Knew I had a mouse problem, but I always catch and release, then try to identify how they got in. Well, one mouse hid pretty well. I was pulling some clothes out of an old box upstairs and disturbed what I think must've been four or five mice (maybe more). All juvenile looking. They weren't newborns, but probably not very old. Flung one out of the box by accident and it tried to get back in by climbing a screen I'd taken out of my window. Hadn't managed to do it, so I just picked up the screen and dumped it back in. They're all presumably in there now.
My question is: since the mice were all laying together- what are the odds mama was nursing them in there? They were under a layer of shirts and they all started to flee together further into the box. I jumped and tossed the clothes I had, so I didn't see exactly how many there were. I want to dump the box outside and just let mama collect them. But, I'm afraid if I dump them out and she's not in there, they won't survive. I know mice will return to a disturbed nest, so I left out some of my no-kill traps in the same room. If I manage to catch her tonight, I'll dump her in the box and then dump it outside. If not, should I just go ahead and dump it out somewhere? I really don't want to dump them here, because whoever moves into this house next will probably not be so kind. But I do not have a car and I'm not sure how to get it far enough away. My friends will not be down to help lol. I thought if maybe I could pull the clothes out outside bit by bit I could trap them in the box then maybe move them to a terrarium, then release them after the move. They're deer mice, if that helps (another reason I'd really like to get them gone, no offense to the little creatures).
Thoughts?

I had these thoughts like midway through the season but decided to wait til after the season to post. This is kind of some thoughts on the whole of season 3 and why it had a lot of criticisms compared to Seasons 1 and 2. While those seasons seems to have a Ted Lasso-centric "win" each episode, regardless of what occurs in that episode; Season 3 had moments where it seems very anti-Ted Lasso both in quality and in form.
In some ways there was such a whiplash on how different season 3 was, it really did feel like putting people in a Empire Strikes Back position of how badly a position for the characters of the show. But I feel that Season 3 was emphasizing the limits of the un-ending positivity of Ted Lasso or the way of Ted Lasso.
Why I say this is this was exemplified by 4 things:
- Zava's motivational but ultimately empty quotes.
- Keely's hiring of Shandy but also her whole PR storyline in general.
- Rebecca trying to support Ted after the string of losses, repressing her rage with a frustrated "HAVE FUN TED" pep talk.
- Ted's panic attacks in general
And the turning point for the team was when they adopted Total Football, which made sense in a lot of ways. Not just how Trent pointed it out. I mean if you contrast it with Zava being on the team, yes they had wins. But together they had wins. Working together as a cohesive team they had wins based which allowed Zava to be elevated. But that does not represent the team, or Ted Lasso positivity, it represents Zava's skill. But when they became discordant with anger from the Nate tape, no amount of Zava skill or even Ted Lasso talking could have brought them back. It needed a system change that exemplifies the foundation of trust and respect that Lasso built in the past 2.5 years. It was Ted who put in the work to make the change, not Zava's Zava-isms that brought the change.
Keely's whole storyline I felt was basically what if it was Ted Lasso unleashed and unrestrained. Without any sort of focus on how your spread your positivity. Flower for the office each week that eats into the budget. It is amazing, it is great, but who is it for specifically? Does that effort of positivity garner the gains and growth say compared to....Ted buying books for all his team. I did wish the Keely storyline had a better ending than sort of being accepted back into the fold, it felt that she can only succeed through like minded, as opposed to being able to adapt to who she is win. But like how her interaction with Barbara, finally resulted her in acknowledging Barb's needs and POV (with the snow globe thing), it shows that positivity works if for the people involved you consider their POV over yours. Ted has always been adaptable to other's needs....all the while still sort of steamrolling over others with his unrelenting positivity, but I felt not in a way where it's my way or the highway. It's just there for anyone to accept it, and all the time Ted will be curios.
And obviously Rebecca trying to out-Ted Ted, well that is just hilarious. Once again really emphasizing that being "just" supportive isn't enough. Mopping the deck of the Titanic as it sinks so to speak. Maybe it needs a bollocking, maybe it needs pleading to win against this game which is important to them, maybe it needs a system change or consideration of firing Ted. All these negative things we experience is not antithesis to the Ted way, it's part of just addressing positivity in general. It's processing the bad so we don't end just saying "Diddly Doodly Ho" like Flanders and explode.
And with Ted. I'm glad that the foundation of his work has bore fruit. But I am also so glad that he expressed frustration and quiet anger to Michelle about her dating Jacobs. I was jumping my seat at the absolute progress Ted shown. And when you look at it....what Ted's mom did to affect Ted, you can also see how it transferred in affecting the relationship with Michelle. The constant positivity, the avoidance of negative emotions and sadness. It's a sadder version of Anne Perkins with Chris in the episode "Farmers Market", except without any resolution until Ted went to London.
So there are my thoughts. I am super glad that we gotten some good ole Ted Lasso feel good positivity in the end. Season 3 seemed a mess by comparison for some...but dunno if this kind of gives perspective to why it was written the way it was. So in the end of a feel good series, we also gotten one about dealing with mental health and grief, dealing with haters, dealing with bad fathers. I'm feeling like a goldfish right now and I have to (re)start Season 1 of Ted Lasso.

In the yah rin shrine, if you bring the metal box from the first room into the next one, move it close to the bars, jump on the box and over the bars, then magnesis the box away, you effectively get soft locked in the area

Okay bear with me. I know you know that you already know the answer to this, but I just need confirmation that I’m not crazy so hear me out.
I’m a new home owner. So I’m making a breaker box map for the house. I’ve labeled each breaker and mapped out each circuit, GFCIs, down-fed GFCIs, lights, outlets, etc. I’m doing this and I find a strange device mounted on the wall in the garage next to my water heater fan blower with wires coming out of it, green and red wires terminated on some screws going into some romex looking stuff into a patchy hole in the wall. I look it up and it’s a Nutone transformer for a doorbell. Cool so I learned about how doorbell transformers are typically routed off of an outlet (it’s right next to the water heater fan outlet) and reduce the voltage to make their own circuit with the doorbell and chime, the doorbell is pressed and it closes the circuit making the chime ring. Easy.
So as I’m turning on and off all the breakers one by one to figure out exactly what outlet, light fixture, etc is connected to which breaker switch I get to the doorbell and figure out it’s on circuit 6. Breaker 6 gets flipped the doorbell (it’s a ring) and chime go off. No more power. I run a multimeter across the chime when breaker 6 is on and it’s 0.9V. When 6 is flipped off its 0V. Then I take the multimeter to the transformer. 6 is flipped on its 17.1V. Flip 6 off nothing changes, it’s still 17.1V. Okay weird. So I flip all the breakers until figure out that when breaker 2 (the one that turns off the water heater fan outlet and all the power in the garage) flips off the voltage across the transformer screws goes from 17.1V to 0.0V.
Okay so now I know that breaker switch 2 feeds power to the transformer. But breaker 6 feeds power to the doorbell and chime. I’m confused. To double check things I turn all the breakers on and I put the multimeter across the chime terminals and ring the doorbell. The reading jumps from 0.9V on the chime up to like 14V then back down to 0.9V. Then I do the same with the transformer. I ring the doorbell and no change at all. Transformer just keeps reading 17.1V.
I’m at a loss at this point so I move on. I come across these little 12V wedge lights that light up our street number sign by the front door and garage. 4 lights total, two on each sign, one sign in the front one sign in the back. I pull the bulbs out and stick my multimeter in there and get like 18V. So it’s a low voltage thing I presume. I go look at the transformer and voila, there’s TWO red and TWO green wires going into the screw terminals. So it dawns on me that maybe this transformer is lowering the voltages for these two little low voltage wedge light circuits. I try googling it but all I find with transformers is doorbells and other stuff. So maybe I’m just making this up.
So now I’m stuck. Can you guys tell me I’m right and that this transformer has nothing to do with my doorbell so I can stop thinking about this?
But wait! If that transformer doesn’t lower the voltage for the doorbell circuit, then where the hell is my doorbell transformer?? I’ve looked EVERYWERE. Under the patio, in the garage, in every closet, in every room, in every bathroom, in the attic. Nothing adds up. I might have to sell the house.
Someone help me - I just want to figure out how to troubleshoot this so I can (1) 100% know that the transformer isn’t connect to my doorbell circuit, (2) determine if it’s connected to my wedge lights circuits, and (3) figure out how to find the doorbell transformer. And most importantly (4) know if I’m just completely misunderstanding things.
Here’s the map im making for the house to help visualize. The transformer is on floor 1 with a red arrow going to it. The blue arrow points at the doorbell and green arrows point at the street number wedge lights. The third floor (swipe right for picture 2) has the chime, the red arrow points to it: https://imgur.com/a/MBE6Wt0
Here’s a picture of the transformer: https://imgur.com/a/Y6XVjOQ
Here’s the chime: https://imgur.com/a/TV3lVKz
And the wedge lights: https://imgur.com/a/1oYXnNe
Let me know if I can provide any other pictures to help troubleshoot

Hi y’all!
I couldn’t attach photos in this post, so I’ll be putting them in the comments
Unfortunately, I got my measurements a little bit wrong when ordering these beauts. Great diapers in my honest opinion, but the fit is jussssst a bit too tight for me to enjoy them :(
So, rather than force myself to make them work, I thought someone else would get better usage and more enjoyment from them. Plus I rly love this lil community, and wanna jump at the opportunity to participate :)
In the effort of transparency I bought the 4 packs of 10 for $95.99 all in all, and I tried two of them so I have 38 left. I’m willing to part ways with all 38 for $75, $65 if you cover shipping. I will 1000% ship discreetly, and will send you photo confirmation once it’s all boxed up and ready to ship so you know it’s packed safely. I’ve had to dodge nosey housemates before, so if that’s your situation I do very much empathize.
I hope to hear from someone soon!

I tried to keep this literally as brief as I could but ended up having a lot of thoughts about this game so I jotted them down. I'm not going so much into the creation/customization aspect as that's not the area of the game I focus on mainly as I just focus on gameplay, mainly due to the fact that I have the creativity of a pet rock. However, if it came down to a drawing competition the pet rock would probably win, but anyway, let's get into it:
​

• Music: Grew up with the EA Sports MVP baseball series so having licensed music was a nice surprise addition, and the fact that its not strictly leaning towards one general direction (way back when the MVP games were mostly rock-based soundtracks) is a nice touch. Having it be like an actual radio station with cut-ins and ads is weird. would've preferred without.
• UI: seems a bit clunky, especially in the menus, and some stuff isn't as easy to navigate as it was in the previous installment. They went with a different overall aesthetic, which is fine, but a lot of stuff is spread out all over the place and this really shows in the gameplay, especially on the defensive side when you have to look in multiple places for a pitcher instead of in one small box. Also having a little two-box sub-menu for changing pitchers is annoying. If you're switching from pitcher to pitcher just have it one button like in 3 and only have the sub-menu when moving a position player becomes a pitcher, which is going to be a rarity in most instances. my two cents.
• Legends: Random. Very random. Sure it's cool having greats from across eras in the game, albeit labeling them as "legends" is a bit stretched. It probably would've been better to have them in tiers, and not just the typical A, B, C, etc. but have it as pro, great, all-star, legend instead of just they're all "legends." Also for the love of all that is holy, butchering Vlad Guerrero's name on the announcement is just a cardinal sin. one of the greatest players of all time, so have some respect. And the fact that's not the only player it's happened to is...frustrating, to say the least as a fan of the game.
• Creators League: seems more so for promotional purposes and was a really random addition. It doesn't take away anything from the game but it doesn't really add anything to it either.
• Stadiums: Of course, we have all of the stadiums from 3 that crossed the yellow brick road onto 4, which for me was one of the selling points that at last every team in the regular SMB league would have its own home stadium, and the new stadiums look freaking awesome. I can't decide which one of them is my favorite, as at first glance I thought would be Whacker's Wheel with its dome and presumable hotel beyond the right field bleachers, but battery bay has grown on me a lot and made a strong impression, but the king IMO is Peril Point which is kind of an homage to Wilmington, DE and Fall River, MA with the battleships, the river, and the bridges. Also, the fact that the stadiums much like in real life have individual sound effects for after-strikeouts, runs scored, and homers is a nice touch. Well done Metalhead. EDIT: The sound effects for after-strikeouts, runs scored and homers are shared across all stadiums, not individually. Still a very nice touch.
• Crowd Sound effects: Considering I usually play "covid style" with no crowd sounds or crowd in the stands, I haven't really dove into the crowd effects outside of my first 3 games. But the random callouts from the crowd did start to grow on me a little bit, especially the one Rudy call out talking about having a Rudy moment and doing the famous chant and then switching to "loser, loser, loser" which was hysterical. Considering all manner of random things can be heard in banter at a baseball game, at first I thought it was annoying and random but it has grown on me. Well done.
• The umps: also throwing gameplay thought down in here as well because it fits with the umps, the strike zone. I hope a patch comes for this at some point because at no point at any time should a ball at eye level be called a strike, and that's been a consistent thing that's been happening. Now onto the actual umps, the extra stuff like "that's a strike and a half my friend" or other bs, just unnecessary. I get that this game is supposed to lean more towards the cartoony aspect but that's just excessive. Just call the game, if you want to have the extra bs have it come after a big strikeout or something like in 3.
• Hitting sound effects: these feel weird and random, and I get it again leaning towards the cartoony style, as well irl sometimes you'll have balls that don't sound like they were absolutely crushed but still end up going over the wall, and vice versa, but some of the extra wooshes and flying sound effects seem unnecessary, to fill in some blank space. Albeit I will say having a ball come off the bat sounds like it was absolutely crushed and that being the case, it is extremely satisfying. When it lands right it LANDS but most of the time, just seems excessive. It may grow on me but right now, not feeling it.
• Gameplay: If you liked how the game actually played in SMB 3 when you're actually playing the game, this one feels pretty much exactly the same, it's a bit smoother but some of the fielding plays feel random, especially dives on the infield where it feels a lot more like an actual risk to make a dive towards a ball, which for some people it may not be that big of a deal and it may also be pending on the ego you play at (I play at 80 Ego so take that how you may) but It's not too much a dealbreaker. However, what is weird and this may just be the one time it's happened but with the walls being that high at Whacker's Wheel, it should not be possible to rob a home run with how high the player models are able to jump but it has happened once in one of my games. wtf. The traits also add a new dimension to the game as well, especially the ones that play in the field. It adds a bit of strategy to the game as to when is it time to pull the noodle arm or when is it time to pull a pitcher to make sure he isn't going to get hurt from overuse, among other angles that can be taken to.
• EDIT: Two-way players, specifically pitchers: If you're going to have two way players be a pitcher, just add the "Shohei" rule where if you want them to also act as the DH they can instead of having to leave the pitcher out of the lineup when playing with the DH, obviously it doesn't matter when you're playing without the DH but when you are, it can really, really screw up a lineup when a pitcher needs to come out of the game but you want to use him as a bat.

Overall and final thoughts, the one saving grace I will give Metalhead is that this is still an early release, as the actual "true" release is coming on Friday, and even then there is still time after that to fix a lot of the issues that have been plaguing the game with reported crashes, weird lighting glitches and a couple of gameplay glitches as well.
Would I call the game unfinished or just SMB 3 give and take edition? Honestly no, could the new stadiums and "legends" have just been made DLC for 3? Absolutely, especially considering the customization from what I've heard hasn't changed all that much, but it does appear that the engine is either new or got an overhaul, but there is definitely an air of not quite being finished and to see what direction the DLC's will go in the coming months outside of the 3 stadiums that those not playing the ballpark edition will have to grab as DLC for to play peril point and the other two that are coming, it'll be interesting.
As unfortunately expected, this game has split the community, which isn't entirely unexpected. I think it gives to say that despite Metalhead's promise that there was something for everybody and the hype that came into the game, someone was going to get screwed in the process, and that appears to have been the franchise/customization crowd. Of course, there are those who had their doubts about the new game as well as those who know what EA's reputation is and wish for nothing but the absolute worst for the company with good reason (speaking as somebody who was once a battlefield player, you don't have to dig that far to find the crap they've been up to) but while I don't trust EA, considering what metalhead has been able to do despite having the expectations and now living under the EA cloud, we can only wait and see.
Would I have still bought the ballpark edition pre-order at $60 knowing it would be this, probably not, but while this game does a lot to be desired, the core of the game itself, the gameplay is still there, but I can definitely understand the frustrations coming from the community too.

My sister has had two surgeries on her left knee. The first was for her ACL and the second was for ACL, MCL, and meniscus.
After recovering from the second surgery, she felt a pop while dancing followed by swelling and some instability. She has had four follow ups where the doctor palated her knee and performed drawer tests, telling her she just wasn't strong enough yet. She has reported pain, crepitus, and now has developed an issue in her contralateral foot. The doctor gave her insoles for this issue and told her if the grinding sound in her knee bothered her she could wear headphones while working out. She has been doing strength exercises, running and doing box jumps in PT.
After twelve months of worsening apain and telling me how she can't get across to her physician that something is wrong, her husband came to her appointment and demanded an MRI which the doctor finally ordered. It shows tricompartmental osteoarthritis, subchondral bone marrow edema, full-thickness chondral loss on multiple surfaces, as well as fissures and defects on the patella.
In my mind, the continuous reporting of pain and crepitus after a joint surgery should warrant more extensive testing than was performed. She actually asked the doctor to note specific things she said during appointments as she felt she wasn't being heard and wanted certain things documented. She has been told to consider legal action by friends and, in my mind, the doctor failed to conduct the appropriate diagnostic tests and it is possible that the knewly reported internal injuries to her knee could have been prevented or at least addressed earlier. It's possible that she is now looking at a knee replacement and they've been having her run and do box jumps.
Does this sound approachable from a legal standpoint? I've read studies on ACL reconstruction and the co-occuring osteoarthritis and chondral damage that results from malalignment. I know she'd have to prove further harm was done by him not diagnosing the issues appropriately and it may not be as simple as comparing pre- and post-surgical MRIs. With this, it is possible that some kind of intervention could have been done to help her.
Any input is welcome. I'd like to be as informed as possible as she is very frustrated and upset.

Kid's selling a felony on FB marketplace, claims car is like new, only run once or twice... so I reach out and ask a few questions: "tires are great, like brand new", "a few scratches on the chassis, but body is perfect", "smart 3s batteries like new, less than 5 charges on them" ... alright so it may be worth the $500 (with dual charger) and we schedule to meet up. I tell him to make sure both batteries are fully charged for the meet because I wanna see it run before I will hand over any cash... "Cool, no problem"
So we meet tonight in the Walmart parking lot. Body is scraped up (obviously ran more than twice) and when I said something about the pictures he's like "same car, I took the pics last year when I unboxed it" OK, but if you're going to sell it, why not take another picture of WHAT THE CAR YOU'RE TRYING TO SELL ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE? He's like "I did, those are pictures of THIS car". Whatever, I can't argue with a 17 year old so I take the body off and... F**K! Car's got the opposite of smart batteries, they're stupid! Soft cases and puffed out so they don't even lay flat. No adaptors in this car either, he cut off the ec5's and soldered on shit dean's connectors! I'm like WTF, you coulda warned me and he's like "didn't think about it, don't care, you want it or not?"
I'm pissed, but I'm there, so I say let's see it run. "Let's see the money first". Really? I told him I want to see it run before I consider giving anything for it... and he's like "if you can't show me the $500 I'm asking then you can fuck off, this isn't free play time" I was fuming, only had $155 on me, as it was mostly singles and fives, stack looked pretty fat - so I pulled it out quick and was like " $500 right here, happy? Run it" and stuffed the cash back in my pocket.
He's connecting batteries and I notice tires are bald so I'm like "you said they were like new, want to see the chat?". Kid goes "I don't give a shit about your chat, it is what it is, what you see is what you're going to get, got it?". Don't know what to say, but it's ready to go, so he just starts ripping it and ... Holy shit those felonies are AWESOME! Wish it had the handbrake, but that thing flew! Speed gear installed, I don't doubt it didn't hit the 90 they advertise on the box... LOVE it.
I'm like let me try that shit, and first he's like "nah" but I say no way I'm going to buy without the try.
He puts the controller on 50% and says "be careful". I run it to the corner of the parking lot, turn it around, and flip the controller back to 100%.
100% throttle, I sent it straight into the side of the building. "Oops! It didn't turn!" Car's in about 100 pieces and he's flipping out saying "You stupid asshole, I told you be careful... you just fucking bought that car"
"You lied about the car. It wasn't worth $500 before, and it certainly isn't worth $500 now. It was broken already, tires were shot, didn't turn... I'll give you 75 bucks for it but that's it"
$500
$80?
No you're paying $500
$85?
$500 or me and my brother kick your ass and take it.
Yup, kids brother was done shopping and just came out looking for him. Wanted to know what's going on and WTF happened to the car!
I waited while he told his side, tried to explain mine but brother man wasn't interested in hearing any more, says give him $400 and we'll call it even.
Can't do it, $100 is the most I'll pay, cars broke!
Y'all offended by the part where I explained how they jumped me, beat my ass, took my money from my pocket, and left me with the broken parts, so I skipped that part and replacing with the update: they apologized and giving my money back in school tomorrow! I get to keep the parts (and the butt kicking) but: Beef squashed!
Free Arrma (well, needs tires and chassis, but anyone who ran the felony can relate to needs tires, right!)
OP will not be making any new posts in thread as each post gets independently downvoted. But keep an eye out for existing posts to be updated at any time :)
<3 peace and love, bitches.

As discussed in my other thread here, TOTK runs much better on Linux than Windows. For people who aren't ready to make the jump and set up a whole linux partition, I wrote a guide that explains how to get this running on a USB Stick.
This will probably work better for people with AMD cards than Nvidia (i've never owned a nvidia card but people say that their linux support sucks and that their proprietary linux drivers are a pain in the ass or something like that? if anybody with nvidia gets this working, please comment).
The process beginning to end probably takes about 20 minutes if everything goes right (could be shorter if you're really adept at this stuff and your have a fast USB stick). Cautiously I'd budget about an hour for generally happy path and then infinite time if you run into issues, as is the case with linux.

1. Disclaimer

This is all at your own risk. Back up your Yuzu directory and especially your save files before doing anything like this. This works, but there is no guarantee of perfection or save files or the like not getting corrupted. Better safe than sorry.
Obviously this works on *my* machine, but no guarantees it will work on yours. We can improve it over time if you try and it doesn't work!
If you have any issues, please post in the comments and I’ll do my best to help and add to the guide. I’m sure a lot of this could be optimized & automated, but this is my first pass. Just getting it running will do. If you have comments, comment!
Also, there is another approach I remembered after I finished this guide, where you could use a tool called Wubi (Windows-based UBuntu Installer) that was previously an official project but continues on through community support here: https://github.com/hakuna-m/wubiuefi
This would allow you to install ubuntu into a file on your windows filesystem from windows and then boot into it, similar to the USB stick approach, but without the stick itself. Some of these instructions would still help here.

2. Create Ubuntu LiveUSB

Create an Ubuntu LiveUSB stick. Download the Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Image.
https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop/thank-you?version=22.04.2&architecture=amd64
Then Download Rufus: https://rufus.ie/en/
Use Rufus to install the Ubuntu ISO to your USB Drive. Set the Persistent partition size to be as large as possible. Everything else should be a fine default
The reason for choosing Ubuntu is their support for a Persistent LiveUSB, which lets us save files on the USB stick, session to session.

3. Boot from LiveUSB

Shut down Windows completely. This is so it deletes its hibernation file. Research and personal experience tells me that more recent windows builds don't delete their hibernation file no matter what, but if anybody knows more about this, please let me know. Here we will ask windows to completely shut down, and then depend on Linux to remove the hibernation file.
Open cmd as administrator and run:
shutdown /s /f /t 0
Reboot your computer. Do whatever your computer requires to boot from the LiveUSB (Press F12 while it posts or something like that, pick the USB Stick).
Click “Try or Install Ubuntu” and let it boot.

4. Mount your Hard Drive

Press the Windows key on your Keyboard or move your mouse to the top left corner of the screen, and open the “Terminal” app.
Insert the following into the terminal:
sudo gnome-text-editor /etc/fstab &
sudo mkdir /mnt/c
lsblk --output NAME,SIZE,FSTYPE,PARTUUID
An editor should open and the terminal should print out the partitions on your computer. Find the row which corresponds to your main C: drive Windows partition.
Now add a row to FSTAB that looks like the following, but replace the UUID number with the PARTUUID from the table in the terminal and replace ntfs with the FSTYPE (but likely ntfs):
PARTUUID=41c22818-fbad-4da6-8196-c816df0b7aa8 /mnt/c ntfs defaults,remove_hiberfile 0 1
Go back to your terminal and run
sudo mount -a
Now if you run the following command you should see your Windows drive
cd /mnt/c && xdg-open .
If your Switch ROMS or other game data is on another drive, repeat these instructions for each drive that you need to access.

5. Setup Swap

These are generic instructions to set up a swapfile on your C. Feel free to do otherwise if you know how, but this is the simplest way to get a swap running. Yuzu seems to love memory, so it’s good to have a copious swap.
Run this in the terminal. This will create a 16 GB swap. The chmod will probably fail as the mounted drive doesn't really support permissions and then mkswap and swapon will complain, but whatever. If you're light on space, you might be able to share the windows pagefile.sys or something like that, but that's above my paygrade.
sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/mnt/c/swap bs=1M count=16384
sudo chmod 0600 /mnt/c/swap
sudo mkswap /mnt/c/swap
sudo swapon /mnt/c/swap

6. Symlink your yuzu directory

The Yuzu folder will traditionally be at C:\Users\\AppData\Yuzu. Change the below if it is not.
ln -s /mnt/c/Users//AppData/Roaming/yuzu ~/.local/share/yuzu
Not sure if everybody will encounter this, but I found that my “temp” folder was causing me issues.
General clean-up
rm -rf ~/.local/share/yuzu/nand/temp/*
rm -rf ~/.local/share/yuzu/shade*
[I actually had to do the following work around for temp because of some weird issue I didn’t figure out]
mv ~/.local/share/yuzu/nand/temp ~/.local/share/yuzu/nand/temp2

7. Add Libfuse to Ubuntu

Run the following
sudo add-apt-repository universe
sudo apt install libfuse2
If you don't have internet because Ubuntu can't recognize your WIFI card (as I did), you can download the specific file you need here: https://mirror.umd.edu/ubuntu/ubuntu/pool/main/f/fuse/libfuse2_2.9.9-5ubuntu3_amd64.deb
and transfer it to your gaming rig on a USB card and then install it with
dpkg -ilibfuse2_2.9.9-5ubuntu3_amd64.deb

8. Backup fstab (and reboot instructions)

Your fstab will not persist in the system over reboots.
Backup the fstab to your home folder
cp /etc/fstab ~
When you restart the computer, you will have to run the following commands
sudo cp /home/ubuntu/fstab /etc/fstab
sudo mount -a
sudo swapon /mnt/c/swap

9. Open and configure Yuzu

Download the latest EA AppImage file from Pineapple
https://github.com/pineappleEA/pineapple-src/releases
Run the following (change the file name based on the version you download).
chmod a+x Linux-Yuzu-EA-3625.AppImage
./Linux-Yuzu-EA-3625.AppImage &
This should load and give you a normal Yuzu page. Point Yuzu to the directory containing your switch games. Configure your controller and settings and stuff. Verify that Yuzu picks up your patch version and mods.
Then run the game and reap the rewards!

Hey everyone!! This has probably been posted a bunch of times before but I couldn’t find anything specific about a cat pacing back and forth in front of the door of the bedroom.
I was instructed to keep her separate from the other cat we have. So I’m spending the night with her in another bedroom. She’s more awake now but not staying still or sleeping. She hasn’t had and food or water, neither used the litter box. The last time she had her food was last night at 11pm (it’s 7:10pm). I got her back at 1:30pm. She’s been pacing back and forth nonstop.
Does anyone have any tips on what I could do? I need to sleep, I work at midnight. She’s already jumped to the bed a couple of times and I’m concerned to leave her alone. My other cat isn’t helping either, he keeps meowing on the other side of the door. I’m getting annoyed :(

I just finished both my degree and about to finish my SE Bootcamp. My degree is unrelated to Tech, a magical communications degree. I was on and off with my degree and was on the path to do nursing, and then computer engineering, and then I went to the advisors to ask for the path of least resistance and found out that I could finish either an Econ degree or a Comms degree in the same amount of time, I did the Comms path. Around the same time I decided to finish the degree I started when I was 18 (now 26M).
The schedule I had for work required that I wake up at 3am to get on the highway for 45 mins to take a shot of preworkout and sling boxes and cases for 10 hours, to sit in traffic on the way back home and do it again the next day. I knew this was unsustainable. I had a friend, 24M who was making more than me, part time, as a software developer, specifically a WP dev. We had me up and talked about it, he said he believed I could do it and thats when he recommended Practicum, the bootcamp he tutored for.
I waited to start at a time where they were running a 30% off promo and i decided to join, with 0 coding experience. Back in 2020 i had purchased Colt Steele's complete web dev bootcamp on Udemy where it laid untouched for 2 years. I don't have a strong 'technical' background. I took mathematics as a necessity and decided against a computer engineering degree after flunking my first Engineering Calc test (didn't think Precalc was terrible but actual Calc is demonic.) I write well enough, 'speak' several languages (one of them ASL hence the quotes) but any logical thinking outside of general philosophizing of literature was gone.
When I started Practicum I was surprised with how thorough and fun the information was presented. You start with a small history and context behind what you're doing and then you learn some HTML, the markup language of everything web related. After that you learn some Styling via CSS and then you are prompted to create a small webpage with an 'About me'. That was powerful. Like its something you produced with something you learned that had a tangible output.
The curriculum is straight forward. You learn markup and styling for a few months, as CSS can be very robust, and then comes JavaScript. JavaScript was my crux initially. That is what real programming is. Respect it, take your time with it, because the next 2 months it will become your religion. I thought it was the end of my journey but then through practice it clicked. Its honestly just practice at that point.
Then after you start to grasp vanilla JS you learn a library called REACT, developed by Meta (I still prefer to call them FaceBook but I'll be accurate here). React is fun, and sexy. You can really start to enjoy the practice of writing components and not just vanilla JS. Files of pure JS end up looking terse and messy so even though you learn the principles of Object Oriented Programming you build on that foundation with component based architecture via REACT.
You then learn Node JS and Express and start to make API calls and write your own servers and then you develop your own Fullstack application. By then you have a decent portfolio.
​
If you stuck this far thank you and here are further recommendations for anyone still here. If you do decide to make that jump you need to take some time and BUILD things. Build things that interest you. I didn't think I wanted to build anything and now I get ideas all of the time and now I have the power to do so. I programmed my own bot to crawl a webpage and check out a certain product using Node JS (I didn't contribute to the PS5 shortage). I am now doing a Text to Speech app using GPT 3s engine and the Whisper API + Google's Text to speech API. I want to build something that I could talk to and have it spit things back at me.
You may also wonder what the job outlook is and if you could actually get a job with a bootcamp. The answer is a resounding yes. I just hit my 90 days at my first tech company. I got the job well before I finished Practicum (I finish this month). I also got the job before I got my Comms degree (finished 2 Saturdays ago). I am now working on getting various certs (AWS and Salesforce mostly. I would like about 10 by next March).
If you feel inspired by anything I wrote I hope that you would at least consider taking a bootcamp. If you were on the fence about it I hope to some degree I could have swayed you to try it. Practicum has a free 1 week pre-course for any of their programs if you wanted to try it out. I'm a very 'Just do it' (Shai LaBouf style) type of guy. If you worry about the price they run 15-30% off promotions during the different holidays (or if you reach out to me privately I have a 40% off promo code connected to my name). If you're a woman there's also a woman who code scholarship that I've seen a few people use (I don't know how much that is but it may be worth looking into). There's also a money back guarantee if you don't get a job after 6 months which is a good safety net for anyone wondering. If you are STILL here and have any questions feel free to respond to this post or message me privately.
Thank you 🙏 .

So I've always always always wanted to write anime/adult action fictional animation or what ever you call anime in America and I finally have an opportunity to get it problem is I have writers block kinda I have an episode that I keep retuneing and I'm worried that it's not good and I keep getting it's great it's good blaa blaa blaa I want some actual critical feed back and I can't get it sooooooooooooooooo people of reddit what do you think it's a rough rough and I can't not stress rough draft so I'm not looking for spelling or grammer just tell me if it catches your eye puts that need to watch more like Naruto (my favorite anime) or erased something that your curious about well tell me your thoughts (extremely nervous)
Ps
Sorry if it's a long read
Episode 1 Scene 1 breaking the forth wall
setting Black screen with a desk and chair facing the camera
Action: Anthony walks up to the desk sits down and looks at the screen.
Anthony: Hello viewers im anthony origins and im going to be your main star.
action: Jelani walks in from off-screen
Jelani: Anthony what the (beep) wait did you just (beep) censor me
Anthony: we want kids to watch this we cant have language like that on my show
Jelani :your show wait, first fix this (beep) second your not the only main characters here what about kradon and me were in the scrpit like twice
Anthony: your right, but no one wants to see y'all they want to see me and all my glory
action kradon walks in from off screen
kradon are you guys seriously arguing about the scrpit again, the viewer doesn't care just get to the show already
jelani fine fine fine im out
anthony what do you mean your out you cant just leave
jelani says who I got two feet I can walk off this screen and disappear no one would even know
anthony you already appeared on screen there no special cameos your not famous enough for that (beep)
jelani im the freaking CEO of fighting wombat productions roll the intro
action play fighting wombats intro then record skip noise anthony interrupts
anthony that doesn't mean anything
jelani means I do what I want now now fix this (beep) so we can start the show and get rid of the got damn sensor this isn't no telly tubby bull (beep)
action kradon and jelani walk off-screen
anthony sighs fine fuck it
scene one:the dream
setting :Anthony origins ,Collier Zorgata, Jelani (last name) each in there own house having simulator nightmares of a baby crying in and out black and white figures stand over the baby the room shakes the figures flash and Anthony Collier and Jelani wake up
baby Jelani,Anthony,Collier:crying noise
faded male voice: we have to do something
faded female voice: we should take them and run
faded voice father: that wont be necessary
Action:flash of green light figures disappear
faded voice father: now take your medicine
Action:needle starts to move to the baby
Scene 2: wake up its school
settings: in the rooms of Anthony Jelani,Collier they hop waking up from there dream three pan of all three characters laying up in there bed each do individual starching Collier disappears
pan to Collier rolling off his roof landing in a bush
Collier: (yells as he rolls of the roof)
action: Collier stands up
Collier : what... the fuck... where am I
action: Collier looks at his door and starts knocking
guy walking by: looks like your missing something there aren't ya
action: Collier looks down at his body and starts knocking again
Collier: Ma! let me in!
action Colliers mom opens the door:
Collier mom: how did you get out here
Collier I don't even know just let me in
action Collier walks in the house and closes the door
pan: over to Anthony walking out of his restroom door
action:Anthony grabs his coat and fixes it on to his body and starts to walk down the stairs little partial start to stick to his hand as he holds the pole of his stair case ill sparks of electricity fly through his hand Anthony jumps in pain
Anthony: ow what the fuck
Anthony mom: watch your mouth
Anthony: sorry mom I just got zapped by something
Anthony mom: doesnt excuse language well get out of here you don't want to start your senior year on a bad note now do you
Anthony: o yeah the joys of school Anthony mom: don't be a prick
Anthony: (laughs) cya mom
action Anthony walks out the front door
pan over to Jelani walking out of front door
Jelani begins walking to school and a dog walks by him he stops and pets the dog takes out some of his lunch gives it the dog
Jelani: you need bath Little man its wrong how people treat dogs like old toys you deserve a bath let your coat shi..(phone rings)
action jelani answers his phone
Collier: hey where are you
Jelani: in never land with peter pan
Collier: well Wendy called and said its time for class
Jelani: yeah yeah I'm almost there give me a bit
Collier: were in front of the school
Jelani: what do you need permission or something go to class
Collier: you have my text book remember
Jelani: o awkward.. okay ill be there in like 2 minutes
Collier alright see you th---...hello
pan to Anthony and Collier
Anthony: hung up on you
Collier: yeah, as is tradition. would it kill him for once to actually end the conversation properly?
Anthony: Well you know Jelani. what will be the chances of him doing that
Collier (sighs)
action: Jelani runs up to them
Jelani: here take your book
Collier: thanks now lets get to class
pan to Jelani Collier and Anthony walking up to the school doors and see three guys in the background
action: Vince lifts his hand and ice partials lift out of his hand and freeze the door handles
action Jelani turns in anger
Jelani: and this day started off so well
Collier: Vince get rid of the ice were running late
action: Vince walks up to Collier:
vince: come again? I don't think I heard a "Please?"
Anthony: if you need a please I'm pleased to show you what my fist does to your face
Vince: o we have ill hero here how about I freeze your face see brave you are then
action Anthony gulps
Jelani jumps in front of Vince and Anthony and pushes Vince off
Jelani: lets all calm,down no reason to get testy here Vince
Vince: so your gonna be a hero too huh Jelani
action: Vince moves forward towards Jelani
Jelani: get back Vince
Vince: aw what happen to all that bravery you just had hmm
Jelani: Vince I said get back action: Jelani shoves Vince and gets pushed back against the door the ice around the door shatters Vince gets knocked in to his friends and falls to the ground
Anthony: what the hell was that
Collier who cares the doors open lets go
action: the three of them run in to the building and down the hall they stop at the end of the hall Anthony stops and catch's his breath
Anthony:what the hell what was that Jelani
Jelani: o yes I'm a fucking Wikipedia on how gene x works
Collier: are you guys forgetting were late for class
Anthony: shit your right. okay we will talk about this at lunch lets go
Collier: yup Jelani: yeah whatever
action: Jelani Isaiah and Collier split up
pan over to Collier turning down the hall
Collier man I got to drop the kids off at the pool first before I go to class.
action camera shows the restroom Collier runs in to the restroom and slams in to the stall show Colliers face he closes his eyes
Collier: ahh there we go
action poop sounds
girl: ahh what the hell are you doing
action: Collier opens his eyes
setting: female locker room
girl: o my gosh it smells like shit ! what are you doing in her get out get out get out
Collier : Ahh! What the flip! I''m so sorry! I have no idea how the hell I got in here
action: Collier pulls his pants up and runs in to the female shower by accident
women: you pervert get out girls only
action hitting sounds and splashing around show Collier going back down the hallway in the opposite direction pan to him out side the door of the women's restroom
Collier Oowww... What da-fuq is going on?
pan over to Jelani
settings art class each student had a canvas in front of them
teacher: okay for our next project I want your best depiction of your spirt animal what animal speaks to your heart
Jelani: sighs I have the imagination of a dog chasing his tail this is gonna be a long class
action Jelani starts to draw on the canvas and rips the paper out continues this process 3 times before slamming his head and hand on the canvas pant splats on it
Jelani: lunch couldn't come any sooner what I wouldn't do for a hot dog right now
action: the paint swirls above Jelani and a hot dog appears above him
Jelani: better yet a pizza
action the paint swirls again and a pizza appears above Jelani
Jelani: god I can almost taste it
action a pizza appears in his mouth Jelani spits it out on to the floor
Jelani: the fucking fuck?
action: Jelani runs out to the restroom knocking over a bowl of art supply's
teacher jela...(Jelani)
action: Jelani rushes out the door and in to a restroom Vince watch's him enter Jelani splash's his face with water
Jelani: okay its all right think what could this be
action Vince walks In
Vince well well well look who's all alone
Jelani: Vince, I don't have time for this
action Jelani starts to turn around
Vince: is that so
action Vince snaps fingers and freezes the sink with Jelani hand still attached and grabs him by the neck
Vince: well lets make sometime
Jelani: okay but I don't think it's gonna be very enjoyable for you
action: Jelani steps on his foot and head buts him and kicks him to the ground
Jelani: now what now what now what
action Jelani looks at the ice
Jelani: break break break
action Jelani closes his eyes a flash of ice breaking appears
action: the ice crumbles in to the sink Jelani faces back to Vince he starts to stand up and gets to his feet
Vince: look who has a ill fight in him
action: Vince slams his arms in to Jelani's shoulders forcing him to the ground
Vince: and the fight is gone
action: Jelani falls to the ground a hazy camera of Jelani looking at a stall
Jelani(inner voice) damn that hurt
action: Jelani starts to crawl to the stall and lifts his hand to pull his self up Vince reaches down and picks up Jelani and lifts him against the stall door and lifts a frost fist behind him Jelani looks at the door and notices a loosen screw instantly imagines the screw stopping his fist and closes his eyes then opens them seeing that it has happened they both exclaim shocked
(Jelani & Vince) wha..(what)
action: Vince continues to force his fist at Jelani Jelani smirks
Jelani: now that were on equal terms
action: Jelani lifts his other hand a pulse flashes out of his hand pushing Jelani and Vince in opposite directions Jelani lands on the stall and hits his back on the toilet metal pump
Jelani: okay ouch :(action says while standing up )
action: Vince stands up anger is shown on his face the sprinklers turn on the water starts to freeze as it falls to the floor the fire alarm goes off
(10 minutes earlier) text appears
pan over to Anthony
teacher: okay class we have used water to demonstrate the 3 states of matter solid liquid and gas now our last experiment will be with fire to create the forth state of mater also known as plasma and just to add a lil twist we will use a copper to creating a blue flame
action: show Anthony drooling on the lab desk
teacher: your gonna have to be paying full attention because this is a highly (action teacher points at Anthony and makes a shoving motion the student next to Anthony nudges him to wake him up Anthony head pops up and looks around in confusion) dangerous exper.... (experiment)
teacher: welcome back to the land of the living Anthony ready to join the rest of us
action: Anthony yawns
Anthony: o please do go on I'm so intrigued the excitement
teacher: (action the teacher stares at isaiah annoyed) as i was saying ....umm.. o. This is a highly dangerous experiment so pay attention
action: show Anthony dosing off
teacher okay first grab your copper out of the element box and put it in to the beaker now take the syringe and spray water on to the copper this loosen the heavy salts changing its mass from a solid to a gas only gases can become a flame
action Anthony eyes starts to close and he starts to see ill dots all around the copper
teacher this also starts to release hydrogen in to the beaker now turn on your electric heater
action a charge drips off Anthony lip shocking the heater
teacher: as the molecules starts to heat up the hydrogen ignites from the oxygen in the air
action Anthony eyes start to slight widen the partials ignite and trail of blue flames go on to his hand the student next to him jumps
student: Fire Fire!! action Anthony jumps out his seat
Anthony what where
student fire its on your pants
action Anthony jumps up swiping at the fire the fire discharges from his hands and hits the floor Anthony runs to a safety shower spout and reaches to turn it on the water turns on and swirls around his body
Anthony: the fires not going out help me
action a student runs to Anthony the fire starts to heat and a discharge of electricity shoots out the fire and swirls around his body Anthony lifts his hand
Anthony: wait don't stay back its dangerous
a bolt of energy shoots out his hand and through the window Anthony runs out the room as a trail of electricity fire and water swirl behind him students follow behind him as the three elements start to dissipate the fire alarm goes off
pan to Jelani
action:a wave of ice freezes the water up to the toilet Jelani back clides with the stall wall
jelani: I need to get out of here
action: the wall turns in to a door and jelani rush out of the door and in to the hallway as vince blast a beam of ice in to the stall freezing the entire thing vince turns to jelani as each drop of water from the sprinklers freeze as it clides and shatters as it reaches the ground jeans stares down at vince since takes a pill out of his pocket and pops it in his mouth ice drips off of vinces body
vince: you and your friends judge me for using these phantom pills and look who's secretly a little druggy jelani
jelani: I'm not a degenerate like you vince Idk how I have these ability but anything I imagine happens so let's do this
action: Vince releases a breath of ice out the screws of the restroom stalls start to fly off of the its Henge blocking vince ice breath then the screws start flying off hitting vince over and over in different spots
vince: enough!
action: vince freezes the air and all the screws fall to the ground
vince: I'm done playing with you jeans
jelani: too far
action: vince starts to send waves of ice at jelani freezing jelanis leg to the wall and vince freezes jelanis arms and other leg jelani closes his eyes
jelani: cardboard cardboard cardboard
action: the wall behind jelani starts to glow and and forms flimsy cardboard as vince charges a large partial of ice in his hands and releases it as jelani falls through the wall and in to the a locker in the hallway bumping his head on the locker door
jelani : sighs great now I'm in a locker
action teens run down the hall way passing Jelani in the locker Collier bumps against a girls butt the girl punches him and he falls to the ground
girl you creep don't touch me. Sneaking in the girls restroom yuk
Collier:Wait no its not like that, I swear I have no idea how I got in there!
girl what ever
action: girl continues running down the hall
Collier: seriously
Jelani: I'm almost to happy Im stuck in here to hear that
Collier: Jelani what are you doing in there
Jelani: well this is my comfort spot I come in here to contemplate out how to solve world hunger, bring world peace, What the fuck do you think im doing in here im stuck , you idijt!!!
Collier: you know it would be real easy for me to continue down my merry way
Jelani and id like to wish on your merry way good sir,but, if you would be so kind to GET ME OUT THE BLOODY LOCKER that would be greeeaattt
Collier sighs hold on hold on
Jelani: o please do take your time
Collier its not like im a master lock picker
Jelani o
Collier what
Jelani nothing keep going
action unlock noise
Collier : there we go
Jelani yay we did it
action Collier opens the door Jelani walks out the locker
Jelani no need to dwell. shall we?
Collier dude there's a latch on the door. You could've gotten yourself outta there yourself.
Collier shows Jelani the latch on the locker and demonstrates how it works
Jelani I don't know what your talking about(says quickly) (action continues walking)
action Collier shakes his head and continues down the hallway both head outside of the door camera shows them walking down a tiny stare way the girls turn and stare at Collier
Jelani what was that about
Collier the reason im going to stay single my whole high school year Jelani o and you and the closet being mighty tight wasn't gonna do that
action Collier looks at Jelani
Collier whatever lets find Anthony you know how he gets around fire
action Collier starts walking looking around
Jelani well I think this is just a drill judging that everyone not screaming and going crazy
Collier yeah I guess. I see him over there in the back
action Collier and Jelani approach Anthony
Collier hey Anthony h..(how)
action Anthony grabs Jelani and Collier and pull them to the side
Anthony shut up listen that goes double for you Jelani
Jelani no promises
Anthony I did this I started the fire I don't know how but I got Gen X in my system im shooting electricity starting fire controlling water and there are dots all In the air im loss...(losing)
Jelani wait you too
Anthony what are you talking about
Jelani I fought Vince with the ability to I don't know make stuff from nmmy imaginationtion
Anthony we need to go to the tent and figure this out
action Anthony and Jelani run off
Collier first day of school and already ditching
action Jelani turns around
Jelani are you contemplating the universe or something come on!
Action Jelani turns back towards Anthony and continues running Collier starts running
setting the tent
action Anthony walks up to the tent and flings the doors open Jelani walks in be hind him Collier continues be hind him Anthony turns around
Anthony show me
Jelani well take me out to dinner first this show ain't free
Anthony the ability man the ability
jelani mmmm hmm im just sayin if i hear some baby making music im out
action jelani closes his eyes and nothing happens
Anthony: performance exiade
action jelani moves his dreads from his face and looks at Anthony
jelani: god I hate these things and I'd how this works I was running off of instanct I wasn't thinking about it it was all reaction
Anthony try again
action: jelani moves his dreads away from his face
jelani : I'm not a trained monkey I don't know how this works
action jelani moves his dreads from his face
jelani god I hate these things when there untwisted
collier you should just cut them off 3 hours to just twist seems like a lot of work
jelani: and look like you too no hair no real style just bound screw that I can't even imagine my hair gone just picturing that
action while jelani says that he shutters and his hair starts to glow and his hair turns short and in a fade
jelani sends chills down my spine now shut up I have to focus
action isaiah starts laughing
jelani: will you shut up
action a sandwich appears in his hand
Anthony instant manifestation fascinating
Jelani I showed you mine show me yours
Anthony I don't know how to do mine it happened on its own he was talking about how chemical reaction work and I rubbed my fingers together and there was a flame emitted on the copper
Jelani well you know how it happened try it
Anthony there's no copper her
Collier do you still see those particles
Anthony yea there's some in the air and there's lil ones all on the ground
Collier snap your fingers
action Anthony snaps nothing happens
Anthony may be it was just my imagination
Jelani yeah flames always just magically appear on metal
action Anthony rubs hand against his head and closes his eyes a discharge trail trickles down his body and jumps around the air and dissipates as it approaches Collier Collier and Jelani jump back
Anthony I don't know man
action Anthony opens his eyes
Collier woo wooo
action Collier disappears and a clone sits in his place and the charge erupts in to the clones body
Anthony o my god Collier
Jelani you just turned Collier in to a baked potato what the hell man
Collier ummm help me
action Anthony and Jelani looks up and see Collier hanging by a type wire
Anthony just drop we will catch you
Collier yeah like you guys are fucking the most reliable source in a game of catch but I have an idea
action Collier lets go
Anthony what the hell are you doing
Jelani you dumb fuck
action Collier disappears and a clone takes his place when it gets close to the ground it vanishes in mid air Collier runs up be hind Anthony and grabs his shoulder
Collier I CAN FUCKING TELEPORT!!!
Anthony and clone your self wait whats that
show more particles in the air
Jelani what is it
Anthony there's a concentration of those lil dots I was talking about comeing from the door
action Jelani walks too the door and gets Spartan kicked in to the room Vince walks in pulling the door open showing him and 3 other boys
Vince whats up motha fuckas rematch and I brought friends as
Episode 1 end

Description
Magolor is a tricky character who tries to attack his foes from a distance but can get up close and personal. Magolor has a mechanic in his Combo Meter, where the more times he hits his foes in quick succession without getting hit, he gets more Magic Points, which charge his Magic Meter. With a full Magic Meter, Magolor can press B to shoot a large beam forward when on the ground, or open a black hole above himself when used in the air.
Mechanics Overview
Weight: 79
Walk: 1.2
Dash: 2
Jumps: 5
Air Speed: 1.3
Fall Speed: 1
Crawl: n
Wall Jump: n
Wall Cling: n
Moveset
Move
Description
Damage
Extra Notes
Magic Circle
Jab
Magolor punches twice which leads to a rapid jab of him spinning a magic circle in front of him
Starcutter
Dash Attack
Magolor charges forward in an orb-shaped shield
Bomb Ralley
F-Tilt
Magolor swings a frying pan in front of himself. This can reflect projectiles
Egg Catcher
U-Tilt
Magolor tosses an egg into the air and catches it. If used three times in succession he starts to juggle them. The eggs have a chance of being bombs
Ninja Dojo
D-Tilt
Magolor tosses a ninja star forwards. This attack is spammable
Mighty Magic Bomb
F-Smash
Magolor throws a giant bomb directly in front of himself that explodes, the size increasing with the charge
Upward Magic Sphere
U-Smash
Magolor shoots two spheres above him, charge activates Upward Revolution Flame
Double Needles
D-Smash
Magolor summons a needle on either side of him. The charge increases the number from 1 to 2 to 4, with them getting bigger the further out they go
Flare Beam
N-Air
Magolor spins in mid-air surrounded by energy
Ultra Sword
F-Air
Magolor summons a large sword that he slashes in front of him
Snow Bowl
B-Air
Magolor shoots out a large snowball behind him, if this comes into contact with a platform, it will roll along it
Monster Flame
U-Air
Magolor summons a dragon-shaped flame that spirals above him
Grand Hammer
D-Air
Magolor pulls out a hammer and slams it into the ground, going downward in the process
Egg Grab
Grab
Magolor grabs the opponent
Gem Apple
Pummel
Magolor smacks the caught foe with a Gem Apple
Fiery Puff
F-Throw
A portal opens between Magolor and the foe and a wave of fire spews out
Hydra Wrath
B-Throw
Magolor spins around throwing the foe behind him, and a portal opens where an orb of water hits the foe, knocking them further
Doomer Call
U-Throw
Magolor throws the foe in the air, and a portal opens above him that a Doomer flies out of in a loop, hitting the foe
Elec-tricky
D-Throw
A portal opens above the foe where a lightning bolt strikes them, burying them
Magic Sphere
Neutral Special
Magolor shoots out up to 3 magical spheres, with the 3rd being bigger and going farther. If charged for a bit, this becomes 3 Revolution Orbs, increasing range and size, and when charged for longer it becomes the Revolution Flame, also increasing range and size
Magolor Surge
Side Special
Magolor dashes forward, if the arrow stick is still pointed and the button is pressed again Magolor can do up to 2 more. If the jump button is pressed Magolor stops the surge with a burst
Dimensional Vanish
Up Special
Magolor quickly teleports in the chosen direction.
Gem Apple Bombs
Down Special
Magolor tosses a Gem Apple bomb in front of himself, which detonates on its own after 6 seconds increasing in size depending on time. Only one bomb can be out at a time. Magolor can detonate it sooner with another Down B
Another Dimension
Final Smash
Magolor opens a portal and sends the foes into Another Dimension. A cinematic plays where they are bombarded by enemies before Magolor appears riding the Lor Starcutter, jumps off, and slashes the foes with the Ultra Sword
Miscellaneous
Entrance: Magolor appears in a magic, star-shaped portal
Idle #1: Magolor waves his hands around in a circular motion
Idle #2: Magolor scratches his head as he looks around
Side Taunt: Magolor puts on a random mask, before taking it off with a giggle
Up Taunt: Magolor juggles 3 Gem Apples
Down Taunt: Magolor looks at his hands, then clenches them as magical aura surrounds him
Victory 1: Magolor spins around with his arms out, then salutes the camera
Victory 2: Magolor juggles 5 Gem apples
Victory 3: Magolor descends down, slowly clapping
Lose: Magolor claps
Alts: 1/2 are his normal look, 3/4 are a Kirby Clash alt costume, 5/6 are an Epilogue alt costume, and 7/8 are a Manager Magolor alt costume
1: Normal
2: Traitor
3: Kirby Clash
4: Marx
5: Epilogue
6: SOUL
7: Manager
8: Starcutter
Stage: Halcandra
Boxing Ring Title: Far-Flung Traveler
Palutena Guidance:
Pit: Who’s this little guy?
Palutena: That’s Magolor, he is a traveler of dimensions, but also a powerful wizard.
Pit: He can’t be that dangerous, he looks so… egg-like!
Viridi: Do NOT compare him to an egg, Pit, that’s MY thing.
Palutena: Magolor also betrayed Kirby and his friends to steal the Master Crown.
Palutena: After Kirby defeated him, he was stuck in Another Dimension where he had to regain his magic and destroy the Master Crown to atone for his misdeeds.
Pit: Jeez, the little guy’s been through a lot… is he on good terms with Kirby at least?
Viridi: Yeah, I heard he opened an amusement park.
Palutena: Anyway, Pit, be sure to not let Magolor combo you, that’s how he charges his magic Meter. If that gets full, he can unleash a devastating attack.
Pit: No problem, I’ll just attack him to end the combo, then scramble him!
Viridi: Yeah, if he doesn’t scramble you first!
Pit: Hey!
Classic Mode: Ally or A Lie?- Characters who lie in the grey area of the moral spectrum
Dark Pit
Bowser
Mewtwo
Wario
Bayonetta
Meta Knight
Bonus Round
Marx

Revolutions start small. An extra power choice here, some alternate animations or rock guitar sound effects there. And the developers overseeing this being available to talk to. Thunderspy offers you more choices while keeping an eye on game balance. Thunderspy has helped other servers with technical challenges ensuring you have more choices there too. No one on Thunderspy will tell you that you can't look like a trademarked character or how to RP. Come to Thunderspy offers more choices. We're sexy and we know it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHUSh4QuBB0
Economy part 2 picture essay https://imgur.com/a/iWV2TJL
Hello again everyone! This is Agreeable-Teach4496 bringing you up-to-date with changes on the Thunderspy server. This time it's a big topic! Power pools with a side of Anchor Toggles ! Now to do this right I'm going to include tweaks done after the date shown AND some changes done prior.

Power pools

Baseline changes.

• On Thunderspy you can have up to 5 pool powers. This is an increase from the limit of 4 in the base game.
• We also did away with prerequisite power picks. (No more needing to take Boxing if you want Tough or Weave.) Still need to be of correct level though.

Power pool attack changes.

• All power pool attacks reviewed and adjusted to follow damage formulas. Resulting mostly in buffs across the board, but a few got nerfed (Utility belt cone was out of whack.)
• Single target attacks in origin power pools (Sorcery, Gadgetry, Force of Will, Utility Belt, and Experimentation) have been set to 8 second recharge and scale 1.64 damage. Any that had DoT effects have had their DoTs sped up to do the same total damage in half the time.

Fighting pool

• Due to the damage buffs that Boxing, Kick, and Cross Punch have received the synergy buffs were made inherent and are not separately represented.
• New variant powers. Weapon Strike, Weapon Slam, and Weapon Swing allow you to use melee weapons. Customization includes all options available to Broadsword/Axe/Mace.
• Boxing and Kick now have a selection of new animations to choose from taken from Street Justice, Martial Arts, Super Strength, and Savage Melee.

Flight

• Air Superiority. Rebalanced recharge scale from 4 seconds to 8 seconds. (60% Damage/End cost increase.)
• Hover no longer turns off other fly powers. Adjusted Fly speed and removed Fly speed penalties. Added additional defense that deactivates when Weave is active.

Jumping

• Jump Kick. Rebalanced recharge scale from 2.8 seconds to 8 seconds. (63% Damage/End cost increase.)
• Combat Jumping no longer toggles off other Jumping powers, but locks out Intangibility.

Concealment

• Stealth no longer has movement speed penalties and does not detoggle other concealment powers.
• Grant Invisibility is now an AOE power with reduced visual translucency.
• Intangibility now locks out Combat Jumping.
• Phase Shift's Nophase lock out now only applies in PvP.
• Misdirection's cooldown reduced from 4 minutes to 2 minutes.

Experimentation

• Experimental injection cooldown reduced from 3 minutes to 2 minutes.

Leadership

• Victory Rush can now slot Recharge enhancements.

Medicine

• Aid Self cast time reduced from 3.3 seconds to 1 second. 1 second time is still interruptible.
• Aid Other had range increased to 40 feet. Cast time reduced to 1 interruptible second.

Teleportation

• TP Foe removed protection for Player targets.
• Team Teleport recharge reduced from 1.5 seconds to 0.

Anchor Toggles

Spore Cloud, Snow Storm, Radiation Infection, Enervating Field, Darkest Night, Disruption Field

• Effects now activate immediately upon toggling on.
• Effects now linger for 5 seconds after being detoggled.
• Once toggled on they ignore maximum range.
• Most have had their animation time sped up to the lowest possible.
• Older note. On Thunderspy you can place anchor toggles on pets or teammates.

Next time, VEATS!

I’m sitting here at the car wash. My car randomly died. No idea why. Hasn’t given me any troubles.
Asked about 10 people for jumps, no one has cables. I had self self-jump box but forgot I gave them to my ex-girl a while back. An ex girl who would’ve stopped everything she had going on to come help me. She was ALWAYS there for me in my time of need, no matter what it was. She can’t say the same. I was a horrible fucking man. And now as I sit in my car waiting for the tow man to come jump me for $100 (wtf) all I can do is somberly say to myself, you fucking idiot, you had a life partner and amazing one but all you did is hurt her and she’s finally gone for good. She’s in the skies and you’re in the dirt. Serves me right.

This has been a really uncomfortable realization to come to, but I don't really have anywhere else to talk about it. I (25F) don't know what's going on with my friend (23F), but over the last few years they've really become a strikingly different person. There are 2 main ways that this has manifested that weigh on me the most.
Mostly, whenever they ask for solutions to a problem or discussion on something, they stonewall and tell me I'm wrong, and then lecture me on why I'm wrong, but then will seemingly agree with whatever anyone else says.
Example: In the past month we've been planning for a trip to a fair where we're sharing a table, and the friend who offered to drive said that he was worried his car might stall while driving through a particular stretch of the trip. I suggested we all get together and rent a car for the weekend, to alleviate that concern. Their exact words were, "Oh, so you're rich? You have all the money to do that? Wow!" And I just went, "No, I was thinking we would split it. I'm just concerned about the possibility that we'll get stalled somewhere." (I calculated it, and for the time and distance, it would be $75 per person, even cheaper depending on which company we used.) And then proceeded to spend an hour telling me that that was a stupid idea, it's an unnecessary expense, and that by asking them to tell me what we'll do if our friend's car DOES stall I'm making them anxious "for something they've never considered before." I just gave up. (They then suggested we rent a car about 3 weeks later anyway, saying if we all pitch in, it's cheap!)
This was about a month ago, but since then they seem to stonewall me whenever I suggest or critique anything.
The more recent problem is them telling me repeatedly they find my expression of attraction disgusting. We're both queer people; they're not attracted to men, and I am. On the surface, they're like, "You shouldn't tell people their attraction is wrong, they can't help it!" But when I say a certain celebrity or person I've seen on TikTok is attractive, they react like I've just tazed them and tell me that it's "exhausting." They even went so far as to say, "Are you really bisexual? You never talk about being attracted to women, you only ever talk about men." (I have never questioned their lack of sexual attraction, or their romantic attraction to women.)
Example: I said I thought a streamer I had recently followed was good-looking, and he's funny, so I was starting to develop a little Parasocial Crush on him. They felt the need to remind me that he's a lot older than me, and then said if I were to ever pursue a relationship with someone that old they will never speak to me again, in the most serious tone I've ever gotten from them.
Another example: Me and our other friend will often throw jokes back and forth that get kind of blue. This friend will start screaming, "NO!!! NO!!!!" and then say that they're leaving the call/jumping out of the cagoing home. This is their reaction to anything from mild innuendo to that is actually objectionable to someone else.
Then there's just the general lack of compassion.
Example: In our Discord server, we have a channel just for talking about serious stuff (deaths, illness, etc.). I've been trying to deal with my fear of dying alone. I know that, logically, this is irrational. But early childhood trauma (that continued into early adulthood) really cemented that thought pattern in my brain, so occasionally normal logic fails and I start getting really depressed. My friend started taking me talking about this as an invitation to make fun of me, and tell me that I'm being "so dramatic" and "it feels like I have a problem every other day!" When I told them to knock it off, they said, "I'm just trying to show you not to take things so seriously. I'm not taking it seriously, so why should you?"
Another example: I've been trying to get my license so I'm not so dependent on everyone to drive me places. I feel horrendously guilty taking up so much of my friends' time when I do. My friend has now taken to reminding me that other people are driving when we go places or hang out, and it's not up to me to decide how far is too far. I just had it and said, "Okay, so when I get my car, I'm not taking you anywhere." (At that point we had already been beefing on whether to go get this game they've been begging me to get, and they had been stonewalling me AND our friend who offered to drive the whole time, so I was just over it.) To which they said, "Wow, your mean jokes read even worse over text."
I was beginning to think that I'm just my friend's punching bag, and that somewhere down the line they got the idea that it's fine to treat me like this. But then they talked about how hard they were trying to be a better person (in relation to something else, I can't remember exactly), so I thought maybe I was just being overly sensitive. Then I went on an errand run with our other friend, who then said (without me having brought up what I'm feeling) that this was happening to them too. I felt really sad, because nobody should be getting treated like that by a friend, but a little relieved because I was beginning to think I was going crazy.
The real breaking point was earlier today, when I asked if doing a niche box of curated items would be a good idea (kind of like the ones people do where they roll a polyhedral die for each item). Their response was (essentially), "Well, nobody knows who you are. How can they trust you?" They then likened what I proposed without already having a consumer-base and brand recognition to someone scamming people for commissions (accepting payment and a product without showing anyone their other work). I didn't bother to tell them that a personal book recommendation isn't the point. It's the novelty of having a box compiled completely by chance, surrounded around a central theme. It didn't feel like they would have listened anyway.
I have no idea how to proceed with this. I've told them before how uncomfortable their behavior makes me, and they told me that either I'm too sensitive or they didn't mean to step on my toes. I'm just really tired. I thought I was over this. For God's sake, I'm 25. Don't people eventually stop behaving like petty children? Making and keeping friends as an adult is already difficult. I don't need this to make it even harder. Luckily, I have other friends outside this friend group that I can depend on to affirm good things for me, and help me through bad things. This is just really weighing on me.

I played on unfair difficulty and boy did it live up lol
​
I kept beating my head against a wall trying to replay it over and over looking for the way to even get to the second phase with the demon that greybor kills.
I looked up advice from others on using a specific roof to choke point, but then get gassed by dretches and attrition'd to death.
Hide behind Irabeth which works, but now I'm boxed in and can't reach arsonists and lose.
At one point make it to third phase with only Ember left. The minotaur ignores Irabeth and chases her down across the map and kills her.
​
I take a coffee break. Psyche myself up "Alright WarriorofArmok we aren't cavemen. We have technology"
I turn turn based mode on expecting to be able to keep track of the enemies.
The AI changes completely! Instead of mindless hordes charging irabeth now the cultists spread out and quickly kill all the archers before phase 2. Get caught in the middle and killed.
​
Find my spot: Not on the roof! Leave that for npc allies to aggro and die on. We stand next to the forge and everyone uses ranged combat except for Seelah.
​
Switch between grease and create pit, but I still lose abunch because all a dretch has to do is make the save and then it casts its gas and the whole party is incapacitated until the pit/grease is gone and we get jumped. ALSO THOUGH the enemy AI doesn't do the same thing every time and so I really don't know what is gonna happen exactly. The guys climbing the roof sometimes just run straight for us rather than Irabeth.
​
So we just replay it over and over in the same spot same strategy until I got the perfect run where everyone fails the grease save and we just shoot the hell out of them.
Irabeth's shield wall dies as Minotaur shows up. Dretchs that accompany him attack us and kill, not incapacitate but KILL, Seelah and Camellia. -sigh- My barbarian goes down covering wolf, ember and ennio's retreat. Ennio gets knocked out anyway. The other two hide behind irabeth and throw my last acid flask at him as he reaches irabeth.
​
So I won. Two companions dead. I sell most of our gear to cover the cost of raise dead scroll and realize I can not get another one so I download bag of tricks to get the second one.
I'm broke. My gear is gone. We literally died, but we won.
I am satisfied

Hello, I Just wanted to concisely give my thoughts for feedback about the game, so far I adore it and I wish the test kept going because I honestly had a blast. It's a really fun game! My perspective is coming more from the Family side as I'd say my split between the 2 roles was 80/20 for Family/Survivor.

• Maybe make the loud noise notifications either last longer or maybe have some kind of vague indicator if a loud noise is made in a direction you aren't looking so you know to turn and look as family. At the moment the survivor side honestly doesn't really need to care making loud noises especially early on, making it easier to track the loud noise indicators and find them off of it might help a little bit.
• Make the basement a bit more dangerous. As it stands now Leatherface in the early game before grandpa wakes up is kind of a joke to deal with, and perhaps that's part of the idea however I'd think that maybe making the basement slightly less safe. As it is right now he basically can't kill anyone who vaguely knows what they are doing so survivors honestly don't have too much threat being spotted just run for a crack in a wall and he's harmless. I know hitchiker can sorta prevent this but, even then the basement does feel super safe to navigate. Which maybe is the intention.
• Maybe the focus range could be increased (Or just remove the range limit altogether), finding the blood buckets can be annoying until you memorize all the spawns and even then, sometimes they are just in such pain in the ass spots its never worth grabbing it. Even then grandpa isn't that big of a threat until max level, though I assume that'l change with the whole metagame thing. It'd also help new players find the generators and car batteries, as it stands right now a new player can easily be clueless on where things are.
• On another note, why can family turn off generator and why can victims turn on generator? It just seems to exist mostly for trolling, if its for people to not keep the game hostage by sitting in front of the electricity grid but not leaving then you should probably put the point where they leave the map just past that piece of metal so they are forced out and cant just keep the match hostage by sitting right next to the escape area to teabag or whatever.
• I do think that Cook's hearing ability could maybe at least use a ping to give the other family members. He's very, very voice communication focused and if you happen to land with someone not using a mic as cook then he feels almost like a waste. Maybe a bit more stamina to keep up a little bit better with survivors as he can be annoying to play in that regard but again maybe metagame stuff fixes this.
• Survivor i-frames are a little ridiculous, there should be a decently generous amount of them but it is annoying to sit there and wait for the animation to fully finish before you can finally hit them even if they are crawling right towards you. Through -most- of the animation they should have i-frames but maybe take some off at the start and at the end to make those gaps slightly less safe to just run through in your face.
• I can't tell if leatherface's thrust ability is just bugged or it's terrible, I've had it work maybe once during the tech test and I used it a -lot- when someone crawls through a gap right in front of me.
• The door slam stunning a killer should have a bit of a cooldown just to prevent infinites. There are already several videos of people chain stunning someone with doors and if you at least just give it a little bit of a cool down to get out of the door it would be fine.
• The house feels fine and maybe making the basement escape slightly more difficult to access for the one who actually pops the fuse box is really the only change on that map I think may be warranted. Rush fuse box, either run back downstairs or jump out the window and just book it to the exit is a bit too easy to do and can easily happen before the hitchiker has even really gotten the generator and the battery going. Otherwise it's a very tense location as victim being so close quarters the entire time. it's great.
• Slaughterhouse feels too big, the moment survivors start reaching the loading dock and... Whatever the front building is called the killers need to split or move together to cover one location that just makes it free game for survivors to kinda do whatever in other parts of the map. It feels very survivor sided and once people escape the yard everything just falls apart for the family. Especially because those buildings are just so strong to run through, it is very safe as survivor and I never died playing that map as survivor once. Maybe having cook spawn in the loading dock or next to the battery to -at least- set up a little bit quicker could help, otherwise the set up takes forever to do.
• I could be wrong here but I don't think the family can really stop the fusebox exit. I could be entirely wrong but I don't remember being able to where as with the other exits you have the opportunity to stop people. Fusebox is just popped and almost free really to take. Maybe if someone pops it in the family's face they could turn it off early, something they have to pay attention to or something that's a bit more of a "selfless" exit where the person hitting it isn't likely to be able to take it but it could definitely let someone escape. I could be wrong here, though.
• I do feel like the blood buckets should give a flat amount instead of a percentage. Leatherface grabbing the buckets is just worthless as he gets so little, cook gets 20 per versus leatherface's... what 12 or something? It adds up. The amount someone carries can vary of course but I do think the buckets should just give a flat amount of blood so it doesn't feel like a waste picking up blood as anyone else.
• Maybe the metagame will make grandpa a bit more useful but as it stands it feels like he's not all that useful until level 5. His scream is super easy to avoid and the only time victims get hit is when they are already in a chase running anyways, if you aren't actively in a chase you have a few seconds to stand still making it very easy to avoid. He should be a -little- more threatening and worth stabbing instead of it just being a meme to speedrun stabbing grandpa which, granted is funny as hell.

It's long but its the main points of feedback I can give, at least what I think could use changes. I honestly do really enjoy the game as it is now and I'm quite excited for it.

Hi Leon and Sasha,
I miss you guys so much. I hope that you are safe in Moscow. I think of you often. I hope that you and your mom (grandparents and Irina/Phil) are okay.
I hope you mom reads this to you. I hope that it helps you go to sleep. I will write more and post it for you to read.
Astral or Star Jelly is a real event/substance that has been found in all areas of the earth (please Wikipedia it). My friend performed a DNA analysis on a sample of Star Jelly, and the results were amazing. His group concluded that the sample mostly had mitochondrial-like DNA, but it was very different from anything reported (much longer and having possible different base pairs).
Astral/Star Jelly is often found after meteorite showers or other astral events. I found some when I was young (heavy Northern Lights and Meteor Shower event). I crafted the first chapter of a potential novel. Please give feedback. I am switching to google docs, so soon I will have links to my works.
Yes, Charlotte edited the chapter. She kept saying to keep it simple and direct. We hope to see you in Turkey this summer.
​
Chapter 1
The Byproduct of Gods
with revisions by your favorite daughter
📷
Her owners had held her for so many lifetimes that the stream, which flowed, near her family’s hut was gone. The trees that provided fuel, housing, and food were missing, replaced by a prairie. After all the years of the concept of returning home keeping her going, she did not feel safe. There were no people near her village, and it took her days to unearth signs of her youth. She discovered the land that she had first walked on only because the mountain and stones did not move. As she cleaned the Blue Volga granite idol of her parents’ deity, she felt nothing. The blue-green face of the god looked sad to her. He also was no longer safe. His followers were dead and his power forgotten.
Her first owner was a traveler. They moved with each new moon. Her master felt safe but she failed to understand that her entourage plodded along a predictable path. After many decades, a tale of a demon woman who did not age traveled the same circuit. Finally, a village attacked the demon. Her second owner was the daughter of the woman who bought her. The daughter decided to build a fortress and to rule her fief. Her third owner was the daughter’s son who had grown tired of never gaining his birthright. His guilt and myopic greed caused him to sell her to an alchemist. From that point on, she was an item for trade or barter.
Her final master failed to return home. She remained in his caravan for a week, performing her duties. When she had eaten all the food, she felt justified using her knowledge to destroy her metal shackles. It took her five days to dissolve her bindings with her jellies.
She thought of the places that she had felt safe. Those havens were all underground. A magician made her live in the passages beneath Kyiv when he was being hunted. The tunnels funneled the 15 rivers of the city and protected inhabitants from invaders or punishing ruling forces. For twenty years, she had lived in the coquina catacombs of Odessa. A man who thought he was a seer was convinced that his power had attracted the attention of dragons and demons. No one could approach the lair unseen.
After a week of searching the now unfamiliar area, the woman began to carve her home from the soil of her childhood. She spent fifty years making her home safe. Only she would know the paths and twists of her underground world. Only she would know where the escape exits emerged into the surrounding world.
Eventually, her home attracted others. The woman could have chased them away, but she felt a need to observe people. When the fourth generations of villagers were aging to the grave, there was no hiding the fact that she had not died. The villagers erected a semi-circular wall around the entrance to the woman’s cave. The wall grew and the woman did not protest the separation.
Generations later, people whispered that the villagers maintained the defenses of their community to keep the woman away from the town’s children at night. In the tavern, each generation of gallant males would boast that they would be the one to remove the blight of the woman from the town. When she inevitably outlasted them, she would attend the funeral of the most vocal warrior from each age group.
Daily the woman would remove more soil from her dugout. The community would search her discarded diggings for possible minerals or stones. They did not share any discoveries with the woman. During times of blight or famine, the locals would collect her soil and remove it from the community.
People would peer around the wall to scan the woman’s home. As the village grew, a leader placed two chairs at endpoints of the semi-circle barrier. During full moons, periods of strife, festivals, and other social events, menacing men sat in the chairs. Infrequently, people tried to enter the woman’s home. Aside from the guards, it was the more distraught people of the village who visited her.. The most recent person to enter the woman’s home was a grieving widow. Her grief made her seek the woman to find answers about her loss. Three mornings later, the villagers found the widow in the public square with drapes of herbs, flowers, and crafts around her limbs. The people thought the widow was dead or mindless from torture. When the widow awoke, she went to her house and began the chores for the day. When pressed about the woman’s abode, the widow would state that the home was loved, clean, and well maintained.
On the spring day when the widow was about to remarry, she was again discovered in the square coated with ropes of herbs, flowers, and idols. The woman disappeared for a decade after the wedding, but the widow brought her newborns to the opening of the earthwork to declare their names into the sunken space.
The aging hamlet relaxed when the woman was away. There was a sense of freedom in the people. They did not fear the retribution of the woman for their actions, and parents could not correct their children with threats of giving them to the woman. At times, the leaders of the people would consider filling in the woman’s hovel, but shovels and spades would split if used to cover the opening of the woman’s home. One regretful man tried using a mule and cart to dump rocks into the fastness. The stones crushed the man after his own tram flipped over on him.
Although the townsfolk feared and despised the woman, she had free reign in the village. As an indicator that she was amongst the people, the woman would adorn her head with a dark purple scarf. No other members of the village would wear that color. They looked for it whenever the woman shopped at the market. The woman paid with old and foreign coins, but the merchants welcomed the precious metals they were composed of. During the dark days of winter, the people collected the woman’s tender and deposited it into a lead box. The villagers had a belief that the more people touched the woman’s currency, the longer the winter would be.
After the community fortified against the woman, religious leaders organized efforts to erect carved idols and large wagon-wheel hexes aimed at her home. Each generation attempted to counter the woman with the current symbols of spiritual protection. The largest structure in the village was now a church, and the threshold of the church was oriented to face the woman’s home.
The woman was home when Alyona began her schooling in the church. She had learned the fundamentals of math, reading, and writing. She knew that her coursework would end soon. The village expected girls to be useful to a limit. Her mother walked her only surviving child to school along a path that would prevent their shadow from falling close to the woman’s realm. The villagers performed this ritual after someone claimed that the woman had controlled their behavior by stealing their shadow.
Alyona was daydreaming during school of a life away from the village when the woman touched her. Alyona had spent the morning in the woods collecting mushrooms and other edibles. Her findings made for great, free additions to their usually simple meals. . On days that Alyona returned with a bounty, they shared the extras with neighbors. It was a wager that these people would remember the gift and provide Alyona’s home with food during lean days.
The person gripping Alyona twirled her body so that she faced the opposite direction. Alyona assumed the culprit was another student or a young assistant at the church. It could have been a boy attempting to bully her to get her attention. She lowered her right hand, preparing to use the back to slap the violator. Alyona’s willingness to confront her accoster left when she saw the face of the woman under her purple scarf. Alyona knew she should look away from the woman, but her eyes locked with the woman’s gaze. All the stories the Alyona heard about the town ghoul stated that the woman was so old that her skeleton was all that was left of her body. The woman’s youthful face surprised Alyona. There were no lines or furrows on the woman’s forehead. If anything, Alyona would have stated that the woman’s face glowed.
I can smell it on your hands. The woman placed Alyona’s fingers under her nose. The force of the drawn air startled Alyona. She thought that the woman had pulled the top layer of skin off her index finger. Alyona’s toes curled when the woman sampled her hand. Across a church aisle, one of the priests was herding schoolchildren. He spotted the two of them. His face darkened at the sight of their contact.
WHAT IS ON YOUR HANDS, ALYONA? The priest shouted over the children.
Nothing, Sir. The woman’s tongue darted over the tip of Alyona’s index finger. I was harvesting in the woods before class.
You touched more than growths and nuts this morning, Singleton Child of the Crying Matron. The woman chewed on her thumbnail.
Alyona did not like her mother being referred to in that way, but the eyes of the woman immobilized her. How could she react forcefully to a person who was savoring her hand?
She is mine today, priest. The woman held out her other hand to the shepherd of the church. I will pay her mother for occupying her child for the day, and she will be returned unsoiled and whole.
The priest brought a gurgle of protest up but was shut down quickly.
My tunnels are beneath your place of worship and the bedchambers of Mistress Blake, The women stomped on the ground, and I know all of what has occurred within your walls.
Alyona realized that she was screaming when her throat began to sear. She expected that the woman’s hole would be dark, but the home glowed. There were mirrors and reflective glasses positioned throughout the house to harness sun rays from many holes and entrances in the surface of the residence. Therefore, Alyona was able to see herself yelling on fifty surfaces.
Hush child. The woman touched her mouth. Do not be afraid of the manner in which I inspected you. It is a show for the people. I only want to talk about your morning, and then I will let you go with a full belly and money to buy many toys.
Alyona felt her utterances dwindle down to a wheeze that slipped out her lips.
You have the scent on your fingers, girl. The woman was now examining Alyona’s left hand. It is on both hands, so you must have found a huge source.
A source? Alyona wanted to look at her hands but she maintained her attention on the woman.
Sit. The woman pointed to a well-padded chair. Sit and I will return with small pies and honey.
Alyona hovered over the seat. She wanted to be strong and to stand, but then she smelt the pies. The chair was very soft. There were no pins, claws, or spines in the cushion like she feared.
Alyona. The voice of the woman wove through the tunnels of the underground network. Alyona felt her name circle around her. She had never been afraid of her name before. Alyona Pistan…daughter of Fiva and the missing soldier.
Alyona closed her fist and felt the pain of her nails digging into her palms.
Fiva lives off the salary that the Duke must pay for your father’s military service. Your mother knows that the Duke no longer wants to pay this burden.
Alyona wanted to speak but her throat stung from screaming.
Your father’s name is Bay. He earned this title because he would not stop speaking when he was a baby. Like a horse that always had an opinion, your father would squawk at everyone before he knew words. The voice was now coming directly towards Alyona. My first gift to you and Fiva is the information that your father lives. There was a pause in the woman’s words. An enemy does not enslave him; he is lost with the simpleton that led him away. One day a map will lead him home, child.
The woman emerged from a cutout with a basket laden with pies, a pot of honey, wooden utensils, and slices of ham. In her other hand, she held a bucket of colored water.
We will eat together. The woman placed the basket on Alyona’s lap and retrieved two cups. After you accept the first pie, I will tell you an important secret of mine.
I do not think I want to know any of your secrets Starly-Gradda.
The woman laughed and placed the small wooden spoon into the pie directly in front of Alyona.
Elder-grandmother, you call me. The woman dunked a cup into the water and held it in her left hand. I think that term is the nicest thing a child has called me in a lifetime.
Alyona brought the food to her lips. She smelt the mint, berries, and kasha. Gently she laid the pie onto her tongue. She did not chew; she only let it rest in her mouth. She expected that the food would burn or numb her. The taste was full and made her wish to spit the substance out because it was too good to be real.
Ah, she eats. The woman clapped her hands. I was your age when I saw my first god being born.
Alyona choked on the pie.
I was sitting by a riverbank when the god entered our place. The woman drank from her cup. It was a bright yellow fish with shiny scales. I saw it come from nothing to being here.
The woman snapped her fingers and Alyona swallowed her food.
No one prayed for its existence. No one was singing for it to bring salvation. The woman made circles with her hands in front of Alyona. As far as I know, simple fish do not worship gods, but a god came for the fish of that river.
The woman tapped Alyona’s hand to take another bite of pie.
It floated there. The woman held up her hands. Here I am…a young maiden…thinking a god or demon turned itself into this creature to seduce or corrupt me. Again, a chuckle came from the woman. No other god cared about this special fish. I think it was floating only because it did not realize that a fish should swim in water.
Alyona grabbed a slice of ham. It had been two months since she had meat that was not paste.
Eventually, the golden fish fell into the water and swam away. The woman pulled back her hood and revealed her full face to Alyona. I tried to follow it, but it swam away from shore, and I lost sight of it.
Alyona cleared her throat and licked her lips.
Girl, if you want a drink, just take it. The woman filled Alyona’s cup and handed it to her. The ham is not that salty, but I think your sore throat would improve if you drank.
Alyona sipped the water. It did not taste bitter. It did not smell foul. In fact, the water’s taste was a mixture of apples, roses, and plums.
I told my mother, and she whispered to my father that they needed to trade me into marriage now, before I became soft in the head. I did not want to marry at my age, so I told her that I would go find proof of my shiny golden fish. The woman used a toothpick to dollop out a portion of honey. There was nothing in the water when I returned. I waded in the cool stream. I put my head under the surface and looked at the rocks for the golden shimmer. I found nothing.
Alyona ate the ham.
I was weeping on the spot that I saw the god be born. My heart was full of dread. I started to believe that the shiny golden god was not real. I was so sad that I was quickly accepting that I would be married to an old man so that he would tolerate my problems. The woman tapped her top lip. I felt that my mother had no love for me. I thought that if the golden fish were my mother, it would love me just because that is what should be.
Alyona selected another pie. This pie contained spices and mashed nuts.
Your mother loves you. I listen to all the words spoken in this village. If a parent lacks love for their child, I correct them or have them leave. The woman did not form a fist. She turned her hand into a claw, the conviction in her words hanging in the air until she relaxed it. As all hope was gone, I put my hand down in the grass, and felt the substance.
The woman held her hand flat towards Alyona.
It was clear. It was squishy like the rendered bones of stock animals. It had a pleasant smell, but I was scared to taste it. The woman cupped her hands. I gathered this glob. I used the front of my dress to carry the material. When I believed that the last speck was contained in my clothing, I ran to my parents.
Alyona had felt something similar in the forest that morning.
My mother accused me of only finding the discarded waste of an animal. She threatened to smear it over my face. The woman moved the honey pot closer to Alyona. My father took me to the village shaman, and he looked at the material. They scraped the material off my clothes, but not around my breasts. The shaman thought it was bone waste from an owl, the eggs of a species of frog, a shell-less egg from a dying bird, a mushroom that was usually underground, or the spit of an evil spirit.
Alyona’s eyes widened.
Of course, something as amazing as what we found would be considered evil. The woman waved her hand. I have discovered many bundles and I have never seen the substance created by an evil thing.
No? Alonya asked, breaking her food-induced silence.
No, child. The woman touched the tip of Alyona’s nose. It is not to say that evil people and things are not interested in the substance, but the creation of it does not come from evil.
Alyona resumed consuming the luxurious treats.
The morning after I saw the god being born, people started to fall sick. The woman sighed. My mother blamed the god substance. It was hard for the village not to turn on me after my mother told them it was my fault. The woman’s shoulders lowered. I had not slept that night, and I did not clean after my discovery. They put me in a crate that only had three holes. My father fed me and still cared for me.
Alyona did not know how to react but to nod at the woman.
When my elder brother was close to death from the illness, my mother brought him to my crate. She told me that I would have to watch my brother die because I was an evil liar who unleashed a demon on the community. I could see him wither in pain from the openings in my prison. The woman moved a third pie in front of Alyona. The night my mother told me that my brother would die, my father talked to me. It was an act of rebellion against my mother, but he asked me if I knew what had happened. I cried to him about how this was not something I did. I pleaded with my dad that I would never make my brother suffer, and that the day watching him had crushed my will to live.
The woman tore a slice of ham into pieces and placed pieces of the meat on the floor of her keep.
My father and I wept. He told me that I was likely to die because of the sickness. The woman tapped the tray. Not that I was sick… or was likely to get sick, but because it would seem as justice to the people. I knew his words were true, but I could not think of anything else to say.
The third pie was berry and egg meringue. Alyona did not know that pies like this one existed.
I entered the crate in the dress I wore when I saw the god be born. The truth is that I only had that dress and a wedding dress. My mother kept the dress I would’ve worn to my wedding in a box near her bed. A cat approached the pieces of ham. My grandfather had given me the wedding dress when he died, but she took it from me. My father used what he received from his father to buy me the only special clothes I would have in my life. My father loved me, Alyona, just like yours.
The cat touched Alyona’s leg. It startled her, and she confirmed that the cat was not black.
We talked about the jelly I had found. My father told me that he had tried to burn it, thinking it was an odd piece of animal fat. The substance did not burn. My father then tried to crush it out of existence, but the material was soft, but not easily destroyed. The woman touched the center of her chest. My father’s words made me remember that there was still some of the jelly on my dress. I touched where they did not scrape, and there was a patch of the substance. I pinched the substance and it coated my fingers. It felt warm, but not hot.
Alyona was glad that the cat had returned to the ham.
My father grew angry. He was arguing with the air that if he were a real man, he would protect his daughter and revive his son. He was a good father. The woman showed Alyona a closed smile. He was crying because he knew he could do nothing. I was sore and battered from being in the crate. I felt so greasy and disgusting. I thought I was no longer the same girl that wandered in the meadows.
The woman offered to refill Alyona’s water cup.
For some reason, I brought the fingers I had used to touch the smear of the jelly that was on my dress to my mouth. The taste was tangy, but not foul. It was better than the food that my father had inserted into the holes in my crate. I sucked on it. With both hands, the woman rattled the basket. I felt so much better. It was amazing. I could not see it, but I felt my dry, cracked lips heal. My mind became clear. I knew what I had to do.
Alyona stopped eating to listen to the woman.
I asked my father to place my brother’s mouth in front of the biggest hole of my crate. He thought I was mad. He accused me of confessing that I pledged my soul to demons, but I told him that I felt different after praying to our god. The woman looked directly at Alyona. I rubbed my fingers on the same spot of my dress, and I placed them into my brother’s mouth. He was so weak that he did not respond to this action. I moved my fingers along his gums, his teeth, I even touched his tongue.
Alyona spoke to the woman. Was he healed right away?
The woman chuckled.
I like you Alyona, but you have the impatience of a child. The woman touched Alyona’s chin. It was not a sudden reversal, but he did not die. People died that night, but my brother lived. More importantly, he was the only person to get even slightly better. He was not running in the fields, talking to everyone better, but he was no longer crying in pain. His eyes were no longer looking like they would burst. Moreover, my father stopped crying for us.
I am glad. Alyona looked at the half-eaten pie. She wanted more of it, but she thought it would be rude to return to eating.
It was another day, another four deaths, before my father told the shaman that he thought I could heal the sick. They pulled me from the crate and inspected me. The women called for me to be stoned. The men wanted me burned. The shaman asked how my brother was alive, and how I was still in good health. The woman tapped her right temple. I knew I had to lie. I knew that I could not tell the truth. I had to convince these scared people that I was not dangerous.
The woman shuffled the half pie back to Alyona.
I fell in front of the shaman and shouted, ‘The Green Man came to me.’ I do not think you know the Green Man, child, but he was the god of the people before Christ came to the land. The woman pointed to a drawing of a large tree man. It matters not what god I said talked to me. I yelled that I knew that I did something wicked, but our god had forgiven me, and I was now able to cure the sickness that was killing the village.
Alyona returned to eating the pie.
They whipped me and bound me. I feared that they would burn my dress, so I yelled that the Green Man said that if I were to heal the village, I would need to be as I was when he forgave and blessed me. The woman opened her hands so that Alyona could see her palms. The oldest people would pray in this manner. They tied my legs together and only allowed my right arm to be free. However, that was all I needed to start to heal the people of my life.
Alyona finished her meal.
I would say our prayers; tell the people who were watching that the Green Man wanted everyone to close their eyes so that his healing ray could hit the person. The woman pulled her head backwards with a laugh. During this time, I would pull some of the jelly off my dress and stick the substance in the person’s mouth.
The woman laughed deeply.
What? Alyona asked.
I did not know that so many of my fellow villagers were missing teeth. Children of the people that always had food, had damaged and missing teeth. I was trapped and bored, so my mind began to guess how many disgusting teeth injuries each person would have.
Alyona shivered.
I thought the teeth were bad, but then it got worse. The woman looked upwards. It was on the third day of my healing that it happened for the first time. It was night, and the shaman had decided to blind me with a rag during the healing. Someone’s parents said that they did not want me to steal the soul of their child while I healed them. I placed my finger into a very small mouth, and everything was different. I did not feel a tingle from treating a person with the substance. I sang our songs to Green Man and rubbed jelly over my right fingers. I had planned to give the infant as much of the stuff as I could. The woman covered her eyes. The tiny body jumped, but there was still no response.
Why? Alyona wanted to know.
The baby was dead. I did not know if the god-gift could bring life back to a person. I was scared that if I did not return this child alive to their parents, I would be killed. The woman bobbed her head to the ceiling of her cave home. I kept doing it for a long time. I replenished the coating of my fingers four times, but still there was no living response. I finally shouted into the air. I faked arguing with the Green Man. I begged him to give me the infant. I spoke words that no one had ever heard in an odd voice that I thought would sound like the Green Man. This battle went on for minutes until I asked if whoever brought this child to me would allow the Green Man to have the special child live with him. I am not sure if the parents knew that their baby had died. I am uncertain if the parents wanted me to do something that I thought was evil, but a male voice eventually responded that it would be an honor if his young son joined the hunters of the Green Man.
Alyona gasped.
I spoke in my fake Green Man’s voice that the parents of his new hunter would be honored with a new child by the next spring. I informed the parents that they would find gifts for the next year. The woman rocked her head so that she was looking at the floor. They brought me five more dead people to heal, but no more deceased children. I did not make a fuss over the dead adults. I stated that the Green Man blamed the family for their death. If they truly believed in the power of the Green Man, they would have brought their loved ones to me before the sickness took them.
Alyona nodded her head.
On the fifth day, my fingers were raw. My nails felt like they were growing too fast. I guess I was healing and benefiting from the jelly, but I was placing the same fingers into people’s mouths most of the day. The worst problem was that my dress was getting dry. The woman traced her lips with her right index finger. I think my father was watching me. I think he saw me searching desperately on my dress for any of the substance. I believe this because he brought me fresh peas to eat that night. In the third pea he gave me, the pod was full of the jelly.
Did your village love you for healing everyone after those days? Alyona smiled at the woman.
No. The woman patted the girl’s forehead. They kept me in the crate. There was no joy for me after I found the jelly.
You saved them.
The woman breathed deeply.
I said that the Green Man had used me to save them. I was nothing but a tarnished girl who may have the power to harm or make people ill. The woman turned her head to the side.
Did your father and brother free you from the crate? Alyona looked hopefully at the woman.
No child, the town folk dispatched the shaman with me in that wooden prison out into the world to purge the town of my evil. He threatened to kill me daily. He attempted to abandon me at every opportunity. The woman cupped her hand in front of Alyona. When I sensed a second source of the god jelly, he was able to sell me to a person.
No! Alyona did not know if it was a spell, but she was extending her hand towards the woman.
The sum was so great that my parents and brother lived well. The woman clapped each hand separately. That was after the shaman took his share of my bounty and spent more money on food, drink, and women on the trip home.
That’s…..
That is life, my special girl. The woman grabbed her hand and they stood up. The woman led the pair through tunnels and caverns. Eventually, the woman pulled her through a blanket of vines that concealed an exit to her labyrinth.
Your forest, Alyona. The woman gestured to the glade Alyona crossed to enter the woods.
Alyona pulled her hand away from the woman and pulled her hair back.
I am not sure what you want me to find. Alyona looked up to the woman. She received a smile.
I have never told anyone this before, the woman stuck her tongue out to Alyona, when I first touched the jelly, I felt that there were ants under my skin. It was the power of the jelly moving through me. It was such an odd feeling that I thought it was a sign of madness.
Alyona lowered her head. I felt something like that. I thought it was worms latching onto me from the peat.
That is the place, little one. Take me there.
Alyona was about to step forward when the woman asked her another question.
What color was the substance you touched today?
It was not one color, ma’am. Alyona moved her hand down to her legs. She brushed unseen but felt passengers from her body. I grabbed it first because I thought it was rose root. My mother could turn the flower into medicine to sell or trade. Alyona knelt and touched the ground. Except that the flower was so low to the ground and it was not the red or yellow flower I normally pick. They were violet with orange centers.
They did not feel like flowers.
No. Alyona pulled her hand away from the ground. They stuck to me like honey.

Astral or Star Jelly is a real event/substance that has been found in all areas of the earth (please Wikipedia it). My friend performed a DNA analysis on a sample of Star Jelly, and the results were amazing. His group concluded that the sample mostly had mitochondrial-like DNA, but it was very different from anything reported (much longer and having possible different base pairs).
Astral/Star Jelly is often found after meteorite showers or other astral events. I found some when I was young (heavy Northern Lights and Meteor Shower event). I crafted the first chapter of a potential novel. Please give feedback. I am switching to google docs, so soon I will have links to my works.
​
Chapter 1
The Byproduct of Gods
Her owners had held her for so many lifetimes that the stream, which flowed, near her family’s hut was gone. The trees that provided fuel, housing, and food were missing, replaced by a prairie. After all the years of the concept of returning home keeping her going, she did not feel safe. There were no people near her village, and it took her days to unearth signs of her youth. She discovered the land that she had first walked on only because the mountain and stones did not move. As she cleaned the Blue Volga granite idol of her parents’ deity, she felt nothing. The blue-green face of the god looked sad to her. He also was no longer safe. His followers were dead and his power forgotten.
Her first owner was a traveler. They moved with each new moon. Her master felt safe but she failed to understand that her entourage plodded along a predictable path. After many decades, a tale of a demon woman who did not age traveled the same circuit. Finally, a village attacked the demon. Her second owner was the daughter of the woman who bought her. The daughter decided to build a fortress and to rule her fief. Her third owner was the daughter’s son who had grown tired of never gaining his birthright. His guilt and myopic greed caused him to sell her to an alchemist. From that point on, she was an item for trade or barter.
Her final master failed to return home. She remained in his caravan for a week, performing her duties. When she had eaten all the food, she felt justified using her knowledge to destroy her metal shackles. It took her five days to dissolve her bindings with her jellies.
She thought of the places that she had felt safe. Those havens were all underground. A magician made her live in the passages beneath Kyiv when he was being hunted. The tunnels funneled the 15 rivers of the city and protected inhabitants from invaders or punishing ruling forces. For twenty years, she had lived in the coquina catacombs of Odessa. A man who thought he was a seer was convinced that his power had attracted the attention of dragons and demons. No one could approach the lair unseen.
After a week of searching the now unfamiliar area, the woman began to carve her home from the soil of her childhood. She spent fifty years making her home safe. Only she would know the paths and twists of her underground world. Only she would know where the escape exits emerged into the surrounding world.
Eventually, her home attracted others. The woman could have chased them away, but she felt a need to observe people. When the fourth generations of villagers were aging to the grave, there was no hiding the fact that she had not died. The villagers erected a semi-circular wall around the entrance to the woman’s cave. The wall grew and the woman did not protest the separation.
Generations later, people whispered that the villagers maintained the defenses of their community to keep the woman away from the town’s children at night. In the tavern, each generation of gallant males would boast that they would be the one to remove the blight of the woman from the town. When she inevitably outlasted them, she would attend the funeral of the most vocal warrior from each age group.
Daily the woman would remove more soil from her dugout. The community would search her discarded diggings for possible minerals or stones. They did not share any discoveries with the woman. During times of blight or famine, the locals would collect her soil and remove it from the community.
People would peer around the wall to scan the woman’s home. As the village grew, a leader placed two chairs at endpoints of the semi-circle barrier. During full moons, periods of strife, festivals, and other social events, menacing men sat in the chairs. Infrequently, people tried to enter the woman’s home. Aside from the guards, it was the more distraught people of the village who visited her.. The most recent person to enter the woman’s home was a grieving widow. Her grief made her seek the woman to find answers about her loss. Three mornings later, the villagers found the widow in the public square with drapes of herbs, flowers, and crafts around her limbs. The people thought the widow was dead or mindless from torture. When the widow awoke, she went to her house and began the chores for the day. When pressed about the woman’s abode, the widow would state that the home was loved, clean, and well maintained.
On the spring day when the widow was about to remarry, she was again discovered in the square coated with ropes of herbs, flowers, and idols. The woman disappeared for a decade after the wedding, but the widow brought her newborns to the opening of the earthwork to declare their names into the sunken space.
The aging hamlet relaxed when the woman was away. There was a sense of freedom in the people. They did not fear the retribution of the woman for their actions, and parents could not correct their children with threats of giving them to the woman. At times, the leaders of the people would consider filling in the woman’s hovel, but shovels and spades would split if used to cover the opening of the woman’s home. One regretful man tried using a mule and cart to dump rocks into the fastness. The stones crushed the man after his own tram flipped over on him.
Although the townsfolk feared and despised the woman, she had free reign in the village. As an indicator that she was amongst the people, the woman would adorn her head with a dark purple scarf. No other members of the village would wear that color. They looked for it whenever the woman shopped at the market. The woman paid with old and foreign coins, but the merchants welcomed the precious metals they were composed of. During the dark days of winter, the people collected the woman’s tender and deposited it into a lead box. The villagers had a belief that the more people touched the woman’s currency, the longer the winter would be.
After the community fortified against the woman, religious leaders organized efforts to erect carved idols and large wagon-wheel hexes aimed at her home. Each generation attempted to counter the woman with the current symbols of spiritual protection. The largest structure in the village was now a church, and the threshold of the church was oriented to face the woman’s home.
The woman was home when Alyona began her schooling in the church. She had learned the fundamentals of math, reading, and writing. She knew that her coursework would end soon. The village expected girls to be useful to a limit. Her mother walked her only surviving child to school along a path that would prevent their shadow from falling close to the woman’s realm. The villagers performed this ritual after someone claimed that the woman had controlled their behavior by stealing their shadow.
Alyona was daydreaming during school of a life away from the village when the woman touched her. Alyona had spent the morning in the woods collecting mushrooms and other edibles. Her findings made for great, free additions to their usually simple meals. . On days that Alyona returned with a bounty, they shared the extras with neighbors. It was a wager that these people would remember the gift and provide Alyona’s home with food during lean days.
The person gripping Alyona twirled her body so that she faced the opposite direction. Alyona assumed the culprit was another student or a young assistant at the church. It could have been a boy attempting to bully her to get her attention. She lowered her right hand, preparing to use the back to slap the violator. Alyona’s willingness to confront her accoster left when she saw the face of the woman under her purple scarf. Alyona knew she should look away from the woman, but her eyes locked with the woman’s gaze. All the stories the Alyona heard about the town ghoul stated that the woman was so old that her skeleton was all that was left of her body. The woman’s youthful face surprised Alyona. There were no lines or furrows on the woman’s forehead. If anything, Alyona would have stated that the woman’s face glowed.
I can smell it on your hands. The woman placed Alyona’s fingers under her nose. The force of the drawn air startled Alyona. She thought that the woman had pulled the top layer of skin off her index finger. Alyona’s toes curled when the woman sampled her hand. Across a church aisle, one of the priests was herding schoolchildren. He spotted the two of them. His face darkened at the sight of their contact.
WHAT IS ON YOUR HANDS, ALYONA? The priest shouted over the children.
Nothing, Sir. The woman’s tongue darted over the tip of Alyona’s index finger. I was harvesting in the woods before class.
You touched more than growths and nuts this morning, Singleton Child of the Crying Matron. The woman chewed on her thumbnail.
Alyona did not like her mother being referred to in that way, but the eyes of the woman immobilized her. How could she react forcefully to a person who was savoring her hand?
She is mine today, priest. The woman held out her other hand to the shepherd of the church. I will pay her mother for occupying her child for the day, and she will be returned unsoiled and whole.
The priest brought a gurgle of protest up but was shut down quickly.
My tunnels are beneath your place of worship and the bedchambers of Mistress Blake, The women stomped on the ground, and I know all of what has occurred within your walls.
Alyona realized that she was screaming when her throat began to sear. She expected that the woman’s hole would be dark, but the home glowed. There were mirrors and reflective glasses positioned throughout the house to harness sun rays from many holes and entrances in the surface of the residence. Therefore, Alyona was able to see herself yelling on fifty surfaces.
Hush child. The woman touched her mouth. Do not be afraid of the manner in which I inspected you. It is a show for the people. I only want to talk about your morning, and then I will let you go with a full belly and money to buy many toys.
Alyona felt her utterances dwindle down to a wheeze that slipped out her lips.
You have the scent on your fingers, girl. The woman was now examining Alyona’s left hand. It is on both hands, so you must have found a huge source.
A source? Alyona wanted to look at her hands but she maintained her attention on the woman.
Sit. The woman pointed to a well-padded chair. Sit and I will return with small pies and honey.
Alyona hovered over the seat. She wanted to be strong and to stand, but then she smelt the pies. The chair was very soft. There were no pins, claws, or spines in the cushion like she feared.
Alyona. The voice of the woman wove through the tunnels of the underground network. Alyona felt her name circle around her. She had never been afraid of her name before. Alyona Pistan…daughter of Fiva and the missing soldier.
Alyona closed her fist and felt the pain of her nails digging into her palms.
Fiva lives off the salary that the Duke must pay for your father’s military service. Your mother knows that the Duke no longer wants to pay this burden.
Alyona wanted to speak but her throat stung from screaming.
Your father’s name is Bay. He earned this title because he would not stop speaking when he was a baby. Like a horse that always had an opinion, your father would squawk at everyone before he knew words. The voice was now coming directly towards Alyona. My first gift to you and Fiva is the information that your father lives. There was a pause in the woman’s words. An enemy does not enslave him; he is lost with the simpleton that led him away. One day a map will lead him home, child.
The woman emerged from a cutout with a basket laden with pies, a pot of honey, wooden utensils, and slices of ham. In her other hand, she held a bucket of colored water.
We will eat together. The woman placed the basket on Alyona’s lap and retrieved two cups. After you accept the first pie, I will tell you an important secret of mine.
I do not think I want to know any of your secrets Starly-Gradda.
The woman laughed and placed the small wooden spoon into the pie directly in front of Alyona.
Elder-grandmother, you call me. The woman dunked a cup into the water and held it in her left hand. I think that term is the nicest thing a child has called me in a lifetime.
Alyona brought the food to her lips. She smelt the mint, berries, and kasha. Gently she laid the pie onto her tongue. She did not chew; she only let it rest in her mouth. She expected that the food would burn or numb her. The taste was full and made her wish to spit the substance out because it was too good to be real.
Ah, she eats. The woman clapped her hands. I was your age when I saw my first god being born.
Alyona choked on the pie.
I was sitting by a riverbank when the god entered our place. The woman drank from her cup. It was a bright yellow fish with shiny scales. I saw it come from nothing to being here.
The woman snapped her fingers and Alyona swallowed her food.
No one prayed for its existence. No one was singing for it to bring salvation. The woman made circles with her hands in front of Alyona. As far as I know, simple fish do not worship gods, but a god came for the fish of that river.
The woman tapped Alyona’s hand to take another bite of pie.
It floated there. The woman held up her hands. Here I am…a young maiden…thinking a god or demon turned itself into this creature to seduce or corrupt me. Again, a chuckle came from the woman. No other god cared about this special fish. I think it was floating only because it did not realize that a fish should swim in water.
Alyona grabbed a slice of ham. It had been two months since she had meat that was not paste.
Eventually, the golden fish fell into the water and swam away. The woman pulled back her hood and revealed her full face to Alyona. I tried to follow it, but it swam away from shore, and I lost sight of it.
Alyona cleared her throat and licked her lips.
Girl, if you want a drink, just take it. The woman filled Alyona’s cup and handed it to her. The ham is not that salty, but I think your sore throat would improve if you drank.
Alyona sipped the water. It did not taste bitter. It did not smell foul. In fact, the water’s taste was a mixture of apples, roses, and plums.
I told my mother, and she whispered to my father that they needed to trade me into marriage now, before I became soft in the head. I did not want to marry at my age, so I told her that I would go find proof of my shiny golden fish. The woman used a toothpick to dollop out a portion of honey. There was nothing in the water when I returned. I waded in the cool stream. I put my head under the surface and looked at the rocks for the golden shimmer. I found nothing.
Alyona ate the ham.
I was weeping on the spot that I saw the god be born. My heart was full of dread. I started to believe that the shiny golden god was not real. I was so sad that I was quickly accepting that I would be married to an old man so that he would tolerate my problems. The woman tapped her top lip. I felt that my mother had no love for me. I thought that if the golden fish were my mother, it would love me just because that is what should be.
Alyona selected another pie. This pie contained spices and mashed nuts.
Your mother loves you. I listen to all the words spoken in this village. If a parent lacks love for their child, I correct them or have them leave. The woman did not form a fist. She turned her hand into a claw, the conviction in her words hanging in the air until she relaxed it. As all hope was gone, I put my hand down in the grass, and felt the substance.
The woman held her hand flat towards Alyona.
It was clear. It was squishy like the rendered bones of stock animals. It had a pleasant smell, but I was scared to taste it. The woman cupped her hands. I gathered this glob. I used the front of my dress to carry the material. When I believed that the last speck was contained in my clothing, I ran to my parents.
Alyona had felt something similar in the forest that morning.
My mother accused me of only finding the discarded waste of an animal. She threatened to smear it over my face. The woman moved the honey pot closer to Alyona. My father took me to the village shaman, and he looked at the material. They scraped the material off my clothes, but not around my breasts. The shaman thought it was bone waste from an owl, the eggs of a species of frog, a shell-less egg from a dying bird, a mushroom that was usually underground, or the spit of an evil spirit.
Alyona’s eyes widened.
Of course, something as amazing as what we found would be considered evil. The woman waved her hand. I have discovered many bundles and I have never seen the substance created by an evil thing.
No? Alonya asked, breaking her food-induced silence.
No, child. The woman touched the tip of Alyona’s nose. It is not to say that evil people and things are not interested in the substance, but the creation of it does not come from evil.
Alyona resumed consuming the luxurious treats.
The morning after I saw the god being born, people started to fall sick. The woman sighed. My mother blamed the god substance. It was hard for the village not to turn on me after my mother told them it was my fault. The woman’s shoulders lowered. I had not slept that night, and I did not clean after my discovery. They put me in a crate that only had three holes. My father fed me and still cared for me.
Alyona did not know how to react but to nod at the woman.
When my elder brother was close to death from the illness, my mother brought him to my crate. She told me that I would have to watch my brother die because I was an evil liar who unleashed a demon on the community. I could see him wither in pain from the openings in my prison. The woman moved a third pie in front of Alyona. The night my mother told me that my brother would die, my father talked to me. It was an act of rebellion against my mother, but he asked me if I knew what had happened. I cried to him about how this was not something I did. I pleaded with my dad that I would never make my brother suffer, and that the day watching him had crushed my will to live.
The woman tore a slice of ham into pieces and placed pieces of the meat on the floor of her keep.
My father and I wept. He told me that I was likely to die because of the sickness. The woman tapped the tray. Not that I was sick… or was likely to get sick, but because it would seem as justice to the people. I knew his words were true, but I could not think of anything else to say.
The third pie was berry and egg meringue. Alyona did not know that pies like this one existed.
I entered the crate in the dress I wore when I saw the god be born. The truth is that I only had that dress and a wedding dress. My mother kept the dress I would’ve worn to my wedding in a box near her bed. A cat approached the pieces of ham. My grandfather had given me the wedding dress when he died, but she took it from me. My father used what he received from his father to buy me the only special clothes I would have in my life. My father loved me, Alyona, just like yours.
The cat touched Alyona’s leg. It startled her, and she confirmed that the cat was not black.
We talked about the jelly I had found. My father told me that he had tried to burn it, thinking it was an odd piece of animal fat. The substance did not burn. My father then tried to crush it out of existence, but the material was soft, but not easily destroyed. The woman touched the center of her chest. My father’s words made me remember that there was still some of the jelly on my dress. I touched where they did not scrape, and there was a patch of the substance. I pinched the substance and it coated my fingers. It felt warm, but not hot.
Alyona was glad that the cat had returned to the ham.
My father grew angry. He was arguing with the air that if he were a real man, he would protect his daughter and revive his son. He was a good father. The woman showed Alyona a closed smile. He was crying because he knew he could do nothing. I was sore and battered from being in the crate. I felt so greasy and disgusting. I thought I was no longer the same girl that wandered in the meadows.
The woman offered to refill Alyona’s water cup.
For some reason, I brought the fingers I had used to touch the smear of the jelly that was on my dress to my mouth. The taste was tangy, but not foul. It was better than the food that my father had inserted into the holes in my crate. I sucked on it. With both hands, the woman rattled the basket. I felt so much better. It was amazing. I could not see it, but I felt my dry, cracked lips heal. My mind became clear. I knew what I had to do.
Alyona stopped eating to listen to the woman.
I asked my father to place my brother’s mouth in front of the biggest hole of my crate. He thought I was mad. He accused me of confessing that I pledged my soul to demons, but I told him that I felt different after praying to our god. The woman looked directly at Alyona. I rubbed my fingers on the same spot of my dress, and I placed them into my brother’s mouth. He was so weak that he did not respond to this action. I moved my fingers along his gums, his teeth, I even touched his tongue.
Alyona spoke to the woman. Was he healed right away?
The woman chuckled.
I like you Alyona, but you have the impatience of a child. The woman touched Alyona’s chin. It was not a sudden reversal, but he did not die. People died that night, but my brother lived. More importantly, he was the only person to get even slightly better. He was not running in the fields, talking to everyone better, but he was no longer crying in pain. His eyes were no longer looking like they would burst. Moreover, my father stopped crying for us.
I am glad. Alyona looked at the half-eaten pie. She wanted more of it, but she thought it would be rude to return to eating.
It was another day, another four deaths, before my father told the shaman that he thought I could heal the sick. They pulled me from the crate and inspected me. The women called for me to be stoned. The men wanted me burned. The shaman asked how my brother was alive, and how I was still in good health. The woman tapped her right temple. I knew I had to lie. I knew that I could not tell the truth. I had to convince these scared people that I was not dangerous.
The woman shuffled the half pie back to Alyona.
I fell in front of the shaman and shouted, ‘The Green Man came to me.’ I do not think you know the Green Man, child, but he was the god of the people before Christ came to the land. The woman pointed to a drawing of a large tree man. It matters not what god I said talked to me. I yelled that I knew that I did something wicked, but our god had forgiven me, and I was now able to cure the sickness that was killing the village.
Alyona returned to eating the pie.
They whipped me and bound me. I feared that they would burn my dress, so I yelled that the Green Man said that if I were to heal the village, I would need to be as I was when he forgave and blessed me. The woman opened her hands so that Alyona could see her palms. The oldest people would pray in this manner. They tied my legs together and only allowed my right arm to be free. However, that was all I needed to start to heal the people of my life.
Alyona finished her meal.
I would say our prayers; tell the people who were watching that the Green Man wanted everyone to close their eyes so that his healing ray could hit the person. The woman pulled her head backwards with a laugh. During this time, I would pull some of the jelly off my dress and stick the substance in the person’s mouth.
The woman laughed deeply.
What? Alyona asked.
I did not know that so many of my fellow villagers were missing teeth. Children of the people that always had food, had damaged and missing teeth. I was trapped and bored, so my mind began to guess how many disgusting teeth injuries each person would have.
Alyona shivered.
I thought the teeth were bad, but then it got worse. The woman looked upwards. It was on the third day of my healing that it happened for the first time. It was night, and the shaman had decided to blind me with a rag during the healing. Someone’s parents said that they did not want me to steal the soul of their child while I healed them. I placed my finger into a very small mouth, and everything was different. I did not feel a tingle from treating a person with the substance. I sang our songs to Green Man and rubbed jelly over my right fingers. I had planned to give the infant as much of the stuff as I could. The woman covered her eyes. The tiny body jumped, but there was still no response.
Why? Alyona wanted to know.
The baby was dead. I did not know if the god-gift could bring life back to a person. I was scared that if I did not return this child alive to their parents, I would be killed. The woman bobbed her head to the ceiling of her cave home. I kept doing it for a long time. I replenished the coating of my fingers four times, but still there was no living response. I finally shouted into the air. I faked arguing with the Green Man. I begged him to give me the infant. I spoke words that no one had ever heard in an odd voice that I thought would sound like the Green Man. This battle went on for minutes until I asked if whoever brought this child to me would allow the Green Man to have the special child live with him. I am not sure if the parents knew that their baby had died. I am uncertain if the parents wanted me to do something that I thought was evil, but a male voice eventually responded that it would be an honor if his young son joined the hunters of the Green Man.
Alyona gasped.
I spoke in my fake Green Man’s voice that the parents of his new hunter would be honored with a new child by the next spring. I informed the parents that they would find gifts for the next year. The woman rocked her head so that she was looking at the floor. They brought me five more dead people to heal, but no more deceased children. I did not make a fuss over the dead adults. I stated that the Green Man blamed the family for their death. If they truly believed in the power of the Green Man, they would have brought their loved ones to me before the sickness took them.
Alyona nodded her head.
On the fifth day, my fingers were raw. My nails felt like they were growing too fast. I guess I was healing and benefiting from the jelly, but I was placing the same fingers into people’s mouths most of the day. The worst problem was that my dress was getting dry. The woman traced her lips with her right index finger. I think my father was watching me. I think he saw me searching desperately on my dress for any of the substance. I believe this because he brought me fresh peas to eat that night. In the third pea he gave me, the pod was full of the jelly.
Did your village love you for healing everyone after those days? Alyona smiled at the woman.
No. The woman patted the girl’s forehead. They kept me in the crate. There was no joy for me after I found the jelly.
You saved them.
The woman breathed deeply.
I said that the Green Man had used me to save them. I was nothing but a tarnished girl who may have the power to harm or make people ill. The woman turned her head to the side.
Did your father and brother free you from the crate? Alyona looked hopefully at the woman.
No child, the town folk dispatched the shaman with me in that wooden prison out into the world to purge the town of my evil. He threatened to kill me daily. He attempted to abandon me at every opportunity. The woman cupped her hand in front of Alyona. When I sensed a second source of the god jelly, he was able to sell me to a person.
No! Alyona did not know if it was a spell, but she was extending her hand towards the woman.
The sum was so great that my parents and brother lived well. The woman clapped each hand separately. That was after the shaman took his share of my bounty and spent more money on food, drink, and women on the trip home.
That’s…..
That is life, my special girl. The woman grabbed her hand and they stood up. The woman led the pair through tunnels and caverns. Eventually, the woman pulled her through a blanket of vines that concealed an exit to her labyrinth.
Your forest, Alyona. The woman gestured to the glade Alyona crossed to enter the woods.
Alyona pulled her hand away from the woman and pulled her hair back.
I am not sure what you want me to find. Alyona looked up to the woman. She received a smile.
I have never told anyone this before, the woman stuck her tongue out to Alyona, when I first touched the jelly, I felt that there were ants under my skin. It was the power of the jelly moving through me. It was such an odd feeling that I thought it was a sign of madness.
Alyona lowered her head. I felt something like that. I thought it was worms latching onto me from the peat.
That is the place, little one. Take me there.
Alyona was about to step forward when the woman asked her another question.
What color was the substance you touched today?
It was not one color, ma’am. Alyona moved her hand down to her legs. She brushed unseen but felt passengers from her body. I grabbed it first because I thought it was rose root. My mother could turn the flower into medicine to sell or trade. Alyona knelt and touched the ground. Except that the flower was so low to the ground and it was not the red or yellow flower I normally pick. They were violet with orange centers.
They did not feel like flowers.
No. Alyona pulled her hand away from the ground. They stuck to me like honey.

((Hey all! This chapter is my longest yet, but don’t expect many to get THIS long! Now, this one is HEAVY so I am putting in warnings right away: Heavy topics include: Firearms, humanity’s history with guns, talk about human atrocities, human fight or flight response, and heavily excessive drinking. As usual credi goes to u/SpacePaladin15’s Nature of Predators series. Hope you enjoy.))
​
FIRST//PREVIOUS//NEXT
​
Memory transcript subject: Arxur exchange participant Syle
Date [standard human time]: October 21, 2136 It was finally time to learn about human weapons! My tail flicked side to side as we went through a very thick metal door and down some stairs to a room under his house he called a “basement.” I do not know what a ment is, but it was more than enough to be an Arxur base! There were guns EVERYWHERE. I saw guns as long as I was tall, some guns so small they were smaller than training guns we gave kids! Guns made with wood, some made only of metal, some made of plastic, old, new, and in between! I didn’t know so many types of guns even existed!
There was also tables set up to both work on the guns and another full of plastic, metal, and more with lots of weird machines. It didn’t take me long to figure out it was a place to make ammo though. The gunpowder was quite the giveaway.
“Why do you have so many guns?” I asked him as I walked from rack to rack.
“Been collecting all my life. Never got into cars, clothes, or anything really expensive, so bought a bunch of guns. Helps that I got a ton of money when my parents died and a house to live in. Plus, the government pays me VERY well.” He explained as he adjusted a few on the wall.
“I didn’t know so many guns could even exist.” My eyes wandered over a few. Particularly one that was a mix of wood and metal. A few bits of wood sticking out of what looked like a metal box and a tube.
“Humans have made guns for many reasons.” He explained picking it up and moving a round thing at the top back and forth some. “Some were made for hunting only. Some guns were made to get around rules.” He pointed at a weird gun without a stock, but clearly looked like a smaller version of their assault rifles. “Some were made to be fun.” He put down the gun he had been holding and tapped a tiny little gun that had a barrel, handle, and a round part full of holes to hold bullets. “But, most were made for war. From war they were changed to be fun, to go hunting with, and to just be different.” He put his hand on the old rifle he had used to beat me in the competition we had.
“Like this. This gun was made for war and had been used for a very, VERY long time.” He put his hand on a solid black thing made of metal and plastic. “This is called an AR-15. They were invented by my country to be weapons of war, but their parts could be changed in so many ways that they were a big hit with civilians too since they could make each gun their own.” He then tapped one of the more modern assault rifles that I had seen their soldiers using.
“How did you get a military weapon!? I mean, shouldn’t that only be for soldiers? Did you steal it?” I asked him as I poked it. To think this tool had killed so many Arxur so easily, and he had one! “We are allowed to own them in America.” He explained as he took it off the wall to show me. He worked the charging handle to make the various parts move for me to see. “The funny thing is is that its not even the best rifle available! The military tends to use guns that are not the best because they are cheaper.” He put it up and picked up a different assault rifle. This one had a nicer optic on it, was far sleeker, and, for some reason, had wood on it. “This is my personal favorite assault rifle.” He put it back on the wall. “If anything bad ever started to happen, that is the gun I would want to use!”
I nodded and followed along as he went from gun to gun.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memory transcript subject: Arxur exchange participant Syle
Date [standard human time]: October 22, 2136
I'm worried about him. He hasn’t left the couch in hours as he watched the humans yell and stampede on the TV. This wasn’t a normal stampede though, the person on the TV said that the UN leader had been killed and there was fire and fighting all over earth. My eyes drifted by the door where his assault rifle rested against the frame with four magazines full of ammo next to it. My eyes drifted to the one in the gun and I let out a breath. Even I knew you didn’t keep ammo in your gun unless you needed to be ready to use it.
He had told me that we were safe, that we were far enough away that nobody would come out here, and even then nobody really knew I was even here. He told me if there was a real risk he would have body armor on and a gun on his waist too.
But he was still ready.
I could see his eyes only briefly look at me before he looked at the TV. The people were screaming about how aliens were evil, how only humans should be allowed in the milky way and that humans should stop talking with any humans. That it only brought problems.
They were not wrong either with everything they said too. I mean, the federation did just blow up most of their planet, and the arxur were, well…. The arxur. I wanted to hold him like he held me. I wanted to swear at the people on TV and tell them how lucky they had it, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t good at this fucking emotional stuff!
I turned around so I could hiss without him hearing me, only to see his pad ping. It was that messaging app.
Firebird: Hey, are you ok? I saw the reports about what is going on with the stampede. Talk to me. I know this isn’t normal for humans.
The message was meant for Jack, but I didn’t know if he wanted to read it. Hell, I didn’t even know how to even TALK to him right now! I didn’t know anything! I stared at it. This was a Krakotl on the other side. I knew they would hate me if they knew what I was, but they were the ONLY person that could tell me what to do.
54rhuman: This is the-
I paused. No way i could tell her I was a fucking Arxur!
54rhuman: This is his exchange partner. He isn’t happy and I don’t know what to do!
I let out a breath. Hoping the prey would be better with emotions than I was.
Firebird: How is he acting? Are you ok?
54rhuman: I am worried about him. I am not good with emotion stuff, and he is clearly hurt. He is just staring at the TV and I don’t know what to do to make him feel better!
Firebird: I don’t think either of us could make him feel better right now. But, maybe we could work together. I am going to request a call, accept it. Maybe together we could talk to him and distract him.
Soon there was a message saying “call from firebird” popping up on the screen. I paused, claw over the button. What if she found out I was arxur? What would happen to me? Would she be angry? I then looked behind me at Jack, still staring at the screen.
Fuck it. We need help. He helped me so its my turn.
“Accept.”
I took a breath and waited until I heard the clicking of a beak on the other end.
“Hey. I’m firebird. Me and Jack have been talking a little bit. I know I don’t know a ton about humans, but I just want to help.” She explained. I could hear the worry in her voice as my tail flicked side to side.
“Thank you.” I squeaked out trying my hardest to make my voice as soft and as high pitched as possible.
“You sound… strange.” Shit. “Still, we have bigger things to worry about. We can talk later. What is Jack doing?” She asked as her beak clicked a few times between words. I nodded a bit as I watched him. He was so focused he didn’t even hear me talking to this Krakotl. “He is just staring at the TV. He isn’t mad, or scared, or anything!” I explained not even caring that my voice was returning to normal.
“Okay, no stampede is good! Does he show any signs of… hate to say this, but it fits: Predator disease?” The way she talked, bringing up predator disease so casually, this wasn’t a normal Krakotl was she?
“No I don’t think so. He got ready for a fight, but we are in a very safe place. He even said so.” Ie explained slowly watching over my soft human’s now hard body. I didn’t like this at all. He was watching the screen like an arxur hunter watching a fight!
“Lets just… talk to him then.”
“I need help with that. I am not very… good at talking.” I admitted.
“I can tell. You are a very strange one.” She said back. “Are you a fellow exterminator?”
My tail went rigid and I had to cover my mouth to hide my hiss. A fucking, gnashing, venlil shit exterminator?! I took a deep breath in. She was here to help. She was the ONLY one that could help. Plus, she didn’t scream or anything about the idea of a human being weird.
“No, I am not. Lets just focus on Jack for now.”
“Agreed. He needs us.” I nodded and walked into the room. Jack looked up at me with wide eyes before letting out a deep breath and leaning back into the long-chair.
“Hey Syle. Sorry. Just… a bit concerned is all.” He whispered out before motioning to the TV. His voice wasn’t soft, wasn’t loud, it lacked almost everything.
“Hey Jack, its me, Firebird.” Her voice came out loud and clear through the datapad causing him to jump. Finally he was thinking about something else! He looked from the pad, to me, then back to the pad with even more worry on his face. I simply did the shoulder move thing that the humans seemed to do a lot and he took a deep breath.
“Hey firebird. Sorry our first voice had to be with… this going on.”
“Its okay. Are you okay?”
He paused a long time as I sat next to him. I calmly slid my tail around his waist and pressed against him trying to be as comfy for him as he was for me when I was having problems. He paused, looked at me as his face grew red again before looking back down to the pad.
“No.” Jack admitted with a long breath. “I know we are safe, I know this will pass, but its still not good. I always hate seeing humans get like this.” He explained as he pressed back against me.
Silence. Humans had done this kind of thing before!?
“What do you mean?” Firebird asked first. “How could you know these things? How have you seen this before?” She asked.
“Well, its not normally this bad.” He admitted. “There will be fights for a long time if people are this upset. But… let me think how to explain this.” He finally muted the tv and took a long, deep breath. I hated that explaining something bad about humans is what got him to stop watching it, but it was for the best.
I hope.
“Listen. Firebird. Don’t tell anyone else about this.” He looked down to the pad as he gave his order. Like hell some prey exterminator would ever a-
“You know I won’t. I haven’t talked to anyone about what we discuss. Its all confidential.”
Oh. Good birdy.
“Good. So.” He put his hands together and took another deep breath. This was clearly hard for him, but I wanted to hear. “There are two ways to respond to bad things. Prey have what we call the flight response. It is when the body naturally tells you to run away, hide, scream, and more. Arxur have what we call the fight response. The need to stand up and, well, fight. A more violent reaction to what triggers it. Humans have both.” He then motioned to the TV out of pure habit like firebird was in the room with us.
“This is what happens when there is nowhere to run for humans. Those with fight would get violent, but what pushed things over the edge is that many humans with flight reactions found nowhere to run. We have no colonies or anywhere. We hid in the safest places we could find. And died.” He took another deep breath. “We have sayings about how a cornered animal fights the hardest. These are humans that are ruled by fear and anger with nothing to really fight. To them the only way to get the bad things to stop is to get rid of aliens, since that is what caused all this.”
He paused a long time, thinking about something.
“Listen. Humans are… complicated. But to me we are at our worst when we are scared, angry, hurt, and have something that is… not like us to focus it all on. Some of humanity’s worst times was when we had all those bad emotions and focused it all on something that we had decided was… less than human or different enough.” He explained slowly. “Now here we are. VERY scared, hurt, and angry AND we have things that are very much not human to direct it towards. It was going to get violent no matter what.” He then looked at the TV. “I just was hoping it wouldn’t get THIS violent, but, it could be worse.”
Worse?
“Worse?” Firebird asked. I was glad she did since there was no way in betterment I was going to bring that up.
“Yes. We fought wars and killed… A lot of people just because they were different. Horrible things were done.” He took a breath. “Listen. There are reasons why the Arxur make us so angry and uncomfortable. One group of humans got VERY angry, scared, hungry, and hurt so they joined with a few humans who told them that it was all because of some people not like them. That the others were not as human and were evil.” He took a breath. “A lot of people listened to him and agreed to to very, very bad things. He caused a war that most of our planet had to fight in and did things that were VERY bad. Even by Arxur standards. We as a species fought him and when the war was over we swore never to let them happen again, and most of those who did the bad things were killed. We called them crimes against humanity. Crimes that were so bad they went against what our very species stood for.”
He paused to let it sink in. “There had been times before as well when humans fought because they were scared, angry, hurting, and were told the other side was at fault. Bad things happened then too. But one thing is almost certain: most people always look back at them to show one other side of humanity that is great.” He looked back to the TV at UN soldiers organizing the crowds and a smile came to his face. “We love to cheer for those that fight against that evil. Those that stood up and made things right, that made humanity BETTER. They are some of our greatest heroes.”
He watched the soldiers for a bit before taking a deep breath and turning off the TV. “Alright. That is enough for now.” He closed his eyes and leaned on me a little. I let out a small chirp and felt the tip of my tail betray me again.
Hold. Still. Damn. You.
“Listen firebird. S-” he paused to look at me before changing my name just in case. “-Sssylmia. This is just a bad stampede really. Please don’t be upset or think humanity is bad for it.”
I rubbed his head a little to try and comfort him. “You know I cannot do that.” I whispered softly to him. “We both now I have done worse.” He made a strange noise and his face turned more red, but he nodded.
“And I might be an exterminator, but I won’t judge humanity for this. I saw what the gojid did on the cradle during their stampede. Wait… Sylmia. What have you done?”
Oh shit.
“She was just forced to make some bad choices when she was young.” Jack pounced in to help save my tail!
“Hm. Makes sense. What species is she anyway? Remember, no lies. We agreed on that early on.” I was starting to like this bird FAR less now.
“Can’t say.” He admitted. There was a little bit of beak clicking from the other side before a long breath slid out of her. “Alright. Fair enough. I assume its to protect her identity. It sounds like she had predator disease at one point so you don’t want to reveal any identifying information.”
He looked at me with a bit of worry before she spoke up again. “Hey. Just take a moment. Have a nice strong drink, talk with Sylmia a little while, and just relax. You said this will be over right? Let it end on its own. Sometimes the best thing to do with a stampede is just let it happen.”
We both nodded. “Okay, thanks.” He put an arm around me. “I think we will just play some games, have a tasty meal, and a few good drinks then sleep early. Thanks firebird.”
“Call me Taita. I want to meet you someday and I think its time we just used each other’s real names. I know Sylclea’s faux name anyway.”
“Fair enough. Jack is mine.”
“Call me first thing tomorrow. I want to make sure you are ok. Deal?”
“Deal.” He then hung up, gave me a warm hug, then went to go make food. I could see it in his face that he was still hurting some, but he was far better. I got up and followed him both wanting to see what he was going to make, and to make sure he was going to stay ok.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Memory transcript subject: Krakotl exterminator team leader Taita
Date [standardized human time]: October 22, 2136
Oh. Oh speh. The voice, the strange way they talked, the struggle with emotions, the fact they didn’t notice I changed that fake name, the fact Jack hid her species, AND a bad past?
She was an Arxur.
How was she an Arxur?
I pulled a bottle of my favorite strong drink from a cabinet and poured myself a glass. Then another after that one went away.
Oh speh oh SPEH!
I wanted to study the arxur one day, but never thought I would even TALK to one! What got me the most though was the fact she was trying hard to help the human. She clearly was showing empathy, worry for him, she was showing prey like emotion.
AN ARXUR!
Sure it was one that Jack trusted enough to live with, but it shouldn’t be possible. Can they get prey disease? Could more be like her? She could be good! No, few prey would DARE talk to an exterminator when their friend was in that much pain. But here she was begging for my, MY help!?
I downed another shot.
I did already make up my mind about one thing. All the evidence and my own gut led me to a conclusion: I could trust her and be friendly with her. She was not evil.
An arxur.
How?
Federation wrong about human. Could wrong Arxur?
Another s-h0-t.
I w1ll hav3 to think about this more l4t3r. Nobody can kn0w. But… must learn more about ALL pr3dators. If arxur can be friends 4nd fed without killing sentients. Then… war end. EVERYONE safe.
WARNING! Alcohol memory corruption detected!
An- s- ot. To. mne.
hhhh0w?
WARNING! Memory fatally corrupted by excessive alcohol consumption. Damage beyond repair. Later memories %80 uncorrupted. Please read another transcript and report issue to archivist.
FIRST//PREVIOUS//NEXT