mayumi should've been treated much better as a character. (It feels like she was used in a different way to Honoka but with the same purpose, despite having a better 'everything'). As for the rest of his seniors, I am not really interested in them because, in the end, they were used to push forward the prevailing belief that 'Tatsuya is an OP badass, so don't mess with him.' Plus, no one in the story really has as much talent as Tatsuya in any given field (Miyuki is supposedly second to him if we discount 'general' magic). Now, onto Masaki: he is simply a failed Honoka and an even worse attempt at a rival for Tatsuya. Tatsuya didn't even find him dangerous (even when he was holding back) and he didn't even see him as any sort of live interest😂, it was just Miyuki and nearly everyone else that saw it that way, which ruined his character for me. His feelings were superficial and his actions even more so, sort of like an inferior version of the MC.(Almost like when an author tries to shove a character down your throat by giving them so many unnecessary backstories or abilities in an effort to make them likable.) Overall, I was tempted to skip any and all dialogues from him in the Light novel. His friend (I forgot his name), should have been Tatsuya's rival! I really liked the fact that there was another child genius and it would've been cool if they were the ones that competed against each other as masterminds instead of just fighters. Sadly, he only ended up receiving help from Tatsuya and becoming a minor character that only speaks when Masaki starts talking about Miyuki (for comedic purposes I guess).
One last thing: The ten families and the Yotsuba in particular-
I really, really love the ten-families concept! Like, it reminds me of another good story I'm currently reading (Tower of god), so my hopes were high. Sadly, I found them to be disappointing (mostly because for people as grand as them, they were extremely petty for silly reasons. Like, the Ichijou head got involved in another family's wedding when he knows nothing about them just because he believes that they might become 'too powerful'. I mean, come on, everything about the Yotsuba is a damn secret, so how would he know if they were to become too powerful after a single marriage😂). The Kudou family was actually quite likable due to the presence of the old man (Retsu) and his grandson (Who honestly should've just had an honest talk with his grandad after controlling the parasite! Like, there was no need for him to go all Sasuke in this story and kill the old man too! It could've easily been handled much better!). The Saegusa family was extremely disappointing. Only Mayumi and the twins stick out, their brothers are like poor imitations of their dad, who thinks he's shit but clearly, he has an inferiority complex when it comes to anything Yostuba related.) The rest of the families were dull.
Now, the Yostuba was even worse than the Saegusa in my opinion. Like, none of their actions make sense! It feels like the author purposefully put them there just to make it look like it's Miyuki and Tatsuya vs the world or something. They can never rely on the Yotsuba (well, Tatsuya can't), but when the Yotsuba calls, they need to bow and comply. Let's start from the very beginning with these guys: Maya's incident. The Mc's grandfather is a badass. Miya was an extremely kind person back then, given how sensitive she was and how badly she suffered from trying to help her own twin. The family was even presented as a real family with that notion of 'Touch one of us, you gonna get all of these hands' type. Also, the 'Untouchables, is just a badass name overall. Sadly, it does not live up to its hype. After the Granddad's death, the clan went to shit. His brother took over, and in my opinion, ruined everything. First of all, Miya's marriage to that idiot (Mc's dad) was mistake no.1. Like, if they wanted terrifying talent, like really terrifying talent, then what about every other guy in the damn family? It just doesn't make sense to me and it has no relevance to the plot besides the 'Tatsuya and Miyuki vs the World'. In all honesty, the dad would've been so much better if he had a damn personality and he stuck by Tatsuya's side, instead of cowering like a little b-. Like, why get married again and leave your kids to the damn Yotsuba? And then he pops up later to make Tatsuya work for him due to his obviously overwhelming talent and to coddle the next head of the Yotsuba (Miyuki). Like, stfu and leave them alone😂. He didn't want to be there for them in their hardest times, then he doesn't deserve to be there with them when they are succeeding. (I really, really don't understand what the author was trying to do with him as a character, so if you know, please reply. Thank you in advance too!) Now, onto the grandfather, younger brother's second mistake: His treatment of Tatsuya. Like, everything the Yotsuba owns and everything it currently owns rightfully belongs to Tatsuya. He obviously makes an unbelievable amount for them, he provides them with the latest info, he does their work, and he has been presented to have more talent his pink than any single member does in their entire bloodline, so I don't really understand what the author wanted to pull by making both the branch families and the servants bully him for years on end. Like, everything is rightfully his, and I bet they wouldn't be pulling this shit if his grandfather was alive. Now, the final mistake of the grandfather's younger brother was that he left Maya in charge. I get that Miya was presented to be sick mentally and all, but Maya is practically a broken 14-year-old, and although I said I respect her, she just doesn't make sense. She has conflicting goals at times (idk if it was purposeful on the author's part of not) and she seems to take delight in abusing or neglecting or messing with Tatsuya, even going so far as to present it as 'just normal' in one of her earlier talks with him, just because he can't feel anything (although, I believe he has his emotions and they are just being sealed! Sort of like the pledge they used on him). Maya is unfit to be a leader, and Miya is even worse. Turning Tatsuya into a weapon was a huge mistake. However, she could've made up for that by being his parent, but the author was like 'Miyuki is my only child. That guard can just watch me play with her and treat her like my heir'. (It made sense here since Miya was practically mentally ill at this point. She messed up her sister's life, lost her dad and sister at the same time, was influenced by her crappy uncle and family to marry some loser, and then she had to give up her only son to that crappy family. Even in the movie, she didn't look happy at all. It might just be me, but I do believe she loves Tatsuya more than Miyuki and by a whole lot, but she just didn't want to show it because she didn't seem all that motherly with Miyuki and despite the cold shoulder she was giving Tatsuya, she was treating him far better than any adult in the Yotsuba that we have seen.) Now, the servants and branch families are just disappointing as a whole. Servants should know their place and the branch families should never have neglected Tatsuya, and then spoiled Miyuki in front of him (The author didn't even attempt to resolve this, rather, it looked like she was saying 'The old generation is doomed. Let the mc wait until they die and then he can lead the new generation that clearly favors him'). Also, Tatsuya should've been the heir. I see no real reason against him being the heir besides the author trying to keep Miyuki relevant😂😂 .
Magic, intelligence, talent, and connections. Tatsuya is quite literally superior to Miyuki in every way possible. In fact, I don't get why they said he was 'average-looking', like damn, if he's average, then what the hell am I? Also, there are people all over the world who could nuke countries in an instant in this story, so the Yostuba trying to hide Tatsuya is just a big lie. When they announced him as Miyuki's fiancee, they practically told the world about him and so they should've just made him the damn head. Like, I don't understand why (besides plot convenience) Tatsuya can't be the head. Even the younger generation prefers him to Miyuki. (Plus, imagine how OP the Yotsuba would be under Tatsuya's rule? The guy is practically the king of magic in this story. Also, Miyuki is just gonna do what he says anyway, so why make her the heir? I don't get this but oh well.) Plus, why does the Yotsuiba not actually try to help him in any way, shape, or form. Like anything the Yotsuba does, he alone has been presented to do the exact same thing but much better 😂😂. In the end, Tatsuya remained OP, neglected, and abused, so it felt like nothing really change with him (sadly).
Now, my official and objective rating: 5.5/10.
(Also, I didn't read the new novels because when I reached the end of the story, it just felt inconsistent or very 'Miyuki and Tatsuya vs the world' heavy with no real reason at times.)
If you are interested, I do have four personal opinions to share:
2) Tatsuya is not 'average-looking' and he should've inherited the purple eyes and hair. Don't even argue with me on this point.
3) The parasites were not real villains. In fact, they were overused, It would've been much, much better if the world was being invaded by the parasites (and they had different forms instead of human shells), instead of Tatsuya just dealing with them every single time. (Even if they introduced the concept of other world beings or invaders, they would've been far more interesting than the parasites.)
4) Lina should've been endgame. She and Tatsuya just fit each other. Both went experienced similar treatment due to actually being natural-born talents and are very military-oriented people, plus I don't see any reason why Miyuki always has to downgrade Lina in front of Tatsuya. If you don't like her, just don't talk to her, but don't be rude like that all of the time. She rarely insults her to her face. (Also, Miyuki was given everything Tatsuya should've gotten when she's an inferior version of him in nearly every way. I couldn't care less if she ended up with Masaki, but she and Tatsuya just feel like Miyuki wins no matter what because the author wants it that way tbh).
submitted by Neat-Discussion-2049 to Mahouka [link] [comments]
Please add your opinion! Sadly, I don't know any other Mahouka fans :( and the ones I know who have heard of it don't like it thanks to the obvious brother-sister relationship.
Anyhow, let's start from the over-arching aspects I guess.
Wonderful beginning in both the light novel and anime! I love the world-building, and some of the characters are just to die for! The show doesn't border on being too informational like others, nor too generic, rather, it has its own peculiar merits which make it stand out to me. The main character's premise is nice, he is definitely OP at pretty much everything he does, and that can get boring really fast, but thankfully, Mahouka doesn't take that obvious route with him (Sadly, it feels like it doesn't take any route with him, but that might be why it stands out I guess). Most side characters are bland (like in nearly all anime), so I didn't expect much there, however, some characters are surprisingly more complex or interesting than they seem! (Maya is a great example. I had a negative view of her when she was introduced with no backstory and in a negative light by the MC. That's why I originally pictured her as the archetype 'I am the power-hungry relative that killed your family to take their authority or whatever' character, but when I read her backstory, I was like 'Damn, even after all that, she's the strongest women on the planet. She also pretty much takes no shit from anybody. Damn.' and I couldn't really bring myself to give her a basic label like that again).
Anyhow, Miyuki is also a character with a great premise, but, and I'm not trying to sound mean, she clearly has no relevance in the story if not for Tatsuya's existence. I'm sure the author knows what she's doing and all with Miyuki, but before we even reached the halfway point of season 1, she became fan service material that loves saying 'onii-sama' like a dozen times a sentence. I don't hate her, but she never grew on me, even when I reached the end. (Sort of like Casca! She is an amazing character, but after the eclipse, she sort of became material to push the plot forward by forcing Guts into a bad situation at every possible moment).
Now, onto the only relevant side characters: MC's friends, Senpais, and Masaki + his friend. I like how each of his friends has a different personality, but honestly, Honoka shouldn't have been a character in the first place (It felt like she was there to just constantly remind everyone that Tatsuya has a female posse, or to just keep Miyuki and Tatsuya's relationship alive in their school setting). Shizuku was a wonderful character because she wasn't attracted to Tatsuya like the rest (at least not openly), but after the advice she gave Honoka, she died to me. It just doesn't make sense why she told Honoka to either share or steal Tatsuya with or from Miyuki😂. Logically, she would convince her otherwise, but once again, it's for the plot. The rest of the Mc's friends are good (Especially Erika! She has a personality that sticks out and isn't that overused Tsundere-type female that nearly every anime has). As for his seniors, I respect Katsuto, but I find him stale and don't really like him. Mayumi should've been treated much better as a character. (It feels like she was used in a different way to Honoka but with the same purpose, despite having a better 'everything'). As for the rest of his seniors, I am not really interested in them because, in the end, they were used to push forward the prevailing belief that 'Tatsuya is an OP badass, so don't mess with him.' Plus, no one in the story really has as much talent as Tatsuya in any given field (Miyuki is supposedly second to him if we discount 'general' magic). Now, onto Masaki: he is simply a failed Honoka and an even worse attempt at a rival for Tatsuya. Tatsuya didn't even find him dangerous (even when he was holding back) and he didn't even see him as any sort of live interest😂, it was just Miyuki and nearly everyone else that saw it that way, which ruined his character for me. His feelings were superficial and his actions even more so, sort of like an inferior version of the MC.(Almost like when an author tries to shove a character down your throat by giving them so many unnecessary backstories or abilities in an effort to make them likable.) Overall, I was tempted to skip any and all dialogues from him in the Light novel. His friend (I forgot his name), should have been Tatsuya's rival! I really liked the fact that there was another child genius and it would've been cool if they were the ones that competed against each other as masterminds instead of just fighters. Sadly, he only ended up receiving help from Tatsuya and becoming a minor character that only speaks when Masaki starts talking about Miyuki (for comedic purposes I guess).
One last thing: The ten families and the Yotsuba in particular-
I really, really love the ten-families concept! Like, it reminds me of another good story I'm currently reading (Tower of god), so my hopes were high. Sadly, I found them to be disappointing (mostly because for people as grand as them, they were extremely petty for silly reasons. Like, the Ichijou head got involved in another family's wedding when he knows nothing about them just because he believes that they might become 'too powerful'. I mean, come on, everything about the Yotsuba is a damn secret, so how would he know if they were to become too powerful after a single marriage😂). The Kudou family was actually quite likable due to the presence of the old man (Retsu) and his grandson (Who honestly should've just had an honest talk with his grandad after controlling the parasite! Like, there was no need for him to go all Sasuke in this story and kill the old man too! It could've easily been handled much better!). The Saegusa family was extremely disappointing. Only Mayumi and the twins stick out, their brothers are like poor imitations of their dad, who thinks he's shit but clearly, he has an inferiority complex when it comes to anything Yostuba related.) The rest of the families were dull.
Now, the Yostuba was even worse than the Saegusa in my opinion. Like, none of their actions make sense! It feels like the author purposefully put them there just to make it look like it's Miyuki and Tatsuya vs the world or something. They can never rely on the Yotsuba (well, Tatsuya can't), but when the Yotsuba calls, they need to bow and comply. Let's start from the very beginning with these guys: Maya's incident. The Mc's grandfather is a badass. Miya was an extremely kind person back then, given how sensitive she was and how badly she suffered from trying to help her own twin. The family was even presented as a real family with that notion of 'Touch one of us, you gonna get all of these hands' type. Also, the 'Untouchables, is just a badass name overall. Sadly, it does not live up to its hype. After the Granddad's death, the clan went to shit. His brother took over, and in my opinion, ruined everything. First of all, Miya's marriage to that idiot (Mc's dad) was mistake no.1. Like, if they wanted terrifying talent, like really terrifying talent, then what about every other guy in the damn family? It just doesn't make sense to me and it has no relevance to the plot besides the 'Tatsuya and Miyuki vs the World'. In all honesty, the dad would've been so much better if he had a damn personality and he stuck by Tatsuya's side, instead of cowering like a little b-. Like, why get married again and leave your kids to the damn Yotsuba? And then he pops up later to make Tatsuya work for him due to his obviously overwhelming talent and to coddle the next head of the Yotsuba (Miyuki). Like, stfu and leave them alone😂. He didn't want to be there for them in their hardest times, then he doesn't deserve to be there with them when they are succeeding. (I really, really don't understand what the author was trying to do with him as a character, so if you know, please reply. Thank you in advance too!) Now, onto the grandfather, younger brother's second mistake: His treatment of Tatsuya. Like, everything the Yotsuba owns and everything it currently owns rightfully belongs to Tatsuya. He obviously makes an unbelievable amount for them, he provides them with the latest info, he does their work, and he has been presented to have more talent his pink than any single member does in their entire bloodline, so I don't really understand what the author wanted to pull by making both the branch families and the servants bully him for years on end. Like, everything is rightfully his, and I bet they wouldn't be pulling this shit if his grandfather was alive. Now, the final mistake of the grandfather's younger brother was that he left Maya in charge. I get that Miya was presented to be sick mentally and all, but Maya is practically a broken 14-year-old, and although I said I respect her, she just doesn't make sense. She has conflicting goals at times (idk if it was purposeful on the author's part of not) and she seems to take delight in abusing or neglecting or messing with Tatsuya, even going so far as to present it as 'just normal' in one of her earlier talks with him, just because he can't feel anything (although, I believe he has his emotions and they are just being sealed! Sort of like the pledge they used on him). Maya is unfit to be a leader, and Miya is even worse. Turning Tatsuya into a weapon was a huge mistake. However, she could've made up for that by being his parent, but the author was like 'Miyuki is my only child. That guard can just watch me play with her and treat her like my heir'. (It made sense here since Miya was practically mentally ill at this point. She messed up her sister's life, lost her dad and sister at the same time, was influenced by her crappy uncle and family to marry some loser, and then she had to give up her only son to that crappy family. Even in the movie, she didn't look happy at all. It might just be me, but I do believe she loves Tatsuya more than Miyuki and by a whole lot, but she just didn't want to show it because she didn't seem all that motherly with Miyuki and despite the cold shoulder she was giving Tatsuya, she was treating him far better than any adult in the Yotsuba that we have seen.) Now, the servants and branch families are just disappointing as a whole. Servants should know their place and the branch families should never have neglected Tatsuya, and then spoiled Miyuki in front of him (The author didn't even attempt to resolve this, rather, it looked like she was saying 'The old generation is doomed. Let the mc wait until they die and then he can lead the new generation that clearly favors him'). Also, Tatsuya should've been the heir. I see no real reason against him being the heir besides the author trying to keep Miyuki relevant😂😂 .
Magic, intelligence, talent, and connections. Tatsuya is quite literally superior to Miyuki in every way possible. In fact, I don't get why they said he was 'average-looking', like damn, if he's average, then what the hell am I? Also, there are people all over the world who could nuke countries in an instant in this story, so the Yostuba trying to hide Tatsuya is just a big lie. When they announced him as Miyuki's fiancee, they practically told the world about him and so they should've just made him the damn head. Like, I don't understand why (besides plot convenience) Tatsuya can't be the head. Even the younger generation prefers him to Miyuki. (Plus, imagine how OP the Yotsuba would be under Tatsuya's rule? The guy is practically the king of magic in this story. Also, Miyuki is just gonna do what he says anyway, so why make her the heir? I don't get this but oh well.) Plus, why does the Yotsuiba not actually try to help him in any way, shape, or form. Like anything the Yotsuba does, he alone has been presented to do the exact same thing but much better 😂😂. In the end, Tatsuya remained OP, neglected, and abused, so it felt like nothing really change with him (sadly).
Now, my official and objective rating: 5.5/10.
(Also, I didn't read the new novels because when I reached the end of the story, it just felt inconsistent or very 'Miyuki and Tatsuya vs the world' heavy with no real reason at times.)
If you are interested, I do have four personal opinions to share:
- The author should've ended the story with a Yotsuba redemption arc of sorts, where they either return his emotions and offer their official acceptance of him as a member of the clan(Although the clan belongs to him and he doesn't need their approval), or at least have one of those sorts of therapy sit in where they realize that they were garbage and they give him his birthright. (It would've ended the story with Tatsuya actually undergoing some sort of character development). (Also, just a chapter where Tatsuya himself comes to terms with the world around him would be an amazing way to end the series besides some sort of lovey-dovey fight and run but I don't want to complain since I have never really written a book before)
2) Tatsuya is not 'average-looking' and he should've inherited the purple eyes and hair. Don't even argue with me on this point.
3) The parasites were not real villains. In fact, they were overused, It would've been much, much better if the world was being invaded by the parasites (and they had different forms instead of human shells), instead of Tatsuya just dealing with them every single time. (Even if they introduced the concept of other world beings or invaders, they would've been far more interesting than the parasites.)
4) Lina should've been endgame. She and Tatsuya just fit each other. Both went experienced similar treatment due to actually being natural-born talents and are very military-oriented people, plus I don't see any reason why Miyuki always has to downgrade Lina in front of Tatsuya. If you don't like her, just don't talk to her, but don't be rude like that all of the time. She rarely insults her to her face. (Also, Miyuki was given everything Tatsuya should've gotten when she's an inferior version of him in nearly every way. I couldn't care less if she ended up with Masaki, but she and Tatsuya just feel like Miyuki wins no matter what because the author wants it that way tbh).
2023.05.28 05:00 Kazevenikov Cryptid Chronicle - Chapter 30
A special thanks to u/bluefishcake for the wonderful original story and sandbox to play in.
A special thanks to my editors LordHenry7898, RandomTinkerer, Swimming_Good_8507, CatsInTrenchcoats, and KLiCKonthat.
And a big thanks to the authors and their stories that inspired me to tell my own in this universe. RandomTinkerer (City Slickers and Hayseeds), Punnynfunny (Denied Operations), CompassWithHat (Top Lasgun), CarCU131 (The Cook), and Rhion-618 (Just One Drop)
Hy’shq’e Ay Si’am (Thank you noble friends)
Chapter 30: A Promise Kept
Kalai stepped off the shuttle to the Vaida’s headquarters and into a running tackle-hug from Sitry. “Oh Kalai, I could kill you right now! You got to see the Great Barrier Reef in person, you bitch!” Sitry’s cheerful voice was muffled from where she was still buried in her chest. Kalai staggered backwards a pace or two, happy to be back from her whirlwind adventure around Earth with her father.
Naranjo and Papa Rhaxiid were there on the platform to welcome her back too, but their welcomes were more sedate.
“Not to mention you got out of work for half our damn trip. Ugh, it’s so not fair!” Naranjo huffed as Kalai gave him a sisterly hug.
Papa Rhaxiid reached up and chucked her chin before turning to lead the way back inside from the forested platform. “Welcome back, sweet-sprout, we’ve missed you. Come on, we’ll get you settled again and off to work. There’s quite a bit you need to catch up on if you want your credits.”
The chuckles from the twins behind her were full of sibling malice, but she knew how to shut the pair of them up. “Papa Rhaxiid? I’ve got the paper on Biodiversity in the Reef you asked for, along with the dissection report and stomach content analysis of the tuna we caught. I want to put the finishing touches on it and do a final proofread first before I send them to you.” The man turned and gave her a warm smile as they entered the building.
“Good, why don’t you go take your things back up and say hello to Andy? I’ll give you an hour and a half to get freshened up, then I want you to report to Aquarium 12 with Dr. Sor’ansa. You can put your snorkeling practice to work there.” Papa Rhaxiid walked the three of them to the residential elevator. “I’m heading back to my office. Andy’s been requested by Maetro Pae’ella to work the kitchens for something called ‘Bison burgers'. Apparently it’s a type of indigenous bovine that the eastern Bands raise. That and something from Europe called ‘French Fries’.”
Kalai couldn’t help but get excited as she and her siblings piled into the elevator back to their little shared apartment. Sure the food she’d had all over the place was good, but so far nothing had been able to compare to Andy and his Salishian cooking.
“Nerd, I can’t believe you cheated and did work on your vacation." Naranjo broke the silence of the elevator after a little bit and stuck his tongue out at her.
“Spit to windward, you vain little weed. Don’t hate me because I’m awesome.” Kalai’s riposte caused Naranjo to fold his arms and huff. Sitry simply ambushed her with an ear flick.
The elevator door opened to their floor before Kalai couldn’t bear the silence from Sitry any longer. “So, did you bag him yet, you lucky bitch?”
“No she hasn’t!” Naranjo’s singsong mockery of his sister interrupted Sitry’s response. “Papa hasn’t let Sitry even NEAR Andy without one of them around!”
“Rub it in, you snitch, besides, he did kiss me first,” Sitry preened happily as she playfully shoved Kalai’s shoulder.
Kalai pretended to stumble and almost caught Sitry’s foot, but she was just a hair too slow. “Yeah, and then you gave him a black eye, you clod.”
“Will you let it go? It was an accident!”
“It’s not even the only one he got either." Naranjo’s interjection stopped her right in front of their door.
“Wait, what? Who hurt him this time?” Kalai let her bag thunk to the floor as she turned to look accusingly between Sitry and Narny.
Sitry folded her arms and her ears twitched back as she shot a dark look at their door. “He ‘fell down’ yesterday while out at one of the Hatcheries we gave to the Hwatcoms. Mrs. Toloui nearly had a fit! She said she could smell another human on him and that he was covered in blood!”
Narny nodded primly as Kalai tried to process what they were telling her. “WHAT? Did she call out the militia? Track down whoever hurt him?”
“No, and he refused treatment and insisted that no one did it to him! When papa tried to talk to him, Andy said some stupid human macho shit about pain healing and birds liking scars. I don’t know, sometimes humans… they’re frickin’ insane!”
The door shot open and there stood Andy. His left eye was an angry puffy yellow and blue mess, and there were three points on his lips where a dark cinnabar line marked a crack. Kalai and her siblings stood in wide eyed shock at his sudden appearance and the only sound was the music emanating from the common room behind him.
Andy looked up and down at the three without saying a word. He cocked an eyebrow and snagged Kalai’s bag before any of them could react and cleared the doorway for them.
Kalai sputtered at the impropriety but Naranjo and Sitry just shrugged and walked in after Andy. “Femboys, am I right?” Narny whispered to Kalai as he passed. Kalai followed behind and was greeted by the white fluff-ball, Puck, who hopped up and down, whining for attention. She bent down and started scratching his ears and back. While Puck rubbed up against her hands, Andy settled back down at the table where his omnipad was hooked up to a keypad. Her heart started to sink a bit and Kalai shot Sitry a jealous look before the music came to a sudden halt and Andy interrupted the beginnings of her pity party.
“Ok, Kem’ira, I got the pics now and I’m telling you to declare yourself to the farmers first! I guarantee if you tell them you’re with the new DNR and you’re there to kill all the Scotch Broom in their pasture lands, they’ll stop trying to shoot you for trespassing!”
Kalai’s mood jumped up a bit. It’s not that he doesn’t care to see me, he’s in a meeting!
“No, no I’m not coming out to talk this over with them, I’ve got my own work to do! Either you start talking to folks like I showed you how, or ask the militia to give you one of their armored catsuits to wear under your uniform… Uh-huh, good luck." Andy hung up on the call and leaned back as Puck scampered over and hopped up in his lap.
Andy rubbed his temples before shaking his head. He seemed to relax a bit and Puck slid off to follow Sitry to the kitchen. Andy looked over and gave Kalai a happy smile that made her flush. “Welcome back! So how was the land down under? That tuna was fan-frickin’-tastic, if you aren’t sick of seafood I’ll do something fancy with it tomorrow to celebrate your coming back. Can’t tonight though, I got volun-told to be head chef tonight and I… Oh damnit! I’m late! Come to dinner, burgers and fries Indian style tonight. Gotta run!” With that, Andy went dashing out the door with Puck barking and scrambling along after him.
Kalai felt her heart sink back down again, as he left. “Andy I-” She started but he was gone.
“Yeah, it’s been like that for the whole week. The only time we get to hang out is dinner.” Sitry commiserated as she took Kalai’s bag into their room. “On the other hand, we might get to catch up during the family meal tonight.”
The dinner was delicious, though a bit weird. It tasted alright, but there was a certain aftertaste on the sandwich that just didn’t sit right with Kalai. She just couldn’t put her finger on it. The french fries more than made up for it though, and Mama Sakalbi had to hold a science trivia contest to see who got the last little handful.
Kalai and Narny were already silently plotting with each other for their revenge against their sister who had won and refused to share the last few matchsticks when Andy finally joined their table. He was sweaty and he smelled of woodsmoke and french fries. Kalai jumped up and offered him a seat next to her with a nervous smile. He took it gratefully and seemed to sag a bit as he gulped down a glass of water.
“Andy, I think you may be finding your calling as a culinary ambassador,” Mama Aftasia beamed. “A toast to the chef!”
Andy gave a shy smile and looked down as Kalai and the rest of the family gave a hearty ‘Here, here!”
“It’s a simple enough recipe; it’s just using bison instead of cow, that’s all, and I don’t know anyone who’d turn down hand cut fresh fries. It’s kind of hard to screw up.”
“Young man, you are speaking to a woman who found a way to take cold water and dried wumpa flakes and wind up with a Class-4 fire. Cooking has always seemed like ‘blight mysticism’ to me, and these foods? These flavors? Nothing short of a Greenwood miracle in my opinion." Mama Aftasia continued her praise of Andy, which only caused him to shrink even lower in his seat.
“To be honest, I like your salmon better,” Kalai said, and the whole table went silent. Kalai held her ground though, and was rewarded with a tired but genuine laugh from Andy that brought him back out of his shell.
“You know, I do too. My Clan were fisherpeople, not buffalo chasers.” Andy gave Kalai a cheeky grin, which she returned happily, her heart glowing. Mama Aftasia and Mama Sakalbi both blinked in bemusement at Andy’s statement while Sitry just giggled.
“Speaking of which, Andy, I received a call from Elder Alex Hwatcom.” Papa Rhaxiid’s change of subject instantly perked Andy up, and he stared silently, waiting. “He extended an invitation to our family to attend his family gathering this Friday-”
“Alex said that? He used those words?” Andy shook his head in shock as he interrupted Papa Rhaxiid. The table went quiet and everyone held their breath as they looked between the two men.
Papa Rhaxiid adopted as good an impression of the human Elder as he could. “I’d like to extend an invitation for you and your family to be guests at our family gathering this saturday up at the White… something… lodge-”
“The White Ram Lodge?” Andy sat forward, interjecting again as the color drained from his face.
“Yes, that’s the one! I asked if we could bring anything since the last time they hosted us they put on that wonderful spread. He said if we could bring a few salmon for the family, that would be wonderful.”
Andy leaned back and took another sip of ice water before holding the glass to his blackened eye. “Alex Hwatcom… just invited you… to a gathering… and he told you to ‘bring a few salmon’? Do you realize what a huge honor this is?”
Rhaxiid looked from his wives to his children with mild concern. “Um, I thought it was only dinner, but your reaction tells me there’s more significance to this than I originally thought. I was thinking about our stocks of adult Sockeye, but then I remembered in his story how important King Salmon are. Of course, I’d like to defer to you for the choice since you know these animals and the cultural expectations with this invitation better than we do.”
Andy was silent for a moment before he put the glass down. “I’d recommend a ‘hard no’ to all your clone stock!” Now it was the Vaidas’ turn to be shocked, as each of Kalai’s Erbian family’s jaws dropped in synch. Before anyone could say anything, Andy continued, “You need to bring wild-caught. Farm-raised salmon wouldn’t… well we can tell, and you can taste the difference between them. We need to go fishing!” Kalai leaned towards Andy slightly as he lowered his head and started mumbling to himself. She was just able to make out what he was saying to himself as Mama Sakalbi and Mama Aftasia began whispering to each other. “...need to get the Gillnetter out of storage, check what’s running and select the mesh. I’m gonna need a deckhand too.”
Kalai reached a hand out but stopped short of touching him. “Andy?”
He popped up and spoke for the whole table to hear. “I need a shuttle to the mainland and a waiver against the fishing ban. I’ve got to get my boat and the drum ready for sea ” Rhaxiid and Aftasia sputtered in confusion, but Mama Sakalbi had a shadow fall over her, and her ears pulled back.
“Do you mean to say you want to go out on the water? Risk the ecological balance for… dinner?”
Andy looked Sakalbi dead in the eye and gave her a firm nod. “Why don’t you come out and see how we did this before you got here. Think of it as a chance to see the way we’ve fished for the last hundred or so years, and then I can explain the way we used to fish before that.”
The offer snapped Rhaxiid out of his confusion and he brightened. “A learning experience? Wonderful, we’ll make a day of it!” His hands shot out to grab both his wives’ and Kalai could feel the vibrations in the floor from where he was excitedly tapping his feet.
“If you don’t mind hard, smelly work. Uncle Willy always called it ‘the worst desk in the prettiest office.' It’ll be a bit cramped, but I’ve got room on the boat for a few guests and observers; four I think would be ok. She’s a working boat, not a pleasure cruiser,” Andy explained. That sent the whole lot of them excitedly talking among themselves.
Kalai was about to lean in to talk to Mama Aftasia, but Andy caught her attention first. “I don’t suppose you’d want to go back out on the water, given you just got back from pleasure-boating-”
Kalai’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest. “I wouldn’t miss it for my own colony planet!”
--------------------
Kalai stood on the pier, bundled in her thermal sailor’s coat. It was still dark and the wind blew from the north in a cold little morning breeze. Kalai took a deep breath and reveled in the smell of the fresh sea air. The soft chattering of Mama Sakalbi’s teeth broke the silence. “It’s a bit chillier than it said it was going to be.”
“The water always does that. It’s never as warm as the lubbers say it’ll be,” Papa spoke as he handed her back her thermos of hot chocolate.
Papa stood next to Kalai and nudged her with his elbow. Even in the dark, Kalai could see him smile up at her and jerk his head at the shivering Erbian. He was also wearing a thermal sailor’s coat, and his hands were stuffed in his pockets to keep them warm, just like Kalai’s. “Landswoman,” he whispered to her and the two of them shared a knowing smile. It was strange, but welcome when she'd told Papa about her upcoming day fishing with Andy, and he’d politely requested to join them. Papa Rhaxiid had graciously given his spot up to accommodate her birth father. Narny was all for it until Andy had explained what they were going to do, but then surrendered his challenge to the fourth guest space, not wanting to go anywhere NEAR anything that could see him come face to face with a Lion’s Mane Jelly. Sitry had done a happy little dance when she found out, but only yesterday had come down with Thistle Fever, and was bundled off to bed by her parents. It left Kalai, Mama Sakalbi, and Papa to accompany Andy on his fishing trip.
The water brushed against the shore behind them quietly. In the gloom, Kalai could just barely make out the outline of the nearest island mountain, but only because the stars had disappeared behind it. It was almost four in the morning, but Kalai had managed a catnap on the shuttle to the empty little lot that had been the boat launch. Aside from the water, the world was silent. Even the breeze made almost no noise and a sense of peace surrounded them. Everything was so calm, Kalai felt like she didn’t have a care in the world.
In the distance, a low rumbling sound of a motor rose from being almost imperceptible to a rolling drum of thunder. From around the point, two green floating lights sped through the darkness, and a spotlight turned on. The beam of light moved jerkily until it came to rest on the pier where they were standing and Kalai started waving her arms. Sakalbi’s omnipad rang, and Andy’s voice shouted over the speaker and the background noise for them to shine a light on the edge of the pier to help him park the boat.
Kalai and Papa moved closer and turned their omnipad flashlights on and waved them as the boat swung gracefully around and glided in alongside them. Kalai caught the rope that flew over the railing of the boat and she heard more than saw Andy moving around on the deck as she tied off on one of the mooring cleats. Several lights clicked on and the deck was bathed in light enough for Kalai to get a clear view of the boat they’d be spending the day on.
Andy hadn’t lied. Kalai saw that this little vessel was a working boat with no frills at all. When he’d told her they’d be going fishing, she’d envisioned something like the charter boat papa had taken her on out of Nantucket. Sporty, fast with a nod to comfort and function. This was not that at all. A giant wheel as wide as Kalai’s outstretched arms that looked like a sideways spool of thread was secured to the deck amidships and dominated the deckspace. Wrapped around it was a fluorescent green tangle with a line of oblong white and yellow corks and rope. There was a covered hatchway sitting behind the drum in front of the raised step to the enclosed cabin. Two large windows let the light out to two children’s bunks, a little table with a booth seat and a raised captain’s chair in front of the helm and engine controls. Andy shut down the engine and that peaceful stillness returned.
“Oway there!” Kalai called, “ship oway! Request permission to come aboard.” Kalai gave the traditional greeting of a Shil’vati sailor.
“Permission granted! Anyone need a stepstool?” Andy finally stepped into the light and Kalai got a look at him. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and the same bright orange coveralls she’d seen the fishmongers wearing on their date.
“I wouldn’t mind a hand, Mr. Shelokset.” Papa He’osforos braced a foot on the railing of the boat and Andy pulled him up.
“Just call me Andy, Doc, and welcome aboard. Jackie should be along any minute now with the day’s groceries, and the cabin’s out of the cold. You can get yourself set wherever you find comfortable.” Papa nodded and disappeared around the other side of the wheel moving towards the bow.
Kalai helped Mama Sakalbi into the boat next, and she quickly ducked into the cabin that took up the entire stern section save for a little ledge that ran along the outside. Andy gripped Kalai’s hand and she smiled as he pulled her deftly aboard. The boat rocked a little on its mooring, and Kalai almost fell into Andy, who wordlessly put his arms around her waist to catch her as she lost her balance. She flailed for a moment before she steadied herself against him.
“Gotcha,” Andy smiled, and Kalai could see him flush almost as much as she could feel herself doing as their noses almost touched. Those big dark brown eyes surrounded by white orbs drew her in and she felt she could lose herself in them. Kalai started as Andy danced her around him and moved her towards the cabin door.
“It might be a little cramped for you in there, but the Mary Jean wasn’t built for pleasure boating, she’s a working girl. Sit tight, I gotta check a few things in the back.” Andy patted the railing affectionately before he hopped up and scooted along the outside of the cabin towards the stern. Kalai couldn’t help the little longing groan that came out as he left her there on the little tiny quarterdeck. Her heart was hammering in her chest as half formed fantasies danced at the edges of her mind.
“I saw that, little minnow.” Papa’s voice was soft, but his tone and the sudden broken silence nearly gave her a heart attack.
Kalai could only stammer as her father stared at her with a cocked eyebrow. A thump from the cabin window behind saw an amused Mama Sakalbi daintily sipping at her thermos with her ears twitched forward in interest, staring out at her. “Papa I… he-”
Papa moved carefully around the covered hatchway to stand next to her, leaning back against the cabin window and heaved a sigh. “I must say I’m surprised. This lovely man’s got good clean lines and is very well cared for. It speaks well of his Skipper.”
It took a full minute for Kalai’s brain to process that he was talking about the boat and not Andy. “And the way Andy brought him in smooth in near complete darkness? It gives me confidence in his abilities.”
Kalai breathed a silent sigh of relief and exasperation. Although she was happy to be spending more time with her father, bringing him on what she’d hoped would be a sailing date wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind for ‘family time’. He wants me to find a nice young man and spend time with him on a boat, but the first chance I get Papa decides to clam-jam me.
From up on shore, the sound and lights of a large human vehicle screeching to a halt heralded the last of their party to arrive. Kalai heard the clomping footsteps coming down the pier and moved to the railing to lend a hand.
“Ahoy Mary Jean! Raggedy Andy, you there?” Kalai stared with wide eyed surprise to see a human female, loaded down with plastic bags and sporting two human weapons on her shoulder. The two of them locked eyes, and while Kalai didn’t understand everything the girl shouted in surprise, she had caught and understood the phrase, “What the fuck?”
“Easy now, they’re my guests, and the one inside is the boss!” Andy appeared on the pier instantly before either Kalai or the woman could react further.
“Ya didn’t tell me we were having pur-” The woman glared at Kalai and her father. She had switched to Vatikre thankfully, but her tone was hostile as she dropped everything but her weapons. “I mean, hwun’eetums, aboard. A gal could get the wrong idea pretty quick in the dark when there’s no warning.”
“Knock it off Jackie. Let’s get the grub aboard and shove off.” Andy picked up some of the bags and took the guns as Kalai offered a helping hand over the railing. “Oh, Kalai, this is Jackie. Jackie? Kalai. That’s her dad over there, Doc He’osforos. He saw and treated Kay Tee a few years back.” Andy jerked his head towards the direction of Kalai’s father as she held out a hand to the human girl. On a quick inspection, she appeared to be about the same age as her and Andy. She had a round face and was about as dark complected as Andy was. She was shorter, only a few inches taller than Papa, but when Jackie grabbed Kalai’s hand to hop up onto the rail, she could feel the strength and the compact muscle hidden by the baggy sweatshirt and pants.
“Wait a minute, did you say Mini-Me over there saw Kay Tee? You’re fuckin’ with me!” Jackie stumbled a bit as she hopped down onto the deck with a loud thunk and advanced on Papa who shrank away at her advance. “You saw li’l Kay Tee? Where the fuck is he? Is he alright? Is he still fighting the good fight?”
“Last I saw, yes, he was ‘fighting the good fight.’” Papa looked over at Andy with a slightly worried expression. Andy smacked the girl in the back of the head, causing her to flinch and she opened the door to the cabin for Andy to go inside.
Jackie rubbed the back of her head and laughed. “Well that’s a little bit of alright, innit? Maybe today’s gonna be a good day after all!”
“Jackie, get suited up and get on the bow. I need a good pair of eyes on the roller horns,” Kalai heard Andy shout from the cabin, followed by a whole lot of thumping and banging from cabinets being opened and closed.
“You got it, ol’ man. We going to your place or mine?” Jackie sidestepped in and opened a tiny little closet and pulled out a set of rain gear that was identical to what Andy was wearing. Kalai collected herself and stood in the doorway next to her father as they both leaned in.
“Mine; Chuck said the Yaw’much are running from the South. We’ll do a set nor’west of Lummi in the Rosario and see if we can get some Fraser Kings,” Andy replied as he turned the engine back on and the vessel roared to life.
“Chuck? Isn’t that one of your cousins? I didn’t know he could keep track of the movements of Salmon, may I ask how he does it?” Mama Sakalbi perked up as she pulled a set of earplugs out of a pocket and inserted them.
Andy prevaricated a bit, looking from Jackie back to Sakalbi then to Kalai and Papa. “I’d rather not answer that-”
“Breakin’ the law, breakin’ the law! Breakin’ the law, breakin’ the law!”
Jackie began singing a human song, and Andy threw her the dirtiest of looks as she finished getting into the orange coveralls. Mama Sakalbi sputtered as Andy shrugged apologetically.
“Make a hole!” Jackie called, and she and Andy came back out as Kalai and Papa made room for them. Andy hopped back onto the dock to cast off while Papa ducked into the cabin.
“Can I help?” Kalai offered as Andy shoved the vessel off and leapt the gap over the black water below.
“You want to be useful? Come forward! I could use an extra set of eyes!” Jackie called back, and Kalai felt a slap on her shoulder from the boisterous human woman.
------------------
Andy stood at the helm, watching Jackie and Kalai as he leaned to get a better view of them past the Net drum. The bow was lifting up again, and the gentle little swells became like speed bumps, jostling them up and down in a predictable bouncing rhythm.
“Are you sure you couldn’t slow down, Andy? It’s a bit rough, don’t you think?” Sakalbi was hanging on to the table and her thermos with a worried expression on her face.
“I could, but we’ll miss the morning set. We want to bomb out the buoy right when the tide changes. If we’re lucky, then we’ll get around seventy or eighty by slack tide this afternoon and call it a day.”
“How do you know where to fish?” Dr. He’osforos was making a good show of standing and maintaining his balance with his hand on the booth.
“Well, there’s two ways you know. The first is you fish the spots your family’s fished since time began. Every family has about two or three different secret spots that we know there’s fish in, and we’re pretty defensive about their locations. The second is by smell. Right now it’s the tail end of the King season, and you can smell them in the water.” Andy turned and saw the incredulity etched on the faces of the two aliens.
“No, I’m serious! King Salmon slime is really pungent, and you can smell them when they’re close to the surface. We get to the fishing spot and take a deep whiff. If we smell them, we’ll set the nets.” Andy laughed at the disbelief on their faces as the GPS on his omnipad beeped and he turned to sail around the last buoy and head for the fishing ground.
“I’ve never noticed that in any of the Kings we’ve raised-”
Andy suppressed a laugh as they caught a larger swell as they left the lee of Lummi Island. Andy reveled in the feeling of weightlessness as the deck rose up and fell out from underneath their feet, leaving everyone suspended for a moment in midair before falling back down. A massive spray of water rose and washed over the deck, drenching Kalai and Jackie, who were still forward. “Cloned and farmed Kings don’t have that same smell. Wild ones smell and taste different, I’m telling you!” Andy pulled back slightly on the throttle as they climbed the next swell. “Brace!” he called as they climbed and fell once again.
There was a look of fear on Sakalbi’s face as she gripped the table for dear life, but to Andy’s surprise, the Doctor looked completely unfazed, and was handling the rise and fall of the deck like an old salt. “You look like you’ve done this before, Doc.”
“I’ve done a stint or two at sea before,” he spoke, in the same tone Andy would have used when trying not to sound too confident, and Andy smiled.
“Kalai keeps talking about loving the sea and sailing. Did you teach her to sail?”
“Yes, me and her mothers. When they were home, we would take the family yacht out in the Vaascon Straits and sail around the Occidiens. Kalai practically spent all her early childhood on a sailboat.”
“And almost every waking moment on one in Junior Academy. I swear you couldn’t dig her out with a trowel when she wanted to go sailing,” Sakalbi managed to add in a word as the boat slowed, and the dramatic rise and fall of the deck slowed with it.
“What about you, Mr. Shelokset, did your father teach you to sail too?”
“I was too young before he passed. My Great Uncle Willy taught me after I came home, and Grandma took me out to the family fishing sites when she wasn’t busy with the Council. For the first two or three years after they let us come home, fishing was the only way to feed our families, but the Militia and the Cambrians would try and sink our boats or arrest us whenever we tried to go out.”
“And that’s why you’re so good at maneuvering your vessel in the dark with no instruments?” Mrs. Vaida had folded her arms, and her voice twinged with that imperious tone she’d had when they’d first met.
Andy huffed a dry laugh. “I did what I had to for me and my people and to survive, Ma’am. I don’t like breaking the law or dodging lasers and gunfire, but there’s a lot of poor families that need to eat.”
The GPS beeped, and Andy gave Mrs. Vaida a slightly defiant look to counter her furrowed brow. “We’re here,” he said as he threw the engine in neutral and opened the cabin door.
Andy walked out and took a deep breath, but all he could smell was the net and the exhaust from the engine. “HEY JACKIE! WE SMELL MONEY?” Andy yelled out as he took stock of the sky. The first signs of sunrise were chasing all but the morning stars away and a light fog was rolling in from the north.
“FUCK YEAH I CAN SMELL ‘EM, ANDY! LET’S BOMB OUT AND GET BREAKFAST GOING!” Jackie looked slightly manic as she smiled brightly. Kalai, on the other hand, looked wet and miserable as she shivered, arms wrapped around herself. Andy gave his cousin a disgusted look as he pieced together what had happened. Every deckhand learned when to duck behind the raised bow and the roller horns that guided the nets so as not to get a faceful of spray when cutting through a swell. It was also a classic hazing trick for Senior Deckhands to let Junior Deckhands learn this the hard way.
Andy moved forward to stand in front of the two of them. Kalai was trying to squeeze her coat dry, but Andy knew it wouldn’t do much good until the sun came out. Jackie at least had the sense to look a little remorseful. “Kalai, why don’t you go sit in the cabin and get out of that wet coat. It’s cold enough out here even for us-”
“No way, Andy. Junior deckhand Kally here wants to impress you and get her dainty soft hands dirty! She’s been bragging about being a sailorwoman and wants to learn to fish ‘your way!” Jackie gave Kalai’s shoulder a wet slap as the poor alien woman went blue. Out of cold or embarrassment, Andy couldn’t tell.
All Andy could do was shake his head and huff. “Ok then! Secure the buoy and sling on my mark. I’ll get us in position!” Andy couldn’t help but chuckle as he heard Jackie start ordering Kalai about. Andy went back into the cabin and looked in the closet/bathroom to see if there was anything hanging up that he could give Kalai. There was only the one rain slicker and a few of Andy’s old sweaters from when he was a lot smaller. Well, looks like I’ll just be cold today. He quickly stripped out of his sweatshirt and grabbed the slicker before throwing a switch on the main control. Dr. He’osforos and Mrs. Vaida threw him quizzical looks as he went back outside wearing less than when he came in. He was down to a sleeveless shirt and his coveralls, and the morning breeze cut right through him and he braced his jaw to keep it from chattering.
“We’re ready to go- Andy, why are you practically naked from the waist up?” Kalai was staring wide eyed at him as he approached her and Jackie was on the bow. Jackie had everything ready; the buoy line was strung through the horns and ready to toss out. A giant orange and blue beach ball sized float hung at the end of the line to mark the end and make it easier to pick up later.
“Trade me your coat for these. If Jackie’s putting you to work, you’ll need these to keep warm.”
“I’m alright, I can-”
“I’m the Skipper of this boat, and I’m ordering you to take off that wet coat and put these on; and Jackie?” Andy gave his cousin a long and piercing look. “Give her the elbow gloves, not the halfsies.”
The scoff and the muttered Salishian profanities meant he’d read the next prank she’d had in mind right. She was planning on giving her the cloth gloves with only the palms and fingers coated in rubber. While perfectly fine for fishing, Andy knew they tended to get soaked through very quickly and did nothing to keep jellyfish stingers and fish slime off your hands. Kalai sputtered for a moment before she complied gratefully and she accepted the dry clothes and rain slicker.
Andy saw Jackie give him a strange look before looking back at Kalai, but he paid it no mind. He walked back to the controls on the drum and switched off the hydraulics, placing the mechanism in neutral. “SLING IT!” Andy called as he took the small jerry rigged steering wheel and threw the boat in reverse. Kalai jumped as the line started unspooling the net into the water at a rapid pace.
Andy set an ‘S’ bend in the quarter mile long net, zigzagging backwards until they came to the end of the line. Andy stopped the boat as Jackie tied off the other large buoy and tossed it over the side, unstringing the cork-line from the roller horns in the process. He pulled hard over and put a bit of distance from the net before shutting the engine down. The line of white and yellow corks marking the net bobbed lazily with the swells as silence settled over the water again. The waves rocked the boat gently as Andy found his sea legs again.
“Alright, I’ll get breakfast going. Jackie, Kalai? Post the watch for seals,” Andy called as he walked back into the cabin to fire up the tiny little gas stove.
Sakalbi, having found the confidence to stand at last, poked her head out of the cabin and stood on by the hatch to the fish hold. “Seals? Why would you need to watch for seals?”
Andy grit his teeth and looked over from where he was cracking open and scrambling eggs. “They’re the spawn of Satan and we hate their guts!” Andy bit out. Jackie came back and pulled the two shotguns and a pair of binoculars from the closet. Andy reached over to a side cabinet and pulled out a box of shells for them. Both his boss and the Doctor’s eyes got wide.
“Seals are the enemy of our blood. Were it not for the invasion, our unending war against these vermin would continue to this day!” Jackie growled as she loaded one for herself and rested the other on Andy’s seat at the helm.
The look of growing horror on Sakalbi’s face towards their facetious declarations caused Andy to chuckle a bit, before launching into an explanation. “We’re not fans of the species because they’ll wait until a fish gets caught in the net and then they’ll steal it, costing us a fish AND ripping a big hole in our nets that we then have to take time to repair. We use the shotguns and buckshot to give them a nice welt and convince them not to hang around, because they’ll wait up on the surface and watch the buoys, just like us. A single seal can and will take between five and ten fish. The worst is when they start getting full, they’ll just bite out the bellies of a salmon in the net. We can’t really do anything with that fish once it’s ‘seal-bit’. So yes, as fishermen, we hate them.”
“Learned opportunism in apex predators as a response to human activity… I think I’ll go see this behavior for myself!” Sakalbi practically rushed out the door towards the bow where Jackie was sitting on the roller horns explaining to Kalai how to spot the bastards, leaving Andy alone in the cabin with the Doctor while he cooked breakfast for them all.
Dr. He’osforos sat down heavily in the booth and pulled out his omnipad. “I’ve had a word with my friend in the Interior. She’s pulled the warrant for your brother, and I’ve withdrawn the charges I filed.”
Andy froze and turned around slowly. The only sound was the sizzle and pop of the eggs and chorizo that he’d added to them in the skillet. “You mean… it’s done? He can come home?” A wave of light headed euphoria swept over Andy and he swayed with the gentle rocking of the boat. “I will pay you back, Doc-”
The doctor held up his hand and stopped Andy. “We’ll call it even, but there’s something… I was able to get my hands on this,” Andy watched as the doctor swiped something towards his omnipad and it dinged. “What is it if I may-”
“Are you really asking an Indian to tell you a story? Because it’s going to be a long one if you are.” “I’m Sevastutavan, young man; we invented long stories.”
Andy froze and stared at the screen of his omnipad. The Vatikre was heavily accented, and Andy had a bit of trouble with the unfamiliar accent, but centered in the frame in a hospital room, sitting in a wheelchair, was a Salishian boy. Andy blinked in surprise as he stared at the screen. “Is that-”
“I am Ikw’is’hi’ehlah, and this bearer is… of the Orca Clan Sheloksets. I drove our Haida enemies onto the rocks and took many heads when they attacked our winter village on Orcas Island. I signed the Treaty with the Great White Father and I fought against the slavers of the south-”
Andy wanted to grab the omnipad but the smell of overcooking eggs brought his attention back to breakfast and Andy stirred and scrapped the food quickly, trying to save it.
“I asked her for any materials she could give me on your brother. Pictures, recordings, anything. This is what she gave me. It's the last known recording of your brother during an interrogation conducted by a Navy Commissar prior to his escape. It seems he made friends with a Pod of Deaths Head Commandos. Quite a bit of the recording has been redacted, but… there are portions of it where he talks about his family and his history. I thought you might like to have it.”
Andy hurriedly pulled out paper plates and a slice of bread for everyone and scooped a heaping portion of the chorizo eggs onto them. He handed the doctor his before leaning out the cabin door. “Slop’s on, come and get it!”
Andy sat down after moving the shotgun out of the way and started the video over again as the three women came back to grab their plates and lost himself watching his brother start telling his story.
“What’s that?” Andy heard Kalai ask over his shoulder, and he paused the video.
“That’s my brother! That’s Kay Tee!”
“Holy shit, what?” Jackie nearly shoved Kalai into Andy as she jammed her bread slice down her gullet and crowded in to see the screen.
Andy started the video over a second time and they watched in silence. “God, that brings back memories. Back when mom was still alive and before we broke up the warband. I can’t believe that slippery little punk ghosted a pod of Commandos for two fucking years! Holy shit, that’s badass!”
Before Andy could say anything, Sakalbi started coughing and brought the binoculars up. “Uh, Andy? Jackie? What do we do about sharks?”
Jackie looked at Andy in confusion. “Sharks? There’s nothing but Dogs around here.”
“Well those are shark fins and they’re charging the net!” Sakalbi pointed and Andy looked up to see dorsal fins charging the center of the net.
Andy looked at Jackie and spoke the same words in tandem, “Oh shit!”
First:
https://www.reddit.com/Sexyspacebabes/comments/yz0u3h/the_cryptid_chronicle_chapter_1/
Previous:
https://www.reddit.com/Sexyspacebabes/comments/13nh0oe/cryptid_chronicle_chapter_29/
Next:
To be posted 6/4/23
submitted by Kazevenikov to Sexyspacebabes [link] [comments]
A special thanks to my editors LordHenry7898, RandomTinkerer, Swimming_Good_8507, CatsInTrenchcoats, and KLiCKonthat.
And a big thanks to the authors and their stories that inspired me to tell my own in this universe. RandomTinkerer (City Slickers and Hayseeds), Punnynfunny (Denied Operations), CompassWithHat (Top Lasgun), CarCU131 (The Cook), and Rhion-618 (Just One Drop)
Hy’shq’e Ay Si’am (Thank you noble friends)
Chapter 30: A Promise Kept
Kalai stepped off the shuttle to the Vaida’s headquarters and into a running tackle-hug from Sitry. “Oh Kalai, I could kill you right now! You got to see the Great Barrier Reef in person, you bitch!” Sitry’s cheerful voice was muffled from where she was still buried in her chest. Kalai staggered backwards a pace or two, happy to be back from her whirlwind adventure around Earth with her father.
Naranjo and Papa Rhaxiid were there on the platform to welcome her back too, but their welcomes were more sedate.
“Not to mention you got out of work for half our damn trip. Ugh, it’s so not fair!” Naranjo huffed as Kalai gave him a sisterly hug.
Papa Rhaxiid reached up and chucked her chin before turning to lead the way back inside from the forested platform. “Welcome back, sweet-sprout, we’ve missed you. Come on, we’ll get you settled again and off to work. There’s quite a bit you need to catch up on if you want your credits.”
The chuckles from the twins behind her were full of sibling malice, but she knew how to shut the pair of them up. “Papa Rhaxiid? I’ve got the paper on Biodiversity in the Reef you asked for, along with the dissection report and stomach content analysis of the tuna we caught. I want to put the finishing touches on it and do a final proofread first before I send them to you.” The man turned and gave her a warm smile as they entered the building.
“Good, why don’t you go take your things back up and say hello to Andy? I’ll give you an hour and a half to get freshened up, then I want you to report to Aquarium 12 with Dr. Sor’ansa. You can put your snorkeling practice to work there.” Papa Rhaxiid walked the three of them to the residential elevator. “I’m heading back to my office. Andy’s been requested by Maetro Pae’ella to work the kitchens for something called ‘Bison burgers'. Apparently it’s a type of indigenous bovine that the eastern Bands raise. That and something from Europe called ‘French Fries’.”
Kalai couldn’t help but get excited as she and her siblings piled into the elevator back to their little shared apartment. Sure the food she’d had all over the place was good, but so far nothing had been able to compare to Andy and his Salishian cooking.
“Nerd, I can’t believe you cheated and did work on your vacation." Naranjo broke the silence of the elevator after a little bit and stuck his tongue out at her.
“Spit to windward, you vain little weed. Don’t hate me because I’m awesome.” Kalai’s riposte caused Naranjo to fold his arms and huff. Sitry simply ambushed her with an ear flick.
The elevator door opened to their floor before Kalai couldn’t bear the silence from Sitry any longer. “So, did you bag him yet, you lucky bitch?”
“No she hasn’t!” Naranjo’s singsong mockery of his sister interrupted Sitry’s response. “Papa hasn’t let Sitry even NEAR Andy without one of them around!”
“Rub it in, you snitch, besides, he did kiss me first,” Sitry preened happily as she playfully shoved Kalai’s shoulder.
Kalai pretended to stumble and almost caught Sitry’s foot, but she was just a hair too slow. “Yeah, and then you gave him a black eye, you clod.”
“Will you let it go? It was an accident!”
“It’s not even the only one he got either." Naranjo’s interjection stopped her right in front of their door.
“Wait, what? Who hurt him this time?” Kalai let her bag thunk to the floor as she turned to look accusingly between Sitry and Narny.
Sitry folded her arms and her ears twitched back as she shot a dark look at their door. “He ‘fell down’ yesterday while out at one of the Hatcheries we gave to the Hwatcoms. Mrs. Toloui nearly had a fit! She said she could smell another human on him and that he was covered in blood!”
Narny nodded primly as Kalai tried to process what they were telling her. “WHAT? Did she call out the militia? Track down whoever hurt him?”
“No, and he refused treatment and insisted that no one did it to him! When papa tried to talk to him, Andy said some stupid human macho shit about pain healing and birds liking scars. I don’t know, sometimes humans… they’re frickin’ insane!”
The door shot open and there stood Andy. His left eye was an angry puffy yellow and blue mess, and there were three points on his lips where a dark cinnabar line marked a crack. Kalai and her siblings stood in wide eyed shock at his sudden appearance and the only sound was the music emanating from the common room behind him.
Andy looked up and down at the three without saying a word. He cocked an eyebrow and snagged Kalai’s bag before any of them could react and cleared the doorway for them.
Kalai sputtered at the impropriety but Naranjo and Sitry just shrugged and walked in after Andy. “Femboys, am I right?” Narny whispered to Kalai as he passed. Kalai followed behind and was greeted by the white fluff-ball, Puck, who hopped up and down, whining for attention. She bent down and started scratching his ears and back. While Puck rubbed up against her hands, Andy settled back down at the table where his omnipad was hooked up to a keypad. Her heart started to sink a bit and Kalai shot Sitry a jealous look before the music came to a sudden halt and Andy interrupted the beginnings of her pity party.
“Ok, Kem’ira, I got the pics now and I’m telling you to declare yourself to the farmers first! I guarantee if you tell them you’re with the new DNR and you’re there to kill all the Scotch Broom in their pasture lands, they’ll stop trying to shoot you for trespassing!”
Kalai’s mood jumped up a bit. It’s not that he doesn’t care to see me, he’s in a meeting!
“No, no I’m not coming out to talk this over with them, I’ve got my own work to do! Either you start talking to folks like I showed you how, or ask the militia to give you one of their armored catsuits to wear under your uniform… Uh-huh, good luck." Andy hung up on the call and leaned back as Puck scampered over and hopped up in his lap.
Andy rubbed his temples before shaking his head. He seemed to relax a bit and Puck slid off to follow Sitry to the kitchen. Andy looked over and gave Kalai a happy smile that made her flush. “Welcome back! So how was the land down under? That tuna was fan-frickin’-tastic, if you aren’t sick of seafood I’ll do something fancy with it tomorrow to celebrate your coming back. Can’t tonight though, I got volun-told to be head chef tonight and I… Oh damnit! I’m late! Come to dinner, burgers and fries Indian style tonight. Gotta run!” With that, Andy went dashing out the door with Puck barking and scrambling along after him.
Kalai felt her heart sink back down again, as he left. “Andy I-” She started but he was gone.
“Yeah, it’s been like that for the whole week. The only time we get to hang out is dinner.” Sitry commiserated as she took Kalai’s bag into their room. “On the other hand, we might get to catch up during the family meal tonight.”
Kalai and Narny were already silently plotting with each other for their revenge against their sister who had won and refused to share the last few matchsticks when Andy finally joined their table. He was sweaty and he smelled of woodsmoke and french fries. Kalai jumped up and offered him a seat next to her with a nervous smile. He took it gratefully and seemed to sag a bit as he gulped down a glass of water.
“Andy, I think you may be finding your calling as a culinary ambassador,” Mama Aftasia beamed. “A toast to the chef!”
Andy gave a shy smile and looked down as Kalai and the rest of the family gave a hearty ‘Here, here!”
“It’s a simple enough recipe; it’s just using bison instead of cow, that’s all, and I don’t know anyone who’d turn down hand cut fresh fries. It’s kind of hard to screw up.”
“Young man, you are speaking to a woman who found a way to take cold water and dried wumpa flakes and wind up with a Class-4 fire. Cooking has always seemed like ‘blight mysticism’ to me, and these foods? These flavors? Nothing short of a Greenwood miracle in my opinion." Mama Aftasia continued her praise of Andy, which only caused him to shrink even lower in his seat.
“To be honest, I like your salmon better,” Kalai said, and the whole table went silent. Kalai held her ground though, and was rewarded with a tired but genuine laugh from Andy that brought him back out of his shell.
“You know, I do too. My Clan were fisherpeople, not buffalo chasers.” Andy gave Kalai a cheeky grin, which she returned happily, her heart glowing. Mama Aftasia and Mama Sakalbi both blinked in bemusement at Andy’s statement while Sitry just giggled.
“Speaking of which, Andy, I received a call from Elder Alex Hwatcom.” Papa Rhaxiid’s change of subject instantly perked Andy up, and he stared silently, waiting. “He extended an invitation to our family to attend his family gathering this Friday-”
“Alex said that? He used those words?” Andy shook his head in shock as he interrupted Papa Rhaxiid. The table went quiet and everyone held their breath as they looked between the two men.
Papa Rhaxiid adopted as good an impression of the human Elder as he could. “I’d like to extend an invitation for you and your family to be guests at our family gathering this saturday up at the White… something… lodge-”
“The White Ram Lodge?” Andy sat forward, interjecting again as the color drained from his face.
“Yes, that’s the one! I asked if we could bring anything since the last time they hosted us they put on that wonderful spread. He said if we could bring a few salmon for the family, that would be wonderful.”
Andy leaned back and took another sip of ice water before holding the glass to his blackened eye. “Alex Hwatcom… just invited you… to a gathering… and he told you to ‘bring a few salmon’? Do you realize what a huge honor this is?”
Rhaxiid looked from his wives to his children with mild concern. “Um, I thought it was only dinner, but your reaction tells me there’s more significance to this than I originally thought. I was thinking about our stocks of adult Sockeye, but then I remembered in his story how important King Salmon are. Of course, I’d like to defer to you for the choice since you know these animals and the cultural expectations with this invitation better than we do.”
Andy was silent for a moment before he put the glass down. “I’d recommend a ‘hard no’ to all your clone stock!” Now it was the Vaidas’ turn to be shocked, as each of Kalai’s Erbian family’s jaws dropped in synch. Before anyone could say anything, Andy continued, “You need to bring wild-caught. Farm-raised salmon wouldn’t… well we can tell, and you can taste the difference between them. We need to go fishing!” Kalai leaned towards Andy slightly as he lowered his head and started mumbling to himself. She was just able to make out what he was saying to himself as Mama Sakalbi and Mama Aftasia began whispering to each other. “...need to get the Gillnetter out of storage, check what’s running and select the mesh. I’m gonna need a deckhand too.”
Kalai reached a hand out but stopped short of touching him. “Andy?”
He popped up and spoke for the whole table to hear. “I need a shuttle to the mainland and a waiver against the fishing ban. I’ve got to get my boat and the drum ready for sea ” Rhaxiid and Aftasia sputtered in confusion, but Mama Sakalbi had a shadow fall over her, and her ears pulled back.
“Do you mean to say you want to go out on the water? Risk the ecological balance for… dinner?”
Andy looked Sakalbi dead in the eye and gave her a firm nod. “Why don’t you come out and see how we did this before you got here. Think of it as a chance to see the way we’ve fished for the last hundred or so years, and then I can explain the way we used to fish before that.”
The offer snapped Rhaxiid out of his confusion and he brightened. “A learning experience? Wonderful, we’ll make a day of it!” His hands shot out to grab both his wives’ and Kalai could feel the vibrations in the floor from where he was excitedly tapping his feet.
“If you don’t mind hard, smelly work. Uncle Willy always called it ‘the worst desk in the prettiest office.' It’ll be a bit cramped, but I’ve got room on the boat for a few guests and observers; four I think would be ok. She’s a working boat, not a pleasure cruiser,” Andy explained. That sent the whole lot of them excitedly talking among themselves.
Kalai was about to lean in to talk to Mama Aftasia, but Andy caught her attention first. “I don’t suppose you’d want to go back out on the water, given you just got back from pleasure-boating-”
Kalai’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest. “I wouldn’t miss it for my own colony planet!”
--------------------
Kalai stood on the pier, bundled in her thermal sailor’s coat. It was still dark and the wind blew from the north in a cold little morning breeze. Kalai took a deep breath and reveled in the smell of the fresh sea air. The soft chattering of Mama Sakalbi’s teeth broke the silence. “It’s a bit chillier than it said it was going to be.”
“The water always does that. It’s never as warm as the lubbers say it’ll be,” Papa spoke as he handed her back her thermos of hot chocolate.
Papa stood next to Kalai and nudged her with his elbow. Even in the dark, Kalai could see him smile up at her and jerk his head at the shivering Erbian. He was also wearing a thermal sailor’s coat, and his hands were stuffed in his pockets to keep them warm, just like Kalai’s. “Landswoman,” he whispered to her and the two of them shared a knowing smile. It was strange, but welcome when she'd told Papa about her upcoming day fishing with Andy, and he’d politely requested to join them. Papa Rhaxiid had graciously given his spot up to accommodate her birth father. Narny was all for it until Andy had explained what they were going to do, but then surrendered his challenge to the fourth guest space, not wanting to go anywhere NEAR anything that could see him come face to face with a Lion’s Mane Jelly. Sitry had done a happy little dance when she found out, but only yesterday had come down with Thistle Fever, and was bundled off to bed by her parents. It left Kalai, Mama Sakalbi, and Papa to accompany Andy on his fishing trip.
The water brushed against the shore behind them quietly. In the gloom, Kalai could just barely make out the outline of the nearest island mountain, but only because the stars had disappeared behind it. It was almost four in the morning, but Kalai had managed a catnap on the shuttle to the empty little lot that had been the boat launch. Aside from the water, the world was silent. Even the breeze made almost no noise and a sense of peace surrounded them. Everything was so calm, Kalai felt like she didn’t have a care in the world.
In the distance, a low rumbling sound of a motor rose from being almost imperceptible to a rolling drum of thunder. From around the point, two green floating lights sped through the darkness, and a spotlight turned on. The beam of light moved jerkily until it came to rest on the pier where they were standing and Kalai started waving her arms. Sakalbi’s omnipad rang, and Andy’s voice shouted over the speaker and the background noise for them to shine a light on the edge of the pier to help him park the boat.
Kalai and Papa moved closer and turned their omnipad flashlights on and waved them as the boat swung gracefully around and glided in alongside them. Kalai caught the rope that flew over the railing of the boat and she heard more than saw Andy moving around on the deck as she tied off on one of the mooring cleats. Several lights clicked on and the deck was bathed in light enough for Kalai to get a clear view of the boat they’d be spending the day on.
Andy hadn’t lied. Kalai saw that this little vessel was a working boat with no frills at all. When he’d told her they’d be going fishing, she’d envisioned something like the charter boat papa had taken her on out of Nantucket. Sporty, fast with a nod to comfort and function. This was not that at all. A giant wheel as wide as Kalai’s outstretched arms that looked like a sideways spool of thread was secured to the deck amidships and dominated the deckspace. Wrapped around it was a fluorescent green tangle with a line of oblong white and yellow corks and rope. There was a covered hatchway sitting behind the drum in front of the raised step to the enclosed cabin. Two large windows let the light out to two children’s bunks, a little table with a booth seat and a raised captain’s chair in front of the helm and engine controls. Andy shut down the engine and that peaceful stillness returned.
“Oway there!” Kalai called, “ship oway! Request permission to come aboard.” Kalai gave the traditional greeting of a Shil’vati sailor.
“Permission granted! Anyone need a stepstool?” Andy finally stepped into the light and Kalai got a look at him. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and the same bright orange coveralls she’d seen the fishmongers wearing on their date.
“I wouldn’t mind a hand, Mr. Shelokset.” Papa He’osforos braced a foot on the railing of the boat and Andy pulled him up.
“Just call me Andy, Doc, and welcome aboard. Jackie should be along any minute now with the day’s groceries, and the cabin’s out of the cold. You can get yourself set wherever you find comfortable.” Papa nodded and disappeared around the other side of the wheel moving towards the bow.
Kalai helped Mama Sakalbi into the boat next, and she quickly ducked into the cabin that took up the entire stern section save for a little ledge that ran along the outside. Andy gripped Kalai’s hand and she smiled as he pulled her deftly aboard. The boat rocked a little on its mooring, and Kalai almost fell into Andy, who wordlessly put his arms around her waist to catch her as she lost her balance. She flailed for a moment before she steadied herself against him.
“Gotcha,” Andy smiled, and Kalai could see him flush almost as much as she could feel herself doing as their noses almost touched. Those big dark brown eyes surrounded by white orbs drew her in and she felt she could lose herself in them. Kalai started as Andy danced her around him and moved her towards the cabin door.
“It might be a little cramped for you in there, but the Mary Jean wasn’t built for pleasure boating, she’s a working girl. Sit tight, I gotta check a few things in the back.” Andy patted the railing affectionately before he hopped up and scooted along the outside of the cabin towards the stern. Kalai couldn’t help the little longing groan that came out as he left her there on the little tiny quarterdeck. Her heart was hammering in her chest as half formed fantasies danced at the edges of her mind.
“I saw that, little minnow.” Papa’s voice was soft, but his tone and the sudden broken silence nearly gave her a heart attack.
Kalai could only stammer as her father stared at her with a cocked eyebrow. A thump from the cabin window behind saw an amused Mama Sakalbi daintily sipping at her thermos with her ears twitched forward in interest, staring out at her. “Papa I… he-”
Papa moved carefully around the covered hatchway to stand next to her, leaning back against the cabin window and heaved a sigh. “I must say I’m surprised. This lovely man’s got good clean lines and is very well cared for. It speaks well of his Skipper.”
It took a full minute for Kalai’s brain to process that he was talking about the boat and not Andy. “And the way Andy brought him in smooth in near complete darkness? It gives me confidence in his abilities.”
Kalai breathed a silent sigh of relief and exasperation. Although she was happy to be spending more time with her father, bringing him on what she’d hoped would be a sailing date wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind for ‘family time’. He wants me to find a nice young man and spend time with him on a boat, but the first chance I get Papa decides to clam-jam me.
From up on shore, the sound and lights of a large human vehicle screeching to a halt heralded the last of their party to arrive. Kalai heard the clomping footsteps coming down the pier and moved to the railing to lend a hand.
“Ahoy Mary Jean! Raggedy Andy, you there?” Kalai stared with wide eyed surprise to see a human female, loaded down with plastic bags and sporting two human weapons on her shoulder. The two of them locked eyes, and while Kalai didn’t understand everything the girl shouted in surprise, she had caught and understood the phrase, “What the fuck?”
“Easy now, they’re my guests, and the one inside is the boss!” Andy appeared on the pier instantly before either Kalai or the woman could react further.
“Ya didn’t tell me we were having pur-” The woman glared at Kalai and her father. She had switched to Vatikre thankfully, but her tone was hostile as she dropped everything but her weapons. “I mean, hwun’eetums, aboard. A gal could get the wrong idea pretty quick in the dark when there’s no warning.”
“Knock it off Jackie. Let’s get the grub aboard and shove off.” Andy picked up some of the bags and took the guns as Kalai offered a helping hand over the railing. “Oh, Kalai, this is Jackie. Jackie? Kalai. That’s her dad over there, Doc He’osforos. He saw and treated Kay Tee a few years back.” Andy jerked his head towards the direction of Kalai’s father as she held out a hand to the human girl. On a quick inspection, she appeared to be about the same age as her and Andy. She had a round face and was about as dark complected as Andy was. She was shorter, only a few inches taller than Papa, but when Jackie grabbed Kalai’s hand to hop up onto the rail, she could feel the strength and the compact muscle hidden by the baggy sweatshirt and pants.
“Wait a minute, did you say Mini-Me over there saw Kay Tee? You’re fuckin’ with me!” Jackie stumbled a bit as she hopped down onto the deck with a loud thunk and advanced on Papa who shrank away at her advance. “You saw li’l Kay Tee? Where the fuck is he? Is he alright? Is he still fighting the good fight?”
“Last I saw, yes, he was ‘fighting the good fight.’” Papa looked over at Andy with a slightly worried expression. Andy smacked the girl in the back of the head, causing her to flinch and she opened the door to the cabin for Andy to go inside.
Jackie rubbed the back of her head and laughed. “Well that’s a little bit of alright, innit? Maybe today’s gonna be a good day after all!”
“Jackie, get suited up and get on the bow. I need a good pair of eyes on the roller horns,” Kalai heard Andy shout from the cabin, followed by a whole lot of thumping and banging from cabinets being opened and closed.
“You got it, ol’ man. We going to your place or mine?” Jackie sidestepped in and opened a tiny little closet and pulled out a set of rain gear that was identical to what Andy was wearing. Kalai collected herself and stood in the doorway next to her father as they both leaned in.
“Mine; Chuck said the Yaw’much are running from the South. We’ll do a set nor’west of Lummi in the Rosario and see if we can get some Fraser Kings,” Andy replied as he turned the engine back on and the vessel roared to life.
“Chuck? Isn’t that one of your cousins? I didn’t know he could keep track of the movements of Salmon, may I ask how he does it?” Mama Sakalbi perked up as she pulled a set of earplugs out of a pocket and inserted them.
Andy prevaricated a bit, looking from Jackie back to Sakalbi then to Kalai and Papa. “I’d rather not answer that-”
“Breakin’ the law, breakin’ the law! Breakin’ the law, breakin’ the law!”
Jackie began singing a human song, and Andy threw her the dirtiest of looks as she finished getting into the orange coveralls. Mama Sakalbi sputtered as Andy shrugged apologetically.
“Make a hole!” Jackie called, and she and Andy came back out as Kalai and Papa made room for them. Andy hopped back onto the dock to cast off while Papa ducked into the cabin.
“Can I help?” Kalai offered as Andy shoved the vessel off and leapt the gap over the black water below.
“You want to be useful? Come forward! I could use an extra set of eyes!” Jackie called back, and Kalai felt a slap on her shoulder from the boisterous human woman.
------------------
Andy stood at the helm, watching Jackie and Kalai as he leaned to get a better view of them past the Net drum. The bow was lifting up again, and the gentle little swells became like speed bumps, jostling them up and down in a predictable bouncing rhythm.
“Are you sure you couldn’t slow down, Andy? It’s a bit rough, don’t you think?” Sakalbi was hanging on to the table and her thermos with a worried expression on her face.
“I could, but we’ll miss the morning set. We want to bomb out the buoy right when the tide changes. If we’re lucky, then we’ll get around seventy or eighty by slack tide this afternoon and call it a day.”
“How do you know where to fish?” Dr. He’osforos was making a good show of standing and maintaining his balance with his hand on the booth.
“Well, there’s two ways you know. The first is you fish the spots your family’s fished since time began. Every family has about two or three different secret spots that we know there’s fish in, and we’re pretty defensive about their locations. The second is by smell. Right now it’s the tail end of the King season, and you can smell them in the water.” Andy turned and saw the incredulity etched on the faces of the two aliens.
“No, I’m serious! King Salmon slime is really pungent, and you can smell them when they’re close to the surface. We get to the fishing spot and take a deep whiff. If we smell them, we’ll set the nets.” Andy laughed at the disbelief on their faces as the GPS on his omnipad beeped and he turned to sail around the last buoy and head for the fishing ground.
“I’ve never noticed that in any of the Kings we’ve raised-”
Andy suppressed a laugh as they caught a larger swell as they left the lee of Lummi Island. Andy reveled in the feeling of weightlessness as the deck rose up and fell out from underneath their feet, leaving everyone suspended for a moment in midair before falling back down. A massive spray of water rose and washed over the deck, drenching Kalai and Jackie, who were still forward. “Cloned and farmed Kings don’t have that same smell. Wild ones smell and taste different, I’m telling you!” Andy pulled back slightly on the throttle as they climbed the next swell. “Brace!” he called as they climbed and fell once again.
There was a look of fear on Sakalbi’s face as she gripped the table for dear life, but to Andy’s surprise, the Doctor looked completely unfazed, and was handling the rise and fall of the deck like an old salt. “You look like you’ve done this before, Doc.”
“I’ve done a stint or two at sea before,” he spoke, in the same tone Andy would have used when trying not to sound too confident, and Andy smiled.
“Kalai keeps talking about loving the sea and sailing. Did you teach her to sail?”
“Yes, me and her mothers. When they were home, we would take the family yacht out in the Vaascon Straits and sail around the Occidiens. Kalai practically spent all her early childhood on a sailboat.”
“And almost every waking moment on one in Junior Academy. I swear you couldn’t dig her out with a trowel when she wanted to go sailing,” Sakalbi managed to add in a word as the boat slowed, and the dramatic rise and fall of the deck slowed with it.
“What about you, Mr. Shelokset, did your father teach you to sail too?”
“I was too young before he passed. My Great Uncle Willy taught me after I came home, and Grandma took me out to the family fishing sites when she wasn’t busy with the Council. For the first two or three years after they let us come home, fishing was the only way to feed our families, but the Militia and the Cambrians would try and sink our boats or arrest us whenever we tried to go out.”
“And that’s why you’re so good at maneuvering your vessel in the dark with no instruments?” Mrs. Vaida had folded her arms, and her voice twinged with that imperious tone she’d had when they’d first met.
Andy huffed a dry laugh. “I did what I had to for me and my people and to survive, Ma’am. I don’t like breaking the law or dodging lasers and gunfire, but there’s a lot of poor families that need to eat.”
The GPS beeped, and Andy gave Mrs. Vaida a slightly defiant look to counter her furrowed brow. “We’re here,” he said as he threw the engine in neutral and opened the cabin door.
Andy walked out and took a deep breath, but all he could smell was the net and the exhaust from the engine. “HEY JACKIE! WE SMELL MONEY?” Andy yelled out as he took stock of the sky. The first signs of sunrise were chasing all but the morning stars away and a light fog was rolling in from the north.
“FUCK YEAH I CAN SMELL ‘EM, ANDY! LET’S BOMB OUT AND GET BREAKFAST GOING!” Jackie looked slightly manic as she smiled brightly. Kalai, on the other hand, looked wet and miserable as she shivered, arms wrapped around herself. Andy gave his cousin a disgusted look as he pieced together what had happened. Every deckhand learned when to duck behind the raised bow and the roller horns that guided the nets so as not to get a faceful of spray when cutting through a swell. It was also a classic hazing trick for Senior Deckhands to let Junior Deckhands learn this the hard way.
Andy moved forward to stand in front of the two of them. Kalai was trying to squeeze her coat dry, but Andy knew it wouldn’t do much good until the sun came out. Jackie at least had the sense to look a little remorseful. “Kalai, why don’t you go sit in the cabin and get out of that wet coat. It’s cold enough out here even for us-”
“No way, Andy. Junior deckhand Kally here wants to impress you and get her dainty soft hands dirty! She’s been bragging about being a sailorwoman and wants to learn to fish ‘your way!” Jackie gave Kalai’s shoulder a wet slap as the poor alien woman went blue. Out of cold or embarrassment, Andy couldn’t tell.
All Andy could do was shake his head and huff. “Ok then! Secure the buoy and sling on my mark. I’ll get us in position!” Andy couldn’t help but chuckle as he heard Jackie start ordering Kalai about. Andy went back into the cabin and looked in the closet/bathroom to see if there was anything hanging up that he could give Kalai. There was only the one rain slicker and a few of Andy’s old sweaters from when he was a lot smaller. Well, looks like I’ll just be cold today. He quickly stripped out of his sweatshirt and grabbed the slicker before throwing a switch on the main control. Dr. He’osforos and Mrs. Vaida threw him quizzical looks as he went back outside wearing less than when he came in. He was down to a sleeveless shirt and his coveralls, and the morning breeze cut right through him and he braced his jaw to keep it from chattering.
“We’re ready to go- Andy, why are you practically naked from the waist up?” Kalai was staring wide eyed at him as he approached her and Jackie was on the bow. Jackie had everything ready; the buoy line was strung through the horns and ready to toss out. A giant orange and blue beach ball sized float hung at the end of the line to mark the end and make it easier to pick up later.
“Trade me your coat for these. If Jackie’s putting you to work, you’ll need these to keep warm.”
“I’m alright, I can-”
“I’m the Skipper of this boat, and I’m ordering you to take off that wet coat and put these on; and Jackie?” Andy gave his cousin a long and piercing look. “Give her the elbow gloves, not the halfsies.”
The scoff and the muttered Salishian profanities meant he’d read the next prank she’d had in mind right. She was planning on giving her the cloth gloves with only the palms and fingers coated in rubber. While perfectly fine for fishing, Andy knew they tended to get soaked through very quickly and did nothing to keep jellyfish stingers and fish slime off your hands. Kalai sputtered for a moment before she complied gratefully and she accepted the dry clothes and rain slicker.
Andy saw Jackie give him a strange look before looking back at Kalai, but he paid it no mind. He walked back to the controls on the drum and switched off the hydraulics, placing the mechanism in neutral. “SLING IT!” Andy called as he took the small jerry rigged steering wheel and threw the boat in reverse. Kalai jumped as the line started unspooling the net into the water at a rapid pace.
Andy set an ‘S’ bend in the quarter mile long net, zigzagging backwards until they came to the end of the line. Andy stopped the boat as Jackie tied off the other large buoy and tossed it over the side, unstringing the cork-line from the roller horns in the process. He pulled hard over and put a bit of distance from the net before shutting the engine down. The line of white and yellow corks marking the net bobbed lazily with the swells as silence settled over the water again. The waves rocked the boat gently as Andy found his sea legs again.
“Alright, I’ll get breakfast going. Jackie, Kalai? Post the watch for seals,” Andy called as he walked back into the cabin to fire up the tiny little gas stove.
Sakalbi, having found the confidence to stand at last, poked her head out of the cabin and stood on by the hatch to the fish hold. “Seals? Why would you need to watch for seals?”
Andy grit his teeth and looked over from where he was cracking open and scrambling eggs. “They’re the spawn of Satan and we hate their guts!” Andy bit out. Jackie came back and pulled the two shotguns and a pair of binoculars from the closet. Andy reached over to a side cabinet and pulled out a box of shells for them. Both his boss and the Doctor’s eyes got wide.
“Seals are the enemy of our blood. Were it not for the invasion, our unending war against these vermin would continue to this day!” Jackie growled as she loaded one for herself and rested the other on Andy’s seat at the helm.
The look of growing horror on Sakalbi’s face towards their facetious declarations caused Andy to chuckle a bit, before launching into an explanation. “We’re not fans of the species because they’ll wait until a fish gets caught in the net and then they’ll steal it, costing us a fish AND ripping a big hole in our nets that we then have to take time to repair. We use the shotguns and buckshot to give them a nice welt and convince them not to hang around, because they’ll wait up on the surface and watch the buoys, just like us. A single seal can and will take between five and ten fish. The worst is when they start getting full, they’ll just bite out the bellies of a salmon in the net. We can’t really do anything with that fish once it’s ‘seal-bit’. So yes, as fishermen, we hate them.”
“Learned opportunism in apex predators as a response to human activity… I think I’ll go see this behavior for myself!” Sakalbi practically rushed out the door towards the bow where Jackie was sitting on the roller horns explaining to Kalai how to spot the bastards, leaving Andy alone in the cabin with the Doctor while he cooked breakfast for them all.
Dr. He’osforos sat down heavily in the booth and pulled out his omnipad. “I’ve had a word with my friend in the Interior. She’s pulled the warrant for your brother, and I’ve withdrawn the charges I filed.”
Andy froze and turned around slowly. The only sound was the sizzle and pop of the eggs and chorizo that he’d added to them in the skillet. “You mean… it’s done? He can come home?” A wave of light headed euphoria swept over Andy and he swayed with the gentle rocking of the boat. “I will pay you back, Doc-”
The doctor held up his hand and stopped Andy. “We’ll call it even, but there’s something… I was able to get my hands on this,” Andy watched as the doctor swiped something towards his omnipad and it dinged. “What is it if I may-”
“Are you really asking an Indian to tell you a story? Because it’s going to be a long one if you are.” “I’m Sevastutavan, young man; we invented long stories.”
Andy froze and stared at the screen of his omnipad. The Vatikre was heavily accented, and Andy had a bit of trouble with the unfamiliar accent, but centered in the frame in a hospital room, sitting in a wheelchair, was a Salishian boy. Andy blinked in surprise as he stared at the screen. “Is that-”
“I am Ikw’is’hi’ehlah, and this bearer is… of the Orca Clan Sheloksets. I drove our Haida enemies onto the rocks and took many heads when they attacked our winter village on Orcas Island. I signed the Treaty with the Great White Father and I fought against the slavers of the south-”
Andy wanted to grab the omnipad but the smell of overcooking eggs brought his attention back to breakfast and Andy stirred and scrapped the food quickly, trying to save it.
“I asked her for any materials she could give me on your brother. Pictures, recordings, anything. This is what she gave me. It's the last known recording of your brother during an interrogation conducted by a Navy Commissar prior to his escape. It seems he made friends with a Pod of Deaths Head Commandos. Quite a bit of the recording has been redacted, but… there are portions of it where he talks about his family and his history. I thought you might like to have it.”
Andy hurriedly pulled out paper plates and a slice of bread for everyone and scooped a heaping portion of the chorizo eggs onto them. He handed the doctor his before leaning out the cabin door. “Slop’s on, come and get it!”
Andy sat down after moving the shotgun out of the way and started the video over again as the three women came back to grab their plates and lost himself watching his brother start telling his story.
“What’s that?” Andy heard Kalai ask over his shoulder, and he paused the video.
“That’s my brother! That’s Kay Tee!”
“Holy shit, what?” Jackie nearly shoved Kalai into Andy as she jammed her bread slice down her gullet and crowded in to see the screen.
Andy started the video over a second time and they watched in silence. “God, that brings back memories. Back when mom was still alive and before we broke up the warband. I can’t believe that slippery little punk ghosted a pod of Commandos for two fucking years! Holy shit, that’s badass!”
Before Andy could say anything, Sakalbi started coughing and brought the binoculars up. “Uh, Andy? Jackie? What do we do about sharks?”
Jackie looked at Andy in confusion. “Sharks? There’s nothing but Dogs around here.”
“Well those are shark fins and they’re charging the net!” Sakalbi pointed and Andy looked up to see dorsal fins charging the center of the net.
Andy looked at Jackie and spoke the same words in tandem, “Oh shit!”
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To be posted 6/4/23
2023.05.28 04:51 GetTherapyBham Nothing Gold Can Stay: A thought experiment about money, wealth, power and the psychology of economy.
It is important to note that this article is only a thought experiment for the purposes of reconsidering our implicit assumptions and societal conceptions of the necessities for civilization and what is “normal” behavior for humans. In the article about mysticism I pointed out that I was a psychotherapist not a theologian. Here I need to point out that I am not an economist either. This thought experiment is not advocating for any kind of specific new political or economic reality. Instead it is a way to reconsider the things we take for granted and meditate on new ideas that might allow us to conceive of a healthier and more stable society.
If we didn’t have gold what would money look like?
If we didnt have nonperishable precious metals like gold and silver, what would money look like. There are not many other goods we can make hold value in such a small and convenient package like gold, platinum, and silver to a lesser extent do. All the noble metals have a high luster, malleability, and do not spoil with age. How would society store value without them?
Well there are a couple examples of how money developed in places without gold. My favorite is an island called Yap where there was little to no money. Instead native Yapese used 20ft tall limestone disks that weighed hundreds of pounds. So how did this money work? How do you put a 200 lb stone in a vending machine or slide it across a bar?
The Yapese never moved the stones they used as money. Instead they kept an oral and collective ledger of who owned what stones. Money that can’t fit in your wallet might seem like a crazy idea, but think of how your debit card works. There is a collective ledger somewhere out there that changes every time you slide your card even though no physical money is moved.
How did Yap money work?
On the island of Yap, the acquisition and distribution of rai stones were closely tied to prestige and social merit. The process of awarding rai stones was based on various factors that reflected an individual’s status, achievements, and contributions to the community.
The primary means of acquiring rai stones was through social recognition and acknowledgment of an individual’s accomplishments. These accomplishments could include successful leadership, acts of bravery, or notable achievements in various fields such as agriculture, craftsmanship, or diplomacy. The more esteemed and respected an individual was within the community, the higher the likelihood of receiving rai stones.
The recognition and awarding of rai stones were often carried out through public ceremonies and gatherings. These events provided a platform for the community to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of an individual. The stones were typically presented by influential community leaders or elders who acted as the arbiters of social merit.
It’s important to note that the awarding of rai stones was not a purely individualistic pursuit but rather a collective decision that reflected the consensus of the community. The opinions and judgments of community members, particularly those in positions of authority or with significant influence, played a crucial role in determining the social merit of an individual and their eligibility to receive rai stones.
The rai stones bestowed upon an individual were not meant to be hoarded or accumulated solely for personal wealth. Instead, they served as symbols of prestige and social standing. The possession of rai stones demonstrated an individual’s contributions to the community and their ability to garner respect and admiration.
The Yapese monetary system served as tangible representations of honor and status, reinforcing the social fabric and common good of Yapese society.
So in answer to the original question “How could society store value without gold?” We would store it through a reputation system rewarding benevolence, generosity and innovation. The people who gave back to society the most would be awarded the most value in the form of reputation, not by how many precious metals they owned.
How did gold change our conceptions of society and culture?
Gold has long fascinated humanity with its allure and intrinsic non-perishable value. The presence of gold on Earth almost did not happen at all. If there were a few changes to astrophysical geometry you may not have been able to buy gold jewelry in the store. So, why is there gold on earth?
The symbolism of gold in mythology usually relates to to the concept of the Self, a central archetype in Jungian psychology representing the totality of the psyche. Because the ancients associated gold with being so rare and so precious, it came to represent knowledge of the authentic and hiddens self. Fair tales that have to do with reclaiming a lost treasure are metaphors for self discovery and reclaiming lost parts of our identity. In fairy tales, gold often appears in the form of a golden key, a golden crown, or a golden apple, serving as a powerful symbol of the transformative potential of self-knowledge. These objects are typically guarded by mythical creatures or hidden in remote locations, emphasizing the arduous nature of the journey towards self-understanding.
The origins of gold as an element on planet earth trace back to the formation of the universe itself. In the earliest moments following the Big Bang, only light elements such as hydrogen and helium were present. It was within the cores of massive stars, through the process of stellar nucleosynthesis, that heavier elements like gold began to take shape. These elements were forged through the fusion of lighter nuclei in the intense heat and pressure of stellar environments.
As these massive stars reached the end of their lives, they supernovae explosions. These scattered their noble metal enriched contents into space. The remnants of these supernovae, containing elements like gold, spread across the cosmos in the form of dust and gas. This dust and gas later condensed into rocky masses of meteors that had high concentrations of gold.
The earth itself almost had no gold. While the primordial Earth held minuscule amounts of gold, it was not until later stages of our planet’s evolution that the precious metal became concentrated enough for us to mine or value them. The late heavy bombardment period, around 4 billion years ago, witnessed a barrage of meteoritic impacts bombarding the Earth’s surface. These meteorites, originating from various sources within the solar system, carried with them a wealth of elements, including gold.
If it was not for this coincidental bombardment of asteroids there never would have been enough gold on earth for you to wear gold jewelry. There certainly would not have been enough for us to use as money, let alone build a monetary system around. So what would have happened if we never associated gold with money, power, or value?
Why is gold associated with money and currency
Gold is durable, divisible, and portable, making it an ideal medium of exchange. Additionally, gold has intrinsic value due to its luster malleability and non reactivity to other elements, which further contributed to its use as a form of currency.
The use of metal coins as a form of money emerged around 600 BCE in ancient Lydia (present-day Turkey). These coins were made from precious metals like gold, silver, and bronze, and their value was determined by their weight and purity. Gold, due to its scarcity and durability, became a preferred choice for coinage.
Over time, gold became widely accepted as a standard for money. Its scarcity, divisibility, portability, and resistance to corrosion made it an ideal medium of exchange. Gold coins became a trusted and standardized unit of value in many ancient civilizations, including the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Persians.
In medieval Europe, goldsmiths played a crucial role in the evolution of money and debt. People entrusted their gold and other valuable assets to goldsmiths for safekeeping. In return, the goldsmiths issued receipts, which could be used as a claim to the deposited gold. These receipts gradually started circulating as a form of paper money or representative money. This practice laid the foundation for early banking systems and the issuance of paper-based instruments representing value.
The concept of the gold standard gained prominence during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Under the gold standard, the value of a country’s currency was tied to a fixed amount of gold. Governments held gold reserves to back their currency, and individuals could exchange paper money for gold at a predetermined rate. The gold standard provided stability and confidence in the currency, as the money supply was limited by the availability of gold.
The gold standard era began to decline during the 20th century, particularly after World War I. The need for increased flexibility in monetary policy, and the costs associated with maintaining gold reserves led many countries to move away from the gold standard. Gradually, most countries shifted to fiat money, where the value of the currency is not backed by a physical commodity but rather by the trust and confidence in the government issuing it. This meant that even though there was scarcity and competition for money like there had been for gold, money was no longer backed by anything real.
Put simply, even though we do not use gold as currency or the basis for the economy any more, gold still informs our ideas about money and power. Even new forms of money like crypto currencies and NFTs are based on these old notions of scarcity that come from our ancient relationship to gold. Our ideas about money, debt scarcity and our relationship to power are informed greatly by the function that gold has played in our economy.
What does money without gold look like?
In isolated or preindustrial societies, without gold, people had an understanding that resources were meant to be shared and distributed evenly. When a need arose in society others met the need with gifts or loans. The understanding in these cultures was that safety was found in generosity and compassion not hoarded material goods. They took care of others because when they need help others will take care of them. Social merit functioned like a kind of insurance.
In these barter, communal, and gift economies power does not become the most precious resource. Instead reputation and social merit become the most precious resources. Because wealth and value cannot be hoarded materially then society allows for individuals to accrue value by being useful, inventive and generous. These systems reward people who innovate and live compassionately because societal regard becomes the most important resource, not electronic debt or precious metals.
This is because things like food, clothing and tools often degrade and lose value over time. There is no way to horde wealth because all things that contain value slowly lose that value if they are hoarded. When there is no way to horde wealth with precious metals or an electronic debt ledger, then everything is depreciating all the time. In these cultures money and value are always trending back to equality because everything is losing value all the time.
People are incentivized to share and live communally in gift economies because clout and reputation become more valuable than any good or service. These systems are empowering because when needs arise society is naturally incentivized to meet those needs not ignore them. Material wealth is always decreasing in value so social wealth has more value. Value is stored in the social ledger of reputation not a material ledger of debt.
In debt and precious metal based systems value is disempowering because wealth tends to snowball. The people with more money have access to more power and likely use that power to get even more money ad infinitum. In these systems society is incentivized to ignore others’ problems because the endless competition is for non-perishable money that increases in value, not reputation for being a benefit to society. Actually, in this system other people’s problems are a GOOD thing for me because they mean others have less power and are less likely to get the money we are all in competition for.
Why does the non-perishable nature of precious metals like gold lead to scarcity, competition and inequality?
The scarcity of precious metals allowed individuals and institutions to accumulate and hoard wealth, creating disparities in the distribution of resources. The accumulation of gold and other precious metals became a means of showcasing one’s economic power and social status. This concentration of wealth in the hands of a few individuals or entities often led to economic inequality, with limited access to resources for the majority of the population. It also led to imperial wars and conflict. This happens when the purpose of a society becomes hoarding power instead of building sustainable or equitable systems.
Is there an alternative system?
What did non industrial societies do before there was gold?
Barter and gift economies operate on different principles that can have positive psychological and environmental effects. In a barter economy, individuals engage in direct exchange, which fosters social interaction and builds relationships within communities. The act of bartering requires individuals to negotiate and understand each other’s needs, creating a sense of cooperation and interdependence.
Gift economies, where goods and services are given without the expectation of an immediate return, promote social cohesion and reinforce communal bonds. By focusing on reciprocity and sharing, gift economies prioritize the well-being of the community as a whole rather than individual accumulation of wealth. This can contribute to a sense of psychological well-being and social harmony.
Moreover, both barter and gift economies can be more environmentally sustainable compared to the hoarding of precious metals or debt based systems. These systems rely on the utilization of resources within the community, promoting local production and reducing the environmental impact of long-distance trade. In debt based systems production is outsourced to the cheapest place where the workers have the least power.
While the nonperishable nature of precious metals like gold has shaped a scarcity-based money system conducive to wealth hoarding, alternative economic systems such as barter and gift economies offer psychological and environmental advantages. These systems promote social cohesion, reduce economic disparities, and foster sustainable resource utilization.
Key Characteristics of a Gift Economy:
Gift Circulation:
The primary mode of exchange in a gift economy is the circulation of gifts. People give goods, services, or resources to others without an explicit agreement for immediate return or compensation. The act of giving is motivated by social bonds, altruism, and the desire to contribute to the well-being of others.
Social Relationships and Trust:
Gift economies are deeply rooted in social relationships. Trust and reciprocity play a vital role in sustaining the system. Gifts are not seen as isolated transactions but rather as a way to build and maintain social connections within a community or group.
Non-Monetary Transactions:
Unlike traditional market economies where goods and services are exchanged for money, a gift economy operates outside the realm of formalized monetary transactions. The value of gifts is not determined by their market price or exchange value but rather by the relationships and meaning attached to them.
Abundance Mindset:
A gift economy often operates on the assumption of abundance rather than scarcity. It is based on the belief that there are enough resources and goods to meet the needs of individuals and the community as a whole. The act of giving is seen as a way to create and reinforce a sense of abundance and well-being.
Social Obligations and Prestige:
In gift economies, there are social obligations and expectations associated with giving and receiving. Individuals are motivated to contribute and give back to the community, as failing to do so can lead to reputational consequences. The act of giving and generosity often brings prestige, respect, and social recognition within the community.
Reciprocity and Sharing:
While direct reciprocity is not expected or demanded in a gift economy, there is a general understanding of the importance of reciprocity over time. Recipients of gifts may feel an obligation to reciprocate or share their own gifts with others in the future, creating a cycle of giving and receiving.
In Conclusion:
Economic systems that prioritize collaboration, generosity, and a departure from the notions of individuality, competition, ego, and scarcity can indeed contribute to mental well-being and foster a more harmonious society. One such alternative economic concept is the idea of gift economies, which emphasizes the practice of generosity and the exchange of resources without the expectation of immediate reciprocation.
What’s the point?
We assume that ways that our culture and systems works are the only ways it can work. This can limit our intuition, creativity, and stifle our ability to imagine a better world. What if those asteroids had missed our planet billions of years ago and dumped that gold into the black void of space? Would our culture or monetary system look anything like it does now? Again the point of this article is not to change the monetary system. Instead it is to reflect about how and why we assign value and purpose in our lives and culture. It is a reflection on what money means to a society and the way those implicit assumptions affect our psychology and well being.
Many people misquote the bible that “money is the root of all evil” however that is not what it says. The quote is that the “love” of money is the root of all evil. We all interact with money daily but rarely think about what it is and that the way we think about money changes the role it plays in our lives and how we behave.
We often talk about values in an abstract and hollow way in politics, religion and identity. We seldom talk or think about what value itself actually is. How do we decide what has worth to us and what doesn’t. These assumptions about what is valuable and good and what the point of our societies should be is often based on outdated and unhealthy assumptions it does not occur to us to reconsider. By moving away from a mindset that prioritizes individual accumulation, gift economies encourage a sense of collective responsibility and interconnectedness. This shift in perspective can have positive effects on mental health, promoting a sense of belonging, trust, and reduced feelings of isolation, paranoia or competition.
Most of the patients that I see suffer from a profound sense of separation and disconnection. Our civilization would benefit from assuming the intrinsic value of all beings and the importance of meeting collective needs rather than amassing individual wealth. Not just in economics but in our lives we should prioritize collaboration, generosity, and move away from the emphasis on individuality, competition, ego, and scarcity. What a person or society values is one of the best indicators of who they are. Reflect on where you unconsciously place value and what that says about you. We have limited time on earth and it is important to stay in touch with what we want the purpose of our life to be. Where does your worth lie?
Read more articles like this one @ GetTherapyBirmingham.com
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If we didn’t have gold what would money look like?
If we didnt have nonperishable precious metals like gold and silver, what would money look like. There are not many other goods we can make hold value in such a small and convenient package like gold, platinum, and silver to a lesser extent do. All the noble metals have a high luster, malleability, and do not spoil with age. How would society store value without them?
Well there are a couple examples of how money developed in places without gold. My favorite is an island called Yap where there was little to no money. Instead native Yapese used 20ft tall limestone disks that weighed hundreds of pounds. So how did this money work? How do you put a 200 lb stone in a vending machine or slide it across a bar?
The Yapese never moved the stones they used as money. Instead they kept an oral and collective ledger of who owned what stones. Money that can’t fit in your wallet might seem like a crazy idea, but think of how your debit card works. There is a collective ledger somewhere out there that changes every time you slide your card even though no physical money is moved.
How did Yap money work?
On the island of Yap, the acquisition and distribution of rai stones were closely tied to prestige and social merit. The process of awarding rai stones was based on various factors that reflected an individual’s status, achievements, and contributions to the community.
The primary means of acquiring rai stones was through social recognition and acknowledgment of an individual’s accomplishments. These accomplishments could include successful leadership, acts of bravery, or notable achievements in various fields such as agriculture, craftsmanship, or diplomacy. The more esteemed and respected an individual was within the community, the higher the likelihood of receiving rai stones.
The recognition and awarding of rai stones were often carried out through public ceremonies and gatherings. These events provided a platform for the community to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of an individual. The stones were typically presented by influential community leaders or elders who acted as the arbiters of social merit.
It’s important to note that the awarding of rai stones was not a purely individualistic pursuit but rather a collective decision that reflected the consensus of the community. The opinions and judgments of community members, particularly those in positions of authority or with significant influence, played a crucial role in determining the social merit of an individual and their eligibility to receive rai stones.
The rai stones bestowed upon an individual were not meant to be hoarded or accumulated solely for personal wealth. Instead, they served as symbols of prestige and social standing. The possession of rai stones demonstrated an individual’s contributions to the community and their ability to garner respect and admiration.
The Yapese monetary system served as tangible representations of honor and status, reinforcing the social fabric and common good of Yapese society.
So in answer to the original question “How could society store value without gold?” We would store it through a reputation system rewarding benevolence, generosity and innovation. The people who gave back to society the most would be awarded the most value in the form of reputation, not by how many precious metals they owned.
How did gold change our conceptions of society and culture?
Gold has long fascinated humanity with its allure and intrinsic non-perishable value. The presence of gold on Earth almost did not happen at all. If there were a few changes to astrophysical geometry you may not have been able to buy gold jewelry in the store. So, why is there gold on earth?
The symbolism of gold in mythology usually relates to to the concept of the Self, a central archetype in Jungian psychology representing the totality of the psyche. Because the ancients associated gold with being so rare and so precious, it came to represent knowledge of the authentic and hiddens self. Fair tales that have to do with reclaiming a lost treasure are metaphors for self discovery and reclaiming lost parts of our identity. In fairy tales, gold often appears in the form of a golden key, a golden crown, or a golden apple, serving as a powerful symbol of the transformative potential of self-knowledge. These objects are typically guarded by mythical creatures or hidden in remote locations, emphasizing the arduous nature of the journey towards self-understanding.
The origins of gold as an element on planet earth trace back to the formation of the universe itself. In the earliest moments following the Big Bang, only light elements such as hydrogen and helium were present. It was within the cores of massive stars, through the process of stellar nucleosynthesis, that heavier elements like gold began to take shape. These elements were forged through the fusion of lighter nuclei in the intense heat and pressure of stellar environments.
As these massive stars reached the end of their lives, they supernovae explosions. These scattered their noble metal enriched contents into space. The remnants of these supernovae, containing elements like gold, spread across the cosmos in the form of dust and gas. This dust and gas later condensed into rocky masses of meteors that had high concentrations of gold.
The earth itself almost had no gold. While the primordial Earth held minuscule amounts of gold, it was not until later stages of our planet’s evolution that the precious metal became concentrated enough for us to mine or value them. The late heavy bombardment period, around 4 billion years ago, witnessed a barrage of meteoritic impacts bombarding the Earth’s surface. These meteorites, originating from various sources within the solar system, carried with them a wealth of elements, including gold.
If it was not for this coincidental bombardment of asteroids there never would have been enough gold on earth for you to wear gold jewelry. There certainly would not have been enough for us to use as money, let alone build a monetary system around. So what would have happened if we never associated gold with money, power, or value?
Why is gold associated with money and currency
Gold is durable, divisible, and portable, making it an ideal medium of exchange. Additionally, gold has intrinsic value due to its luster malleability and non reactivity to other elements, which further contributed to its use as a form of currency.
The use of metal coins as a form of money emerged around 600 BCE in ancient Lydia (present-day Turkey). These coins were made from precious metals like gold, silver, and bronze, and their value was determined by their weight and purity. Gold, due to its scarcity and durability, became a preferred choice for coinage.
Over time, gold became widely accepted as a standard for money. Its scarcity, divisibility, portability, and resistance to corrosion made it an ideal medium of exchange. Gold coins became a trusted and standardized unit of value in many ancient civilizations, including the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Persians.
In medieval Europe, goldsmiths played a crucial role in the evolution of money and debt. People entrusted their gold and other valuable assets to goldsmiths for safekeeping. In return, the goldsmiths issued receipts, which could be used as a claim to the deposited gold. These receipts gradually started circulating as a form of paper money or representative money. This practice laid the foundation for early banking systems and the issuance of paper-based instruments representing value.
The concept of the gold standard gained prominence during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Under the gold standard, the value of a country’s currency was tied to a fixed amount of gold. Governments held gold reserves to back their currency, and individuals could exchange paper money for gold at a predetermined rate. The gold standard provided stability and confidence in the currency, as the money supply was limited by the availability of gold.
The gold standard era began to decline during the 20th century, particularly after World War I. The need for increased flexibility in monetary policy, and the costs associated with maintaining gold reserves led many countries to move away from the gold standard. Gradually, most countries shifted to fiat money, where the value of the currency is not backed by a physical commodity but rather by the trust and confidence in the government issuing it. This meant that even though there was scarcity and competition for money like there had been for gold, money was no longer backed by anything real.
Put simply, even though we do not use gold as currency or the basis for the economy any more, gold still informs our ideas about money and power. Even new forms of money like crypto currencies and NFTs are based on these old notions of scarcity that come from our ancient relationship to gold. Our ideas about money, debt scarcity and our relationship to power are informed greatly by the function that gold has played in our economy.
What does money without gold look like?
In isolated or preindustrial societies, without gold, people had an understanding that resources were meant to be shared and distributed evenly. When a need arose in society others met the need with gifts or loans. The understanding in these cultures was that safety was found in generosity and compassion not hoarded material goods. They took care of others because when they need help others will take care of them. Social merit functioned like a kind of insurance.
In these barter, communal, and gift economies power does not become the most precious resource. Instead reputation and social merit become the most precious resources. Because wealth and value cannot be hoarded materially then society allows for individuals to accrue value by being useful, inventive and generous. These systems reward people who innovate and live compassionately because societal regard becomes the most important resource, not electronic debt or precious metals.
This is because things like food, clothing and tools often degrade and lose value over time. There is no way to horde wealth because all things that contain value slowly lose that value if they are hoarded. When there is no way to horde wealth with precious metals or an electronic debt ledger, then everything is depreciating all the time. In these cultures money and value are always trending back to equality because everything is losing value all the time.
People are incentivized to share and live communally in gift economies because clout and reputation become more valuable than any good or service. These systems are empowering because when needs arise society is naturally incentivized to meet those needs not ignore them. Material wealth is always decreasing in value so social wealth has more value. Value is stored in the social ledger of reputation not a material ledger of debt.
In debt and precious metal based systems value is disempowering because wealth tends to snowball. The people with more money have access to more power and likely use that power to get even more money ad infinitum. In these systems society is incentivized to ignore others’ problems because the endless competition is for non-perishable money that increases in value, not reputation for being a benefit to society. Actually, in this system other people’s problems are a GOOD thing for me because they mean others have less power and are less likely to get the money we are all in competition for.
Why does the non-perishable nature of precious metals like gold lead to scarcity, competition and inequality?
The scarcity of precious metals allowed individuals and institutions to accumulate and hoard wealth, creating disparities in the distribution of resources. The accumulation of gold and other precious metals became a means of showcasing one’s economic power and social status. This concentration of wealth in the hands of a few individuals or entities often led to economic inequality, with limited access to resources for the majority of the population. It also led to imperial wars and conflict. This happens when the purpose of a society becomes hoarding power instead of building sustainable or equitable systems.
Is there an alternative system?
What did non industrial societies do before there was gold?
Barter and gift economies operate on different principles that can have positive psychological and environmental effects. In a barter economy, individuals engage in direct exchange, which fosters social interaction and builds relationships within communities. The act of bartering requires individuals to negotiate and understand each other’s needs, creating a sense of cooperation and interdependence.
Gift economies, where goods and services are given without the expectation of an immediate return, promote social cohesion and reinforce communal bonds. By focusing on reciprocity and sharing, gift economies prioritize the well-being of the community as a whole rather than individual accumulation of wealth. This can contribute to a sense of psychological well-being and social harmony.
Moreover, both barter and gift economies can be more environmentally sustainable compared to the hoarding of precious metals or debt based systems. These systems rely on the utilization of resources within the community, promoting local production and reducing the environmental impact of long-distance trade. In debt based systems production is outsourced to the cheapest place where the workers have the least power.
While the nonperishable nature of precious metals like gold has shaped a scarcity-based money system conducive to wealth hoarding, alternative economic systems such as barter and gift economies offer psychological and environmental advantages. These systems promote social cohesion, reduce economic disparities, and foster sustainable resource utilization.
Key Characteristics of a Gift Economy:
Gift Circulation:
The primary mode of exchange in a gift economy is the circulation of gifts. People give goods, services, or resources to others without an explicit agreement for immediate return or compensation. The act of giving is motivated by social bonds, altruism, and the desire to contribute to the well-being of others.
Social Relationships and Trust:
Gift economies are deeply rooted in social relationships. Trust and reciprocity play a vital role in sustaining the system. Gifts are not seen as isolated transactions but rather as a way to build and maintain social connections within a community or group.
Non-Monetary Transactions:
Unlike traditional market economies where goods and services are exchanged for money, a gift economy operates outside the realm of formalized monetary transactions. The value of gifts is not determined by their market price or exchange value but rather by the relationships and meaning attached to them.
Abundance Mindset:
A gift economy often operates on the assumption of abundance rather than scarcity. It is based on the belief that there are enough resources and goods to meet the needs of individuals and the community as a whole. The act of giving is seen as a way to create and reinforce a sense of abundance and well-being.
Social Obligations and Prestige:
In gift economies, there are social obligations and expectations associated with giving and receiving. Individuals are motivated to contribute and give back to the community, as failing to do so can lead to reputational consequences. The act of giving and generosity often brings prestige, respect, and social recognition within the community.
Reciprocity and Sharing:
While direct reciprocity is not expected or demanded in a gift economy, there is a general understanding of the importance of reciprocity over time. Recipients of gifts may feel an obligation to reciprocate or share their own gifts with others in the future, creating a cycle of giving and receiving.
In Conclusion:
Economic systems that prioritize collaboration, generosity, and a departure from the notions of individuality, competition, ego, and scarcity can indeed contribute to mental well-being and foster a more harmonious society. One such alternative economic concept is the idea of gift economies, which emphasizes the practice of generosity and the exchange of resources without the expectation of immediate reciprocation.
What’s the point?
We assume that ways that our culture and systems works are the only ways it can work. This can limit our intuition, creativity, and stifle our ability to imagine a better world. What if those asteroids had missed our planet billions of years ago and dumped that gold into the black void of space? Would our culture or monetary system look anything like it does now? Again the point of this article is not to change the monetary system. Instead it is to reflect about how and why we assign value and purpose in our lives and culture. It is a reflection on what money means to a society and the way those implicit assumptions affect our psychology and well being.
Many people misquote the bible that “money is the root of all evil” however that is not what it says. The quote is that the “love” of money is the root of all evil. We all interact with money daily but rarely think about what it is and that the way we think about money changes the role it plays in our lives and how we behave.
We often talk about values in an abstract and hollow way in politics, religion and identity. We seldom talk or think about what value itself actually is. How do we decide what has worth to us and what doesn’t. These assumptions about what is valuable and good and what the point of our societies should be is often based on outdated and unhealthy assumptions it does not occur to us to reconsider. By moving away from a mindset that prioritizes individual accumulation, gift economies encourage a sense of collective responsibility and interconnectedness. This shift in perspective can have positive effects on mental health, promoting a sense of belonging, trust, and reduced feelings of isolation, paranoia or competition.
Most of the patients that I see suffer from a profound sense of separation and disconnection. Our civilization would benefit from assuming the intrinsic value of all beings and the importance of meeting collective needs rather than amassing individual wealth. Not just in economics but in our lives we should prioritize collaboration, generosity, and move away from the emphasis on individuality, competition, ego, and scarcity. What a person or society values is one of the best indicators of who they are. Reflect on where you unconsciously place value and what that says about you. We have limited time on earth and it is important to stay in touch with what we want the purpose of our life to be. Where does your worth lie?
Read more articles like this one @ GetTherapyBirmingham.com
2023.05.28 04:39 Assturbation Ranking all phase 4 Marvel movies (correcting for recency and other biases)? [Spoilers maybe]
So even though I watched Guardians 3 last night, I'm going to try and be as objective about the parameters i'm setting up for how to rank and rate these movies. Here they are: Rank and rate all. phase 4 movies as if you split into many alternate timelines and all 8ish of you watch each movie at the same time, write it on a piece of paper, and merge all realities into one and read what was written. Here it is:
IN CONCLUSION: Whatever formula and style that went into Guardians 3, the entire time I was like, this doesn't even feel like some addendum to the MCU stack.. this feels like it's own entire separate entity that stands on it's own legs and knows how to really humanize or anthropromorphize so many touching themes and interesting dynamics. It was a GUARDIANS franchize film that happened to contain MCU characters. Not the other way around. And that's how it should be in most cases.
Guardians are the most real for having flaws on full display. Guardians wasn't trying to be overtly political, while also offering a message that is paletable by the masses. It hit the pocket of what movies the fans truly seem to want to see. It hopefully can be a testament to how MCU can still be a powerhouse if they make a movie that is truly good for the fans rather than for the executives or to appease the activists or to have the broadest appeal.
!!!SPOILER MOMENT: My only issue was the blatant deus ex machina trope where Adam saves Quill in such a preditably boring way. Golden Adam could've had a more interesting arc other than being a dimwit who hates being under the thumb of his mother and is a bumbling fuck up. Also the rainbow suits they wore were a bit tacky (not for any anti-flag reasons.. I just happen to thing loud primary colors used for the sake of making things colorfgul look corny in contrast to a serious movie or when attached to a serious plot device or a functional situation) its just a kid-ified contrivance, but not too bad. Also the Spy Kids thumb skin suits that were worn in the organic headquarters was a bit over-the-top, but again, i can forgive those elements as everything else was on point. The aesthetic choices were so wild and otherworldly, the concept of an alter-earth was super refreshing. The reason that the villain decided to make an earth seem slightly contrived as he explained in a single sentence that he loved earth music and the spirit of humans and for that reason alone he wants to make an entire planet look and feel like Earth but with Earth-animal hybrids? I think there could've been a more convincing or deeeply personal reason why this guy spent quadrillions of dollars to create this alter-earth, but perhaps thats what the comics stated.
Edit: Also, this movie had some of the coolest and most engaging shots, angles, lighting, and attention to detail. In alter-earth down to the sodas, the picture frames, the kids toys, the clothing, etc. It's an approximation of Earth-like stuff which makes it feel uncanny and strange. They killed the alter-Earth stuff. So intriguing.
submitted by Assturbation to FavoriteMedia [link] [comments]
- Guardians of the Galaxy 3: Attack of the Clones - 93% (First 4/5ths were 97%)
- Spider-man: No Way Home - 90% (Some lulls and predictable or overly choreographed aspects)
- Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness - 84% (Despite serious clunky story aspects, the cinematography and unique visuals and Wanda as a villain was awesome)
- Ant-man Quantumania - 83% (This is controversial. Too much of it was disney/kid-ified. Would've like some more consistenty serious elements. Still very fun concepts and visuals (i'm a sucker for tastefully thought out and complex, detailed set-design and vfx, except for the city Khan designed was a little too busy and overwrought)
- Shang-Chi/Wakanda- 80% (Story was interesting, certain chracters were lifeless and un-interesting, was ok)
- The Eternals - 73% (Too many charcters with not enough fleshing out of characters, some aspects were grandiose and epic but couldn't quite pay off in a satisfying way, had a ton of potential and q unique approach)
- Black Widow - 66% (Holy boring.. this would've fit a lot better in phase 2 of Marvel somewhere, it's just way too subdued and absent of action and stakes, too bland for being in phase 4)
- Thor: Love & Thunder - 55% (They really dropped the ball on this one. I don't even know where to begin. They made so many situations so silly that it becomes a shell of itself. There's no badassery in this. At least not well-earned badassery. It's got mixed themes. The Zeuss was overly douchey and not that funny. Just ridiculous. Still some elements like the god killer that could've been awesome.)
IN CONCLUSION: Whatever formula and style that went into Guardians 3, the entire time I was like, this doesn't even feel like some addendum to the MCU stack.. this feels like it's own entire separate entity that stands on it's own legs and knows how to really humanize or anthropromorphize so many touching themes and interesting dynamics. It was a GUARDIANS franchize film that happened to contain MCU characters. Not the other way around. And that's how it should be in most cases.
Guardians are the most real for having flaws on full display. Guardians wasn't trying to be overtly political, while also offering a message that is paletable by the masses. It hit the pocket of what movies the fans truly seem to want to see. It hopefully can be a testament to how MCU can still be a powerhouse if they make a movie that is truly good for the fans rather than for the executives or to appease the activists or to have the broadest appeal.
!!!SPOILER MOMENT: My only issue was the blatant deus ex machina trope where Adam saves Quill in such a preditably boring way. Golden Adam could've had a more interesting arc other than being a dimwit who hates being under the thumb of his mother and is a bumbling fuck up. Also the rainbow suits they wore were a bit tacky (not for any anti-flag reasons.. I just happen to thing loud primary colors used for the sake of making things colorfgul look corny in contrast to a serious movie or when attached to a serious plot device or a functional situation) its just a kid-ified contrivance, but not too bad. Also the Spy Kids thumb skin suits that were worn in the organic headquarters was a bit over-the-top, but again, i can forgive those elements as everything else was on point. The aesthetic choices were so wild and otherworldly, the concept of an alter-earth was super refreshing. The reason that the villain decided to make an earth seem slightly contrived as he explained in a single sentence that he loved earth music and the spirit of humans and for that reason alone he wants to make an entire planet look and feel like Earth but with Earth-animal hybrids? I think there could've been a more convincing or deeeply personal reason why this guy spent quadrillions of dollars to create this alter-earth, but perhaps thats what the comics stated.
Edit: Also, this movie had some of the coolest and most engaging shots, angles, lighting, and attention to detail. In alter-earth down to the sodas, the picture frames, the kids toys, the clothing, etc. It's an approximation of Earth-like stuff which makes it feel uncanny and strange. They killed the alter-Earth stuff. So intriguing.
2023.05.28 04:03 micronesiarain Episode 4- "Design Gone Galactic" ⭐️🪐
 | the queens return to the workroom after Yuka's elimination submitted by micronesiarain to XtinasDragRace [link] [comments] Wren: Awww, Yuka! 🏁Wren CF: Seeing Yuka leave is bittersweet. I had gotten really close with her. But when you're in the bottom two, you can only focus on it not being your name on that lipstick. One of us had to go, better her than me! Fleur: I'd say I can't believe she's gone this early, but I'm afraid I saw it coming. Sue: Really? Fleur: If there's one thing about me and Yuka being in a competition together, it's that I'll make it farther. Bring out the tiny violins, bye bitch! 🏁Fleur CF: Did Yuka do anything to me? Hmm, that's a dumb question. But I do know that she was in the competition, and now she's not! Morgs: Blondie and Zodya, congratulations. I'll admit, I was hoping this would be our week. But you did a nice job. Blondie: Thank you. Sharris: Let's hope that there aren't any more pity wins this season. That would be great. Zodya: There's a difference between a pity win and being the best team to follow the rules. Sharris: And I don't think you were either! Zodya: Sharris, I don't need you making this a miserable experience. 🏁Zodya CF: I feel like Sharris brings a dark cloud over the competition. I trust Morgs and Steph, and I know that they trust Sharris. For now, I can play nice. But when it comes down to the inner group of the alliance, she'll have to go. Kami: Blondie, how are you feeling after being in the top? Blondie: It felt right, it felt correct! Fleur: Oh shut up. Blondie: Alright, that came out of nowhere, but work. Wren: I'm sure my lipstick is in your bra right now, but it really was nice to see you get celebrated like that. Blondie: I actually chose Yuka. Wren: Girl, you don't need to lie. It's fine, really. Blondie pulls her lipstick out to reveal she truly did choose Yuka Blondie: Not lying. Wren: What the hell, I'm at a loss right now. 🏁Blondie CF: Saving Wren was not an easy decision. I know people want her gone. And after what went down between the two of us, I had a million reasons to get her out of here. But this is the new version of Blondie, and I've made the decision to fight for this friendship. And that can only happen once one of us decides to be the bigger person. And that's usually not me, but there's a first for everything! Blondie: What you did, it hurt me. But things I did on Season Six, that hurt you. If we keep going after each other, we can't move forward. the camera slowly pans over to Sue who is hysterically crying Steph: Sue? Sue: I just...I just love seeing the birth of a friendship! 🏁Steph CF: If any of you question why I love this bitch, now you know. The sweetest soul I know. Wren: Blondie, that means a lot to me. Thank you. Now, I still don't know if it should've been me in the bottom, but thank you. Fleur: Here we go again. Anthyy: Who do you think should've been in the bottom? Wren: Our challenge was to show up at a certain time and perform. Most of us did that. But two of us didn't. Sharris squints her eyes and takes off her earrings, handing them over to Morgs Sharris: Wren, you're a joke. Not just a joke, an embarrassment. Why the fuck are you even here? Wren: Excuse me? Sharris: You take this so seriously, and it makes me physically uncomfortable. It's a game, calm down. Wren: I'm not apologizing for showing up to a competition and wanting to compete. Sharris: You need to apologize for a lot more than that. Starting with that face. Fleur: And then work your way down. Zodya: Are we really doing this right now? You're all taking this too far, and it needs to stop. I'm serious. Sharris: Oh bug off, you don't need to play mediator. Zodya: Sharris, stop. I'm not letting you attack my friend. Sharris: If that's the kind of freak you're friends with, that says everything about you. 🏁Sharris CF: I won't rest until Wren is out of the competition. I don't like her, I haven't liked her, and I will never like her. It's not even about winning anymore. It's about breaking this bitch from the inside. The Next Day the queens enter the workroom, laughing and ignoring the drama from the previous night 🏁Anthyy CF: It's a new day in the workroom, and the stress of the competition is clearly getting to these girls! I feel good, staying out of the drama, and ready to slay. You won't see me safe again, that's not a cute look! Sue: Seeing how many people are still here just shows how big this season is going to be. Three girls down, and we can still barely fit around the table. Sharris: Some of you can skip some meals, and that'll change! 🏁Sue CF: I'm afraid that I'm fading into the background, and it's about time that I step forward. On Season Four, I never got to a win, even though I was close. I know that these girls think my attitude is more fun and relaxed, but I won't let them underestimate me. the workroom door swings open as Micro steps in, wearing a sliver puffer track suit with futuristic silver sunglasses Micro: Greetings Earth queens! When I invited each of you back, I did so because you are the best and brightest in the galaxy. And to prove that, it's time to take things out of this world. Behind me, there's a table full of celestial inspired materials. Each of you will design a high fashion look that takes us to infinity and beyond. Now, some of you may not love the idea of producing your own look. Which is why you have options! If you'd like, you are able to use a pre-existing look. The only catch is that you need to modify it enough so that it reads as your own unique creation. Good luck, and I can't wait to see what you come up with! Micro leaves the workroom, and the queens rush over to the table of materials, grabbing everything they can find 🏁Whorechata CF: This is what I've been waiting for! From the start of this competition, these queens have questioned whether or not I belong here. And I knew they were wrong. Because...duh, look at the material. But this is the challenge where I know I can outdo everyone else. Yeah, I feel pretty good about my chances. the queens spread throughout the workroom in different groupings Fleur, Morgs, and Sharris discuss the challenge and what their ideas are Sharris: I've decided to not make my own look. I know my limits, and there's more I can do with little embellishments than with a sewing machine. 🏁Morgs CF: Sharris is the person I'm the closest to here. I do trust that she can make this challenge work. But when she says she's not even taking out a sewing machine, I'm starting to worry. Fleur: I've taken my sewing classes after Season Four, and I didn't really have that much to improve on. Morgs: You had a design challenge on your season, right? Fleur: We did. We got these horrible boxes of trash and had to make it into something. 🏁Fleur CF: I felt great about my look on Season Four. Truly, how can you describe it without using the word beautiful? Some people said I should've been in the bottom, but "some people" got sent home two episodes ago. Hi Lectro, thanks for watching! Morgs: From what I can see of other people, I don't think we have anything to worry about this week. Sharris: Just say Wren... the camera cuts over to Wren on the floor, sculpting multiple arms and cutting out fabric 🏁Wren CF: I've always had a strong sense of what I want when it comes to the designs I wear. But it's taken some time to polish up the level of execution. This is my chance to show how much I've grown, even in the short time since Season Six. Zodya: Wren, you doing good? Wren: Can't talk, too busy serving cunt. 🏁Zodya CF: If you can't love yourself, then you must not be Wren! But hey, I can't knock the confidence. Zodya: Chata, what are you bringing with your look? Whorechata: I'm trying to embrace the materials as much as possible. I don't want to use any patterns I brought, any base garments, nothing. If it's not from that table, I'm not using it. Zodya: It's definitely a bold color choice. Whorechata: I need to stand out. Whatever it takes. 🏁Whorechata CF: Being able to create looks like this, that's why I applied for Season Five. And finally, I got a challenge where I can shine. Anthyy, Steph, and Sue chat by the mirrors as they sketch out look ideas 🏁Anthyy CF: I've come back to judge fashion challenges on MDR a million times. If I don't slay this, I need to apologize to everyone I ever critiqued! I need to bring a new silhouette, new materials, everything. You won't be able to clock a single detail. Steph: Last time I had a challenge like this, it caused me to spiral. Sue: You know you've gotten better since then. Steph: I think I have. Being back in these four walls, and feeling like I'm just starting to get the momentum going, it's hauntingly familiar to how I felt on Season Three. Anthyy: You have to believe in yourself! Let the infection take over. Well, not like that. But the fashion infection. Steph: Please, I need to catch the fashion infection first! 🏁Steph CF: Ever since my elimination on Season Three, I've felt like had I just made it through the design challenge, I could've won the whole thing. This is my chance to show that I can not just make it through this challenge, but I can come out unharmed, and ready to give this competition what I have. Call me dramatic, but you all saw the look, it was traumatizing! Sue plugs in her headphones and turns on Kylie Minogue, unlocking her full powers. She turns on the sewing machine and gets to work 🏁Sue CF: When it comes to sewing, I may not be Sue Essence Hall. But I have the drive and heart to win this thing. Nobody wants this more than me, and that's gotta count for something. Runway the lights flicker and an electric magenta light floods the runway as Micro struts down the center Micro Episode 4 Look Micro: Welcome back to the runway of Micro's Drag Race: All Stars! This week, the queens were asked to design a high fashion look utilizing or inspired by celestial materials. And joining me on the judging panel is a very special guest. Usually, we keep it in the family and have past queens return to judge. But this season, I've invited some legendary queens that I admire to help me out. And tonight, we have the amazing Hex! Hex Guest Judging Look Micro: Hex, thank you for being here! Hex: Honored to be here. Micro: You've been a legendary designer in the drag world for years. What do you think makes a good design? Hex: Finding a concept, and immersing yourself in that world. If you want to be an alien, become that alien and think about how they'd wear the look. You have to commit! Micro: That is fabulous advice. You ready to get started? Hex: I'm ready to feel inspired! Micro: Without further ado, let's see if these looks are truly out of this world! "Bad Juju" by Jujubee plays Anthyy: Coming down this runway I feel amazing! It’s a design challenge and you just know that miss Anthyy will deliver in those! Tonight the category was space at first I got a bit scared cause the home eis super broad if you look at it but then my. Mind went straight to my sister she is OBSSESED with space, so I called her and asked her what is her favorite planet! She said Uranus… and the rest is history! So tonight for my look I am channeling you the Uranus fantasy, my dress is a net made out of 27 of the Uranus’s moons and being me you can see a stunning set of it’s rings, not many people know that Uranus is one of the 3 planets with rings! Yup not only Saturn so tonight I wanted to make sure we don’t forget about those rings! Uranus is also one of the coldest planets that exsist so i made sure my alien puss is frozen the haus down boots! The parts holding together the moons on her dress are all coveed in galaxy dust and you can see my stunning 3 pairs of hands all going in diffrent directions! As for the look itself, it is a pretty gown (which you know i only do for special occasions!) with an amazing backpiece and stunning hair artistry! I would say this is soemthing that isnt often seen and its one of it's kind so im suoer happy to bring it to you on the design challenge! Lets hope this alien lands me my 3rd win! Finding out that this week's guest judge is my amazing friend Hex, she also is included in this look honey did you notice how my alien has 3 nostrills??? YUPPPPP thats what i call referencing Anthyy Look Blondie: You better beware, you're in for a scare! Run in fear when Captain Blondatrix arrives on your planet and goes for a pure femme pink fem-pire! For this look, I did use a pre-existing outfit but dyed the colours to a nice ballet slipper pink & a rose gold pink to add to colour theory. I did paint the mask and got a dazzling matching wig... I mean, styled my hair into a gorgeous blonde to meet my branding. Next, I got rid of some pesky details that weren't needed and created more of a space priestess vibe, and kept the alien incubator, as I'm here to spread my seed any way I can. Finally, I created a new banner and an amazing bi-sexual planet to create awareness. So beam me up, cuz I'm here to take y'all down~ Blondie Look Fleur: I love the Earth. The Earth just gives cunt 24/7 for the past billion years. She always finds some way to absolute slayyyyyy. For example when she decided that she wanted a desert, we were all like "yas girl sand is so sexy". Her brain is just so innovative and she is truly a lovely person. I love the Earth. It is just so calm, and peaceful and sweet. Everyday is amazing on Earth because the Earth is just amazing. It has not one bad quality. That is why I love it. This look resemblances the cuntiness Mother Earth is but also how serene it can be. She's so quirky. But sometimes... just sometimes... the Galaxy is jealous of Earth's cuntiness. Like for example, when the Galaxy decided to shoot a meteor onto it and kill all those leather wearing, katy perry roaring carnivores. Like that was bullying! But sometimes... just sometimes... the Galaxy is in a bad mood and it wants to recreate the devastation of the first meteor. Fuck the galaxy honestly. FUCK YOU. And when the Earth goes BOOM, so does the runway Fleur is modelling and strutting on. This gives her enough times to take of her jumpsuit and reveal her bare naked skin which is just coincidentally painted in a molten galaxy pattern. Science lesson: This is because the Earth has plates. The crust, the mantle and the core. The core is filled with molten lava and I think lava is so that bitch. Like it can burn a hoe like that! So obviously when the earth explodes, lava will ooze into the milkyway making the milkyway turn orange. Kind of like food colouring. And obviously, when the world does explode into the galaxy, you would probably be blinded by the light so you will always need some funky Lady Gaga looking sun glasses. And that's on period. Fleur Look Fleur Reveal Fleur Reveal Kami: Kami steps out onto the stage, and she is ready for space! She is serving you astronaut realness with her helmet in hand, and her bedazzled star space bodysuit when suddenly she trips - her belt unravels and suddenly you can see a fake face laying on the ground Oh my god! She's really an alien?? She's kind of serving though... Her alien wings held back by the belt that was previously cinching her waist (?) in, has revealed who she truly is. The wig seems to have melted down, and a bunch of the accessories are now falling off as well. The stars on the alien skin slowly falling off as the bodysuit from before is now revealed to have been her skin all along. how is she hiding humongous wings underneath a tiny belt ? these are questions that are unnecessary! Kami Look Kami Reveal Morgs: BLAM! for my intergalactic runway it’s getting hot in here, why? because i’m a star, litterally. i wanted to be the sun, the most important thing for life. i've got a warm dress on, glasses to protect me from the UV rays, and a backpiece that are supposed to be sunbeams. i’m slaying this runway and even though i hate designing my own stuff, i managed to make myself a whole outfit and sunbeams that shoot out! Morgs Look Sharris: For my Space Age Couture runway, my inspiration comes directly from the galaxy and the beautiful sky we see at nighttime. I didn’t want to go with an astronaut, or an alien, I wanted to go with the sheer beauty that the natural world holds. It’s couture, and just so so extravagant. This runway represents an entire celestial body. If a lady from the Capitol moved to space- this is what she’d be wearing. Upon walking onto the runway, the lights dim, and i’m SHINING. Practically radiating with beauty. I have never been in more awe than I have with what I’ve produced tonight Sharris Look Steph: for my runway look tonight i wanted to be a FIERCE celestial goddess. my entire body is painted in that same sparkling purple color as the mug which reminds me of Nebula one of my fav guardians of the galaxy. and honestly my look tonight IS THE SPACE AGE AND THE UNIVERSE MAMA. she is a space goddess and she has kidnapped the stars and the color purple to make this look. thx a bunch:) My vision is filled with this collage and i hope u enjoy her:) Steph Look Sue: So for my look tonight I am serving you intergalactic space pop star. She has her Ariana ponytail on and her microphone that she totally didn’t get inspired by from Fever by Kylie Minogue. Sue Look Whorechata: Tonight is my day to shine. Chata is living in the year 3000 and failed her astronaut astronomy space class exam thing and can’t use her spacesuit to go to the plant Whore anymore. So what does she do… she takes it apart MAWMA. This outfit is using a deconstructed padded astronaut suit. Some green tubing and inflatable thingys to create this futuristic Lewk. Tonight I hope to show these girls why micro let me in the doors. Whorechata Look Wren: Kneel. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3UhSk0Tk48k Zodya: Tonight on the runway, I am giving you space duchess to the extreme! I am the most fabulous diva at the annual Galatica Ball, and honey, you can’t outshine me! Get out of my way, girls, because none of y’all can be as glamorous as me! Zodya Look Critiques Micro: Thank you ladies! Based on your performances tonight, I've made some decisions. When I call your name, please step forward. Micro: Kami, Steph, Whorechata. The three of you...are safe. Steph: Oh thank lord. Whew! Kami and Steph thank the judges as Whorechata's face is drained of all life. Her legs begin to quiver, and her eyes lose emotion as they twitch 🏁Whorechata CF: Safe. Safe. Oh wow. Whorechata steps forward and walks towards the judging panel. She hunches over and grabs the base of the panel, as Micro and Hex look at her in confusion. Whorechata lifts with all of her might, and flips the panel. Her eyes turn bright red and she storms around the studio, throwing punches and kicks at everyone in sight 🏁Whorechata CF: Well, that's what I wanted to do at least... the scene snaps back into reality where Whorechata is standing on stage and faking a smile Micro: The three of you may leave the stage. Whorechata: Safe girls, woohoo! Micro: The rest of you represent the tops and bottoms of the week. It's time for your critiques. Micro: First up, Anthyy! Hex: Hello Anthyy! This look is fun, i know that this isn't really your style but i think that you did the theme's justice tonight. You decided to be inspired by one of the planets which is a really safe choice to do on a theme like that, but you went with one of the most interesting ones so its ok, We can see that the inspo was there from the color palette and the rings. The look is just a basic gown let's be real but you still make it interesting with the transparent parts and overall its giving me very Brooke Candy/slutish vibe which i am personally a fan of. What i am not a fan of is the makeup here, i like that you decided to pay homage to your drag sister - me, but idk i am not really feeling the eyes, they kinda look weird but i guess it fits the whole alien aesthetic so maybe i'm just quirky and nitpicking. The headpiece is really fun and playful. Overall it's a really strong look from you tonight, good job! Micro: Anthyy! I think this week was a great chance for you to show off a new style with your looks. Getting more into the alienesque and untraditional glamour. And you really nailed that in my opinion! I love when a look is simple, but has dynamic silhouettes and added bits. This strappy dress on its own would maybe be too simple, but the back piece and extra arms, it elevates it to an incredible level. I think the color palette of blue and gray was unexpected but worked well. And usually I’m begging for rhinestones, but I wouldn’t add any rhinestones to this look, I don’t know how you managed that! Great work. Micro: Next, Blondie! Hex: Blondie! Hi, i love how both you and Anthyy decided to go with 3 eyed aliens! I see what you tried to do with the theme, but i lowkey don't see space in it, your color palette is giving me just a normal person, maybe if you changed the hair and face to be pinkish too maybe it would help to sell the theme more? I also don't think that you edited your look enough to be that different from the original one which is a shame because i see some potential. Overall you were in the middle tonight, not the worst but not the best one either. Micro: Hi Blondie!! I think this base look was a great choice for this challenge, since it does lend itself to that outer space vibe. And you definitely put the work in to make this your own. I do think though that the new color palette makes the level of detail come down a bit. There’s a lot about this that I like, but I have to nitpick! Micro: Next up, Fleur Tation! Hex: Fleur! Hello girl, let me start with the positives first, well, so i liked that you decided to be inspired by earth which is an original choice for a theme like that not gonna lie, everyone would do something quirky but you decided to not look too far for your inspiration. You have a + for that from me. Now for your look, hmm i think that you could do way more with it, its just a simple bodysuit with a print on it, the reveal version is better, but still could've been more elevated. I just wish that you did something more with the hair and makeup in both of these, because even though your inspiration was really good for me, it just looks like you did not know what to do with it. Overall its not a good look from you tonight, I appreciate that you drew it and your description was fun to read. Micro: Let me start off by saying your runway commentary and how you sold this look was my absolute favorite. I love the effort you put into that. Now onto the looks. I think they told a great story. But the actual design elements, I’m not getting much from it if I’m being totally honest. If there was some sleeve action, some interesting cut to the pants, something to bring more to it. Micro: The always fabulous, Morgs! Hex: Hello Morgs! This is very safe for me, i like the inspiration because without the sun there wouldn't be us so good for you to appreciate that. There's nothing much to say here really, maybe other than i don't really see cosmos here but it's just not the worst look tonight so, at least you tried and drew it. Micro: Hi Morgs! I love the energy and vibe that this look conveys. It’s modern and has a cool look to it. I will say, I think the back piece really saves you here. It adds a unique element, and I think the look needed it. The rest of the look is a bit too simple to me. Maybe some stoning, a different neckline on the dress, some little adjustments could’ve amped this up. But as is, this doesn’t totally work for me, I’m sorry! Micro: Next, Sharris! Hex: Hello Sharris! Your look is good but i don't think you did enough for me to call it as 'your' look. Micro gave you all an option to edit one of many existing looks and while you picked a really good one, you barely did anything to edit it as yours, it just looks like you put a filter over it and called it a day, not even bothering to change the colors really. While Blondie did the same thing, she at least i don't know tried to make things a bit interesting by changing the whole color palette. That's all. Micro: Hi Sharris! With the option to take a pre-existing look and edit it, I think the potential to make something your own and really special was there. And while I think you look amazing right now, it is so similar to the original look. Small things like changing the hair, adding new jewelry, maybe a metal corset piece, those could’ve really worked to make this more of an original piece. Not a bad look by any means, but I have to look at how different it is from the original, and I’m not seeing much. Micro: Shining bright, it's Sue Pernova! Hex: Sue! This look is very adorable, i really like the color palette, it looks like some video game character thats a singer and has some cosmic related superpowers. Your inspiration here clearly shows because i can see each thing you mentioned in your description. I love how we can't really see her face because it also adds to the mystic element that the cosmos has because we still don't really know much stuff about it. Overall a really good job tonight, congrats! Micro: Sue, this look is adorable!! I love the outer space popstar vibe you went for, and the vibrancy of these colors work really well with that. The different textures and materials as well add some visual interest and keep it from being too simple. I maybe would’ve liked to see some lengthening to the legs and a tighter cinch on the corset, but this is a stand out look for me, you really impressed me here! Micro: Next up, Wren Wyvern! Hex: Wren, uhh hello? This was a letdown for me, you kinda did a similar look to Steph but i guess her's more elevated and just more interesting to look at. I don't think your look really sells the theme since it's barely cosmos related other than the cosmic print. I like what you tried to do with the arms but it reads more as angelic to me rather than some alien creature. I'm sorry but i don't like this. Micro: Hi Wren! I’m gonna have to disagree with Hex on this one. I really enjoyed this look. It’s very cosmic deity, and you stand out from the group tonight. I think a really big collar piece that had some height and sharp edges to it would’ve taken this look to an even stronger level, but I see where you were going with it! Some minor little edits I’d make, but solid look from you! Micro: Last but not least, Zodya Killer. Hex: Hello Zodya! This is one of my favorite looks tonight, you had a clear vision and presented it really well. I really like the color palette and how vibrant it is, i love the accessories and the overall shape of it. The backpiece with your blonde hair in front of it kinda reminds me of the sun which is also a really fun detail. The way that you drew this also is a big plus for me + the props? I am a prop queen so i like the use of them in this look. Overall a really good moment for you tonight. Micro: Zodya, you look like a goddess tonight. You found a way to take this sort of galaxy pattern and print and make it look regal and expensive. I love the way this look sparkles, and the golden accents against that deep blue and purple, it adds to that royalty look. If I had to nitpick, I wish there was a big necklace or set of earrings, but I can appreciate the simplicity in not going heavy with accessories. Great work! Micro: Thank you ladies. I've made some decisions. Micro: Blondie, Morgs, and Wren. The three of you are safe. You may step to the back of the stage. 🏁Wren CF: At this point, I'm not sure what else I could do. I gave you a full goddess, and then Micro has the nerve to put me in the same group as Blondie and Morgs? It's stupid, it really is. Micro: Anthyy. Tonight, your E.T. was a T-O-P. Micro: Sue Pernova. You took us all on a trip to Chromatica, and we didn't want to leave. Micro: Zodya Killer. Category is...MET Gala on Mars. Micro: Anthyy, Zodya. Congratulations, you are the top two queens of the week! 🏁Anthyy CF: Ah, screaming!! I put so much of my heart and soul into my designs, and the hard work paid off. 🏁Zodya CF: I didn't think I'd be the type of queen who looks forward to a design challenge. But I really believe in my skills, and having that validated by the judges, that means the world. Micro: Sue, you are safe. Great work this week. Sue: Thank you Miss Micro. 🏁Sue CF: This week was all about wanting to prove myself as a real competitor here. I have what it takes to win the crown, and this moved things in the right direction. I feel amazing! Micro: Fleur, Sharris. I'm sorry my dears, but that means you are the bottom queens of the week. 🏁Fleur CF: I don't have words. To be in a room full of people who look...like that, and be told I'm in the bottom? When I'm wearing custom couture? They're out to get me. 🏁Sharris CF: I'm fine being in the bottom. It doesn't bother me. I'd never throw a tantrum over a placement, unlike some people in this competition who shall not be named...but it's Wren. Micro: Anthyy, Zodya. In a moment, the two of you will lipsync for your legacy, and the power to chop one of the bottom queens. Head backstage to Untucked, and make your decision. Untucked the safe queens enter Untucked Kami: Redemption! Steph: And it feels oh so good! I'm so proud of us. Whorechata, are you happy to be safe? 🏁Whorechata CF: wHoReChAtA, aRe yOu hApPy tO Be sAfE? No bitch, I'm not! Whorechata: I'm thrilled. Steph: No you're not. Whorechata: Oh really, what gave it away? Kami: Let it out, let it out. Whorechata: The girls up on stage right now, you can see the stringy little bits of hot glue. The seams are jankier than Wren's book in the first episode. Not to sound arrogant, but this belongs in a museum. 🏁Whorechata CF: Whorechata shows off her look and letting the camera zoom in on the hems Kami: If it makes you feel better, I thought you should've been up on stage tonight. Whorechata: If you change your name to Micro and tan a good twelve shades darker, it would mean more. But still, thanks Kami. 🏁Kami CF: You can't argue with crazy. You just can't. the top and bottom queens enter Untucked Wren: The attempt to break my spirit continues. 🏁Wren CF: Heading back to Untucked, it really does sting that I didn't win. I thought I had the best look, and I love the way I presented it. I wouldn't change a thing, but clearly the judges would. Kami: I've heard the word "safe" enough times in the last hour to last me a lifetime, so can one of you fill us in on what happened on stage? Anthyy: I'm in the top with Zodya! Steph: Whyyyyyyy. Oop, not like that. Just you know, the Sue stan in me. Sue: I'm torn with my emotions right now. Getting praised on this look felt amazing. But then it almost gave me a false sense of hope. I thought maybe I could win. Zodya: And you could've. I'm so proud of your work here. It's amazing. 🏁Zodya CF: I know how much Sue wanted to win this challenge, but I'm also freaking out a little inside that I just won my third challenge! I mean really, what could go wrong now? Wren: Regardless of what the judges said, I'm proud of this look. Sharris: So why do you keep bringing it up? Wren: With the runway last week, it was a more masculine approach than what I'm used to. And this week, I wanted to give full cunty goddess. 🏁Wren CF: Exploring gender identity and expression through fashion is important to me. Like, really important. I won't apologize for that. Blondie: And just so I know, you use all the pronouns, right? I'm not trying to get cancelled again. Wren: After saving me, you can call me whatever. But yes, anything works. He, she, they, it's all okay to me. But it doesn't take away from my trans-ness. Sharris: Wren, what the fuck does that even mean? Wren: What does what means? Sharris: How are you a he, she, and they. Make up your mind. Wren: I don't think I need to make up my mind. It's my personal journey, and I don't need to conform to what you want. Sharris: You just represent everything that's wrong with the world to me. Blondie: Okay, that's a bit much. Fleur: Blondie, stay out of it. Blondie: No! Why can't I say anything without you all jumping to make me look like the bad person? Fleur: If people always think you're a bad person, maybe you just are. Morgs: Woop, there it is. 🏁Fleur CF: Blondie swears she's an angel on Earth. But she's not. She's nasty, she's an input ho, and I don't fuck with her. Screw any alliances, I want her gone. Sharris: The more I learn about you, Blondie, the more I understand why you and Wren are friends. The only upside to that is it means none of us have to be bothered by either of you. You can annoy each other instead. Wren: Talk that talk in your bottom outfit. You could never give what I give! Sharris: And thank god for that. Man, man, man. I see a MAN. Anthyy: Girl... 🏁Anthyy CF: Sharris took a low blow with that one. Wren has been so open about her identity, and really advocated for trans representation! I considered Sharris a friend, but that changes everything. Wren: Are you really going there? For real? Sharris: I am, care to continue? Wren: You know who I am and I've been nothing but transparent with how I feel in my identity. And for someone in this community to be the one coming after me, it's so gross. Sharris: Let's get one thing straight, we're not in the same community. Wren: Right, cause I'm some freak. Sharris: Wren, shut up and go play in traffic. Kami: Stop, don't go there. What's that even supposed to mean. Sharris: As in, go die. Go die, for the sake of humanity, please. the queens all clasp their hands over their mouths as they realize what Sharris said Wren: You want me to go kill myself? Sharris: Yes please, look at how easy that was! Wren: Give me a few years, and I'm sure I'll get there. Blondie: Wren, don't even say that. Don't give that bitch another moment of your time. Sharris: Blondie, you too. Blondie: You are a miserable and hateful little bitch. You're disgusting. You better be so ashamed of yourself. Fleur: You're the moral compass now? Why do you keep putting yourself in things?! Blondie: Sharris brought me into it, and I'm done sitting down and taking it. You both are vile. 🏁Fleur CF: Blondie spews the most venomous things out of that over-plumped mouth. Why are people surprised that it caused someone to snap? If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. Blondie and Wren, there's the door, dumb bitches. the queens return to the runway Micro: Welcome back ladies. It has been brought to my attention that there was an altercation in Untucked. Sharris rolls her eyes, as Blondie comforts Wren at the back of the stage Micro: If this behavior continues, I won't hesitate to start this whole thing over. From the top, new cast and everything. the queens snicker at Micro's comment, causing her to stand up and lean over the judging panel Micro: I am NOT joking! Don't make me name names. But if you think you're one of the girls I'd replace, you're probably right. the scene cuts to Lectro and Yuka standing outside of the studio and forming a prayer circle for the season to restart 🏁Kami CF: The behavior during Untucked shifted everything. I mean, it's really not that deep, and to stoop to that level? It's...it's just not acceptable. Micro: Now, as much as I'm sure you'd love to keep attacking each other, we have more important things to get to: a fake lipsync. Will the top two queens please step forward. Anthyy Lipsync Look Zodya Lipsync Look Micro: Anthyy, Zodya. Prior to tonight, you were asked to prepare a lipsync performance of "Supernova" by Kylie Minogue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcTHJ05R2bQ Sue: Please say jk. 🏁Sue CF: I'm fine! I'm so fine, don't even worry about me. cries in Kylie Minogue Micro: This is your chance to impress me, and secure the right to give one of the bottom queens...the chop. 🏁Anthyy CF: I really felt like I was in a tough spot with these queens in the bottom. But after that moment in Untucked, I know what needs to be done. It was taken way too far! 🏁Zodya CF: I don't have a connection to either of the bottom queens this week. But I am ready to channel my inner Sue, and give this song what it deserves. Micro: Good luck, and don't fuck it up! Read lipsync here! Micro: Oh wow! the queens clap for Sue as she shrouds herself in a cloud of glitter before remembering that Anthyy and Zodya are on stage Micro: I think it's safe to say Sue was the real winner of that one. Sue: Kylie, that was for you, baby!! Micro: Ladies, I've made my decision. ... Micro: Zodya Killer, you're a winner baby! Zodya: Ah, thank you! Kylie, I am so sorry. Micro: Anthyy, you are safe to slay another day. Anthyy: I'm sorry mama, my feet were tired after doing three of these! Zodya giggles and raises her eyebrows Micro: Will the bottom two queens please step forward. Fleur and Sharris walk to the front of the stage as the safe queens glare at them 🏁Fleur CF: I don't think I should be in the bottom this week, and I shouldn't have been near the bottom last week either! If they send me home, it's just putting me out of my misery. But if I stay, I'll make this hell for each and every one of them. 🏁Sharris CF: I don't regret a thing. It went far, but there's only so much I could take from that...person doesn't feel appropriate. I think pathetic troglodyte fits Wren better. Whether they like it or not, I'd say it again! Micro: Zodya. With great power comes great responsibility. Which queen have you chosen...to get the chop? Zodya: I'm going to be honest, I don't have any strong connections to either of you. I think you both deserve to be here and can be able to bring something fun to the rest of the competition, but tonight, I'm going to have to go with the person I felt really took on the challenge to heart. My decision...is... ... ... Zodya: Sharris. Zodya's Lipstick Choice Sharris laughs as Morgs begins to tear up Micro: So it is written, so it shall be done. Sharris, I know that you have everything it takes to thrive in a competition like this. But now is not your time. Sharris: Womp womp. Micro: Now, sashay away. Sharris goes to the back of the stage to hug Morgs before walking off Micro: Moving forward, I hope we can treat each other with some more kindness, and enjoy this for what it is. Now, let the music play! "Banjo" by Bebe Zahara Benet plays Next Time on Micro's Drag Race Blondie: There is a killer on the loose, and nobody is safe. 🏁Whorechata CF: If this means I make a few enemies, oh well! Micro: I'm so sorry, I need to excuse myself. Micro steps away from the judging panel as her eyes fill with tears Track Record Cast Shot w/ Placements |
2023.05.28 04:02 Alternative-Age-5147 Have you guys heard the gustal holst ‘the planets’ song? Why do I feel like Jupiters part fits the best-
 | submitted by Alternative-Age-5147 to SolarBalls [link] [comments] |
2023.05.28 03:35 Gloryinwar For any Anarchists out there (Or anyone else for that matter.), would an Anarchist military resemble the military of the Soviet Union, or would it be its own thing?
I got curious since I have a single Planet Anarchist state, it is a minor power only having 1 planet, but that's beside the point. I had wanted to give them an army. (A necessity since my world has Warhammer 40k level violence.)
And one thing I am having some thought over is the nature of an Anarchist military, my mind keeps pointing me to the Soviet Military for reference, but given that Anarchists don't like hierarchies, I am not sure if Political Commissars would fit in.
So, I am hoping for some feedback. This isn't a "you give me lore" thing, just some advice as to what an Anarchist military would look like and if that would resemble the Soviets.
Now of course there were some Anarchists during the Spanish civil war, but those guys were small time. What about in a setting similar to 40k in terms of sheer violence and scale of warfare?
submitted by Gloryinwar to worldbuilding [link] [comments]
And one thing I am having some thought over is the nature of an Anarchist military, my mind keeps pointing me to the Soviet Military for reference, but given that Anarchists don't like hierarchies, I am not sure if Political Commissars would fit in.
So, I am hoping for some feedback. This isn't a "you give me lore" thing, just some advice as to what an Anarchist military would look like and if that would resemble the Soviets.
Now of course there were some Anarchists during the Spanish civil war, but those guys were small time. What about in a setting similar to 40k in terms of sheer violence and scale of warfare?
2023.05.28 03:13 MelonLord98 Online][Mst][SWRPG] The Diaspora: A Star Wars Story
For over a century the Galaxy has been wrought with war and turmoil, the triumph that seemed promised by the Battle of Endor vanished as if a distant whisper passing through the weave of time. Change did come from that fateful day, not the resounding triumph of the Rebellion however, or the catalyst for an Imperial crackdown, no only the expansion of the Great Galactic War. The decade that immediately followed would see the newly christened New Republic make valiant yet ineffective attempts at sites of galactic significance; Coruscant, Kuat, Corellia, Duros the list goes on. Likewise the Galactic Empire, leaderless and without vision attempted to hold together disparate ideas and ambitions and ideals into a cohesive structure.
The first to officially make the split from the Empire was Grand Admiral Rashu in 6 ABY, as commanding officer of the 7th Sector Fleet Rashu has roughly 1000 starships of varying sizes to his name, the crown jewel being "Pride of the Empire" an Executor class SSD. With such raw firepower and to be frank a lack of true belief in the Empire, Rashu took his chance and set out on his own with his fleet soon becoming known as Rashu's Raiders. Extortion and piracy became the name of the game for the Raiders in the northern-western fringes of the galaxy, however Rashu had a greater prize that became more and more relevant as the years went on. Ilum an icy world barely in known space if it could be called that held the rare material known as Kyber crystals, what Rashu or his people want with them is unknown, but the eccentric former Grand Admiral guards this planet carefully leaving the galaxy at large to ponder.
The Galactic Empire proper faired much differently in this time, with Imperial Warlords left and right threatening to break away or actively attempting to oppose the central authority of the Empire reliance on the Order Inquisitorious became increasingly prevalent as assassins, saboteurs and enforcers. This status quo would continue for a decade as the Empire battled enemies without and within and all the while the Inquisitorious grew in station and power, garnering new acolytes, tomes of knowledge and political weight within the Empire. In time they were nothing short of a fully fledge Sith Order in all but name... until Anaxes. As the Empires situation grew increasingly desperate a joint meeting of all major political figures, admirals, moffs and the like were gathered at the ancient world of Anaxes. There a rousing plan to rebuild The Emperor's vision was not found but an ultimatum of the new Sith Order, submit or die and many did die in a bloodbath known simply as "The Cull" this event would spark a bloody five year civil war known as the Anaxian Conflicts. The road was long and arduous, many of the old guard would not submit to such insanity but in the end the Sith proved stronger. The Imperial Remnant left to the scraps of the northern reaches of the galaxy and the Sith Empire triumphed and resting control over a vast swath of the former Empire, unopposed as the clear dominant power in the galaxy.
Rebel High Command celebrated along with much of the galaxy following Endor, but it was short lived for now the real war would begin. Due to internal strife within the Empire a grind towards Coruscant was initially successful and lasting victory seemed in sight, as such it was seen fit by the powers that be to shove off the trappings of rebellion and declare the New Republic. While many rejoiced, equally as many did not, for the former Separatists who had formed the early core and to this day a large contingent of Rebel Alliance this was nothing short of a slap in the face. Actions such as these could not go unanswered and a Neo-Confederacy was born, one that would not follow into disgrace what their mothers and fathers had fought against and in time they would see a galaxy truly free not in the shackles of bureaucrats and politicians.
Reeling from the blow of their own schism, the New Republic was still determined to champion the ideals of free and prosperous galaxy not matter how much they must bleed for it, and so with the chaos of the Empire's own schisms the chance was taken to hunker down in the galactic north east and begin the creation of a proper state centered around Mon Calamari and its surrounding systems. In time the galaxy would know peace but for now efforts were focused on making sure the Republic would last until that day.
Dozens of other factions and orders rose and fell in the coming decades, be it the the Mandalorian Clans ascendant once again, or the torn asunder Hutt Space as it turned into the free for all of Syndicate Space a free for all amongst any and all would be criminal organizations. Of all of these though the most important could not be argued against, a reborn Jedi Order. The Jedi Order over the last century has slowly began to rebuild with the help of the New Republic on a reclaimed Ossus, however not all have answered the call. Many scattered enclaves wary of the mistakes of the past or that consolidating their number would only leave them vulnerable operate independently throughout the galaxy. Furthermore the Knights-Errant are a new breed of knight who operate in groups of at most a dozen who see their path as one of wandering service to the denizens of the galaxy.For over a hundred years the galaxy has endured the chaos, insecurity and trepidation that comes with the new state of existence , but rumors circulate, dark powers groan, the war machines churn and rise from their complacency. Great change is coming to the galaxy and all can only hope for what is to come will better than what came before.
May the Force be with us all
The Diaspora is a new Star Wars campaign of my own homebrew that will start at the lowest rungs of society, mired in scum and villainy and will progress through a grand saga that the players and I will tell the story of together. For all those interested this will be a New Republic/ Light Side themed campaign but don't let that pigeon hole you as some gradient is allowed an encouraged, after all everyone loves a good scoundrel or bounty hunter just keep in mind this isn't an evil campaign by any means. We will be using the FFG star wars books and be deciding on a day during the week to play once we have all the players selected. I have two existing players already in the game, one playing a Jedi and the other undecided. If you are at all interested please inquire and ask questions below or in my DMs.
submitted by MelonLord98 to lfg [link] [comments]
The first to officially make the split from the Empire was Grand Admiral Rashu in 6 ABY, as commanding officer of the 7th Sector Fleet Rashu has roughly 1000 starships of varying sizes to his name, the crown jewel being "Pride of the Empire" an Executor class SSD. With such raw firepower and to be frank a lack of true belief in the Empire, Rashu took his chance and set out on his own with his fleet soon becoming known as Rashu's Raiders. Extortion and piracy became the name of the game for the Raiders in the northern-western fringes of the galaxy, however Rashu had a greater prize that became more and more relevant as the years went on. Ilum an icy world barely in known space if it could be called that held the rare material known as Kyber crystals, what Rashu or his people want with them is unknown, but the eccentric former Grand Admiral guards this planet carefully leaving the galaxy at large to ponder.
The Galactic Empire proper faired much differently in this time, with Imperial Warlords left and right threatening to break away or actively attempting to oppose the central authority of the Empire reliance on the Order Inquisitorious became increasingly prevalent as assassins, saboteurs and enforcers. This status quo would continue for a decade as the Empire battled enemies without and within and all the while the Inquisitorious grew in station and power, garnering new acolytes, tomes of knowledge and political weight within the Empire. In time they were nothing short of a fully fledge Sith Order in all but name... until Anaxes. As the Empires situation grew increasingly desperate a joint meeting of all major political figures, admirals, moffs and the like were gathered at the ancient world of Anaxes. There a rousing plan to rebuild The Emperor's vision was not found but an ultimatum of the new Sith Order, submit or die and many did die in a bloodbath known simply as "The Cull" this event would spark a bloody five year civil war known as the Anaxian Conflicts. The road was long and arduous, many of the old guard would not submit to such insanity but in the end the Sith proved stronger. The Imperial Remnant left to the scraps of the northern reaches of the galaxy and the Sith Empire triumphed and resting control over a vast swath of the former Empire, unopposed as the clear dominant power in the galaxy.
Rebel High Command celebrated along with much of the galaxy following Endor, but it was short lived for now the real war would begin. Due to internal strife within the Empire a grind towards Coruscant was initially successful and lasting victory seemed in sight, as such it was seen fit by the powers that be to shove off the trappings of rebellion and declare the New Republic. While many rejoiced, equally as many did not, for the former Separatists who had formed the early core and to this day a large contingent of Rebel Alliance this was nothing short of a slap in the face. Actions such as these could not go unanswered and a Neo-Confederacy was born, one that would not follow into disgrace what their mothers and fathers had fought against and in time they would see a galaxy truly free not in the shackles of bureaucrats and politicians.
Reeling from the blow of their own schism, the New Republic was still determined to champion the ideals of free and prosperous galaxy not matter how much they must bleed for it, and so with the chaos of the Empire's own schisms the chance was taken to hunker down in the galactic north east and begin the creation of a proper state centered around Mon Calamari and its surrounding systems. In time the galaxy would know peace but for now efforts were focused on making sure the Republic would last until that day.
Dozens of other factions and orders rose and fell in the coming decades, be it the the Mandalorian Clans ascendant once again, or the torn asunder Hutt Space as it turned into the free for all of Syndicate Space a free for all amongst any and all would be criminal organizations. Of all of these though the most important could not be argued against, a reborn Jedi Order. The Jedi Order over the last century has slowly began to rebuild with the help of the New Republic on a reclaimed Ossus, however not all have answered the call. Many scattered enclaves wary of the mistakes of the past or that consolidating their number would only leave them vulnerable operate independently throughout the galaxy. Furthermore the Knights-Errant are a new breed of knight who operate in groups of at most a dozen who see their path as one of wandering service to the denizens of the galaxy.For over a hundred years the galaxy has endured the chaos, insecurity and trepidation that comes with the new state of existence , but rumors circulate, dark powers groan, the war machines churn and rise from their complacency. Great change is coming to the galaxy and all can only hope for what is to come will better than what came before.
May the Force be with us all
The Diaspora is a new Star Wars campaign of my own homebrew that will start at the lowest rungs of society, mired in scum and villainy and will progress through a grand saga that the players and I will tell the story of together. For all those interested this will be a New Republic/ Light Side themed campaign but don't let that pigeon hole you as some gradient is allowed an encouraged, after all everyone loves a good scoundrel or bounty hunter just keep in mind this isn't an evil campaign by any means. We will be using the FFG star wars books and be deciding on a day during the week to play once we have all the players selected. I have two existing players already in the game, one playing a Jedi and the other undecided. If you are at all interested please inquire and ask questions below or in my DMs.
2023.05.28 03:13 bewbies- A thank you from a grateful father to the participants, producers, and fans of Battlebots
My main memory of the first Battlebots episode was how murderously hot it was in my dorm room. There was a heat wave that week, and believe it not, this was still an era when air conditioning was not a standard feature of dorms at large state universities.
I'd just started my freshman year of college, and I'd had BATTLEBOTS circled on my shared dry erase calendar for a couple of weeks beforehand. I don't really know what it called out to me as it did; I wasn't (and still am not) electrically, mechanically, or mathematically inclined. I had no background whatsoever in robotics (and still don't). I didn't even know robot combat was a thing until seeing a commercial for it on Comedy Central, of all places. But, it grabbed me and has never let go. I watched those early seasons religiously in those pre-DVR dark ages, even pretending in front of my college girlfriends that the fights consisting of two wedges ineffectually pushing one another around the box were stupendously entertaining.
Fast forward 15 years: I'm now married with a dumb grownup job and stupid "responsibilities" and out of the ether comes a BATTLEBOTS reboot and I felt the same excitement I had when I was 18. My wife (and, eventually kids) had to accept my unfettered love of this nerd affair, eventually being roped into it themselves. Kids more than the wife, whom I would lovingly describe as "tolerant."
My littlest was not even an embryo when the reboot started, and I just finished watching the finale with him having just completed kindergarten yesterday. My original love for the show was predicated largely on seeing robots get wrecked, but as I've grown older and maybe more sentimental, my thirst for destruction was gradually superseded by a love and respect for the culture and ethos of the community. This is why I wanted to write an open thank-you letter.
The media landscape for kids nowadays is just a mess. It isn't all BAD necessarily, but it is complex, and pervasive, and an awful lot of it is stupid or ugly or otherwise unhealthy, and in a world where a LOT of kiddos seem to have unhealthy relationships with their digital devices. It is an absolute joy to know that there's at least one show -- that even manages to appeal to both me and my kids -- where so many good and positive messages are a constant feature (in between robot carnage.)
When we watch Battlebots, we see a huge variety of personal backgrounds, people of color, people from all over the world, the old, young, and very young all competing together. We see hard work and dedication to a very difficult challenge. We see brilliant women leading teams in a STEM field, and we get to see the best god damn fight announcer on the planet -- who also happens to be Black and presumably Muslim (seriously though, how is he not calling fights on PPV or HBO or something). We get to see class and sportsmanship after amazing wins and gut-wrenching losses, all a part of a community that seems to represent everything a community should be, even in the face of incredibly intense competition. Also this season, we got some examples of less positive behavior, although I'd argue those examples fit just as well into this "battlebots is life" discussion as the good stuff.
Past just the parenting stuff, I think the show has a real role to play in the world at large. My kid's kindergarten class all love the show, and they're already starting to make their own little "combat robots" out of legos or construction paper or popsicle sticks or whatever because they want to be like the big kids with their big robots they see on TV. Their generation is going to charge out into the world and change it for the better, in part, because they were inspired as little folk to take on hard tasks like "build a robot."
Here's a video of my youngest doing his very best Faruq imitation a few years ago. I think he's introducing Witch Doctor? Hard to tell.
I thought I'd post this here as it seems a lot of the actual teams are active in addition to a lot of fans of the show. Keep it up. You guys are doing a lot more than just shredding robots.
submitted by bewbies- to battlebots [link] [comments]
I'd just started my freshman year of college, and I'd had BATTLEBOTS circled on my shared dry erase calendar for a couple of weeks beforehand. I don't really know what it called out to me as it did; I wasn't (and still am not) electrically, mechanically, or mathematically inclined. I had no background whatsoever in robotics (and still don't). I didn't even know robot combat was a thing until seeing a commercial for it on Comedy Central, of all places. But, it grabbed me and has never let go. I watched those early seasons religiously in those pre-DVR dark ages, even pretending in front of my college girlfriends that the fights consisting of two wedges ineffectually pushing one another around the box were stupendously entertaining.
Fast forward 15 years: I'm now married with a dumb grownup job and stupid "responsibilities" and out of the ether comes a BATTLEBOTS reboot and I felt the same excitement I had when I was 18. My wife (and, eventually kids) had to accept my unfettered love of this nerd affair, eventually being roped into it themselves. Kids more than the wife, whom I would lovingly describe as "tolerant."
My littlest was not even an embryo when the reboot started, and I just finished watching the finale with him having just completed kindergarten yesterday. My original love for the show was predicated largely on seeing robots get wrecked, but as I've grown older and maybe more sentimental, my thirst for destruction was gradually superseded by a love and respect for the culture and ethos of the community. This is why I wanted to write an open thank-you letter.
The media landscape for kids nowadays is just a mess. It isn't all BAD necessarily, but it is complex, and pervasive, and an awful lot of it is stupid or ugly or otherwise unhealthy, and in a world where a LOT of kiddos seem to have unhealthy relationships with their digital devices. It is an absolute joy to know that there's at least one show -- that even manages to appeal to both me and my kids -- where so many good and positive messages are a constant feature (in between robot carnage.)
When we watch Battlebots, we see a huge variety of personal backgrounds, people of color, people from all over the world, the old, young, and very young all competing together. We see hard work and dedication to a very difficult challenge. We see brilliant women leading teams in a STEM field, and we get to see the best god damn fight announcer on the planet -- who also happens to be Black and presumably Muslim (seriously though, how is he not calling fights on PPV or HBO or something). We get to see class and sportsmanship after amazing wins and gut-wrenching losses, all a part of a community that seems to represent everything a community should be, even in the face of incredibly intense competition. Also this season, we got some examples of less positive behavior, although I'd argue those examples fit just as well into this "battlebots is life" discussion as the good stuff.
Past just the parenting stuff, I think the show has a real role to play in the world at large. My kid's kindergarten class all love the show, and they're already starting to make their own little "combat robots" out of legos or construction paper or popsicle sticks or whatever because they want to be like the big kids with their big robots they see on TV. Their generation is going to charge out into the world and change it for the better, in part, because they were inspired as little folk to take on hard tasks like "build a robot."
Here's a video of my youngest doing his very best Faruq imitation a few years ago. I think he's introducing Witch Doctor? Hard to tell.
I thought I'd post this here as it seems a lot of the actual teams are active in addition to a lot of fans of the show. Keep it up. You guys are doing a lot more than just shredding robots.
2023.05.28 03:06 ImpishMisconception I have theory that the whole Addams Family are all on the Autism spectrum.
So, I am Autistic and I have a brother that is Autistic as well.
I also love The Addams Family the original series starring John Astin and Carolyn Jones and The Addams Family movies starting Raul Julia and Angelica Huston.
I am only basing this theory on that particular series and those movies, nothing else. So this not including other Addams Family movies or series since this family never changes, there is little need to go into other series or movies.
Besides that original series (which went from 1964 - 1965 as it only had two seasons) was the best series and the two movies starring Raul Julia and Angelica Huston were the best movies in my opinion so that's why I'm only focusing this theory on that series and those two movies.
To demonstrate why I think the whole Addams Family is on the Autism spectrum, I will need to explain what Autism is and the signs of Autism.
Autism is a social and learning disorder and is a spectrum affecting many people in a variety of ways.
People are born Autistic, it's not a disease one can catch. Right now there is no conclusive cause for Autism, although there are many conspiracy theories, none of those conspiracy theories have any conclusive hard scientific evidence for the cause of Autism. I am not going to go into those theories because that's not what this post is about.
People born with Autism will die with Autism as there is no known cure. I know of some conspiracies claiming people have been cured of Autism but again not hard scientific evidence for any cure. I won't go into those theories either as again that's not what this post is about.
Now on to the signs of Autism, the signs of Autism are many.
The most notable ones in no particular order are...
If you are curious here is a Twitter thread that really expounds on the signs of Autism - https://twitter.com/autismsupsoc/status/1540282371467001856?t=Ibysy4a3kGD8jVsazUtuVQ&s=19
A list of signs and symptoms of Autism from the CDC - https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/signs.html
List of signs of Autism from the National Autism Association - https://nationalautismassociation.org/resources/signs-of-autism/
So, now on to why I think the whole Addams Family is on the Autism spectrum, which is what this post is about.
Firstly, it's because of the way the Addams Family dresses and I am not speaking of the gothic look.
Autistic people dress in what is comfortable for them, we don't follow trends. So, what we wear tends to stand out even if we don't mean it to.
Gomez Addams's stripped suit always looks to me as if it's a bit too big for him, maybe he prefers loose-fitting clothing. Some Autistic people prefer loose-fitting clothing. Plus he has a pocket watch that he does not need since he has wrist watch. He probably likes the pocket watch because it's like one a train conductor would wear (more on the train thing further below.)
Morticia's dress is always a black very tight-fitting dress. She probably likes the feel of the tightness of the dress. Some Autistic people enjoy the feel of tight-fitting clothing, I prefer very tight skinny jeans as I like the sensation of wearing tight jeans.
Also, notice that this family always wears the same stuff? Other families in sitcoms and movies, change their outfits at least once but never the Addams Family, they are always wearing the same outfits.
Gomez is always in his stripped suit (I think he only had three costume changes in the Addams Family movies. One was where he wore a top hat and Victorian suit to Uncle Fester's wedding, the second was when he did a salsa dance with Morticia in a restaurant, I will also address the dancing further below, and the third was in the morning scene of the first Addams family movie and Gomez is wearing a Fez hat and robe) otherwise he just wears the striped suit.
Morticia is always in her tight black dress. Pugsly is always in his stripped t-shirt and black shorts. Wednesday is always in her black dress. Uncle Fester is always in his frumpy robe. Grandmama is always in her black dress and shawl. They don't change their outfits.
The only time Wednesday and Pugsly changed outfits was once for swimming when they were in summer camp, once for Uncle Fester's wedding and even then Pugsly just wore a black coat over his outfit and Wednesday's dress just had longer sleeves, and the only other time was when Wednesday wore a black ninja-like outfit when trying to break out of summer camp. (I am purposely not including the costumes Wednesday and Puglsy had to wear in summer camp for the Thanksgiving play because they were forced to wear them, it wasn't a choice and I am only talking about clothes they chose to wear.)
I am not including Lurch and Thing because Thing is a hand and doesn't wear clothes and Lurch isn't family, he's the Butler. The Addams treat him like family but genetically, Lurch isn't family. I also am not sure if Thing is genetically family, he could be, but I am not certain of it.
Autistic people usually wear the same outfits every day and the Addams family also rarely changes what they wear.
...
The next thing is the Addams do keep to a strict routine.
Notice that in the series Gomez Addams stops to check his pocket watch often and Morticia often notes that it's time for a meal or the mail or time to feed her plants. In the movie after the clock strikes on the mantle, Thing appears and goes straight to Gomez as it's morning and time to wake up Morticia. Also, after Wednesday and Puglsy are done playing William Tell, they are heading out the door and off to school with their lunches in hand while Gomez plays golf while Morticia drinks her coffee.
Autistic also keep to a strict schedule that might look bizarre to some but we need that structure.
The Addams Family morning scene - https://youtu.be/NT5qGx2P2LM
I also want to point out that in that morning scene above, Morticia shows sensitivity to sunlight. Maybe it's because she is supposed ro be a Vampire but Autistic people are known to be sensitive to bright lights and sunlight.
The next thing I noticed was the dancing. Gomez and Morticia love their waltzes, but ever notice that they even waltz differently than others?
Autistic dancing also can look a bit different than other dancing, it's just how we like to move.
Gomez and Morticia teach Lurch how to dance - https://youtu.be/qFs8CsthLrQ
Morticia and Gomez dance scene - https://youtu.be/NIDabDkcS8o
The Mamushka - https://youtu.be/Mw0IakmQri0
Addams family dancing - https://youtu.be/eyczjNr4hGE
Next on my list, Wednesday has an aversion to hugging which most Autistic people also have an aversion for.
In the movie The Addams Family Values, while at summer camp a camp counsellor suggests a group hug and Wednesday replies, "We don't hug."
Also, as far as I know, Wednesday still has an aversion to hugging in the Netflix series named after her, I don't know though as I haven't seen it so correct me if I am wrong on that.
I also noticed Pugsly rarely talks, he does, but it's very rare in both the series and the movies that Pugsly says anything. I am thinking he has some speech issues because he doesn't speak very much. Autistic people also struggle with speech.
Now I come to the love of trains, in both the series and the movies, Gomez Addams has a train set that he plays with. In the series, he plays with them for fun, in the movies he plays with them as a release for stress and anger.
Most Autistic people like trains, but not all of them, some Autistic people have no interest at all in trains but most Autistic people love trains.
Addams family train wreck scenes - https://youtu.be/5kS-vk9mPR8
Gomez train scene - https://youtu.be/y_ANuuAjPdU
Wednesday and Pugsly play different games than most other children, which is the next thing that caught my attention.
Autistic children often play different games and play with toys differently than non-Autistic children do. Although it's often not as dark and macabre as the games Wednesday and Pugsly play from their William Tell game to playing "Is there a god", it's still different than what is typical.
The last thing I will bring up for my theory is stimming which is very common in Autistic people. Every Autistic person stims differently and so it's no surprise that the Addams family stims are very different.
With Gomez Addams, I think his stims are his trains, playing golf, the swordplay/duelling, dancing, and the way he kisses Morticia. He doesn't just kiss her on the hand, he goes all the way up her arm.
I think Morticia, I think her stims are dancing, knitting, and chopping the heads off roses.
I think Wednesday's and Pugsly's stims are the games they play, playing with their food, and taking down stop signs.
I haven't mentioned Grandmama or Uncle Fester much because they aren't shown very much so very little is known about them, besides they aren't the main characters. Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, and Pugsly are the main characters.
That is why I think the Addams family is on the Autism spectrum.
For more on Autism please check out the following sites and social media.
Autism Self Advocacy Network - https://autisticadvocacy.org/
WrongPlanet - https://wrongplanet.net/
Twitter People to follow:
Autistic Voices: Cheshire Cat - https://twitter.com/autismsupsoc?t=XyvaxUFuvjlPXkWCRbaBfA&s=09
The #ActuallyAutistic Coach - https://twitter.com/AutisticCoach_?t=R3cOZtJJoEX517_3TCwSlQ&s=09
You Might Be Autistic - https://twitter.com/mightbeautistic?t=LNz90J_Ukd8OPphQvlZjjA&s=09
Autism-101 - https://twitter.com/Autism1o1?t=s1_QnsS6p8NFcJL-cP9zmQ&s=09
Thinking Person's Guide To Autism - https://twitter.com/thinkingautism?t=D1y6_q6P31_G_HFO7KjJnA&s=09
OMG I'm Autistic AF - https://twitter.com/OMGImAutisticAF?t=VAHuf4SN0AWv_fmqArgbHw&s=09
Also here is my Twitter list of all the cool Autistic people and Autism advocates to follow - https://twitter.com/i/lists/1643271734487834626?t=bhqzLBsK6FS7mwBGzBhteQ&s=09
submitted by ImpishMisconception to FilmTheorists [link] [comments]
I also love The Addams Family the original series starring John Astin and Carolyn Jones and The Addams Family movies starting Raul Julia and Angelica Huston.
I am only basing this theory on that particular series and those movies, nothing else. So this not including other Addams Family movies or series since this family never changes, there is little need to go into other series or movies.
Besides that original series (which went from 1964 - 1965 as it only had two seasons) was the best series and the two movies starring Raul Julia and Angelica Huston were the best movies in my opinion so that's why I'm only focusing this theory on that series and those two movies.
To demonstrate why I think the whole Addams Family is on the Autism spectrum, I will need to explain what Autism is and the signs of Autism.
Autism is a social and learning disorder and is a spectrum affecting many people in a variety of ways.
People are born Autistic, it's not a disease one can catch. Right now there is no conclusive cause for Autism, although there are many conspiracy theories, none of those conspiracy theories have any conclusive hard scientific evidence for the cause of Autism. I am not going to go into those theories because that's not what this post is about.
People born with Autism will die with Autism as there is no known cure. I know of some conspiracies claiming people have been cured of Autism but again not hard scientific evidence for any cure. I won't go into those theories either as again that's not what this post is about.
Now on to the signs of Autism, the signs of Autism are many.
The most notable ones in no particular order are...
- Problems with speech such as not learning to speak until a later than normal, stuttering or stammering, repeating, echolalia, using bigger words and formal sounding speech, or not speaking at all.
- Toe Walking.
- Stimming such as rocking back and forth and hand flapping.
- Tending to obsess over certain subjects for months or even years at a time.
- Needing a strict routine and very upset if this routine is changed at all.
- Typically not physically affectionate, might not be comfortable with hugging or holding hands for example.
- Has trouble reading and understanding facial reactions, body language, and social cues.
If you are curious here is a Twitter thread that really expounds on the signs of Autism - https://twitter.com/autismsupsoc/status/1540282371467001856?t=Ibysy4a3kGD8jVsazUtuVQ&s=19
A list of signs and symptoms of Autism from the CDC - https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/signs.html
List of signs of Autism from the National Autism Association - https://nationalautismassociation.org/resources/signs-of-autism/
So, now on to why I think the whole Addams Family is on the Autism spectrum, which is what this post is about.
Firstly, it's because of the way the Addams Family dresses and I am not speaking of the gothic look.
Autistic people dress in what is comfortable for them, we don't follow trends. So, what we wear tends to stand out even if we don't mean it to.
Gomez Addams's stripped suit always looks to me as if it's a bit too big for him, maybe he prefers loose-fitting clothing. Some Autistic people prefer loose-fitting clothing. Plus he has a pocket watch that he does not need since he has wrist watch. He probably likes the pocket watch because it's like one a train conductor would wear (more on the train thing further below.)
Morticia's dress is always a black very tight-fitting dress. She probably likes the feel of the tightness of the dress. Some Autistic people enjoy the feel of tight-fitting clothing, I prefer very tight skinny jeans as I like the sensation of wearing tight jeans.
Also, notice that this family always wears the same stuff? Other families in sitcoms and movies, change their outfits at least once but never the Addams Family, they are always wearing the same outfits.
Gomez is always in his stripped suit (I think he only had three costume changes in the Addams Family movies. One was where he wore a top hat and Victorian suit to Uncle Fester's wedding, the second was when he did a salsa dance with Morticia in a restaurant, I will also address the dancing further below, and the third was in the morning scene of the first Addams family movie and Gomez is wearing a Fez hat and robe) otherwise he just wears the striped suit.
Morticia is always in her tight black dress. Pugsly is always in his stripped t-shirt and black shorts. Wednesday is always in her black dress. Uncle Fester is always in his frumpy robe. Grandmama is always in her black dress and shawl. They don't change their outfits.
The only time Wednesday and Pugsly changed outfits was once for swimming when they were in summer camp, once for Uncle Fester's wedding and even then Pugsly just wore a black coat over his outfit and Wednesday's dress just had longer sleeves, and the only other time was when Wednesday wore a black ninja-like outfit when trying to break out of summer camp. (I am purposely not including the costumes Wednesday and Puglsy had to wear in summer camp for the Thanksgiving play because they were forced to wear them, it wasn't a choice and I am only talking about clothes they chose to wear.)
I am not including Lurch and Thing because Thing is a hand and doesn't wear clothes and Lurch isn't family, he's the Butler. The Addams treat him like family but genetically, Lurch isn't family. I also am not sure if Thing is genetically family, he could be, but I am not certain of it.
Autistic people usually wear the same outfits every day and the Addams family also rarely changes what they wear.
...
The next thing is the Addams do keep to a strict routine.
Notice that in the series Gomez Addams stops to check his pocket watch often and Morticia often notes that it's time for a meal or the mail or time to feed her plants. In the movie after the clock strikes on the mantle, Thing appears and goes straight to Gomez as it's morning and time to wake up Morticia. Also, after Wednesday and Puglsy are done playing William Tell, they are heading out the door and off to school with their lunches in hand while Gomez plays golf while Morticia drinks her coffee.
Autistic also keep to a strict schedule that might look bizarre to some but we need that structure.
The Addams Family morning scene - https://youtu.be/NT5qGx2P2LM
I also want to point out that in that morning scene above, Morticia shows sensitivity to sunlight. Maybe it's because she is supposed ro be a Vampire but Autistic people are known to be sensitive to bright lights and sunlight.
The next thing I noticed was the dancing. Gomez and Morticia love their waltzes, but ever notice that they even waltz differently than others?
Autistic dancing also can look a bit different than other dancing, it's just how we like to move.
Gomez and Morticia teach Lurch how to dance - https://youtu.be/qFs8CsthLrQ
Morticia and Gomez dance scene - https://youtu.be/NIDabDkcS8o
The Mamushka - https://youtu.be/Mw0IakmQri0
Addams family dancing - https://youtu.be/eyczjNr4hGE
Next on my list, Wednesday has an aversion to hugging which most Autistic people also have an aversion for.
In the movie The Addams Family Values, while at summer camp a camp counsellor suggests a group hug and Wednesday replies, "We don't hug."
Also, as far as I know, Wednesday still has an aversion to hugging in the Netflix series named after her, I don't know though as I haven't seen it so correct me if I am wrong on that.
I also noticed Pugsly rarely talks, he does, but it's very rare in both the series and the movies that Pugsly says anything. I am thinking he has some speech issues because he doesn't speak very much. Autistic people also struggle with speech.
Now I come to the love of trains, in both the series and the movies, Gomez Addams has a train set that he plays with. In the series, he plays with them for fun, in the movies he plays with them as a release for stress and anger.
Most Autistic people like trains, but not all of them, some Autistic people have no interest at all in trains but most Autistic people love trains.
Addams family train wreck scenes - https://youtu.be/5kS-vk9mPR8
Gomez train scene - https://youtu.be/y_ANuuAjPdU
Wednesday and Pugsly play different games than most other children, which is the next thing that caught my attention.
Autistic children often play different games and play with toys differently than non-Autistic children do. Although it's often not as dark and macabre as the games Wednesday and Pugsly play from their William Tell game to playing "Is there a god", it's still different than what is typical.
The last thing I will bring up for my theory is stimming which is very common in Autistic people. Every Autistic person stims differently and so it's no surprise that the Addams family stims are very different.
With Gomez Addams, I think his stims are his trains, playing golf, the swordplay/duelling, dancing, and the way he kisses Morticia. He doesn't just kiss her on the hand, he goes all the way up her arm.
I think Morticia, I think her stims are dancing, knitting, and chopping the heads off roses.
I think Wednesday's and Pugsly's stims are the games they play, playing with their food, and taking down stop signs.
I haven't mentioned Grandmama or Uncle Fester much because they aren't shown very much so very little is known about them, besides they aren't the main characters. Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, and Pugsly are the main characters.
That is why I think the Addams family is on the Autism spectrum.
For more on Autism please check out the following sites and social media.
Autism Self Advocacy Network - https://autisticadvocacy.org/
WrongPlanet - https://wrongplanet.net/
Twitter People to follow:
Autistic Voices: Cheshire Cat - https://twitter.com/autismsupsoc?t=XyvaxUFuvjlPXkWCRbaBfA&s=09
The #ActuallyAutistic Coach - https://twitter.com/AutisticCoach_?t=R3cOZtJJoEX517_3TCwSlQ&s=09
You Might Be Autistic - https://twitter.com/mightbeautistic?t=LNz90J_Ukd8OPphQvlZjjA&s=09
Autism-101 - https://twitter.com/Autism1o1?t=s1_QnsS6p8NFcJL-cP9zmQ&s=09
Thinking Person's Guide To Autism - https://twitter.com/thinkingautism?t=D1y6_q6P31_G_HFO7KjJnA&s=09
OMG I'm Autistic AF - https://twitter.com/OMGImAutisticAF?t=VAHuf4SN0AWv_fmqArgbHw&s=09
Also here is my Twitter list of all the cool Autistic people and Autism advocates to follow - https://twitter.com/i/lists/1643271734487834626?t=bhqzLBsK6FS7mwBGzBhteQ&s=09
2023.05.28 03:06 HonnyBrown Gym Affiliate
Does anyone have a gym membership associated with Kaiser? I am specifically looking at LA Fitness. I have KP through my employer.
submitted by HonnyBrown to KaiserPermanente [link] [comments]
2023.05.28 01:21 Glitterbombinabottle What app can help me track my eating and where do I go next?
I know that's not a very helpful title. I used to work a lot of fast food and therefore eat a lot of fast food. I now work in the pickup department of a popular grocery store. I know fitness watches aren't perfect but I walk between 10k and 25k per work day. As well as lifting boxes 20-60lb, and pushing trolleys up to 600lb. These trolleys have no brake system or hydraulics other than the wheels, so all strength required to move is on me and gravity. I've lost a good chunk of weight already, and my appetite feels out of control! That doesn't include my personal time, having a life and two children! Sometimes I get up to 30/35k steps, according to my watch!
So, I'd like to use an app to make sure what I'm eating is good for me. I wanted to use Lose It! But that one seems so targeted on weight loss and I'm not sure I have much more "weight" to lose. I think I'm ready to start adding muscle. I know the basics of stop eating fast food, cut your sugar. I drink premier protein shakes every morning. Would it be too much to have two on long days? I do feel like they help I'm also shamefully addicted to applesauce pouches and lemonade. Since working so much it's honestly hard for me to drink soda, it feels like it fills up my stomach too much and where can I put it when I'm so thirsty for water !
I have some small weights at home I could use, just not sure how to make small weights useful after what I do all day lol I guess I could go to a gym? This is such a dumb question but if I go to like, planet fitness, is there someone who could help me find a few things start with to help my journey? Or would that be "personal trainer" territory, cause lemme tell ya I am not "personal trainer" made of money ! Lmao Oh, im 29female, two kids. Weighed 200 back in high school but im actually down to 155 right now. I'm five foot four. Anyway if anyone read through this and has suggestions I really would appreciate it! Thank you!
submitted by Glitterbombinabottle to loseit [link] [comments]
So, I'd like to use an app to make sure what I'm eating is good for me. I wanted to use Lose It! But that one seems so targeted on weight loss and I'm not sure I have much more "weight" to lose. I think I'm ready to start adding muscle. I know the basics of stop eating fast food, cut your sugar. I drink premier protein shakes every morning. Would it be too much to have two on long days? I do feel like they help I'm also shamefully addicted to applesauce pouches and lemonade. Since working so much it's honestly hard for me to drink soda, it feels like it fills up my stomach too much and where can I put it when I'm so thirsty for water !
I have some small weights at home I could use, just not sure how to make small weights useful after what I do all day lol I guess I could go to a gym? This is such a dumb question but if I go to like, planet fitness, is there someone who could help me find a few things start with to help my journey? Or would that be "personal trainer" territory, cause lemme tell ya I am not "personal trainer" made of money ! Lmao Oh, im 29female, two kids. Weighed 200 back in high school but im actually down to 155 right now. I'm five foot four. Anyway if anyone read through this and has suggestions I really would appreciate it! Thank you!
2023.05.28 01:12 tmoran290 Changing Career Paths Based on Major?
- Hello! I'm looking for some recommendations and insight on some career paths based on my academic experience and work experience. As I've grown, my interests have strayed away from my previous plan of going to law school. Now I'm not sure what fields I can get into. Any advice is appreciated! And please let me know if I should post this in a different subreddit (I don't go on Reddit often so I'm sorry if I put it in the wrong one).
- I'm a senior in college about to graduate in August majoring in Legal Studies with a minor in Management. I have been very involved on campus as the treasurer of my sorority and pre-law club, a math tutor and TA, an honors college mentor, and a peer academic leader (mentor for freshmen), to name a few.
- I feel like I'm limited to careers only in the legal field such as a paralegal, legal assistant, etc., which I don't have much interest in anymore
- .As far as my work experience, I have worked all throughout high school and college, with most of my work experience coming from being a sales representative at a boutique fitness club. I have two years of experience in this position and have knowledge of prospecting and contacting leads, writing and pitching memberships, performing administrative tasks (class scheduling, drafting correspondence, making phone calls, sending texts), and managing invoices and payment collection. While I do have sales experience, I know it is not the best fit for my skill set and I know I could perform better in a different role (and be happier lol).
- For my interests, I really like the music, entertainment, and media industry... but I know those industries can be difficult to break into and are primarily location-based (?). Some other industries/interests of mine are animals/working with animals, health & wellness, and personal care.
- Thank you so much! I appreciate it!
submitted by tmoran290 to careerguidance [link] [comments]
- I'm a senior in college about to graduate in August majoring in Legal Studies with a minor in Management. I have been very involved on campus as the treasurer of my sorority and pre-law club, a math tutor and TA, an honors college mentor, and a peer academic leader (mentor for freshmen), to name a few.
- I feel like I'm limited to careers only in the legal field such as a paralegal, legal assistant, etc., which I don't have much interest in anymore
- .As far as my work experience, I have worked all throughout high school and college, with most of my work experience coming from being a sales representative at a boutique fitness club. I have two years of experience in this position and have knowledge of prospecting and contacting leads, writing and pitching memberships, performing administrative tasks (class scheduling, drafting correspondence, making phone calls, sending texts), and managing invoices and payment collection. While I do have sales experience, I know it is not the best fit for my skill set and I know I could perform better in a different role (and be happier lol).
- For my interests, I really like the music, entertainment, and media industry... but I know those industries can be difficult to break into and are primarily location-based (?). Some other industries/interests of mine are animals/working with animals, health & wellness, and personal care.
- Thank you so much! I appreciate it!
2023.05.28 01:05 kl2341 bonvoyage theories?
does anyone have any ideas on how bonvoyage connects to the storylines of maison and vision? for me, maison and vision connected kind of well but i’m having trouble seeing where bonvoyage fits.
i was thinking that it’s the aftermath of climate change, hence the name bonvoyage. we’re saying goodbye to the earth. there’s one scene where sua tries to catch a bird while jumping off an exploding building, which could represent the girls trying to save nature while the planet is dying.
obviously, siyeon still has powers from when she saves sua but they’re not as prevalent for the rest of the girls as they were in vision. maybe they don’t have them anymore, since sua could have saved herself if she had powers?
the ending also makes sense to me since it looks like a dome that explodes, kind of like the earth’s atmosphere.
i’m not too sure where the fluffy seed thing comes into play though. from what i gathered, maybe dami created it from painting?
i’d love to hear everyone else’s thoughts :)
submitted by kl2341 to dreamcatcher [link] [comments]
i was thinking that it’s the aftermath of climate change, hence the name bonvoyage. we’re saying goodbye to the earth. there’s one scene where sua tries to catch a bird while jumping off an exploding building, which could represent the girls trying to save nature while the planet is dying.
obviously, siyeon still has powers from when she saves sua but they’re not as prevalent for the rest of the girls as they were in vision. maybe they don’t have them anymore, since sua could have saved herself if she had powers?
the ending also makes sense to me since it looks like a dome that explodes, kind of like the earth’s atmosphere.
i’m not too sure where the fluffy seed thing comes into play though. from what i gathered, maybe dami created it from painting?
i’d love to hear everyone else’s thoughts :)
2023.05.28 00:48 Steve717 The Deathworld Omnibus by Harry Harrison
Recently finished this Ombinus containing Deathworld 1, 2 and 3.
The idea of the first book really caught my eye and to find out there was a whole trilogy(and some untranslated Russian ones, annoyingly) had me buying it immediately.
This is probably not going to have an amazing structure to it, it's mostly me venting out my thoughts but I figure one day someone might search for a review and it might give them a decent picture of what they're in for. I'll try to be as vague as possible on plot and world details.
The first Deathworld was published in 1960, before even the great classic Dune. Some excellent old sci-fi and even has many ideas that definitely seem as though they might have inspired parts of Dune. Dune is legendary for many reasons but Deathworld is a great story on its own, though a little on the short side. I would have liked a little more exploration of the planet Pyrrus however the native peoples, the Pyrrans are very cool and have quite an interesting culture, violent and harsh but fiercely loyal to their planet and people to the point where even the mere suggestion that their fight might not be going well could end up with you taking a trip to the hospital.
Both the Pyrrans and the planet itself are the highlights of the story for me, I love their dynamic. The planet and everything on it wants to kill the people and the people naturally fight back and want to kill everything on it, despite how impossible that task seems on a planet where everything wants to kill humans, even the grass!
The kind of technology they have is fairly well developed for how short a story it is, there's not a lot of complex sci-fi mumbo jumbo for you to have to decipher which I thought was really neat, it all comes across as very natural. All the characters know how this stuff works so they're not offering long winded explanations of everything, if there's a gun all you need to know is it shoots stuff, if there's a spaceship all you need to know is it can fly through space. As simple and straightforward as the Pyrrans.
So yeah, the first book is great honestly. It's no Dune but it's some solid old sci-fi and well worth a read.
Deathworld 2: The Ethical Engineer
I'll be honest, this one I didn't really like. The first book captivated me immensely with the world, the characters and the issues they faced on their planet.
And this book just takes you away from all of that to another far less interesting world, in my opinion. As the title implies a lot of the story is focused on engineering and there's some ethical struggles the main character goes through which I sincerely didn't find particularly compelling. I find this book a bit hard to rate because I can't tell if I just didn't like it or if there was a bit of whiplash from going in to a completely different story not a day after finishing the first.
I wouldn't call it terrible by any means, the way the story goes is really quite different and at times quite comedic, mainly due to the main character who you might have noticed I've not really mentioned, to be honest I don't find him all that exciting but perhaps because I've experienced many similar characters, he was probably novel at the time it was written.
If you're looking for a story about surviving an insane Deathworld like the first one then Ethical Engineer really doesn't fit the bill, it's mostly about Jason rising through the ranks of a primitive industrial or pre-industrial world in order to find a means of escape with him having to re-invent technology from memory, which at times is genuinely interesting, just not exactly what I was looking for from this story.
Deathworld 3
Once again this book departs from the original world from the first book to another one with a primitive culture that Jason must infiltrate and manipulate in order to help the Pyrrans gain control of their own world.
Before sitting down to write this I was confident that it was my second favourite but honestly after writing some thoughts down, I think this is the worst one. It's good to see Jason and the Pyrrans working together again but the setting isn't super exciting and their whole reason for being on the planet feels a little weak for all the effort they put in to claiming their own land.
Again I'd hesitate to call it "bad" by any means but it was just...a little boring? The second book had a lot of cool talk about technological innovation and how a smart man thrives in a primitive world but this third book is just a bunch of barbarian raiders in constant wars for territory and really not much else, the whole situation felt a bit contrived and I can't really see why Jason bothered to do everything he did, there's even a couple story reasons for why it was all entirely pointless.
I'm not sure what else I could say but without spoiling what it is I will say that this particular story ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and like I mentioned above the other Deathworld stories are in Russian and will quite likely never be translated. There's a short story as well but going by Wikipedia it doesn't sound like it focuses on the conclusion to this cliffhanger at all.
So overall I would say this trilogy...isn't great. I can't really recommend getting the Omnibus but I highly recommend getting the first book. Obviously if you only read the first book there is some unfinished business in the story but honestly it's a lot more open and shut than the trilogy. The first book leaves on a clear path for the future and then the third is just really underwhelming and retroactively makes the first feel kind of meaningless. Quite a shame those other books were never translated as the plots sound fairly interesting, if you speak Russian and can access them perhaps you'll enjoy them!
Do check out Deathworld anyway, some nice classic sci-fi. The Omnibus is also fairly cheap if you do still end up wanting to read it just be warned that it feels like three completely different stories.
I look forward to checking out more work from the author anyway, he certainly had many interesting ideas.
submitted by Steve717 to bookreviewers [link] [comments]
The idea of the first book really caught my eye and to find out there was a whole trilogy(and some untranslated Russian ones, annoyingly) had me buying it immediately.
This is probably not going to have an amazing structure to it, it's mostly me venting out my thoughts but I figure one day someone might search for a review and it might give them a decent picture of what they're in for. I'll try to be as vague as possible on plot and world details.
Both the Pyrrans and the planet itself are the highlights of the story for me, I love their dynamic. The planet and everything on it wants to kill the people and the people naturally fight back and want to kill everything on it, despite how impossible that task seems on a planet where everything wants to kill humans, even the grass!
The kind of technology they have is fairly well developed for how short a story it is, there's not a lot of complex sci-fi mumbo jumbo for you to have to decipher which I thought was really neat, it all comes across as very natural. All the characters know how this stuff works so they're not offering long winded explanations of everything, if there's a gun all you need to know is it shoots stuff, if there's a spaceship all you need to know is it can fly through space. As simple and straightforward as the Pyrrans.
So yeah, the first book is great honestly. It's no Dune but it's some solid old sci-fi and well worth a read.
I'll be honest, this one I didn't really like. The first book captivated me immensely with the world, the characters and the issues they faced on their planet.
And this book just takes you away from all of that to another far less interesting world, in my opinion. As the title implies a lot of the story is focused on engineering and there's some ethical struggles the main character goes through which I sincerely didn't find particularly compelling. I find this book a bit hard to rate because I can't tell if I just didn't like it or if there was a bit of whiplash from going in to a completely different story not a day after finishing the first.
I wouldn't call it terrible by any means, the way the story goes is really quite different and at times quite comedic, mainly due to the main character who you might have noticed I've not really mentioned, to be honest I don't find him all that exciting but perhaps because I've experienced many similar characters, he was probably novel at the time it was written.
If you're looking for a story about surviving an insane Deathworld like the first one then Ethical Engineer really doesn't fit the bill, it's mostly about Jason rising through the ranks of a primitive industrial or pre-industrial world in order to find a means of escape with him having to re-invent technology from memory, which at times is genuinely interesting, just not exactly what I was looking for from this story.
Once again this book departs from the original world from the first book to another one with a primitive culture that Jason must infiltrate and manipulate in order to help the Pyrrans gain control of their own world.
Before sitting down to write this I was confident that it was my second favourite but honestly after writing some thoughts down, I think this is the worst one. It's good to see Jason and the Pyrrans working together again but the setting isn't super exciting and their whole reason for being on the planet feels a little weak for all the effort they put in to claiming their own land.
Again I'd hesitate to call it "bad" by any means but it was just...a little boring? The second book had a lot of cool talk about technological innovation and how a smart man thrives in a primitive world but this third book is just a bunch of barbarian raiders in constant wars for territory and really not much else, the whole situation felt a bit contrived and I can't really see why Jason bothered to do everything he did, there's even a couple story reasons for why it was all entirely pointless.
I'm not sure what else I could say but without spoiling what it is I will say that this particular story ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and like I mentioned above the other Deathworld stories are in Russian and will quite likely never be translated. There's a short story as well but going by Wikipedia it doesn't sound like it focuses on the conclusion to this cliffhanger at all.
So overall I would say this trilogy...isn't great. I can't really recommend getting the Omnibus but I highly recommend getting the first book. Obviously if you only read the first book there is some unfinished business in the story but honestly it's a lot more open and shut than the trilogy. The first book leaves on a clear path for the future and then the third is just really underwhelming and retroactively makes the first feel kind of meaningless. Quite a shame those other books were never translated as the plots sound fairly interesting, if you speak Russian and can access them perhaps you'll enjoy them!
Do check out Deathworld anyway, some nice classic sci-fi. The Omnibus is also fairly cheap if you do still end up wanting to read it just be warned that it feels like three completely different stories.
I look forward to checking out more work from the author anyway, he certainly had many interesting ideas.
2023.05.28 00:25 PhesteringSoars [SF] Paige & Caroline (3,622 Words; 20,273 Characters)
“Now Paige, you’re sure there isn’t anything for me to sign?”, my mother asked.
“No mom. It’s ‘Bring your sibling to work day’. Caroline is 10 and old enough for the summer training, even though she can’t officially serve as an Imperial Page for two more years.”, I reply.
At 14 myself, I’ve been an Imperial Page for 2 years now. “I did the summer training.”, a month each, for two summers starting at 10, “I wanted to see if she might be interested serving as well.”
“I just don’t want her getting in someone important’s way.”, mother continues.
“She’ll be fine. The shuttle flights in/out off-world will be the most exciting part. ‘Court’ is currently in session on Tau Ceti 9a, with the Emperor himself at one of the orbital Space Stations. He’s overseeing rescue, recovery, and restoration operations dealing with the aftermath of the two recent super-typhoons on the planet. We’ll mostly be delivering snacks & meals and hand delivering documents and supplies all day. Routine stuff.”
“I just don’t want her to do something to upset the Emperor.”, mother said.
I reply, “He’s trying to help people in distress mom. People left with next to nothing. He’s just a man.”
Mother shakes her head and mumbles, “I worry about that too.”
I snort, “He wouldn’t do anything to us and the Sezrakeen (the Imperial Guard) wouldn’t allow it anyway.”
I remember something they told us in training . . . “Even if you see the Emperor in a room, seemingly by himself, two of the Sezrakeen are always there. Though they can be invisible, and you may not see them. One to protect him from evil in the world and one to protect the world from any evil in him.” No one in the Imperial Court has treated me badly.
Mother finally relents, cleans up after breakfast, and sees us off. We catch the community transit to the city-center, then on to Lacross Spaceport. One shuttle to the regional military base, then a shuttle combining many groups to go to / from wherever Court is in session at the current time.
With 7,645 inhabited worlds in the known multiverse, “Imperial Court” moves around every few months trying to spread the attention around. Currently there are 74 regional centers large enough to house the staff of the traveling court. 17 of which could be classified as “Palaces”. (Including “The Winter Palace” the Emperor build by himself, by hand on Beatrice Nine. It’s beautiful and one of my favorites to visit and serve in, though knowing he was abandoned alone on the planet for almost 40,000 years, time enough to build the central structures by himself . . . sort of brings a melancholy air to the place.)
Caroline and I arrive at R44 (the closest Regional Center), and I take her to Security while we wait for the morning shuttle. I scan my left forearm under the ID scanner. You can wear a ring, bracelet, pendent, or carry a card or pen-sized wand for ID . . . But I opted for the radial (bone) implant. It’s much harder to forget and leave your left arm at home. And since it registers body heat and blood flow, it can’t practically be taken from you and used by someone else. (I did “neglect” to tell my parents I opted for the implant 18 months ago.)
Caroline gets her biometrics recorded. (Photographs, walking gait, finger-hand prints. Reads a sample text for voice capture and a pinprick for DNA.) She opts for a subtle ring ID and asks me, “Why does it look like I’m the only sister or brother here?”
I respond, “It’s only you today. I just wanted you to see what a day was like in the Imperial Court.”
“What do you mean ‘only you’? Is it really ‘Bring your sibling to work day?’”
“As far as I know there is no such thing. I just wanted you to come and see the Emperor and the Court.”
“You’re just bringing someone to see the Emperor of the Known Multiverse and the Imperial Court? Who approved it?”
“I did.”
“You can do that?”
“An Imperial Page can do what they need to.”, I say as we finish her setup. Most of the biographical info (date of birth, relatives, placed lived) I entered to her personnel record weeks ago. I scan my ID and vouch for her to match the biometrics to the central data personnel record.
“Let’s go, the Shuttle will be ready for boarding about the time we get there.”, I put my left arm around Caroline’s shoulders and nudge her in the right direction.
Feeling the tenseness in her shoulders I ask, “Are you worried?”
“A little bit.”, she says with a bit shaky voice.
“Don’t. Just keep your ears open. Follow me and help me whatever I’m doing. Unless someone there directly addresses you, try not to interfere. You’ll hear things meant to be kept private. Try and let it flow in one ear and out the other without thinking about it or remembering it. Normally its boring procedural matters running the Empire. But for the past few weeks at this odd location there has been a lot of ‘sad news’ from the deaths, injuries, from the storms. It’s been turning around a bit. Back to more rebuilding hospitals, schools, city halls, and some factories. You can whisper me questions but try not to bother the others there. You’ll do fine.”
The morning shuttle we are on (of 6 per day cycling in/out wherever court is) arrives and docks with the station. The contents depart and scan past security checkpoints. Caroline her ring and me my forearm. Which leaves Caroline with a perplexed look. (I didn’t explain yet that the implant was an option, and she sees no ring on my hand.)
I lead Caroline past stationed guards, secretaries and administrators, dignitaries, and court personnel to one of the inner facility rooms. One of the court cooks sees me, points to a cart loaded with coffee and tea Thermos’s, water pitchers, cups, and an assortment of donuts, sweets, ‘breakfast things’, and says “Conference L2 Room 6a.”
I begin pushing the cart to the Lift for Level 2, room 6a. Caroline stays almost glued to my left hip. She’s being inordinately quiet. But then I remember what it was like for myself, only a few years ago.
More guards at the conference room recognize me and one holds the door as I push the cart in. One points at Caroline. I simply say, “Sister.” The guard nods.
Caroline and I spend the next 10 minutes distributing drinks and retrieving used cups/plates, and occasionally pulling my sister gently along by her arm. With over 7,000 inhabited planets and an average population of 2 billion, a good 80% of the 14 trillion in the known multiverse have seen images/video of the Emperor. But it’s quite another thing to pass by him close enough to touch for the first time. Not to mention Admirals, Generals, and dignitaries of all sorts around the conference table and outer ring chairs many with a dizzying array of medals, epaulets, and such.
She hands me things as I place them on the table. (So, if she spills anything, it’ll only get me, not a General) and I place them on the table.
I half listen as Admiral Burns shows video on the large screen at the end of the room and describes the current situation on the planet below.
“. . . Rescue operations have officially completed everywhere. Recovery (of human/animal remains) and final demolition of dangerous structures continue in the Rangor and Balok districts.
Next, I’ll go over how we plan to deploy Military-Imperial construction teams to begin assisting with infrastructure repair and restoration . . .”, as the Admiral’s aide works on a laptop on the conference table to bring up the next presentation.
An imperial aide I recognized pops their head in the end door and says, “Sire, message on F23.” The emperor says, “One second Admiral.”, and taps some keys on a tablet at his right hand.
The presentation clears on the end video screen and a woman dressed in what I’ll say is a doctor's white cloak appears on screen. Momentarily fazed upon seeing the Emperor himself, she stutters, “I uhh,”
The Emperor said, “Its fine Doctor. How can we help you?”
The woman tries to continue, “I, uhh. I’m sorry, I . . .”, closing her eyes for a second and opening, “I’m Doctor Akins on Brandenburg 2, Jellico City Memorial Hospital. I have a patient, Angela Graham. I’m afraid she’s had a heart attack and at her age of 97, I fear she won’t last more than a day or two, despite our best efforts. Her son a . . .”, looking down at a tablet she was holding, “. . . Captain Angus Graham was listed as family-emergency contact with instructions to call the Regional Base and explain any issues. I vid-called and two people later and I’ve somehow ended up with you.”, she adds hesitantly, “Sire”, not quite sure the proper form of address for the Emperor.
The Emperor responded, “He’s on station here with his Star Carrier the Perecles so they bounced you through to us. I’ll find him and let him know to go home. Thank you, Doctor Akins.”
The Doctor nods and the screen returns to the aide’s presentation slide.
Caroline and I had been clearing coffee cups and snack dishes from afternoon tea away from the conference table and were pushing the tray to the door to leave when the Emperor held up a hand towards us.
The Emperor asked aloud “Donna? (The computers name) Locate Captain Angus Graham”.
Donna: “Captain Angus Graham has just entered the Officers Lounge on Deck 23, at Bulkhead 41.”
The Emperor hand wrote a note on a sheet of paper, folded it in half, looked my way and said “Paige”.
Paige was an inconvenient name to have in my position, I was never quite sure if he knew my name and was saying Paige or just Page.
“You heard the location?”, the Emperor asked
Paige, “Yes sire.”
“Directly to Gus.”, the Emperor said, handing me the folded note.
I nodded.
Pushing the tray on through the door, I saw another page standing nearby and said, “Please.”, pointing to the tray and nodding to the closest kitchen. Thomas nodded and began pushing the tray in that direction.
We, Caroline and I, headed for the nearest Lift. (The multi-axis elevators that span the height and breadth of the station.) And I spoke tilting my head up a bit, “Deck 23, closest Bulkhead 41.”
“Deck 23, Bulkhead 42.”, the Lift responded.
The station bulkheads are about 50ft apart, so not that far to walk.
I opened the folded note and read it silently.
Caroline, still at my side and mostly silent since a flurry of questions when we stopped to have lunch, finally spoke inside the Lift, “Can you read the note?”
I responded, “An Imperial Page can do what they need to.”
We reached the Lift destination. I spoke to a nearby common terminal and said “Officers Lounge Deck 23, Bulkhead 41.”.
The terminal responded back, “The Mango Room. Light Blue”, simultaneously a Light Blue courtesy light appeared on the wall-track and began moving at a walking pace to the right.
Caroline and I followed the dot as it matched pace to lead us.
We reached The Mango Room double doors.
I tried the door handle but while it turned, the door didn’t unlatch. I tapped the “knock” button on the rightmost door.
A few seconds later a man about 40, with slicked back black hair and a pencil thin mustache appeared on the screen above the knock button. Seeing me, he only said, “Beat it kid. This is the Officers Lounge.”, and the screen went blank again.
I pressed the button again.
This time when he appeared, I spoke before the man could, “I am an Imperial Page with a message to be hand delivered to Captain Graham. I believe him to be inside.”
“I don’t give a fuck who you are ‘Little Girl’. Children aren’t allowed in here to bother the patrons. Get lost.”, the man sneers and clicks off again.
I turn and retrace steps to the Lift, Caroline following.
I tell the Lift, “Armory”.
Scanning arm ID at the doorway, we enter and I approach the wire cage behind which stands a man I have never seen before. I fill out a “request form” on the tablet nearby, tap it to and scan my ID to the nearby sensor.
The man looks at the list popping up on the screen on his side of the cage, “A bit young, aren’t you? Why don’t you try back in a couple years.”, snickering and turning back to his desk behind him.
Back out the Armory door, to the Lift and back to the conference room with the Emperor.
I enter, holding one palm back, indicating for Caroline to stay in the doorway of the room.
Saying nothing to anyone, I walked around to the left of the Emperor and pulled the Imperial Signet off the little finger of the Emperor’s left hand and placing it onto my right index finger, while he continued to ask questions about Engineering Group deployments on the planet below.
Outside the conference room, I pointed my index/middle finger in the direction of two Imperial Marine Guards on the distant side of the room, in self-contained fully body armor then motioned with a cupping hand a ‘follow me’ hand signal.
Four of us in the Lift this time.
Back at the armory. I held my right hand up in a fist, index finger with signet facing the clerk, then swept the signet over the ID reader and entered the Emperor’s personal 18 character passcode.
The display lit up on the clerk’s side of the cage . . .
Things moved much faster this time.
The Armory attendants fitted us both with PDS’s (Personal Defense Shields), I pointed at Caroline and said “Openers”.
One Armory tech clipped two breaching charges on Caroline's belt, as I reached for the thermal viewers and mid-sized carbine the other tech held.
Facing the two Marines that had accompanied us, I waved my left hand in their direction and said, “Released.” They turned and left.
The tech previously holding the carbine asked, “You know . . .”
I turned the side of the weapon towards him and said, “Kill/Stun”, clicking that lever to Stun pointed at a 2nd switch “Rate of Fire, Single, 3 shot burst, Full Auto”, and pointing to the last, “Power Setting”.
I turned to leave with Caroline in perpetual tow.
Caroline asked, “A gun?”
I responded, “The Power settings for Stun go from level 1 to 5. One would sting. Two feels like a dozen angry bees stung you with the pain fading over the next hour. Three might knock out a child. Four would definitely knock out ANY ordinary man/woman, unconscious for an hour or so. Five would stop a charging elephant and bring it to the ground for three or four hours.”
I click the carbine settings to Level Two . . . Full Auto.
Back at “The Mango Room” doors, I swatted Caroline with the back of my hand to see our PDS fields light up and confirm it on like mine, flipped down the thermal viewer over my eyes and look to see if anyone is standing directly behind the doors.
“Take one of the breaching pucks off your belt.”, holding my hand up as if I was carrying one on my fingertips, “Set the dial on the side to 2.”
I look down the hallways to the left and right. No one on the left. I hold up one flat palm and stop a group to the right in their tracks about 20 yards away.
Speaking to Caroline again, mimicking the motion I say, “Fling it towards the center-line between the two doors.”
She flings the puck, it self-orients to flat-on face the two doors.
A half inch from the doors it discharges. The central 90% of the doors vaporize and blow back past Caroline and me in a plume of smoke and wood-metal shards. Harmlessly skittering off and around our PDS’s.
Mustache man steps out from beside the doors and seeing me begins to approach. I aim the carbine at him and hold the trigger down moving the impact point around his body.
They shoot you once during page training at settings two and three. A single shot at level two hurt worse than anything I’d felt to that point in my life for the next hour. A week later when they did Three . . . I was out for an hour.
I can’t imagine 2 seconds of Full Auto felt pleasant as mustache man crumpled to the floor.
Officers and Civilian Dignitaries around the room stood up from their tables upon seeing/hearing the door breach.
I took the opportunity to step up from one of their chairs to a nearby table, trying to dodge drink glasses.
Addressing the room with a firm voice, “I am an Imperial Page. With a message from the Emperor for Captain Angus Graham. Captain Graham present yourself.”
The crowd somewhat parted as a man in his late 60’s answered, “Here Miss.”
Stepping down from the table/chair, slinging the rifle, and approaching Captain Graham, I didn’t remove the note, but chose simply to speak directly to the Captain.
“Gus”, (the Captain understood it was the Emperor speaking), “Word just came through and it seemed better to deliver it in person. Your mother has suffered a heart attack and we fear her time is near. If your responsibilities allow it, take my shuttle and go home while you still can. Spend what time you need with her. I’m very sorry old friend.”
The Captain responded softly to me, “Thank you John.”
I stepped back and to the side, using my right hand to wave Caroline back out of the way.
Captain Graham passed through the crowd, presumably to gather personal items and head home.
I, with Caroline following, turned to follow Captain Graham out.
The “very angry” bouncer was just getting up on one hip, trying to push himself up on one hand and yelled through clenched teeth, “Why you little Bit. . . ”
He didn’t finish the sentence. I clicked the gun up to level 4, single shot, pushing him back 3 feet, and pinning him to the wall. Unconscious for at least a couple hours this time.
Caroline and I returned to the armory, dropping off the Carbine, Thermals, PDSs, and one un-expended breaching puck. Signing them back in. Logging one puck as “expended”, and 0.2% down on the carbine charge.
Back in the Lift to return to the conference room, I notice out the corner of my eye, a still silent Caroline, looks over and up at me with a thousand questions on her face.
I continued looking forward at the Lift doors and said, “An Imperial Page can do what they need to.”
I reentered the conference room, Caroline still in tow. Walked around the Emperor to his left, lifting his left hand and placing the signet back on his little finger and whispered, “Thank you John.”
As a video of reconstruction projections continued on the vid-screen at the end of the room, the Emperor nodded to me, understanding the message was from Gus and after I had crossed around behind him, looked to his right and said, “Thank you Paige.”, nodding to my sister, “Caroline.”
Caroline, her eyes as big as dinner plates, half bowed, half curtsied, and we left the conference room.
I looked over at Caroline, “It’s been a long day for you. We can just catch the next shuttle back to R44 and home if we leave now.”
Off the local transport, our parents were just stepping out of their personal car. Dad had two grocery bags in each hand, mother had two in one hand and was reaching for the last one in the open trunk-hatch.
“You survived!”, she said teasingly, looking our direction.
“Yes mother.”, I said.
“Did anything interesting happen?”, she asked.
“No mother. It was just another ordinary day. Passing out coffee, meals, and delivering notes.”, I replied
Caroline picked up the last of the grocery bags from the car while mother closed the hatch.
“How about you nibblet?”, Father asked, stopping to look at Caroline, “Were you bored to tears? Do you think you might like to be a Page in two more years when you’re old enough? You’d have to go through the training classes for the next two summers like your sister did.”
“Yes father. I think I’d like that.”, and lead the way into the house.
Caroline sets the grocery bag on the kitchen table and moves into the living room to sit down on the sofa. She faced the vid-screen and clicks it on. One of the weekly shows is on about one or another of the nation’s larger zoo’s. But she’s got that “glazed over” thousand yard stare . . . That I probably had after my first day after seeing the Imperial Court.
I wonder to myself if she’ll follow in my footsteps. Someone, from somewhere will need to replace me in about two years. In theory you can stay an entire career as a page. Some do.
But in two years I’ll be sixteen. And with four years’ experience as an Imperial Page, I can begin training for a range of other jobs in the Imperial administration.
“Combat Courier” sounds interesting.
submitted by PhesteringSoars to shortstories [link] [comments]
“No mom. It’s ‘Bring your sibling to work day’. Caroline is 10 and old enough for the summer training, even though she can’t officially serve as an Imperial Page for two more years.”, I reply.
At 14 myself, I’ve been an Imperial Page for 2 years now. “I did the summer training.”, a month each, for two summers starting at 10, “I wanted to see if she might be interested serving as well.”
“I just don’t want her getting in someone important’s way.”, mother continues.
“She’ll be fine. The shuttle flights in/out off-world will be the most exciting part. ‘Court’ is currently in session on Tau Ceti 9a, with the Emperor himself at one of the orbital Space Stations. He’s overseeing rescue, recovery, and restoration operations dealing with the aftermath of the two recent super-typhoons on the planet. We’ll mostly be delivering snacks & meals and hand delivering documents and supplies all day. Routine stuff.”
“I just don’t want her to do something to upset the Emperor.”, mother said.
I reply, “He’s trying to help people in distress mom. People left with next to nothing. He’s just a man.”
Mother shakes her head and mumbles, “I worry about that too.”
I snort, “He wouldn’t do anything to us and the Sezrakeen (the Imperial Guard) wouldn’t allow it anyway.”
I remember something they told us in training . . . “Even if you see the Emperor in a room, seemingly by himself, two of the Sezrakeen are always there. Though they can be invisible, and you may not see them. One to protect him from evil in the world and one to protect the world from any evil in him.” No one in the Imperial Court has treated me badly.
Mother finally relents, cleans up after breakfast, and sees us off. We catch the community transit to the city-center, then on to Lacross Spaceport. One shuttle to the regional military base, then a shuttle combining many groups to go to / from wherever Court is in session at the current time.
With 7,645 inhabited worlds in the known multiverse, “Imperial Court” moves around every few months trying to spread the attention around. Currently there are 74 regional centers large enough to house the staff of the traveling court. 17 of which could be classified as “Palaces”. (Including “The Winter Palace” the Emperor build by himself, by hand on Beatrice Nine. It’s beautiful and one of my favorites to visit and serve in, though knowing he was abandoned alone on the planet for almost 40,000 years, time enough to build the central structures by himself . . . sort of brings a melancholy air to the place.)
Caroline and I arrive at R44 (the closest Regional Center), and I take her to Security while we wait for the morning shuttle. I scan my left forearm under the ID scanner. You can wear a ring, bracelet, pendent, or carry a card or pen-sized wand for ID . . . But I opted for the radial (bone) implant. It’s much harder to forget and leave your left arm at home. And since it registers body heat and blood flow, it can’t practically be taken from you and used by someone else. (I did “neglect” to tell my parents I opted for the implant 18 months ago.)
Caroline gets her biometrics recorded. (Photographs, walking gait, finger-hand prints. Reads a sample text for voice capture and a pinprick for DNA.) She opts for a subtle ring ID and asks me, “Why does it look like I’m the only sister or brother here?”
I respond, “It’s only you today. I just wanted you to see what a day was like in the Imperial Court.”
“What do you mean ‘only you’? Is it really ‘Bring your sibling to work day?’”
“As far as I know there is no such thing. I just wanted you to come and see the Emperor and the Court.”
“You’re just bringing someone to see the Emperor of the Known Multiverse and the Imperial Court? Who approved it?”
“I did.”
“You can do that?”
“An Imperial Page can do what they need to.”, I say as we finish her setup. Most of the biographical info (date of birth, relatives, placed lived) I entered to her personnel record weeks ago. I scan my ID and vouch for her to match the biometrics to the central data personnel record.
“Let’s go, the Shuttle will be ready for boarding about the time we get there.”, I put my left arm around Caroline’s shoulders and nudge her in the right direction.
Feeling the tenseness in her shoulders I ask, “Are you worried?”
“A little bit.”, she says with a bit shaky voice.
“Don’t. Just keep your ears open. Follow me and help me whatever I’m doing. Unless someone there directly addresses you, try not to interfere. You’ll hear things meant to be kept private. Try and let it flow in one ear and out the other without thinking about it or remembering it. Normally its boring procedural matters running the Empire. But for the past few weeks at this odd location there has been a lot of ‘sad news’ from the deaths, injuries, from the storms. It’s been turning around a bit. Back to more rebuilding hospitals, schools, city halls, and some factories. You can whisper me questions but try not to bother the others there. You’ll do fine.”
The morning shuttle we are on (of 6 per day cycling in/out wherever court is) arrives and docks with the station. The contents depart and scan past security checkpoints. Caroline her ring and me my forearm. Which leaves Caroline with a perplexed look. (I didn’t explain yet that the implant was an option, and she sees no ring on my hand.)
I lead Caroline past stationed guards, secretaries and administrators, dignitaries, and court personnel to one of the inner facility rooms. One of the court cooks sees me, points to a cart loaded with coffee and tea Thermos’s, water pitchers, cups, and an assortment of donuts, sweets, ‘breakfast things’, and says “Conference L2 Room 6a.”
I begin pushing the cart to the Lift for Level 2, room 6a. Caroline stays almost glued to my left hip. She’s being inordinately quiet. But then I remember what it was like for myself, only a few years ago.
More guards at the conference room recognize me and one holds the door as I push the cart in. One points at Caroline. I simply say, “Sister.” The guard nods.
Caroline and I spend the next 10 minutes distributing drinks and retrieving used cups/plates, and occasionally pulling my sister gently along by her arm. With over 7,000 inhabited planets and an average population of 2 billion, a good 80% of the 14 trillion in the known multiverse have seen images/video of the Emperor. But it’s quite another thing to pass by him close enough to touch for the first time. Not to mention Admirals, Generals, and dignitaries of all sorts around the conference table and outer ring chairs many with a dizzying array of medals, epaulets, and such.
She hands me things as I place them on the table. (So, if she spills anything, it’ll only get me, not a General) and I place them on the table.
I half listen as Admiral Burns shows video on the large screen at the end of the room and describes the current situation on the planet below.
“. . . Rescue operations have officially completed everywhere. Recovery (of human/animal remains) and final demolition of dangerous structures continue in the Rangor and Balok districts.
Next, I’ll go over how we plan to deploy Military-Imperial construction teams to begin assisting with infrastructure repair and restoration . . .”, as the Admiral’s aide works on a laptop on the conference table to bring up the next presentation.
An imperial aide I recognized pops their head in the end door and says, “Sire, message on F23.” The emperor says, “One second Admiral.”, and taps some keys on a tablet at his right hand.
The presentation clears on the end video screen and a woman dressed in what I’ll say is a doctor's white cloak appears on screen. Momentarily fazed upon seeing the Emperor himself, she stutters, “I uhh,”
The Emperor said, “Its fine Doctor. How can we help you?”
The woman tries to continue, “I, uhh. I’m sorry, I . . .”, closing her eyes for a second and opening, “I’m Doctor Akins on Brandenburg 2, Jellico City Memorial Hospital. I have a patient, Angela Graham. I’m afraid she’s had a heart attack and at her age of 97, I fear she won’t last more than a day or two, despite our best efforts. Her son a . . .”, looking down at a tablet she was holding, “. . . Captain Angus Graham was listed as family-emergency contact with instructions to call the Regional Base and explain any issues. I vid-called and two people later and I’ve somehow ended up with you.”, she adds hesitantly, “Sire”, not quite sure the proper form of address for the Emperor.
The Emperor responded, “He’s on station here with his Star Carrier the Perecles so they bounced you through to us. I’ll find him and let him know to go home. Thank you, Doctor Akins.”
The Doctor nods and the screen returns to the aide’s presentation slide.
Caroline and I had been clearing coffee cups and snack dishes from afternoon tea away from the conference table and were pushing the tray to the door to leave when the Emperor held up a hand towards us.
The Emperor asked aloud “Donna? (The computers name) Locate Captain Angus Graham”.
Donna: “Captain Angus Graham has just entered the Officers Lounge on Deck 23, at Bulkhead 41.”
The Emperor hand wrote a note on a sheet of paper, folded it in half, looked my way and said “Paige”.
Paige was an inconvenient name to have in my position, I was never quite sure if he knew my name and was saying Paige or just Page.
“You heard the location?”, the Emperor asked
Paige, “Yes sire.”
“Directly to Gus.”, the Emperor said, handing me the folded note.
I nodded.
Pushing the tray on through the door, I saw another page standing nearby and said, “Please.”, pointing to the tray and nodding to the closest kitchen. Thomas nodded and began pushing the tray in that direction.
We, Caroline and I, headed for the nearest Lift. (The multi-axis elevators that span the height and breadth of the station.) And I spoke tilting my head up a bit, “Deck 23, closest Bulkhead 41.”
“Deck 23, Bulkhead 42.”, the Lift responded.
The station bulkheads are about 50ft apart, so not that far to walk.
I opened the folded note and read it silently.
Caroline, still at my side and mostly silent since a flurry of questions when we stopped to have lunch, finally spoke inside the Lift, “Can you read the note?”
I responded, “An Imperial Page can do what they need to.”
We reached the Lift destination. I spoke to a nearby common terminal and said “Officers Lounge Deck 23, Bulkhead 41.”.
The terminal responded back, “The Mango Room. Light Blue”, simultaneously a Light Blue courtesy light appeared on the wall-track and began moving at a walking pace to the right.
Caroline and I followed the dot as it matched pace to lead us.
We reached The Mango Room double doors.
I tried the door handle but while it turned, the door didn’t unlatch. I tapped the “knock” button on the rightmost door.
A few seconds later a man about 40, with slicked back black hair and a pencil thin mustache appeared on the screen above the knock button. Seeing me, he only said, “Beat it kid. This is the Officers Lounge.”, and the screen went blank again.
I pressed the button again.
This time when he appeared, I spoke before the man could, “I am an Imperial Page with a message to be hand delivered to Captain Graham. I believe him to be inside.”
“I don’t give a fuck who you are ‘Little Girl’. Children aren’t allowed in here to bother the patrons. Get lost.”, the man sneers and clicks off again.
I turn and retrace steps to the Lift, Caroline following.
I tell the Lift, “Armory”.
Scanning arm ID at the doorway, we enter and I approach the wire cage behind which stands a man I have never seen before. I fill out a “request form” on the tablet nearby, tap it to and scan my ID to the nearby sensor.
The man looks at the list popping up on the screen on his side of the cage, “A bit young, aren’t you? Why don’t you try back in a couple years.”, snickering and turning back to his desk behind him.
Back out the Armory door, to the Lift and back to the conference room with the Emperor.
I enter, holding one palm back, indicating for Caroline to stay in the doorway of the room.
Saying nothing to anyone, I walked around to the left of the Emperor and pulled the Imperial Signet off the little finger of the Emperor’s left hand and placing it onto my right index finger, while he continued to ask questions about Engineering Group deployments on the planet below.
Outside the conference room, I pointed my index/middle finger in the direction of two Imperial Marine Guards on the distant side of the room, in self-contained fully body armor then motioned with a cupping hand a ‘follow me’ hand signal.
Four of us in the Lift this time.
Back at the armory. I held my right hand up in a fist, index finger with signet facing the clerk, then swept the signet over the ID reader and entered the Emperor’s personal 18 character passcode.
The display lit up on the clerk’s side of the cage . . .
Things moved much faster this time.
The Armory attendants fitted us both with PDS’s (Personal Defense Shields), I pointed at Caroline and said “Openers”.
One Armory tech clipped two breaching charges on Caroline's belt, as I reached for the thermal viewers and mid-sized carbine the other tech held.
Facing the two Marines that had accompanied us, I waved my left hand in their direction and said, “Released.” They turned and left.
The tech previously holding the carbine asked, “You know . . .”
I turned the side of the weapon towards him and said, “Kill/Stun”, clicking that lever to Stun pointed at a 2nd switch “Rate of Fire, Single, 3 shot burst, Full Auto”, and pointing to the last, “Power Setting”.
I turned to leave with Caroline in perpetual tow.
Caroline asked, “A gun?”
I responded, “The Power settings for Stun go from level 1 to 5. One would sting. Two feels like a dozen angry bees stung you with the pain fading over the next hour. Three might knock out a child. Four would definitely knock out ANY ordinary man/woman, unconscious for an hour or so. Five would stop a charging elephant and bring it to the ground for three or four hours.”
I click the carbine settings to Level Two . . . Full Auto.
Back at “The Mango Room” doors, I swatted Caroline with the back of my hand to see our PDS fields light up and confirm it on like mine, flipped down the thermal viewer over my eyes and look to see if anyone is standing directly behind the doors.
“Take one of the breaching pucks off your belt.”, holding my hand up as if I was carrying one on my fingertips, “Set the dial on the side to 2.”
I look down the hallways to the left and right. No one on the left. I hold up one flat palm and stop a group to the right in their tracks about 20 yards away.
Speaking to Caroline again, mimicking the motion I say, “Fling it towards the center-line between the two doors.”
She flings the puck, it self-orients to flat-on face the two doors.
A half inch from the doors it discharges. The central 90% of the doors vaporize and blow back past Caroline and me in a plume of smoke and wood-metal shards. Harmlessly skittering off and around our PDS’s.
Mustache man steps out from beside the doors and seeing me begins to approach. I aim the carbine at him and hold the trigger down moving the impact point around his body.
They shoot you once during page training at settings two and three. A single shot at level two hurt worse than anything I’d felt to that point in my life for the next hour. A week later when they did Three . . . I was out for an hour.
I can’t imagine 2 seconds of Full Auto felt pleasant as mustache man crumpled to the floor.
Officers and Civilian Dignitaries around the room stood up from their tables upon seeing/hearing the door breach.
I took the opportunity to step up from one of their chairs to a nearby table, trying to dodge drink glasses.
Addressing the room with a firm voice, “I am an Imperial Page. With a message from the Emperor for Captain Angus Graham. Captain Graham present yourself.”
The crowd somewhat parted as a man in his late 60’s answered, “Here Miss.”
Stepping down from the table/chair, slinging the rifle, and approaching Captain Graham, I didn’t remove the note, but chose simply to speak directly to the Captain.
“Gus”, (the Captain understood it was the Emperor speaking), “Word just came through and it seemed better to deliver it in person. Your mother has suffered a heart attack and we fear her time is near. If your responsibilities allow it, take my shuttle and go home while you still can. Spend what time you need with her. I’m very sorry old friend.”
The Captain responded softly to me, “Thank you John.”
I stepped back and to the side, using my right hand to wave Caroline back out of the way.
Captain Graham passed through the crowd, presumably to gather personal items and head home.
I, with Caroline following, turned to follow Captain Graham out.
The “very angry” bouncer was just getting up on one hip, trying to push himself up on one hand and yelled through clenched teeth, “Why you little Bit. . . ”
He didn’t finish the sentence. I clicked the gun up to level 4, single shot, pushing him back 3 feet, and pinning him to the wall. Unconscious for at least a couple hours this time.
Caroline and I returned to the armory, dropping off the Carbine, Thermals, PDSs, and one un-expended breaching puck. Signing them back in. Logging one puck as “expended”, and 0.2% down on the carbine charge.
Back in the Lift to return to the conference room, I notice out the corner of my eye, a still silent Caroline, looks over and up at me with a thousand questions on her face.
I continued looking forward at the Lift doors and said, “An Imperial Page can do what they need to.”
I reentered the conference room, Caroline still in tow. Walked around the Emperor to his left, lifting his left hand and placing the signet back on his little finger and whispered, “Thank you John.”
As a video of reconstruction projections continued on the vid-screen at the end of the room, the Emperor nodded to me, understanding the message was from Gus and after I had crossed around behind him, looked to his right and said, “Thank you Paige.”, nodding to my sister, “Caroline.”
Caroline, her eyes as big as dinner plates, half bowed, half curtsied, and we left the conference room.
I looked over at Caroline, “It’s been a long day for you. We can just catch the next shuttle back to R44 and home if we leave now.”
Off the local transport, our parents were just stepping out of their personal car. Dad had two grocery bags in each hand, mother had two in one hand and was reaching for the last one in the open trunk-hatch.
“You survived!”, she said teasingly, looking our direction.
“Yes mother.”, I said.
“Did anything interesting happen?”, she asked.
“No mother. It was just another ordinary day. Passing out coffee, meals, and delivering notes.”, I replied
Caroline picked up the last of the grocery bags from the car while mother closed the hatch.
“How about you nibblet?”, Father asked, stopping to look at Caroline, “Were you bored to tears? Do you think you might like to be a Page in two more years when you’re old enough? You’d have to go through the training classes for the next two summers like your sister did.”
“Yes father. I think I’d like that.”, and lead the way into the house.
Caroline sets the grocery bag on the kitchen table and moves into the living room to sit down on the sofa. She faced the vid-screen and clicks it on. One of the weekly shows is on about one or another of the nation’s larger zoo’s. But she’s got that “glazed over” thousand yard stare . . . That I probably had after my first day after seeing the Imperial Court.
I wonder to myself if she’ll follow in my footsteps. Someone, from somewhere will need to replace me in about two years. In theory you can stay an entire career as a page. Some do.
But in two years I’ll be sixteen. And with four years’ experience as an Imperial Page, I can begin training for a range of other jobs in the Imperial administration.
“Combat Courier” sounds interesting.
2023.05.28 00:19 Striking-Hand5434 When did we decide what's "offensive" or not?
When was it that everyone decided that if they find something "offensive", that they are entitled to take action in remeding the situation to fit their fragile minds and feelings?
I find the sight of people eating/cooking lobster offensive. Know what I do about it? I don't fucking go lobster restaurants, or hang out at fishing docks. I don't feel the need or the entitlement to go up to someone and tell them I find what they are doing offensive, so therefore they should stop doing it. Why? Because it's their life and their choices to make- and no one gives a shit what I think.
I find people's kids screaming in public spaces one of the most annoying things on the planet. Hmm...what can/should I do about that? Maybe I shouldn't go to places where there would be an excessive amount of people with kids. Because I don't like kids. However, It's not my place to tell people they shouldn't have them.
I could care less about Pride month. It doesn't have anything to do with me because I am not gay. That doesn't give me the right to tell a whole community that they shouldn't be able to celebrate their lifestyle.
If I had a kid and walked into Target, saw trans/Pride clothing displayed and they asked "what's thus mom?" I would simply explain it to them. I would not shield them from the fact that people are different, and that's ok.
When did everyone decide they should have the authority to tell everyone else what is right and wrong?
Why can't we just let people live their goddamn lives? Our lives are so short. Let others live how they want to. If you are not gay/Trans, than it literally has NO affect on your life.
submitted by Striking-Hand5434 to NoStupidQuestions [link] [comments]
I find the sight of people eating/cooking lobster offensive. Know what I do about it? I don't fucking go lobster restaurants, or hang out at fishing docks. I don't feel the need or the entitlement to go up to someone and tell them I find what they are doing offensive, so therefore they should stop doing it. Why? Because it's their life and their choices to make- and no one gives a shit what I think.
I find people's kids screaming in public spaces one of the most annoying things on the planet. Hmm...what can/should I do about that? Maybe I shouldn't go to places where there would be an excessive amount of people with kids. Because I don't like kids. However, It's not my place to tell people they shouldn't have them.
I could care less about Pride month. It doesn't have anything to do with me because I am not gay. That doesn't give me the right to tell a whole community that they shouldn't be able to celebrate their lifestyle.
If I had a kid and walked into Target, saw trans/Pride clothing displayed and they asked "what's thus mom?" I would simply explain it to them. I would not shield them from the fact that people are different, and that's ok.
When did everyone decide they should have the authority to tell everyone else what is right and wrong?
Why can't we just let people live their goddamn lives? Our lives are so short. Let others live how they want to. If you are not gay/Trans, than it literally has NO affect on your life.
2023.05.27 23:56 Sea-Way3636 Fitness 19 vs Planet Fitness
Hey guys which one is better of these?
submitted by Sea-Way3636 to Fremont [link] [comments]
2023.05.27 23:48 MistyTopaz Thoughts on Fashion "Dreamer"..
...yeah I made it clear on a particular post on here that a person had done and they shared the same feeling as I did for this "game"(?), ...listen I love the outfits, the places but..this isn't a game, this doesn't even feel like one either, it looks like a demo of a project that they want to test out to see if it works or not.
I am hoping it doesn't and they go back to actually working on style savvy/girls mode the 5th installment for the franchise like they promised us, made clear too haha...cause this is gonna be a major problem if this is where they want to lead on towards the future of the fashion game they're gonna be releasing it, this is me going based off the fact of what is gonna release to us all, the information as well that is given out so swiftly.
I mean I could be wrong, they could end up fixing the obvious alarming highly possible flop of a "game" that is fashion "dreamer" and release a second one in the future to fix the mistakes they made even though it's pretty darn obvious what people want... -_-".
Nonetheless I continue on, before I get to the main feel for this game..I want to put this out first, I am not gonna sugar coat it, I don't see this game being a real success in a sense that it's made with an actual intention of creating a game that people love not to fit an agenda, like a trendy one which is VR, from what he made clear the game is going to be in a virtual world, that you can meet real people(i am fine with co-op or multiplayer but his wording fits vr..not something a dev would state when co-op or multiplayer is being presented ya know?) going based off real outfits - if that doesn't make it even more obvious I don't know what will. If they actually cared to give us what we wanted as customers we would've had style savvy 5 but instead we get slapped with political opinion, yeah this garbage was a thing in the political space..since day one, and Elon(note; if you don't know, the whole thing with Elon was that he was the first one to push out virtual reality junk with his whole putting a person's mind into a computer..sigh, and that's when all other companies started to follow in, and it's why it slithered its way into gaming..because of politics..cause Elon did put it underneath that category..the more I think about it the more I cringe) ya know, not gonna go into it too much but you can understand what I mean here, I just don't like it. Keep that crud off of gaming spaces.
Now that this is out of the way, important stuff to note, um the games graphic looks pretty I adore it, the stages look very cute but too fake it doesn't feel natural, which makes sense since you're in vr not in game real world..sigh, the outfits as I stated are adorable, the hairstyles too, I love the picture features you get to do - it looks fun, ..the poses too..but..thats all I got for now, cause I am pretty sure syn sophia will share more news on what other things..man I have so many doubts here it's not even funny but I can't help but giggle at this gosh.
Once they display the entire information I will add onto this post as an update.
Working with what I got people. But straight to the negative, I don't like the vr as I made it clear the concept of that is boring i got Digimon for that already man, I don't need no poorly vr fashion "game" to try to hop into that topic, please no more, it's annoying how they're force pushing this crud onto my spaces(note; they are tons of games releasing for vr on the consoles that i like and the genre ideas are interesting but its vr..), further more I don't find it fun that we are limited to the clothing(side note; i just now realized why this happened its because when you make a game going based off realism even tho irl they're tons of pretty hair, etc - they are going to limit it into a sense for the game space ya know?) hair, make up option because from what he stated if we are to create outfits, give a different hairstyle, make up to a person, just looks - not npc customers, cause who cares about in game currency yall something that makes you feel like you dang accomplished something at the end of it all or like a goal - that majority of every game has - .....mm let me not get ahead of myself here, it's gonna be a broken cycle of doing the same thing over n over, and just seeing the same limited amount of clothing, hair etc is not fun as I made clear - you can skip this part here if you would like to, I don't mind it. I just wanted to make this clear, that's all. ..I honestly don't know how this is gonna even work out,..I also want to state that I am not here to cater to toxic positive groupies, I rather step on a Lego than go to that length of nasty feeling.
The other thing is that there is no story, no interactions with people just hit like and subscribe y'all lmao...remember you got to pay membership to get the full game like sonic did when they released the obvious scam of tech demo that was sonic forces xD 60$ please for a half baked ga-...ahem, making funnies here, ah jeez, why couldn't they just bring poupee girl to the west or something like poupee girl, I would've enjoyed that than this man, you get to do so much again..wonder if anyone is willing to English patch that game ;-;..I am going off topic here cause I got nothing else..I honestly don't see how this is even worth playing at all.
Until I see legit real hands on gameplay, them actually putting effort putting real game stuff into this "game"...I feel empty when I saw that trailer no feelings of wanting it, ya know? You just hit like, get the outfit without a need to unlock it, or having the great feeling of buying it, just easily slapping you with it man the guy even stated he is gonna cater towards casual gamers like the game is already drop dead boring easy it's a fashion game what is so difficult about that? People in here already suffered through the trials of the gorgeous first game on the ds they enjoyed it, and now you wanna strip that? - it makes me question, if the game for pripara series the new season for it - is this drop dead boring with gorgeous game graphics?..lastly you create outfits and that's it.... It's disappointing how this is where we are at with games..especially my baby fashion genre.
In the meantime I am just gonna play the 3ds, ds fashion games that released they are just so soothing to play even tho they're old and I did play them but still some need English patch man I really wanna play the Japanese ones badly, the switch has some kind of ones like the model debut game, that's good and fun to play sad that I can't understand it but still love that they stuck to the roots.
Hoping ir releases to the west:"0 (edited)
submitted by MistyTopaz to stylesavvy [link] [comments]
I am hoping it doesn't and they go back to actually working on style savvy/girls mode the 5th installment for the franchise like they promised us, made clear too haha...cause this is gonna be a major problem if this is where they want to lead on towards the future of the fashion game they're gonna be releasing it, this is me going based off the fact of what is gonna release to us all, the information as well that is given out so swiftly.
I mean I could be wrong, they could end up fixing the obvious alarming highly possible flop of a "game" that is fashion "dreamer" and release a second one in the future to fix the mistakes they made even though it's pretty darn obvious what people want... -_-".
Nonetheless I continue on, before I get to the main feel for this game..I want to put this out first, I am not gonna sugar coat it, I don't see this game being a real success in a sense that it's made with an actual intention of creating a game that people love not to fit an agenda, like a trendy one which is VR, from what he made clear the game is going to be in a virtual world, that you can meet real people(i am fine with co-op or multiplayer but his wording fits vr..not something a dev would state when co-op or multiplayer is being presented ya know?) going based off real outfits - if that doesn't make it even more obvious I don't know what will. If they actually cared to give us what we wanted as customers we would've had style savvy 5 but instead we get slapped with political opinion, yeah this garbage was a thing in the political space..since day one, and Elon(note; if you don't know, the whole thing with Elon was that he was the first one to push out virtual reality junk with his whole putting a person's mind into a computer..sigh, and that's when all other companies started to follow in, and it's why it slithered its way into gaming..because of politics..cause Elon did put it underneath that category..the more I think about it the more I cringe) ya know, not gonna go into it too much but you can understand what I mean here, I just don't like it. Keep that crud off of gaming spaces.
Now that this is out of the way, important stuff to note, um the games graphic looks pretty I adore it, the stages look very cute but too fake it doesn't feel natural, which makes sense since you're in vr not in game real world..sigh, the outfits as I stated are adorable, the hairstyles too, I love the picture features you get to do - it looks fun, ..the poses too..but..thats all I got for now, cause I am pretty sure syn sophia will share more news on what other things..man I have so many doubts here it's not even funny but I can't help but giggle at this gosh.
Once they display the entire information I will add onto this post as an update.
Working with what I got people. But straight to the negative, I don't like the vr as I made it clear the concept of that is boring i got Digimon for that already man, I don't need no poorly vr fashion "game" to try to hop into that topic, please no more, it's annoying how they're force pushing this crud onto my spaces(note; they are tons of games releasing for vr on the consoles that i like and the genre ideas are interesting but its vr..), further more I don't find it fun that we are limited to the clothing(side note; i just now realized why this happened its because when you make a game going based off realism even tho irl they're tons of pretty hair, etc - they are going to limit it into a sense for the game space ya know?) hair, make up option because from what he stated if we are to create outfits, give a different hairstyle, make up to a person, just looks - not npc customers, cause who cares about in game currency yall something that makes you feel like you dang accomplished something at the end of it all or like a goal - that majority of every game has - .....mm let me not get ahead of myself here, it's gonna be a broken cycle of doing the same thing over n over, and just seeing the same limited amount of clothing, hair etc is not fun as I made clear - you can skip this part here if you would like to, I don't mind it. I just wanted to make this clear, that's all. ..I honestly don't know how this is gonna even work out,..I also want to state that I am not here to cater to toxic positive groupies, I rather step on a Lego than go to that length of nasty feeling.
The other thing is that there is no story, no interactions with people just hit like and subscribe y'all lmao...remember you got to pay membership to get the full game like sonic did when they released the obvious scam of tech demo that was sonic forces xD 60$ please for a half baked ga-...ahem, making funnies here, ah jeez, why couldn't they just bring poupee girl to the west or something like poupee girl, I would've enjoyed that than this man, you get to do so much again..wonder if anyone is willing to English patch that game ;-;..I am going off topic here cause I got nothing else..I honestly don't see how this is even worth playing at all.
Until I see legit real hands on gameplay, them actually putting effort putting real game stuff into this "game"...I feel empty when I saw that trailer no feelings of wanting it, ya know? You just hit like, get the outfit without a need to unlock it, or having the great feeling of buying it, just easily slapping you with it man the guy even stated he is gonna cater towards casual gamers like the game is already drop dead boring easy it's a fashion game what is so difficult about that? People in here already suffered through the trials of the gorgeous first game on the ds they enjoyed it, and now you wanna strip that? - it makes me question, if the game for pripara series the new season for it - is this drop dead boring with gorgeous game graphics?..lastly you create outfits and that's it.... It's disappointing how this is where we are at with games..especially my baby fashion genre.
In the meantime I am just gonna play the 3ds, ds fashion games that released they are just so soothing to play even tho they're old and I did play them but still some need English patch man I really wanna play the Japanese ones badly, the switch has some kind of ones like the model debut game, that's good and fun to play sad that I can't understand it but still love that they stuck to the roots.
Hoping ir releases to the west:"0 (edited)
2023.05.27 23:44 tmoran290 Wanting Career Path Recommendations/Advice
Hello! I'm looking for some recommendations and insight on some career paths based on my academic experience and work experience. As I've grown, my interests have strayed away from my previous plan of going to law school. Now I'm not sure what fields I can get into. Any advice is appreciated! And please let me know if I should post this in a different subreddit (I don't go on Reddit often so I'm sorry if I put it in the wrong one).
I'm a senior in college about to graduate in August majoring in Legal Studies with a minor in Management. I have been very involved on campus as the treasurer of my sorority and pre-law club, a math tutor and TA, an honors college mentor, and a peer academic leader (mentor for freshmen), to name a few.
I feel like I'm limited to careers only in the legal field such as a paralegal, legal assistant, etc., which I don't have much interest in anymore.
As far as my work experience, I have worked all throughout high school and college, with most of my work experience coming from being a sales representative at a boutique fitness club. I have two years of experience in this position and have knowledge of prospecting and contacting leads, writing and pitching memberships, performing administrative tasks (class scheduling, drafting correspondence, making phone calls, sending texts), and managing invoices and payment collection. While I do have sales experience, I know it is not the best fit for my skill set and I know I could perform better in a different role (and be happier lol).
For my interests, I really like the music, entertainment, and media industry... but I know those industries can be difficult to break into and are primarily location-based (?). Some other industries/interests of mine are animals/working with animals, health & wellness, and personal care.
Thank you so much! I appreciate it!
submitted by tmoran290 to jobs [link] [comments]
I'm a senior in college about to graduate in August majoring in Legal Studies with a minor in Management. I have been very involved on campus as the treasurer of my sorority and pre-law club, a math tutor and TA, an honors college mentor, and a peer academic leader (mentor for freshmen), to name a few.
I feel like I'm limited to careers only in the legal field such as a paralegal, legal assistant, etc., which I don't have much interest in anymore.
As far as my work experience, I have worked all throughout high school and college, with most of my work experience coming from being a sales representative at a boutique fitness club. I have two years of experience in this position and have knowledge of prospecting and contacting leads, writing and pitching memberships, performing administrative tasks (class scheduling, drafting correspondence, making phone calls, sending texts), and managing invoices and payment collection. While I do have sales experience, I know it is not the best fit for my skill set and I know I could perform better in a different role (and be happier lol).
For my interests, I really like the music, entertainment, and media industry... but I know those industries can be difficult to break into and are primarily location-based (?). Some other industries/interests of mine are animals/working with animals, health & wellness, and personal care.
Thank you so much! I appreciate it!