I posted previously (almost a month ago) and wanted to provide some update.
Since then:

• Completely re-did my A+ content which looks visually appealing now, re-did my SEO and PPC
• Tried to redo my PPC strategy - Spent additional $1100 for 1200 clicks, 12 PPC sales - spending $70-80 a day, MAYBE 1 sale from PPC
• Made 33 orders (so 21 orders were organic)
• re-did pricing and increased coupon for $5 at for break even price
• I have total of 30 positive reviews total

My sales did get better organically because I went days without order before. However, at this point, I'm close to spending $2000 in PPC, and at this rate, i'm going to be losing a lot of money. I paused all my PPC and just increased coupon to $10 to see what would happen. Because it would still be cheaper to sell product at loss compared to spending tons on PPC with no sale.
I have 900 units available still and I am stressing out now with storage cost that will only screw me over more if I don't sell these. Any experienced FBA seller here to shine some light? I am willing to share my listing via DM...

Hey all,
Recently decided to pick zombies back up, going for high rounds in solo. I do the easter eggs/buildables when necessary but if i can help it i just go for the bare essentials needed to get further. I actually first played Zombies when WaW dropped, had some casual fun with it. Then when Black Ops came out is when i first really started trying to go for higher rounds and learning the maps. Dropped off for a bit, BO2 kinda turned me off because Tranzit just didn't land for me and I didn't have a console or a PC for a few years and missed out on Bo3, grabbed Bo4 on a whim and was not pleased with how they changed zombies so I kinda just dropped it
Over the pandemic i got bored and grabbed Cold War, i thought some of the zombies maps were kinda neat (namely Mauer i actually really think that map is cool in concept but because its cold war doesn't reach its full potential) Eventually i just said screw it and grabbed BO3 on PC with all the DLC and fell back in love with it. Some of the newer maps (Origins, Der Eisen, etc) are a bit strange to me because im used to the WaW/BO1 map structure where its very straight forward. i did however absolutely fall in love with Shadows of Evil. To the point that I went out of my way to learn everything about that map. Ive actually pretty much figured out (and used some videos) how to get the shield, the pack a punch and civil servant by about round 5-7 and the apothicon servant and sword shortly after. Thus far my best solo run record is 27.
On a side note, from back in the day I got pretty beast mode with the WaW/BO1 maps. My best record solo is about 50 in Der Reise. as a team somehow me and my friend managed to get to like round 64 on Five of all maps which I hear many consider to be a pretty difficult map. With BO3 workshop creations on steam I can actually play Mob of The Dead finally. Really hope someone just does every Pre-BO4 map.
anyway, id love to hear the perspectives of other group members on my situation. its always weird going back to something you enjoy to find its drastically changed.

They say life flashes before your eyes, but in reality, every second seems to last forever. It wasn’t like I was afraid to die; I knew I would have, given enough time, of course. Matter of fact, it was inevitable spending so much time in war, but it still left a sour taste in my mouth. Sure, there was pain, but regret stings far worse than a missing leg or tooth. Probably because of the adrenaline, but who cares about explanations anyway? And so, I sat there in that muddy ditch, the song of war screeching overhead as more and more of my brethren marched toward death, pondering my regrets and joys.
I thought about my wife. I thought about my kid. He was a little shit, but the kind you could only love, and my wife was a handful, but not too much of a handful. I wish I could scold that boy, and have pointless arguments with my wife, but that joy was stolen from me by war.
War always seemed like a distant thing, unrelated to my happy little farm life on a pretty little world. We grew grains and raised livestock, exported it to the military to feed troops, and kept the profits to ourselves. Despite the smaller size of the planet, it was certainly fruitful, a cornerstone to the military and to national stability. So, of course the Humans attacked it, it was the best option after all. I cannot hate them for attacking my homeworld, only for taking my joys with it. Hell, it was why I joined the military all those years ago anyway, to find a new purpose and maybe get revenge while I'm at it. I was never the kind to hold onto something and dread over it forever, it seemed like a waste of time to me, so instead I ambitiously climbed the ranks for decades, reaching Admiral and commanding a fleet of warships. It was my pride and joy, but that joy yet again was taken from me.
We got ambushed while heading to an allied system to provide orbital support, but just after arriving, a group of human stealth frigates pounced on us from the ring of asteroids that orbited the planet. In my hastiness to reinforce the front lines, I neglected to anticipate an ambush, and my fleet and I were punished for it. Our badly damaged ships were forced to begin an atmospheric descent into the planet to avoid enemy bombardment, and much of the ships made it into the atmosphere in good enough condition to support the ground troops. However, our battleship was targeted by the human frigates, and one managed to nail a gravitational slug through all of our upward thrusters. Our slow-and-steady descent quickly turned into a crash landing, and upon impact, much of the crew was lost.
Those that survived made use of the hangar bay to take several light corvettes out to engage in combat, me included. Unfortunately, corvettes do not take much of a beating, and I experienced my second crash landing in one day. And that is how this foolish fleet admiral ended up in ground warfare. Staring at the swirling clouds of smoke and hearing the booms of gunfire made me realize the irony of an admiral dying on a planet. This was not my job, and it was certainly obvious I was not cut out for it, having lost a leg mere minutes into ground combat.
What a funny way to die, I thought to myself. All these eventful years just for an ending like this. The universe has a sense of humor, and it's to other's dismay. Just when I thought things could not get worse, though, I saw a young human combatant clamber over the lip of the ditch I rested in and land next to me for cover. I looked at him, and he turned his head towards me awkwardly, making eye contact, and then looking at my missing leg. In any normal circumstance, I would have immediately shot him, but I was at death’s door with no strength and no cares, so instead, I laughed. That chuckle devolved into uncontrollable laughter until I once again settled down. Looking back at the human, he was still staring at me, rifle at my head, prompting once again laughter until I started coughing up blood.
The soldier looked at me with a surreal expression on his face. I could not tell whether it was amusement, pity, or simple shock, but either way, he lowered his rifle. His gaze continued to loom upon me, until finally he opened his mouth and spoke in my language, “What's so funny?” I was surprised by how well he spoke, but I didn’t have the wits to care anymore.
“Everything is funny right now, I mean, how could it not be?” I mumbled, stifling laughter and coughs between each word.
The human looked at me with still eyes, and then eventually away. He smiled briefly before matching my gaze once more, “Life is a funny thing, isn’t it?” Conversing with a human at the end of my life was not what I expected, but right now anyone would do to talk with.
“Has to be,” I elaborated, “I’m an admiral, and here I am dying on a battlefield.”
For a moment he was quiet, but eventually the human snickered lightly at the idea as well. “I’ll be dead by tomorrow at this rate, too. Have to find the little things to enjoy, I guess.”
I had never talked with a human besides on open-comms once or twice before, but this conversation was oddly calming. It was like a mellow fever dream, incomprehensible and irrational, but the boy seemed familiar somehow. I decided I should try and assure the soldier a little bit before I passed on, and maybe him too. Even if my words fell short, I wanted to say something, “Death isn’t anything to fear, it's as much a part of life as the day you were born.”
He thought about the prospect momentarily, “I suppose so, but I am not eager to experience it.”
“It’s not like I wanted my leg to be blown off by artillery and bleed to death either, but here I am, with a missing leg anyway.” From there, a somber and sincere mood silenced the chaos erupting about the battlefield. I tried desperately to remember who the boy reminded me of, but to no avail. I figured I would know at some point, but right now it didn’t really matter who it was, only the peace I felt did. The silence was killing me, so I decided to elaborate a little more on what I said, "What I am trying to say, soldier, is that you will not know death is coming. It will knock, and you will answer. Maybe in fear, regret, or even malice, but you should not answer in any of those ways." The soldier looked at me with a sincere expression and chortled quietly.
The young man started, “Y'know, Admiral, if you don’t mind me calling you that, but, you remind me of someone. I cannot quite place a name on them, and it feels sort of nostalgic, but I am sure I have met you.” He rubbed his head in what I assumed was a quizzical manner, and his eyes showed a deep sense of indecisiveness. I reciprocated his words quietly.
“I feel that too, soldier.” The blood loss from my lost leg was finally making me sleepy, and I knew it meant death. I muttered quietly. “I’m about to take a nap, kid, but I have an order for you. It's a little weird taking one from an enemy officer, and one you just met at that, but humor me, will you?”
He paused for a second before responding in affirmation, “What would that be?”
“Don’t take life too serious. You have too little of it to care about everything, so make time for just the good things.” I continued after taking one difficult breath, “After this war, find yourself something good for yourself.”
The soldier took some time staring at the ground beneath his feet before responding slightly sarcastically, “So, live my life to the fullest?” “That’s about it.” I coughed up more blood, and something deep inside of me instinctively told me my time had come. The silence continued past that for a brief moment, but then I heard something I never thought I would hear from a human. He quoted a religious epitaph of my kind’s holy scripture, placing his hand over his heart, “The universe offers you its humility, and with its solace, I pray you find hospitality.”
I was stunned by the words, gaining one last stupid look on my face, but I dismissed it and added to the quote for him weakly, “And with those great tidings, may the cosmos embrace you once more.”
He stood up and met my eyes one last time, finishing the scripture, “Everlasting will the Universe’s embrace be, its warmth indisputable, and grace unsurpassable.” I smiled at the soldier, a human gesture, and gave a weak salute to him before he ran out of the crater. As the last bits of life drained from my body, weakness finally set into my limbs, and what I saw was a man fearless as a fool, and as strong as the stars themselves. In those few moments, I finally understood why I couldn’t bring myself to hate the humans.
The shadow of death covered my eyes and took my soul as I succumbed to a deep slumber, finally embracing the cosmos once more. And its warmth? Its warmth was burning a joyful sorrow, the melancholy tears of life shed upon the planet. Perhaps the universe was disappointed in us, unable to put aside our differences, but I could have sworn there was a smile on its face. Life is a funny thing, after all.

Does anyone have any/know anyone who is selling Masters tickets? I live in Athens and will drive to other counties as well to pick up! I’m looking specifically for Saturday tickets. Thanks

In a world where electrified vehicles are in short supply, Hyundai Australia is bucking trends with its Toyota Kluger-rivalling Santa Fe Hybrid. As it stands, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid accounts for 21 per cent of sales, or a little over one in five Santa Fe registrations in Australia. For reference, the diesel accounts for … Continue reading Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid outselling V6

Just a bit of background about myself. Hope the destiny community would not flame me for this and would welcome me with arms open. Never played destiny before until decided to download it on my PS5 as I heard destiny has a great lore and I was intrigued. I bought all the expansions on sale for over a year now but just started playing the campaign just last week. Before I jumped to the campaign I watched some videos on youtube before to catch up to the expansion that I’m currently playing which is “Beyond the light”. Ngl, currenty hooked with the lore. Not playing any end game content yet but hopefully will do in the future as I’m and adult works 9-5 job.
So jumping straight to my noob question. I noticed that the light fall expansion is on sale now both the standard version and + annual pass version. What would you recommend for me as a newbie to this game? If I decided to buy the one with annual pass, would i be able to access those previous season pass content that I wouldnt be able to play (as I’m currently catching up)? Would appreciate anyone if you can help a noob newbie out looking to enjoy more. Thanks!

[FL] Guardian At Litem
I’m taking my ex back to court for more custody. Pasco County, FL. She contsantly breaks the parenting agreement and she has not been a good Mom to our two daughters that are 8 and 10. They are starting to resent her, she is an alcoholic, she misses practices, performances, she talks terribly about me…lets just say she has many issues. Currently we have shared custody which is 65% to her and 35% to me. The main difference is Sunday nights on my weekends the kids go back with her, or they are supposed to, for months she just lets them stay with me and says she has to work. So it is basically 50/50 now, but my girls need, want and deserve to be with me more. That’s besides the point, the other day we had a hearing for a GAL. The opposing attorney objected to the GAL and then when the Guardian was assigned, he would not allow the guardian to use hearsay. Meaning the Guardian can’t use what the girls tell them. The judge stated “I can’t require you to allow Hearsay” gave a small explanation and asked the opposing Atty if he was sure he didn’t want to allow it. the Attorney said he reserved his right to allow it later, but not now.
That is very confusing to me and it brings up numerous issues. I get the guardian can still work around and find plenty out. But having the opposing Atty oppose hearsay from the kids, wouldn’t that be a huge red flag on Day one to the Judge and GAL? Clearly my ex doesn’t want the girls to be heard, she doesn’t want her truths to come out. But I would think it could piss some GAL’s off, some may not take the case, and wouldn’t that make the GAL more curious as to what she may be hiding?
Also in same hearing, my Atty asked to subpoena her work records for various reasons, but she didn’t have a concrete argument to get the Drug/ Alcohol screenings from work and the judge denied that portion of the subpoena. Wouldn’t’t that be a red flag to the judge as well. I’m more concerned about the GAL, but wanted to hear some thoughts and opinions.

Hello! My local Kohl’s store is opening a Sephora inside at the end of this summer. I am a licensed esthetician, have 5+ years customer service, and have worked in the beauty industry for some time. So, plenty of work experience. I have had some trouble holding down full-time positions in the past due to stress. I have gotten help for it and I’m ready to get back into the swing of things. Should I take a chance on a full time position or stick to part time?
The three positions available are BTL, BTL-sales, and BA. I’ve done some research, and kind of know what’s what, but I could use some more clarification. What would the hours possibly look like for full or part time? What is the most stressful position/least stressful? Could you describe in depth what each position does/is responsible for?
Any other knowledge greatly appreciated.

I recently upgraded my TD-1DMK to the TD-17KV2. There is a ton of vague information out there and I can't seem to find anything concrete about the differences in the four-post stands being used for two models. They appear to be exactly the same but the various shops have given me different information (I don't think they really know, and just want to make the sale) and specs on Roland.com are all over the place. I just need to know if the TD-17KV2 uses the exact same stand as the TD-1DMK. I would like to avoid to a full setup if I can just simply swap out the trigger pads, ball mount, kick pad and modules between the two (work smart, not hard). Then just sell the TD-1DMK, which is only 4 months old, keeping the TD-17KV stand in the box. Other than the mounts, is the hardware exactly the same?

Mach wraps up with the final release date of the week featuring two comics starring Iron Man, first in his own solo series written by Gerry Duggan and illustrated by Juan Frigeri, and secondly as part of Earth's Mightiest Heroes for the debut issue of Derek Landy and Greg Land's Avengers Beyond.
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #4 (preview here)
GENIUS, BILLIONAIRE, PLAYBOY…MADMAN?!
• Tony Stark has met his dark counterpart, and his name is Feilong!
• This mutant-hating industrialist is the new owner of Stark Unlimited, and that includes all of Tony's tech!
• Can a furious Tony keep his cool, or will vengeance get the better of him?
______________________________
​
AVENGERS BEYOND #1 (preview here)
Someone has been manipulating the Avengers for the past several months, altering the very fabric of reality in an attempt to prepare the planet for a threat that could destroy everything. Here, now, this unseen individual is to be dragged, kicking and screaming, from the shadows and into the light – and is revealed as the Beyonder! Something big is coming to the Marvel Universe...
______________________________
​
We won't have to wait long for more Iron Man releases, since the second issue of Murewa Ayodele and Dotun Akande's I Am Iron Man comes out as soon as next week, plus a new issue of Avengers: War Across Time.

I can't help but notice the similarities between the production, narration, story line, how findings are revealed on both shows, use of acronyms, and more. Even the introductions are nearly worded the exact same. I wish I could see the overlap in viewers between the two shows. I could see Oak Island phasing out after 10 seasons and SW Ranch taking over for 10 seasons. I know one is gold searching and another paranormal search, but both are mysteries and have new land owners that are dumping a lot of money (sorry investing) into finding out more about the land. Even right now I'm watching SW Ranch and it has a bunch of guys sitting around a table making a plan on their search referring to "homestead 2 needs more focus" and a triangle area needs more samplings. Sounds familiar?
Any dual fans out there?

Get the course here: https://www.genkicourses.com/product/dan-wardrope-the-pay-per-lead-agency-blueprint-3-0/ [Get] Dan Wardrope – The Pay Per Lead Agency Blueprint 3.0 – Download Instant Delivery📷 The Pay Per Lead Agency Blueprint 3.0In Just 6 Weeks, We’ll Show You How To Grow And Scale Your Pay Per Lead Agency What You Get in The Pay Per Lead Agency Blueprint 3.0: Week 1 – Lay The Foundations and Get Started First and foremost, we’ll go over your goals for The Pay Per Lead Agency Blueprint as well as some general housekeeping. Please don’t skip the housekeeping! It includes important information about the Mastermind community as well as the weekly Q&A calls. We’ll also go over some “ground rules” for course participation. If you follow these guidelines, you should have no problems. Week 2 – Landing a Client and Know Thy Customer This week is all about selling and understanding your niche/offer. It’s time to get to know your niche and its target audience inside and out. Here are some of the topics we’ll discuss:

• Building your agency website
• LinkedIn and Facebook organic outreach
• Direct mail outreach
• Paid advertising
• Cold email
• Closing the deal and how to get paid
• Knowing your offer
• Customer Avatars and Empathy Maps
• How to gather and assess the market

Week 3 – Building Your Lead Generation Funnels This week will focus on three major topics:

• Hooks
• Funnels
• Lead delivery

Week three also delves into copywriting. As previously stated, this includes writing hooks and longer-form content such as advertorials. Here’s a complete list of the topics we’ll cover:

• Lead gen versus 1-2-1 selling
• Different ways to generate leads with Unbounce
• Spitballing and figuring out your hooks
• Building a quiz
• GTM basics and HotJar
• Our different funnels – dummy car finance campaign
• How to embed a LeadsHook quiz and pull through data to a results page
• Writing an advertorial
• Lead capture and lead distribution
• Privacy Policies, cookies and GDPR
• Unbounce tips and tricks
• Data validation

Week 4 – Paid Advertising and Getting Started It’s now time to start running ads, generating leads, and making money. In this module, we’ll cover:

• Where to start
• Tracking
• Facebook ads
• YouTube ads
• Twitter ads

Week 5 – Advanced Lead Generation This week will be more difficult. We’ll walk you through everything step by step so you can follow along easily. Week 6 – Growing Your Agency This is the course’s final module, and it teaches you how to scale your agency.

I’m taking my ex back to court for more custody. Pasco County, FL. She contsantly breaks the parenting agreement and she has not been a good Mom to our two daughters that are 8 and 10. They are starting to resent her, she is an alcoholic, she misses practices, performances, she talks terribly about me…lets just say she has many issues. Currently we have shared custody which is 65% to her and 35% to me. The main difference is Sunday nights on my weekends the kids go back with her, or they are supposed to, for months she just lets them stay with me and says she has to work. So it is basically 50/50 now, but my girls need, want and deserve to be with me more. That’s besides the point, the other day we had a hearing for a GAL. The opposing attorney objected to the GAL and then when the Guardian was assigned, he would not allow the guardian to use hearsay. Meaning the Guardian can’t use what the girls tell them. The judge stated “I can’t require you to allow Hearsay” gave a small explanation and asked the opposing Atty if he was sure he didn’t want to allow it. the Attorney said he reserved his right to allow it later, but not now.
That is very confusing to me and it brings up numerous issues. I get the guardian can still work around and find plenty out. But having the opposing Atty oppose hearsay from the kids, wouldn’t that be a huge red flag on Day one to the Judge and GAL? Clearly my ex doesn’t want the girls to be heard, she doesn’t want her truths to come out. But I would think it could piss some GAL’s off, some may not take the case, and wouldn’t that make the GAL more curious as to what she may be hiding?
Also in same hearing, my Atty asked to subpoena her work records for various reasons, but she didn’t have a concrete argument to get the Drug/ Alcohol screenings from work and the judge denied that portion of the subpoena. Wouldn’t’t that be a red flag to the judge as well. I’m more concerned about the GAL, but wanted to hear some thoughts and opinions.

I should have found a safe room before I made my move.
Now I was running in shin-high water through a field of lotuses from the aswang chasing me, and I had no idea where to go. I could only hope the creature currently running after me was a simple vampire or ghoul aswang, rather than the more fearsome variants.
Running past a black marble pillar, I stumbled and fell to the lotuses on something. I looked down and realized I had tripped on a piece of wood sticking out of the pillar. It was the handle to a door! My excitement, however, was short-lived as I looked up and saw the aswang right in front of me.
The creature lunged atop me, trying to bite into my arm only to be met with a kick to the face. This didn’t deter it, however, as it grabbed my leg and sunk its fangs into my right calf. I screamed in pain, trying to land a punch, but I had no momentum. My hits only glanced off its skin until I sunk my foot into its gut. Even then, its jaw refused to let go, and took a chunk of my leg as payment for my kick.
I couldn’t run. My only hope was making it into the safe room, but I had to somehow stop it from seeing me open the door. So I had to fight back.
Tears of pain flowed down my cheeks as I used my good leg to launch myself onto the prone aswang. I mounted it, and gripped its head as it retaliated by grabbing my bad leg just below the knee.
There’s few words to describe the pain my leg was in. A chunk of my calf had been torn out, and my blood spread out into the shallow water of the lotus field. When the aswang gripped my leg, it dug its claws in and squeezed with the power of a hydraulic press. Its effects were akin to that of a tourniquet - blood no longer left the wound in my leg due to the sheer pressure.
I heard a sickening snap as my shin broke. The pain nearly made me black out, and I was only able to stay conscious by biting my lower lip with as much force as I could, the sting on my face and the taste of copper in my mouth anchoring me to consciousness.
I lifted my thumbs. I had one goal, and that was to stop the aswang from seeing me. With a horrid squelch sound, I put out the aswang’s eyes, assisted less by my muscles and more by gravity as I collapsed upon the creature’s body.
The aswang released its grip and writhed in pain, clutching its face as I reached for the door handle. I opened it, and fell into the room below.
I needed to patch up my wounds. I used about half of my shirt to make strips and wrapped them around the bite. It hurt like a bitch, but was luckily a shallow enough wound that I didn’t need to worry about bleeding out. I then took two pieces of wood nearby and attached them to both sides of my leg, using some more strips from my shirt and tying them to my leg.
After I finished making the splint, I looked around the room. I had fallen in through a short tunnel from the door, either not noticing the ladder or being too panicked to think about using it. The bottom two rungs had been broken off - I suppose I broke it during my fall, and used it for my splint.
The room was decently sized, about the size of a big bedroom. A makeshift bed laid at the end of the room. It seemed to have been made from woven lotus stems and filled with wilted lotus flowers for cushioning. Whoever made it had a lot of time on their hands. The sides of the walls were lined with - were those bones? Those were bones. Whoever dug this room out must have had an easier foe than me. Shelves were dug out into the sides of the walls, and were supported by abnormally long bones. More bones rested on the shelves, many carved into spears. I tried to compose myself, and hopped my way over to the bed. I was too tall for it, with my legs hanging off the end up to the bite in my calf.
I grabbed some unsharpened bones on my way to the bed, and spent the next few hours constructing a sketchy, but ultimately functional crutch out of the bones with the last strips of my shirt tied around them. I was tired. I didn’t know what variant of the Indian opening I was going to be up against, but you always play the same second move. Already knowing what I was going to play, I laid my head on the pillow and went to sleep.
I suppose I was lucky enough to be familiar with aswang. It seems I was no exception to rule 4a, and a spark of dread made its way into my drowsy head as I realized what the other pieces represented.
No matter what, I could not move my queen.
I woke up to an aching pain in my leg. It was to be expected. I would have to figure out a plan, and fast. I had no way of fighting off any more aswang in my current condition, but I also had to make more moves unless I wanted to deal with a horde of them with working eyes. I looked at the sharpened bones on the shelf. Perfect spears.
I wouldn’t be able to do any form of spear combat though. The best thing I could do was throw them, but with only one working leg I wouldn’t be able to put much force into it. It wasn’t like I had any other choices though, so I stood up and began gathering some spears. As I picked up one of them, I looked at the shelf and smiled. I finally had a lucky break. One of the bones had been carved into an atlatl.
I tested how well I could throw the bone spear with the atlatl. To my relief, I was able to embed the spear into the wall over two inches deep.
I had some difficulties climbing the ladder, and I was only able to carry three spears and the atlatl with me, but it would have to be enough. When I reached the door, I opened it as little as I could, just enough to peek through. I looked through the crack and saw the aswang, still holding its face in its hands as it paced around the area about 8 metres away. I looked up to the sky, and saw it was nearing sunset. I could make my move again. But another aswang would be appearing very soon.
I stepped out of the door. At the sound of me stepping into the water, the aswang’s head snapped to my direction just as it did before. Rather than its bloodshot eyes, however, I saw only the eerie blank space of its sockets. It ran at me. I let loose the spear.
I missed.
The spear flew past its head, and it ran towards me and threw a punch. My only hope of dodging was to lean my head as far to the side as I could.
The aswang’s fist dug into the black marble pillar just past its wrist. It raised its other hand, but before it threw another punch, the spear I threw saved me. A loud ting sound rang from where the spear had hit the pillar behind the aswang, causing it to momentarily turn its head. I took the opportunity, and used my good leg to launch myself onto the aswang once more. This time, however, I was on its back. My weight dragged it to the lakebed with me, and we fell into the lotuses with my arms around its neck in a rear naked choke. Not knowing where to attack, it swiped its claws in the air wildly before a sickening snap came from its neck and it went limp.
No sooner than when I released it and I stood back up did I see its body begin to twitch. My foe stood back up. I threw one of my spears past the aswang and away from the chessboard, which stood 20 metres away. I stayed as still and silent as possible, not even daring to turn my head around as the aswang ran towards the spear that bounced off another column. One spear left.
I was still 5 metres away from the chessboard when a mass of marble and lotuses began rising next to it. The sun had gone down yet again. 24 hours had passed. I went as fast as I could, nearly stumbling twice. I saw two lotuses on the front turn white and shift and shrink into eyes. Two petals on the sides of the mass stretched and turned into elvenesque, pointy ears. Jagged shards of white marble formed themselves into a toothy grin. Eventually, the entire mass became smooth, shifting in hue to an olive brown. Vines grew over the mass, turning into the aswang’s robes and taking on bright coloured patterns. The thing’s head shifted towards me, and I was met with bloodshot eyes. It launched itself towards me. And in the span of less than a second, the transformation reversed itself. It fell past the chessboard in a heap of broken lotus flowers and cracked marble. I had touched the chessboard.
Now I had to make my move.
The rules said nothing of how much time I had to make my move, but I took a risk and stood there for a few minutes. I gazed around at the endless lotus field and impossibly tall black marble pillars. The vines wreathed around the pillars and over the shallow lakebed, all in front of a background of a galaxy of shining stars. The sun’s orange glow faded as it fell past the horizon, and my surroundings were overtaken by hues of blues and purples.
I looked at one of the lotuses adorning the chessboard. It was delicate, with a vibrant yellow bulb in the center accented by a crown of leaves, white at the edges and expanding to a beautiful pink at the edges. This felt like a dream. This was the deadliest situation I’d ever been in, yet in this moment I felt nothing but peace.
I unconsciously shifted my weight, and the sharp pain in my calf brought me back to the current situation. I already knew what move I was going to play. The most common and solid move against the Indian defense was to play c4 and move the king’s bishop pawn up two spaces. It grabbed space in the center and capitalized on the slower playstyle of the opening. It was imperative that I not lose the position - while white enjoys a large spatial advantage, it is nearly impossible to make a comeback if black obtains a winning position.
I looked at the four columns surrounding the chessboard, each a little over 5 metres from me. A large canopy of vines hung between the columns, easily enough to support my weight. Lower-hanging vines could be used as ropes to pull myself up. The note had said there were safe rooms in the columns and under the lakebed. Those columns were easily large enough to hold a small room. I doubted there were no doors in the vine canopy.
I went to step away from the chessboard. As I did, the mass of lotuses and marble slowly began to rise again. I immediately stepped back to the board, and it fell down once more. I sighed. I had a game plan. I just hoped I could execute it in 60 seconds.
I moved the king’s bishop pawn two spaces forwards. The board responded with e6 and moved the king’s pawn up one square. I went towards the column as fast as the crutch would allow me. I had a good amount of time to climb when I reached the column - About 45 seconds. I put my arm through the gap in the crutch and held it on my arm as I climbed. It was a difficult task, but I was on the canopy about 3 metres off the ground. I looked down. Not good. The aswang was nearly fully formed. The only option I could think of was to hide. I went to the side of the column opposite the chessboard, praying the vines did not snap. After what felt like hours in under five seconds, I heard the sound of the aswang walking. I held my breath.
The walking sounds were getting quieter.
Not even daring to breathe a sigh of relief, I looked across the canopy, and my previous suspicions were confirmed. A small wooden handle was attached to the column across from me. A safe room.
Quietly as possible, I crawled along the thickest parts of the canopy, avoiding any risk of a vine snapping and sending me to the ground, alerting the aswang, or both. Eventually, I reached the door. I opened it and crawled my way inside.
Inside the column was a cylindrical room close to 2 metres across. The room itself went up very high, nearly 10 metres, and marble platforms jutted out from the walls, turning the room into some kind of spiral staircase.
I decided to climb. Ten platforms up, the platform had the 19x19 grid of a Go board carved into it, and the next platform was indented and held hundreds of black and white marble tiles. I accidentally knocked a few of them off as I climbed up. A few platforms later was the 8x8 grid of a chessboard, and the next platform was similarly indented to hold the pieces. A few more platforms up and I reached the top. The top was a large platform that acted as effectively a floor as opposed to a step. It stretched across the room, and was padded by a large pile of now wilted lotuses. I wasn’t able to lay down straight on it, but I was able to get into a relatively comfortable position if I curled up slightly. Next to the pile were three bone things. They looked similar to a clothes hanger, being a hook attached to a handle on each side.
I looked behind me and saw there was a door.
Cautiously, I opened it. There was no canopy here, and if I stepped out I’d find myself plummeting to the aswang below. But what there was, was a thick braid of five vines tied around the column at the base of the door, leading above the chessboard to a column 20 metres away.
It was a zipline. That could come in handy.
I decided to play through some more practice games before I went to sleep. I went down to the chessboard platform and grabbed the pieces from the next platform up. Underneath the pieces, however, was a piece of paper. I picked it up. It contained only two words, repeated on the page over and over.
“DON’T CASTLE.”

Horizon Knives LYRA Morphing Nano EDC Knife

• Catch & Release • This is the way
• Very functional, very small
• I think it has always been missing a "locking component", but this really has never been necessary due to it's design
• $27 via Zelle, Venmo, CashApp or PayPal F&F only
• 🅿🅼 🅼🅴  for the LYRA Knife

 

5.11 Tactical Charlie Folder Lockback Knife

• Came with some purchase, ages ago
• Good little utility knife, moderate use
• $15 via Zelle, Venmo, CashApp or PayPal F&F only
• 🅿🅼 🅼🅴  for the 5.11 Knife

 

2x 7.5" ACOG Scopecoats • 1x RMR Scopecoat

            ^{Rifle Scope and EOTech Scopecoats sold in previous posts and are not available.}

• 2x 7.5" ACOG Coats
• 1x RMR Coat
• $15.00 each
• $27.00 for two
• $39 for all three
• Or $10 add-on to any other purchase
• Zelle, Venmo, CashApp or PayPal F&F Only
• 🅿🅼 🅼🅴  for an ACOG Coat         🅿🅼 🅼🅴  for the RMR Coat

 

Daniel Defense MFR Rail MLOK QD Sling Mount

• Came with a rifle, never used
• $20 via Zelle, Venmo, CashApp or PayPal F&F only
• 🅿🅼 🅼🅴  for DD MFR QD

 

UTG PRO MLOK QD and Sling Swivel Combo

• Retail Purchase • Not needed, herd thinned
• $20 via Zelle, Venmo, CashApp or PayPal F&F only
• 🅿🅼 🅼🅴  for UTG QD Sling Combo

 

Amazon 2-Point Sling + 2x Pic Mounts

• Retail Purchase • More Excess
• Pair of Picatinny Sling Rail Mounts
• Very functional, used on a rifle that has since been sold
• $15 via Zelle, Venmo, CashApp or PayPal F&F only
• 🅿🅼 🅼🅴  for Sling + Pic Mounts

 

😎 5% off for each additional item bundled! 🥕

 
🥕 My Post, My Rules General Etiquette for GAFS

• All prices include shipping
• All prices are negotiable, shoot your shot homie!
• Bundles beat dibs; dibs beats PMs
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• No notes in any payments (emoji 🥕 for Venmo). Here's why.