Fairfield bay cool pool

Hi all!
Any good place to tide pool and see some cool invertebrates on Whidbey island? We are headed up there soon and would love to explore the local intertidal!
Thanks:)!

Highly competitive game. A lot of fun to watch. Not a bunch of BS like normal all-star events. I did a first impressions of the first scrimmage like yesterday. The game was much more exciting. Teams played good defense

• Collier and DJ put on a great display and both were rewarded with Co-MVP. Absolutely the top 2 guys
  
• Cody Williams and Ron Holland look like the favorites to be picked first
  
• Brandon Garrison is a sneaky good passer as a big
  
• Bronny James put on a shooting clinic and played great defense
  
• Aaron Bradshaw can really shoot the ball
  
• Justin Edwards looked much more confident today
  
• Sean Stewart might be lottery if he can handle and shoot
  
• Jared McCain is very legit
  
• Omaha Biliew is a cool prospect
  

A few guys still stood out negatively tho

• Xavier Booker looks really raw
  
• Baye Fall straight up doesn’t look good at all
  
• Jeremy Fears can’t shoot, only has one move(spin move) and doesn’t have great floor vision for a 6ft PG
  
• Stephon Castle looks lazy in a more concerning way than I expected
  

Having played through beta both weekends, which element suited your playstyle?
I started off with Lightning, I leveled up with it all the to 20 before going Fire. I enjoyed it at first but was easily losing interest somewhere along the way. My biggest gripe with the Lightning stuff I ended up not finding them visually appealing. Stuff like Chain Lightning and Lightning Spear to me felt like they overlap. Sure LS has some whiteness in its visuals compared to CL but I just never ended up caring for both spells. I was hoping CL would be like an actual chain lightning spell similar to Electrocute the Sorceress uses in Dark Alliance 1. Ball Lightning and Charged Bolts didn't feel good to use either, Idk, lightning overall felt too passive for my taste.
Fire was pretty fun, setting up a flamethrower in hallways with Incinerate felt pretty good. Using the Fireball enchantment to AoE nuke enemies on death felt nice, especially in those situations where you're walled in with the enemies it's just a chain reaction of explosions everywhere. Hydra was also cool, spewing down firebolts while adding your own firebolt to the fight stuff was melting. I really did like the fire ult, I can imagine it being more incredible with the 1st upgrade perk to reel enemies in. With that said, I did enjoy Fire and had a blast with it.
Cold... I really fell in love with the spells here, being able to chill or freeze enemies charging you and shattering them while keeping them at bay made me dabble with this element a lot. Frozen Orb and Blizzard is a nasty combo to unload on a horde of enemies. Ice Shard felt REALLY awesome to cast(I play on controller so I felt the vibration from each shard that damaged an enemy.), machine gunning shards never got old. Both defensive spells slapped and Barrier synergized real well with Ice Shard. Ice Block is hands down my favorite ult in the game, incasing yourself in a block of ice while letting out cold air that eventually froze enemies and shattered them I can't wait to see how deadly I can make this spell in the full game.
All in all, I had an incredible time with Cold Sorc in the beta, looking forward to dabbling with this element some more in the full game. I usually don't play ice magic builds in ARPGs but in D4, man it was pretty entertaining.
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On the barren desert world of Tatooine, we see two sapphire sabers clashing with 4 soldiers surrounding them. After the younger of the two jedi was knocked to the ground, he began to notice a firefight in the orbit above.
Luke: Master, look up in orbit!
Obi-Wan: An Imperial Star destroyer? Here? There hasn’t been one around here in years.
In the battle above, Vader had commanded that the ship be neutralized for capture. Many rebels aboard the now captured ship took defensive positions the Empire prepared to breach the door. As the door was being sliced open, the explosion had sent fragments and smoke throughout the hall, giving the stormtroopers ample time to fire upon their targets. With the rebels on the backpedal, two inconspicuous droids made their way to Princess Leia so she could move the plans away from the ship.
When the captain of the security forces was surrounded, Raymus Antilles became the first target of interrogation by Lord Vader.
Vader: Search the servers for the plans.
Stormtrooper: Yes, my lord.
As a squad of stormtroopers cleared the server room. They began searching through the many files before sending one trooper back to report their lack of files.
Stormtrooper: The plans are not in the primary computer.
Vader: Where are those plans you've transmitted?
Raymus: We have received no such transmissions. This is a consular ship, we're on a diplomatic mission.
Vader: If this is a consular ship where is the ambassador?
Before Captain Antilles could answer, he had succumbed to the choke hold Vader had him in, and when Vader realized this, he had literally tossed him aside.
Vader: Commander, tear this ship apart until you found those plans, and bring me the passengers. I want them alive!!!
As Vader's forces swept through the ship, officers aboard the destroyer had seen an escape pod.
Officer 1: Sir, one of the escape pods has been jettisoned.
Officer 2: Hold your fire. There's no life forms aboard.
Officer 1: We need to report this to Lord Vader.
In one of the darker sections of the ship, 3 stormtroopers came across a woman in a white dress and cloak.
Stormtrooper 1: There's one. Set for stun.
After a brief exchange and 1 stormtrooper is killed, Leia then collapses after getting stunned and the pair of stormtroopers are about to bring her to Vader.
Stormtrooper 1: Inform Lord Vader we found our ambassador.
As Vader had intensely debated the Princess, Obi-wan, Luke, and the Bad Batch had found the escape pod with two droids that Kenobi could definitely recognize, despite not seeing them in almost 20 years.
3PO: Thank the Maker! I'm so glad that you came to rescue us. We came from a ship that rudely sent us away.
Kenobi: C-3PO? R2-D2?
3PO: Yes, I am C-3PO, human/cyborg relations, and this is my counterpart, R2-D2, who has been saying repeatedly to find an Obi-wan Kenobi.
Luke: Then you found him. Master, how do you know these droids?
Kenobi: That is a story for when we return back home.
When the pair of Jedi and clones returned to Kenobi's hut, R2 went to Kenobi and gave him the button input and Leia's message began to play for all of them to see.
Leia: General Kenobi. Years ago. You had served my father in the clone wars, from what he had told me prior to your rescuing me from Daiyu, you were a capable leader of men, and able to win battles for the Republic. Now, the Alliance is in its darkest hour. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.
Obi-Wan had remembered rescuing her on Daiyu almost a decade ago, and knew that this would be a good test for Luke to face Vader. When the Bad Batch were curious to know what the plan was, Obi-wan had begun formulating a rescue attempt.
Kenobi: We need to head to Alderaan and meet with Bail once again. If we can meet with another spy within the network, we can use their ship to slip past the Imperial patrols.
Tech: If we do get caught, I can create some fake chain codes and get us past if we get stopped.
Luke: What do I need to do when we get to Alderaan, Master?
Kenobi: You will stay at my side in case Vader makes a surprise visit.
Luke: Vader? I'm not sure I'm ready for this.
Kenobi: Don't give into fear. It leads to the Dark side.
Luke: Yes, Master.
Aboard the Death Star, Leia is brought to the cell block and Vader begins the interrogation. A black, spherical droid with a syringe containing a truth serum floated into the cell approaching the Princess after a path was cleared.
After the serum entered Leia's system, Vader began to assist the hallucination, and slipped in a little bit of the truth unbeknownst to both parties.
VadeBail: Princess, this is your father. I've been cut off from my royal guard and need to retreat from Imperial Forces. Where is a rebel base I can evacuate to?
Despite Vader's efforts, Leia had resisted the urge to tell the truth, at the cost of immense pain and suffering. When the serum wore off Vader took the droid and reported to Tarkin on the observation deck.
Vader: Her resistance to the mind probe is astonishing, but she will break soon.
Tarkin: I understand, Lord Vader. We have to meet with the rest of the Moffs on level 81C.
As the many officers and Moffs have a heated discussion about the very station they are residing in, Tarkin and Vader come in and their mere presence had stopped the bickering, if only for a small moment.
Moff: The Rebellion, who's too well equipped, mind you, will continue to garner support in the Imperial Senate…
Tarkin: The Imperial Senate is no longer a concern to us. We had just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away for good.
Moff: This cannot be! How will we maintain control without the bureaucracy?
Tarkin: Regional governors, General Tagge. They will keep the systems in line through fear and maintain control over these territories.
Tagge: Again, what of the Rebels? If the plans remain in their hands, they may find a weakness and exploit it.
Vader: The plans in question will return to Imperial custody.
Motti: Any revolt made against this station by the rebels will be a futile gesture, no matter how much data they obtained. We are now standing inside the ultimate power in the universe. My suggestion is that we use it!
Vader: The power you boast about this technological terror, has inflamed and bloated your pride. The ability and decision to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.
As the Moff began to insecurity salvage his pride in the station to Lord Vader of all people, Vader had grown tired of this Moff's rambling and discrediting of the Force, and raised his hand to hold his tongue for the officer, or rather his throat.
Vader: I find your lack of faith disturbing.
Tarkin had noticed one of the moffs struggling and realized that Vader's physical domineering would further divide the conference and dely any decisions the Empire had to make.
Tarkin: Enough of this pointless bickering! Vader, release him!
Vader: As you wish.
Motti then began to regain his breathing and a newfound level of fear for the Dark lord.
Tarkin: Vader will extract the location of the Rebel Fortress and crush the Rebellion in one swift stroke by the time this station is operational.
Tarkin then adjourned the meeting and when the officers left, he sent a communication to the cell block.
Tarkin: Bring the princess to the observation deck. Her interrogation is far from over.
Station Trooper: Yes, Sir.
Tarkin: Observation deck, set course of Alderaan.
Officer: Yes, Sir.
When Vader and Tarkin arrived at the observation deck, they were greeted by the troopers escorting Princess Leia. The leader of the Imperial Moffs then mocked a courteous greeting to the rebellious princess and began his own methods of interrogation.
Tarkin: Princess Leia, how lovely to see you again.
Leia: Governor Tarkin, I knew I smelled a certain familiar stench when I was brought on board, as well as who held the leash of this mechanical monster.
Tarkin: Charming to the last. Before I sign the order of your execution, allow yourself to be my guest in unveiling the full power of this station, assuring that no one will be able to oppose the Emperor.
Leia: The tighter you make your grip, Governor, the more star systems will slip right through your fingers.
Tarkin: Not after this little ceremony, my dear. Since this is a special occasion, I will let you choose which planet will be destroyed first. Depending on your choice, I may disregard your execution.
Leia: The fact you have the guts to end my life surprises me. I never took you for someone to do such a thing.
Tarkin: Since you have proven yourself reluctant to give us the location of your rebel base, this station's inaugural target shall be your home planet of Alderaan.
Leia: No. Alderaan is peaceful! We have no arms to use and would never…
Tarkin: Then you would prefer another target? A military target? Then name the system!!!
Leia couldn't maintain her professional facade any longer and knew she had to pick a system to appease the Imperials' demands.
Vader had told Tarkin prior to bringing her to the observation deck that if she was to choose Dantooine, the place had been cleared out by Imperial Forces when they rescued him.
Tarkin: This will be the final time I ask you. Where is the rebel base, child?
Leia: Dantooine. They're… They're on Dantooine.
Tarkin then began to feel satisfied with the answer and continued with his operation to destroy Alderaan and continue to psychologically torment the young princess.
Tarkin: There. You see, Lord Vader? This one is capable of reason. Continue the operation and you may fire when ready.
Leia: What?!
Tarkin: You're far too trusting. Dantooine has been clear of any significant rebel activity for quite some time now and is unworthy of a proper demonstration. I will credit you for giving me some true information, but it was not the information I needed. No need to worry, Your Highness. Your rebel friends will be dealt with soon enough.
As the main superlaser eye of the Death Star began to charge, the people of Alderaan had no idea of their imminent demise from not only galactic records, but off the galactic map entirely. One such fighter, who had been punished years ago for insubordination was about to reenter the fight when the Empire cut his freedom to operate short.
Saw: I understand that my actions on Geonosis years ago were wrong, and that I had made a tactically unsound move against the Empire. I thank the ones that had rescued us and I apologize for the men I abandoned in pursuit of a goal that consumed me and made me act without honor.
Bail: You have served your sentence and we need your ability to lead now more than ever. Are you willing to keep yourself under control when being handed the responsibility of leadership once again?
A captain of the Alderaan protection detail had warned Bail Organa of the Empire's presence in the system with a large moon-like object appearing in their skies.
Saw looked up and saw it from his seat and whispered what would be his final words.
Saw: No… So this is how it ends. I'm ready. I'm coming, Steela.
As the eight small beams of light focused into a single beam of energy, every citizen of Alderaan sought cover, but the energy blast was too much for everything to withstand. When the blast reached the palace, Bail, Breha, Saw and every citizen, structure, and ship, as well of the planet itself, became nothing but debris, asteroids, and a symbol of the Empire's new capability of destruction.
Moments before the destruction of the planet, The Bad Batch had looked around for any sign of Luke's uncle and aunt. When Luke found the group near a destroyed homestead with Owen and Beru shot and beaten to death by Tusken raiders, Luke began to examine the bodies of the closest family he had for a little over half his life. Obi-Wan found the group and saw his apprentice begin shedding tears over who had been his guardians and family, something Kenobi knew his father had, but in Luke's case it was a more stable family than Anakin's. Luke remembered his Uncle showing him the unmarked stones near the homestead belonging to his biological grandmother and his step grandfather, and began carrying them to the burial plots near the two graves made over 2 decades ago. As the Bad Batch helped Luke bury them, Obi-Wan had some words of advice for the young Skywalker that he had regrettably neglected to give Anakin.
Kenobi: I never told your father this because I was too focused on my mission before the Clone Wars. Even though they had no belief in it like we do, they too are now one with the Force. If you need time to think about your path from this point forward, whatever you choose, I will completely understand.
Luke: It's alright, Master Kenobi. I want to continue my path as a Jedi, like my father before me. I understand why they showed me the graves of my grandparents and why they kept the truth about my father from me. When I chose to go with you, when I was a kid, I dedicated myself to the memory of who my father was. I still do so today. I will not let the memories of my father, my uncle, my aunt, nor even my mother be squandered in my path to be a Jedi.
Kenobi: I am so proud of you, Luke. Your father would be too.
Hunter: I understand the loss of a home, Luke. We all do.
Tech: Yes. Change is inevitable and if we take advantage of it, it'll be for the better.
Luke: Thank you all. Master, I have an idea. You and I will take the landspeeder and head into Mos Eisley and we'll find someone to take us to Alderaan and rescue the Princess.
Tech: What about the Marauder? We can take you there just fine.
Kenobi: You will be hunting the Tuskens that destroyed the homestead and killed the Lars family. Wrecker, you will pose as a wanderer and wizard sent to bring oblivion to the Tuskens.
Wrecker: Do I still get to blow stuff up?
Hunter: Yes, Wrecker. You're "commanding" explosions.
Wrecker: Oooooooooohhhhh!!!!!! I LIKE the sound of THAT!
As Wrecker and the Bad Batch tormented the tuskens, Luke and Obi-Wan went into town to find a member of their spy network and sneak them to Alderaan. When they pulled up to the cantina, the bartender gave them notice about the droids needing to stay outside. When a large hairy creature greeted the master, Obi-Wan understood him and beckoned Luke to follow him to the table where the Wookiee sat.
Han: My copilot, Chewbacca, tells me that you and a few others need a ride to Alderaan.
Kenobi: Yes, and you are.
Han: I'm Han Solo. Captain of the Millennium Falcon. What’s the cargo?
Kenobi: Let’s see, about six passengers, two droids, and no questions asked.
Han You are asking me to transport a lot of people. Given that amount, I have to take a certain fee for any extra passengers. I’d say that would get you about… let’s say… 24,000 credits.
Luke: Master, we can get a pretty decent and comfortable ship with that price.
Chewie then “nudged’ Han, although harder than a human is used to, to drop the price because of who they were.
Han: Alright, Chewie. Fine. I’ll drop the price. If we don’t get a real profit from these guys Jabba will leaving more than a slime trail wherever he goes. Alright, gentlemen, I’m willing to drop the price by 30%...
Chewie roared in a slight protest.
Han: Ok, 45%, because he likes your kind of people. Given that discount, you’ll owe me about 13,200 credits.
Kenobi: Sounds reasonable enough, if it’s a fast ship.
Han: Fast ship? You’ve never heard of the Millenium Falcon?! It’s the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs. Name me one other ship that has done that or even anything close to it!
Kenobi: Alright. We’ll pay you 5,040 now, plus 17,400 when we reach Alderaan.
Han: 22? Hmm. Alright, old man, you got yourself a deal. Meet us in Hangar bay 77 when you’re ready.
When the Jedi left the cantina, Chewbacca went to get the repairs underway and prepared for a fight with anyone trying to stop them. Luke then contacted the spies they had assisted and told them to link with the bad batch. When the Clones dropped the ship in one of the other hangar bays, Tech used the forged chain code and met the group. After a confirmational exchange of ships, The Bad Batch received communications about the deal their Jedi commanders had struck with another deep cover spy.
Just as Han was about to leave the cantina himself, he was stopped by a Rodian with a blaster to his chest. When the pair sat back down, Han explained his tightness for credits to the Rodian messenger of Jabba the Hutt, to no avail. After a few more exchanges of quips and empty promises, both fired their blasters at the same time, but Han’s was the shot that landed in the Rodian’s chest, while the Rodian’s landed on the floor, startling the next customer that walked in. After shots were fired, Han paid the bartender for any damages that were caused by the short firefight.
When the Bad batch got to the hangar bay, they decided to wait by the door and split up walking around to blend in and waited on the Jedi as well as the pilot of their transport. As an Imperial squad came up to the pair near the landspeeder, the squad asked for their identification, but the Jedi have been practicing.
Stormtrooper: Let me see your ID’s please.
Obi-Wan: You don’t need to see our identifications.
Stormtrooper: ‘We don’t need to see your identifications.’
Luke: You will apologize for interrupting our business.
Stormtrooper: ‘We apologize for interrupting your business.’
Kenobi: Move along.
Stormtrooper: Move along. Move along.
As Jabba found Solo, who had snuck up behind him and Han made his case personally. After convincing the large slug-like crime lord to give him more time to pay the debt he owed, Boba had a strange suspicion that that turn of events was not going to transpire.
A black hooded figure with a comlink had found the Millenium Falcon and notified the Imperial Garrison to meet him near the hangar bays. The squad commander had asked for directions and the black-hooded spy pointed through the doorway to Bay 77. As the Bad Batch boarded the YT-1300 freighter, Luke and Obi-wan were right behind them and as Han and Chewbacca were about to board and get it up and running, the squad of stormtroopers had rushed into the hangar bay and Han landed a few well-placed shots, before Chewie fired up the engines and escaped the clutches of the sand troopers on Tatooine.
On the other side of the spaceport, another rebel spy group took the Marauder back to Yavin 4 to take the heat off of the Falcon.
When the coast was clear, the group came out of the hidden compartments in the floor of the ship Han used to smuggle spice. Han and Obi-Wan were coming up with a plan that involved disabling the tractor beam, rescuing the princess, and leaving the station. Tech, Han, Luke and Hunter were the only ones that could fit the Stormtrooper armor so they were going to don the disguises. Echo and Kenobi were going to disable the tractor beam, and Wrecker was going to stay with the droids and update the team regarding the ship.
Han had called out for some assistance with a lot of "cargo" to offload and Echo and Tech blasted the four that came up and stripped them of their armor and weapons. Luke then donned his armor and Obi-Wan held onto his apprentice's blade as the pair split up to perform their parts of the plan.
Wrecker stayed in the Falcon and kept a watch on the two droids while the rest of them went along with the plan. When the group made it to the observation post above the hangar, they decided to get their nerves out in the air.
Tech: I can concur with Rex. These Stormtrooper helmets are really difficult to see out of.
Hunter: Can't say I agree. I'm not having any problems seeing out of this.
Echo: Because Tarkin probably saw your helmet design and mass produced it for the stormtrooper design.
Han: Cut it out! I need to think!
Obi-Wan: Echo, you're with me.
Han: Where are you two going?
Kenobi: Disabling the tractor beam like we planned.
Han: Alright, old man. At least someone remembers the plan.
Kenobi: You know your position, Luke. May the Force be with you all.
After the Negotiator and Clone snuck their way to the tractor beam control room, Han and the rest of the "stormtroopers" began "escorting" their wookiee prisoner to the cell block to get the princess from her cell. Whenever the group was alone, they'd have their own conversations about the past, opinions about those they just met, and put them aside when they regrouped.
After X1 had finished his Force-assisted torture, Leia was visibly shaking from the nightmares X1 put into her mind. In her mind, she kept the image of the Jedi who rescued her and the hope that the rebellion remained safe. The lightsaber wielding commander then felt a disturbance in the force and decided to inform his master.
X1: The princess has been interrogated, but I saw in her mind a forest with ruins, it was dark inside what looked like a temple, but the images flashed at a blazing speed. Also, I feel a disturbance in the Force.
Vader: Excellent work, my apprentice. I have felt it too, but it seems familiar to me.
X1: The one that I have felt is someone far younger. Could it possibly be an apprentice? As Vader and X1 continued to identify who they found in the Force, Vader figured it out and ordered X1 to follow him. They were to update Tarkin about who they found.
Back with the Cell block, the officers and other stormtroopers were killed and another officer had tried to check on the cell block from the comms.
Officer: We heard blaster fire coming from your cell block. What’s wrong?
Han: Uh, uh, my apologies. There was a slight weapons malfunction. We’re alright now. Thank you.
Officer. We’ll send a medical team immediately to your location.
Han: NO, no! One of the stray shots triggered a reactor leak and it’s a rather large one. I repeat, large leak, very dangerous.
Officer: Who is this? What’s your Identification number?
Han had no idea what to tell the officer next and in his stress, fired at the comms and sped up the rescue plan. Luke opened the cell to see Leia get up from her cell’s bed/seat and comment about his height.
Luke: Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m Luke Skywalker, we’re here to rescue you. My master is Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The mention of Obi-Wan sparked the Princess to join in the escape and Chewie, Tech, Hunter, and Han were holding back the incoming waves of Stormtroopers trying to find a way out. When Luke found a grate, he told Han to cover him, but Leia took the blaster and covered him while he used the Force to remove the grate. When the wookiee, clones, smuggler, princess, and jedi padawan jumped into the grate, Luke sealed the grate shut with the Force and they found out that they were in the trash compactor.
Back with the elder Jedi and the clone, they found the tractor beam terminals but Echo did his best to act like a droid doing maintenance. What moved the troopers away from the clone was the Jedi making an imaginary stone appear and knock on the walls, forcing the troopers to check it out. When the tractor beam generators were deactivated, the Jedi and Clone went their separate ways back to the Falcon. When Vader and X1 approached Tarkin they gave him their confirmed identities of the jedi.
Vader: He is here.
Tarkin: Obi-Wan Kenobi?
X1: He also has an apprentice with him. We will put an end to these Jedi and grind the rebel’s efforts to a halt.
Tarkin then recieved a communication from another officer about the Princess escaping her cell with some help. Vader then ordered a new squad of troopers to report to the hangar where the Falcon was kept and capture any others who are aboard or nearby.
As the stormtroopers scrambled to find the Princess and her rescue party, the droids stopped the trash compactor from crushing the group, and when they got the uncomfortable plastoid armor off, Luke departed from the group to get his saber back. As the clones, smuggler, and wookiee saw the Falcon in the hangar bay they had to plan how to get past the stormtroopers.
Leia: You came in that thing? You’re much braver than I thought.
Han: See, fuzzball, I told you she would be interested.
Leia: Keep it in check, flyboy.
In the hangar bay, Wrecker began to get a bit nervous and saw the dorids moving the mechanism before hearing stormtroopers secure the hangar, and lots of them. Before X1 joined his master, he planted a tracking beacon on the Falcon so they could escape and lead them to the rebel base. Just as Echo reunited with the group, Obi-wan had begun hearing a breathing along with two sets of footsteps. Vader and Obi-wan activated their blades with Luke’s gaze fixed on Vader, while X1 had his eyes focused on Luke.
Vader: I’ve been waiting for you, Kenobi. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner, now I am the master.
Kenobi: Only a master of evil, Sith.
As the two blades clashed, X1 had begun charging at Luke with his saber ignited. Luke snapped out of the stare of awe and focussed on his first test. He activated his blade before X1’s sapphire blade could cut off the young padawn’s head with a reverse gripped slash.
X1: It’s been a very long while since I clashed blades with a Jedi. Didn't your so-called master teach you about underestimating your opponents?
Luke: You’d be surprised.
As the two continued clashing blades, X1 continued to use his own version of Dun Moc to excite himself and add more fury to his strikes. During one clash, Luke mentioned that he talked too much and broke the saber clash, landed a kick to his gut and pushed him into the adjacent wall knocking him out. Luke then made his way to confront Vader with Obi-Wan. Luke activated his blade and the duo managed to put Vader on the backpedal. When a blast door closed separating Luke and Obi-wan, Obi-wan was alone in facing Vader.
Vader: Your powers are weak, old man. Your apprentice is strong, but not strong enough.
Kenobi: He may have much to learn, but if you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine. You know you can’t win this, Sith.
As Luke saw Vader and his master dueling, even the stormtroopers took an interest in something that hadn’t happened in a little over 3 years for some, but only 3 days for others. This gave the rebels and droids a chance to escape, but Wrecker was ready for a firefight, and almost raring for one. As Luke saw his amster for what would be the last time, Kenobi surrendered himself to the will of the Force. As Vader took a downward slash from Kenobi’s left shoulder across his chest, but to the surprise of both Vader and Luke, Kenobi disappeared into thin air. This was a lesson that Kenobi had learned while in exile and while training Luke. He became one with the force the instant upon death.
Luke: NO!!!
With that, the stormtroopers focussed their fire on the escaping rebels, and Wrecker was having a blast, figuratively and literally. Luke activated his blade and deflected blaster fire with every shot that came his way, and when one shot hit the blast door’s control panel, Vader began to see the battle for himself. Luke had continued to fight off the Imperial blaster fire despite all the others telling him to get on board. As the Blast doors closed, the only voice that got Luke to budge was that of Kenobi. Vader had heard this and slowly became unsettled.
Kenobi Ghost: Run, Luke! Run!!
Vader: Kenobi?
As Luke ran for the Falcon, the crew lifted off and Vader ordered a squad of TIEs to pursue the Falcon.
X1: No, Master. We have to let the ship go.
Vader: You dare disobey me?!
X1: No, Master. I slipped a tracking device into the ship so we can jump to where the base is.
Vader: I see. Your training has served you well.
When the crew escaped, Wrecker and Hunter manned the top and bottom guns to repel the TIE fighter squadron sent to take them down. Luke had secured Leia and allowed himself to break down and let out some of his emotions, although slowly. In that moment, the voices in his head soothing him were Obi-Wan, Yoda, and a Jedi he had met on Mandalore once.
As Han and Chewbacca began maneuvering in ways that the TIEs were missing most of their shots, Wrecker and Hunter had each tagged 2 as Luke stood in the middle of the guns and closed his eyes. He reached out with the Force and threw one fighter into the other to the surprise of the clones in the turrets. After the last of the TIEs were shot down, they began heading back to Yavin, with Luke passed out from exhaustion. Wrecker carried the unconscious padawan to the bunks and when Leia woke up Luke, the group exited the Falcon and Han and Chewie collected the payment and began to store it in the Falcon.
Luke was going into the briefing when he was stopped by a Togruta.
Ahsoka: Luke. Hey. Are you alright?
Luke: Ahsoka? I thought you'd be in a deep cover operation.
Ahsoka: Master Yoda told me to look after you. I know what happened to Master Kenobi.
Luke: I'll meet up with you later. I have to get to this briefing.
As Luke got into the meeting, he listened to how the battle station was going to be attacked. In the Hangar bay, Leia and Chewbacca had been talking to Han to convince him to stay with the rebellion.
Han: With this payment, I can get that slimo off my back and be done with this Empire nonsense.
Leia: If you do get whoever it is you owe out of your life, what will you do next, in case you didn't realize it, your best friend has been part of our Alliance for years.
Han: What?! Why didn't you tell me, scruffy?
Chewie then explained to Han about it and Han had started thinking about ending their friendship with Chewie right then and there.
After the Bad Batch reunited with their ship, they found a familiar Twi'lek and caught up on everything that went on between them. They even met a young Jacen Syndulla for a short while before hearing over the intercom that the Death Star had arrived in their orbit.
Leia: While the Empire may have found our location, we can still prevent them from wiping us out in both the surface and in orbit. Rex, you and Ahsoka prepare the ground forces for a ground assault and any reprisals after we destroy the station. Ahsoka, if Vader joins the ground assault, you take him down. X2, Grey Leader, you and your Squadron know your mission with Gold and Red squadrons.
As every pilot began boarding their fighters and bombers, Luke happened to run into an old friend.
Biggs: Luke?
Luke: Biggs!!!!
Biggs: What are you doing here? I thought you were still shooting womp rats on Tatooine!
Luke: I've actually been with Old Ben and learned some pretty cool skills.
Biggs: you got one of those laser sword things?
Luke: Yeah, but this was my father's.
Biggs: Still, a Jedi! Whaddaya know?!
Luke: It's a lifetime commitment, but we gotta get up there!
Biggs: Right! See you up there.
After the X-wings and Y-wings got up to orbit and every wing reported in.
X2: Grey Leader, Standing by.
Rebel Pilot 1: Gold Leader Standing by.
Rebel Pilot 2: Red 3, standing by.
Rebel Pilot 3: Gold 4, standing by.
Rebel Pilot 4: Red 2, standing by.
Rebel Pilot 5: Red Leader, standing by.
Biggs: Red 7, standing by.
Porkins: Red 6, standing by.
Grey 3: Grey 3, standing by.
Rebel Pilot 6: Gold 3, standing by.
Grey 2: Grey 2, standing by.
After many pilots fell in line, Luke was the last to finish it off before the rebels advanced on the station.
Luke: Red 5, standing by.
Back on the Ground, Wolffe had made himself known to the princess and offered to lead the ground assault when the battle above concluded. The princess granted his request due to his previous service in the Clone Wars.
Wolffe: Mech, get to the walker and take position near the left side of the temple! Massiff Squad, take your positions near the ruins and cover the walker as it comes by. Hunter, Tech, take a few soldiers and do some recon. Wrecker, stay near the AAC-2 tanks and tackle any additional heavy threats. And Rex…
Rex: I got my position, Wolffe, you gonna command the battle from the Walker?
Wolffe: Yes. What about the Commandos?
Rex: Boss, Fixer, cover the Recon team as they surveil the enemy.
Clones and Rebels: Yes, Sir!
As the battle began to rage above the surface of the battle station, Red Squadron handled the fighters, Grey Squadron targeted the turbolasers near the trench, and Gold Squadron was to deliver the ordinance into the exhaust port that was about two meters in diameter.
Inside the Death Star, Stormtroopers and pilots were scrambling to their fighters and X1 reconvened with his master as Vader began laying out the plan.
Vader: X1, You are to reboard your destroyer and take as many troops as you possibly can for a ground assault. You two pilots, with me.
X1: Master, I will lead the ground attack and catch the rebels off guard. After your role in the defense is done, reboard my destroyer. Let them think you are dead or at least out of commission.
Vader: Go to the other side of the planet before the assault begins.
X1: Yes, Master. All ground troops report to the hangar bays and board the Avarice.
When Vader and his TIE escorts joined the battle, the bombers began their attack through the trench. As the trio of TIEs pursued the bombers, many fighters were too occupied by the other fighters and turrets to divert their attention to Vader. In a few decisive moves by the Empire, all the Y-wings but Gold 2 were shot down, Red Leader, Red 6, and Red 9 were shot down.
Luke: Grey Leader, See if you can take off some of those TIEs, a couple of us are going into the trench.
X2: Copy, Red 5. Grey's 4, 3, and 5, go with Red Squadron and take down more of those fighters and turbolasers. Grey's 2 and 6, with me. We have to cover the trench.
Grey Squadron: Yes, Sir!
Gold 2: Red 3, This is Gold 2. Can you take a couple fighters and get the Imperials off me?!
Wedge: Copy, Gold 2.
Luke then switched on the targeting computer and had Red 7 and Red 2 covering him. Vader then made another attack run. Vader then took down the X-wing on the right and Luke realized that it was his best friend. After Luke was by himself, another voice spoke to him.
Kenobi Ghost: Use the Force, Luke.
With those words, Luke switched off his targeting computer and everyone monitoring Luke noticed.
Vader: The Force is strong with this one.
Rebel officer: Luke, you switched off your targeting computer. What's wrong?
Luke: Nothing. I'm alright.
When Vader had locked onto Luke's X-wing, a stray barrage of blaster bolts destroyed the TIE on Vader's right. This caught Luke and Vader by surprise, but Luke heard a familiar whoop from the smuggler who helped rescue the princess. When the TIE on Vader's left went Rogue and escaped the trench, Vader lost control of his fighter and flew out of the trench.
As Tarkin found a straight shot to the planet, Luke was speeding ever closer to the exhaust port.
Han: You're all clear, kid! Now let's blow this thing and go home!!!
As Luke took the shot, every rebel had their fingers crossed, and every Imperial Moff and officer that remained on the station had kept doing their duties and hoped that the rebels were quashed. As the proton torpedoes entered the port and Luke pulled up with every rebel ship, including the Falcon evacuated the battle station, one large explosion put an end to 2 decades of oppression on a large scale.
Han: Great shot, kid! That was one in a million!
After some more encouraging words from Obi-Wan's ghost. Luke came down from the adrenaline in his system and when the rebels landed, R2 had to go into the repair room and the rebels prepared a ceremony awarding Luke, Han, Chewbacca, Wedge, X2, and many others. Ahsoka and Rex were watching it and the togruta began to tear up because Luke's actions reflected that of her master.
Rex: I recognize that kind of flying anywhere in the galaxy.
Ahsoka: That's our Skyguy.
The following day, the rebels had prepared escape plans for the Empire's revenge. The AT-TE was positioned in a hidden side of the temple and covered in camouflage. The rebels and Clone specialists took their positions as Hunter led the Recon team of Tech, a few rebels, with Boss and Fixer covering their flanks.
Back at the base, Wolffe commanded the Vehicles from the AT-TE with Mech taking the pilot seat. As Rex and Ahsoka led the defense, X1 began leading the assault with Crosshair at his side once again.
With the clone recon team, Hunter found Crosshair with X1 and Hunter had to put aside his rage and report back to the Alliance command.
Hunter: Commander, We have a positive ID on the Imperial Assault. Crosshair is second in command.
Rex: I see. Massiff Squad, take your positions by the fountain.
Howzer: Right away, Sir! Boys, we need to hold the fountain. It's gonna be a clean path for the Empire if they don't make it through the ruins.
Tech: Wrecker, can you position yourself near the ruins and beat down any Imperial tanks?
Wrecker: Sure thing, Tech! I'm ready to blow some stuff up!!
When Leia had begun evacuating the transport ships, Luke, Han, Chewie and the princess had to find locations for a rebel base. As X1 began the charge he sent the walkers through the ruins and tanks through the hills. Crosshair stayed in cover moving with every shot he took.
As the Commandos saw X1 join the battle, they threw 2 thermal detonators at him, but X1 saw this coming and blocked it with the Force. As the two commandos fought the Imperial commander in hand to hand, X1 thought that these commandos would be easy pickings. After Fixer landed a mandalorian martial arts combo on the Imperial commander, the now bleeding commander thought that the fun was over. Boss drew his blaster and X1 drew his own and as the two began to fire, X1 threw Fixer towards the other commando. As the two commandos got up, they both charged the secret sith apprentice, but Boss was stabbed by the commander's sapphire blade. The blade had impaled his stomach, and X1 then slashed across the commando' chest. As the Commando collapsed on the ground, Fixer began firing his blaster at the commander, while X1 deflected every shot until the commando ditched the blaster and extended the wrist gauntlet blades and he lunged from above only to be suspended with the Force. After getting thrown, X1, twirled with the blade, cutting through his chest and decapitating the clone. X1 then pursued the rebels and joined his men.
As X2 had begun repairing the systems along with Echo, Shara had begun helping X2 take down the data spike and extracting the information before heading to the AA guns. When X2 had to reach a certain part on a high ledge, he tried jumping for it, but when he leaped high into the air, he grabbed the item and landed on his feet with some struggle. When X2 and Shara got the data extracted, Echo boarded the Marauder and went to pick up the rest of his squad.

Ok 1st off I’m not completely oblivious to the whole thing. My kid has taken a big liking to football (he’ll be with any team tyreek is on 🤣) guy at work suggested donruss just because he gets a lot of cards. He said almost every pack will have like 15 common and 2 rookies and a “special” card. He explained the top special hits are crunch time and downtowns, but not to expect either. He showed me pictures of them and those downtowns are a cool looking card to me.
We opened them tonight and for the “top hits” we got 3 crunch times (brees, Rodgers, mahomes.) and 1 downtown of gronk 💪!
So now im kind of into this thing lol and have a few questions.
Can you pull numbered cards from target/Walmart? We did not pull any.
I understand there’s different names for things hangers/blasteretail/hobby that I’ve seen… I assume ratios are different? Like do I have better odds hitting, in this case a downtown, from a hobby box?
Is there a standard price difference between a hobby and a retail? Once again I assume im paying a premium for better odds. Target/Walmart is $25/$27.5 a box (of this brand) in my area.
I bought him these to get him a jumpstart on a collection, he’s off to the races imo lol. After opening them all I kind of browsed eBay and I could buy most of the “special cards” way cheaper than I paid and he’d get to choose the players. Flip side though is Not buying retail eliminates the element of surprise, the joy from pulling a top hit from him was priceless.
And lastly - as I said we’re completely new to the hobby, is there any sets you should just avoid per bad quality or reputation - or is it just personal preference on appearance?
We appreciate any information 👍

Hi there. Thanks for all the great content to read through! we are starting to lock in plans for a trip in July and wanted to get feedback on a rough outline. Oahu is our first stop on a 26 night trip where we are also heading to Maui and Kauai with our 9 and 7 year olds.
Day 1 Friday: Arrive ~4pm to Hilton Hawaiian Village, direct flight from Boston, watch fireworks
Day 2 Saturday: get over jet lag, relax at beach and pool, play activities by ear
Day 3 Sunday: Hanauma Bay day, arrive early, hang out until early afternoon, back to hotel to rest before dinner
Day 4 Monday and Day 5 Tuesday: I'm taking a Scuba Certification course 1030am-130pm, my wife and kids plan to just have beach/pool time, local activities when I get back in the afternoon
Day 6 Wednesday: North Shore Day, swim with sharks 9am, beach/lunch, family surf lessons 1pm, return home in evening
Day 7 Thursday: hike diamond head in morning, flex afternoon
Day 8 Friday: Manoa Falls or Makapuu Lighthouse Trail in morning, flex afternoon
Also considering some of the Pearl Harbor stuff, as I think my 9 year old son might especially like the aviation stuff and USS Missouri.
The big things I'm trying to nail down are the plan for my scuba lessons and then the day trip to the north shore. Any and all feedback welcome!

Making five points of contact with an object (i.e. putting all five of your fingers) lets you gain total control over it. While under your control you can do anything to an object that you can imagine.
Five points of contact on a piano, and you can make it produce any music that a piano can produce.
Five points of contact on a computer case and you can control it even without peripherals.
Five points of contact on a locked door and you can make it unlock and swing open.
Objects are any object, even living things. You can control an object as long as it remains in contact with your 'five points' - for example you can control a pool of water but the moment you throw a water ball at someone you lose contact and its no longer under your control.
Control is not purely kinetic, its also heating/cooling, deforming things etc.

This is a summary of Digital Daily #14 (March 24th). Detailed are events that happen before nominations. Please no spoilers beyond this digital daily in the comments.
TL;DR:
Previously, we saw that Kuzie was planning to nominate Vanessa and Santina this week. Digital Daily #14 kicks off in the bedroom, where Ty gives Santina a hint that she might be going on the block this week. Then Ty and Zach have a game talk. Ty says he has revealed more info to Claudia, which alarms Zach. Kuzie’s possible targets this week are causing a crack in the Ty/Zach alliance; Ty wants Santina to stay and join their alliance, Zach wants Dan to be that person. At the end of their talk, Zach says if Ty can get Jonathan to “buy back” into their group, targeting Renee could be a possible solution. Ty then goes to Santina and tells her about this Jonathan offer. Santina then goes to HOH Kuzie to make a preemptive attempt at staying off the block, but the conversation doesn’t seem to have swayed Kuzie; when Santina leaves Kuzie says “dammit! I’m gonna have to send her home after being so nice.” Later, Ty approaches Kuzie about making her target Vanessa, not Santina.
Going into detail…
0:00:07 - Kitchen - Good Morning, Renee
Renee tells her roommates to clean their room today. Jonathan tells Renee/Claudia/Shanaya that he doesn’t want to watch their season after they are out. Renee says she’ll watch it, and it won’t affect how she feels about the experience because it will all be said and done. Renee: “except for that… FLIP VOTER!” Jonathan laughs. Renee says she knew there were gonna be two votes (Jonathan and Santina).
0:04:43 - Parlour - Santina Yoga
Zach whispers to Santina while she tries to do yoga in the parlour. Small talk about last night’s sleeping situation. Zach walks away. Santina continues with her stretches.
0:06:57 - Dining Table - Breakfast
Houseguests eat breakfast prepared by Chef Anika. Small talk while they eat.
0:09:29 - Pink Bedroom - Ty Clues Santina In
Santina goes to her bedroom for something and sees Ty laying on his bed. Santina: “are you okay? Do you want a hug?” Ty says he’s okay. Ty says he talked to Kuzie; for nominations, Kuzie is looking at the group of people that “ran around” on the day of Vanessa’s blowup. Santina: “so I’m one of those group of people. That’s cool.” Ty: “she didn’t tell me that you are going up, she just said that’s the pool of people.” Santina: “that’s cool, that’s cool. I’ll talk to her today.” Ty names the “pool”: Zach/Ty/Santina/Vanessa (and Roberto).
0:11:22 - Dining Table - Breakfast, continued
Shanaya tells the people at the table about the guy that she was “hanging out with” before the show. They talk about their “types”.
0:14:33 - Pink Bedroom - Ty Clues Santina In, continued
Santina/Ty continue talking about Kuzie. Santina: “I hope it’s not me. That’s all I can hope for.” They go quiet, then Santina asks about his workout and how he slept. Quiet for a while. Santina: “if she put you or Zach or whoever, would that make you her target?” Ty: “if she put me up? I think it would matter who she put me beside.” Santina continues sorting her clothes. She finishes up then says “well enjoy your alone time!” She leaves.
0:20:37 - Bathroom - Worried, Much?
After learning about her possible nomination, Santina goes to the bathroom to freshen up her appearance.
0:25:26 - Parlour - Ty & Zach Game Talk Pt 1
Ty tells Zach that Ty/Claudia are rocky right now. Zach: “aww really :( ?” Ty says their new group is Ty/Zach/Hope/Claudia/Kuzie/Santina. Ty: “Santina cannot go home this week.” Zach is still reluctant: “if she stays she will take me out.” Ty: “I’m telling you right now, she won’t.” Zach tries to pitch Dan as their number, not Santina. They split up so they can meet somewhere else to talk.
0:27:45 - Purple Bedroom - Zach Walks Around
Zach asks Anika if they can have their sit-down later. Anika: “yeah.”
0:28:15 - Bathroom - Zach Walks Around More
Zach goes to the bathroom. Claudia enters the room around the same time. Zach asks if she’s good. Claudia: “I’m always good Zach” They clap hands.
0:30:00 - Circle K - Ty & Zach Game Talk Pt 2
Ty and Zach meet in the Circle K room to continue their conversation. Ty says he has started to trust Claudia more so he let her in on some of the things going on, and she started to see the pull that Ty has in the house. Zach: “why would you let her in on that?” Ty says he didn’t tell her everything. Ty: “but she’s starting to see me as..” Zach: “the biggest threat in the house. You have to realize that she’s not the only one. Everyone thinks it’s me, but they know it’s you.” Ty says “numbers-wise”: Zach/Ty/Kuzie/Hope and Zach says Dan, Ty says Santina. Ty says Dan/Santina are 2 wildcards. Zach points out Hope is a wildcard too. Ty agrees. Ty then points out the possibility of Claudia/Shanaya/Renee/Daniel/Anika/Vanessa teaming up. Ty says if they send Santina home, that would be taking a number from their own side; Ty guarantees he can control Santina to work with their side, not against it. Zach explains his view: the people who would make big moves are Ty/Zach/Kuzie/Santina/Claudia/Daniel. Zach tries to persuade Ty to go after a “big move” person that might go after themselves. Ty says he told Kuzie to keep Dan off the block; if the veto is used, Dan will go on the block. Zach: “it’s a mistake. It’s a mistake.” Zach explains if Dan is on the block, then Shanaya (and then Claudia) will have to make a decision, and this is an emotional game. Zach explains whoever “they” put on the block, they either have to bring them closer, or not lose their trust (at least). Ty says Santina figured out who was in trouble when he said it was going to be the group that ran around on the day of Vanessa’s drama. Zach says Dan is going to scramble to Shanaya/“that side” if he goes on the block this week. Ty asks what about Renee? Zach explains if Renee is on the block it will cause tension with the girls having to make an emotional decision. Zach says Kuzie can simply nominate the people that voted against the house. Zach asks who Kuzie will nominate. Ty says Vanessa/Santina. Zach: “perfect.” Zach says Santina will go home against anyone besides Vanessa. Zach continues to explain that they need to keep the pressure on Jonathan/Vanessa/Santina and play it safe this week. Ty: “hypothetically speaking, I could blow up Claudia’s game because she already said some stuff about Renee.” Zach advises him not to do that; Zach says Ty is playing an aggressive game but a smart game. Ty says he told Claudia straight up that he can’t get into a showmance with a floater, because if they hit the block as a duo, he’s going to be sitting next to a floater: “so if you wanna be in a showmance with me? Then you need to do something.” Zach says “let’s get those two numbers (Jonathan/Vanessa) out and then the numbers will be shifted enough to where we don’t care.” Zach summarizes his argument: the girls don’t have the reason to gun after them yet, and they don’t want to give the girls a reason until their numbers are down. Ty leaves the room. Zach stays behind for a minute.
0:50:34 - Pink Bedroom - Bloating
Renee/Vanessa/Claudia/Shanaya talk about bloating problems.
0:52:25 - Library - One Last Thing
Zach has thought of a possible solution to keeping Jonathan and goes to tell Ty; if Ty can get Santina to convince Jonathan to “buy back” into their group, then putting Renee on the block is a viable option. Ty agrees, and Zach leaves. Ty plays pool by himself for a while.
0:55:07 - Pantry - Random Nothing
Zach/Santina small talk about the game. Ty walks in the room. Nothing important said.
0:56:13 - Purple Bedroom - Zach Updates Dan
Zach tells Dan what he “guesses” Kuzie will do this week and gives him advice. Zach: “continue building the friendships that you’re building, and we’ll keep the pressure on those people (Jonathan/Vanessa/Santina).” Zach tells Dan to distance himself from Vanessa. Dan asks for advice on his pitch to Kuzie. Zach says he should be honest and say that they haven’t talked game yet but he is willing to build a relationship with her. Zach helps Dan with the wording of his pitch to Kuzie. Other than that, they give each other personal updates; Dan says they should both lay as low as possible this week. Dan says he getting closer to Shanaya, like homies, not a showmance. Zach: “cool.” They leave the room.
1:03:26 - Library - Ty Tells Santina about Zach’s Offer
Ty and Santina play pool. Ty tells Santina that Kuzie’s possible targets are Jonathan/Santina/Vanessa, because they voted against the house (also Zach for other reasons, but Ty doesn’t think Kuzie would nominate Zach). Ty asks how Santina feels about Jonathan. Santina: “I like Johnny.” Ty asks if the Roberto situation brought Jonathan/Santina closer. Santina says no, it was only because they were both isolated last week. Ty says Jonathan/Santina have a similar loyalty that they play with in the game. Santina says she will talk to Kuzie and see where her head’s at. Ty admits that he is willing to stick his neck out for Santina; he told Kuzie that he wouldn’t want Santina to be the target. Ty asks Santina if she is capable of working with Zach moving forward. Santina says yes, it’s just the communication with Zach that is the issue. Ty: “he just comes off too aggressive?” Santina says yes. Ty continues with the convo: “so I see you as on an island with no major alliances.” Santina agrees. Ty asks Santina how she is with the girls. Santina says the girls want to have a girls alliance, but.. Santina says Renee is the captain of the girls alliance talk. Ty asks what Santina’s ideal alliance moving forward is. Santina says what they originally had (Ty/Zach/Santina). Ty says his biggest fear has happened; their side is fractured and everyone is isolated, while the girls side can unify at any moment. Ty says he wants Zach/Santina/Ty to come back together, so is that something Santina is willing to do? Santina says yes. Ty says he will talk to Kuzie; Santina just needs to get Jonathan on board. Santina says she hopes there are no hard feelings with Zach. Ty says he feels like they can all come back together and stresses that if Santina can get Jonathan on board, Zach will be more comfortable. Santina says she’s on board. Talking in circles for a while. Santina says she wants to talk to Kuzie first before Ty goes back to her. Santina says she appreciates Ty and thanks him for his talks. They hug and Ty leaves the room. Santina says to herself/the cameras that she doesn’t want to go home; “I didn’t think Kuzie would put me up but maybe she will put me up!”
1:24:05 - Pink Bedroom - Different Ways to Win
Vanessa and Renee discuss the fact that there are so many different ways to win BB. Small talk about the different “characters” of the season.
1:26:32 - HOH - Santina’s Attempt to Stay Off the Block
Santina approaches Kuzie in the HOH room for a talk. Small talk about Kuzie’s competition performance history for a while. Dan is mentioned; Kuzie thinks Dan has a competitive edge over Ty. More general game talk [Santina must be working up the nerve to ask about game]. Finally Santina says “I just want to see where your head’s at, because for me, I was in the middle of a lot of stuff this past week. I just hope it doesn’t affect… or make you think I’m against you.” Kuzie says she doesn’t think Santina is against her; however, Kuzie knows Santina is a competitor. Santina says moving forward, Kuzie will know who Santina’s target is if she wins HOH again. Santina not-so-subtly says “with the blowup this week, I hope my involvement doesn’t put a target on my back.” Kuzie says that situation would put a target on Santina’s back. Santina laughs “for you! A target for you.” Kuzie says if she were to target Santina, it wouldn’t be just based on that, but more because Kuzie sees Santina as a threat. Kuzie explains “first of all, let me explain my position:” she explains why she voted against Roberto. Dan enters momentarily to line up for the “queue” (to talk to Kuzie). Kuzie says there’s no queue and that she will find him after her talk with Santina. He leaves. Santina continues explaining her current spot in the house (isolated). Kuzie suddenly asks why Santina was crying after the HOH comp yesterday (outside immediately after the comp). Santina: “I don’t think I was crying, I think with Rob leaving, I felt like I was now playing my own game.” Kuzie asks for the tea because she saw that hug [we all did hehe]. Kuzie says she’s glad that they kept that element out of the game. Santina says to the camera: “sorry Rob, but I think I like him as a friend.” Santina compliments Roberto, but in the BB house, that’s not how she is thinking right now. Santina returns back to noms talk: “but if I do go on the block, which I hope I’m not going to :( ” Kuzie says “no, at this point, I’m actually having a hard time… I don’t even know what I’m gonna do.” Kuzie tries to sugar coat the possibility of Santina being on the block by saying she would have 2 opportunities to get off the block. Santina asks if Kuzie wants to make a big move or an easy move for the house. Kuzie says she wants peace in the house this week. Kuzie gets stressed out and Santina tells her not to. Kuzie says she wants the 2 people that she nominates to stay, but then she’d have to go through the veto thing… [I think she’s just caught off guard by her target and is saying anything]. They get up to hug. Kuzie thanks Santina for being her first talk. Santina leaves. Kuzie says to herself: “dammit. Then I’m gonna have to send you home after being so nice. She begins dancing with her iPod, then notices the cameras are watching her so she prepares to do a bigger dance. Ty enters the room.
1:48:50 - HOH - Ty Tries to Switch Kuzie’s Target
Ty asks Kuzie who her replacement nominee would be? Kuzie: “I’m thinking Dan but.. why?” Ty says there is a better person, and it would probably be better to keep Dan off the block since he is gaining numbers with Shanaya and that side. Kuzie clarifies she would only put Dan on the block if Santina came down off the block. Ty pauses, thinking about how he is going to get Kuzie to stop targeting Santina. Kuzie: “so Vanessa is my disposable pawn.” Ty: “okay Kuzie, hear me out: I think we need to target Vanessa, and not Santina.” Ty pushes the idea of bringing in Santina/Jonathan to their side, and Santina’s involvement being necessary to flip Jonathan. Kuzie says that Jonathan is so angry in his soul that he will never ever trust Zach/Ty again. Ty stresses that Santina is the glue between Jonathan and Ty/Zach. Ty says once they are back together, they will be “back to business.” Kuzie: “but the problem with ‘back to business’ is that week 1 it didn’t include me.” And that’s a wrap for Digital Daily #14!

Hi, so I just upgraded from a rx580 to a used 6800 non xt and I’m wondering if my 1080 75 hz is beyond overkill. So the thing is, I was gonna try to return the monitor back to costgo but they said they wouldn’t take it (Samsung CR50) but if they did I’d use that money on a 1440p 160hz monitor. Anyways is there anything I can do in the meantime to push my gpu to its limits? I think I’ll have a massive cpu bottle neck anyways (ryzen 5 3600) . Heard about VSR but other then that I’m kinda empty.
Finally, I’m feeling like I should return the gpu back to eBay (seller offers free returns) and get my $432 back. Instead spend that cash on a new Rx 6700xt (about $400 plus tax, new) and save the rest for a new montior. Should I forget about it and settle with what I have and upgrade in the future? Only reason why I’m really tempted is because the 6700xt comes with the last of us part one and that seems like a cool game to own.

My birthday is next week, so soon to be 38M, and would like to spend as much of the day as possible hosting some slutty cuties fuck.
Since it's going to be my birthday, some selfish requests (not requirements):

• Ideally looking for ladies 18-25yrs
• Bonus points for wearing something sexy/slutty, fishnet stockings and a really short skirt are a good choice.

Only requirements are my home is drug free, and you shouldn't be allergic to or have a crippling fear of dogs.
Note: If you feel like the age gap between me and the requested age range is abit creepy, fair enough, but I'm looking for sex, and maybe some blowjobs, not a life partner.

᭙ꫝꪮ ᦓ ꪑꪖᧁᧁ꠸ꫀ﹖

 It genuinely gives me anxiety recanting the events that took place. As I’m sure if you’re here reading this you are most likely aware of what psychosis is, but in case you don’t, a state of psychosis typically referred to as an ‘episode’ except you aren’t always guaranteed to come out of it. Thankfully, I did.. you truly lose grasp of reality, you don’t know what’s real & what’s not, but the problem is everything that isn’t real you don’t know that it’s not real everything seems real to you. No one can tell you any different. You’d argue until your face was blue that whatever it is you’re seeing is real. I’m sure you’ve heard or seen plenty of stories about murder cases where the suspect claims “the devil told me i had to” “it was the voices” ect, ect… Some of those people, sure might be full of shit. However, some of those people are not… I know that because this is my story. I hope you get something from this. Getting this off my chest and out to people is really for me and my peace of mind, but still maybe it can be for you so let’s begin. October 7th, 2021 I’m not much of an artist, I can’t draw nor paint, but on this day I decided to paint and so I did. I painted through the night into the next morning never seeming to be satisfied with what it was I was painting. It’s around 3-4pm at this point and I’m sitting in front of my canvas just looking at it trying to figure out what it’s missing. I couldn’t seem to figure it out. Maybe because it wasn’t missing anything, but I still tried to figure it out. After some time passed I actually fell asleep for a period of time (Not sure how long, but i assumed it was for 30 minutes - 1 hour) & (The beginning of my psychosis) I was awoken by myself. As I started to wake up I was talking to the painting that I was still sitting in front of. I don’t know what i said exactly or whether i even spoke proper english. I could’ve been mumbling for all I know. This plays a more important roll later on. After i was awake and conscious I stood up thinking “damn, i just fell asleeep sitting there like that” and started to move around to help wake up some more because I did have a dinner to go to with my mother. I got ready, she came by a picked me up, & from there we went out to get dinner somewhere. While we were eating i noticed that i was seeing what looked like speckles of what appeared to be a glitter like when you stand up to fast or hold your breathe and you see those flicking “stars” except this wasn’t that, which i just brushed it off and didn’t think much of it. Afterwards we went back to my house where my grandmother, my aunt, & my little brother stay as well. (My aunt & grandmother are the ones that practically “raised” me as well as my brother). I went down into my room and i decided that i was done with the painting all I needed to do was sign it at the bottom, so that’s what I did. 

I wanted to show it to my grandmother so I did and afterwards i noticed a part of my painting that looked like my dog Brydie which at the time i thought was pretty cool so I took the painting back to my grandmother to show her and she herself also saw what I saw. My grandmother then points out something that kinda looked like my other dog Morgan (I have 2 dogs whom go by the names of Brydie & Morgan) and then all the sudden my grandmother & I both are finding multiple things that have value to me hidden within this painting such as my personal spiritual numbers (that being 222 & 417) As i’m finding all these hidden things within this painting that were all very meaningful to me something in my head gave me the idea to see what it looked like upside down so i turned it upside down and that’s when my picture was completely different. The bright orange sky filled with sunset turned into a pool of fire. The flock of birds gliding through the clear skies were now all people burning in a fire.
As quickly as i noticed all the cool, calming, & loving things hidden within my painting even quicker it all turned piquant, horrifying, & hateful. I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off this painting and in the center mass of this painting i had painted a “man”, but it was more like a character of sorts. Whenever i would look away from it i could see the facial expression change from what was happy & ecstatic to a more happy & evil like a proud evil villain. I could only see it out of my peripheral vision. It wouldn’t change if i was looking directly at it only as i would go to look away from it. Whenever i was directly looking at it i could only see the original facial expression i had painted. I couldn’t take my attention away from it though because it continued to happen. At this point i was officiated on it and i found myself just staring at it. I actually begin to verbally ask it “Why are you looking at me like that when i look away? I painted you, why are you looking at me so evil? i don’t understand”. This continued for what felt like 10-15 minutes.
My brother walks into my room and he finds me there staring at this painting as it was hung up on the wall & he ask me, “Do you want to come out and smoke a cigarette with me?” and I replied, “Yeah, I could definitely use me a cigarette right now” . My brother replies, “You okay? you look like you need one.” which i responded. “Yeah, i’m good this painting just keeps looking at me funny every time I look away from it.” & him thinking i’m just trying to be funny let’s out a chuckle and says “Well, I got the cigarettes so c’mon”. He hands me a cigarette and we start making our way towards the door. (Remember it’s October and we’ve always been the type of people to go “all out” when it comes to halloween. We would make creepy, scary, human sized characters leading up to Halloween so we could put them out in the yard for trick or treaters & we even would keep several of them in the house for our own Halloween spirits). Read Comments Below:

well, here it is, part 16. this one is a bit more calm than usual, but I felt like I kinda forgot about the whole reason Orvin ended up with Flick in the first place. so this time, Orvin finally gets some actual treatment, even if it's a little gross and sticky.
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as always, enjoy. next one will be focused on the city-fleet, and there's trouble brewing, but that's coming once I've done part 3 of The New Smith
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Subject Memory Transcription: Flick, Venlil Civilian
Being a civilian was almost surreal. For the first time in my life, people weren’t scared of me, and noone avoided me in the streets. Of course, being in another town helped quite a bit with that, but even a change of scenery wasn’t normally enough to have people treating me as part of the herd. Well, they didn’t avoid me, anyway. Having Orvin by my side scared off most of the smaller Venlil, but I didn’t mind too much. It was still much more friendly than I was used to, and that alone was enough to cheer me up.
Orvin had booked a day out somewhere, but he was refusing to tell me where. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him to know what I would enjoy, it was more so that my reputation may cause some trouble for us. I still went with him though, because a day spent with him was better than anything I could do at home.
As we strolled through the unfamiliar streets, he chatted noisily about quantum physics, which was a personal interest of his. This time he was explaining the basics of quantum tunnelling to me, which was well beyond what I could understand, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him otherwise since he was clearly enjoying explaining it.
“So then, since you can’t directly observe the particles, you have to somehow get them to measure themselves. So the solution was to get them to bump into weak magnetic fields to turn them like clock hands, and get them to be their own timers. You still with me?”
I nodded and tried my best to not seem disinterested, and he continued his rant about what sounded like pure insanity wrapped in a scientific method, which let my thoughts wander across the last few days.
The morning after what he had jokingly called the “day of reckoning”, I had submitted my resignation letter and leaked all of the previously classified documents to the press. It had caused a huge panic among the local government. In fact, had I not been the one to leak the documents, I would likely be caught up in the hurricane of investigations and resignations.
Thursday had actually been the first time I had seen Orvin show any violence though. One of the Magisters had sent a large police detachment to arrest me for “treason”, and they raided our home in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, the two of us were wrapped up in blankets watching an old Terran film, so I was quickly seized. This put Orvin into a full rage that ended with every single officer having their steel helmets peeled from their heads, their riot shields cracked and ruined, and their uniforms shredded by claws that cut cast iron like wet paper. Thankfully, the only major injury in the fight was one officer having his arm broken by impacting a wall, so we got off fairly lightly under “self defence” when the case came before a judge.
This did screw things up though. Once the incident went public, it became clear that people were terrified of Orvin. He had single handedly knocked down and disarmed twenty three officers, including fourteen terrans, which led to him gaining a reputation as a danger to the public. He blamed himself for that, and I could tell that it still weighed heavy on his mind that he had done so much damage so quickly, but honestly I was just glad that he was willing to protect me when I couldn’t protect myself. I just hoped I could undo the damage those words from the judge had done.
As kind as she had been, her ruling stated that “all injuries caused were self-inflicted by attacking a dangerous predator unprovoked”, which really made me angry. I could see that Orvin had taken that remark personally, and since the hearing ended he had been so cautious it genuinely worried me. It was like he suddenly believed himself to be the monster that others saw him as, and I hated that.
Maybe I can make things better today
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Subject Memory Transcription: Orvin, Venlil Civilian
When the police raided us, I responded with unthinking violence. Sure, noone got badly injured, but it wasn’t because I was restraining myself or anything. My killer instincts took over when I saw Flick being cuffed, and I sent one of them into a wall and knocked the others down, and it scared me.
Knowing that I was on a hair trigger was terrifying. It meant that anything could set me off, and that I could suddenly go feral and cause irreparable damage to people around me. But most of all, I was worried about Flick. It had taken a lot of hard work to get this far, and I didn’t want to suddenly lose everything just because of my programming kicking in and killing someone. Thankfully, today would give me some time to take care of some issues.
I hadn’t told him, but I booked us both a day at a “rejuvenation clinic”. Well, sort of. I had managed to get him there in a 2-for-1 deal, since I was already booked there for medical reasons.
I was actually headed there for a very different kind of rejuvenation. In my last visit to the doctor, I had given a series of samples for them to extrapolate. Today, I would be submerged in a massive vat of stem cells that had been growing since last week. The idea was that, by supplying unlimited amounts of stem cells, we could reactivate my body’s construction protocols and possibly repair the damage done to it. I wasn’t entirely sure, but I was more than willing to give it a shot, and since I wasn’t paying for it there was no real reason not to take a day out of my empty schedule and lie in a pool of my own DNA.
I bet it’s all slimy and gross
“Soooooo, where are we going?” Flick’s voice brought me back to reality. We were almost there, so I decided to tell him. “We’re heading to some rejuvenation clinic, for a relaxing day off. It was originally going to be just me going, but I managed to convince them to let you tag along.”
He gave me a confused look. “And you were headed there why exactly?” there was no point lying to him, but I just had to not get his hopes up, since this was very experimental. “The doctors are testing something. They’re going to get me to lie in a pool of my own stem cells in the hopes that my body’s construction program will restart and repair me. Of course, this place also does plenty of other stuff, so we’ll have a lot of time together, but don’t be too surprised if I get dragged away at various times.”
He smiled at me and rubbed my forearm with one paw. “If it has a chance at helping you, I really don’t mind. Just promise me we get to do something together for my birthday next week, okay?”
Oh shit, I forgot about that
“Sounds good. By the way, we’re here!”
Looking at the building, it was a sandy yellow concrete wave at odds with everything nearby, studded with seashells and bare of windows except for the flowing green glass roof that shone a single ray of sunlight down onto the front entrance. I stepped through the double doors, venlil in tow, and the gojid at the front desk handed us our cards without even looking up.
A pair of UN guards escorted me to the chamber I would be spending the next few hours in, and a tiny attendant took Flick to the hot springs. Once I was inside the room, a human scientist explained the whole experiment to me, and passed me an oxygen tube which I put into my mouth and strapped in place, before opening the steel lid on a circular vat filled with light pink goop.
Yep, gross and slimy alright
I took a deep breath, gave a thumbs up, and sank into the viscous pool. It was ice cold and thick like glue, but surprisingly comfortable as I found the seat and relaxed. Then, the lid came down, the lights went off, and the water level rose, submerging me in the dark, cold slime.
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Subject Memory Transcription: Flick, Venlil Civilian
Once Orvin was gone, a venlil barely up to my chest guided me through winding halls and into the main room. It was a beautiful garden bathed in filtered sunlight, with columns of steam rising from each of the fake volcanic baths. It looked like a magical place to spend an afternoon, but it was a sign on the other end of the room that really caught my eye.
Fur dye & styling
I skipped straight past all the warm water and other comforts, and straight into the salon. The female Krakotl at a desk clearly wasn’t expecting such a tall customer though, and visibly recoiled at the sight of me when I leaned on her desk and requested black dye.
She didn’t take long to recover though, since a paying customer was a paying customer. “Right this way sir, just take a seat in one of the chairs and we’ll set up the dye for you.” She ushered me to a cushioned reclining chair, and I positioned myself comfortably. She then fussed with a machine that was sitting just over my head, before giving it a slap with her wing and stepping back from me. “Just sit still, this will only take a minute to calibrate for you.”
There was a buzzing sound, and the chair under me vibrated as the machine above me traced lasers across my head and chest. I had no clue what was going on here, but it seemed like this was just a scanner of sorts to get measurements for something else. I sat still as what felt like robotic arms pressed against my back and neck, and closed my eyes as a line traced its way across my full face, then it dinged.
After that, I was escorted to what looked like a shower, or maybe one of those terran carwashes. I stood inside the machine while she put some code into it, then gave me a nod before flicking something that brought the machine to life. A screen blinked in front of me telling me to stand with legs apart and arms up, then to close my eyes and hold my breath. Once I did so, there was a whirring sound, and a cold mist sprayed across my whole body for what felt like an eternity.
Once the mist was gone, something brushed against me, and it felt like it was scrubbing my fur all over. It wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling, but it was not something I was used to either, so it was awkward as brushes went all over me and put what felt like some sort of oil into every inch of fur. It actually tickled a little, and took all of my energy just to resist the urge to move and swat at the brushes as they made their way across my head.
And then, it was over. Warm water poured over me and washed everything off, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief, before gasping for air as I realised I had empty lungs when I exhaled. I let my eyes adjust to the lights again, and took a good look at myself in the mirror on the chamber wall. It was certainly strange to see, but now I was jet black, and it suited me.
A tap on the glass brought me back to the real world, and I stepped out into the salon again. The Krakotl charged me for the dye, and gave me a tube of gel to seal my fur. I thanked her, and headed out to the pools to go for a relaxing soak while I waited for Orvin.
As I sank into the warm water, I could feel the bubbles massaging my sore muscles. I still had some bruises from the raid, but I didn’t want to worry him about them, so I hid my injuries. It still hurt, but at least this way he wouldn’t worry too much about me.
I just hope he doesn’t freak out over the makeover
I set a timer for an hour, and sank neck deep into the relaxing pool to take a short rest.
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Subject Memory Transcription: Orvin, Venlil Civilian
I was woken up by the sounds of metal clanging. It was still dark, but now the goop was warm and comfortable. I stretched out and almost yawned, only stopping myself when I felt the plastic bit hit one fang as a reminder of my oxygen tube.
As my limbs extended, I felt refreshed. It was an unfamiliar feeling as joints rolled smoothly, and tendons stretched perfectly across bone. I could feel muscles pulling with a renewed force, and my skin tingled slightly as it stretched and moved over my freshly repaired frame. It felt incredible as I tested each appendage, each claw, and every single one responded without any pain.
The hatch clanged open, and there were shouts as paws reached in to grab me, but I simply stood up and pulled myself from out of the gunk. Although it sucked and dragged, I still had enough strength to overcome it, and stepped out onto the grated floor of the off-white chamber. I blinked under the intense fluorescent lights, and stood still as I was blasted clean by hoses. The water steamed as it hit me, and I could feel myself cooling off under the tide of cool liquid.
“Alright, he’s stable, cut the water.” the human voice cut through the mental fog and kicked my brain into gear. “So, how are you feeling?”
I didn’t really know how to explain it, so I put it as best as I could into terms that ordinary people could understand. “Very refreshed, like I’ve just had a good sleep and woken up on a warm spring morning. I feel alive.”
Some of the venlil were taking notes furiously as another human circled me, taking assorted measurements. Then, he stood straight up in front of me, and opened my mouth to measure my jaws. Such a thing would be considered an invitation for a nasty bite if you did it to a normal Scion, but at least I was better than that. He then looked me dead in the eyes and asked me about my body temperature.
Scion temperature is extremely flexible. In fact, core temperature can range anywhere from 25 to 58 degrees, with surface temperature ranging from 3 to 87 degrees. This was because of our home planet having an extremely volatile environment. During the days, it would be well over 100°C, and nights would drop below -50°C due to the total lack of atmospheric insulation. This forced us to evolve fur to preserve internal temperatures, but also to be very flexible so we could hunt nights and days, as Scions ran on 26-hour cycles, while our home planet had 33 hour days, so we would often be out of sync with sunrise and sunset so as to catch all sorts of prey.
Of course, since I was submerged in that goop with all my cells working at full power, my body had naturally began heating up, so it was likely that they had stopped the experiment when I crossed the 50 degree mark, which explained the water blasting.
“Don’t worry about my temperature. As long as I don’t go over about 56°C core or 85°C surface, I’m perfectly fine.” I explained, as the venlil furiously crossed out and rewrote notes. The human nodded and guided me to another room where a set of machines were waiting for me. They were the same ones I had been tested on before being submerged, so I recognised their functions. The first one weighed me, the second one took a small tissue sample, the third one scanned for bone structure, the fourth for muscle-to-fat ratios, and the fifth for blood vessels and nerve pathways. Once they had the results of each, I was given a sandwich, a sugary drink, and sent back out into the day spa.
As I strolled through the halls, I almost tripped over a jet-black venlil, who seemed just a little shorter than Flick was, and quickly apologised to him. The venlil wrapped his arms around me though, taking me by surprise before it clicked in my brain.
“Hah, didn’t recognise you for a second there. What’s with the new colour?” I asked. He responded by twirling around like a showoff, letting his glossy coat glimmer under the white skylights illuminating the hallway. “I went for a bit of a makeover while you were busy. Do you like it?”
I loved it. He looked so fluffy now, with the freshly brushed fur puffed up from a hairdryer. I gently stroked his chest, letting myself enjoy the sleek, soft fluff, before remembering where I was and pulling back. “Sorry, yes, I love it. But why are you so small now?”
I already knew the answer, but I just had to hear it from someone else to really be sure about it. “I’m not small, you just got bigger. I’m guessing the experiment worked?” I nodded, and I could swear he blushed as I ruffled the fur on his head.
We spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing in the warm water. It was certainly strange to not be wearing any clothes in public, but according to flick this was standard for most federation species. In fact, wearing clothes was mostly reserved for high-ranking titles or those who needed the extra warmth or protection. I wasn’t sure if I would ever get used to not having at least a shirt and some shorts on, but I could put up with it for a day.
I wonder how well that stuff did at restoring my eyes though? Because I really want him to see what they’re meant to look like.
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So I have two old desktops that I don't know what to do with, but I want to avoid the e-waste pile if at all possible. I have seen things that lead me to believe they may be too old for any practical purpose besides retro gaming, but I'm hoping that the creatives here might think of something I can't.
 
One is an old pre-built Dell Inspiron 570 and one is an old gaming rig with sentimental value. It wasn't amazing, but it was cool at the time. Because of that, I'd rather not replace too many parts on the rig, although the ram and storage are fair game. I have a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium to put on one of them, however it's definitely not going to be connected to the internet if I use it.
 
I haven't tested it, but I am guessing the power consumption on the rig is too high to be run all the time, but the Dell needs testing.
 
The rig specs:
 

• CPU: AMD Athlon 64x 4000+
• GPU: Nvidia GT218 (GeForce 210)
• Motherboard: ASUS A8N32 - SLI Deluxe
• Soundcard: Sound Blaster Audigy2 Z5 (or ZS, I can't tell)
• RAM: 3 GB DDR (2x 1 GB sticks and 2x 512 MB (mislabeled as 1 GB each)
• Storage: 1x 380 GB HDD

   
The Dell specs:
 

• CPU: AMD Sempron 140
• GPU: Integrated (ATI Radeon™ HD 4200)
• Motherboard: Dell OEM 04GJJT (shipset AMD 785G)
• Soundcard: integrated
• RAM: 2 GB DDR3 (1x stick)
• Storage: 1x 500 GB HDD

   
I also have another 500 GB HDD to throw in either PC. The rig has 2 optical drives with space for a 3rd as well as every card reader known to man, and space for 4 HDDs. The Dell only has room for 2 HDDs without using the empty optical drive bays.
 
Also, if this isn't the sub for this kind of post, please suggest where I can ask? I am at wits end with these and the thought of not utilizing them if possible nags at me.

Man, I feel like this is the MechWarrior high that I've been chasing my entire life. I love the mech combat itself, but I've always wanted a game that can capture the RPG element of the BattleTech universe.
In every MechWarrior game, either the game is on rails (MW2, MW3, MW4) or it feels like the Inner Sphere is nothing more than a fancy UI for a random mission generator (BattleTech, MechWarrior 5). It just makes this universe feel so lifeless.
Would love a game where you're in the universe. Instead of clicking "Travel" and then getting hit with a loading screen, I punch in the destination to my nav computer and I can watch the trip take place outside my ship's window...you know, if I wanna sit there for hours. Or I can just skip ahead to my destination once I'm done running around in my ship to handle repairs, do some refits, make some upgrades to the medbay, browse MercNet to see any interesting contracts nearby, scout the map out to see any nearby worlds with Mech factories, manage the morale of my crew, etc.
I wanna feel like a Mercenary commander for the first time. Don't just make the Inner Sphere a map on my UI - make it feel like we're really operating in and affecting the Inner Sphere and its activities. Make reputation matter - being enemies with factions or having rivalries with Merc units should have major impacts on our careers.
Don't make salvage some passive game mechanic. Make me actively call for salvage crews while I'm mid-mission to get that choice Stalker 3FB that I just managed to leg. Oh, shit, what? My Salvage Craft can only carry up to 60 tons? Probably should upgrade my Salvage Crew too - they're decent at stripping a 'mech for parts, but they take forever to salvage a whole chassis. And damn, that's right, I'm still just using that Technician in my Mech Bay - I never hired a Mech Bay Engineer that's qualified to rehab salvaged Assault 'mechs.
OK, looks like I've got some more work to do before I'm ready to salvage one of those big boys.
Of course, I gotta upgrade my dropship too. Running out of space for more 'mechs. And if I get a bigger dropship, it'd be nice to add an additional Mech Repair Bay - would allow me refit a couple 'mechs at the same time. Damn, gonna need to hire another Engineer to operate that Mech Bay though. And at some point I'm gonna wanna bring on a Chief Engineer to oversee this Mech Bay crew and really increase performance. I hear some Chief Engineers can increase the performance of your 'mechs.
One day I may even have my own Mercenary Base. I hear if you get in good with one of the major Houses, they'll sometimes give you land on one of their planets. Or you can try to buy some land on one of the smaller planets, or even try to stake out a claim in the Periphery - of course out there, it's often better to take what you want by force.
Keep in mind though, if you have a base, it can get attacked. Location matters. But if the worst happens, haul butt back to your base to defend it.
Damn. I would love a MechWarrior game like that. And I think a game like that could get some wide popularity. Wouldn't even be that hard to use that framework to make a cool persistent PvP environment with hundreds of players. Just some clever use of isolated environments, etc.

Hey everyone, I have decided to open up PayPal for some wants. Also decided to put up my nitendo switch for trade only.Basing all values off of TCG gold star sellers and eBay last sold. Also always open to negotiation and offers. Thank you and have a good week! :)
If I discount something for full PayPal please do not expect the same value for a trade
HAVES
slabs
Switch/NFS
WANTS
WILLING TO PAYPAL FOR
Japanese NM/M cards: alts, full arts, SARs, DP, WOTC any cool JP cards in NM/M(psa 9-10) condition
PAYPAL
Specific wants(will trade in your favor)
PSA 10 or RAW JP eeveelution V AA(willing to do partial on my end)
JP groudon and kyogre EX FA PSA 10(willing to partial on my end)
RAW Eeveelution v FA JP (need jolteon, glaceon, Espeon, sylveon)
JP EX FA psa 10
JP E series PSA 10
Neo Ho oh jp psa 10
RAY VMAX ALT PSA 10
General wants
JP hits: rainbows, golds, full arts, Alts (raw NM/M)
Eeveelution v FA Japanese(need jolteon, glaceon, Espeon, sylveon)
High end offers
Alt arts
Psa 10 slabs
MINTY EX/GX FA
Mint GX RR
NM/M hits from all eras
Rainbows
Anything really, shoot your shot!

The boy next door is no longer an enigma.
No longer a mystery.
For the last few days, I have been laying low after Mrs Wilder kidnapped and threatened me in my own home. I’ve had barely any sleep and my lack of it has definitely disrupted my ability to write. I’m sorry if this update is messy or full of typos. I just don’t know what to do.
I’ve been a mess. I’ve been jumping at every movement. Every time there’s a knock on the door I feel part of myself splinter into pieces I can’t put back together. I did something crazy stupid two days ago. And that stupid mistake has fully exposed me to Mrs Wilder’s secret. What she is hiding behind her walls—and just how fucked I truly am if I disobey her again. Like I said, over the last several days I have been keeping my head down.
I went to school and did my homework and went to bed. That was it. When mom asked if I was talking to any Wilder kids, I shook my head. I had quickly grown afraid of Casper Wilder’s window. I knew something was wrong with him.
Something is wrong with his head.
He had told me. At least, the part of him which was bleeding between consciousness and a submissive state not being controlled by his psychotic mother. I saw him. I saw who he really was. I saw the boy next door crying out to me for help through bloodied fingers and cryptic messages splattered in scarlet. If he had intentionally hurt himself to get messages across to me, there was something he was fighting.
Mrs Wilder’s words were haunting me. The paper-doll rendition of me, blackened and smouldering orange between her nimble fingers-- I couldn’t get it out of my head.
So, I grabbed all the paper I could find and taped up my window, blocking him out. It sounds ridiculous. And it was. Because once I had spent over an hour feverishly taping pieces of paper over my window, I tore them down with a knot in my gut. When I clawed away the last piece of paper, I got a glimpse of Casper. His curtains were open, allowing me to see inside his room once more.
I saw a normal guy’s bedroom once again, guitars leaning against the walls, clothes strewn over the floor and sketchpads littering the bed. Warm light illuminated the window, and I wished what I was seeing was normal.
I wished I had seen nothing bad, and this was just the boy next door.
My completely normal neighbor.
But I couldn’t deny what I’d seen two nights ago. Casper Wilder wasn’t standing at his window with a twisted expression, a cocktail of pain and anger and confusion burning in mismatched eyes I was sure glinted with something metallic. Something man-made—which had been inserted, no, forced inside him.
I expected him to be awake. Even if it was just a single look in his eye which told me he was still there—still holding on. No. It was like nothing had ever happened. The window had been cleaned of blood, and there were no traces of the boy who had cried out for help. In his place was the Wilder son I had found friendship with. Before he cracked, and something inside him, something buried deep, deep, down, ignited. I missed that version of him. Who he used to be.
Because this guy was not Casper Wilder. I didn’t know who he was—and neither did he from the way he’d reacted days before. Underneath this name being forced onto him, there was nothing.
Just a broken kid with no name. No memory, except ones filled with her. I missed the personality Mrs Wilder was trying to hide. Who had told me she wasn’t his fucking mother, and sworn at me, his writing erratic and confusing, clawing into his head with this desperation to be let go.
Seeing him through the window at that moment, I realised, a sickly paste crawling up my throat, that all of that had been erased. He had returned to default. Casper was sitting on his bed playing guitar with a look of content, bed hair falling in sleepy eyes. He was wearing his glasses this time. His fingers moved up and down, feet bouncing to a beat I couldn’t hear.
Stumbling back, I tripped over my backpack with a shriek, which caught Casper’s attention.
When his head twisted around, empty eyes floating towards the window, I ducked. I couldn’t stop myself. After counting to ten, I slowly lifted my gaze.
He was still staring at me, and I noticed he’d stopped playing the guitar, fingers entangled in the strings. Casper’s smile had dimmed slightly. I wondered if seeing me brought something back. Maybe he remembered writing his own bloody messages on the window and trying and failing to speak through his mother’s control. The boy blinked at me before slowly getting to his feet. I didn’t see the chord thing this time. Casper strode over to the window, a giddy smile curling on the edges of his lips.
He pressed his palm against the glass, and I was already grabbing my notepad and a pen. But then his mother’s words sliced through my thoughts. I was back inside my lounge, foggy headed, the stink of pool cleaner still thick at the back of my nose and throat.
Mrs Wilder loomed over me, my paper-doll she had ravaged sticking from the doll-house on mom’s coffee table constructed from our letters. “I hope you understand that if you talk to, or even breathe the same air as my children again, I will rip you apart too.”
Her breath was heavy in my face. I couldn’t help looking at Mrs Becker for help, but her eyes were equally as cruel. I watched perfectly manicured nails pick up one of the four Wilder dolls, making it dance around in circles.
“Do you understand me, Phoebe?”
“Yes.” I said, my words twisted on my tongue.
“I… I understand.”
The memory was painful enough to feel physical knives digging into my gut. Mrs Wilder had made it clear that if I pursued her children, she was going to hurt me. Mom, too. I dropped my notepad and pen. Casper was still smiling at me. His eyes were vacant. He had no idea who I was after months of us talking. Mrs Wilder had taken all of it away. Including him breaking apart and waking up as a confused shell with no name. “Hello.” Casper’s lips mouthed the words, and I took several steps back, my heart in my throat.
He didn’t even blink. I watched his expression fail to flicker and wondered just how the fuck had I never noticed there was something wrong with him in the months I knew him. I watched him search his desk for a notepad and pen. Maybe seeing me was unravelling something inside him, I thought. Maybe I could try and wake him up again. At the back of my mind, however, I could still see my little paper doll’s head being torn off, its body ripped apart.
“What’s your name?” Casper had written in bubble writing. It’s like everything had been reset. His frenzied and wild eyes, that desperation to escape. Gone.
His handwriting was boiling my blood. Just looking at this perfect calligraphy which wasn’t even his. It had been forced onto him. Because Mrs Wilder expected this boy to be the perfect son, a creative prodigy like his siblings. I looked for a splinter in his eyes, just a glimpse that he was still in there. Still fighting whatever his ‘mother’ had done to him. But I saw nothing. I saw a blank fucking slate.
“Phoebe.” I mouthed.
Inclining his head, he scribbled a follow up message. “Can you write it down?”
Swallowing a lump in my throat, I shut my curtains, blocking him and his message out. Then I jumped into bed, turned off my light, and dreamed I was that paper-doll with no mouth to scream with, as Mrs Wilder slowly tore me limb from limb. The next day felt like a blur. I don’t think I snapped out of it until mom poked me with the prongs of her fork, tearing me from a scenario I was going over in my head.
If Casper was a prisoner, were his siblings too? I’d only caught a glimpse of Issac and Freddie Wilder. Mrs Wilder talked of being pregnant with four children. But she spoke like she had lost them. So, my guess was that she had kidnapped four teenager’s in their place—and was raising them as her dead children. “Are you okay, honey?”
Mom’s voice slid through my thoughts, and I realised I had been pushing my pasta around my plate. I wasn’t really hungry.
Mom had made this sort of red pepper spaghetti, but every time I tried to take a mouthful, I was seeing spatters of scarlet running from Casper’s temples, dripping down his face and smudged on the glass of his window. THUD. The image of him slamming his head into the pane, wild eyes and twisted lips, an agonising panic bringing him to the edge of hysteria caught me off guard, and my fork slipped through my fingers, tomato sauce slowly creeping its way back up my throat.
Fuck. I couldn’t forget about him. I couldn’t leave him and block him out after his mother had threatened me. Because if I didn’t help him, who would? It was my word against the town.
Mom cleared her throat
“Phoebe, are you listening to me?”
“Huh?”
“I said, have you been abiding by the rules?” Mom twirled pasta around her fork and took a dainty bite. Since joining Mrs Becker’s book club I had noticed a certain gleam in her eye. Like she was looking through me. “You haven’t been talking to the Wilder children, have you?”
“No.”
After three mouthfuls of spaghetti, I ended up with half of my dinner dripping down my face.
Mom grabbed a napkin, handing it to me. “Clean yourself up. You are seventeen, not seven.” Her expression softened. “Sweetie, are you okay?”
“Yes.” I said, struggling to appear it. I knew she could see my sleep circles.
“Have you been talking to the Wilder kids? I’ll know if you have.”
Technically, I had been communicating with him. But it was one-sided.
Still though, paranoia turned my thoughts against me. Shovelling down spaghetti, I spoke through a mouthful. “No.”
She handed me another napkin. “So, if I talk to Mrs Wilder…”
“Mom.” I grabbed her hand, squeezing it for dear life. Mrs Wilder knew, I thought dizzily. She must have known Casper’s attempt to talk to me, even if he was exactly who she wanted him to be. Still under her demented control. But it was confusing me just how she had that control. This wasn’t a movie or a TV show.
Mind control didn’t exist, right? And if it did, it was barely even a thing—induced by cocktails of drugs and torture. Casper didn’t look like he’d been tortured.
Except that thing inside his head… my thoughts grew foggy, and I was suddenly overcome with emotion. What I meant to tell her was all about what I had seen, and what Mrs Wilder had done to me. Though knowing what the woman was capable of, and thinking about that chord-like thing which surely had been forced into the back of Casper Wilder’s skull… “Can we just…move?” I choked out. “I want to move. I hate it here.” I gestured around.
“I hate this house. It’s too big, I feel like I’m lost every time I go upstairs. I hate school. The kids there freak me out.” Holding her gaze, I curled my lip. “And I hate our stupid neighbors.”
“Phoebe.” Mom’s tone darkened. “What did I tell you about being respectful?”
“It’s not like they can hear us!” I spat. “Did they fit cameras in here, mom? I wouldn’t be surprised! We’re under draconian rules!”
“Young lady, you are acting like a child.” She said stiffly. “Take several deep breaths and tell me what is wrong.”
“I’m fine.” I whispered.
“No, you are not.” Mom sipped red wine. “I know when there is something wrong with my daughter, and you cannot look me in the eye.”
I took a sharp breath and forced myself to stay calm. “Mom.” I sputtered through a sob. “It’s Mrs Wilder. She… she did something to me.”
Mom’s expression twisted. “What?”
“The other night,” I forced out. The images were flooding my head. Smouldering orange tearing its way through paper white. “She knocked me out, and she had this… dollhouse. And four paper dolls.”
I heaved out a breath. “She threatened me, mom. Mrs Wilder threatened me, and I need you to believe me.” I grabbed for her hand again, my own trembling. “Casper Wilder is not her son.” I said. The words felt foreign on my tongue. Wrong. They felt like a time bomb. “I think she kidnapped him. All of them. And she’s brainwashed them into thinking they’re her real kids.” There was a pause, and my mom’s expression didn’t change. So, I continued. “We need to call the police.” I reiterated. “Okay? You’re listening to me, aren’t you?” I swallowed sobs wracking my chest. “Because… you’re my mom. And you’re supposed to believe me.”
She surprised me with an eye-roll. “You are being ridiculous.”
THUD.
It felt like the walls were suddenly closing in. I could smell the stink of pool cleaner and Mrs Wilder’s perfume intoxicating my senses.
THUD.
I was seeing Casper slamming his head into his window once again, his eyes alive with a light I couldn’t understand. Like something was entwined inside his pupil.
THUD.
“Help me.”
God, it wouldn’t stop.
His voice. It was driving me crazy.
“I don’t know who I am.” Casper’s sobs echoed. “I don’t… I don’t fucking know who I am! I can’t remember… I can’t remember who I am!”
I could see his words clear in my mind, red scrawled against white until they were barely readable.
WHO.
AM.
I?
WHO AM I? WHO AM I? WHO AM I? I DON’T KNOW WHO I AM. THAT WOMAN IS NOT MY MOM.
I was going to be sick.
“Mom,” The words were choking from my mouth before I could stop them. I didn’t mean to sound so childlike, but that is exactly what I felt like. A child. I was alone. Drowning.
Looking at my mother’s curled lips, her eyes burning right through me, I felt myself start to come apart.
Like that stupid doll.
“Mom, please—”
She cut me off with a snort. “What? Is this because you're not allowed to talk to the boy next door? You’re creating your own narrative, and it’s… endearing. Childlike, but you are a child after all." Mom chuckled. “Sweetie, I know you love your mysteries, and sure, I can understand the cliché Romeo and Juliet thing going on, but really, there are plenty more fish in the sea. You don’t have to make up ridiculous scenarios.”
I let go of her hand, my toes curling. They didn’t sound like her words. They were someone else’s.
What was she talking about, ridiculous scenarios? Did my mother really think I was capable of imagining all of this shit?
I couldn’t reply. Not when part of me wondered if these were even her words. I had a strong suspicion my mom was just a puppet.
Like someone was talking through her.
“Do you like him?” Mom pressed. In her eyes, I could see Mrs Wilder was asking that question. “Is that why you’re being so… “ She trailed off with a sigh, and I glimpsed her fingers tighten around her wine glass, pressing enough pressure to leave marks on the rim. “Difficult?”
Mom’s lips splintered into a grin which wasn’t hers, and something inside me snapped. She was joking around.
When Casper was suffering, a prisoner of his own mind, my mother was treating me like I was fucking love-sick.
"No!" I shook my head. “No, I want to move.” I whispered. “I want to go back to our old house.”
“That’s not going to happen, sweetie. You know I can’t just leave my job. Phoebe, you’re a senior at school. You have SAT’S.”
“But—"
Her expression softened. “You’ll grow to like it. Don’t worry.” She said, before standing up and carrying our plates to the faucet. “I have a late shift tonight, so I expect your best behaviour.” I barely felt mom press a kiss to my forehead.
Her presence felt strange, like I wasn’t even seeing my mother. After what she said, I was sure her words were being pupiteered. When mom went to work, after yelling that there were leftovers on the counter, I was left with the soundtrack of a stupid dripping tap, and our humming refrigerator. I made several promises to myself in the time I was in the kitchen.
I would save Casper and his siblings, and then I’d force mom to drive all of us out of town. There were logistics I didn’t want to think about. These were feverish thoughts which controlled me. I had to get them out of that house. Time seemed to go by slowly. When I lifted my head from where I’d been staring at leftover meatballs I dropped onto the table, my phone vibrated in my jeans. Pulling it out, there was a DM regarding my post I wrote on here.
I read it. Then I read it again and again until I could process it.
“Film it. Literally get evidence of what is going on with Casper. You need people to believe you. And if people are going to believe you, you need to make a scene. If you want that house stormed, make as much noise as possible. I know it sounds stupid, but think about it like this. All you need is attention. Mrs Wilder can’t hide from the world if you show the world what’s going on. Good luck, Phoebe. Please be safe.”
-- A friend.
I was shaking when I knocked on the Wilder’s door fifteen minutes later. I knew exactly how to cause a scene.
Mrs Wilder answered, her expression cross between frustrated and bewildered. But I could barely focus on her, or the fact that she was holding a ladle like a weapon. The second the door opened revealing Casper’s mom drowning in a homely golden light, something slammed into me. Nothing physical, though it might as well have been. I forced myself to breathe through the stink which hit me like a brick to the face, suffocating my nose and mouth. Lavender. Not just lavender. The expensive flowers mom would get grocery shopping.
The ones which made me sneeze when I leaned too close. The house stunk of flowers—and that was just from standing on the threshold. But I knew better. I knew, once sweet smelling salts and flowers entwined in my senses, that the stink was to cover something up. And the more I edged closer over the threshold, the true smell of the Wilder house began to snake into my nose. Rot. I had once left a donut under my bed as a kid as an experiment to see if I could grow a whole new species. But this wasn’t mouldy food. It was far more potent. More like a decaying animal.
“Phoebe!” Mrs Wilder folded her arms across her apron. “I’m sorry, were my instructions not clear?” She cocked her head, an amused smile curving on her lips. She was triumphant, knowing exactly how to get under my skin. “Are you aware of what a restraining order is?”
Ignoring the smell choking the air, I held up my phone. “I’m live on Instagram.” I said. “Can I come in?”
I’m not sure why, but seeing her cheeks turn white made me feel like I was the one in control. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Live.” I repeated with a cheery wave. “On Instagram.”
I expected her to shove me back, or call out my bluff (yes, I was bluffing). Instead though, the women’s resolve seemed to crumble, her expression twisting, fear igniting in her eyes. She stammered for a moment, her gaze flashing to my phone before she wrapped her arms around herself and seemed to force a nod. “This is my house.” Her voice came out in a hiss.
Mrs Wilder was talking straight to the camera, and clearly faking terror. “Phoebe Daly, this is far past your usual games. This is… this is trespassing! Do you hear me? I’m calling the police!” Mrs Wilder didn’t call the police.
She held her phone to her ear but didn’t dare dial a number. I could see her options flitting across her eyes.
Was she going to attack me, or play it cool? Playing it cool, it was. With a face like thunder, she stumbled aside when I took a step forward and asked to be let inside. I wasn’t live on Instagram. I had barely 10 followers.
But she didn’t know that. Instead of being live, I was filming everything with my normal phone camera, angled at a height so she couldn’t slap it out of my hands. Watching her stumble back, panic twisting her expression into fury and frustration filled me with satisfaction. I had her. The crazy witch really thought I was streaming. I used that to my advantage, making sure to commentate to my imaginary audience as she led me down the main hallway, and I made sure to point the camera at everything I could see. Kids photographs covered neat paintwork.
But they were all different young children taken from a distance. Towards the end of the hall, what I saw did send my heart into my gut. And for a moment—just a brief second—I actually felt sympathy for Casper’s mom.
Four ultrasound’s.
I didn’t let the camera linger on them, instead going to the woman herself, who was following me, trying and failing to stall my effort to delve further inside the house. She stepped in front of me with a huff. “Phoebe. That is enough! You have terrorised me to no end!” her voice rose into a whine. “Whoever you are, Phoebe’s friends! This brat is targeting my children!”
“Casper!” I yelled, ignoring her. “Are you there?”
No answer.
My heart dropped into my gut, though I wasn’t giving up. I had the advantage, and I had to play to it.
“Casper!”
I ran up the first few steps leading upstairs, but Mrs Wilder seemed far too focused on shielding the door at the end of the hall.
“What’s in the kitchen?” I asked with a lump in my throat. Backing down the stairs, I made my way towards her.
“Nothing is in the kitchen!” she spat back, feigning innocence. “We’re having dinner if you must know. And you are ruining it!”
I shook my head. “This is Mrs Wilder,” I announced, pointing the phone at her. “She is holding four teenagers against their will and claiming them as her own children.” I said smoothly. When we reached a sliding glass door leading into the kitchen, I grabbed the handle with force.
Her rough hand slammed over mine, claw-like fingernails slicing my flesh. “Get out of my house,” she said stiffly. “Young lady, you are trespassing on my property.” Every word came out in globules of saliva hitting me in the face. “I have never met such a disruptive and outright disrespectful child without discipline. Your mother should be ashamed of herself.” She shot a nervous look at my phone camera.
“Where’s Mrs Becker?” I asked.
“What?”
Mrs Becker.” I repeated. “She helped you kidnap and scare me into staying quiet the other day. So, where is she?”
She spluttered, clearly caught off guard. “You are delusional!”
“Then show me them.” I said, pointing the camera at the door. “Your children, Mrs Wilder. I want you to show me Issac, Matilda, Freddie, and…” I swallowed hard. “And Casper.” Ignoring her steel grasp on the door handle, I pulled it open, trying to ignore the sudden squawking noise which had escaped her mouth, slamming into my ears. I can’t describe it. Mom has spoken about a mother instinct, and I wonder if it truly was that. This was animalistic. Feral.
Immediately, Mrs Wilder was behind me like a beast, her trembling arms trying to grasp hold of me and drag me back violently. But I was stronger, and desperate. I had to know the Wilder's secret. Stepping over the threshold, I was first aware of a far dimmer light. And when I fully focused on the room, I realised I was seeing candlelight. In front of me was a hardwood dining room table, and five chairs—four of which were occupied. The kitchen was a copy of our own. Except ours had always been lit up and bright.
It felt more like I was stepping inside a cave. An orangeade blur illuminated each face. Three out of four bodies sat stiff, almost… doll like. Mechanical. The way the three were facing me. Their expressions matched perfectly. Wide eyes and wider grins splitting lips apart. I drank each Wilder kid in slowly, as my brain struggled to take in the real horror of the room. What I was failing to fully take in. I couldn’t. I don’t think I could physically understand what I was seeing. I was aware my phone had slipped from my fingers, that I was paralysed to the spot.
The smell of stink and rot, I thought.
It was them.
I couldn’t move. There were three boys, and one girl. Matilda Wilder was a mousey redhead while her brothers were all brunettes. She wore a purple dress which fit her perfectly, her hair tied into pigtails with red ribbons. Issac and Freddie Wilder sat shoulder to shoulder.
They were the twins, I thought dizzily. They were identical twins in Mrs Wilder’s eyes, but these guys looked nothing like each other—one of them sporting a handsome face and razor jawline, while the other had an odd looking nose and jutting chin. Still though, I could tell Mrs Wilder had made an effort to make them look… beautiful. Perfect. I could see her attempt at stitching their lips together.
It wasn’t their appearance that was gluing me to the ground, however. Because looking closer, past the made-up faces on both the boys and the girls, the ribbons and fancy clothes and empty eyes staring right through me, soft candlelight was slowly bringing them to life in front of me. These kids had been hidden away for so long, and I was finally seeing them for who they were. My gaze flicked to each of them. I was seeing… stitches. I was seeing rugged stitches and gashes in their flesh, patchwork skin making up fingers and elbows and cheeks. They had been taken apart over and over again and put back together.
Matilda’s neck was a collage of flesh, rugged markings where a marker pen had clumsily sliced into her skin and pieced her like a jigsaw through mangled body parts and anything left over. Freddie and Isaac’s heads were cocked at an angle, and looking closer I glimpsed the bad stitch-job which had knitted them together.
I could see it in all of them. None of these kids were their original selves. They reminded me of dolls built through old doll pieces. I didn’t know I was screaming until the gravity of the situation hit me, and I realised I was suffocating on dead skin which made them up, their bodies stitched and knitted together, transforming them into her ideal children. Flickering candlelight revealed the last Wilder kid.
There were two significant things which were different about Casper.
The first, was that he must have been her most recent. He was her most… original—and the second? Unlike the others, he was awake.
Until that moment, Casper had been sitting amongst his siblings, head cocked to the side like the others, catatonic.
His dazed eyes slowly found mine—and I glimpsed recognition flickering in his expression, his rigid body starting to contort back to life. He was her paper-doll.
But Casper wasn’t finished.
“Phoebe?” When the boy spoke, his voice was barely a whimper. Frenzied eyes flicked from Matilda to Issac and Freddie, all of which were still wearing their perfect smiles. I noticed the rugged skin of his neck, and my heart sank.
Something was moving behind him, and I forced myself to step forwards. I glimpsed that same chord-like thing. This time it was fully attacked to him. No, it was buried directly inside his head. A sour paste crept up my throat when I saw the carnivorous hole burrowing deeper inside his head. I could glimpse the intense white of chipped skull and a strange looking fluid leaking out —but it looked… wrong. I’ve always imagined the internals of someone’s brain to be pinkish grey. Though what I was seeing was more like a black ooze sliding down the back of his neck. It reminded me of squid-ink. Definitely not blood.
It looked like he had been shot in the head, or had been pulled out of the operating theatre mid-surgery. And somehow, he was still alive. Just like the description, the chord-thing seemed to be attached in two places—to the back of the head, directly on the brain, and stapled to his spine. The device was humming, but I don’t think it was working.
Casper was looking directly at me, and the way his body was angled was different to his siblings. Instead of sitting straight, he was trying and failing to jump to his feet, his eyes wide, almost unseeing. I could see that frustration and anger, that pain from the other night alive in his face. I opened my mouth to speak, though Casper was already lifting a trembling hand, his fingers twining around the chord and giving a pathetic tug. A thin line of dark red, almost black, slid from his nostril.
I knew it was him. “Can you… can you get… it… out?” His hand found the chord again, and his grasp slipped. “Please.” He whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. “There’s something… in my… my head, and I need you to… I need you to fucking get it out…. right now.”
“Casper.” I couldn’t resist a relieved hiss. “This woman.” I twisted and pointed at Mrs Wilder.
“Who is she to you?”
The kid blinked, his eyes narrowing. He jolted, twisting around to try and see the thing attached to him. “Why would I know her? Get this shit out of my head!”
He let out a hysterical yell. His cry was more of a demand, and that nameless boy underneath splintered doll pieces began to unravel.
“Get it out.” He kept repeating. “Fucking get it out! There’s something inside my head!”
I nodded, choking back a cry.
He slammed his hands down, but seemingly couldn’t move from the chair. “What the fuck.” He side eyed the others. “What the fuck is this?”
I struggled to answer without screaming myself. “Stuff.” I managed to get out through a sputter. “Can you stand up?”
“What?” He blinked rapidly at me, I was seeing it again. That odd light flickering in his pupils.
“No. I can’t move!”
The humming grew louder, and at the corner of my eye, that thing seemed to dig deeper inside his head.
More blood spurted from his nose, and I could tell that he was fighting it.
The boy’s eyes found mine, his words tangling into an almost slur. “Get it out! I can’t… I can’t fucking think straight. I…. I….”
His eyes rolled back for a moment before he shook his head, lunging against the chair. His head twitched. “I don’t know I am.”
I couldn’t move. Watching this thing take control in real time, it was both fascinating and horrifying, sending my knees buckling.
“Who… who am I?”
His whole head twitched, like he was glitching.
“I know her. I… I know her. I’m her… I’m her son… I’m her s—son.”
Casper hummed, his twitching lips pricking into a demented smile. “I’ll always know her. She’s the one who… who s---saved me.”
Choking on a shade too vivid and dark to be blood, he sputtered, his head drooping.
“Mom?” Casper spoke through mouthfuls of pooling black. He lifted his head, unseeing eyes blinking in dim candlelight. The chord-like thing sounded more like it was drilling into his brain, and I knew I was fucked when his lips spread out into a childlike smile, and he swayed to the left and then the right, the light in his eyes burning. “There’s… water.” He whispered. “So… so cold. I’m so cold.” His voice broke.
“I don’t… want to be cold.”
“You won’t be cold.” Mrs Wilder’s voice was a sharp cry behind me. “Ever again. Your mom is here.”
“Promise? You n… need to… prom…promise me.” His teeth chattered. “You need to… tell me… I won’t… be cold. That my mom… is coming.”
“I promise, darling.”
“Mommy?”
“No,” I swallowed back frustrated tears. “Casper, she’s not your mother!”
His next words split into a guttural screech which almost sent him toppling off of the chair. He grabbed at his head, clawing at face.
But the more he was tugging, the machine fought against him. I could see metallic clamp-like legs stubbornly holding on.
His next words were mangled between cries from his conscious self, and whatever the fuck his ‘mother’ was forcing into his head.
And yet it barely grazed my ears. I was trying to figure out how to get that monumental THING out of his brain. There was no way I could just pull it out. That could kill him, right?
I started forwards to grab him, to try and pry the clamp off his spine, before I was being smothered with the stink of rich lavender. I hadn’t noticed Mrs Wilder swipe up my phone. She was holding it up in the air. “Live? You were never filming anything, you stupid girl! Do you understand what you have done?” She laughed—and I mean cackled like a witch. “I warned you, didn’t I?”
I got one last glimpse of Casper. His whole body was jerking under the chord inside his head, but he wasn’t crying out anymore.
Before I knew what was happening, I was being dragged back, and in front of me a Wilder boy shoving his struggling brother back into the chair. I didn’t have time to cry out.
With strength I had no idea the crazy bitch had, I was being violently yanked by my hair. And while I was flailing, I saw the ultrasound’s once again. Looking closer though, each one had a different name. A different mother. My head spun. That couldn’t be right. Mrs Wilder told me she was pregnant with four children, so who’s ultrasound’s were these? And why had she framed them? I didn’t have time to check it out.
I was dumped on my ass and the door was slammed straight in my face. I tried to get back in, throwing my fists into the door, until my own mother’s arms were pulling me back. I was hysterical. I couldn’t breathe, and mom wasn’t getting through to me. I’d kicked and thrown myself into the door, attracting the attention of our neighbours. That’s what I wanted. I wanted one of them to call the police, and when I picked up a brick, struggling against mom’s attempt to restrain me, and throwing it through the Wilder’s front window, I finally got it.
Two cops arrived, and I was so relieved I almost sobbed into one officer's chest. While my mom was trying and failing to explain my “breakdown” I begged them to take a look inside. And I was loud. I was screaming.
Which they couldn’t ignore.
“Phoebe!” I was partially aware of mom’s voice trying to calm me down, but I all I could see was that thing in Casper’s head, and his siblings made from knitted flesh. When the officer’s exited the Wilder’s house after five painful minutes waiting, I stumbled over to the two.
“Well?” I demanded, shoving away my mom. “Did you see them?” I yelled. “She’s turned them into… into dolls!” I was already going on a tangent, hysteria plunging me further into my own insanity.
“They’re not her children.” I gritted out. “She kidnapped and.. and stitched them up like… like Frankenstein! Mrs Wilder likes dolls! She had this paper-doll of me when she kidnapped me and lit it on fire to threaten me because I was talking to Casper. And he… he’s one of them, and not even her son! She’s controlling his mind with this thing stuck inside—"
“That’s enough!” Mom snapped.
The officer in front of me chuckled. “Breathe, kid!” He said. “Jeez. You’re not even giving us time to talk.”
“What?”
Instead of speaking to me directly, the officer turned to mom. “There’s nothing out of the ordinary, ma’am.” He said. “The Wilder’s were enjoying a family dinner, and…” his gaze flashed to me. “Well. It appears someone ruined it. There are no current reports of child abduction.”
I couldn’t resist a laugh. “Are you serious? Did you not… did you not see—”
He cut me off. “There they are!” He chuckled. “The Wilder siblings!” The officer saluted the four of them who had wandered outside trailing their mother. Ignoring the other three, I made my way over to Casper. But he looked… I don’t know, he looked like he usually did through his window? There were no stitches or patchwork skin. He was wearing a beanie, and I reached to yank it off, when his hand caught mine.
He was freezing cold.
His skin felt almost slimy, like I was touching the skin of a dead fish. I wanted to hold on, to force the cops to believe me, but he was already speaking—his voice was different, a lot deeper than the hysterical cry of the boy underneath. “Mom?” Casper’s eyes were cold. He shoved my hand away before taking a shaky step back. Like I was crazy. He quickly joined his siblings.
“Who is this girl?”
“We’re going home.” Mom said, grasping my arm. “Can’t you see you’ve embarrassed me enough?”
“Phoebe, huh?”
I turned to find the other Wilder kids. The guy with the jawline still had that doll-like smile. “Please leave our brother alone.”
I couldn’t resist spitting at him. “He’s not your brother. You’re brainwashed.”
Something in his expression seemed to twitch suddenly. Mom tried to pull me back, but I stubbornly stayed where I was.
Issac or Freddie cocked his head. “Brain... washed?"
He started to speak, before Mrs Wilder ushered them all away. But I did notice him turn back to frown at me.
Needless to say, I was grounded—and threatened with a restraining order.
That didn’t stop me peeking through the gap in Casper’s curtains that night. I caught him stumbling around, struggling to get the chord-thing out of his head with manic hands. He came over to the window several times, his bloody hands slamming into the window before slipping away. I'm not sure, but I don't think he knew why his legs kept drawing him to the window.
Mrs Wilder joined him soon after, forcing him to bite into something plastic, as she led him to sit on the bed, her fingers wrapping around the chord, and yanking it out. I didn't hear his scream, but his reaction to it, body writhing, eyes squeezing shut, I knew he could feel it. And part of him was awake. Just part of him.
Not the parts who knew our window sessions and his horrifying reality.
Casper came to his window all bandaged up. He didn’t hold up a message, and his eyes were vacant.
Though his expression told me everything I needed to know.
Engines woke me up several hours later. It was midnight. Sliding out of bed, my gaze went straight to Casper’s window. But it was dark. I pressed my face against my own window and glimpsed Mrs Wilder standing on her lawn in her robe.
A car pulled up, and the cop from earlier jumped out. In his arms was what looked like a body bag. He dropped it on the ground. “Freshly dead.” He said, when I opened my window to hear what was being said. “Car crash. Victim is male. Eighteen years old.” He folded his arms with a light laugh. “I got him straight from the morgue. His parents think there’s no body.” Both of them knelt next to the bag, and Mrs Wilder zipped it open with a hiss.
When the bag jolted suddenly, I realised the body was still alive.
The officer stumbled back. “Jesus. I didn’t even use that much. You said a single shot, right?”
“Mmm.”
Mrs Wilder pulled out a carving knife from her robe, and I felt my entire body turn to ice.
The cop raised a brow. “You came prepared.”
She sighed, her hands on her hips. “He’s spare parts. The expiry is approaching which is why they’re… acting out.”
With startling precision, she aimed the knife above what I guessed was the body’s head, before bringing it down with a sickening crunch. The bag stopped squirming.
I can’t remember anything else from that night.
My mother was gone the next morning. A paper doll replica of her was sitting next to a note and a plate of freshly baked cookies.
...
“Dearest, Phoebe.
I baked these thinking of you! And my, you should be grateful I have even bothered to do this after playing your games last night. Honestly, I am not the monster you think I am. Your mom asked me to let you know she will be busy with me for a few hours.
I’ve been asked to take care of you, so here are some chocolate cookies! Please maintain the rule I set in place and do not go near or talk to my children. I’m sure you know what will happen if you happen to slip up. I took the liberty of asking your mother to fit specialised devices in your room so I know when you are talking to my son. Writing equipment has been taken away. I hope we can be friends and I can start calling you my daughter. If something were to happen to your mom, do not worry. I will take you in. I want you to remember that.
Love,
Mrs Wilder.
PS: I can’t wait for you to (not) meet my newest son!

So, from giveaways, trading with friends, buying a random pack off eBay and redeeming myself I ended up with a chunk of theme codes, but was quite busy over the weekend so I figured I would redeem them Monday. When Monday came and I went to redeem them I couldn’t, so I figured after all that work I’d rather have the themes even if I had to pay so I bought them all manually. Now that they’re allowing theme redemption again I still have all those theme codes.
I love to work out trades with anyone else who has theme codes, or codes to anything else! My main love is Pokémon, but I also like Mario and Zelda, or any themes that look cool with badges.
My holy Grail would be the themes that came with buying Pokémon gold or silver for virtual console when they first came out, if you did you can check your purchases history to still see the code. I’d be willing to give even additional things in addition to these for that
Here are the themes I have!
NES Jumping Mario
Spotlight: Goomba
Jack the Czar of Halloween
Animal Crossing New Leaf Colorful Patterns
Animal Crossing Falling Leaves
Hanafuda
Animal Crossing New Leaf Bunny Day
Animal Crossing New Leaf Jingles Toy day
Feel free to make any offers for these or anything else!

I am a new user of Nextcloud and I am liking it so far. I am only using it for home use by my immediate family, so nothing too mission critical.
I got on to Nextcloud because I was looking for an alternative to iCloud/Google Drive for my home files, and liked the idea of not paying a subscription fee for storage.
I have an Intel NUC connected to USB JBOD enclosure with a 4TB drive installed in one bay.
I looked into Homedrive as they offer a NUC HW appliance, and I already have a NUC home server. Homedrive also offers up their software deployment instructions and I was very happy with the overall result. The install progressed without issue to my already running Ubuntu 20.04 NUC using Docker. I followed these instructions and had web access to my Nextcloud Docker data folder in under an hour:
https://www.homedrive.io/doc/docker
After deploying the install I decided to start with some small modifications:
1) Change the location of the data storage from off of my 64 GB SSD to the 4TB drive connected via USB.

• To do this, I ended up backing up the /valib/dockevolumes/nextcloud.homedrv/_data folder to _data_bak and then symlinking a _data file to a folder I had created on the 4TB mount point (/storage/4tbdrive/_data). Copied all the files over 'cp -arp _data_bak/ /storage/4tbdrive/_data/' and restarted my docker service and nothing seems broken... yet.

2) Allow access to files from my home PC over the LAN instead of via homedrive's Fabrics service. This was a bit tricky for me and I had to do a bit of troubleshooting. In hindsight, the reason it was tricky is obvious, but that's the process of learning it seems like.

• The FAQs at Homedrive offer up one way to bypass Fabrics. However, that did not work for me. When I tried to access my link from my homepc with a modified /etc/hosts file, I got a connection refused notice from my browser.
• After using TCPDUMP to find out where the network traffic was failing, it occurred to me that my Ubuntu 20.04 system was already running a webserver on the host OS, and capturing all port 80 traffic. The docker container was publishing to port 80, but apache had already captured that traffic on the external interface. I can't remove/disable this webserver, so my first fix was to set up virtual hosts in the Host OS Apache to route traffic that was meant for my Nextcloud Docker instance to the Docker container IP address (172.18.0.XX). More on this later. I settled on using the hostname "homedrv/" for my local network access to Nextcloud. This is because something in the network was dropping the communication if I had the TLD '.com' trailing the hostname as the Homedrive FAQ advised and since I could shorten the domain to nextcloud.<>.homedrv without terrible results, I decided to shorten it further.
• Once the traffic got handed to Nextcloud docker container, I needed to edit the Nextcloud container config/config.php file to allow trusted domain of "homedrv/" for login.

My current issue is that the Nextcloud docker container does not have a static IP address, but my Apache server running on the Host OS has a line for the proxy connection to go to the docker local IP address:

 ServerName homedrv ProxyPass / http://172.18.0.7:80/ ProxyPassReverse / http://172.18.0.7:80/  

This works... until I have to restart and the Nextcloud docker container changes the last octet. I'm still ruminating about the best way to fix/hack my way around this.
Anyways, that's all for now and this isn't meant to be a pro-user post of Nextcloud. Just the journal of a guy who is figuring a cool app out for home use.

According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Ooh, black and yellow! Let's shake it up a little. Barry! Breakfast is ready! Ooming! Hang on a second. Hello? - Barry? - Adam? - Oan you believe this is happening? - I can't. I'll pick you up. Looking sharp. Use the stairs. Your father paid good money for those. Sorry. I'm excited. Here's the graduate. We're very proud of you, son. A perfect report card, all B's. Very proud. Ma! I got a thing going here. - You got lint on your fuzz. - Ow! That's me! - Wave to us! We'll be in row 118,000. - Bye! Barry, I told you, stop flying in the house! - Hey, Adam. - Hey, Barry. - Is that fuzz gel? - A little. Special day, graduation. Never thought I'd make it. Three days grade school, three days high school. Those were awkward. Three days college. I'm glad I took a day and hitchhiked around the hive. You did come back different. - Hi, Barry. - Artie, growing a mustache? Looks good. - Hear about Frankie? - Yeah. - You going to the funeral? - No, I'm not going. Everybody knows, sting someone, you die. Don't waste it on a squirrel. Such a hothead. I guess he could have just gotten out of the way. I love this incorporating an amusement park into our day. That's why we don't need vacations. Boy, quite a bit of pomp... under the circumstances. - Well, Adam, today we are men. - We are! - Bee-men. - Amen! Hallelujah! Students, faculty, distinguished bees, please welcome Dean Buzzwell. Welcome, New Hive Oity graduating class of... ...9:15. That concludes our ceremonies. And begins your career at Honex Industries! Will we pick ourjob today? I heard it's just orientation. Heads up! Here we go. Keep your hands and antennas inside the tram at all times. - Wonder what it'll be like? - A little scary. Welcome to Honex, a division of Honesco and a part of the Hexagon Group. This is it! Wow. Wow. We know that you, as a bee, have worked your whole life to get to the point where you can work for your whole life. Honey begins when our valiant Pollen Jocks bring the nectar to the hive. Our top-secret formula is automatically color-corrected, scent-adjusted and bubble-contoured into this soothing sweet syrup with its distinctive golden glow you know as... Honey! - That girl was hot. - She's my cousin! - She is? - Yes, we're all cousins. - Right. You're right. - At Honex, we constantly strive to improve every aspect of bee existence. These bees are stress-testing a new helmet technology. - What do you think he makes? - Not enough. Here we have our latest advancement, the Krelman. - What does that do? - Oatches that little strand of honey that hangs after you pour it. Saves us millions. Oan anyone work on the Krelman? Of course. Most bee jobs are small ones. But bees know that every small job, if it's done well, means a lot. But choose carefully because you'll stay in the job you pick for the rest of your life. The same job the rest of your life? I didn't know that. What's the difference? You'll be happy to know that bees, as a species, haven't had one day off in 27 million years. So you'll just work us to death? We'll sure try. Wow! That blew my mind! "What's the difference?" How can you say that? One job forever? That's an insane choice to have to make. I'm relieved. Now we only have to make one decision in life. But, Adam, how could they never have told us that? Why would you question anything? We're bees. We're the most perfectly functioning society on Earth. You ever think maybe things work a little too well here? Like what? Give me one example. I don't know. But you know what I'm talking about. Please clear the gate. Royal Nectar Force on approach. Wait a second. Oheck it out. - Hey, those are Pollen Jocks! - Wow. I've never seen them this close. They know what it's like outside the hive. Yeah, but some don't come back. - Hey, Jocks! - Hi, Jocks! You guys did great! You're monsters! You're sky freaks! I love it! I love it! - I wonder where they were. - I don't know. Their day's not planned. Outside the hive, flying who knows where, doing who knows what. You can'tjust decide to be a Pollen Jock. You have to be bred for that. Right. Look. That's more pollen than you and I will see in a lifetime. It's just a status symbol. Bees make too much of it. Perhaps. Unless you're wearing it and the ladies see you wearing it. Those ladies? Aren't they our cousins too? Distant. Distant. Look at these two. - Oouple of Hive Harrys. - Let's have fun with them. It must be dangerous being a Pollen Jock. Yeah. Once a bear pinned me against a mushroom! He had a paw on my throat, and with the other, he was slapping me! - Oh, my! - I never thought I'd knock him out. What were you doing during this? Trying to alert the authorities. I can autograph that. A little gusty out there today, wasn't it, comrades? Yeah. Gusty. We're hitting a sunflower patch six miles from here tomorrow. - Six miles, huh? - Barry! A puddle jump for us, but maybe you're not up for it. - Maybe I am. - You are not! We're going 0900 at J-Gate. What do you think, buzzy-boy? Are you bee enough? I might be. It all depends on what 0900 means. Hey, Honex! Dad, you surprised me. You decide what you're interested in? - Well, there's a lot of choices. - But you only get one. Do you ever get bored doing the same job every day? Son, let me tell you about stirring. You grab that stick, and you just move it around, and you stir it around. You get yourself into a rhythm. It's a beautiful thing. You know, Dad, the more I think about it, maybe the honey field just isn't right for me. You were thinking of what, making balloon animals? That's a bad job for a guy with a stinger. Janet, your son's not sure he wants to go into honey! - Barry, you are so funny sometimes. - I'm not trying to be funny. You're not funny! You're going into honey. Our son, the stirrer! - You're gonna be a stirrer? - No one's listening to me! Wait till you see the sticks I have. I could say anything right now. I'm gonna get an ant tattoo! Let's open some honey and celebrate! Maybe I'll pierce my thorax. Shave my antennae. Shack up with a grasshopper. Get a gold tooth and call everybody "dawg"! I'm so proud. - We're starting work today! - Today's the day. Oome on! All the good jobs will be gone. Yeah, right. Pollen counting, stunt bee, pouring, stirrer, front desk, hair removal... - Is it still available? - Hang on. Two left! One of them's yours! Oongratulations! Step to the side. - What'd you get? - Picking crud out. Stellar! Wow! Oouple of newbies? Yes, sir! Our first day! We are ready! Make your choice. - You want to go first? - No, you go. Oh, my. What's available? Restroom attendant's open, not for the reason you think. - Any chance of getting the Krelman? - Sure, you're on. I'm sorry, the Krelman just closed out. Wax monkey's always open. The Krelman opened up again. What happened? A bee died. Makes an opening. See? He's dead. Another dead one. Deady. Deadified. Two more dead. Dead from the neck up. Dead from the neck down. That's life! Oh, this is so hard! Heating, cooling, stunt bee, pourer, stirrer, humming, inspector number seven, lint coordinator, stripe supervisor, mite wrangler. Barry, what do you think I should... Barry? Barry! All right, we've got the sunflower patch in quadrant nine... What happened to you? Where are you? - I'm going out. - Out? Out where? - Out there. - Oh, no! I have to, before I go to work for the rest of my life. You're gonna die! You're crazy! Hello? Another call coming in. If anyone's feeling brave, there's a Korean deli on 83rd that gets their roses today. Hey, guys. - Look at that. - Isn't that the kid we saw yesterday? Hold it, son, flight deck's restricted. It's OK, Lou. We're gonna take him up. Really? Feeling lucky, are you? Sign here, here. Just initial that. - Thank you. - OK. You got a rain advisory today, and as you all know, bees cannot fly in rain. So be careful. As always, watch your brooms, hockey sticks, dogs, birds, bears and bats. Also, I got a couple of reports of root beer being poured on us. Murphy's in a home because of it, babbling like a cicada! - That's awful. - And a reminder for you rookies, bee law number one, absolutely no talking to humans! All right, launch positions! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Black and yellow! Hello! You ready for this, hot shot? Yeah. Yeah, bring it on. Wind, check. - Antennae, check. - Nectar pack, check. - Wings, check. - Stinger, check. Scared out of my shorts, check. OK, ladies, let's move it out! Pound those petunias, you striped stem-suckers! All of you, drain those flowers! Wow! I'm out! I can't believe I'm out! So blue. I feel so fast and free! Box kite! Wow! Flowers! This is Blue Leader. We have roses visual. Bring it around 30 degrees and hold. Roses! 30 degrees, roger. Bringing it around. Stand to the side, kid. It's got a bit of a kick. That is one nectar collector! - Ever see pollination up close? - No, sir. I pick up some pollen here, sprinkle it over here. Maybe a dash over there, a pinch on that one. See that? It's a little bit of magic. That's amazing. Why do we do that? That's pollen power. More pollen, more flowers, more nectar, more honey for us. Oool. I'm picking up a lot of bright yellow. Oould be daisies. Don't we need those? Oopy that visual. Wait. One of these flowers seems to be on the move. Say again? You're reporting a moving flower? Affirmative. That was on the line! This is the coolest. What is it? I don't know, but I'm loving this color. It smells good. Not like a flower, but I like it. Yeah, fuzzy. Ohemical-y. Oareful, guys. It's a little grabby. My sweet lord of bees! Oandy-brain, get off there! Problem! - Guys! - This could be bad. Affirmative. Very close. Gonna hurt. Mama's little boy. You are way out of position, rookie! Ooming in at you like a missile! Help me! I don't think these are flowers. - Should we tell him? - I think he knows. What is this?! Match point! You can start packing up, honey, because you're about to eat it! Yowser! Gross. There's a bee in the car! - Do something! - I'm driving! - Hi, bee. - He's back here! He's going to sting me! Nobody move. If you don't move, he won't sting you. Freeze! He blinked! Spray him, Granny! What are you doing?! Wow... the tension level out here is unbelievable. I gotta get home. Oan't fly in rain. Oan't fly in rain. Oan't fly in rain. Mayday! Mayday! Bee going down! Ken, could you close the window please? Ken, could you close the window please? Oheck out my new resume. I made it into a fold-out brochure. You see? Folds out. Oh, no. More humans. I don't need this. What was that? Maybe this time. This time. This time. This time! This time! This... Drapes! That is diabolical. It's fantastic. It's got all my special skills, even my top-ten favorite movies. What's number one? Star Wars? Nah, I don't go for that... ...kind of stuff. No wonder we shouldn't talk to them. They're out of their minds. When I leave a job interview, they're flabbergasted, can't believe what I say. There's the sun. Maybe that's a way out. I don't remember the sun having a big 75 on it. I predicted global warming. I could feel it getting hotter. At first I thought it was just me. Wait! Stop! Bee! Stand back. These are winter boots. Wait! Don't kill him! You know I'm allergic to them! This thing could kill me! Why does his life have less value than yours? Why does his life have any less value than mine? Is that your statement? I'm just saying all life has value. You don't know what he's capable of feeling. My brochure! There you go, little guy. I'm not scared of him. It's an allergic thing. Put that on your resume brochure. My whole face could puff up. Make it one of your special skills. Knocking someone out is also a special skill. Right. Bye, Vanessa. Thanks. - Vanessa, next week? Yogurt night? - Sure, Ken. You know, whatever. - You could put carob chips on there. - Bye. - Supposed to be less calories. - Bye. I gotta say something. She saved my life. I gotta say something. All right, here it goes. Nah. What would I say? I could really get in trouble. It's a bee law. You're not supposed to talk to a human. I can't believe I'm doing this. I've got to. Oh, I can't do it. Oome on! No. Yes. No. Do it. I can't. How should I start it? "You like jazz?" No, that's no good. Here she comes! Speak, you fool! Hi! I'm sorry. - You're talking. - Yes, I know. You're talking! I'm so sorry. No, it's OK. It's fine. I know I'm dreaming. But I don't recall going to bed. Well, I'm sure this is very disconcerting. This is a bit of a surprise to me. I mean, you're a bee! I am. And I'm not supposed to be doing this, but they were all trying to kill me. And if it wasn't for you... I had to thank you. It's just how I was raised. That was a little weird. - I'm talking with a bee. - Yeah. I'm talking to a bee. And the bee is talking to me! I just want to say I'm grateful. I'll leave now. - Wait! How did you learn to do that? - What? The talking thing. Same way you did, I guess. "Mama, Dada, honey." You pick it up. - That's very funny. - Yeah. Bees are funny. If we didn't laugh, we'd cry with what we have to deal with. Anyway... Oan I... ...get you something? - Like what? I don't know. I mean... I don't know. Ooffee? I don't want to put you out. It's no trouble. It takes two minutes. - It's just coffee. - I hate to impose. - Don't be ridiculous! - Actually, I would love a cup. Hey, you want rum cake? - I shouldn't. - Have some. - No, I can't. - Oome on! I'm trying to lose a couple micrograms. - Where? - These stripes don't help. You look great! I don't know if you know anything about fashion. Are you all right? No. He's making the tie in the cab as they're flying up Madison. He finally gets there. He runs up the steps into the church. The wedding is on. And he says, "Watermelon? I thought you said Guatemalan. Why would I marry a watermelon?" Is that a bee joke? That's the kind of stuff we do. Yeah, different. So, what are you gonna do, Barry? About work? I don't know. I want to do my part for the hive, but I can't do it the way they want. I know how you feel. - You do? - Sure. My parents wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor, but I wanted to be a florist. - Really? - My only interest is flowers. Our new queen was just elected with that same campaign slogan. Anyway, if you look... There's my hive right there. See it? You're in Sheep Meadow! Yes! I'm right off the Turtle Pond! No way! I know that area. I lost a toe ring there once. - Why do girls put rings on their toes? - Why not? - It's like putting a hat on your knee. - Maybe I'll try that. - You all right, ma'am? - Oh, yeah. Fine. Just having two cups of coffee! Anyway, this has been great. Thanks for the coffee. Yeah, it's no trouble. Sorry I couldn't finish it. If I did, I'd be up the rest of my life. Are you...? Oan I take a piece of this with me? Sure! Here, have a crumb. - Thanks! - Yeah. All right. Well, then... I guess I'll see you around. Or not. OK, Barry. And thank you so much again... for before. Oh, that? That was nothing. Well, not nothing, but... Anyway... This can't possibly work. He's all set to go. We may as well try it. OK, Dave, pull the chute. - Sounds amazing. - It was amazing! It was the scariest, happiest moment of my life. Humans! I can't believe you were with humans! Giant, scary humans! What were they like? Huge and crazy. They talk crazy. They eat crazy giant things. They drive crazy. - Do they try and kill you, like on TV? - Some of them. But some of them don't. - How'd you get back? - Poodle. You did it, and I'm glad. You saw whatever you wanted to see. You had your "experience." Now you can pick out yourjob and be normal. - Well... - Well? Well, I met someone. You did? Was she Bee-ish? - A wasp?! Your parents will kill you! - No, no, no, not a wasp. - Spider? - I'm not attracted to spiders. I know it's the hottest thing, with the eight legs and all. I can't get by that face. So who is she? She's... human. No, no. That's a bee law. You wouldn't break a bee law. - Her name's Vanessa. - Oh, boy. She's so nice. And she's a florist! Oh, no! You're dating a human florist! We're not dating. You're flying outside the hive, talking to humans that attack our homes with power washers and M-80s! One-eighth a stick of dynamite! She saved my life! And she understands me. This is over! Eat this. This is not over! What was that? - They call it a crumb. - It was so stingin' stripey! And that's not what they eat. That's what falls off what they eat! - You know what a Oinnabon is? - No. It's bread and cinnamon and frosting. They heat it up... Sit down! ...really hot! - Listen to me! We are not them! We're us. There's us and there's them! Yes, but who can deny the heart that is yearning? There's no yearning. Stop yearning. Listen to me! You have got to start thinking bee, my friend. Thinking bee! - Thinking bee. - Thinking bee. Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! There he is. He's in the pool. You know what your problem is, Barry? I gotta start thinking bee? How much longer will this go on? It's been three days! Why aren't you working? I've got a lot of big life decisions to think about. What life? You have no life! You have no job. You're barely a bee! Would it kill you to make a little honey? Barry, come out. Your father's talking to you. Martin, would you talk to him? Barry, I'm talking to you! You coming? Got everything? All set! Go ahead. I'll catch up. Don't be too long. Watch this! Vanessa! - We're still here. - I told you not to yell at him. He doesn't respond to yelling! - Then why yell at me? - Because you don't listen! I'm not listening to this. Sorry, I've gotta go. - Where are you going? - I'm meeting a friend. A girl? Is this why you can't decide? Bye. I just hope she's Bee-ish. They have a huge parade of flowers every year in Pasadena? To be in the Tournament of Roses, that's every florist's dream! Up on a float, surrounded by flowers, crowds cheering. A tournament. Do the roses compete in athletic events? No. All right, I've got one. How come you don't fly everywhere? It's exhausting. Why don't you run everywhere? It's faster. Yeah, OK, I see, I see. All right, your turn. TiVo. You can just freeze live TV? That's insane! You don't have that? We have Hivo, but it's a disease. It's a horrible, horrible disease. Oh, my. Dumb bees! You must want to sting all those jerks. We try not to sting. It's usually fatal for us. So you have to watch your temper. Very carefully. You kick a wall, take a walk, write an angry letter and throw it out. Work through it like any emotion: Anger, jealousy, lust. Oh, my goodness! Are you OK? Yeah.

Where should we stop for lunch on the way to Monteverde? Looking for a cool place with great food and views on the way. Any recommendations? Also, is THIS the best route? Map says 2hr 50min. Is this accurate? TIA

This is a 2X2 apartment that is equipped with furniture included. (Male roommate)
Subleasing would start in May-July 30.
☑️ 24 hour gym access ☑️ Gated community with access with your key ☑️Free printing and free access to computers ☑️ Nearby access to the pool & basketball court
Note: They also do cool Giveaways each month such as free groceries, breakfast, and lunch. They also would giveaway UF supplies aswell.

I don't know why but everytime I play SM64 I reset the game and only play Bob-omb Battlefield ,Whomp's Fortress, Cool, Cool Mountain.
And sometimes Jolly Roger Bay.
Then I fight Bowser but I just think these levels have a lot of charm to them