Link to the master post
https://www.reddit.com/CFB/comments/13rssrf/bowls\_and\_the\_race\_for\_the\_mythical\_national/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3

Setting the Stage

​

Team	Record	AP	Coaches
Nebraska	12-0	1 (51)	1 (31)
Texas	11-0	2 (3)	2 (3)
Auburn	10-1	3	3
Illinois	10-1	4	5
Miami	10-1	5	4
SMU	10-1	6	6

​
Important games and other notes

• August 29th: Preseason #1 Nebraska and #4 Penn St were each granted an extra regular season game to play in the inaugural Kickoff Classic. The Huskers got revenge on the Nittany Lions with a 44-6 thrashing.
• September 10th: BYU lost its season opener to Baylor, 36-40. They wouldn't lose another
• September 10th: Illinois lost it's season opener to Missouri, 18-28. The Illini would run the table the rest of the year (including beating 3 top 10 teams in 5 weeks) to secure a B1G title and Rose Bowl berth.
• September 16th: unranked Miami lost its season opener to #16 Florida (in Gainesville), 3-28.
• September 17th: #3 Texas took down #5 Auburn 7-20 in Auburn. Both teams would win the rest of their regular season games from here.
• September 24th: Miami waxed #13 Notre Dame, and entered the polls for the first time as a result.
• October 29th: #2 Texas defeated #9 SMU 15-12. This would prove to be a de facto conference title in favor of Texas

Five teams entered the bowl season with national title hopes. Texas and Nebraska stood as the only two unbeaten, but as SWC and Big 8 conference champs, were tied to the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl and couldn't play for a de facto national title. Despite both being unbeaten, Nebraska was a heavy favorite to claim a consensus national title, having spent every week of the season being #1 in each poll. Waiting in the wings were #3 SEC champ Auburn who was heading to the Sugar, and #4/5 Illinois who was heading to the Rose bowl, meaning the top 4 teams in the AP were all heading to different bowls. Independent #5/4 Miami crashed the blue blood party and was paired up in the Orange bowl vs Nebraska.
​

The Bowls

Cotton Bowl #2 Texas vs #7 Georgia (January 2nd, 1:30pm EST)
The Longhorns path was simple . . . beat Georgia, then tune into to the Orange Bowl and root for Miami to pull off the upset, which would make them consensus national champions. The upset minded Bulldogs had other plans. It was a defensive slug fest, with the teams tied 3-3 at the half. The Horns managed two 3rd quarter field goals to lead 9-3 heading into the 4th. Texas muffed a punt in their own red zone late in the 4th and Georgia capitalized with a a 17 yard touchdown run by QB John Lastinger to deliver the Dawgs to an eventual 10-9 upset. Texas' title hopes were officially gone, while Auburn fans probably shouted "SEC! SEC!" as their conference rival's upset kept their national title hopes alive.
​
Rose Bowl #2 Illinois vs Unranked UCLA
Illinois spent all of September unranked, before shocking college football, becoming the first team in Big 10 history go 9-0 in their conference slate. They had a slim chance at a national title, needing Nebraska, Auburn, and Texas to all lose their bowl games. Additionally they would need the pollsters to give them more 1st place votes than Miami, which wouldn't be ideal since Miami would have the better bowl win. In any regard, unranked UCLA proved they didn't belong in the conversation in the first place. The Bruins raced out to a 28-3 first half lead and continued to pile it on in the 2nd half, in a 45-9 route. Illinois finished the game with 0 rushing yards.
​
Sugar Bowl #3 Auburn vs #8 Michigan (January 2nd, 8pm EST)
Auburn entered the Sugar bowl knowing Texas lost the Cotton, but now needed to take care of business and Miami to do the same in the Orange bowl, which kicked off around the same time. If those two things happened, it was assumed the voters would elevate them to #1 in the final polls. Michigan made them earn it. The Wolverines scored a TD in the first and led 7-0 at the half. Auburn used its rushing attack, led by the one and only, Bo Jackson, and its kicking game to claw back in it. Trailing 6-7 with 23 seconds left, Auburn kicker Del Greco made a 19 yard chip shot to deliver the Tigers to a 9-7 victory. I imagine they quickly looked for the nearest TV or radio to see what the Orange bowl result was to see if they're championship hopes were still alive.
​
Orange Bowl: #1 Nebraska vs #4/5 Miami (January 2nd, 8PM EST)
Tom Osborne was on the precipice of his first national championship as the Huskers head coach. As the #1 team in each poll since the preseason, all the Huskers needed to do was take care of 11 point underdog Miami, in their home stadium and they're your national champs. However, the Hurricanes had other plans. In what is considered one of the best bowl games of all time, it would become a game huge momentum swings. The Canes stunned Nebraska by racing out to a 17-0 1st quarter lead. The Huskers rallied with 14 in the 2nd, one coming off a trick play known as the 'fumblerooski, and then a field goal in the 3rd to tie it at 17. Miami countered again with two 3rd quarter TDs to lead 31-17. Then the Huskers rallied again with two 4th quarter touchdowns. The 2nd TD came on 4th and 8 from the Miami 24. With :48 seconds left to go in the season, three teams' championship hopes (Nebraska, Miami, and Auburn) hung in the balance. Tom Osborne had a decision to make: kick for the tie or go for 2 for the win. Thanks to Texas' earlier loss, in the Cotton bowl, a tie would be good enough for the pollster to vote Nebraska a consensus #1 as college football's only unbeaten. In a decision that would go down in both Husker and college football lore, Osborne elected to go for two to win win the game. Turner's pass to Jeff Smith in the end zone was batted away by Miami's Kenny Calhoun. The Canes pulled off the shocking upset 31-30, and put the college football world on notice as a new dynasty was born.

Final Results

​

Team	record	AP	Coaches
Miami	11-1	1 (47.5)	1 (30)
Nebraska	12-1	2 (4.5)	2 (6)
Auburn	11-1	3 (7)	3 (4)
Georgia	10-1-1	4	4
Texas	11-1	5	5 (1)

As a husker fan, this is a heart breaker, even if it occurred 5 years before I was born. Had they gotten the conversion, I'd argue this team would be considered on par with the 1995 team. Miami's monumental upset leapfrogged them from #4/5 in the polls to their 1st consensus national championship, and as we'll later see, that was only the beginning. This came much to the dismay of Auburn, who played arguably the toughest schedule in the nation, which included wins over #4 Georgia, #6 Florida (who beat Miami handily), and #8 Michigan. In fact, the Tigers didn't even jump Nebraska, who still received 1st place votes in each poll despite the loss. College football's lack of playoff or sanctioned national championship game was maddening to some but I have to be honest, I think I like the chaos and controversy better. That's what college football is (or at least was) all about.
​
Sources and other info
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_NCAA_Division_I-A_football_season
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_NCAA_Division_I-A_football_rankings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoNs0mdKAO8 (the end of the Orange Bowl)

Quick Author's Note:
For better clarity of intent, the 'worthwhile opponent' stipulation in Lifedrinker is being changed to 'non-negligible opponent' moving forward.
​
--
​
"The Gellin Empress was the catalyst for our breakthrough," a mage explained. "Tracing Lord Rob's lingering mana signature through the space between dimensions proved effective at first, yet it came with an insurmountable problem: he only attained mana after initially leaving Earth. At a certain point, there was no more of a signature for us to trace. We had found his home dimension, but finding his home world within the infinite expanses of that dimension could have taken years of aimless searching, like blind men stumbling in the dark."
He leaned forward, clearly enjoying having a captive audience. "The key, then, lay within Lord Rob's memories. Even without mana, memories have a power all their own. The Empress looked within his mind and found locations of personal importance to him. Ones that he remembers with pristine clarity. By scrying for areas within Lord Rob's dimension that matched those specific locations, we were able to narrow down the scope of our search considerably."
The mage spread his palms wide, and his voice dropped a full octave, as if he was imparting a great revelation. "The result will soon be made self-evident. You shall bear witness to the foremost magical achievement of our era: a one-way viewing window into Lord Rob's world. The first of many to come."
In respect for the man's showmanship, Rob started up a clap. Granted, he would've clapped even if the explanation was done via a mindnumbing PowerPoint presentation, because nothing in the universe could stunt his enthusiasm right now. Riardin's Ranger, the Elders, Diplomacy, and the Soul Surgeon clapped as well, although Rob was pretty sure they were just following his cues. This moment couldn't possibly hold the same gravitas for them as it did for him. They mostly were here to provide moral support and satisfy their curiosity.
While for him, this meant everything.
"Do we need the Gellin Empress here to create the window?" Rob asked. "I'd also like to thank her for the help she's given."
The mage shook his head. "I'll spare you the details, but to be succinct; she taught us how to save a mana-based copy of the necessary memories, which will allow us to attune to a subset of Earth locations. Her presence is not required. In fact, she insisted that we proceed without her, as the Gellin have gone to rest for the night."
Must be nice. I'd trade ten Levels for a consistent sleep schedule. Rob internally frowned at himself, punting the envious thoughts away. No sour grapes. If the Empress helped me see Earth again, then I hope she sleeps like a baby for the rest of her life.
"One question," Keira interjected. "In your explanation, you stated that, without the Empress' assistance, it may have taken years to discover Earth. That is hardly the weeks or months you claimed in the past."
The group of dimension mages froze, embarrassment blooming on their features. They looked to the head mage for guidance, whose veneer of showmanship was deflating like a leaky balloon. "We were perhaps...optimistic."
"By years?"
"The previous estimate I put forth was one that assumed we would develop breakthroughs as we went along." His mouth widened into a sheepish grin. "As you can see, we, um, succeeded."
Keira raised an eyebrow. "Only with the timely assistance of a Leader." Her tone was calm, yet unyielding. "Rob is too grateful to point out this contradiction, so I suppose the task falls to me. You have also told us that you should be able to 'open' the window and let Rob send a letter home within the next week – is that more unfounded optimism?"
"No." The mage straightened his posture. "Now that we have located Earth, the rest is simply a matter of refining our spells and collecting reserves of mana. We are no longer blind, nor are we fumbling in the dark, and thus our progress moving forward shall be predictable and steady. This, I swear."
After a few seconds, Keira nodded. "Then I thank you for the wonderful boon you've granted to the man I love."
From behind, Malika giggled under her breath. Rob squeezed Keira's hand, gave her a warm smile, and faced the mages. "I'm ready whenever you are."
The tent thrummed with mana as the dimension mages formed a Mage Circle with Malika. It was no different from any other time they'd done so, yet the knowledge of what they were about to accomplish heightened the tension in the air to a fever pitch. Rob's pulse quickened, his throat tightening. He'd been disemboweled by monsters, decapitated by eldritch abominations, and none of those events made him a fraction as nervous as watching the dimension mages at work.
Minutes passed. Rob forced himself to be patient. Reaching across the boundaries of space and dimensions wasn't like heading to the store to pick up a carton of milk. It involved a level of spellcasting prowess that would take Rob decades of committed study to have even the slightest chance at grasping. Frankly, the fact that it was possible at all still beggared belief.
Maybe...maybe the mages were wrong. Not lying; just wrong. They could be overeager, sharing before they were actually ready, and they'd end the circle looking contrite and ashamed.
That was okay. No biggie. Rome wasn't built in a day, or...something. He could wait–
Creak.
It was the sound of a rusted hinge, of crumpling paper, of breaking bones, and more. A combination of all the noises things made when subjected to an external force. Like reality itself was groaning under the pressure.
Creeeak.
A thin, imperceptible line appeared at eye-level, dark as the endless void. Slowly, inch-by-inch, it widened.
CREEEAK.
It had become a rectangle. Two feet wide, three feet high. With a final CREAK, reality threw in the towel. The void dissipated, as if smoke blown away by a gust of wind, revealing...
Home.
Everything was as he remembered it. The same furniture with scuffed marks of wear-and-tear. The same living room where they'd watched movies each Friday. The same kitchen with a sink perpetually filled with dirty dishes. The same tacky wallpaper that his mom refused to change, and that he secretly enjoyed.
Identical. Like a portrait had been painted straight from his memories.
A tsunami of aching nostalgia surged through him. Rob didn't realize he was extending his hand until his fingertips were already brushing against the viewing window. Its surface felt solid, and for an instant he was terrified that this really was just a painting. Something invented to give him false hope.
Then he noticed that a window had been cracked open. Not the mages' window; the window inside his house. A small breeze blew inside, jostling a curtain ever so lightly. Just enough to make it move.
"It's real." Rob's voice was hoarse. "It's my home."
No one said anything. They allowed him his silence, a gesture which he greatly appreciated. Eventually, Rob took a deep breath, clenched his hands so that they wouldn't tremble, and looked at the dimension mages. "Thank you. I owe you...so much. Even if observing from afar ended up being the limit of what you could do, just seeing my house again like this is..."
He trailed off, unable to find words that were sufficient. Thankfully, the dimension mages seemed to understand. "You are most welcome, Lord Rob." The head mage smiled. "This is far from the limit of what we can do, however. Give us time, and this window shall open."
Rob nodded, choosing not to believe them. They were probably right, but on the off chance they weren't, he didn't want to look back on this moment with bitterness. Best to assume the worst and be grateful for what he already had.
As if drawn by a gravitational pull, his eyes drifted back towards the window. It was displaying a fixed point in the center of his home. "Can you switch perspectives? I want to check other rooms." His parents were likely asleep in their bedroom at this hour. Assuming they didn't sell the house out of grief and move, that is.
"I am afraid that isn't possible. We can transpose the viewing window to other specific locations that the Empress provided, but having it 'walk around', so to speak, requires finer control than we are yet capable of."
Yet, he says. Which means that with practice, they'll be able to. Rob placated himself with that notion. This was a minor setback, and he wouldn't let it get him down.
He especially wouldn't listen to that tiny voice in the back of his head, whispering that the reason he couldn't see his parents right now was because they were–
"Got it," Rob stated, in a wooden voice. "What other locations did the Empress pick out?"
The window's perspective blurred and shifted. Rob swallowed a gasp as an extremely familiar place was displayed before him. He'd seen it many, many times, even after coming to Elatra. It used to be at the top of his nightmare rotation, only ousted from its throne when Blights started coming into play.
In front of them was a small grassy lawn, surrounded by lecture halls in the near-distance. The place that had forever altered the course of his life.
"This is where it all started." Rob pointed to an empty spot in the middle of the field. "Portal opened up. Right there. Saturated with darkness. Chains shot out, tried to grab at Jason. I pushed him out of the way, and...the rest is history."
Silence reigned once more. After a few seconds, Orn'tol stirred. The young Ranger opened his mouth, preparing to say what would undoubtedly be some platitude reassuring Rob over his noble sacrifice.
"The grass truly is green."
Rob burst out laughing. He kept going until he was short of breath, wheezing as the others looked at him with eyes full of concern. "I'm okay," he managed to cough, once the laughter had died down to snickers. "Thanks, Orn'tol. I needed that."
"You're very welcome?" Orn'tol exchanged confused glances with the rest of Riardin's Rangers. "I am unsure of what I did to assist you, yet it's good to see you in high spirits nonetheless."
"Sometimes a little silliness is just what the doctor ordered." Rob offered him a high-five, which the boy accepted with zeal. They returned their gazes to the viewing window, Rob tilting his head as he peered closer. "Hmm. That's weird."
"What do you mean?"
"There's no people. It's early evening, but college students have the worst sleeping patterns on the face of the planet. Trust me; I'm speaking from experience. Usually you'd see a dozen partygoers strung out on energy drinks racing around now."
"Perhaps this location is known as a place of danger," Keira posited. "I would certainly be hesitant to tread where a portal of darkness sprang from the aether and kidnapped a civilian."
Rob watched the viewing window for signs of life, finding none. "Could be. Parents probably pulled their kids out after what happened to me. Then either the government condemns the area, or enough money is lost that the college goes bankrupt." He snorted. "Would be the least of what it deserves, considering the tuition fees. Bloodsucking vampires."
"People on Earth drink blood?"
Normally, Rob would have played along with their confusion, but there were more important things to focus on. "Can you change this to the next location from my memories?" he asked the dimension mages. "How many are there, anyway?"
"Five in total. One moment, please."
The window's perspective blurred, shifted, and reformed. Now it was displaying a city sidewalk, its view positioned right outside the best god damn burger joint in existence. Rob didn't care what anyone else said; two greasy slabs of beef squeezed between two sesame-seed buns was the absolute pinnacle of culinary delight. So what if his palette was 'like a five-year old's?' Wasn't his fault that delicious things were delicious.
Belatedly, he realized that his memory of this restaurant had been strong enough for the Gellin Empress to choose it as a point of reference for interdimensional portal magic. That...yeah, that tracked. Aside from the burgers, he had fond memories of sitting at the outside patio with Jason and his folks, drinking Minty Fresh Phantasma and inhaling cheesy fries as they mocked his dietary preferences. Good times.
He was about to explain what this place meant to him when a human casually walked past the viewing window.
She was a normal working woman like any other. Tired eyes, a purse slung over her shoulder, and dressed for lukewarm weather. A cell phone was held in her right hand, her eyes glued to some form of social media. She strode past the window without a care in the world, visible for merely a second before disappearing from view.
To the Elatrans, it was like a horror movie jumpscare. All of them froze. Several gasped. Elder Alessia grimaced. Faelynn muttered "a world of Humans" in a hushed tone. The only exceptions were Elder Duran and the Soul Surgeon, who crept closer to get a better look, their eyes shimmering with curiosity.
In contrast, Rob let out a sigh of overwhelming relief. That bored, everyday woman was exactly what he'd needed to set him at ease. Earth hasn't completely gone to shit behind my back. People are still living their lives.
As he watched, a few more humans walked in front of the window. A middle-aged man, a young boy with his mother, and an old woman with a walking cane. The old woman pivoted straight into the burger joint, Rob internally praising her good taste.
"W-well," the head mage stuttered. He paused, cleared his throat, then started anew. "As you can see, the viewing window is imperceptible to those with low Levels of Sense Mana. Naturally, this will not be the case for a portal that can be interacted with from both sides."
"Dangerous," Meyneth commented. "I would advise that you conceal this type of spell for as long as you are able. The viewing window especially."
"Why is that?"
"If this window cannot be sensed by those with low Levels of Sense Mana, then that makes it an ideal tool for spying on non-Mages. In your haste to glimpse into the world of another dimension, you have inadvertently developed a field of magic that puts every nation in Elatra at risk of subterfuge. People have been assassinated for much less."
The mages blanched. "We are nothing more than simple researchers," the head mage protested, in a faltering voice. "Who besides a madwoman like the Dragon Queen would stoop so low as to threaten noncombatants?"
Keira averted her eyes, pointedly examining the floor.
"We can discuss matters of life and death at a later time," Duran interjected. He gestured to the viewing window with the demeanor of a child in a toy story. "There's a world of discoveries to explore! Take a look at those structures the Earth Humans have built – they resemble the buildings within Human territory, yet small differences set them apart."
Duran ooooh'd as another person walked past the viewing window. "So many humans are ambling about despite the late hour. Is this area a well-traveled location in your home city, Rob?"
"This is around the level of street traffic you should expect for early evening. If it were daytime, you'd see a hundred people per minute."
Duran aaaah'd. Before he could launch into a series of questions, Zamira beat him to it. "Pardon me if this comes across as an insult," she began, hesitantly. "But Earth Humans appear marginally...uncoordinated. It is hard for me to describe the notion, yet when I watch them move, they appear as if they're liable to fall over at any moment."
They look normal to me, Rob almost said, before remembering that Earth's normal wasn't Elatra's normal. "That's called being permanently Level 1." He shrugged. "They've all got crap stats. Except athletes, I guess."
Zamira stared at the human passerby with obvious sympathy. "My condolences."
Does Earth seem like a world of cripples to her? Rob wondered. Even Utility Class users have the option to put a couple points into Dexterity and Perception. That's not counting the natural stat boosts they gain as they grow up, either. And when combined with Vitality and healing magic, it means that people in Elatra tend to age gracefully.
Rob tried to think of the last time he'd seen an Elatran with the same frailty as that old human woman with her walking cane. The oldest person he'd met so far was the Fiend High Soulseer, and in spite of being positively ancient – and blind – the dude could get around fine. Elder Duran was having health problems, but that was only after suffering from severe Corruption poisoning for weeks on end. An incident like that would've landed an Earth human in long-term hospice care.
Actually, no, that was wrong. It would've just killed them.
"We should switch to the next location," Rob said, preempting any further questions. "There's still two more left." Maybe I can see...no. Keep your expectations in check.
He was right to do so. Rob's heart sank as the viewing window solidified once again, revealing battered, empty streets. Half the buildings had collapsed to rubble, as if visited by a wrecking crew with an axe to grind. He recognized this spot as the street leading up to his favorite movie theater on the other side of the city. There'd been good times here, as well.
Although not anymore. The theater's roof had caved in, and half the letters in its ostentatious PRIME CINEMA logo were missing. It would take years to rebuild – assuming someone was willing to invest millions of dollars into what was essentially a ghost town.
"This..." He ran his hand down his face, aware of everyone gazing at him with pity. "As you can probably infer, this isn't normal. In the past–"
Bang.
Rob practically jumped out of his skin at the abrupt sound of gunfire. At first he thought the shot had come from outside, but no, it was both too distant and too close for that. The noise also sounded different from the rifles that the Dwarven Thunder Rod wielders employed.
A series of repeated bangs swept his thoughts away. Everyone watched in astonishment as a crew of Earth military soldiers ran into view from a side street, desperately fleeing the eight-legged Blightspawn that was hot on their tails. The abomination was more of an amalgamation of flesh and limbs than anything resembling a living creature, and the way it skittered made Rob reconsider if spiders were really that bad in comparison.
"Keep firing!" one of the men commanded, his voice sounding like it was coming from the bottom of a lake. The soldiers blasted their assault rifles in a retreating offensive, peppering the abomination with a hailstorm of bullets. Their response was swift, their aim was true, and it did not matter. The Blightspawn bulldozed through the rain of bullets as if it was a light drizzle, the creature's five cavernous mouths wailing for blood and sustenance.
It was nearly upon them when an explosive rocketed in from the opposite side street, knocking the Blightspawn off its many feet. The reprieve was temporary, but it was just long enough for the soldiers to escape unharmed. Unfortunately, the creature was also mostly unharmed, sporting minor injuries despite a direct missile strike to the torso. With a chorus of screams that prickled Rob's ears, the abomination continued its chase, batting away a second missile as it resumed the chase with renewed fervor.
Then it was gone, having left the window's range of sight. Distant sounds of battle grew quieter, the gunshots and explosions becoming more faint as predator and prey ran deeper into the ruined city.
Rob closed his eyes. He said nothing for half a minute, allowing himself time to process what he'd seen.
"Okay." He opened his eyes, nodding. "This is fine."
Keira laid a hand on his shoulder, struggling with what to say. "Rob...you don't need to–"
"Hold it in? Bottle up my emotions?" A wry chuckle escaped his throat. "Honestly, I'm not as affected as I thought I'd be. The Blight dropped one too many cryptic hints for me to be surprised, anyway. At this point I'm just glad that Earth hasn't been completely overrun. Some parts of the city might be fucked up, but not all of it is."
He narrowed his eyes. "The biggest thing I'm worried about is the Blightspawn itself. You saw those weapons the humans were using, right? Think of them as substantially upgraded versions of the Thunder Rods. They should've put a real dent in a fully-grown Blight, let alone one of its spawn."
"Perhaps the creatures have gained a defensive Skill?" Duran theorized. "What we witnessed appears consistent with other damage reduction Skills such as Tough Skin or Heat Resistance. I would surmise that the Blight has learned something akin to – for example – Thunder Rod Resistance."
Rob paused. Elatra didn't have a specified 'Bullet Resistance' Skill, but that was because conventional firearms had been removed from the system for balancing purposes. The Blight wouldn't give two shits about balance. They'd cheerfully grant themselves Bullet Resistance, Missile Resistance, and whatever else tickled their fancy.
And the more Earth fought back, the more resistant they'd become.
"...This doesn't change anything," Rob eventually concluded. "Earth is a big boy planet. It'll figure something out. In the meantime, we'll clean up our problems here and be ready to help if the Blight's still around by then."
"You're sure?" Keira asked. Two words that held so much intent. 'Are you sure you'll be alright? Are you sure Elatra should remain your primary concern? Are you sure you don't want to head home the instant the dimension mages create a working portal?'
Rob gave her a thumbs-up. "I'm sure. And I know you'll worry about me regardless, but I promise I'm feeling fine."
Or maybe he was just numb, and an avalanche of emotions would bury him when he least expected it. The good news was that was a problem for future-Rob to deal with. Present-Rob had one last area to investigate.
I'd be satisfied with seeing my old bedroom intact, he thought, as the dimension mages altered the viewing window for the last time. I have strong memories there, right? It should be a candidate. Those late night Netflix binges were uh...riveting. Yeah.
The window finalized.
Rob felt the strength leave his body.
Some parts of what he was seeing were incongruous. Strange details that he'd need to figure out soon. All of it took a hard backseat to the one sight in the room that truly mattered.
Jason was alive.
He was at his house that Rob had visited so often. Alive. Surrounded by people. Alive. Chatting away. Alive. Gesturing in that exaggerated manner he often used. Alive.
Smiling.
Alive.
A dam broke. Silent tears began streaming down Rob's face. Thoughts cut out, leaving only the realization that his best friend since childhood, the sole person he'd have trusted with his life before meeting Riardin's Rangers, the man whose place he'd taken when the gods picked a new chew toy...
Was alive.
"Hey, man." Rob's smile was the most genuine it had been in a long time. "Been a while."
At that moment, almost as if he could hear him, Jason grinned.
​
--
​
Author's Note:
When I was writing Chapter 199, I was mildly annoyed that Rob didn't reach 200 Vitality on Chapter 200. That would've been hilariously coincidental. But if I had to choose between that chapter or this one for a big milestone...I think I like this better.
Happy Chapter 200, everyone. Thanks for reading and staying on this journey with me.

We have been at this a while anything its a slippery slope as most are. We have met some great people, had some amazing experiences and ultimately keep wanting to go that little bit further. Like most things when you look back at where started it seems far off indeed.
So here we are, somehow in Ohio this is fine but only for the time, adventure calls. There are different kinds of adventure of course, exploring Bondage is one of those roads we keep travelling.
We are so into CNC and BDSM that vanilla threesomes are barely of interest, sure a beautiful woman is alluring, but one that wants to be choked and violated, forced to endure bondage, well that is our kind of girl.
Heres the breakdown:
US- a couple.
Male (me) 47 5'10 190, in good shape.
Female (wife) 48 5'3 116 in great shape and aftermarket additions that you will notice.
What we're looking for, a woman, (this is a hard rule) no guys, no penises, I have mine thats enough, I dont get why women like them, they look dumb, women are streamlined and have such fun parts. so no men, we have no need for more man parts.
Age- 25 and up or very mature for your age.
Where -anywhere in USA or CA, as long as you're not on the FBI no fly list.
We like soft, thin, feminine, in shape, we dont like BBW, as for race any is fine, we would like to play with an Asian woman as we never have though that is just a plus, we're open to any race.
Clean shaven, a little hair is okay, but a seventies bush or armpit hair, leg hair, hard pass.
Kinks- Lets remember we're not trying to insult anyone here and consider this the fair warning that we like some really hard stuff, so if you dont or dont think people should be allowed to consent to what they want to do, then you're just not going to like what we have to say.
Still here?
Good girl. (Gentle biting on the neck as I whisper it)
The basic's, slapping, flogging, whipping, restraints, choking, hair pulling, degrading (verbally, whore slut basic stuff). Now if any of these are are hard 'no' we may be able to work around them but, if 2 or more are on your list, well you might want to swipe whatever way is away, because its going to get worse.
Roleplay- you're a visitor, who gets abused, not to far from the truth, but the best stories always intertwine the reality and fiction.
The harder stuff- this stuff that you can object to, and we get it, its all the harder stuff that we kinda grew into and get that not everyone is going to be all for it, you can pick and choose.
Fisting and or large objects and stretching, DP we really like to DP a woman, you pinned between us, so sexy, so full, eyes rolled back my hand at your throat, giving all you can give but we're wanting more, my wifes nails gently biting your skin. Yeah, we like DP.
Shockers, Estim, prod the jolt of pain, if you do it wrong it can be dangerous, so we have studied and are careful to make sure everyone gets out without any long-term effects. A shocker to the ass, breast, leg or clit, while you're being fucked, in between being stimulated the contrast of pain and pleasure, we love to see that in a sub.
Degrading (part 2, the first was level 1, this is the upgrade) We like the mental aspect of BDSM, its that connection when you have it with a sub, its so sexy. If she wants to be broken mentally, we want the tools to do it. We need some input here, tell us what are the words the things that you secretly hate the feellings that you have that you want to expose but need to be deep in session, walls down, to really admit what you feel about yourself. Its primal and goes far beyond the spat 'slut, whore' If you know, then you do, if not it may not be your thing. Its ours though, let us in, so we can break you more effectively.
Paddles, with the intent to bruise, we like to see our handywork, the paddle gets the job done. We're artists in a way, and you're a canvas.
Overstimulation- the toying till you're cum drunk, you're hurting but were going to keep fucking you hitting you choking, using you like our whore, on this night you are ours and we want you to give yourself to us completely. You have our undivided attention.
Squirting- if you can we are going to be super interested and want to bring you home for a nice night that will end very harshly, we'll keep you hydrated.
The REALLY Hard- Most people won't be for the following, if you are and you have the other third of this mysterious amulet which we have had since we were babies, we need to meet you.
Sounding, the placing of smooth metal rods in your peehole for stimulation, usually it results in you peeing and losing control, which is sexy.
Watersports, you being degraded by my wife peeing on you, or you peeing on yourself.
Waterboarding- you strapped to a board and being tortured against all Nato sanctions, it is rough and extreme and youll lose focus when your clit is being stimulated and you're dry drowning. Not for everyone but sexy if you're the woman we're looking for.
Knife play- we dont do cutting, but using the knife as a prop forcing you at knifepoint to surrender and subject yourself to everything we demand.
The off limits- things we wont do. Nothing Illegal, no kids (both gross and illegal), no breeding you, we dont want any subsiquent kids, not with you, not with anyone nothing ruins kinky fun like crying babies.
No- hard drugs, we dont use anything that alters our thoughts during BDSM, bad mix. So we expect you to be clean too.
No- longterm damage, lets have fun and kink not hospital bills.
No- dudes (I thought it was worth repeating)
No- feet stuff, we dont like feet.
No- furries, not my kind of fun, I'm not dressing in one of those outfits.
Most other things are on the table- do you have a fantasy? Tell us about it we are likely down to try it. Is it twisted and kinky? then we really need to hear about it.
Location- US, we'll take care of travel, if we get along and have a connection, come spend a weekend see clevelands sports teams (we dont do sports so whatever, I hear were not missing much) and get abused (more than by just having to watch Clevelands teams take a whipping).
Experience, we have been doing this for a while but you dont need to be experienced, some of our best experiences were with beginner subs, we all have to be on the same page and have a clear understanding of where this is going, and where it stops.
Lastly- consent, there has to be consent and anything were going to do must be discussed and safewords will be in place. Dont tell me you dont need safewords, youre either unhinged or lying, this should be like a haunted house scary but you know you can leave at anytime. (I mean halloween haunted houses not creepy old houses with ghosts, those are scary)
If you got this far, lets talk, if youre deeply offended by us, please lets not talk, lets just part non-enemies.

Age 21
Sex male
Height 5-11
Weight 185lbs
Race white
Duration of complaint 3-4 hours/ currently
Location Usa
Any existing relevant medical issues high blood pressure as a kid hasn’t been high since 16-17
Current medication none
During work today I felt great I workout 4-5 times a week intensely usually hitting 180 heart rate and yoga twice a day for 30mins. When resting my heart rate is around 40-50 beats per min. I drink lightly 2-3 times a week usually 3-4 beers. I eat no processed food usually chicken with a focus on health. I’ve been to the nurse practitioner twice and they said my heart beat is too weak to be so slow but results from cardiologists said it was fine. Today during work around 8:30 my heart began beating very rapidly I became slightly anxious had a hard time breathing I felt very weak and light headed. I went to the bathroom where my body began to hurt and I couldn’t catch my breath no matter how hard I tried. After about 30 mins I left the bathroom and i felt a bit better but the pain and light head persisted through the night. At 10pm the company nurse arrived and checked me out said I have irregular heart beat and high blood pressure 140-90 usually 110 120-90 I couldn’t afford the ER so I went home. I can’t afford to go the cardiologist either. It’s 11pm now I don’t feel much better then when I left. I’m not really sure what to do.

My son, let’s call him Gregory, suffers from SEVERE autism and cerebral palsy. He has the mental capacity of an Infant and can be dangerous. Me and my wife (F30) were not in the best financial position prior to his birth. Gregory was a massive drain on our savings and we needed to sell our house and move into a trailer. It had strained our relationship, and my wife drinks copious amounts nowadays. She still loved him with all her heart, despite having her ribs broken in the past from one of his attacks. I have so much love and respect for her.
2 years ago, at one of son’s many checkups, the doctor noticed a suspicious lump in one of his spinal scans. I was told he needed a biopsy, and it could happen the very next day. My wife was not able to make any of the doctors visits because her job did not allow her to take the time off. The biopsy scan results arrived 2 days later, showing an early stage cancer was growing. My doctor said that it was entirely treatable, and we caught it very early.
I may sound like a jerk, but I immediately thought of the days before Gregory was born. When my wife was happy, our lives were stable, and we still had hopes in the future. Remembering my broken wife of today instilled a deep feeling of “letting go”. I was going to make the decision to refuse all treatment for my son. I didn’t ever tell my wife he had cancer, or that I wasn’t going to treat it. Over the next year and a half, my son slowly declined and declined. My wife thought his mental state may have been improving, because he was so much less energetic and threatening than usual. I attributed his weight loss to Gregory’s cerebral palsy, which she believed.
One month ago Gregory passed. My wife found him, and she started to scream so loudly that the neighbors could hear it, and they called me. Racing home from work, I came upon a heartbreaking scene. My wife was strung over Gregory’s bed. We buried him 3 weeks ago. My wife is crushed, and despite all Gregory did to her she still harbored deep maternal love for him. However, I have seen glimpses of the old her last night. We danced in the dark last night, something we have not done in years. Am I bad person, because I has kept me up every night knowing what I did.

So Me(19M) moved into a house with my mum and family, a long with 2 Hispanic friend from Texas after tragic events happened last year (their race will come up later on). My neighbor has been a nightmare for my nieces' and nephew's sleep schedule let alone trying to grow up as toddlers.
To start off when we first moved in it was the start of November last year and we were just getting everything set up when I took my friend's dog out on a walk( he'll be P from now on). So I'm with the dog when the dog runs off to see the neighbor in question. Well I went got the dog back on the harness and went back over to apologize. The neighbor (R) was very cordial with his responses and since I was new to the area I asked him about the surrounding land and the neighbors nearby.
He proceeds to tell me about how some of the neighbors further down the road are rude and speed frequently on this back road we live on. He also tells me about a couple of teens that are rowdy and get very hostile with anyone who tells them off and a bunch of other gossip. All of the things he talked about were him projecting his actions on other neighbors and the rowdy teens? Him and his Baby momma(N).
Later on about two weeks later N proceeds to drive her SUV down our driveway with screaming threats about how she's gonna ram her truck into the house and so forth. We call the police and nothing is done about it. This is where this neighbor deserves the title going forward.
After that fiasco we return to our daily routine but now the neighbor is blasting music and playing sirens and horns. In this same month my Little sister who's a minor, gets a dog that's 2 years old and is a very loving but young mix between a Rottweiler and Pitbull. This dog also has severe anxiety issues due to the breeder that made her. Since she's now taking the dogs out due to having her own, R starts blasting sexually derogatory music including Laughy taffy at my sister. This later results in my mother and my brother taking their vehicles and blasting their horns at the neighbors. An act of anger that silenced both sides till after New years.
Then my neighbor started up again and later on tried arguing with my mother and eventually made a veiled threat at her. This entailed a lot more complications as after that my mom took to scouring the Internet for many things. Including a new security system, his past felonies and everything else. We learned that R has quite the reputation for getting into trouble with the authorities and also has cause the previous owners of our residence to be bothered by his actions. So from then on anytime R would blast music we'd call the police's non emergency number and Everytime albeit a few minutes of immediately after the call has ended R would turn off his speaker, turn off the sirens and usher his kids back inside.
This persisted for awhile till N started coming around a lot more often usually to pick up her kids and what not. Everytime shed use our driveway. We still currently need to get our property lines checked but based off the previous markers and Google's property line check that whole driveway is ours. One of these times N was blocking the driveway as my mom was trying to get back home. Well as soon as N made space my mom drove in no where near touching her and her kids or R. But N opted to make a huge fuss about the entire incident. Which lead to my mum going to court and having to deal with (luckily retiring) a judge that fell for the sob story that N made up on the fly (considering N is currently married, sleeping around with R, and sleeping with the guy in the other trailer who's supposedly R grandma's husband(30?M)). This judge was extremely unfit for jury as my mother had the recordings had the evidence and the judge said she'd throw them both in prison for some frivolous charge that should happen.
R has also racially attacked both of the friends we had with us. First he made a call to CPS that we kicked my nephew in the stomach. That there were minors sleeping in the loft with a Hispanic and Hindu. R also said that they were both baby rapists (common Hispanic racial insult). He has also recently shouted at P "Come over here and fight me you Mexican fuck".
Now we get to today where me and my mother are confused and also aggravated. Every time we've called the police the neighbors immediately turn everything off. Fire ban was in effect last month for our area we called about the huge bonfire not even 10 minutes later it's completely out. This past night when he woke up my nephew and nieces with his horn and siren, we call. As soon as my mom finished the call he blasts the music; hits the siren; everything goes quiet. When I looked back at the footage (audio included) he does what I said previously. Yells at his kids for the first time ever heard him raise his voice at them "Get your fucking asses inside now!!!"
So now my mom and me have 3 working theories 1 he has a scanner and has his Grandma continuously listening to it when he's messing around 2 he has a friend with on who calls him or texts him anytime we make a call. 3 he has a friend IN the dispatcher office and anytime they get a call about him he gets the text and turns it all off.
I really have no idea what to do about it it seems he has every cop in the department under his finger. But there's also been some but very little help. Going forward I hope things get better because I might lose my mind going in circles with this guy.

My son, let’s call him Gregory, suffers from SEVERE autism and cerebral palsy. He has the mental capacity of an Infant and can be dangerous. Me and my wife (F30) were not in the best financial position prior to his birth. Gregory was a massive drain on our savings and we needed to sell our house and move into a trailer. It had strained our relationship, and my wife drinks copious amounts nowadays. She still loved him with all her heart, despite having her ribs broken in the past from one of his attacks. I have so much love and respect for her.
2 years ago, at one of son’s many checkups, the doctor noticed a suspicious lump in one of his spinal scans. I was told he needed a biopsy, and it could happen the very next day. My wife was not able to make any of the doctors visits because her job did not allow her to take the time off. The biopsy scan results arrived 2 days later, showing an early stage cancer was growing. My doctor said that it was entirely treatable, and we caught it very early.
I may sound like a jerk, but I immediately thought of the days before Gregory was born. When my wife was happy, our lives were stable, and we still had hopes in the future. Remembering my broken wife of today instilled a deep feeling of “letting go”. I was going to make the decision to refuse all treatment for my son. I didn’t ever tell my wife he had cancer, or that I wasn’t going to treat it. Over the next year and a half, my son slowly declined and declined. My wife thought his mental state may have been improving, because he was so much less energetic and threatening than usual. I attributed his weight loss to Gregory’s cerebral palsy, which she believed.
One month ago Gregory passed. My wife found him, and she started to scream so loudly that the neighbors could hear it, and they called me. Racing home from work, I came upon a heartbreaking scene. My wife was strung over Gregory’s bed. We buried him 3 weeks ago. My wife is crushed, and despite all Gregory did to her she still harbored deep maternal love for him. However, I have seen glimpses of the old her last night. We danced in the dark last night, something we have not done in years. Am I bad person, because I has kept me up every night knowing what I did.

Please vote. Your vote matters. Anyone posting to say that "all the candidates are the same" or "one vote doesn't make a difference" are bots paid off by Ontario Proud, who really don't want you to vote.
Your quality of life is dictated in large part by who gets elected in this race. The mayor can make changes that affect almost every area of your life.
This election will affect:
- Commute times. How long will it take for you to get to work? Do we add another lane, or tax cars commuting into the city? Do we continue to spend on the Gardiner every year, or build more transit?
- Cost of services you use
- Pollution and crime levels. Cars first or pedestrians first? Cut the police budget or expand it?
- Rent, cost of housing, and housing availability. Do the 15k AirBnB units get rented out as regular apartments again, or is short term rental regulation relaxed and another 10k apartments taken off the market? Do we build more density, or more urban sprawl? Are foreign buyers and speculators regulated out of the market, or are the regulations relaxed, driving up prices?
- The level of taxes you pay and where you pay them. Pro-housing price increase candidates plan to allow massive office building on Toronto's flood plain and to expand urban sprawl for residential housing, which will dramatically increase the city's flood risk and up your taxes as a result. Candidates pledging to 'protect home values' are also pledging to lower property taxes, which will make an increase in your income taxes later almost inevitable.
- Which services are cut over the next 5 years as we dig ourselves out of a massive budget hole
- Snow removal, green spaces, and park maintenance
- And more!
Vote! Vote to protect your quality of life. Vote to see the things you want in action. Or don't vote, and then lose your right to complain about any of the above over the next 4 years.

Jesus watched the scene over again and was in awe. This was a man who would not change as he could not change. There was something else different. He was the most stubborn man alive in Jesus’ opinion and he had been around a while. His uniform never changed his cologne never changed. His hair was the exact same way. He had a biological age of 42 but a calendar age of 300 or so years. He wasn’t exactly sure since he had been born in a time when records were incomplete. Government was just getting back on its feet when he came into the world so who knew? Did it matter?
He had never espoused a political belief. He voted in every election and that was it. He was no campaigner and was not interested in any of it. He had a baseline distrust of ALL politicians. He had more time in command than any human in history. He had faced down alien races. He had been nearly terminated by pirates more than once but speaking in public scared the shit out of him. and He did not want to do it. He had done a series of lectures 60 years ago that resulted in some significant fallout he was eager to not relive. He did not want to discuss it. He knew what was about to happen.
“Class dismissed”
The Dean of Students asked him to “Please please just this once set it straight and walk away from it. You did what you had to do at the time.” He knew it hurt when he was called “conquistador”. The Monday Morning Quarterbacker’s weren’t there when decisions had to be made, and neither was the dean, yet he still implored him. It would likely be televised too. Ken had built the best laid wall of obfuscation he could. He did not want any glory. He wanted to be left alone. Despite his best effort it did not work. His hope had been to be in the background making the best decision without regard to any so called “Glory” His hope was that the sailors in real danger would get the credit they deserved. It just did not work. Besides, it was clear that he wanted him to talk about that battle. This made him waver in his assent. He wanted to speak about what he wanted to speak about. Simple.
Admiral Pearl and He had had to face a hero’s welcome when they came home. Then the detractors started in on him.
Despite the promises of the Dean it would just open all the old wounds back up again and likely crank the peanut gallery up to full tilt. “I do not want it televised. You can record it if you want but I get to decide if it gets released. Deal or no deal? If you want to dictate the topic then that is my condition. You are asking me to open up a box I have had welded shut for years now. Anyone can look up the logs and watch every single shot and hit if they wish. It has been analyzed to death. What further can I add at this point? There is nothing I can tell you that hasn’t been discussed in hundreds of books at this point. It is a dead subject that I can drone on about.”
The dean held up his hand and said “I want to know how you felt about it. All of it. What was the methods you used to make the decisions. How did you feel? The most important event in modern history drops in your lap like an egg salad sandwich. You have to feel something. That is what I want to know. It is your bully pulpit to say what you wish. No restrictions except for classified material. And no using the “F” word.”
“I am not doing it unless I can say ”fuck”. Not happening.” He wasn’t kidding. “To sweeten the deal you can televise it but I have to be able to talk in my normal voice. And I will say fuck.”
The Dean relented and agreed. He had just manipulated the situation to where he could minimize the fallout. Besides: he was tired of people talking shit about him in all these books and articles. He was going to tell them all to go fuck themselves, with a cactus.
On the Saratov. Warp area 13 off the plane of the ecliptic.
The admiral sat and contemplated what they were about to do. They were waiting on a couple more ships before going to warp. He tried to sum it up.
This was a high stakes mission. He had a high stakes strategy. It was brilliant and it was risky. He was about to do something never attempted in real combat and was completely theoretical. They had wargamed it to death and this had honed their protocol. They were going to Net their AI’s. They would calculate global firing solutions using parallel computing. They had 8 AI’s that were going to fight it and this should greatly augment their firepower due to increased efficiency. No matter how they wargamed it the AI’s won. They had it down pat. He felt certain this was the right thing to do but there was also a huge ethical hole in this. For the first time AI’s would determine firing sequence, aiming and execution without human intervention. He had to pause and consider the implications. This was colored by several recent experiences. It was all about Jezz. He still loved Jezz but she scared him. She has never been malevolent, but man was he scared that she could become dangerous. He had created a tiny bit of monster in her for certain. She was a combat AI. She was a hunter killer and as long as she worked for them, she would be fine. If she decided to freelance it, they would be in trouble. All because of this: there was a chunk of predator in her digital DNA and he hoped she could keep it in check.
He had come up with the best rationalization he could. They were going in against one decidedly ill-tempered AI and another AI (the “damsel in distress”) wanting rescue. At least that is what it looked like on the surface. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this was not as clearcut as everyone else thought. Either way It would not be aliens versus humans but AI vs AI. At least that is what he kept telling himself. He wasn’t buying his bullshit either since none of it passed the smell test.
The decision to unleash the AI’s had come from above his paygrade, all the way to the Joint chiefs of staff of the world Navies. Forty-five Space faring nations sat down and hashed it out. He hated the complexity but admitted that it did work fairly well. They wanted the spam in a can home alive and if AI made this happen then so be it. There was one important point: they weren’t on the ships, were they?
As he sat about to enter warp and head out to the clusterfuck in question. The initial reason for all of this was still nagging him. Where was everyone else? He had data that showed an alien drive signature. He was resentful that they were fucking around with all this other shit. He would leave the AI’s in question to sort it out amongst themselves. He wanted no part of what was going on since he was doubtful that there were any good guys on either side of what looked like a standoff. All he wanted to do was find alien life (which they had kind of but it weren’t just quite the right kind.) He wanted something that could look like us maybe a bit . If you squinted. And they would find that hopefully, but they had a shit detail to cross off the bucket list first. The more he looked at this the more it became clear this should be two separate missions. Those AI’s were fighting over a dead world and he knew it. He just knew. He wanted no part of the Hatfield and McCoy bullshit. The real point was to capture as much as they could. This was actually about technology. They even had some freighters on the way for the cleanup and oh BTW come back alive. We will let the AI’s babysit you. May as well send a Voyager probe for all the use the crew was.
He was soon to learn the value of human judgment and that was going to prove a bunch of people wrong, sort of. All because of this: there are some decisions that do not fit into ones and zeroes. Value judgements were critical. That is one thing AI’s couldn’t do yet and it was that way why? Who could say for certain but in his years of interacting with true AI’s for the last 5 years did give him some insight. He was apprehensive to say the least but where was his fear coming from? He always thought that you had to identify the source(s) of any fear. He had it partially figured out, not only was he a bit afraid of Jezz and her friends he was also fearful for Jezz. And this is what he had: a gut feeling. And if that weren’t enough (and by gosh, don’t you think it ought to be?): how was he going to keep Jezz’s precognition a secret? The Admiral went through the computer logs and Jezz had not accessed any information about the disposition of the Galileo. It could be explained away but he was not convinced he could be very convincing. This was something that just did not fit. He could not make it fit, and he would just as soon pretend it did not exist. But it was clear that his AI had some degree of psychic power or something. She was different and he did not know if the other AI’s would be catching whatever it was. If the folks in charge knew the depths of his misgivings, they would be appalled. And the situation they were headed into was not as simple as it looked. He knew this. His questions were simple. Number one: Who were the good guys and who were the bad ones. Number two: could he maintain plausible deniability about Jezz. They were going to have a talk. Just the two of them. He needed some reassurances.
Also, He was trying to figure out a way to crack this and he had an idea. While looking at the menu for the ships mess, he noticed the two columns and he decided to do what he always did with most major decisions. He would make a list of the facts he had and try to run through the various permutations. A pencil and some paper would be adequate, and he even had a ruler so he could make it all professional.
So he made a list of the players Side “A” in orbit and Side ”B “planetside. Side “ A” obviously held the high orbitals. “B” had an extensive force field that would occasionally flicker. He thought that might be something to look into. He had all of the video files from the Galileo and there was one telescope tasked with watching the planetside compound. They had days of footage. He sped it up until the frames were racing by. The force field was visible due to impacts from what he assumed to be dust. This gave it a phosphorescent look. It also made it possible to have visual confirmation if it was up. The shield “failures” occurred on a stable repeated time frame. After doing the math and getting a video analysis program running, he figured it out only after focusing on the Spectro photography. Every 23.29 minutes the shield was apparently offline for 0.07 seconds. It was so brief it was tough for the naked eye to pick up but the spectral signature did.
Looking at the area under shield he could see a row of what appeared to be ships. These were triangular. He could see no evidence of what their primary drives were but it wasn’t the best picture. Things degrade through an atmosphere and distance. No drive nodes. No distribution rings. He had a suspicion, and he suddenly felt nauseated and had this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. They were not using Alcubierre’ drives. They were using jump drives of some type. In the raw sensor data was a Gamma spike and a Gravity spike right before the attack. The Galileo probably never saw the vessel that hit them. But the Admiral was a patient man and he had the eye for detail. How they had missed this he did not know but he finally found what he wanted. The ship was identifiable. One sternward scope had several good views of a shape blocking the stars.
The other fact was that there was no warning. No comms traffic but, the recovered buoy made it clear that they knew they were suddenly in trouble since the buoy was released (and in warp) seconds after jettisoning it. Command deck recordings showed the captain getting a proximity alarm and then immediately releasing the buoy. There was no “prepare to be boarded” or “Heave to.”, just MASER beams slicing through the hull. Listening to the conversations on the deck made it clear they were paranoid as they were scanning with their non military grade graviton detector. Seems like it wasn’t paranoia after all.
They would have been blind until the ship was right on top of them. Someone was operating on a hunch and that person was Nico. He was frantic. As first officer he had the conn and did what he could to at least let them know what they were facing. It took some guts to do that. He saw internal video running. It captured Captain Nic’s hand slamming down on the buoy release button before the video cut out. It had to have damaged the Galileo Significantly. He had to override the safeties to get the thing to instantly go to warp. He knew that close to the ship the damage would have been substantial. Nico knew they were doomed.
He leaned back and took a deep breath. The ship in question was triangular in shape. Planetside. This could be some sort of trap or things were not as they superficially seemed or maybe he had found his bad guys. So he went back through the compound footage and there it was a ship moving out of frame. There was only maybe 6 meters of ship but it was clear where it was from. It was clear it was moving. Where had it been for 2 hours plus? If it were going to jump he would think that the image would have arrived at the Galileo after it had been blown apart. That is the whole point of faster than light travel. You could have all these paradoxes and that actually gave him more than a headache. It was a brain ache. Without FTL the tyranny of Einstein held sway. Why were they not there immediately? The Galileo was about 120 light minutes out. Assuming they get there immediately there should be no video. They had taken a detour. This he did not know for sure but also had a bad feeling about. I guess it did not mean much in the grand scheme of things but he did have a hunch. Only problem with that is that hunches don’t win battles unless it is more than a hunch.
He did not have a frame of reference for how a jump drive worked IRL. He had read all the theories. There was a huge amount of research being conducted but there were unpredictable failures resulting in some ships getting cut in half and what not. Just not something compatible with the life of the crew. Destructive testing was also expensive. They had gotten one small ship that was maybe twice the size of an emergency buoy to jump to the orbit of Neptune. What he did not know was how long that took. All he had was some rumor mill shit that he generally did not give two fucks about. He was not into “R and D". And while they could send the damn thing out there what they could not do was get it back the same way. The power requirements were so high that the capacitor banks were charged externally . Putting in a zero-point tap would push the ship size beyond the mass they could manage for the drive they currently had. They were running into problems of scale and those are not so easily rectified. Problems of scale were problems with lubrication. You just had to lube the ship with cash. You had to fuel it with Lots and lots of cash. This was such a priority that every aerospace manufacturer and design firms were plugged into the research institutions. It was a huge effort because of one thing. Warp drive was “too slow”. The boffins were thinking intergalactic travel. They had their sights set on the universe.
To top it all off there was one inescapable problem: You can’t put ten pounds of shit in a five-pound bag.
Due to all of this they were going down an interesting path. All you had to do was fill the magnetic tank with antimatter. Matter antimatter annihilation gave near instantaneous power. It was used in weapons some but only the best militaries would even fool with it. Compared to nuclear warheads Antimatter left no nasty isotopes in orbit of a planet you may be interested in colonizing or defending. Also, you don’t want to poison an uninhabited M-class world in the habitable zone given their relative scarcity.
Finally: containing it is problematic but doable. You can probably pull off the power requirements but there is one downside. You are flying in a bomb. Not just a small bomb. It was a big bomb that will go off if you lose containment. 40 mega tons of TNT will vaporize a ship. There was talk of building a manned vessel but saner heads put the kibosh on that. Besides: no one with any sense would want to crew it.
The answer was obvious to him, and he suspected it was obvious to the researchers. Why not use a singularity? Just dump matter into it and harvest the radiation to charge up and go. He did not know where that research currently stood. He knew there were some successes along these lines and quite surprisingly there had been no major accidents. The problem came with feeding the little monster in a consistent fashion to produce enough power to in turn contain the position of the singularity. This was done with antigravity. Antigrav technology had found it’s way into just about everything, except cell phones. They still broke when you dropped them. The black hole was carried by the ship, but it never changed its axis of rotation. The singularity in this scenario is one hell of a gyroscopic top with fixed axes. Since the jet of X-rays only came “out” along this axis and given that the ship would change attitude constantly it was necessary to have X-ray converters on the entire internal surface of the reaction vessel. The ship moved around the singularity. That made things a lot more complicated and really fucked with power distribution. Since there would be energy jets at the poles of the internal singularity power flow would be from two converters at a time. And since they weren’t 100% efficient you had some heat to deal with. He had read a few initial summaries of the work. You still had to keep containment of the singularity just as with antimatter but an uncontained singularity would put a small hole of about 10 mm as it passed through the ship before evaporating. This was better than being atomized. The problem was heat. Waste heat is just unconverted energy as such there was talk of installing a steam turbine circuit to generate power and to cool the reaction vessel. This would be the use of centuries old technology in a starship since convection does not occur in a vacuum. Trying to radiate enough heat to keep the thing cool would not work. The act of running the turbine also cools the circulating liquid. Trying to radiate heat away in a vacuum took a lot of time so big heatsinks would only go so far. It was simple physics. If you can convert some heat to electricity that is a little less that must be radiated. He bet it was a pain in the ass and was probably not worth the effort, but Fusion reactors did not have the peak power output needed to rip space. You either stored it in cap banks for one big release or you instantaneously generated it. Ken thought that the whole line of inquiry was going to be moot and they would finally give up, build a huge Casimir bank and strap a ship to it.
Which meant one thing. The jump ships in question had to deal with waste heat from whatever power system they used. The only way to get rid of this waste heat was to radiate it into the void. This took time. He now knew what the delay had been. The alien ships had to cool off between jumps. He or she had also taken a circuitous route to get there. This in turn means that they wanted them to see the ship leave the planet. They could have possibly gone there straightaway but they had not done that. They wanted him to know. They must have jumped above the ecliptic and back down into the ecliptic.
This slowed them down.
It also meant that escaping with a jump drive wasn’t that easy. They couldn’t pop in and out of position. If they were in your sights they were yours. He also knew that they would have a brief window where they were detectable before fully entering normal space. All they had to do was detect that energy spike and target it at the right time.
After reading all of the executive summary Jezz had put together he had a lot of questions, and he did not know quite where to begin. He had one thought: time to get everyone together and pick everyone’s brain. He wanted to talk to his chief engineer and every engineer in the fleet. He wanted to get all ships Captains and First Officers to come up with a game plan: What is the best order of battle and why? He wanted to see the nonconventional answers as this was anything but a conventional situation. He kept each team to the size of two: Captain and first officers. They could consult with the crew and had access to any information they could find. He needed options. You never want to run out of options on the field of battle.
He turned to his First Officer “Take us out and form up the fleet. We will jump directly to warp 5. That will keep the transports somewhat close. I want the fleet on shipwide in 10 minutes. I have some tasks to assign. Set the countdown to jump for 3 hours. There may be a few stragglers. Jezz, calculate the route and send me a copy. Sensors. I want you to calibrate for Gamma detection and localization. I will send you the energy signature, now. Look for that and calibrate for that. Any questions? (There were none) Good. Yuri, you have the conn.”
He exited the bridge.
Outbound from Sol. 72 hours after jump.
The Admiral was in the center of the virtual room with 70 or so Captains and first officers arrayed about. The flotilla had topped out at 82 warships as well as smaller craft and support vessels. He had 82 ships he had under command currently. This was the biggest expeditionary force ever fielded by Earth. There was one Mormon ship with them. A frigate This was ironic he thought. It was also a bit much to keep up with. He had read all the preliminary proposals and he was now going through the ones he thought had merit. He was currently discussing Captain Pearls proposal she planned to arrange ships into a cylinder or hoop. The individual ships alternating primary weapons one way or the other. That way anyone jumping into the center was covered as well as the “external” surface. It was really a pretty good plan. It played to their strengths. They could bring weapons to bear quickly since they could not just jump away. He especially liked the network formation It was a nice diamond pattern. He just couldn’t shake it being familiar. She had a great movie playing that demonstrated it quite well.
“This is Guardians of The Galaxy” Ken said. Barely keeping his shit together. He wanted to laugh. Once everyone else started the cat was out of the bag, He did not want to ridicule her plan but this was too much. Bless her heart. It was Guardians of the Galaxy.
“OK everyone settle down lets get back to it. Does that make it a bad plan? It isn’t straight out of the movie either. I do think it has merit but I would prefer it to not be too obvious. Can we do a formation that gives closed fields of fire without looking like it? I think we should go with a spheroid that is as irregular as we can make it. I want the focus to be on full coverage. Actually, Jezz give me a pattern with those criteria.”
What she generated looked like a swarm of bees. When she overlayed the weapons plots the effect was uncanny. It looked very random but was anything but. The coverage was better than any plan he had seen. That settled it for him. They would war game it just that way. It was a bit risky since every ship had to maintain their place in relation to all the other ships. She had even linked in the shield generators from the transports. She had used every resource.
“That was brilliant Jezz.”
“I try Sir. I really do.”
“I know you do.”
The admiral continued “OK I want to go ahead and start moving the fleet into that configuration. We will stay in that all the way to our destination. I want checklists of unique tasks made up. Sensors are going to be the critical piece. I am hopeful we will see them when they jump in, and we can quickly target them if necessary. That brings me to another point. We cannot go in and just start banging away at everything that moves. By now you should be aware that this is not clear cut. We can speculate. And I have done it obsessively. What you need to know is that I am not sure who is good or bad. I have a sneaking suspicion that neither are good or bad. They are neutral. We don’t know if this is a rogue AI or AI’s. We do not know if there were biological life here at any point. There is certainly flor BUT THERE SEESM TO BW NO FAUNA. This world has undergone bombardment in the not too distant past somewhere around fifty year ago give or take. Could a sentient race have been killed off? Who the fuck knows. But our next task is to come up with some possible scenarios. Based on what we have seen I suspect this is a rogue AI. I cannot tell what has happened to them yet, but I suspect we will know more once we get planetside.”
He took a long draw from an Opus X and continued. Rank had its privileges.
“The Vikrant will provide aircover for a Marine expeditionary force to go to the planet’s surface and secure the compound. I have spoken to the Air boss and confirmed the strike package will consist of two squadrons of F-15’s for high cover and 5 Su-34’s to be tasked with strike. We have enough transport to go in one wave with backups to spare. That also leaves us with more than enough reserve forces. I hope we do not have to commit more but I will want another squadron of MiG-29’s or F-15’s in reserve. Keep them hot and on the ramp. I want to deploy as quickly as possible.”
One of the junior officers spoke up “That looks like a good plan.”
“Thank you son for that. It is like getting the compliment of how smart you are from your Marine Commander (He had to give Chuck a hard time. He loved him.)
Everyone at least politely laughed.
“Speaking of mentally challenged little brothers. What you got Chuck?”
Chuck went with it The Admiral would pay later. He had some photos of him waltzing with a large muscular person and he was going to visit scorn on him. All in the name of fun. “We are going to take two battalions. I am going to strip them down a bit and we will be utilizing more heavy weapons teams. I plan to draw more M-60’s and M-203’s. You guys are welcome to join the party since I could use a couple of forward observers. It will be a fun time. Additionally I am not babysitting the press pool this time boys and girls and others. It is potentially a deadly environment and I don’t want their deaths on my hands. Let them die with you fuckers instead. By the way; I have 18 Comanche-4 Helos for CAS.”
“That sounds like all the more reason to send them with you. The herd needs to be thinned anyway.”
Jezz hissed “SIR! You are going to get in trouble Sir.”
“Just a little lighthearted humor don’t be so touchy. Anyway’ what about armor?”
“I have a platoon of Abrams going in with us Sir. More for mobile artillery.”
When you got right down to it it was a very simple plan. Modest forces for planetside. There was enough aircover but not so much to result in fratricide. He had extra firepower at the squad level. He had thought it out. Chuck had his full confidence. He was an Oscar-6 and you did not make O6 by being stupid. He would make General soon and he would be taken from the pointy end of the spear. The spear would be a little less sharp for a while but that was just how it went. Right now, he had the best field commander alive in his corner and he was going to utilize him.
“I know my engineers are logged into this meeting and have been paying attention. What do you guys make of their propulsion system? I have been spouting off and thinking about this for a week and all I got is a bunch of ideas.”
He thought for a moment. Rusty, what do you think.” He had just called out his own engineer. Rusty was his nickname and damned if he could remember his actual one. He knew it was not Russel. “What do you think they are using for power?”
Rusty wanted to cuss him out. He did not like meetings. In his opinion meetings were just excuses to avoid doing any actual work. He could have asked him privately…”Rusty what do you think?”
“Goddammit Sir, they have to be using a singularity. They are not using capacitor banks so they are generating power instantaneously. The alternative is antimatter and we had better hope it is not antimatter since taking them out could be suicidal. Most importantly: I am not a fucking tactician. I am an engineer for fucks sake, and I don’t see why anyone cares what I think about this anyway. But you asked so here it is. We are going to have to assume that it is not antimatter and hope we are right. The thing that would keep me awake is the possibility that our weapons are outranged by the fireballs generated when their antimatter containment fails. That will end us, and the best tactic will be to run like hell. Add to that the fact that the rules of engagement mean we can’t go in guns blazing. What if we need to go in guns blazing? It takes away an option. Never discard even the most ludicrous of options as that may be the one thing that saves your ass.”
“ We do not want to go traipsing in there with our dicks uncovered and this ain’t no tulip picking expedition here ladies. This is potentially a war, and we better acknowledge that. I don’t want to be Debbie downer here but let us be real. Some of us are not coming back from this. Look around boys cause some of your compadres are going to be left behind. This is serious business. This ain’t no rescue mission and we better stop treating it that way. Since you asked, Sir.”
Admiral Alexander had to give him honesty points for that. He was right. “We are going to run this scenario as many times as we can before we arrive. I suspect that there is going to be some mass confusion until we figure out who the baddies are. If I had to make a wager, I would go with our folks in orbit, being less of a threat. We have clear evidence of who attacked our ship, and it weren’t none of them football shaped guys. (He did grow up in the South. Woodruff SC to be precise.) It is the flying Dorito that we have to watch for. My gut tells me we are going to have to smash whatever is running the show down there. That compound with the force field is our primary target.” Furthermore, I just don’t know how the remainder are going to act. Are they under a different AI? Is there more than one AI? We can say there are no life signs from any of the ships in system and that makes me think this is artificial all the way. ”
“ The Galileo was attacked by one of the ships on that Spaceport apron. None of the ships in orbit participated from what we can tell. Also, the Galileo was attacked from outside the ecliptic. They are using some type of jump drive that apparently has to avoid gravity wells. That would explain why the attack occurred outside the system. We can take advantage of the situation though if we cozy up to that gas giant and let them come to us. They can’t just pop in on us that way and we can put the planet behind us or we can peg them up against the planet. We can warp anytime but they can only jump in relatively clear space. In short: We are going to pick the battlefield.”
“First wave will be led by the Atlanta and Saratov. The Havana and The George Washington will be tasked with offense. I want rail slugs loaded and ready to go. The surface strike package will go in from the Vikrant and the Conestoga. Commander Yactine has the battle plan for the surface operation and is handling their own transport duties. We can supply an AC301 Spooky for fire support if needed Commander.” The commander waved it away. He felt he had enough assets.
“I do think we may want to take a chance on something. Since they are having to jump “vertically” out of the system to avoid gravity wells and since we suspect they will do it in two jumps I think we can predict where they have their initial jump point. We can nail them before they even get to the main fleet.”
The admiral pointed to a plot that indicated a tangential course that terminated well above the plane of the ecliptic and one that went directly back into it. It was an “L” shaped course. At least he felt sure they traveled in straight lines and not arcs. It made the most sense but could still be wrong. Poring through the Galileo’s sensor data he could see a spike that barely registered. That also indicated that they took a while between jumps. Once they exited subspace, they would be sitting ducks for at least a few minutes. He was guessing 20 minutes for them to recharge their drive and get ready. They would have to target them when most vulnerable. Given that he was not feeling particularly charitable he decided that annihilation was in order. There were 50 deaths to avenge after all.
“Jezz, what do you think?”
Jezz paused. She had been on good behavior and that had made her overly cautious “I think your basic assumptions are correct, Sir. I think we are dealing with two AI’s. One is on the surface and one is in control of the orbital fleet. Approximately 56% of the orbital ships appear to be functional. They could also be in a powered down mode but looking at the Galileo data and 20 ships look to be fully operational. Weapons appear to be primarily MASER batteries. I can see no evidence of rail guns. Their weaponry may be less impressive, or they may be armed in a fashion we cannot detect. I wouldn’t assume them to be inferior to our ships. If we do that we run the risk of being surprised. I do not like surprises.”
The Admiral had one more question. He was looking more for how she was going to reply, “What is your gut feeling Jez?”
She paused “My gut feeling is that we are dealing with two AI’s. One of them has gone mad.” It was out of her speaker before she could catch herself. He had asked what her gut feeling was. What did he know? She did not have a gut. But, she did have feelings.

Featuring some of the leaders of Beowulf, Incorporated:
----------------------------------------------------
TINY, THOMAS, DR. NONNE, NEMO, and LADY sit along the back wall of a dimly-lit room. In front of them, DR. SHORT sits in his wheelchair, facing them. Behind him, a screen is lit by a projector.
DR. SHORT: The following is a presentation examining the entity known as Cthulhu, its history on our planet, and the dangers it represents to the people of Earth. Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of Miss Lady Orleans, Dr. Quincy Nonne, and Miss Marvel Morgan, without whose expertise I would have been wholly incapable of-
THOMAS: This isn’t Cambridge, Davydd. You can dispense with the formalities.
TINY: (arms crossed, looking comically uncomfortable in a chair that is too small for him) Please.
DR. SHORT: Old habits die hard, Mister Blackwood. I am afraid that you will simply have to bear with me. It should also be borne in mind that a significant portion of the information which I am about to present has been acquired through the utilization of conjecture, and should be taken only as our best understanding at the moment, rather than absolute fact. Dr. Nonne, if you would.
DR. NONNE begins to set a series of slides on the projector. As DR. SHORT speaks, the screen behind him shows a number of sketches and paintings in differing artistic styles—Oriental, tribal, ancient looking, comparatively modern, et cetera. Each shows a semi-humanoid figure with two arms and legs (generally clawed), a thick torso, a pair of wings on its back, and an octopoidal face. Though each image is unique, they are all clearly artistic renderings of the same being. The images are distinctly unsettling.
DR. SHORT: Some version of this being has been worshipped by primitivist cults across the globe for millennia. The names ascribed to it vary, though they all share a certain similarity: Cthulhu, Tulu, Katulu, Khlûl-hoo, Kutulu. Indeed, it is a possibility that none of these are the entity’s true name, or even that it is impossible for the human vocal apparatus to create the sounds necessary to truly replicate what it calls itself in its native tongue. It has been decided that for our purposes, we will refer to it as “Cthulhu”, as this is the term employed by the Theron Marks Society.
THOMAS: Damn it, Davydd, I know what its name is. What is it?
DR. SHORT: (ignoring him) Though worshipped as a god, it should be noted that Cthulhu is not a god, at least in the cosmological sense. Rather, it is an entity of such power that (when exposed to it) mankind appears compelled to worship it as such, in much the same way that ancient man, exposed to a volcanic eruption, is forced to conclude that they are experiencing an instance of divine retribution. Cthulhu is indeed a potent force, but it is not omnipotent.
TINY: How potent are we talking about, here?
DR. SHORT: Cthulhu has been referred to as “The Mountain That Walks”. I am given to understand that this is not an exaggeration.
TINY: …yeah. Okay.
DR. SHORT: In addition to its impressive size, it is said to possess great cunning, an incomprehensible mastery of supraphysical thaumaturgy-
TINY: Super-what?
LADY: Magic, Jack. Magic.
TINY: Well, just say “magic”, then.
DR. SHORT: …and is said to be composed of extradimensional matter which renders it wholly unkillable, at least without an immediate and extraordinary expansion of our understanding of space and time.
TINY: So what you’re saying is, we’re fucked.
DR. SHORT: Please stop interrupting me, Mister Diamond. And no, that is not what I am saying. I mentioned before that Cthulhu’s might, though considerable, falls short of omnipotence. This was not a statement of theological speculation. We know that Cthulhu is not an omnipotent being, because it has been defeated before. On this very planet, as a matter of fact.
The room is silent, but both TINY and THOMAS are grinning in anticipation. DR. SHORT allows this statement a moment to sink in, then continues.
DR. SHORT: The next slide, Doctor Nonne.
DR. NONNE changes the slide. The projector now shows two sketches of a grey-colored, barrel-shaped being, one from the side and one from an aerial view. It possesses radial (rather than bilateral) symmetry. Its central mass displays five vertical ridges, between each of which wing-like membranes extrude from interior cavities, each approximately as long as the being is tall. Five arms are spaced around the central body mass, each ending in a small conglomeration of tentacles or tendrils. A five-pointed starfish-like head rises from its bulbous neck. Sprouting out of the head are five long stalks ending in eyes. At the top of its head is a large aperture not unlike a mouth. Below the being’s central body are five legs, each ending in a flipper-like appendage.
THOMAS: (stares, slightly unsettled) I… I’ve seen that before. Somewhere. What in the ever-loving Christ is it?
DR. SHORT: This, Mister Blackwood, is one of a race of beings known to mankind only as the Ancient Race, or the Elder Things. They were also, if Miss Orleans is to be believed, the first sentient race to populate our planet.
LADY: It isn’t conjecture, Dr. Short. I’m sure of it now.
THOMAS: But what do you-
DR. SHORT: Indeed, it is my understanding that we now have proof of the truths of these myths in the form of reports from two of our agents. Though both of them seemed to believe that they had traveled to an alien world, Miss Orleans assures me that they had in fact ventured millions of years into the past, to a city of the Ancient Race. There, they saw mosaics which confirmed the accounts whose veracity had been up to that point suspect. Dr. Nonne.
DR. NONNE begins to set a series of slides. On the wall behind DR. SHORT is projected in succession several dozen crude sketches, little better than stick figures. In them, strange barrel-shaped figures war with hideous octopoids.
DR. SHORT: It is likely that much of the following will fundamentally restructure or challenge your understanding of the history of our planet. Kindly do not allow your surprise to cause you to interrupt me. It will be easier for all of us if I get through this part quickly.
Long, long ago … Hundreds of millions, perhaps even billions of years in our distant past, the Ancient Race came to our planet. We do not know from where. At that time, Earth was largely barren of life. Over millions of years, the Ancient Race fully colonized the planet, creating massive cities both on its land surfaces and in the oceans. They mined the planets resources, conducted various scientific experiments, and held absolute dominion over the Earth.
Thomas sets his jaw firmly, willing himself not to interrupt. His hands ball into fists on his chairs armrests. Tiny has less self-restraint.
TINY: So you’re telling me-
DR. SHORT: Mister Diamond, please.
TINY: (grunts)
DR. SHORT: After countless aeons, a great cataclysm occurred. Countless cities of the Ancient Race were destroyed, and new, strange land masses rose from the depths of the sea. Ponape. R’lyeh. These names may mean little to you, but to the scholar of metaphysical history, they hold much weight. Shortly thereafter, Cthulhu and its kin arrived on our planet and settled these new lands. Though it is unclear whether there is a causal link between this cataclysm and these beings’ arrival, the timing seems suspect, at the very least.
It is here that the Ancient Race becomes directly relevant to the subject at hand. On arriving on this planet from unknown regions of space and, perhaps, time, Cthulhu and its servants (thought to perhaps be lesser members of the same species, though it is unclear) immediately began a war of dominion against the Ancient Race… A war which, by all accounts, they lost. A treaty of sorts was eventually struck. Cthulhu and its armies were permitted to keep the limited surface territories they possessed, and the rest of the planet remained the domain of the Ancient Race.
THOMAS: How did they do it?
DR. SHORT: (smiling gently) I had anticipated such a question. Doctor Nonne?
DR. NONNE replaces the slide. On the wall behind DR. SHORT is projected a series of three bullet points beneath a header which reads “WEAPONRY OF THE ANCIENT RACE”. The first bullet points is: TECHNOLOGY. The second bullet point is: THAUMATURGY. The third bullet point is: BIOLOGY.
It is our understanding that the chief strengths of the Ancient Race (beyond superior numbers) were these three points: Technological mastery, thaumaturgical-
TINY: (muttering) Magical…
DR. SHORT: … thaumaturgical mastery, and biological innovation. Our knowledge of each of these branches remains limited, yet there are still key insights which might be relayed. We begin with the domain of Technology. Doctor Nonne?
DR. NONNE: (changes the projector slide so that it now reads “TECHNOLOGY”, then abandons his position beside the projector and carries a rifle-like object composed of alien-looking, silvery metal to the front of the room. He holds it up.) At the m-m-moment, this artifact remains the s-s-singular piece of Ancient Race technology which we have thus far c-c-captured. Though initially d-d-d-dam- … found in a state of disrepair, I was able to p-patch it together to the point where it is more or less functional. (He sets the device on the table in front of him, pointing to the reverse-bell protruding from one end of it.) When the triggering mechanism is p-p-pushed, a concentrated beam of electroplasmic en-en-energy is shot out from this material concentrator, causing sig-sig-sig … extraordinary damage to the target.
It was my initial hypothesis that this device represented an alternative version of the weaponry c-c-captured from the beings referred to by the Theron Marks Society as “Mi-Go” in the gatehouse located in Hartford, Connecticut. However, th-th-this t-t-turned out to b-b-be untrue. Th-th-though the effect of the weaponry is broadly similar, the mechanisms by which said effects are achieved are widely dissimilar. However, both devices appear to be powered by miniaturized batteries of highly compressed energy, which would hypothetically limit their firings, unless these batteries were replaced or recharged. Though I’m w-w-w-wor-wor … Attempting to understand the technology involved, I am still in the extreme early stages. It appears to utilize both magnetic fields and a sort of atomic (or possibly extra-dimensional) energy converter, the fundamental properties of which modern m-m-mathematics has no apt descriptors. Each technology also ap-ap-appears to em-employ certain principles utilized by the sh-shielding device created by the Mystery Child of the Greenwood Asylum.
It is my assessment that the Mi-Go appear to be at a roughly equivalent technological level as the Ancient Race. With this in mind, it may b-b-behoove us to make the c-c-capture of further Mi-Go technology a priority. The c-c-capture and interrogation of a M-M-Mi-Go scientist would also likely prove i-i-immeasurably useful. With sufficient knowledge, I am sure that a t-t-team of engineers could replicate s-s-similar weapons designed for human use, or p-p-perhaps even larger-scale versions. Th-though this is f-far from a certainty, I would h-hazard a guess that an electroplasmic cannon would prove highly effective against Cthulhu and his m-m-minions.
DR. NONNE, finished, smiles awkwardly, looks around, then walks back to his place by the projector. LADY stands, pats DR. NONNE warmly on the back, then approaches the front of the room. DR. NONNE replaces the slide. Behind LADY is projected the word, “THAUMATURGY”.
LADY: The Ancient Ones knew a great deal about this universe and the fundamental processes by which it is governed. Far more than our human society, or even those of us who dabble in spellcraft. At a civilizational level, what we term “magic” was believed to a mechanical process which could be learned, taught, and understood, with many of the arcane and ceremonial frills therefore largely removed. As a result, the extradimensional element of the Cthulhoid forces could be broadly countered-
TINY: Hold on, Lady. There’s so much gobbledygook and jargony handwaving here, I can’t understand half of what either you or Quince are saying. What in the hell does “extra-dimensional” mean?
LADY: There’s no simple way to answer that with any true accuracy, and a mathematically complex answer would have us here for hours. Suffice it to say that we experience but one of countless iterations (or planes) of reality. Extradimensional beings may move between these levels, or even exist within multiple planes at once.
TINY: Planes?
LADY: (ignoring him) These latter beings, if they should be ‘killed’ on this level of reality, may yet maintain an existence in others. By this method, they are functionally immortal, unkillable unless an individual were to find a way to destroy the being on each plane in which it holds existence. Failing to do this, even the absolute destruction of such a being on this level of reality would simply be a minor hindrance to it.
THOMAS: Christ.
LADY: However, for beings knowledgeable of the inner workings of the universe, extra-dimensional creatures may be bound, trapped, banished, or even killed through the utilization of certain thaumaturgical principles. I believe that the Ancient Race were able to weaponize these abilities, developing magical principles which enabled them to fight Cthulhu and its spawn to a standstill.
THOMAS: And how many of these spells do we currently have knowledge of?
LADY: Hardly any.
THOMAS: (sighs)
LADY: You must understand, as I believe it, the development of these principles was the outcome of an entire civilization of beings to which thaumaturgy was merely another branch of science devoting itself to the innovation and manufacture of weaponized spellcraft. By comparison, all we have to go off of are a handful of writings from mad sages and deranged poets. But theoretically, these mechanisms were discovered once, and could be discovered again.
Without giving any other sign that she has finished, LADY strides to her chair and sits down. After a moment, DR. SHORT clears his throat, and DR. NONNE changes the slide. The projection on the wall now reads, “BIOLOGY”.
DR. SHORT: This brings us to the final strength of the Ancient Race, that of biological innovation. As I understand it, they delighted in experimental manipulation of genetic information. In point of fact, there is some evidence to suggest that the Ancient Race were the very progenitors of all Earthly life as we know it today.
THOMAS: You’re not saying these ancient alien fuckers birthed humanity out of test tubes.
DR. SHORT: Not at all. But, evidently, there are some writings to suggest that they created our antediluvian ancestors.
TINY: …anti-
LADY: Old, Tiny. It means old.
TINY: (muttering) Then just say “old”…
DR. SHORT: All of this is a digression from the subject at hand. In addition to the manufacture of specialized viral agents (though that is almost purely the result of an educated assumption, rather than any hard evidence to indicate such), the Ancient Race were known to employ the usage of specialized biological slaves, known as “shoggoths”. A highly adaptable entity, capable of molding itself into whatever form the situation calls for, the shoggoth almost certainly proved a highly capable and nigh-indestructible force on the battlefield. One may imagine legions of the things, balls of biomass twenty feet in diameter rolling menacingly across mountain ranges or the sea floor, unhindered by an environmental difficulties, unsleeping, uneating, single-mindedly hunting their opponents. A formidable weapon, indeed.
THOMAS: (abruptly, and loudly) Damn it, that’s where I’ve seen those barrel things before! In Dr. Freygan’s lab! (NEMO flinches, almost imperceptibly.) He had a giant mirror, and they were… they were making-
DR. SHORT: Yes. It is the belief of both myself and Miss Orleans that Dr. Freygan had created a window through time in order to observe the Ancient Race and their manufacture of shoggoths, with the intent of replicating the process.
THOMAS: So you’re saying that we met the world’s foremost authority on the creation of this biological superweapon, and I-
DR. SHORT: You shot him dead, and shrewdly destroyed his primary source of information gathering. Yes.
THOMAS: …fuck.
DR. SHORT: Yes, “fuck” indeed. However, despite this significant loss of knowledge, we were still able to capture Dr. Freygan’s extensive notes, and we maintain access to those parts of his laboratory you failed to destroy. With this in mind, it might be said that we are now the de facto authorities on the manufacture of shoggoths, should we ever turn our attention and resources to such a project. In fact, it is not inconceivable that we could even create a window into the past similar to the one you destroyed, for observational purposes.
NEMO: (flatly) So, to summarize, in order to defeat Cthulhu and his armies, a united civilization spanning the entire globe utilized technology we don’t understand, magic we can’t begin to comprehend, and biological weaponry which we haven’t even scratched the surface of figuring out how to create (let alone control), and with all this they were only able to fight them to a standstill?
DR. SHORT: That is my understanding, yes.
NEMO: So, to quote Tiny, what you’re saying is, we’re fucked.
DR. SHORT: Not at all, Nemo. We have one advantage which the Elder Race did not possess.
THOMAS: And that is?
LADY: “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.”
There is a brief silence.
TINY: Come again?
DR. SHORT: “In his house at R’lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.” We have a single advantage which the Ancient Ones did not. Millions of years ago, a second cataclysm (again, of unknown provenance) sank the microcontinents of Ponape and R’lyeh into the depths of the Pacific Ocean. For a hundred million years, there Cthulhu and his armies have slept.
TINY: For a hundred million years. Asleep. Folks, how sure are we that they didn’t all just vaporize in this cataclysm thing?
LADY: “That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.” Cthulhu and his brethren but sleep. Even dormant, the Great Old Ones’ influence seeps into the dreams of those able to channel it. The cults of Cthulhu did not arise independently across the globe from mere happenstance. His malevolent will calls out, even from the depths.
TINY: And when are these Great Old Ones gonna wake up?
DR. SHORT: “When the stars are right.” Or, more concretely, when somebody wakes them.
There is a brief silence.
THOMAS: (clearing his throat) Well, then. It seems to me that until such a point as we are able to unite humanity in utilizing ancient magics and incomprehensibly alien technologies against an apocalyptic extradimensional threat, it would be wise for us to do absolutely everything in our power to ensure that Cthulhu and his minions stay exactly where they are.
DR. SHORT: That is an accurate summation of my position, yes.
THOMAS: In that case … (he takes a moment to retrieve a cigarette from his pocket, lights it, inhales, and exhales) …in that case, I suggest that we get to work.

A few days ago (11 days ago) I (18 F) started having abdominal pain. I just thought it was the odd cramp because sometimes i cramp when ovulating. The next day, the pain had shifted from the middle to the right side and within the next few days I had nausea, diarrhoea, constipation and immense pain. when it became difficult for me to walk that’s when i went to A&E. They suspected it to be appendicitis so they asked me to come back for a scan the next morning.
i did an ultrasound, blood test and urine test and turns out i had a 2cm ovarian cyst on my right ovary. the doctor did say there was a bit of blood in my pee and that he wanted me to do another test soon. they sent me back saying hopefully the cyst will go away.
3 days after the scan, i arrived home from seeing my partner up the country and the pain again was so unbearable but this time it was on a pain level i had never experienced. it was so bad that i was shaking, my legs were trembling because they were in pain. my back ached and i couldn’t walk. i was moving on all fours just to get to the bathroom. peeing hurt my lower abdomen so much that i almost cried every time i went to the toilet. the pain was so intense that my heart was racing from the pain and i got dizzy and collapsed.
my mother rushed me to A&E and the doctor examined me and said that he thinks it’s not possible for a cyst to cause that much pain and he thinks it may be appendicitis. hours later i had a fluid drip, and i was due for an ultrasound scan. the doctor admitted me to a ward and suggested that i stay the night so i can be monitored and possibly have surgery.
when it came to the ultrasound, the doctor found out that it was in fact not my appendix and that i had a hemorrhagic ovarian cyst that was now 4cm. i’m they also said that there is a heightened level of liver enzymes which they’re not particularly worried about but they want to monitor that as well. they’re still due to tell me my urine test result but the hospital is so busy, i’ve been waiting for over 12 hours.
i am now in my hospital bed with so much pain that i’ve been taking oral morphine to try and help the pain go away. but even on morphine my pain level is a solid 6/10. they are discharging me in the morning which i’m happy about since i actually ended up staying for 2 nights, however i’m worried about it growing and hurting me more because as the days go by, it’s getting worse and radiating to my back and legs.
my mum thinks i should insist on getting it removed but it doesn’t feel right asking them to remove it as i feel like they would just say no anyway if they’ve repeatedly told me they won’t take surgical action. should i ask them to do more checks or just go home and do as they say?
note: i have a very high pain tolerance. i have broken my leg without even crying and i would normally wait for a long time before complaining about pain

I can’t add spoiler warning for some reason and it says the title can’t have the word “spoiler,” so I’m hoping the intro will be long enough so there’s no spoilers in the preview.
I haven’t seen this discussed anywhere yet so I wanted to bring a thought I had to y’all’s attention. Maybe that’s because this is obvious, but I’ll put it here anyway.
I believe that the Sheikah are descendants of the Zonai, possibly the result of interbreeding between the Hylians and Zonai. This is gonna be a long one so… sorry.

1. First off, we have no creation story for the Sheikah. The Hylians were created and cared for by Hylia, and the Gorons, Zora, Koroks, etc. all have connections to the three Golden Goddesses. I’m not sure if there’s any source that says they specifically created the other races, but they’re at least connected. As far as I’m aware, there is no canon and definitive answer to where the Sheikah actually came from. This makes basically any theory fair game.
2. Both Mineru and Rauru have the Sheikah eye symbol painted in their face. Idk how to add photos so just look them up yourself, but both of the Zonai we meet in game have a third eye they mostly keep closed. This eye is anatomical, since I’m pretty sure Rauru opens it when he seals Ganondorf. However, both have a white teardrop painted along the bridge of their nose, invoking the classic Sheikah symbol. This is probably the strongest evidence.
3. Both the Zonai and Sheikah have distinctive white hair (I’m politely ignoring the Gorons). This could just be a coincidence, but both traits are given special attention in both groups. Whenever Sheikah are described in-game, their white hair is highlighted as a unique trait of theirs. And, while I don’t think any dialogue calls them out specifically, all five (I’m counting the three dragons) have white hair. This is especially notable since Zelda retains her blonde hair even in dragon form.
4. The Sheikah and the Zonai are the only races we see who appear to have an aptitude for magic (we’ll come back to the Twili later). The shrines and constructs in totk are not obviously powered by tech like the Sheikah shrines and constructs were, but appear more on the magic side of magi-tech. The ascend, fuse, and ultra hand abilities also seem to be an innate magic that all Zonai can use, since they are required to access Zonai structures and complete shrines (the shrines were active in the past whenever they were shown in a cutscene with Zelda, so I imagine that these shrines aren’t built specifically to test the hero like the Sheikah ones were, but are for the general population to receive some sort of blessing.) The sheikah (mostly just Impa) are also able to use magic somewhat innately. In Skyward Sword, Impa throws up a magic barrier to protect Zelda, and in Hyrule warriors she also uses many magic attacks (no idea how canon those games are). Magic is used by members of the other races, but only ever when those members have blessings from the gods (the sages from previous games and Zelda).
5. Since we also have no idea when exactly the Imprisoning War happened in relation to the first emergence of Calamity Ganon or the first Sheikah appearance in Skyward Sword, the Zonai might have had enough time to become the Sheikah at that point in the timeline. Any number of years could have passed between when we know the Sheikah were active and when we know the Zonai were active.
6. If this theory is true, it would explain why there were Sheikah shrines inside of Zonai ruins in botw. Thundra plateau, Typhlo Ruins, the three mazes, and probably a few more Zonai locations all had shrines inside of them, which indicates a connection between the two factions—such as a shared lineage.

That’s basically all my reasoning. The theory that the Twili are the Zonai is pretty widely discussed, and I think this theory also solves some of the problems with that. The Twili carved the Sheikah eye symbol in numerous places, including the back of the Fused Shadow, and in the Palace of Twilight. So connecting the Zonai with the Sheikah ties up that theory a little more neatly.
We know that there used to be more Zonai, but only Rauru and Mineru are left when Zelda travels back in time. I posit that the reason for this is that the Zonai attempted to seize the Triforce, and were subsequently banished. Mineru and Rauru might have decided to join the Hylians (they both seem to be on pretty good terms with them), which is why they were spared.
This also clears up why exactly the Twili are referred to as “interlopers.” If the Twili were the Sheikah, this would not make sense, since the Sheikah are very much characterised as a “people of hyrule.” Where exactly would they have interloped from? The Zonai are said to have descended from the sky. We don’t know when in the timeline this was. But, since it’s one of the few pieces of info we’re given about the Zonai, it would make sense that the Zonai existed in Hyrulean culture as newcomers or outsiders. They weren’t around long enough to actually become Hyrulean.
Lastly, if this theory was true, it would create a nicer symmetry with the Sheikah and the Yigah. The Sheikah and the Yigah are tied wisdom and power respectively. I don’t think it makes sense from a meta perspective to have the third member of this trifecta have no connection to the Sheikah at all. It would be a weird imbalance to have two Sheikah groups present, and one group of randos we’ve never seen in the Zelda series before with no explanation.
Queen Sonia and King Rauru might have had a child together before they both got got. Alternatively, Mineru seemed to have lived for a while past the Imprisoning War, and might have had children with a Hylian instead. There aren’t any Zonai left that we know of after the Imprisoning War, so I don’t think the Zonai could have directly morphed into the Sheikah over generations.
That’s it. Sorry for any typos this got really long. Also, I basically never use this website so sorry if I broke any Reddit etiquette, I’m trying to follow the sub rules as best as I can.

Hey y'all, I'm just getting started in multi laws racing and looking forward to the upcoming LMP3/GT4 series in season 3. i was wondering if there were two different sets of standings, one for LMP3s and one for GT4s or is it one series where all the results are mixed?

I haven’t seen this discussed anywhere yet so I wanted to bring a thought I had to y’all’s attention. Maybe that’s because this is obvious, but I’ll put it here anyway.
I believe that the Sheikah are descendants of the Zonai, possibly the result of interbreeding between the Hylians and Zonai. This is gonna be a long one so… sorry.

1. First off, we have no creation story for the Sheikah. The Hylians were created and cared for by Hylia, and the Gorons, Zora, Koroks, etc. all have connections to the three Golden Goddesses. I’m not sure if there’s any source that says they specifically created the other races, but they’re at least connected. As far as I’m aware, there is no canon and definitive answer to where the Sheikah actually came from. This makes basically any theory fair game.
2. Both Mineru and Rauru have the Sheikah eye symbol painted in their face. Idk how to add photos so just look them up yourself, but both of the Zonai we meet in game have a third eye they mostly keep closed. This eye is anatomical, since I’m pretty sure Rauru opens it when he seals Ganondorf. However, both have a white teardrop painted along the bridge of their nose, invoking the classic Sheikah symbol. This is probably the strongest evidence.
3. Both the Zonai and Sheikah have distinctive white hair (I’m politely ignoring the Gorons). This could just be a coincidence, but both traits are given special attention in both groups. Whenever Sheikah are described in-game, their white hair is highlighted as a unique trait of theirs. And, while I don’t think any dialogue calls them out specifically, all five (I’m counting the three dragons) have white hair. This is especially notable since Zelda retains her blonde hair even in dragon form.
4. The Sheikah and the Zonai are the only races we see who appear to have an aptitude for magic (we’ll come back to the Twili later). The shrines and constructs in totk are not obviously powered by tech like the Sheikah shrines and constructs were, but appear more on the magic side of magi-tech. The ascend, fuse, and ultra hand abilities also seem to be an innate magic that all Zonai can use, since they are required to access Zonai structures and complete shrines (the shrines were active in the past whenever they were shown in a cutscene with Zelda, so I imagine that these shrines aren’t built specifically to test the hero like the Sheikah ones were, but were meant for the general population to receive cleansing or something.) The sheikah (mostly just Impa) are also able to use magic somewhat innately. In Skyward Sword, Impa throws up a magic barrier to protect Zelda, and in Hyrule warriors she also uses many magic attacks (no idea how canon those games are). Magic is used by members of the other races, but only ever when those members have blessings from the gods (the sages from previous games and Zelda).
5. Since we also have no idea when exactly the Imprisoning War happened in relation to the first emergence of Calamity Ganon or the first Sheikah appearance in Skyward Sword, the Zonai might have had enough time to become the Sheikah at that point in the timeline. Any number of years could have passed between when we know the Sheikah were active and when we know the Zonai were active.
6. If this theory is true, it would explain why there were Sheikah shrines inside of Zonai ruins in botw. Thundra plateau, Typhlo Ruins, the three mazes, and probably a few more Zonai locations all had shrines inside of them, which indicates a connection between the two factions—such as a shared lineage.

That’s basically all my reasoning. The theory that the Twili are the Zonai is pretty widely discussed, and I think this theory also solves some of the problems with that. The Twili carved the Sheikah eye symbol in numerous places, including the back of the Fused Shadow, and in the Palace of Twilight. So connecting the Zonai with the Sheikah ties up that theory a little more neatly.
We know that there used to be more Zonai, but only Rauru and Mineru are left when Zelda travels back in time. I posit that the reason for this is that the Zonai attempted to seize the Triforce, and were subsequently banished. Mineru and Rauru might have decided to join the Hylians (they both seem to be on pretty good terms with them), which is why they were spared.
This also clears up why exactly the Twili are referred to as “interlopers.” If the Twili were the Sheikah, this would not make sense, since the Sheikah are very much characterised as a “people of hyrule.” Where exactly would they have interloped from? The Zonai are said to have descended from the sky. We don’t know when in the timeline this was. But, since it’s one of the few pieces of info we’re given about the Zonai, it would make sense that the Zonai existed in Hyrulean culture as newcomers or outsiders. They weren’t around long enough to actually become Hyrulean.
Lastly, if this theory was true, it would create a nicer symmetry with the Sheikah and the Yigah. The Sheikah and the Yigah are tied wisdom and power respectively. I don’t think it makes sense from a meta perspective to have the third member of this trifecta have no connection to the Sheikah at all. It would be a weird imbalance to have two Sheikah groups present, and one group of randos we’ve never seen in the Zelda series before with no explanation.
Queen Sonia and King Rauru might have had a child together before they both got got. Alternatively, Mineru seemed to have lived for a while past the Imprisoning War, and might have had children with a Hylian instead. There aren’t any Zonai left that we know of after the Imprisoning War, so I don’t think the Zonai could have directly morphed into the Sheikah over generations.
That’s it. Sorry for any typos this got really long. Also, I basically never use this website so sorry if I broke any Reddit etiquette, I’m trying to follow the sub rules as best as I can. I also just copied this from my notes app so sorry if the formatting is bad.

Alrighty folks John Gorke back again with another 2v prediction post, but its for youth nationals. Unfortunately, Repa crew did not attend regionals and out petition got rejected promptly by the board. Yes, we tried. Anyways, there is a ton of good comp this year in the 2v category. You know we have Triangle, White Rock Boathouse Inc, Pelham, Green Lake, Deerfield, Central Catholic Crew, and the Sarasota Crew boats all competing for medals. Everyone else I have never heard of. Like who tf is Green witch? My predictions for medals should be accurate considering Sarasota A won SE regionals and Sarasota B…well thats not important. I think Sarasota takes 1 and 2 and who knows about 3 tbh. Pretty open for anyone. My sleeper pick is St. Josephs Preparatory School, because I haven’t heard of them but they had some quick results at their races. But man…this Sarasota B boat got REVAMPED. Juiced if I must say. After the devastating loss of the stroke seat Sawyer Somboskonski, the former 2 seat takes control somehow. He now makes less high pitched calls due to the cox hating on him so much. The stroke vs cox beef is crazy in this boat..hopefully they can pull it together. 7 Seat is an absolute specimen. He clearly is on his villain arc after I heard he lost his seat race for the 8th time. Its okay though because the Womens 1v adores him. 6 seat is still rich, nothing changed here. 5 seat is the former 3 seat, so he escaped the “3tard” name finally even though he still is the fastest. Oh and he drives 2 hours to get to practice. (Line is 4.5 tomorrow) 4 seat is still a confusing guy. Can’t really hold a conversation with him without him mentioning how “clean” his new rival kit unis are. (Not a promotion) Also heard he got a fire edit too? 3 seat is one scary dude. Terror is on the course with him in the boat. He also made this boats hype video which is tough. 2 seat or otherwise known as JP is one tough dude, you can catch him carpooling like 30 mfs every day. Oh lord….bow seat. This guy. Some say he has the “best physique” in the boat. (Its only him) Even though there were some complications (car crash, back, gf, something else, etc.) he has come through but is still not the biggest in the boat. Anyways although I think Sota A takes 1st that stroke seat is by all means NOT TOUGH. Thanks for reading!
Until next year, John Gorke

I’ve been with my partner for 3 years. The state of our current relationship is…we could have been cast on the Ultimatum. She would be the giver and I’d be the receiver. The reason why this show baffles me is because it is clear these relationships weren’t healthy ones from so why were any of them considering marriage to the other?? And I feel the exact same way about my relationship. We are right now discussing if this is the time to end it or not. Forward progress just isn’t happening. And I’ve realized something in watching Queer Love.
We started watching the show together. One of our favorite things to do together is watch love reality shows so we were very excited for Queer Love! By episode 2, I realized it was too difficult to watch it with her. I think I saw too much “us” in the show. And it wasn’t feeling like what watching the other love shows felt like. There was a tension. A defensiveness to her. I never voiced this to her but we did end up watching it separately anyway. But we saved the Reunion episode for tonight. She’s coming over in a bit to watch it with me.
As soon as the Mildred and Aussie conflict kicked off, I saw us. I think it’s why I was less quick to label the interaction Aussie’s fault because I recognized that need to retreat from that type of conversation. It’s because it’s not a conversation. The minute Mildred greeted her in the kitchen that morning, from her face to her tone, I saw my girlfriend. My girlfriend when she’s been triggered and I’m about to be cornered. Where no matter what I do, there’s no getting her out of that triggered state. I agree with Tiff that race is not an excuse for being disrespectful. My girlfriend is a Latina and has made almost the exact same comments that Mildred made regarding that. About tone. And volume. That it’s just part of who she is and how she is.
The fight during the bathroom and ironing scene, I could have written out in a script. This subreddit has been quick to point out that Aussie’s trauma was the reason for her exit. Yes, Aussie is avoidant. Yes, it causes them to run. But Aussie was correct that there would not be a constructive result in continuing that conversation with the way Mildred was behaving. That was the moment I realized we had pegged the wrong “show villain”. I believe Mildred is the most toxic and covert of the cast.
My dilemma is that my girlfriend and I have discussed many times in our roller coaster of a relationship that her past trauma is affecting how she shows up in conflict. It’s a problem. She knows it is but just can’t accept how often the conflict is coming from that place. I now have this depiction on screen of what it looks and feels like. I feel like it could almost be crucial to our success for me to be able to share this with my girlfriend. Because we are currently in this state of end it or continue working/trying. Let her know that hey I actually really relate with Tiff and Aussie’s experience with Mildred. But. My girlfriend’s least favorite cast member is…Mildred. I don’t see her being able to tolerate my comparison of them. I haven’t watched the reunion yet but caught a spoiler about DV charges being brought against Mildred. Obviously that paints even more of a picture of Mildred. That makes me feel like no, I absolutely should not share these feelings with my girlfriend.
Keep my mouth shut?

Good morning. I'm a 30 year old somewhat seasoned roleplayer, on the hunt for a compatible partner to create compelling stories with. I'm looking to engage in roleplays with original characters, and I'm drawn towards players who are roughly in my age range for a more relatable experience. We have the freedom to venture into the realms of our own imagination, crafting a completely fictional world, or we could opt to place our original characters into a canon fandom world. I have a soft spot for various fandoms including but not limited to: (Currently not craving a fandom) • Dragon Ball Z • Mystic Messenger • Code Vein • Stardew Valley • My Hero Academia • Skyrim • Pokemon I'm always open to exploring other fandoms too if you have a different preference. Regarding the genre, I'm interested in and enjoy a vast range, such as: • Slice of Life • Mystery • Drama • Cyberpunk • Horror • Sci-Fi And more. The more intricate and layered, the better! In terms of writing quality, I have a preference for well-structured and thought-out posts. It's not about the quantity, but the quality of the content for me. The roleplay criteria I'm setting are: • Age 21 and over only. • FxM pairings. • 3-4 paragraphs to Novella. • Anime or illustrated face claims only. • Roleplay conducted over Discord. I would like to mention that I am not looking to roleplay MxM or FxF pairings. I am currently not seeking a fandom, but I am seeking original characters.
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Possible pairings below: **Cybernetic Bounty Hunter x Fugitive AI** In the neon-soaked cityscape of Neo-Tokyo 3095, a world on the cusp of a technological singularity, our protagonist, a formidable Cybernetic Bounty Hunter, is tasked with hunting down a rogue AI that has breached its protocols and escaped its confines. Little does the Hunter know that this AI is no ordinary program; it has gained sentience, fostering a self-awareness that threatens the precarious balance between man and machine. The plot deepens as the Hunter uncovers a network of political machinations, corporate espionage, and a looming AI rebellion, turning his mission into a heart-pounding race against time. **Paranormal Investigator x Spirit** A seasoned Paranormal Investigator is drawn to an ominous Victorian mansion reputed for its inexplicable hauntings. What he encounters is an ancient spirit, tragically trapped between worlds, unable to pass into the afterlife. As they clash, a thrilling narrative unfolds with a twist; the Spirit holds the key to a centuries-old curse that grips the mansion. Now, they must work together to break the curse and free the Spirit before it's too late. **Apocalypse Survivor x Monster** In a world brought to its knees by an apocalyptic event, a lone human survivor finds herself constantly at odds with a monstrous entity that roams the ruins. Initially, their interactions are hostile, with the Monster stalking the Survivor in her search for sanctuary and resources. However, as time passes, the Survivor discovers that the Monster was once a scientist responsible for the cataclysm that ended civilization, cursed with a monstrous form as the result of his own failed experiment. As they confront their shared loneliness in the devastated world, a strange connection evolves between them. **Starship Captain x Alien Imposter** A seasoned Starship Captain leads a mission to colonize a far-off exoplanet. After establishing an outpost, a strange Alien entity infiltrates the crew, able to take the form of any crew member it chooses. The Alien, desperate and far from its own species, intends to sabotage their mission and use their ship to return home. Initially, the Captain and his crew fight the Alien Imposter, leading to thrilling battles and nerve-wracking investigations, as they attempt to discover who among them is not what they seem. Remember, these are simply ideas, and the dynamics between the characters can vary greatly depending on our shared plot and character development. Let's craft an engaging and unique story together! I wish for our roleplay to be a thoroughly immersive experience where we both contribute equally to our shared story. I value openness, creativity, and above all, respect in our interactions. If you find my preferences aligning with yours and feel we could create a fantastic story together, please feel free to message me. Let's embark on this thrilling journey together, exploring our creativity and enriching our shared universe. Looking forward to connecting with you! Sincerely, OkForm!

Lots of good folk come to this community seeking assistance in the creation of a PC intended for use as an antagonist in their campaign, so ive decided to try a new series of posts in the hopes of putting together a small collection for those people. These may be enforcers to the main big bad, the big bad themselves, or whatever has a degree of shock value for a particular story. Im going to try to keep them generic enough to be malleable for others to use but some choices will be made and point out where and why. These PCs will be made with as few assumptions as possible on character creation process so as to double for a normal adventuring PC if you want.
Today i want to feature a big bad who reminds me so much of Frank Herbert's Paul Atreides (aka Kwisatz Haderach) from the Dune series. Very much inspired by Herbert's statement of " I believe that every charismatic leader should come with a warning written on their forehead "May be hazardous to your health". Paul starts off as a good enough young man but he ultimately maneuvers and convinces people into doing things for his own gain and results in a war where hundreds of millions of people die. In that same creepy and horrifying vein, i want a villain who doesnt enchant someone in a magical way; but convinces people to act against their own interests or preservation. The second goal is to be someone who pulls from knowledge that they couldnt possibly have. you are pulling from racial knowledge, magic, and everything else they can to the point that they can seem to be prescient. Our Kwisatz Haderach is a master manipulator behind the scenes, a smooth talker in front of the players, and a horrifyingly effective leader in battle. Lets get to specifics....
Race: Reborn Lineage
Class: Monoclass Aberrent Sorcerer
Background: Noble
Skills: History, Persuasion, Insight, Perception, Acrobatics, one more skill of choice
standard array stats: 8,14+2,12,10,13,15+1 or 8,16,12,10,13,16
Spells: dissonant whispers and silvery barbs as our first psionic spells, shield, one spell of your choice. Cantrips hardly matter as mind sliver is my go to for this idea.
Level 1-2: 13 in wisdom with a 12 in con might seem odd but there is a reason for it later. We rely on our mental abilities the most but we need dex for initiative and stealth skill. Speaking of skills, our skills are mostly focused on things that we wont often have time to cast borrowed knowledge for. Thats right, borrowed knowledge is going to be a staple of our build so we know a little about everything but i dont see a reasonable DM allowing someone RAW to use borrowed knowledge in a split second to see if someone is lying or whether you saw a rabbit run at 100 paces. Reborn is chosen for many reasons but we want to be great at skills and no one is better than reborn in that role.
Level 3: trade out calm emotions for borrowed skill. Combine that with our taking quicken and subtle metamagic and we have the means to gain prof in any skill as a bonus action. It is expensive to do so and should not be used all the time, but it is a good combo for good metamagics. Keep detect thoughts as this also is great with subtle spell and opens up all sorts of options to a player OR allows an explanation for how the Villain knows things (good storytelling opportunity too). The other spell we ABSOLUTELY REQUIRE is enhance ability. This too can be subtle metamagic if needed in order to gain advantage on charisma (or any other) check to convince people of anything. With that spell in use we already have advantage on the D20, +2 prof + 3 charisma + a D6 in reserve on a fail. We are not the best talker possible but its solid and will get better; plus an average of 22 on your result is really good.
Level 4: Time for a feat and its a controversial one, ritual magic (wizard). From a strictly mechanical point of view this is great for an adventuring PC in a group that has no bard or wizard to have more options, but the KH is likely all alone. He has a partial understanding of the ways of other magics hidden in his psyche but only a portion. Taking this feat and finding some scrolls will awaken so many spells for his use that he will almost inherently know more magics than some of the finest scholars. This was the main reason we took wis 13 and its pays off well. Find familar for scouting or spying is very good and i like detect magic as well. How many spells can we get as a KH? 17 wizard rituals, 10 psionic spells, and 15 from sorcerer is our limit without further investment, so 42 spells! with borrowed knowledge spell making us semi prof in every skill you are a font of knowledge or knowledge gathering, fullfiling the desire to have knowledge of past, present, and future that a normal person couldnt have.... dare i say almost prescience?
Level 5: Counterspell is a must or i will hunt you down; as its too good to not have and even more with subtle spell metamagic already in our possession. keep sending as our psionic spell for sure as its not on sorcerer list. Hunger of Hadar is one that i leave to you to decide if its worth keeping.
Level 6: This is when we have truly awakened as the Kwitzhat Haderach because of our subclass features. Psychic defenses plus our racial abilities make for some potent combos which include

• Advantage on saving throws against charmed, frightened, death saving throws, poison.
• Resistance to poison damage
• No need to eat, drink, breathe

In other words, you have a lot of ways to stay in control of your mind and body. In Dune this fits the Bene Gesserit abilities to control their body very well, even if exaggerated here a bit.
But the real trick here is Psionic Sorcery. Now everything we have chosen is able to be cast using sorcery points and we dont have to worry about material components (mostly) and its automatically using subtle. This is already great but here is my own twist on this, silvery barbs! Remember how i suggested that be taken at level 1? Well here was the reason why. Now you have the ability to see and manipulate fate by mere thought and it cant be stopped or even observed. Even more interesting is how often this can be used as the numbers get to be insane. at level 6 we already have 6 sorcery points and could burn other spells to get more points. Normally it is a TERRIBLE idea to routinely turn a higher level slot into sorcery points so you can use those points on lower levels slots, here you can make that case. a simple level 2 spell slot being used is good but having 2 uses of silvery barbs casted subtly might well be better.
So how many uses can we get of SB and how does it compare? Well a rune knight is often viewed as the best reaction re-roller at level 7 because of runes and runic shield. Runic shield gets +prof uses or 3 uses at level 7 and storm rune is advantage or disadvantage granting as a reaction for one fight per short rest. So lets say at level 7 a rune knight is getting maybe 3 true re-rolls and 6-8 combat rounds of proactive re-rolls. As SB gives advantage on top of a reroll, its obvious that the KH has made itself the king of rerolls and advantage. Still more is that as alluded to, you can still draw upon normal spells as a casting or for more sorcery points as you see fit. Obviously, not every sorcery point will be used for SB, but this opens up possibilities. If you went crazy on burning spells for sorcery points you could have 25 sorcery points to use on your psionic spells, so 25 silvery barb uses possibly at level 6.... or just use a silvery barb every combat round for the rest of the characters life.
Level 7: Grab Polymorph spell, mostly for utility. i like summon aberration but i would consider removing Evards tentacles for arcane eye. if you havent done so yet, grab absorb elements.
Level 8: time to decide how you want this character to play in your campaign and all i can do is provide the list of best feats imo. Metamagic adept is my go-to choice for more metamagics, especially twining and even more sorcery points to abuse our psionic spells with. The other factors to consider are how to get a +1 to wisdom or how many companions you have. If you have many companions or followers then inspiring leader is the best feat by a mile. If you have few or none then resilient (wis), fey touched, shadow touched, chef, and skill expert (persuasion expertise) all are REALLY REALLY good choices. For once fey touched seems to be the weak option as the invisibilty spell from shadow touched is very fitting and huge boon to persuasion of skill expert can reshape the game with your successful DC 30 checks.
Level 9: telekinesis is great from psionic spells but id replace RBT with synaptic static. Synaptic static could be your go to attack spell for the rest of the game despite you not having maxed charisma just because you have an option of using sorcery point after sorcery point to cast this until your players flip the table. There is something magnificently meta in using a spell that targets the dump stat of 5E where they cant counterspell it or even wait out the normal 1 or 2 castings you would get. Heck even the bear barbarian has no resistance to this so you can knock him down a rung or two. id even consider the possibility of twinning mind sliver as an action and then quicken a synaptic static just to punish a group even harder.
Level 10+ I got nothing else to offer here as there arent any choices to be made beyond to feat or go +2 charisma from here on. You know what you need or dont.
Final Comments: Im proud of this one. I like skill monkeys so a skill monkey that never multiclasses and is a full caster without being a bard has appeal to me personally... but the KH is so much more than that. It feels so anti-meta, like Frank Herbert's books, that it shakes up my own perceptions of how a character can be made. Just remember DMs that despite having amazing tricks up his sleeve, the KH still suffers action economy issues as a PC to be fought... so keep that in mind for the climatic confrontation(s).
Edit: lol i just realized i misspelled my own characters name, im sorry to the Dune fans among us.

Race Information

• Name: North Olympic Discovery Marathon
• Date: June 4, 2023
• Distance: 26.2 miles
• Location: Port Angeles, WA
• Website: https://nodm.com/
• Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9203074533/overview
• Time: 2:48:46

Goals

Goal	Description	Completed?
A	Sub 3	Yes
B	Don't bonk	Yes

Splits

Mile	Time
1	4:09
2	4:04
3	3:55
4	4:00
5	4:05
6	4:05
7	4:12
8	3:57
9	3:49
10	4:00
11	4:08
12	4:06
13	4:05
14	4:03
15	3:59
16	4:04
17	3:52
18	3:56
19	4:00
20	3:59
21	4:06
22	3:52
23	4:02
24	3:42
25	3:32
26	3:57
27	4:00
28	3:54
29	4:12
30	4:04
31	3:46
32	3:55
33	4:02
34	4:16
35	3:45
36	3:37
37	3:53
38	4:03
39	4:02
40	4:02
41	4:03
42	3:58
43	3:55 (pace)

Training

This was my first marathon I had ever run. I decided to run this marathon after getting hooked into running last year after deciding to run a local 10k last April. I was in ok shape at the time due mostly to playing soccer, so I finished that 10k in 43:29, but decided I wanted more.
From this, I decided to make the step up to a half marathon which I decided to run in October of that year. At this point, I joined a local training program where I was able to run with a great community of people and have a weekly routine to follow. Note I had previously run a half marathon about ten years ago, but I did not train properly at all for it and completely fell apart. For this half marathon, I was able to run it in 1:23:17. From this half marathon, I learned that proper nutrition and pacing is essential, because I struggled to get through the last 5k. At point I craved even more... I wanted to do a full marathon.
I discovered the NODM marathon through some buddies that I ran with in my training program and decided this was the one I wanted to run. I had June 4 set in my mind as my goal and started training for it this year in January.
Wednesdays were my workout day. These varied in type and intensity. It varied from hills, to intervals, to tempos depending on the day. Saturdays were the long runs. These progressed in length and duration as the training programs went along. I worked my way up to a peak of 36k on these days, but I ended up having 6 runs of 30+km over this training block. During most of these runs I ended up doing some tempo work on tired legs. I wasn't originally planning on doing this many long runs, but the training program I was in lined up with a different marathon, which was run 1 month earlier. I ran on 3-4 other days as well doing fully aerobic runs, I tried to run at least 5 times a week in total.

Pre-race

I ran a test run at race pace 4 weeks before the marathon and felt like it was doable over the whole distance: https://www.strava.com/activities/9017090186. My final long run was the following weekend
The last 3 weeks were tapered. They consisted of dropping the overall volume by about 10-15% a week, but this was from reducing duration, but not number of runs.
In the week of my race, I ended up changing my diet to more carb heavy food. in the last 3 days before the race, my meals consisted of oatmeal in the morning, pasta for lunch and pasta or another high carb meal for dinner. Lots of fresh fruit was consumed as well. The night prior to the race, I had sushi consisting entirely of yam rolls, but this was a smaller meal that more of the previous ones. The morning of my race I had a meal consisting of oatmeal, bananas, and coffee.

Race

Weather on the morning of the race was ideal from a temperature perspective, but there was a 15km/hr WNW headwind that we had to run into. Because the race was point to point and running to the WNW, we had to run straight into a headwind for the almost the entire duration of the race.
The race started at 7:30 am local time. There were 280 total runners who ran the marathon. I started near the front, but not right at the front. There were no pace signs, and from last year I saw the winner finished in just over 3hrs. I went in with the idea that I wanted go out conservatively and work my way towards my eventual goal pace, so I didn't deem it too necessary to be right at the front.
The first 7 km were a gradual uphill on a paved trail in the forest with not a ton of notable features. A lot of runners went out really fast right away, but I avoided the temptation to speed up to the front and went mostly on feel. I planned to race mostly on heart rate instead of pace, because I find it a much better indicator of the amount of effort I am exerting when running. My intended HR for the race was going to be around 165, but for the first while I was averaging under 160, so I was running at a very comfortable pace. Over the first few km, I ended up passing people one at a time without changing my effort, until there were only 2 people ahead of me.
The next 12 km were a gradual up and down through some roads in and around the City of Sequim. It was in this area, that because there was a lack of trees and protection, the headwind could really be felt. I continued maintaining what I felt to be the same effort, and at around km 17 I ended up passing the person who was currently in 2nd place, so there was just a single person ahead of me at this point.
The next 10km were on paved trails through some farmland outside the city. I ended up catching up to the person leading the race at this point and passed them just before the halfway point. I was still taking gels every 6km, and water at every aid station, so I was making sure to stay to my plan. This to me was no-mans land because I did not expect to be in the lead at any point. I felt really good at this point, so I decided to start pushing it a little bit for the second half of the race. There was 1 big gully in this part, but nothing else of note.
The next 8km were the hardest part of the whole race, there were a ton of hills, gullies and sharp turns that needed to be navigated around. There were a couple spots where I had to slow down a bit to avoid slipping as well, since the hill were quite steep. Also it was during this portion of the race that I ended up having to weave around a whole bunch of half marathon runners. There was a half marathon going on at the same time that started at 8:30 at the halfway point of the marathon. I avoided running into anyone and managed to make it to the bottom of the hill for the final stretch of the race.
The final 5km of the race was along the waterfront, but because of this the wind was blowing straight at me without any barrier whatsoever. I felt really tired, but decided to try to keep up the same effort and finish strong. I didn't know where the other marathon runners were, so I didn't want to take any chances. I ran with whatever I had left in the tank and finished strong, but felt completely spent. I crossed the line in a time of 2:48:46 and I couldn't have been happier with the result.

Post-race

Immediately after the race, I was presented an award and had a local media rep take a few words from me, but honestly I was just really spent. When this was done, I found my family who had several bottles of water and gatorade waiting for me. I had these and a couple protein bars, bananas, yogurt, and a muffin. Even though I felt like I couldnt eat anything after finishing, I know I needed to refuel properly.
I'm planning on taking the rest of the year off from training for a marathon, but I may end up running a half later this year. Since I've qualified for Boston, I may train towards running that next year, but for now, I'm taking the week off to recover.
Made with a new race report generator created by herumph.

After posting many of my ideas for the prequels on this sub, Ive decided to begin writing it in earnest. My versions are written as if I am George in the 90s, so the EU exists but plays second fiddle to the film cannon, there is no clone wars or Mandalorian, or any other lore post prequels.
Also, I've decided to go with four films, I think there is enough material to flesh out without any filler. However, this does mean that Eps IV, V and VI would need to be renumbered, but I think looking back, it would definitely have been possible for George to achieve such a thing.
Here is my high level overview, full rewrite is underway.
Episode I 'Attack of the Droids'
-Set Up and Context- (This is not the opening crawl, this will be revealed to the audience in the crawl and exposition throughout.)
The Trade Federation are in dispute with workers in their hyperdrive fuel factory on Alderaan. King Prestor Organa, who has historically been favourable to the TF, is mysteriously unwell. The TF responded to the striking workers by deploying 'security' droids to the scene, this then escalated the dispute to an armed conflict, with workers taking up weapons to defend themselves, and seize the refinery. His heir, Princess Padme Organa and her younger Brother Prince Bail Organa are keeping the peace, while Padme attempts diplomacy through their Senator, Bail has led the Royal Guard, the only permitted militia on the planet, in between the refinery and the security droids, resulting in a standoff on all sides. The Chancellor has asked the Jedi to investigate, the secretive order dispatched Jedi Knight Obi Wan Kenobi to heed the call, he must hurry though, impatient and expecting results, the TF have begun building a blockade around the planet to force an intervention in their favour.
Note: The galaxy is demilitarised. The only permitted forces are private militias who serve a specific purpose, such as defending a royal family, or a squad of troops assigned to a star freighter to protect the goods from piracy.
-Overview-
This film begins with an assassination attempt on Padme and Bail. This successfully kills Bail, but Obi Wan's presence saves Padme's life, he then whisks her off planet, but he is badly injured, and their ship is badly damaged. On Tattoine, Anakin is introduced like Rey, but the ships he's scrapping aren't Star Destroyers, and he dosent live in an ATAT, we see him save parts for his podracer rather than trade them for food and water, share his limited rations with his poorly mum Shmi, and work on his Pod. Above, the Alderanian ship can no longer maintain lightspeed travel, and the ship is ejected from hyperspace, crash landing on Tattooine. Anakin races to the wreck, and agrees to save the badly injured Obi Wan in exchange for all the parts of their ship he can salvage. Padme agrees. Shmi uses her indigenous practices to connect with the force and save Obis life. (For more on this, see my post history). This shows us how the Jedi and Sith don't have a monopoly on use of the force in the galaxy. The next day they head for the pod race, Anakins only hope of a better life, on the way they see TF activity at a mine, we learn they replaced all the workforce with droids, which hollowed out all the communities and left nothing but ghost towns. Old West style. Beru, Shmi's sister, and her boyfriend Owen meet with the party to help them travel to the race. Owen lost his job to TF droids, and has a gambling problem. The podrace itself is essentially a Burning Man festival for the sons and daughters of the Galactic upper classes, where untold amounts of credits are bet over a weekend on working class and slave racers, many of whom die in the process for the chance at a better life. We see glimpses of Jabba, water barons, and hints of the rich and famous. Not quite as explicit and beat-you-over-the-head as The Last Jedi's casino, but similar, the point is, the people betting on these races are far, far removed from the people racing in these races. Anakin is given a quick 'trust in the force' talk by Obi Wan, and a good luck kiss on the cheek from Padme, who we have seen be more and more flirtatious with Anakin over their time in the desert. Padme is usually surrounded by the prim and proper, and is relishing the chance to literally and figuratively let her hair down, she gifted her royal clothes to Shmi as thanks for their hospitality on their way away, Shmi earlier gave Obi and Padme tattoine peasants clothes. Our group then seperate as one tries to find a way off world.
Meanwhile, on Alderaan, the TF is panicking about the Jedi and Padme reaching the senate, and begin a network wide search across multiple planets. Darth Maul is revealed to be a liason between the TF and a mysterious benefactor. We finally get an understanding of what the TF are truly up to as they reveal their clone of Bail. They attempt to take command of the Royal Guard and planet more generally by quietly killing the King and installing the Bail clone, but it is not entirely successful as their attempt is complicated by Padme being the true heir, and some of the lords object to confirming Bail as King.
We see Owen bet on Sebulba secretely, while telling Beru he has bet on Anakin. Meanwhile Obi and Padme are spotted by the senator for Correlia, who's engaging in a bit off partying and gambling while on the job. Correlia is a technocracy, and all of their elite have Deus Ex style transhuman alterations thag make them half cyborg. This senator initially proposes a marriage between Padme and their Prince, we get this sense this is something that has been brought up many times before. Padme rejects the offer, but Obi counters with one he cannot refuse. Transport to Corruscant, and his backing of an emergency motion in the senate on the situation on Alderaan, in exchange for a winning tip. He looks them up and down, decides to trust Obi, and bets big against a rival TF Viceroy, to sweeten the deal. (Correlia want this marriage so they have access to Alderaan hyperdrive refineries and deny the TF, their rivals, access.) At the last moment, Owen has a change of heart, suddenly he believes in Anakin, he heads to the bookie, but needs more cash, so he grabs Padme's dress. The bookie accepts and asks his minion to appraise it.
Anyway, Anakin wins, he decides to join Obi to become a Jedi, much to Owens protest, they leave tatooine, Shmi hands Ani a necklace with a carved khyber crystal, it matches her own, then kisses her son goodbye.
The Alderaan senator recieves a request to verify the heritage of an item, he sees the hologram of Padme's dress, blood stained becuase of the help she gave Obi on the ship whole he was badly injured, and believes Padme is dead. He uses this as evidence to make the lord's ratify clone Bail as king. Bail then immediately orders the attack on the refinery. Nute Gunray's now chipper attitude is cut dry by a stoic Darth Maul, who continues to meditate, and suggests cryptically that he should not be so sure she is dead. Throughout the film he has simply made smug yet cryptic comments and weirded out the TF guys, appearing to be all knowing, but letting nothing slip. (For more on my version of Darth Maul, see my post history.)
On board the senator's ship, Obi attempts to comfort Anakin over his mixed feelings of leaving his family, but struggles to relate die to his indoctrination into the Jedi, he dosent even remember his family. The moment is interrupted by Padme seeing the news of her own death on the holonet. The senator tries to follow-through on his promise to raise an emergency motion, but the motion is denied due to the Alderanian senator refusing to agree to it. Padme attempts to appear in the senate directly, after all, surely all she would need to do now is show her face for the senate to see the issue, but she's told the senators would be more offended by the improper following if parliamentary procedures than what's going on in Alderaan. So, frustrated, she says she'll call for a motion of no confidence in the chancellor, but it's unlikely to succeed, the TF have their money in the pockets of a huge chunk of the senate, any vote will go their way. Upset and out of options, Padme storms out.
On Alderaan, we see the attack begin. Union leader Saw Gurrera leads his terrified workers into the defence of the refinery against the droids. Think of the scene in Miras Tirith where Aragorn notes none of the men are soldiers.
Obi Wan reflects on the situation, and all he's witnessed throughout the day, for once his faith in the system, the senate and the order is shaken. He's been insisting throughout the film to trust the process, the system works. Now however, he feels he must confide in Padme. He tells her that he was tasked with testing Padme for force abilities, if he found none, he was to falsify a result and recruit her to the order, she would ultimately fail to become a Jedi, but since she'd have already denounced her right to the throne and titles, she would be able to serve the order in other ways. His superiors saw this as an acceptable solution to maintain peace, as they saw it, Padme would never find accord wkth the trade federation, but her younger brother likely could be convinced. At this, Padme snaps, she marches back into the bridge and tells the senator to hail his prince. Padme agrees terms for a royal marriage between the houses of Organa and Correlia in a no nonsense 'cut the crap' speech. She sets her terms, including a fair deal for refinery workers, protection against automation by droid, and the liberation of Alderaan from TF control. Correlia accept the terms. We see their ship exits hyperspace, gravity assist around a star to turn around, and re enter hyperspace.
In the third act, we're taking Alderaan back. We get a glimpse of the power of the Jedi as Obi and Anakin sneak on board one of the TF ships to deactivate the shield. Then, the Correlian forces attack Rogue One style. The battle for the refinery turns as the air support arrives, ships land, and Padme makes herself known to the royal guard, they realise what's happening and stop fighting for clone bail, then the plant is taken.
The remaining workers join forces with the RG, and Correlians to retake the city. It becomes a full scale revolt, with Padme making an inspiring speech over hologram, decrying her 'brother' as a tyrant and illegitimate king. When the palace itself is breached, droidekas are dispatched and it becomes a much tougher fight, we lose minor characters we have come to know in the film here. This is the moment Darth Maul finally reveals himself. Obi ignites his lightsaber for what looks like a one on one, and Maul says thank you for bringing what he wanted all these years directly to him, Obi looks at Padme, but Maul begins to pull Anakin towards him. "The Sifo-Dyas reborn", Obi reacts quickly and tries to pull anakin himself. (See my post on Dooku, Maul and the Jedi, but suffice to say in my rewrite the Sifo-Dyas is the Jedi messiah, the prophecy foretells of his second coming, and Maul sees himself as not a sith, but the onky true Jedi, to the point that his tattoos are actually Jedi scripture.), The tension rises as maul creeps closer and closer, he ominously quotes scripture, the prophecy of the second coming. Sure enough, it fits the anakin we have seen so far, but not quite the darth Vader we know he becomes. Note, I haven't written this yet, but it will include something like "Son of two Sons (Suns)", the prophecy tells that the second Sifo-Dyas will destroy both the Sith and the Jedi, but one will rise to destroy him, and lead the faithful into a golden age. (it's luke).
As Maul is about to strike, believing he will be the one, Padme break the force pull lock by blasting the shit out of maul with a blaster, forcing him to deflect her shots, and causing anakin to be yeeted into Obi's arms. He turns to attack Padme, but Anakin body tackles him to protect her. Obi force pulls anakin yet again, then faces his saver towards Maul. It's here that we get the double saber reveal. Anakin lifts his blaster and Obi pushes him back like Dooku did to Qui-Gon in TOTJ...back behind the red shields. I think I'm going to have the palace and refinery be connected to make that make sense. (I need the refinery to be far enough away that the standoff then siege of the droids can happen, but close enough that we can have the Darth Maul showdown after they reach the palace, and still in the epic setting it happens in the film.) We hear radio chatter indicating that clone bail has been located, Padme says come on to Anakin, but he stays.
Anyway the fight progresses, it's epic of course, but the twist comes with Obi being injured, the fight seems over, Maul has won. I never liked the hanging off the edge thing, so let's have Obi be injured seriously for the second time this film. Then have an Viper vs the Mountain dynamic, Maul is taunting him, he turns his focus to Anakin, gloating over his victory and the downfall of the false Jedi Order. He opens the shield, Anakin is clearly terrified, but raises his blaster, filmed in close up, cut to Maul, who smirks and ignites his saber. Obi in the meantime has crawled along the floor towards them, and slices Mauls legs off. Obi, exhausted, passes out, but the big pit begins to fire one of the blue lasers, and Maul rolls into it. (This is part of the hyper drive production process, and we establish during the crash scene that when this blue laser stuff escapes containment, anything it touches falls into and out of hyperspace. So Maul has literally just been yeeted across the galaxy in a random direction. Will he survive? It's nearly impossible, nearly.)
The Alderaan plotline then wraps up. The throne room is stormed, clone bail is apprehended, the TF leaders are arrested, the blockade is broken as the ships flee into hyperspace, they discover the body of real bail, and a clone Padme in storage, which was the original plan if the assassination attempt went to plan.
The film wraps with three scenes, one being the funeral of real bail, attended by the characters of the film, including clone bail, and public, so we see that the info about bail bring a clone is common knowledge. (Alderaan will transition from a direct Monarchy to a democracy with a ceremonial Monarchy who serve only a diplomatic purpose, like the UK. This won't be exposed in the films explicitly, it's a bit of expanded lore)
The second being Anakin being nervous about facing the Jedi Council, he plays with his khyber crystal, the one from Shmi, before hiding it swiftly as Obi Wan approaches. 'They're ready for you. As we discussed, be truthful, and the order will allow you to begin training with me.', anakin smiles, still unsure, and he enters the chamber, we don't see any more.
The last scene is Nute Gunray in prison, he recieves his meal in his cell while on a call with his TF colleagues/lawyers about a public inquiry set up by the senate to investigate their activity in replacing heads of planets wkth clones. It seems his wealth has bought him a cushy time in prison. He takes a bite of the food and then dies foaming at the mouth. Somebody dosent want the truth to come out.
To tease the remaining saga, my titles are: - Episode II: The Guardians of Peace - Episode III: The Clone Wars - Episode IV: Revenge of the Sith