​
What is ashwagandha?
The ashwagandha plant is one of the most powerful herbs. Various parts of the ashwagandha plant are used for medicinal purposes, with ashwagandha extract mainly being used in supplements. Ashwagandha is an adaptogen, a natural agent that reportedly helps the body cope with stress. As a result, it’s believed to be effective at helping reduce levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. It may also therefore potentially help with anxiety and depression too.
What does ashwagandha do?
Reduces Stress and Anxiety
Ashwagandha is known to help reduce stress and anxiety. One way it does this is by reducing levels of cortisol, a hormone that is released in response to stress. Additionally, ashwagandha has been shown to improve mood and cognitive function, both of which can be negatively affected by stress.
Enhances Cognitive Function
Ashwagandha has also been shown to improve cognitive function. One study showed that it improved memory and reaction time in healthy adults. Another study found that it improved task performance in people with ADHD. Additionally, ashwagandha may help prevent age-related cognitive decline.
Boosts Energy Levels
Ashwagandha has been shown to boost energy levels. One study showed that it increased stamina and reduced fatigue in people with chronic fatigue syndrome. Additionally, ashwagandha may help improve exercise performance.
Additionally, ashwagandha may also help improve sleep quality and reduce inflammation. These effects can all contribute to enhanced energy levels.
Regulates Blood Sugar Levels
Ashwagandha has been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels. One study showed that it improved insulin sensitivity in people with type II diabetes. Additionally, ashwagandha may help reduce fasting blood sugar levels and improve symptoms of diabetes.
Additionally, ashwagandha may also help lower cholesterol levels and protect against heart disease. These effects can also contribute to improved blood sugar control.
Lowers Blood Pressure
Ashwagandha has been shown to help lower blood pressure. One study showed that it improved blood pressure in people with hypertension. Additionally, ashwagandha may help reduce stress and anxiety, both of which can contribute to high blood pressure.
Is ashwagandha safe?
Ashwagandha is generally considered safe for most people. However, it can cause side effects such as stomach upset, diarrhea, and vomiting in some people. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, it's best to avoid ashwagandha.
What happens when you take ashwagandha daily?
As a sleep aid, ashwagandha may help people get to sleep faster and stay asleep for longer. It is also used to promote male potency. Ashwagandha has a variety of health benefits, including reduced blood sugar levels, inflammation, mood, memory, stress and anxiety relief, as well as an increase in muscle strength and fertility. Depending on your requirements, dosages vary from 250 to 500 mg per day for at least one month.
When it comes to stress relief, ashwagandha may be as effective as some prescription medications. A 2010 study found that the herb was just as effective as lorazepam (Ativan) in reducing stress and anxiety. click the link below to learn more about abhwagandha, and its real health benefits.
CLICK HERE

Just over four years ago, as we were getting close to 10,000 members, we put out the call for new moderators. Since then, we've had some folks stay, some folks go, but here we are at over 60,000 members, and we haven't really expanded our coverage in a couple of years.
It's time.

What We're Looking For

There are a couple of qualifications you should have under your belt. This is a quick rundown:

• In a stepparent role, regardless of marital status or living status
• Participation in good standing on /stepparents
• An understanding of the rules and all of the nuances therein
• Spare time to volunteer

There are a few other things we'll be looking at as well. We want active members who are actually interested in helping others get over some of the hurdles stepparenting brings. We want people who are capable of engaging in reasonable discourse, even when dealing with a poster you may not be particularly fond of. And most importantly, we want mature posters who aren't afraid of being heckled.

The Daily Life of a Stepparent Mod

• View new posts and either approve or remove those that are in violation of the rules
• Keep an eye on comments and remove those that are in violation of the rules
• Read through reports and take action in accordance with the rules
• Keep thread derailments at a minimum
• Remove spam, trolls, etc
• Stay current with Reddit policies and rules (these do get updated from time to time)
• Work with other mods on sub rule changes, wiki updates, and AutoModerator updates

The mod team uses discord currently for communication. Most of what happens here doesn't require immediate attention, but when it does, it's usually a Really Big Deal. And while we respect the autonomy of mods to make their own calls, we do tend to discuss the big issues that come up. If you've been around for a bit, you've seen the brigading, and there are days when the cleanup takes a lot of coordination.

What's In It For You

Glory and fame. To be perfectly honest, while being able to say "I'm a moderator on a parenting subreddit," is nifty at cocktail parties, there really isn't anything else in it for you. There's no compensation, sometimes you can get burned out, and sometimes things can get stressful. Targeting and harassment by trolls is not unheard of.
The upside? There's a feeling of satisfaction knowing that you are helping others through things you yourself have experienced, and there's a lot of satisfaction in helping grow a community to be a place of comfort for thousands. And there's also the developing friendships between mods that brings its own sense of belonging and community.

How to Apply

We're going to leave the application open for a few weeks. If you are selected, you will get a 4 week trial run. This gives you time to see if you actually like moderating this sub and it gives us time to get a sense of your style moderation and making sure it's a good fit. We'll be adding several people, so you'll have other newbies to work with. We expect you to keep lines of communication open, and be open to letting the older mods guide you. It is absolutely critical that we all have a good rapport and can work together.
We look forward to seeing your responses on the application and will review them all as a team. If you have trouble accessing the form, please reach out via modmail and we'll see if we can find an alternative means for you.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/27/politics/ken-paxton-impeachment-texas-house/index.html
The Texas House of Representatives has voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, an unprecedented move following a legislative probe that faulted the third-term Republican for a years-long pattern of corruption, including abusing his office’s powers, retaliating against whistleblowers and obstructing justice.
Under state law, Paxton is now temporarily suspended from his duties as attorney general and will await a Senate trial.
The vote was 121-23, with two members voting “present.”
“The evidence is substantial. It is alarming and unnerving,” said GOP Rep. Andrew Murr, chair of the General Investigating Committee, during his closing statement following hours of debate. The committee recommended 20 counts of impeachment against Paxton.
Democrat Rep. Harold Dutton was one of the members voting present. He said the impeachment vote had been rushed. “The process by which we’re getting this done seems to be abbreviated to the point that it just encroaches on due process,” said Dutton.
Paxton denied wrongdoing in a Friday news conference, but focused his statements against the impeachment this week on his record as a key opponent of President Joe Biden. Paxton’s office has filed dozens of lawsuits against the Biden administration.
The now-suspended attorney general called the impeachment a “politically motivated sham” in a statement just minutes after the vote.
“The ugly spectacle in the Texas House today confirmed the outrageous impeachment plot against me was never meant to be fair or just,” he said.
Paxton said he was never given a chance to present evidence refuting the findings of an investigation that he abused his office. He has cast House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican who presides over a chamber where his party currently holds 85 seats to Democrats’ 64, as a “liberal.” He continued his attack on Phelan saying, “Phelan’s coalition of Democrats and liberal Republicans is now in lockstep with the Biden Administration, the abortion industry, anti-gun zealots, and woke corporations.”
The Office of the Attorney General issued its own “comprehensive report” about the allegations following the impeachment vote, saying it “unequivocally refutes incorrect testimony” against Paxton. The office also released a report it commissioned from an outside law firm, although the report from Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard and Smith LLP notes it is based only on information and testimony provided by the attorney general’s office.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott can appoint a provisional replacement while Paxton is temporarily suspended. Paxton would be reinstated if he is acquitted at his Senate trial.
The impeachment vote had its origins in an investigation launched in March by the General Investigating Committee of the Texas House after Paxton had asked the legislature to approve $3.3 million in government funds to settle a lawsuit with four whistleblowers who were fired from his office.
That investigation led the committee – a five-member panel investigating corruption in state government – to approve 20 articles of impeachment Thursday, setting up the vote in the full House.
During the debate Saturday, Rep. Charlie Geren, who is a Republican, claimed Paxton had threatened fellow House members.
“I would like to point out that several members of this House, while on the floor of this House doing the state’s business, received telephone calls from General Paxton personally threatening them with political consequences in their next election,” Geren said.
Opponents of the impeachment largely declined to address the allegations against him, instead focusing on the investigation leading up to the proceedings. “I don’t think today is about whether there’s guilt or innocence. It’s about the process,” said Rep. Tony Tinderholt.
“I’m not here to defend Ken Paxton,” Rep. John T. Smithee stated on the floor. He went on to say, “What you’re being asked to do today is to impeach without evidence. It is all rumor. It is all innuendo. It is all speculation.”
Paxton’s impeachment is a stunning rebuke of a Republican official in a state where the GOP controls all levers of state government. Voters in Texas shrugged off the swirling scandals around Paxton last year, handing him a third term in November’s election. Paxton had earlier fought off multiple opponents for the GOP nomination, including Bush family scion George P. Bush, the state land commissioner, whom he easily bested in a runoff.
Paxton has long been a controversial figure who has clashed with Texas legislative leadership. A conservative who has aligned himself with former President Donald Trump, he led a lawsuit in 2020 seeking to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
He retains support within the Texas GOP. In a statement Friday, state party chairman Matt Rinaldi blasted Phelan for what he called a “sham impeachment.”
“The voters have supported General Paxton through three elections – and his popularity has only grown despite millions of dollars spent to try to defeat him. Now the Texas House is trying to overturn the election results,” Rinaldi said, adding that he was looking to the “principled leadership” of the Senate to “restore sanity and reason for our state.”
In Texas, no attorney general has ever been impeached and removed from office. The only two elected officials to lose office as a result of impeachment were Gov. James Ferguson in 1917 and District Judge O.P. Carrillo in 1975.
For Paxton to be removed from office, two-thirds of the Texas Senate’s members who are present will have to vote to convict him. His wife, Angela Paxton, is a state senator representing a Dallas-area district.
It’s not yet clear when the Senate, where Republicans have a 19-12 majority over Democrats, will conduct its trial. The state’s legislative session is scheduled to end Monday.
While only the governor can call special sessions once the legislature is out of the biennial regular session, the Texas Constitution states that impeachment is the one issue for which the state House and Senate lawmakers can bring themselves into session without the governor, according to Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University.
Litany of legal trouble
The impeachment proceedings are the latest in a series of legal troubles for Paxton.
CNN has previously reported he was facing an FBI investigation for abuse of office and that Justice Department prosecutors in Washington, DC, took over a corruption investigation into Paxton. He is also under indictment for securities fraud in a separate, unrelated case. Paxton has denied all charges and allegations.
The state House probe came after Paxton had sought to settle a lawsuit with four former employees of the attorney general’s office. Whistleblowers had accused him of using his authority to benefit political friend Nate Paul, a real estate investor who had donated tens of thousands of dollars to Paxton’s campaign. In the settlement, Paxton apologized but did not admit fault or accept liability. He denied wrongdoing and said in a statement he had agreed to the settlement “to put this issue to rest.”
One of the impeachment articles accuses Paxton of using employees of the attorney general’s office to write a legal opinion intended to help Paul avoid the foreclosure sale of properties owned by Paul and his businesses.
It was among a series of articles focused on Paxton’s relationship with Paul, including accusations he hired an outside attorney who issued more than 30 grand jury subpoenas while investigating a “baseless complaint” made by Paul, benefited from Paul hiring a woman with whom Paxton “was having an extramarital affair,” and provided Paul with favorable legal help in exchange for renovations on Paxton’s home.
The articles of impeachment also detail what are described as Paxton’s efforts to cause “protracted” delays in the securities fraud investigation.
And the articles say voters in November did not have a full understanding of Paxton’s legal troubles because he had intentionally obscured the details of the charges he faces.
“Paxton then concealed the facts underlying his criminal charges from voters by causing protracted delay of the trial, which deprived the electorate of its opportunity to make an informed decision when voting for attorney general,” the impeachment articles state.
A wild week
The impeachment of Paxton follows a wild week in which the attorney general accused House Speaker Phelan of presiding over the House chamber while drunk and called for the speaker’s resignation.
On Tuesday, Paxton posted on Twitter a letter to the state House ethics panel, asking for an investigation into Phelan for performing his duties in what Paxton described as “an obviously intoxicated state.”
Paxton’s call for Phelan’s resignation came after video circulated on social media last weekend of Phelan appearing to slur his words as he presided over the House chamber at the end of a late-night session. Paxton did not present any evidence beyond the video clips to support his claim Phelan was drunk.
“It is with profound disappointment that I call on Speaker Dade Phelan to resign at the end of this legislative session,” Paxton said in a statement he posted on Twitter. “Texans were dismayed to witness his performance presiding over the Texas House in a state of apparent debilitating intoxication.”
Less than an hour later, the state House General Investigating Committee revealed it had subpoenaed records from Paxton’s office as part of an investigation Phelan’s office said had started in March. The committee, whose members are appointed by Phelan, voted unanimously Thursday to recommend Paxton’s impeachment.
Phelan’s office said Paxton’s allegation was merely retaliation for the House ethics panel’s probe.
“Mr. Paxton’s statement today amounts to little more than a last-ditch effort to save face,” Phelan communications director Cait Wittman said in a statement Tuesday.
Democratic Rep. Terry Canales said the broader context of last week’s all-day session made clear Phelan “was not under the influence.”
“At that point in the night the House had been in session over 13 hours and we had been doing so for multiple days in a row. We were all exhausted,” Canales said in a statement. “Nevertheless, I had multiple interactions with the speaker throughout the day and that night and I can say unequivocally he was not under the influence.”

Book 6: The City of Blue Fire

So the final buildup to the climax begins! We seem to be more solidly in the payoff section of the novel, with only a few revelations and theories this time around. Additionally, most of the cast we follow seem to be hitting their point of no return, we're on this roller-coaster and cant get off until it stops. That the dread didn't set in until it began clicking its way to the top is more your fault. The title is plenty evocative too, and if I had to guess, we'll be seeing more of the Darujhistan cast this time around.

Epigraph

Another issue of Rumor Born that seems to be recapping the events of the last few books in Darujhistan. What's interesting is it's final mention of the fête to end off.
For fun:
First came the Eel "or not one but a thousand" Is that literal, or merely a reference to their reach? I'll speak more to the Eel during the chapter breakdown below. What's also interesting is that the poem mentions they came "under a jagged moon that might be dead" We see from this that Rumor Born or Fisher in general is not authoritative. The work is literally recounting what rumors there are on the street, and whether or not there's anyone left living in Moon's Spawn is one of those. What this seems to indicate is that the Eel's influence couldn't be popularly felt until after Rake arrived.
"a claw scraped slow//on the city's cobbles" Kalam mistaken for a Claw (easy mistake) Rake is the "dragon... seen sailing high silver and black in the night sky" descending onto Pearl, who gave out the "demon's death cry"
The Tiste Andii were responsible for when "a master's hundred hands lost//a hundred daggers to the dark"
Which are all things that have happened in the past, the fête, ominously, has yet to occur, yet its mere invitation is counted among these City shaking events.

Chapter 17

Book 6's introduction. Overall, there isn't yet much to differentiate this from Book 5 other than setting, but we'll see how that develops. So without further ado...

Epigraph

The Chapter Itself -

- begins following Rallick Nom into the Phoenix Inn. Before entering, he is stopped by Meese who, after flirting with RN, for a moment, warns the assassin of someone asking after him. Someone who knew to sit at Kruppe's table, no less. He enters and notes, amused, for the first time how crowds part before him. He sits down, and the man (whom we are later told is Circle Breaker) warns him, on behalf of the Eel, of a contract sealed by Councilman Turban Orr with the Assassins' Guild against Lord Coll. The Assassin, Ocelot, merely waits for the Lord to return to the city. The Eel also applauds RN and Murillio's attempts to avenge Coll, and offers any assistance they would require. Rallick turns him down, and thanks him for the warning, after a quick drink with Iralta and Meese, he leaves the Inn to act on the information.
So, I had considered bringing this up before, but was on shakier ground then specualtion-wise. But now, its Speculation Time. Kruppe is the Eel, in my mind. We find out latter that Meese and Iralta are also in on the whole thing, so that's already ties to the Phoenix Inn. Kruppe obviously has no fear that the Eel would contradict him when lying to Baruk, and is able to mimic the Eel's method of cryptic hints perfectly. It fits his style of appearing far less than he is, in this case, he's a masquerading as a political lackey. Both the Eel and Kruppe were able to find out about the scheme against Coll without any slip-ups on the part of our conspirators. I believe this to be because of the poisoned bolt. Turban Orr was investigating it, and only someone who knew Rallick's MO could trace that back to him, and only someone who knew Rallick personally could understand that the bolt was initially meant for Lady Simtal rather than Councilman Lim. After all, the death of Orr's majority is too convenient to assume anything besides a political motive. The Eel heard wind of investigations regarding a poisoned bolt, and understood that his friend was behind it and why.* There were other things that had tipped me off, but those were the big ones that I can remember at present.
*Additionally, given that both Baruk and Crone felt Oppon's interference, and the uncharachteristic nature of the plan, it is highly probable that Kruppe felt the interference as well and later recognized what that interference was, hence his coy hint last chapter.
Baruk, meanwhile, is sulking alongside Anomander Rake, wondering why the Tiste Andii would ever allow the Imass and the Adjunct into the barrow. The tension between the two grows, as their diametrically opposed views on the world continue to breakdown communication and raise conflict between the two. In conflict, the Lord of Moon's Spawn excels. He explains to the High Alchemist that Laseen will have her fight, and capture Darujhistan whole if at all possible. Eliminating the Jaghut Tyrant and Rake are merely two additional tasks to maintain the long-term sustainability of the Empire. Rake hasn't nuked the city and left, because he wants to beat Laseen directly, a total victory where she losses what she desires without the world losing it as well. Baruk notes that Anomander Rake could always betray Darujhistan, but Rake notes that becoming himself a traitor would legitimize any treason against him. He even notes several individual who could defeat him under certain circumstances.
Baruk uses Rake's "Son of Darkness" moniker, and Rake rejects it as a title used by those who would worship him. Interesting. Being the child of a god would net you that, I suppose. He maintains the honest (if brutal) route in life not out of fear but duty. Duty to the ever-dwindling population of Tiste Andii, who merely run down the clocks of their lives dispassionately, obeying orders yes, but merely as a function of enduring their existence. He could run and hide, saving his people's lives, but they would be living in body only, so he follows cause after cause, attempting to revive their spirits. (Also of note, he mentioned that the Tiste Andi live roughly 20 thousand years, so I'm not sure where I'd gotten my deep time understanding of them, unless Rake's lifespan is extended the same relative amount as a human mage's would be)
Baruk is unsure how to respond, the plight of the Tiste is so incomprehensible that he can only muster the most abstract pity. So he returns the conversation to the Jaghut Tyrant. Will Rake be able to defeat it? Who knows, but killing him would render the Tyrant greatly reduced, possibly even to a level where the Cabal can eliminate him. Alternatively, killing the Tyrant would reduce AR, so that the Malazans may someday eliminate him. Two birds, one and a half stones. It is the Cabal that scares the Empress, an unknown, which is why our malazans seek out Vorcan. Beyond this, Oppon's meddling continually draws attention from the gods of the world, interested to see if immoral blood would be spilled. This began with Rake's killing of the two Hounds.
They finish the conversation by assessing the condition of Mammot, trapped in a slumber, his mind/soul stuck in his D'riss warren, rulled by the Worm of Autumn, D'rek, of whom Mammot is a High Preist. D'riss is evidently the Warren of earth magic, so I wonder if Caladan Brood will have or has had any interactions with the scholar. Mammot went off to investigate the barrow at Baruk's request, and wound up in this state. All of the Elder magic and Otataral present have messed with him somehow, and he cannot be freed until the Jaghut is. In which case, there will be a narrow window to save him before the High Preist, and his goddess, are subsumed by the Tyrant.
Crokus and Apsalar return to Darujhistan, despite wanting to be rid of the woman as soon as possible, Crokus is disappointed when the City does not impress her. They enter Mammot's study, finding a mess rather than the man himself. When wondering whether Rallick would know anything of this, Apsalar reacts strongly, likely prompted by her time under the Rope. For the first time since Book 2, we enter the PoV of Circle Breaker. After receiving a sign from an old woman, he delivers an additional sign to Meese. Internally, however, he cannot help but assume his days are numbered. He's acting in public, and how long until Turban Orr adds together that the same guard present at all of his leaked meetings is himself a mole? He expects to die soon, but is resolved to maintain his course until the last, heading for one final contact he considers redundant. Meese acts on the signal, approaching the building Mammot stays in, and knocking on the door. Crokus answers, disappointed that she is not his Uncle, and confused as to why she would be there. Crokus catches her up with Aps' amnesia, and notes they have not spoken to anyone but one stabler. Meese informs them of the death of the guard at the D'Arle estate, and Crokus takes this to be a betrayal on Chalice's part. That's... not a betrayal buddy. Aps' mention of Chalice clues Meese in on the situation surrounding the death, and despite the boy's protestations, she takes the situation at face value.
As they prepare to leave, Serrat stalks them, resolving to kill another watcher in the shadows, (I assume Irilta, given that she's backup) and replace her. She's been hunting the Coin Bearer on Rake's orders and we learn that she was one of the individuals hunting Crokus along the rooftops in Ch. 5. There's not much more to this scene, other than a couple odd details I'll note.
Kruppe and Murillio reach the Phoenix Inn, not finding their friends. Kruppe strangely waves aside the news of Rallick Nom meeting someone here earlier, and instead of reporting to Baruk right away, instead opts to enjoy a tankard of beer. This, coincidently opens a window for Circle Breaker to approach him with a message.
Rallick Nom, meanwhile, prepares to take on Ocelot. The clan leader will have all the advantages, and RN will have one shot at best, assuming he can even find him and get close enough. He does, however, posses an anti-magic powder (supplied by Baruk) which could potentially even the battle field. Moments after recalling the warning from the High Alchemist against applying it to bare skin, Rallick, knowing his chances are slim, fearing that Coll's death would remove the last claim on humanity he has left, he rubs the dust into his bare skin, all over. What sort of changes will this effect onto our assassin? Who knows! The chapter ends with RN swearing he will find and kill Ocelot undetected.
And there we go! Book 6 is starting off with a banger, once again tying ever more threads together tighter and tighter, promising one heck of a payoff. I, for one, cannot wait to see how it all unfolds!

2023 Results (So Far): +18.78 Units
2022 Results: +73.185 Units
All Time: +92 Units

Full transparency, I run a MMA betting service called Provide Picks. We have been operating for roughly a year and a half completely tracked and verifiable with a return of over 96 units in that short time. You can find our full tracking sheet history here and you can also see a bunch of customer testimonials and betting slips throughout that time here.
Me myself, I have watched MMA religiously for more than 10 years and trained for over 4.5 years, I love this sport so I figured why not help bring some insight and analysis to others! Now this isn’t a sales pitch, I know how Reddit works and I really enjoy the opinions shared on this sub-reddit so I genuinely want to help contribute and if you enjoy the output, please feel free to join the team! We are proven to be profitable long-term so if you have some spare change to invest at any level, you love the sport and are interested in improving your knowledge - come over and check us out at providepicks.com. As we have a fair base of paying members, it wouldn’t be fair to them to share every single one of our bets however I want to provide as much value for this betting community as people, hopefully to help you guys see a different angle in terms of MMA betting and long-term profitability and more importantly - sending these bookies broke.
Anyways enough waffle - let’s get into this week’s shenanigans. This is a surprisingly fun fight night card, I love these events that are lower on name value but just full of decent talent and exciting matchups. This is definitely one of them and generally when you have slightly lesser talent stacked fight nights, you have a night full of violence and finishes - let’s see if that continues in this one. Onto the breakdowns!
Maxim Grishin (32-9-2) vs. Philipe Lins (16-5):
Grishin is a tall, orthodox fighter who is just a real good mixed martial artist. He is a big frame for the LHW division, is strong and still has fairly slow, plodding style of movement and footwork. Is good in the clinch, very good at holding position by winning underhooks and using his big head to frame against the neck of his opponent and keep them in position for taxing knees to the body and just wearing on them with his big frame. I like his ability to keep the fight in his range, using slight forward pressure and a decent feint game to his advantage. Can be a little heavy set on the lead leg so should look out for the speedy outside leg kick of Lins in this one - Grishin is also pretty handy at catching the body kick and punishing. Personally, never been massively high on Lins in his career, admittedly he has looked better since dropping to his proper weight class post juice cycle but it is against weak competition. He is OK everywhere but not great anywhere, I do like his hand-speed with his boxing combos especially when pressuring forward. I think he mixes in takedowns well in his game at times but he can also be held against the cage. I probably slightly edge Lins in terms of cardio but I also do think this is a massive watch the scales fight due to Grishin’s size and propensity for bad weight cuts. This is a tough fight to call given both guys are fairly unimpressive. I favour the speed of Lins with the hand-speed and kicks definitely but he doesn’t set them up intelligently. I think Grishin can hold Lins against the cage, wear on him with his size and win minutes. I capped this fight 50/50 and I think we see a close fight, will take Maxim Grishin by UD but with very low confidence.
BET: No bet.
Luan Lacerda (12-2) vs. Da'Mon Blackshear (12-5-1):
I like what I saw on debut from Lacerda - he has a very Muay Thai style of fighting, very flat-footed with a high guard, move forward pressuring with the lead leg ready to pop up and check kicks quickly. He has sharp, fast hands and particularly his hooks to the body are very technically sound. Against Stamann he was able to mix some grappling in when it suited but it is clear he is more of an Aldo style fighter that prefers to stuff takedowns and keep it on the feet. Coming up against Blackshear here who I have been very impressed with even though he is off 2 losses. Da’mon is a super well rounded guy, I like his creative offence on the feet and I also like his offensive grappling ability on the ground too. Defensively, he leave a little more to be desired and can be a little comfortable with fighting off his back which I don’t particularly like. We haven’t seen too much grappling from Lacerda so will be interested to see how he fares in this one but I think the technicality of Lacerda on the feet, the ability to mix his targets to the head, body and legs and just land the more damaging strikes will edge him this one. Taking Luan Lacerda by UD.
BET: No bet.
Jinh Yu Frey (11-8) vs. Elise Reed (6-3):
I would be doing a disservice to everyone who reads this if I honestly told you with any level of confidence that you should put your hard earned money anywhere near this fight. Don’t, simple as that.
Daniel Santos (10-2) vs. Johnny Munoz Jr. (12-2):
This is a super fun matchup between two very efficient grapplers which should make for a exciting scrap here. Let’s start with Daniel Santos, if you knew nothing of this guy and watched him fight and had half a clue on MMA, you would know immediately that he is a Chute Boxe fighter. He has relentless forward pressure, irresponsible boxing defence and is a very kill or be killed style fighter. I like his stalking style, but he has little head movement besides the pull counter really, likes to pressure you until that back foot is up against the cage and then explode in with spinning attacks or elbows from weird angles. He keeps his hands high but then head on centre line and thus far has shown some crazy durability but this can only get you so far. Looks to have solid grappling, not accepting bottom position and constantly looking to invert and throw up submissions. Against Arce he looked good however Arce was able to be elusive with his footwork, stick and move and use angles well to counter in and out of range. I think against anyone who can effectively stay on the outside and use smart, straight shots effectively, he will struggle. I just don’t think that guy is Munoz JR on the feet - he is clunky, doesn’t throw in combinations and looks to parry alot of shots defensively which I really don’t like against a guy who throws wild, unorthodox strikes in Santos. He is a solid wrestler with some good offensive TD numbers but he has to be careful not to shoot unintelligently and throw himself into a submission which will make him hesitant and have to strike. I think Munoz’s wins have been against low level guys who aren’t in the promotion anymore and I think this is a bad stylistic fight for him. I think Santos will land the more damaging shots and I fancy he gets him out of here in under 2 rounds. Taking Daniel Santos via TKO RD 1.
BET: Like the look of the Santos moneyline, fancy Santos Inside the Distance too but will wait to see what price this opens at. If we get anything in the realm of +125 to -120, I would look at a 1.5 unit play. Under 2.5 rounds is an option also depending on price, I think it will probably be around the -200 to -250 play so anything south of that will be a play too.
Andrei Arlovski (34-21) vs. Don'Tale Mayes (9-5):
Huge experience edge to the old-dawg here in Arlovski. Mayes has been everything but impressive thus far in his UFC career and I don’t know how you could be intrigued to play either side in this one. Mayes can hit hard and is reasonably athletic for the HW division but skill for skill outside the boxing, he doesn’t offer a lot. I couldn’t be confident on ever betting him to be quite honest. You know what you’re going to get with Arlovski and that is volume, if his chin can handle what is coming back at him. He is a special for split decisions so if you’re a degen and want action, look to that but for me, no interest here. Will take the side of Andrei Arlovksi via UD using his volume and experience but you couldn’t be more lower confidence.
John Castañeda (19-6) vs. Muin Gafurov (18-4) :
Gafurov taking this on short-notice with Castaneda set to take on Mendonca before that was cancelled and replaced with possibly the furthest opposite style of fighter. The Gafurov gameplan is simple, contest on the feet, use blitz attacks such as looping overhands when moving forward followed by a double leg against the cage and rely on his Sambo capabilities to hold top position and out-work his opponent. Castañeda is a guy that doesnt get a huge amount of spotlight but I like his game alot. He has nice footwork, good striking out of southpaw and orthodox, has good wrestling entries and is able to grapple competitively, just a solid all around mixed martial artist. In this one, I really favour the movement and footwork of Castañeda and I think the speed is going to give Gafurov issues. Castañeda is sitting at a 60% TD Defence rate which is concerning against a guy who will consistently shoot like Gafurov, but I think Castañeda will be hard to find, using the angles in and out of the pocket and throwing quick shots up the middle to dissuade and make Gafurov think. I like John Sexi Mexi Castañeda to win this one by UD.
BET: No lines opened yet but have capped Castañeda as a 60% winning chance.
Elizeu Zaleski (23-7) vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov (17-3-1):
Zaleski is an interesting fighter to me. Good sprawl, solid TD Def against the cage, good balance and strength to win underhooks. Quite a flat-footed striker, not a massive amount of footwork but I like his rear leg power kick, he hits the body well and switches levels nicely. Relatively low volume and works single shots mainly without a massive amount of feinting. The frequency that he fights worries me but it has been the story of his career. Abubakr is the typical Dagestani fighter, limited stand up basically a quick overhand right and other single shots, tied in with a grinding, gruelling wrestling pace. He seems on the lower end of the Nurmagomedov scale in terms of skill, often leaving himself open to submission when in top control whether it’s knee-bars or even the common triangle. He is able to hold a good pace over 15 mins which is good given how top heavy and smothering he can be at times. He fights out of both stances, looks more comfortable out of OD but if he fights SP, I think he will lose this fight. Zaleski is too sharp on the feet especially with the body kicks and straight shots which will only be accentuated in the opposite stances. I also think the knees for Zaleski are going to be huge here, he throws them with bad intentions in the centre and against the cage which tied in with his teeps and front kicks are a dangerous sight for Abubakr. Abubakr is a good chance at smothering the fire power of Zaleski and just wearing on him but I think he is dangerous enough off his back to survive and challenge at times and I expect the damage will start to add up on the Zaleski side and I think we see a finish. Taking Elizeu Zaleski via TKO RD 2.
BET: Zaleksi ITD will be a play if over +200. Moneyline odds are probably bang on.
Guram Kutateladze (12-3) vs. Jamie Mullarkey (16-5):
Guram has a K1 kickboxing background and it shows, very high level on the feet with good head movement and sharp, unpredictable strikes set up with a smart feint game. He has really good distance management, uses great fundamentals and is super quick with his hand-speed and he finishes combos with kicks which I love, its that kickboxing mentality. He fights out of All Stars which shows in his TD Defence especially against the fence, he is clearly strong but has very good wrestling and counter wrestling technique. He has had a super high level of competition and performed very well in wins and losses, we just don’t see him active enough due to injuries and bad luck. Mullarkey is an absolute junkyard dog, pushing the pace and moving forward with intense pressure making you fight every second of that 15 minutes. He like to engage in the pocket, for better or worse, and in recent times we have seen his wrestling really shine through some of these tough scraps. He has a nice jab which I expect to be pumping prior to every combo and entry for Mullarkey. I just think at this point in his career this is quite a tough fight for Mullarkey. Guram is a super high-level striker with a good base for stuffing takedowns and keeping the fight in kickboxing range. I expect Mullarkey to want to close distance and engage, I just don’t think defensively he is strong enough to absorb and adapt to the speed and combinations of Guram and I think we see that chin tested for Mullarkey. I think this is a bit of a step down in competition for Guram although if Mullarkey can get some early takedowns it will be interesting to see the gastank of Guram tested. The activity is always a question mark but at this point I think Guram should win this handily, will be taking Guram Kutateladze via TKO RD 2.
BET: Wouldn’t touch Guram at -350 but he should win.
Karine Silva (15-4) vs. Ketlen Souza (13-3):
Silva should win here but at that price, even blind Freddie could see that this is a pass on the moneylines. Silva actually has a high finishing ability in terms of WMMA, so if we can get a good price on a fight doesnt go the distance line, that could be an option here.
BET: Wait for round lines to drop.
Tim Elliott (18-12-1) vs. Victor Altamirano (12-2):
Altamirano is a SP fighter, fairly unusual style of striking with sort of a Tony Ferguson style mixed in with some well timed takedown attempts. He has very little power in his strikes but OK volume. Defensively, he leaves a lot to be desired with a modified sort of philly shell style where his lead hand is low and near the hip, he does get hit and often but he has shown very good durability. His takedowns worry me at times because he is very content to dip his head to an advancing opponent and run a double or single leg, he is very open to knees and front kicks up the middle. Tim Elliott lives up to his nickname of “Awkward” extremely well. He has bizarre head movement, footwork and feints that all tie in to his sort of herky jerky style of fighting. He is able to tie his wrestling game in very well, I’d say technically he is far more technically sound than Victor. He does put himself into submission opportunities with some of his entries but im not too worried about that in this fight. This has the potential to be one of the worst fights we have seen TBH and only because of how weird and unorthodox these guys are, the awkwardness really has the potential to make this fight a strange one. I am pretty confident that Tim has the grappling/wrestling edge and also the more diverse and comfortable striker, the recent occurrence with Tim and Gina Mazany in the media does give me pause that he might be coming into this too emotional but I think it may fire him up to really perform. I think Tim is under his value here and can win in a multitude of ways, going to take Tim Elliott via UD.
BET: Tim Elliott Moneyline -175 (2 Units to win 1.14 Units)
Jim Miller (35-17) vs. Jared Gordon (19-6):
I will keep this one short and simple, Gordon is a really bad stylistic matchup for Miller and would win probably 7/10 times currently BUT he is returning way too soon after getting KO’d by that headbutt from Bobby Green. Gordon has good wrestling and generally good durability with a knack for pushing these grinding paces and outworking and outlasting his opponent. Pair that up with good submission defence and thats a horror fight for A10 Miller. But you can never count Jim out, he hits hard for a vet, he is unorthodox and he has the potential to catch you. For me, Gordon should roll here but I love to play Jim Miller round one given that is his money round - have cashed plenty on this through his career! Short breakdown and not a thorough one, I think Jared Gordon should win this fight but I think it is too soon. I will take Jared Gordon via UD**,** but take it with a pinch of salt.
BET: Jim Miller wins round 1 (price not available yet, .75 units)
Alex Caceres (20-13) vs. Daniel Pineda (28-14):
Haven’t had time to break this one down yet but will update if any bets come off it!
Kai Kara-France (24-10) vs. Amir Albazi (16-1):
KKF is a kickboxing fighter who we have seen develop nicely through his career in the UFC. He has worked tirelessly on his takedown defence and it shows in his huge improvement in ability to not only stuff shots but his ability to use the cage and his excellent balance to keep his feet underneath him. I think KKF’s hands are still fairly rudimentary and not necessarily in a bad way, he uses the jab decently well and relies on the 1,2 sometimes too much. For his weight, he has good power and one area I really like are his leg kicks, he has solid rear leg power kicks that he lands very efficiently off the back of his straight shots. Albazi is more of a grappler in nature with a majority of his victories by submission but I have liked what I have seen from him on the feet also. He has a sharp, snappy jab which he works off the back of and allows to dictate the fight. He has a pretty limited kicking game and in terms of kick defence, I expect KKF to really try and exploit the lack of checking and the heavy set stature of Albazi. In the grappling realm, I don’t think it’s close. Albazi has some elite scrambles on the mat and if you’re content to sit in his guard, he has some really damaging ground and pound in which he will equally target your head and body and punish you and wear on you. Albazi is far superior in terms of grappling but the question is will he be able to get it down to the mat? I think his timing going under the big right hand will be an option and I think he will be able to use his strength advantage when in close to muscle certain movements. This is a big step up in competition and his first venture into main event rounds which is a worry. This is going to be a fun fight and I am really looking forward to it but I think as long as everything looks good after weigh-ins, I will be on the Albazi side. He is improving with every fight and I think we see him get this fight to the ground and wear on KKF, eventually finding a submission, probably a RNC. Taking Amir Albazi via SUB RD 3.
BET: Will wait to see what round lines are set at. Will be looking at the Albazi Inside the Distance line also.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And that wraps up the breakdowns for this week! We send our followers the full betting cards on Saturday morning here in Australia, post weigh-ins. Nothing worse than betting on a fighter pre weigh-in, just to see him look like complete shit on the scales. We will post some of our betting card here incase anyone is interested!
Good luck, always gamble responsibly and remember to hang around long-term because there will be ups and downs but trust the process and we will build some bankroll. Would love to know if you agree or disagree anywhere and let us know who you are riding with below. Enjoy the fights! - Dylan.

How to pick your target audience
To sell effectively you must know who you’re selling to. Nowadays, when demographics, motivations, goals, and frustrations are more flexible than ever before, finding your target audience can be a hassle.
The convenient solution is to map out buyer personas which, although based on statistics, give you a good idea of your consumer. Buyer personas include demographics, motivations, goals, and frustrations.
Whether it be email marketing, social media, or blogs, always have your buyer persona in mind when carrying these out.
Converting viewers into buyers
E-comm owners know your website gaining attention doesn’t pay the bills. They must get as far as purchasing your product or service.
The first step is to understand WHY your customers don’t reach for their wallet. Inconsistent user experience, un-interactive buttons, 404-pages, or a broken payment system are fatal when attempting to convert viewers into buyers.
However, you may need to look at the bigger picture. Are you targeting the right audience. Is your brand memorable? Are you building trust with your consumer?
By fulfilling these, your chances of converting will skyrocket.
Offering high-quality customer service
Although a part of it, customer service doesn’t just mean replying to customers as soon as they message.
Customer service is much more. The biggest problem with e-comm brands is that they don’t develop a personal approach to customer service. You must deal with customers in a warm way to understand their frustrations and build on your buyer persona.
Consider other forms of communication like social media, live chat, or email. Your customers will find it easier to deal with your business and are therefore more willing to return.
Building customer loyalty
Based on statistics, it is easier to re-engage current customers than to obtain new ones which means that should be your focus.
Offer your customers more than just a great product. Take up content marketing by starting a blog post for instance. And offer discounts to show that you care.
This encourages previous customers to revisit you regularly and possibly make a purchase.
Choosing the right tech partners
Often the problem doesn’t lie in your product or marketing strategy, but because you haven’t taken care when choosing tech partners.
The solution? Pick the right one!
This means taking due diligence with the platform/tech you’re selecting whether it be email marketing, shopping cart solution, or inventory management software.
Also, picking tech that falls under your niche is vital. They understand you better and have worked with e-comm stores like yours. In short, they’re your best bet!
Conclusion
Hope that helped you, feel free to PM me for more personalized advice.
Talk soon,
Riad

31F. Long post please bear with me. I’m a corporate tax accountant that worked in public accounting for 4 years (was a high performer but burned out epically) then went to an industry in-house corporate tax department for 5 years as a Senior Analyst. I was sought out by someone that I used to work with at the public accounting firm to join their team as a Manager at Company X they had just left the firm for (they are now a Director there).
I wasn’t looking for a new job and liked where I was. I was good at what I did and people in the department above and below me looked to me for help and trusted me. The people there were all somewhat like family, we’d used to go out for wine dinners and movies and even concerts after work. Plus I was making $100K + an annual bonus. But in the back of my mind I was feeling a little mundane with the work and there was no promotion line (small dept with already two Mgrs and a Dir).
I decided to take the risk and go to the new Manager role. It ended up being miserable. The people were all generally nice, including the person I knew that recruited me, but on my day 2 one of the analysts put in their notice and I had found out that the dept had a lot of turnover problems (multiple others had left in the past year and two others left two months later). I was immediately doubled my work to cover for the loss and I quickly felt like I was drowning. It was a new industry, new level position for me, we were constantly on calls so I had no time to focus on my actual work or LEARN anything, and a lot of processes were just “figure it out as you go” because the people that knew those processes had left. I was working until 11pm+, on Sundays, I was forgetting to eat, and eventually had debilitating panic attacks. I resigned my position and it has been hard to deal with.
The question is - should I go back to what I know, even though I wouldn’t be a true Manager there? I’m petrified of looking for something else and finding out it’s like Company X everywhere since everywhere is understaffed and trying to cut $ to make $$$. But on the other hand I’m nervous of falling into a rut professionally and feel the pressure internally that “I should be a Manager by now” since that’s what others from my field are at my age.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

1
I live in a suburb surrounded by forest. My house is in a row of other properties built next to a tree line. The neighborhood was always quiet. The sounds of crickets, birds, and sight of black bears were routine on most summer days.
The scenic area was something I was always grateful for. I lived completely alone since the death of my parents. An accidental fire took both of their lives. Once I collected my inheritance, I relocated to a much more peaceful region. I had always fantasized about moving there.
I tried to start a relationship with Samantha. I had gone to High School with her sixteen years before. She had gone on to become a respected Detective. My attempt at something long lasting with her failed. She was too career oriented. I was reeling from grief. Focusing on building something meaningful with her was a pipe dream.
Things around my community changed once the Murphy family went missing.
The first sign that something was off on that Wednesday was how their blinds had closed. Their silver Chevy Chrysler remained parked in the driveway.
A tennis instructor at the country club noticed the wife of that house did not show up for the program. He called their number to make sure everything was alright. When no one responded, he notified the authorities. Rumors abounded immediately among the home owners association about an alleged affair. The gossip only furthered when the married couple and their three kids were not found in the abode.
I watched from my balcony as the patrolmen roped the place off with caution tape. The domicile was a three story building with brick chimney’s and a few peaked roofs in the style of English towers. They were beige, light blue and crimson.
On the morning of the Murphy’s desertion of society, the architecture became a hollow image. It was one that was once filled with activity and life.
The law did what they could. Any success they may have had in the investigation was secret. A few months passed by and they removed the caution tape.
I followed the on-line police logs. The weather was pristine and clear the day they vanished. The fact that there were no witnesses to what direction they may have gone disturbed me.
I had heard how the man, Frank Murphy, had a bit of a temper and always had a bourbon in hand. I had heard mutual friends describe him as an alcoholic in denial of his servitude to liquor. He was an indignant individual who knew no true repercussions for his behavior. He always had bail money from a software company he founded and sold a long time ago.
I was never close to that family, but I peered out at their vacant house far more than I ever had. I was in need of an answer. What could have happened?
2
I called Samantha one evening as I sat on my bed, wondering how she would respond to my reaching out. We were never argumentative or on bad terms. I still worried about her reaction, and hoped it would not be a dismissive one.
I heard her say hello. Her voice still impressed me. I had almost forgotten how silky her tone was. I knew it could change to a much firmer pitch when she was interviewing a suspect.
“Hi, Sam. I’d like to know if you’d be free tomorrow for a cup of coffee. We can go to that place, The Bean Field, off Pond road. It’s been a while and I know you have a lot to tell me about what’s new in your life.”
There was a pause on the other end, and for a second a bout of anxiety hit me. I judged my own words as robotic, stilted, and sure to push her away. I reasoned she was summoning an excuse to get out of having to interact with me. How dare I presume she would even entertain the notion of having a meeting.
“That sounds great,” she said. “Tomorrow is my day off, luckily for you. I’m in the middle of an incident right now. It’s a five car pile-up about forty minutes from where you live. I’ve gotta run. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
When she hung up, I was triumphant. I looked at our old text conversations. I realized we had not been in communication with each other for over twelve months. Now was my opportunity to reconcile that gap of unintended avoidance. I knew it would be an undeserved opportunity.
3
I sat outside of the cafe the next morning at a black metal table. I had a view of rolling hills dotted with trees. A highway with multitudinous shrubberies sat on either side of it. I sipped a piccolo latte while waiting for her.
When she arrived and stepped out of her hatchback in the parking lot, her appearance floored me. She had not dressed up for our supposed date, but that did not make a difference. She had arrived from the gym and wore shorts and a top set. She donned a gray and green hoodie.
She sat across from me and reached for the menu.
“Can you go to the front and order me avocado toast?” Samantha asked. “I’ll also take a mocha with a few shots of espresso. Please.”
I did exactly that. When I returned with her items, she apologized for consuming her meal in less than two minutes.
“I hadn’t eaten since five PM yesterday,” she said between sips.
“I understand,” I said. “I doubt you ever have a consistent schedule anymore.”
“You’re right, but that’s why I have to enjoy my free time when I can.”
We settled into talking about what had happened since we last saw each other. I referenced my trying to learn another language (French) with the hopes of moving to Europe or Canada.
After fifteen minutes of small talk, I asked her about work, but I did so with caution. It started with me wondering about what the call she was on when we were on the phone was about.
“A drunk driver blew a stop sign and hit two other vehicles,” she said. “It was ugly. A few people died. We’ll see if the man in silk pajamas gives him the proper sentence or a traffic citation.”
“You know, I’m curious about what happened to the Murphy’s, if they’re hurt or not.”
“You and everyone else,” she said. “We’ve been getting so many witness accounts, and so far they’ve all been bogus. All I know is what I saw when I got there.”
“I didn’t know you were one of the responders,” I said.
“Yeah. Something about the place was off from the moment I walked in. I found heavy items in placed they should not have been in. The toolbox was not in the garage but on the second story. A disassembled snowblower lay scattered everywhere in pieces. The oven door was on their bed. Frank Murphy was not the strongest guy in the world, either. For him to cause the kind of property damage I saw doesn’t make a lot of sense. At the risk of sounding crazy, inexplicable things happened when I was there.”
“Like what?”
“I was under the impression that something was playing a trick on me. Electrical outlets sparked a few times out of nowhere. The ceiling fan would go from still to spinning when I looked up at it. Books would fall off of the shelves. A volume on black magic, of all things, almost hit the top of my head when I walked on by. Another book about fairies collapsed with it.”
“So the home intruder set up a bunch of weird diversions,” I said. “I’ve heard of that before. These killers or kidnappers want the victims to think there was more than one of them. It’s so their account’s disputed in court.”
I’ll tell you right now,” she said, “we didn’t find any outside DNA.”
“So it’s a case of family annihilation,” I said as I took a long swig of my beverage. “I don’t know if you can substantiate the facts, but a few people have said that Emily had a big life insurance policy. Frank knew about. He may have been using steroids and having an affair, and that could have contributed to-“
It occurred to me that she eyed me with suspicion, as though I was digging too deep. I could also tell she regretted letting information about the forensic results slip.
She stood up and stared at me with a flash of anger in her eyes.
“I thought you wanted to piece something back together with me,” she said. “I didn’t know you wanted to play armchair investigator like every true crime fan. You know, your parents were kind. I wish you’d follow their example. I’ll let you get the bill.”
She walked back to her vehicle and I knew it would be a while before we conversed again.
Later that night, I stared out my window at the Murphy home. I saw a star shoot across the sky, and it almost seemed ready to plummet into the side of their house.
4
The next evening, I took a walk around the suburb. I spotted a thin line of dried red fluid along a path which led into the woods.
I was attempting to get in some movement to get my mind off of the events of the day before. Negativity and self-deprecation were all-consuming. I felt the need for a long saunter to try and release some of the meandering and pessimistic energy I accrued.
When I saw the carmine ribbon along the dark soil, a sense of worry filled me. I was not that far removed from a cul-de-sac with palatial manors a block away. There was no way I could speculate on me being the first to see it.
Could it be a hint where they are? I thought.
The notion seemed absurd, a reach.
I had read in the local newspaper that there was an uptick in bobcat sightings due to recent wildfires. The animals relocated during prior summers. I reasoned it could have been a house pet which became a victim after it got snatched away into the overgrowth.
I followed it, and the uneven road of red stretched on past many bushes and over logs. A shrill chirping in the background became louder. I moved between two conifers with petrified wood and found myself in a part of the forest I had never been in.
There were so many branches that it blacked out the falling sun. Ahead of me was a clearing. A swarm of gnats and mosquitos descended upon it. The sea of insects soared together in chaotic unison as a wave among the sedges and lichen.
I looked towards the right of the meadow and saw a ramshackle tree house. I trailed the red line towards it. I peered in through one of the windows and saw a statue of a woman with wings. I knew she was not an angel. There was no halo, nor were her organs of flight feathery, but rather they were thin and bat-like.
I entered the place knowing the danger I was putting myself in. I had tracked mud in and was oblivious to the incriminating actions I partook in. I was trespassing and risking stumbling into whoever may have owned the land. My curiosity got the better of me and caused me to keep moving forward.
The room was sparse but decorated. The walls had carvings of men and women, also with wings. Their bodies held yogic-like positions as they reached out to one another mid-air.
A piece of parchment with a few words sat in the corner. I picked it up and read it:
‘Humans are the greatest living beings to play tricks on. Especially when they go through a time of drought and extreme cold.’
I sat it down where I found it, unsure of what to make of it.
I touched the central figure’s neck. The chiseling was not only cold, but below freezing, as though I had submerged my hand in a polar pool.
The noise of some kind of bird attempting to escape a confined space reverberated below me.
Something brushed against my leg. I looked down and saw an army of glow bugs float up between the cracks, and they circled around me. They were like dragon flies. At the time I had labeled them as such, but in reality their shapes were far too humanoid.
I walked back home. I went to bed and slept. I was still perturbed at the wine-colored avenue and cabin.
I awoke in the middle of the night after something tapped at my walls from the outside. I peered out and saw the Murphy home, and observed how the blinds over their casements were wide open. A hive of mites filled every inch of the interior.
5
I found the decomposing body of a chipmunk stuffed into the tailpipe of my vehicle the next day.
This horrified me, because the deliberation of the act was too evident to ignore. While I did have a surveillance camera on my porch, the coverage of my vehicle was non-existent. I calmed myself down by thinking it was likely a tempestuous child. I retrieved a pair of medical gloves and disposed of the creature before going on with the errand. The rotting body had a horrible smell. It was like an onion left out in humidity for days, and my stomach turned as I sealed it off in the garbage with the lid.
The next morning, I looked in my closet. Some of my favorite shirts had disintegrated. Holes and patches of destroyed fabric littered them. I found it odd, and even searched on-line for possible answers before I decided it had to be a moth infestation. I sprayed lavender. Information on a website statEd that was a cure-all, but the problem persisted. It bothered me that I had not seen a single aphid, but I pushed that concern away.
A few days afterward, when I had tossed my disheveled pieces of attire, the power in my house went out. This was not such an unusual occurrence during the heavy winter months. For it to occur in the summer was strange.
It was a rolling blackout. Once my house had electricity again, I noticed how someone moved items around.
Something turned my kitchen table on its side and stuffed into a part of the kitchen I would have never placed it in.
I grabbed a butcher knife and did a sweep of the premises, and I did not find anything. There were no footprints or signs of anything else tampered with. When I got to the second story, birds nested along the tree tops, and the repugnant odor of fish attacked me.
My allergies became insufferable over the next month. Nothing purchased over the counter which helped it.
6
I went to the beach on an overcast day. After roughly half a mile of walking, I saw an illustration someone had drawn in the sand with a stick. It was of a being with airfoils.
A light precipitation had fallen earlier. As I trailed along the former part of the sand, a glint in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I looked out at the water and saw what appeared to be a light blue outline of wings beneath the surface.
A phosphorescent wall of creatures surrounded me.
As the days march on, I know I am stalked by something I cannot rebel against, let alone have any agency or autonomy over. My pillowcases have shredded, the pipes in my basement have burst, and someone left me a gift at my front door. When I opened it, I saw mice scurry away. It was a book, and it was one about the history of fairies.
I picked it up and had to blow the dust off of it. Someone had stolen it from a musty subterranean chamber and brought it here.
I theorized that it was Samantha, passive aggressive with her disappointment in me. Yet I flip through its pages and find it all too familiar. I cannot help but wonder if this is a sign of something far more dangerous.

I live in a suburb surrounded by forest. My house is in a row of other properties built next to a tree line. The neighborhood was always quiet. The sounds of crickets, birds, and sight of black bears were routine on most summer days.
The scenic area was something I was always grateful for. I lived completely alone since the death of my parents. An accidental fire took both of their lives. Once I collected my inheritance, I relocated to a much more peaceful region. I had always fantasized about moving there.
I tried to start a relationship with Samantha. I had gone to High School with her sixteen years before. She had gone on to become a respected Detective. My attempt at something long lasting with her failed. She was too career oriented. I was reeling from grief. Focusing on building something meaningful with her was a pipe dream.
Things around my community changed once the Murphy family went missing.
The first sign that something was off on that Wednesday was how their blinds had closed. Their silver Chevy Chrysler remained parked in the driveway.
A tennis instructor at the country club noticed the wife of that house did not show up for the program. He called their number to make sure everything was alright. When no one responded, he notified the authorities. Rumors abounded immediately among the home owners association about an alleged affair. The gossip only furthered when the married couple and their three kids were not found in the abode.
I watched from my balcony as the patrolmen roped the place off with caution tape. The domicile was a three story building with brick chimney’s and a few peaked roofs in the style of English towers. They were beige, light blue and crimson.
On the morning of the Murphy’s desertion of society, the architecture became a hollow image. It was one that was once filled with activity and life.
The law did what they could. Any success they may have had in the investigation was secret. A few months passed by and they removed the caution tape.
I followed the on-line police logs. The weather was pristine and clear the day they vanished. The fact that there were no witnesses to what direction they may have gone disturbed me.
I had heard how the man, Frank Murphy, had a bit of a temper and always had a bourbon in hand. I had heard mutual friends describe him as an alcoholic in denial of his servitude to liquor. He was an indignant individual who knew no true repercussions for his behavior. He always had bail money from a software company he founded and sold a long time ago.
I was never close to that family, but I peered out at their vacant house far more than I ever had. I was in need of an answer. What could have happened?
*
I called Samantha one evening as I sat on my bed, wondering how she would respond to my reaching out. We were never argumentative or on bad terms. I still worried about her reaction, and hoped it would not be a dismissive one.
I heard her say hello. Her voice still impressed me. I had almost forgotten how silky her tone was. I knew it could change to a much firmer pitch when she was interviewing a suspect.
“Hi, Sam. I’d like to know if you’d be free tomorrow for a cup of coffee. We can go to that place, The Bean Field, off Pond road. It’s been a while and I know you have a lot to tell me about what’s new in your life.”
There was a pause on the other end, and for a second a bout of anxiety hit me. I judged my own words as robotic, stilted, and sure to push her away. I reasoned she was summoning an excuse to get out of having to interact with me. How dare I presume she would even entertain the notion of having a meeting.
“That sounds great,” she said. “Tomorrow is my day off, luckily for you. I’m in the middle of an incident right now. It’s a five car pile-up about forty minutes from where you live. I’ve gotta run. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
When she hung up, I was triumphant. I looked at our old text conversations. I realized we had not been in communication with each other for over twelve months. Now was my opportunity to reconcile that gap of unintended avoidance. I knew it would be an undeserved opportunity.
*
I sat outside of the cafe the next morning at a black metal table. I had a view of rolling hills dotted with trees. A highway with multitudinous shrubberies sat on either side of it. I sipped a piccolo latte while waiting for her.
When she arrived and stepped out of her hatchback in the parking lot, her appearance floored me. She had not dressed up for our supposed date, but that did not make a difference. She had arrived from the gym and wore shorts and a top set. She donned a gray and green hoodie.
She sat across from me and reached for the menu.
“Can you go to the front and order me avocado toast?” Samantha asked. “I’ll also take a mocha with a few shots of espresso. Please.”
I did exactly that. When I returned with her items, she apologized for consuming her meal in less than two minutes.
“I hadn’t eaten since five PM yesterday,” she said between sips.
“I understand,” I said. “I doubt you ever have a consistent schedule anymore.”
“You’re right, but that’s why I have to enjoy my free time when I can.”
We settled into talking about what had happened since we last saw each other. I referenced my trying to learn another language (French) with the hopes of moving to Europe or Canada.
After fifteen minutes of small talk, I asked her about work, but I did so with caution. It started with me wondering about what the call she was on when we were on the phone was about.
“A drunk driver blew a stop sign and hit two other vehicles,” she said. “It was ugly. A few people died. We’ll see if the man in silk pajamas gives him the proper sentence or a traffic citation.”
“You know, I’m curious about what happened to the Murphy’s, if they’re hurt or not.”
“You and everyone else,” she said. “We’ve been getting so many witness accounts, and so far they’ve all been bogus. All I know is what I saw when I got there.”
“I didn’t know you were one of the responders,” I said.
“Yeah. Something about the place was off from the moment I walked in. I found heavy items in placed they should not have been in. The toolbox was not in the garage but on the second story. A disassembled snowblower lay scattered everywhere in pieces. The oven door was on their bed. Frank Murphy was not the strongest guy in the world, either. For him to cause the kind of property damage I saw doesn’t make a lot of sense. At the risk of sounding crazy, inexplicable things happened when I was there.”
“Like what?”
“I was under the impression that something was playing a trick on me. Electrical outlets sparked a few times out of nowhere. The ceiling fan would go from still to spinning when I looked up at it. Books would fall off of the shelves. A volume on black magic, of all things, almost hit the top of my head when I walked on by. Another book about fairies collapsed with it.”
“So the home intruder set up a bunch of weird diversions,” I said. “I’ve heard of that before. These killers or kidnappers want the victims to think there was more than one of them. It’s so their account’s disputed in court.”
I’ll tell you right now,” she said, “we didn’t find any outside DNA.”
“So it’s a case of family annihilation,” I said as I took a long swig of my beverage. “I don’t know if you can substantiate the facts, but a few people have said that Emily had a big life insurance policy. Frank knew about. He may have been using steroids and having an affair, and that could have contributed to-“
It occurred to me that she eyed me with suspicion, as though I was digging too deep. I could also tell she regretted letting information about the forensic results slip.
She stood up and stared at me with a flash of anger in her eyes.
“I thought you wanted to piece something back together with me,” she said. “I didn’t know you wanted to play armchair investigator like every true crime fan. You know, your parents were kind. I wish you’d follow their example. I’ll let you get the bill.”
She walked back to her vehicle and I knew it would be a while before we conversed again.
Later that night, I stared out my window at the Murphy home. I saw a star shoot across the sky, and it almost seemed ready to plummet into the side of their house.
*
The next evening, I took a walk around the suburb. I spotted a thin line of dried red fluid along a path which led into the woods.
I was attempting to get in some movement to get my mind off of the events of the day before. Negativity and self-deprecation were all-consuming. I felt the need for a long saunter to try and release some of the meandering and pessimistic energy I accrued.
When I saw the carmine ribbon along the dark soil, a sense of worry filled me. I was not that far removed from a cul-de-sac with palatial manors a block away. There was no way I could speculate on me being the first to see it.
Could it be a hint where they are? I thought.
The notion seemed absurd, a reach.
I had read in the local newspaper that there was an uptick in bobcat sightings due to recent wildfires. The animals relocated during prior summers. I reasoned it could have been a house pet which became a victim after it got snatched away into the overgrowth.
I followed it, and the uneven road of red stretched on past many bushes and over logs. A shrill chirping in the background became louder. I moved between two conifers with petrified wood and found myself in a part of the forest I had never been in.
There were so many branches that it blacked out the falling sun. Ahead of me was a clearing. A swarm of gnats and mosquitos descended upon it. The sea of insects soared together in chaotic unison as a wave among the sedges and lichen.
I looked towards the right of the meadow and saw a ramshackle tree house. I trailed the red line towards it. I peered in through one of the windows and saw a statue of a woman with wings. I knew she was not an angel. There was no halo, nor were her organs of flight feathery, but rather they were thin and bat-like.
I entered the place knowing the danger I was putting myself in. I had tracked mud in and was oblivious to the incriminating actions I partook in. I was trespassing and risking stumbling into whoever may have owned the land. My curiosity got the better of me and caused me to keep moving forward.
The room was sparse but decorated. The walls had carvings of men and women, also with wings. Their bodies held yogic-like positions as they reached out to one another mid-air.
A piece of parchment with a few words sat in the corner. I picked it up and read it:
‘Humans are the greatest living beings to play tricks on. Especially when they go through a time of drought and extreme cold.’
I sat it down where I found it, unsure of what to make of it.
I touched the central figure’s neck. The chiseling was not only cold, but below freezing, as though I had submerged my hand in a polar pool.
The noise of some kind of bird attempting to escape a confined space reverberated below me.
Something brushed against my leg. I looked down and saw an army of glow bugs float up between the cracks, and they circled around me. They were like dragon flies. At the time I had labeled them as such, but in reality their shapes were far too humanoid.
I walked back home. I went to bed and slept. I was still perturbed at the wine-colored avenue and cabin.
I awoke in the middle of the night after something tapped at my walls from the outside. I peered out and saw the Murphy home, and observed how the blinds over their casements were wide open. A hive of mites filled every inch of the interior.
*
I found the decomposing body of a chipmunk stuffed into the tailpipe of my vehicle the next day.
This horrified me, because the deliberation of the act was too evident to ignore. While I did have a surveillance camera on my porch, the coverage of my vehicle was non-existent. I calmed myself down by thinking it was likely a tempestuous child. I retrieved a pair of medical gloves and disposed of the creature before going on with the errand. The rotting body had a horrible smell. It was like an onion left out in humidity for days, and my stomach turned as I sealed it off in the garbage with the lid.
The next morning, I looked in my closet. Some of my favorite shirts had disintegrated. Holes and patches of destroyed fabric littered them. I found it odd, and even searched on-line for possible answers before I decided it had to be a moth infestation. I sprayed lavender. Information on a website statEd that was a cure-all, but the problem persisted. It bothered me that I had not seen a single aphid, but I pushed that concern away.
A few days afterward, when I had tossed my disheveled pieces of attire, the power in my house went out. This was not such an unusual occurrence during the heavy winter months. For it to occur in the summer was strange.
It was a rolling blackout. Once my house had electricity again, I noticed how someone moved items around.
Something turned my kitchen table on its side and stuffed into a part of the kitchen I would have never placed it in.
I grabbed a butcher knife and did a sweep of the premises, and I did not find anything. There were no footprints or signs of anything else tampered with. When I got to the second story, birds nested along the tree tops, and the repugnant odor of fish attacked me.
My allergies became insufferable over the next month. Nothing purchased over the counter which helped it.
*
I went to the beach on an overcast day. After roughly half a mile of walking, I saw an illustration someone had drawn in the sand with a stick. It was of a being with airfoils.
A light precipitation had fallen earlier. As I trailed along the former part of the sand, a glint in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I looked out at the water and saw what appeared to be a light blue outline of wings beneath the surface.
A phosphorescent wall of creatures surrounded me.
As the days march on, I know I am stalked by something I cannot rebel against, let alone have any agency or autonomy over. My pillowcases have shredded, the pipes in my basement have burst, and someone left me a gift at my front door. When I opened it, I saw mice scurry away. It was a book, and it was one about the history of fairies.
I picked it up and had to blow the dust off of it. Someone had stolen it from a musty subterranean chamber and brought it here.
I theorized that it was Samantha, passive aggressive with her disappointment in me. Yet I flip through its pages and find it all too familiar. I cannot help but wonder if this is a sign of something far more dangerous.

Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory

Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.

All Buyouts are listed in cash value.

KNIVES

★ Butterfly Knife Freehand FN #1, B/O: $2500

★ Butterfly Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $822

★ Butterfly Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $616

⎯

★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW #1, B/O: $1300

★ Bayonet Autotronic FN, B/O: $1050

★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW, B/O: $629

★ Bayonet Bright Water FT, B/O: $326

★ Bayonet Safari Mesh BS, B/O: $233

⎯

★ Karambit Lore FT, B/O: $1110

★ Karambit Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $840

★ Karambit Freehand MW, B/O: $784

★ Karambit Bright Water MW, B/O: $759

⎯

★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1801

★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1801

★ M9 Bayonet Damascus Steel FN, B/O: $751

⎯

★ Nomad Knife Fade FN, B/O: $1156

★ Nomad Knife Slaughter MW, B/O: $544

★ Nomad Knife Blue Steel WW, B/O: $318

⎯

★ Flip Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $646

★ Flip Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $574

★ Flip Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) MW, B/O: $552

★ Flip Knife Case Hardened FT, B/O: $257

★ Flip Knife Freehand FT, B/O: $255

★ StatTrak™ Flip Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $287

⎯

★ Huntsman Knife Lore FN, B/O: $461

★ Huntsman Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $436

★ Huntsman Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $353

★ Huntsman Knife Autotronic FT, B/O: $212

★ Huntsman Knife Bright Water FT, B/O: $129

★ Huntsman Knife Forest DDPAT MW, B/O: $129

★ Huntsman Knife Forest DDPAT BS, B/O: $123

★ StatTrak™ Huntsman Knife Rust Coat BS, B/O: $127

⎯

★ Bowie Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $375

★ Bowie Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $363

★ Bowie Knife Tiger Tooth FN, B/O: $269

★ Bowie Knife Crimson Web WW, B/O: $192

★ Bowie Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $159

★ Bowie Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $126

⎯

★ Stiletto Knife Slaughter FN, B/O: $616

★ Stiletto Knife Crimson Web FT, B/O: $412

★ StatTrak™ Stiletto Knife Night Stripe FT, B/O: $227

⎯

★ Falchion Knife Lore FT, B/O: $214

★ Falchion Knife Autotronic FT, B/O: $192

★ Falchion Knife Scorched WW, B/O: $105

⎯

★ Survival Knife Crimson Web BS, B/O: $216

★ Survival Knife Case Hardened FT, B/O: $198

★ Survival Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $111

⎯

★ Shadow Daggers Fade FN, B/O: $368

★ Shadow Daggers Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $228

★ Shadow Daggers, B/O: $201

★ Shadow Daggers Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $108

★ Shadow Daggers Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $105

★ Shadow Daggers Black Laminate FT, B/O: $99

★ Shadow Daggers Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $85

⎯

★ Gut Knife Doppler (Sapphire) MW #1, B/O: $1700

★ Gut Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $223

★ Gut Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $203

★ Gut Knife Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $191

★ Gut Knife Case Hardened BS, B/O: $127

⎯

★ Navaja Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $199

★ Navaja Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $199

★ Navaja Knife, B/O: $138

★ Navaja Knife Damascus Steel FN, B/O: $111

⎯

★ Classic Knife Urban Masked FT, B/O: $146

★ StatTrak™ Classic Knife Stained BS, B/O: $168

⎯

★ Ursus Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $476

★ Ursus Knife, B/O: $375

⎯

★ Skeleton Knife, B/O: $1137

★ Talon Knife, B/O: $608

★ Paracord Knife, B/O: $305

★ Survival Knife Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $97

GLOVES

★ Moto Gloves Transport MW, B/O: $204

★ Moto Gloves Polygon BS, B/O: $142

★ Moto Gloves Blood Pressure BS, B/O: $84

★ Moto Gloves Blood Pressure BS, B/O: $84

★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $63

★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $63

⎯

★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono WW, B/O: $1215

★ Specialist Gloves Tiger Strike FT, B/O: $672

★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander FT, B/O: $305

★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander BS, B/O: $140

★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Web BS, B/O: $137

★ Specialist Gloves Buckshot FT, B/O: $75

⎯

★ Driver Gloves Crimson Weave FT, B/O: $359

★ Driver Gloves Imperial Plaid BS, B/O: $229

★ Driver Gloves Overtake BS, B/O: $77

★ Driver Gloves Racing Green FT, B/O: $48

⎯

★ Sport Gloves Omega FT, B/O: $739

★ Sport Gloves Amphibious BS #2, B/O: $733

★ Sport Gloves Arid BS, B/O: $292

⎯

★ Hand Wraps Giraffe MW, B/O: $212

★ Hand Wraps Leather FT, B/O: $160

★ Hand Wraps Desert Shamagh MW, B/O: $101

⎯

★ Broken Fang Gloves Yellow-banded MW, B/O: $185

★ Broken Fang Gloves Needle Point FT, B/O: $67

★ Broken Fang Gloves Needle Point WW, B/O: $59

⎯

★ Hydra Gloves Case Hardened BS, B/O: $65

★ Hydra Gloves Emerald FT, B/O: $65

★ Hydra Gloves Emerald BS, B/O: $62

WEAPONS

AK-47 Case Hardened BS, B/O: $130

AK-47 Bloodsport MW, B/O: $79

AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76

AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76

AK-47 Bloodsport FT, B/O: $70

AK-47 Neon Rider MW, B/O: $60

StatTrak™ AK-47 Aquamarine Revenge FT, B/O: $72

⎯

AWP Fade FN, B/O: $1039

AWP Asiimov FT, B/O: $139

AWP Asiimov FT, B/O: $139

AWP Wildfire MW, B/O: $95

AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $93

AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $93

AWP Duality FN, B/O: $81

AWP Asiimov BS, B/O: $79

AWP Asiimov BS, B/O: $79

AWP Chromatic Aberration FN, B/O: $60

StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $68

StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $68

StatTrak™ AWP Electric Hive FT, B/O: $55

⎯

Desert Eagle Blaze FN, B/O: $623

Desert Eagle Emerald Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $241

Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81

Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81

Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81

Desert Eagle Printstream FT, B/O: $54

⎯

M4A1-S Blue Phosphor FN, B/O: $434

StatTrak™ M4A1-S Bright Water MW, B/O: $55

⎯

M4A4 Poseidon FN, B/O: $1465

M4A4 Asiimov BS, B/O: $55

M4A4 Hellfire MW, B/O: $50

⎯

USP-S Kill Confirmed MW, B/O: $72

USP-S Printstream FT, B/O: $69

StatTrak™ USP-S Kill Confirmed FT, B/O: $139

⎯

AUG Flame Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $234

P90 Run and Hide FT, B/O: $147

Five-SeveN Candy Apple FN, B/O: $61

Trade Offer Link - Steam Profile Link - My Inventory

Knives - Bowie Knife, Butterfly Knife, Falchion Knife, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Huntsman Knife, M9 Bayonet, Bayonet, Karambit, Shadow Daggers, Stiletto Knife, Ursus Knife, Navaja Knife, Talon Knife, Classic Knife, Paracord Knife, Survival Knife, Nomad Knife, Skeleton Knife, Patterns - Gamma Doppler, Doppler (Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4, Black Pearl, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald), Crimson Web, Lore, Fade, Ultraviolet, Night, Marble Fade (Fire & Ice, Fake FI), Case Hardened (Blue Gem), Autotronic, Slaughter, Black Laminate, Tiger Tooth, Boreal Forest, Scorched, Blue Steel, Vanilla, Damascus Steel, Forest DDPAT, Urban Masked, Freehand, Stained, Bright Water, Safari Mesh, Rust Coat, Gloves - Bloodhound Gloves (Charred, Snakebite, Guerrilla, Bronzed), Driver Gloves (Snow Leopard, King Snake, Crimson Weave, Imperial Plaid, Black Tie, Lunar Weave, Diamondback, Rezan the Red, Overtake, Queen Jaguar, Convoy, Racing Green), Hand Wraps (Cobalt Skulls, CAUTION!, Overprint, Slaughter, Leather, Giraffe, Badlands, Spruce DDPAT, Arboreal, Constrictor, Desert Shamagh, Duct Tape), Moto Gloves (Spearmint, POW!, Cool Mint, Smoke Out, Finish Line, Polygon, Blood Pressure, Turtle, Boom!, Eclipse, 3rd Commando Company, Transport), Specialist Gloves (Crimson Kimono, Tiger Strike, Emerald Web, Field Agent, Marble Fade, Fade, Foundation, Lt. Commander, Crimson Web, Mogul, Forest DDPAT, Buckshot), Sport Gloves (Pandora's Box, Superconductor, Hedge Maze, Vice, Amphibious, Slingshot, Omega, Arid, Big Game, Nocts, Scarlet Shamagh, Bronze Morph), Hydra Gloves (Case Hardened, Emerald, Rattler, Mangrove), Broken Fang Gloves (Jade, Yellow-banded, Unhinged, Needle Point), Pistols - P2000 (Wicked Sick, Ocean Foam, Fire Element, Amber Fade, Corticera, Chainmail, Imperial Dragon, Obsidian, Scorpion, Handgun, Acid Etched), USP-S (Printstream, Kill Confirmed, Whiteout, Road Rash, Owergrowth, The Traitor, Neo-Noir, Dark Water, Orion, Blueprint, Stainless, Caiman, Serum, Monster Mashup, Royal Blue, Ancient Visions, Cortex, Orange Anolis, Ticket To Hell, Black Lotus, Cyrex, Check Engine, Guardian, Purple DDPAT, Torque, Blood Tiger, Flashback, Business Class, Pathfinder, Para Green), Lead Conduit, Glock-18 (Umbral Rabbit, Fade, Candy Apple, Bullet Queen, Synth Leaf, Neo-Noir, Nuclear Garden, Dragon Tatto, Reactor, Pink DDPAT, Twilight Galaxy, Sand Dune, Groundwater, Blue Fissure, Snack Attack, Water Elemental, Brass, Wasteland Rebel, Vogue, Franklin, Royal Legion, Gamma Doppler, Weasel, Steel Disruption, Ironwork, Grinder, High Beam, Moonrise, Oxide Blaze, Bunsen Burner, Clear Polymer, Bunsen Burner, Night), P250 (Re.built, Nuclear Threat, Modern Hunter, Splash, Whiteout, Vino Primo, Mehndi, Asiimov, Visions, Undertow, Cartel, See Ya Later, Gunsmoke, Splash, Digital Architect, Muertos, Red Rock, Bengal Tiger, Crimson Kimono, Wingshot, Metallic DDPAT, Hive, Dark Filigree, Mint Kimono), Five-Seven (Neon Kimono, Berries And Cherries, Fall Hazard, Crimson Blossom, Hyper Beast, Nitro, Fairy Tale, Case Hardened, Copper Galaxy, Angry Mob, Monkey Business, Fowl Play, Anodized Gunmetal, Hot Shot, Retrobution, Boost Protocol), CZ75-Auto (Chalice, Crimson Web, Emerald Quartz, The Fuschia is Now, Nitro, Xiangliu, Yellow Jacket, Victoria, Poison Dart, Syndicate, Eco, Hexane, Pole, Tigris), Tec-9 (Rebel, Terrace, Nuclear Threat, Hades, Rust Leaf, Decimator, Blast From, Orange Murano, Toxic, Fuel Injector, Remote Control, Bamboo Forest, Isaac, Avalanche, Brother, Re-Entry, Blue Titanium, Bamboozle), R8 Revolver (Banana Cannon, Fade, Blaze, Crimson Web, Liama Cannon, Crazy 8, Reboot, Canal Spray, Night, Amber Fade), Desert Eagle (Blaze, Hand Cannon, Fennec Fox, Sunset Storm, Emerald Jörmungandr, Pilot, Hypnotic, Golden Koi, Printstream, Cobalt Disruption, Code Red, Ocean Drive, Midnight Storm, Kumicho Dragon, Crimson Web, Heirloom, Night Heist, Mecha Industries, Night, Conspiracy, Trigger Discipline, Naga, Directive, Light Rail), Dual Berettas (Flora Carnivora, Duelist, Cobra Strike, Black Limba, Emerald, Hemoglobin, Twin Turbo, Marina, Melondrama, Pyre, Retribution, Briar, Dezastre, Royal Consorts, Urban Shock, Dualing Dragons, Panther, Balance), Rifles - Galil (Aqua Terrace, Winter Forest, Chatterbox, Sugar Rush, Pheonix Blacklight, CAUTION!, Orange DDPAT, Cerberus, Dusk Ruins, Eco, Chromatic Aberration, Stone Cold, Tuxedo, Sandstorm, Shattered, Urban Rubble, Rocket Pop, Kami, Crimson Tsunami, Connexion), SCAR-20 (Fragments, Brass, Cyrex, Palm, Splash Jam, Cardiac, Emerald, Crimson Web, Magna Carta, Stone Mosaico, Bloodsport, Enforcer), AWP (Duality, Gungnir, Dragon Lore, Prince, Medusa, Desert Hydra, Fade, Lightning Strike, Oni Taiji, Silk Tiger, Graphite, Chromatic Aberration, Asiimov, Snake Camo, Boom, Containment Breach, Wildfire, Redline, Electric Hive, Hyper Beast, Neo-Noir, Man-o'-war, Pink DDPAT, Corticera, Sun in Leo, Elite Build, Fever Dream, Atheris, Mortis, PAW, Exoskeleton, Worm God, POP AWP, Phobos, Acheron, Pit Viper, Capillary, Safari Mesh), AK-47 (Head Shot, Wild Lotus, Gold Arabesque, X-Ray, Fire Serpent, Hydroponic, Panthera Onca, Case Hardened, Vulcan, Jet Set, Fuel Injector, Bloodsport, Nightwish, First Class, Neon Rider, Asiimov, Red Laminate, Aquamarine Revenge, The Empress, Wasteland Rebel, Jaguar, Black Laminate, Leet Museo, Neon Revolution, Redline, Frontside Misty, Predator, Legion of Anubis, Point Disarray, Orbit Mk01, Blue Laminate, Green Laminate, Emerald Pinstripe, Cartel, Phantom Disruptor, Jungle Spray, Safety Net, Rat Rod, Baroque Purple, Slate, Elite Build, Uncharted, Safari Mesh), FAMAS (Sundown, Prime Conspiracy, Afterimage, Commemoration, Dark Water, Spitfire, Pulse, Eye of Athena, Meltdown, Rapid Eye Move, Roll Cage, Styx, Mecha Industrie, Djinn, ZX Spectron, Valence, Neural Net, Night Borre, Hexne), M4A4 (Temukau, Howl, Poseidon, Asiimov, Daybreak, Hellfire, Zirka, Red DDPAT, Radiation Hazard, Modern Hunter, The Emperor, The Coalition, Bullet Rain, Cyber Security, X-Ray, Dark Blossom, Buzz Kill, In Living Color, Neo-Noir, Desolate Space, 龍王 (Dragon King), Royal Paladin, The Battlestar, Global Offensive, Tooth Fairy, Desert-Strike, Griffin, Evil Daimyo, Spider Lily, Converter), M4A1-S (Emphorosaur-S, Welcome to the Jungle, Imminent Danger, Knight, Hot Rod, Icarus Fell, Blue Phosphor, Printstream, Master Piece, Dark Water, Golden Coil, Bright Water, Player Two, Atomic Alloy, Guardian, Chantico's Fire, Hyper Beast, Mecha Industries, Cyrex, Control Panel, Moss Quartz, Nightmare, Decimator, Leaded Glass, Basilisk, Blood Tiger, Briefing, Night Terror, Nitro, VariCamo, Flashback), SG 553 (Cyberforce, Hazard Pay, Bulldozer, Integrale, Dragon Tech, Ultraviolet, Colony IV, Hypnotic, Cyrex, Candy Apple, Barricade, Pulse), SSG 08 (Death Strike, Sea Calico, Blood in the Water, Orange Filigree, Dragonfire, Big Iron, Bloodshot, Detour, Turbo Peek, Red Stone), AUG (Akihabara Accept, Flame Jörmungandr, Hot Rod, Midnight Lily, Sand Storm, Carved Jade, Wings, Anodized Navy, Death by Puppy, Torque, Bengal Tiger, Chameleon, Fleet Flock, Random Access, Momentum, Syd Mead, Stymphalian, Arctic Wolf, Aristocrat, Navy Murano), G3SG1 (Chronos, Violet Murano, Flux, Demeter, Orange Kimono, The Executioner, Green Apple, Arctic Polar Camo, Contractor), SMGs - P90 (Neoqueen, Astral Jörmungandr, Run and Hide, Emerald Dragon, Cold Blooded, Death by Kitty, Baroque Red, Vent Rush, Blind Spot, Asiimov, Trigon, Sunset Lily, Death Grip, Leather, Nostalgia, Fallout Warning, Tiger Pit, Schermatic, Virus, Shapewood, Glacier Mesh, Shallow Grave, Chopper, Desert Warfare), MAC-10 (Sakkaku, Hot Snakes, Copper Borre, Red Filigree, Gold Brick, Graven, Case Hardened, Stalker, Amber Fade, Neon Rider, Tatter, Curse, Propaganda, Nuclear Garden, Disco Tech, Toybox, Heat, Indigo), UMP-45 (Wild Child, Fade, Blaze, Day Lily, Minotaur's Labyrinth, Crime Scene, Caramel, Bone Pile, Momentum, Primal Saber), MP7 (Teal Blossom, Fade, Nemesis, Whiteout, Asterion, Bloosport, Abyssal Apparition, Full Stop, Special Delivery, Neon Ply, Asterion, Ocean Foam, Powercore, Scorched, Impire), PP-Bizon (Modern Hunter, Rust Coat, Forest Leaves, Antique, High Roller, Blue Streak, Seabird, Judgement of Anubis, Bamboo Print, Embargo, Chemical Green, Coblat Halftone, Fuel Rod, Photic Zone, Irradiated Alert, Carbon Fiber), MP9 (Featherweight, Wild Lily, Pandora's Box, Stained Glass, Bulldozer, Dark Age, Hot Rod, Hypnotic, Hydra, Rose Iron, Music Box, Setting Sun, Food Chain, Airlock, Mount Fuji, Starlight Protector, Ruby Poison Dart, Deadly Poison), MP5-SD (Liquidation, Oxide Oasis, Phosphor, Nitro, Agent, Autumn Twilly), Shotguns, Machineguns - Sawed-Off (Kiss♥Love, First Class, Orange DDPAT, Rust Coat, The Kraken, Devourer, Mosaico, Wasteland Princess, Bamboo Shadow, Copper, Serenity, Limelight, Apocalypto), XM1014 (Frost Borre, Ancient Lore, Red Leather, Elegant Vines, Banana Leaf, Jungle, Urban Perforated, Grassland, Blaze Orange, Heaven Guard, VariCamo Blue, Entombed, XOXO, Seasons, Tranquility, Bone Machine, Incinegator, Teclu Burner, Black Tie, Zombie Offensive, Watchdog), Nova (Baroque Orange, Hyper Beast, Green Apple, Antique, Modern Hunter, Walnut, Forest Leaves, Graphite, Blaze Orange, Rising Skull, Tempest, Bloomstick, Interlock, Quick Sand, Moon in Libra, Clean Polymer, Red Quartz, Toy Soldier), MAG-7 (Insomnia, Cinqueda, Counter Terrace, Prism Terrace, Memento, Chainmail, Hazard, Justice, Bulldozer, Silver, Core Breach, Firestarter, Praetorian, Heat, Hard Water, Monster Call, BI83 Spectrum, SWAG-7), M249 (Humidor, Shipping Forecast, Blizzard Marbleized, Downtown, Jungle DDPAT, Nebula Crusader, Impact Drill, Emerald Poison Dart), Negev (Mjölnir, Anodized Navy, Palm, Power Loader, Bratatat, CaliCamo, Phoenix Stencil, Infrastructure, Boroque Sand), Wear - Factory New (FN), Minimal Wear (MW), Field-Tested (FT), Well-Worn (WW), Battle-Scarred (BS), Stickers Holo/Foil/Gold - Katowice 2014, Krakow 2017, Howling Dawn, Katowice 2015, Crown, London 2018, Cologne 2014, Boston 2018, Atlanta 2017, Cluj-Napoca 2015, DreamHack 2014, King on the Field, Harp of War, Winged Difuser, Cologne 2016, Cologne 2015, MLG Columbus 2016, Katowice 2019, Berlin 2019, RMR 2020, Stockholm 2021, Antwerp 2022, Swag Foil, Flammable foil, Others - Souvenirs, Agents, Pins, Passes, Gifts, Music Kits, Cases, Keys, Capsules, Packages, Patches

Some items on the list may no longer be available or are still locked, visit My Inventory for more details.

Send a Trade Offer for fastest response. I consider all offers.

Add me for discuss if there is a serious offer that needs to be discussed.

​
​

Introduction

When it comes to the Indian Premier League (IPL), two names stand out as legendary figures in the cricketing world: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both players have not only established themselves as exceptional batsmen but have also shouldered the responsibilities of leading their respective teams as captains. In this article, we delve into the battle of the titans to assess who is the better IPL captain between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Virat Kohli: The Inspirational Leader

Virat Kohli, the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), is known for his fiery passion and relentless drive. Under Kohli's leadership, RCB has experienced both highs and lows in the IPL. Kohli's biggest strength lies in his ability to motivate his teammates and lead by example. His aggression and determination on the field often translate into exceptional performances with the bat, inspiring his team to raise their game.
Kohli's astute cricketing mind and tactical acumen are evident in his decision-making during matches. He has a keen sense of when to introduce different bowlers, set attacking or defensive fields, and make strategic bowling changes. Additionally, his dedication to fitness and attention to detail have a positive impact on team discipline and preparation.

Rohit Sharma: The Calm Strategist

Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI), is known for his calm and composed demeanor, even in high-pressure situations. Under Rohit's leadership, MI has emerged as the most successful team in the IPL, with a record number of title wins. Rohit's calmness and ability to stay level-headed contribute significantly to MI's success.
Rohit's captaincy style revolves around meticulous planning and strategic thinking. He is known for making crucial decisions at crucial times, such as promoting himself in the batting order or using specialist bowlers against specific opponents. Rohit's understanding of the game and his ability to adapt to changing situations make him an effective leader on the field.

Statistical Comparison

Statistical analysis provides insights into the captaincy records of both Kohli and Rohit Sharma. As of the IPL 2021 season, Kohli has captained RCB in 132 matches, winning 55 and losing 69, with a win percentage of around 41.67%. On the other hand, Rohit has captained MI in 121 matches, winning 68 and losing 49, with a remarkable win percentage of approximately 56.20%.
Rohit's four IPL titles as captain further reinforce his exceptional leadership skills, making him the most successful captain in IPL history. Kohli, despite not having won an IPL title yet, has led RCB to the playoffs on multiple occasions, showcasing his ability to guide his team to competitive performances.

Team Dynamics and Impact

The impact of a captain goes beyond statistical records. Both Kohli and Rohit have influenced their teams in different ways. Kohli's infectious energy and passionate approach have instilled a fighting spirit within RCB, often making them a formidable opponent. His ability to inspire and lead from the front has been instrumental in creating a competitive environment within the team.
Rohit's calm and composed nature have had a stabilizing effect on MI. He has fostered a culture of unity and resilience, emphasizing teamwork and collective success. Rohit's tactical acumen and ability to get the best out of his players have been crucial in MI's consistent performances and their ability to handle pressure situations effectively.

Conclusion

​
Deciding who the better IPL captain is between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is subjective, as both have their unique strengths and leadership styles. Kohli's passionate and inspirational approach has driven RCB to numerous victories, while Rohit's calm and strategic mindset has made MI the most successful team in IPL history.
Ultimately, the success of a captain cannot be solely measured by statistics, as it depends on various factors, including team dynamics, individual performances, and the ability to make critical decisions under pressure. Both Kohli and Rohit have made significant contributions to their teams' success and have left an indelible mark on the IPL.
In conclusion, it is the collective impact of their leadership skills, team performances, and ability to inspire that sets Kohli and Rohit apart as two of the greatest IPL captains of all time.
This IPL season, register and have fun on the most popular and reliable online gaming site, KheloStar

I have friend who I appreciate a lot, and has always been there for me, we met 6 months ago in the student dorms. I remember that when the friendship ended, I actually felt relieved, because I always needed to explain myself and I felt like I was always walking a tightrope about to mess up.
One day we went on a trip with another friend, that day we met a guy at a bar, and we ended up hanging out in his house for a while. We needed to take the bus at 4am, but by that time I knew I would stay till the morning with the guy, so I told them that they could leave, that I was fine and that I would take the next train back. My friend freaked out, didn't want to leave me alone, and insisted that I go with her. In the end I stayed, and texted her back the next day to let her know I was on my way, and then when I arrived to my room. She was pissed off for days with me.
On another occasion when I lost the last train back home (after a long day, with classes and an event, plus a meeting with my thesis advisor and I had had just 4 hours of sleep the night before, I was tired), she found me a place to stay. The thing is that I forgot to tell her that I had arrived, completely. I remember telling her that I got inside the car of her friend and that we were on our way, but when she stopped answering in the chat, I completely forgot about her, and I got in a call with my mom (who wanted to know if I was fine), and then I was texting with another super close friend who had been on a call with me throughout that night, I told both him and my mom that I entered the house and that I was safe. Next morning, I saw the call half an hour after I had fallen asleep, and I knew I had messed up again. So I event to thank her with a chocolate, but was greeted with a not welcoming Hi and thanks, and she just closed her door fast.
Since that last encounter we are not friends anymore, I always greet her when I see her, but she just avoids me, basically.
I know I have been distracted, as a friend and that I could be more empathetic. I have a lot of things to thank her for, I wanna know how she is doing and let her know that I am here if she needs anything.
What do you guys think I should do?, I care about her, but I feel that our friendship placed too much pressure on me.

[First]() [Prev]()
This took an unbearable amount of time, sorry, I was busy with tests and you know… school stuff, it's not looking good for my writing, I pretty much only have free time with my phone for only 2 hours a day except for weekends. As a compensation for the ridiculous amount of time this chapter took, it's going to be extra long, and have action parts again (kind of) and some gore, enjoy!
—-~----
"What was it again?"
"Schen- i mean Schon"
"Right, what got you here, near the edge and all? It's a nice edge, but still an edge"
"Desperate for work I guess, I assume you're the same?"
Schon… no, Schen… answered as he took a sip out of his drink, it isn't as bad as he thought it would be, it's sweet, and at least it isn't recycled water.
"Kind of, I just work here because… well… my skill set isn't impressive"
"A loader, no? All that work in the cargo bay?"
"Yeah, what does it feel like being an SC?"
"Being a security captain feels…"
Schen took a glance at his tag, hidden beneath his shirt and new uniform, a piece of memory and evidence of who he once was.
"...familiar"
"Oh yeah… aren't you an ex-mil?"
"I am"
"Why did you quit?"
"It's… it got a bit too mu it can ch for me, though i do miss my team, best few people i've ever worked with"
"Good terms?"
"Brothers, live by them, die by them, not literal on the latter of course, but it can happen, too bad we're disbanded now"
"Why?"
"Let's just say they don't wanna work without their favorite captain"
"Oh… Where are they now?"
"Living their best life with their family i hope, least there's nothing to threaten their lives there"
"Why don't you go back to yours?"
"Don't have one, too old to return back home and do nothing, and too old to find a mate, kinda missed my chance back then"
"And you're satisfied with just being an SC in a random cargo ship that visits edge territories?"
"It's still something, besides, i've got more than enough experience for it… hmm… lunch's over, good talk"
"Looks like it is, nice to know you… Schon?"
He nodded in confirmation, and went to pay for his lunch. It was decent, but he'd rather have it stale than having to actually pay, he can't believe he actually missed those stale rations. Perhaps because he was used to it, old habits and preferences are hard to shake off, they said. He went back to his post, just a little room filled with camera monitors with a teeny tiny armory next to it. Genuinely, it looked pathetic next to the military armory he was used to.
But the weapons were familiar, kind of, just lacking the usual stopping power and attachments of the ones he used to have. After the (unfortunate) disbanding of his team and his (honorable) discharge from the military as well as the new (rather stupid if you ask him) identity of Schon, he was desperate for work. It's his fault really, he should've been at home enjoying the rest of his life now that that Schen technically no longer exists.
But the soldier in him wanted to do something, so he did, and now here he is, a simple SC in a cargo ship, which took an unnecessary amount of effort, as apparently the union was still somewhat skittish about the video he broadcasted before he went on the temporary desertion, but now that he knows everything, it doesn't really matter. It isn't bad by any means, but it ain't the military, and the more he worked the more he wished for a pirate attack. He also just missed being together with his team, but alas, they have their own lives, so he had to let them go, though he does have their contact number saved on his personal datapad.
He turned on the only monitor inside his room that isn't used to look through a camera, and looked for anything interesting in the network. Interesting as in any news regarding the 'Goels' and their recent introduction, he had been keeping a close eye on it. He doesn't need to, it isn't his business anymore and if he tried to make it his business again he can expect agents on his tail, but since he was heavily involved anyway, he thought why not as well do it. And it was just fine so far, though he has no clue how the green one, Abel if his memory serves him, turned from a drone to… well… that.
He learned a bit about who humans are, and what humanity was like, before it went away and was 'replaced' by the Goels. And as far as he knows they're dead, like extinct dead, so obviously the appearance of the cheery human male that acted as the Goel ambassador shocked him. He still has no clue now, though his theory as to how essentially boils down to 'ancient civilization fuckery'. And as far as he can tell, there's no problem with that, yet, the discussions were relatively smooth if the news were to be trusted and the council seems to actually starting to trust the Goels, kind of.
He browsed through the tabs and websites, most of which he already read and glossed over.
Trade offer accepted between union and Goels
No surprise there, no man or woman in the council wanted to pass up such a deal.
Military showcase ends in awe, fear, and admirance
He saw the videos on that one, it was impressive.
Goel ambassador visits Caevit palace garden, Godfather was shook
He suppose having such an important guest roaming around your garden can be a bit complicated, so he understands.
Goel ambassador faints during a direct discussion with the council, paramedics clueless
Now that's interesting, and frankly worrying, he didn't get to see the full broadcast yesterday, actually he missed most of it, so he didn't get to see what happened.
"What happened to you?"
He mumbled as he read the article and looked at the pictures and videos of the accident. Unknown cause, immediately escorted, and the sudden silence from the Goels, and it has been for almost half a cycle now. Strange, he looked through the video again, watched how Abel behaved, and noted the many oddities present. He seemed just fine, just giving his presentation to the council as professional as one can be as an ambassador and then suddenly he just… dropped, he thought about exhaustion at first, but the longer he thinks about it the dumber it gets.
No way the current Abel is human, he was explicitly told by him that there are no humans left, so what is it?. He couldn't come up with anything, but kept it in mind as he looked for more info on the current situation. It wasn't long until he realized there's nothing else he can learn and turned off the computer. He looked at the time, and suddenly remembered something vital, alcohol break, he reached down under his desk and took out a bottle, the very same one that he took to the desert planet with him.
No shot glass no problem, he popped the cap off and drink straight from the bottle, not very classy but whatever. He hid it back under the desk and walked out of his office now that he actually remember something actually vital, his men. The security team more precisely, and he's the current captain, someone's had to check on them. He ran into one guard waiting around the cafeteria and greeted them.
"All good?"
"All good, no danger"
"Yet, keep an eye out, and if you can, help anyone in need, being a security isn't just about holding weapons and warding off pirates, you should know that by now"
"Yes sir, sorry"
"Sigh i've worked with trainees that are better than this"
He grumbled as he left to look for another man to inspect. His new subordinates are… a particular group. Some of them take the job seriously, some are a bit more relaxed but still vigilant, but most, like the one he just gave a mouthful to is God awful, improper stance, manners, no incentives, and utterly basic in weapon mastery. He has to cut them some slack, they're just basic security after all, not soldiers, but still. He ran into a more favorable one patrolling the hallway leading to the reactor, he actually knows this one's name, Koern, a Civean, and he couldn't be more glad he actually got a salute from him.
"Greetings, Captain Schon, is there any problem?"
"It's Sche- i mean… yes thank you, and no, there's no problem, just daily inspection"
"I see, how do I do?"
"As usual, very good, keep It up"
"Thank you sir… sir can i ask you something? I've been considering looking for you but now you're here…"
"Sure, i can spare some time"
"Can I request a leave from you sir?"
"I can if there are valid reasons"
"I've requested it to the captain, but all she said is that i should ask you first"
"I see, but what's the reason?"
"Family matter, I have a relative on a planet named Rosan IV, ever heard of it?"
"Isn't that the newly built colony planet?"
"It is, a much better built colony compared to the rest, new union projects and all that stuff, my cousin signed up for it, we've been communicating just fine so far, until a few days ago"
"What happened?"
"I don't know, he just went… silent, i thought okay, maybe he's busy or there's a problem with the communication there, so i just waited, but it has been too long now, usually he sends a message almost daily, now there's nothing"
"I don't think you need to ask for a leave in that case"
"Why?"
"Rosan IV is in the list of destination of this ship, station building material shipping, after this one we should be on the way there"
"Oh thank God, i knew i should've checked the list"
"Well… this is an edge operating ship, you know? In that case, all you'll need is a shore leave on any station there, short but should be enough for you to check in on your cousin"
"That's all i need sir, thank you"
"Of course, now continue your work, we'll be there before you know it"
"Yes sir"
Schen walked away with a little curiosity in his mind, Rosan IV huh? isn't that the planet that's been really silent? He remembered a conversation at the cafeteria, a few people were talking about it. Some talk about how stupid of a project it was, how it was no different than any other colony, a 'gold plated' lie if you will. But most were talking about how it became a 'ghost' of sorts, communications fell, ships that come and go there go missing, a few creepy tales here and there, it was almost a horror story.
He doubted it, such an ambitious project is bound to have some issues, there's a huge price for luxury, and that price is probably hitting right now. Which made him worried a little, a new colony is a gold mine for pirates and raiders, that was probably the price, pirate intervention. But if all goes well, it shouldn't be that bad, no way those ridiculous stories are real…. Maybe.
—-~----
Rana sat down on his padded seat, in his room, in his literal castle, thinking, not about anything in particular, but just thinking. And maybe glossing over his new arm again, to be in awe again, he still doesn't know how the movement is that smooth. Pearl white, shaped just like his other arm, even has the claws, and probably smoother in terms of movements than his actual arm despite being a prosthetic. It has been quite a while since his particular experience on that planet, and the prosthetic is still not showing any issue, any normal prosthetic would break down or need maintenance after this long of a time.
It's also… self repairing? He's not sure if he's hallucinating, but he's pretty sure the arm rebuilt itself after he accidentally bumped it into something hard. A small piece of the outer casing fell off, he didn't pay much attention to it, until it disappeared minutes after when he tried to look at it to see how bad it was. All in all, a new experience, awe inducing and a bit scary, would be really nice too, if it wasn't for-
"Rana"
"AAH! Oh… dad…"
-That, his father.
"It's time to-"
"Look at my arm and pry it open, i know"
"Good, let's-"
"But why?"
"Sigh Rana, we had this conversation before, you know the reasons"
"Well I don't want to care about it!"
"It's for our people…"
"No, it's for yourself! Come on dad! Don't you hear what they said? What did they offer? They gave us everything!"
"No one in this universe, organic or not, is stupid enough to give away vital information and material to someone else they just met, they must be hiding something"
"So they're lying, is that it?"
"Yes, i… we believe so"
"Okay, give me a reason why they're lying"
"That's what a dumb leader would do"
"Oh please, don't act like dad's not just another servant to the matriarch"
"She's your grandma"
"Doesn't change anything dad, and no, i don't like laying on a bed while people i don't know try to pry open my arm"
"Sigh does that mean you don't-"
"No"
"Fine… as you wish… but i hope you can understand"
"I already understand, and i don't like it"
"....."
Rana heard his room's door opening and then closing behind him, and sighed. Life hasn't been the same since he returned, his father has been a lot more serious, he can understand that, it makes sense. But he had been putting him into these weird 'inspections' ; they weren't inspections, they were straight up experiments, to try and pry open his new arm. That was how he discovered the last strange and fascinating thing about it, it can feel pain.
He remembered how everyone in the room froze when he screamed in pain, they were bewildered. It was only when he kicked the person inserting some sort of needle-like thing into the gaps of his prosthetic in the face that they knew what was happening. And yet, knowing what it does, his father still insists they do more of his experiments. It doesn't seem to matter how many anesthetics, painkillers and other treatments have been done, he can still feel the pain, it pops up from time to time, sometimes waking him from his sleep.
It was not something he wants to go through again, even if he's unconscious during the operation. At Least it isn't everyday he gets 'inspected' thanks to someone who dislikes the idea as much as he did. Rana heard his door open again, and smiled knowing who it was.
"Rana? Honey? There you are…"
"Hey mom…"
"Have you eaten yet?"
"Mom, a servant came here an hour ago, bringing the food, of course i did"
"Good, something to help you recover"
"Mom, I'm good, okay?"
"Nonsense…"
She gave him a pat and a scratch on the head, his favorite guilty pleasure. He always feels like he's still a child everytime she does it, and not a grown man, but it would be a total lie to say he doesn't like it.
"You need energy to recover from that"
She tapped his prosthetic.
"It's not like it's gonna grow back…"
"One can hope, it's terrible what happened to you"
"Well, it's okay now, they redeemed themselves"
"Hmph… no one's hurting my boy, no one, not even a sentient AI from a different era of the universe"
"Thanks mom… But i don't think you're fit enough to fight Cain"
"I'll beat him with my motherly aura, the thing he's missing, anyway, how's your arm, darling?"
"It's fine… still hurts sometimes"
"Sigh if only your father would listen, him and his ridiculous experiments, what's in that arm anyway?"
"Technology used by a race that defied time…"
"Doesn't justify him doing those things to you… he's been here, doesn't he?"
"He just left"
"Hmm…. You two had a talk?"
"He's just here to… you know what he does"
"Well glad to know he doesn't get through with it today, alright sweetie, just here to check up on you"
"Mom, i'm not a boy anymore"
"A boy you are not, you are a grown man, but my boy you are, and always will be, see you tomorrow honey"
"Stay safe"
"Always…"
Well that doesn't last long, Rana thought as his mother left the room, that's one of the issues they had since forever, she is always very busy. Because unlike father she's not the type to just sit behind a desk and give out orders, she's a lot more active, and caring at that. His father is the supreme general, sure, but Rana always looked up to her more, and her job as the health minister. She's always on a trip to visit hospitals all around the union and other things he doesn't know much about. And of course, unlike his father, that means she's not always home, shame.
Rana thought about it, and suddenly remembered his interaction with Lnaia that night when he first woke up to discover his arm missing. He never told it to her, but the reason she felt familiar is that both her and his mother have the same job, making sure of people's wellbeing. He thought maybe she would know, but maybe not everyone knows that the current Qrid health minister is married to the supreme general, it isn't exactly a super popular thing.
Sometimes Rana gets reminded of who his parents were everytime he looks at any news regarding the Goels, about Cain and Abel. Just how unironically similiar they are, to be so far apart in mindset and goals and yet so close to each other through love… well… atleast Cain and Abel did, he's not so sure about his parents, not anymore.
—-~----
Faen sat in his office, stressed out of his mind, everything has been a mess, Abel's incident at the councillor station, the countless interviews asking for his opinion, it was, somehow, getting a bit too much. Faen expected everything, but Abel passing out in the middle of a speech for no reason is not one of them, and for the Goels to go completely silent after, just what in the world is happening?. He doesn't like it, he doesn't like being out of control, out of the know, not knowing anything makes him uncomfortable, knowing that it can decide the fate of his kind made it near unbearable.
He founds himself scratching his own desk with his claws from all the stress, he stopped, and sighed as he brushed off the wood chips. Maybe he should he take his medications again, he opened a drawer on his desk and took out a small plastic container with labels on it, a medication for high blood pressure, he took one pill and set it back inside the drawer.
"Still on your meds, love?"
A voice came out of nowhere, it trigerred his instinct to reach for the concealed handgun next to him, but as he aimed towards whoever's in front of him, he realized it was a mistake.
"Yana…"
"Still as nimble as i remember, though you got a bit stiff on the arms there"
"I thought you already left…"
"Come on Faen, both you and i know i wouldn't leave without at least saying goodbye to you"
"Is that all you're here for?"
He said as he put the gun away, coming back to a more calm demeanor.
"Of course not, i'm here to check up on our son, and talk to you"
He raised his eyebrow a bit at that.
"Rare…"
"Not as rare as you making a call to me, we need to talk Faen"
"About?..."
"Sometimes i wonder if you take all the medicine i prescribed for you…of course about our son!"
"Sigh is this about-"
"Yes! What makes you think it's a good idea to probe our son like he's some sort of foreign creature?"
"I've taken every precaution, he's been given anesthetics and-"
"Oh i don't care, it's not about how bad of a pain he's experiencing, or how subdued it is so it's not dangerous, this is about him experiencing it in the first place! that's not supposed to happen!"
"Yana, please, we have the best doctors working on him"
"Well I don't believe you…"
"Why?"
"Because I'm the health minister and I need to see their license, and if I don't… i see them as unqualified as to even hold a needle, but i'm here not to hear you say what or… how you do this, we've been there, it doesn't matter… he's still our son and i disagree, what i want to know is why"
Faen massaged his forehead out of annoyance.
"Because-"
"You're scared…. I know"
"What?"
"You're scared of the Goels, of their ways"
"Anyone would"
"I know… and you're trying to do something about it…"
She sat down on the chair right in front of his desk, it was preserved for only other generals and the matriarch herself, incase of a private meeting, her sitting there is technically illegal.
"....But does that change anything? Change the fact that they offer help?"
"You can't trust anyone just like that, they're hiding something"
"And you can't just distrust them for the same reason, it goes both ways, even if they are, is that really a reason for you to dissect our son?"
"It's just his arm"
"So what? You're trying to take it off and leave him armless?"
"It's not the only prosthetic in the world"
"And yet the finest! You have to admit it, they are superior in many ways, they are thousands of years ahead of us, I have never seen such a sophisticated prosthetic before, you know me, this is my field, and that thing on him makes our best prosthetic look ancient!"
"But then what am I supposed to do? Do nothing? Sit there as those things do whatever they want to us? to the union?"
"No! you work with them… i heard what you two were fighting about, i was outside, about why the Goels have no reason to lie, and i agree with him"
"Then what?"
"Here's the thing Faen, there's a difference between being exploited, and working together… they're looking forward to working with you, giving the union their technology and helping it improve… you on the other hand… want to exploit them, learn what they can do and how they did it and then see if you can do it for yourself, i get the point, but why would you steal something that is given out for free?"
"Do I really have to say this again? It's because-"
"Pride… It's because of pride… looks like the old sentiment that caused the great war all those years ago are still here… shame, i thought we would be better as a species, turns out we never change, what a disappointment"
She uttered those last words with bitterness and a flat face, and left the room without another word, she didn't look back, or say goodbye as she is probably leaving, as if she doesn't care anymore. Faen was half stunned, half angry at what she said, that was just her assumption, he reasoned to himself. But now he can't stop thinking about it, as much as he tries to deny it, is that really him? Is that what she thinks of him? A disappointment?

Inspired by the top comment "every season has a psychopath, i just didn't expect it to be her" by taliaricher710 under the video "Sally Phillips' Best Taskmaster moments" on YT, I'm going to change it slightly and ask: who do you think is the wild card/the person who is built different in every series and why?
For me:

1. Romesh > hot sauce in the eyes and melon SMASH
2. Katherine > just the pure glee in the words "I chaaaaanged it" and (I know I'm cheating here a bit) when her idea of causing a mess in CoC was to tell her sister her husband was cheating on her...*chef's kiss*
3. Paul > "the bastard's crying, innit" lives rent free in my head and his weird definition of a step and the fact that he waited 45 minutes outside the shed in a box dressed as a clown to surprise Alex despite knowing EXACTLY when Alex would come outI do think Rob was unhinged enough to be a runner-up especially during the 'Surprise Alex' task when he was dressed as a nan and laughing like maniac while hosing down Alex, but I put that down to him being sleep deprived with his new baby rather than him being built different
4. Noel > the 'Exotic Dancer' sandwich and him actually eating a piece of Alex' beard
5. Sally > I mean...from her presenting Bob's poo as a prize, to waterboarding Alex to her boffing a water cooler, we stan
6. Liza > easy; cake up Alex' bare arse as an expression of love
7. EVERYONE
8. Paul > in terms of being built different; definitely Paul, starting with his amazing outfit, to being the arms in a team task when he just recently had shoulder surgery and his failure in the 'Completely conceal yourself in the phone box' task
9. Ed > the rage
10. Daisy > Although I didn't really get into this season I remember Daisy's meltdown over hippogate
11. Mike > "casserole"
12. Victoria > "If I can't see you it's hiding", "There can't be chair in a sweet, can there?" and her forgetting about Alan's existence solving the riddle which was supposed to be a team task
13. Bridget > She was a total roller coaster, being really good at some tasks and really bad at others, but her walking, dancing and lying on the ground with a pan unable to find the phone sealed the deal for me
14. Fern > "Did I meet these potatoes before?"
15. Still not sure yet...

Inefficient Light Bulb Ban Bill

A
B I L L
T O
Ban the sale and use of environmentally inefficient light bulbs.
BE IT ENACTED by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Section 1: Definitions
(1) "Incandescent light bulb" means a general service lamp that produces light by heating a filament in a glass bulb filled with an inert gas or a vacuum.
(2) "Halogen light bulb" means a type of incandescent light bulb that uses a halogen gas to increase energy efficiency and lifespan.
(3) "Fluorescent light bulb" means a type of light bulb that uses an electric current to excite a gas, which then produces ultraviolet light that is converted to visible light by a phosphor coating on the inside of the bulb.
(4) "LED" refers to inorganic light-emitting diodes, and means a technology which -

(a) light is produced from a solid state device embodying a p-n junction of inorganic material, and
(b) the junction emits optical radiation when excited by an electrical current

Section 2: Ban on Incandescent, Halogen and Fluorescent Light Bulbs
(1) The import, manufacture, distribution, and sale of incandescent, halogen, and fluorescent light bulbs shall be prohibited.
(2) No later than three years after the date of assent, the use of incandescent, halogen, and fluorescent light bulbs in all public buildings shall be banned.
Section 3: Exemptions
(1) This Act does not apply to incandescent, halogen or fluorescent light bulbs specifically tested and approved to operate --

(a) in potentially explosive atmospheres,
(b) for emergency use,
(c) in radiological installations,
(d) in or on military or civil defence establishments, equipment, ground vehicles, marine equipment or aircraft,
(e) in or on motor vehicles, their trailers and systems, interchangeable towed equipment, components and separate technical units,
(f) in or on civil aviation aircraft,
(g) in railway vehicle lighting,
(h) in medical devices.

(2) For the purposes of this paragraph “specifically tested and approved” means that, in relation to an operating condition or application, the light source or separate control gear—

(a) has been specifically tested for that operating condition or application, in accordance with standards produced by an international standardising body;
(b) is accompanied by evidence in the form of a certificate, type approval mark or test report that the product has been specifically approved for that operating condition or application; and
(c) is placed on the market specifically for that operating condition or application, as evidenced by
(i) the information in the technical documentation; and
(ii) except in a case to which sub-paragraph (1)(d) applies, information on the packaging and any advertising or marketing materials.

(3) The government may grant exemptions to this Act for certain areas or industries where alternative options are not yet available or would impose undue financial burden.
(4) This act does not apply to sodium vapour lamps.
Section 4: LED procurement
(1) Subject to Section 3, replacement of light bulbs as required under section 2 shall be of LED-type.
Section 5: Penalties
(1) Any person found guilty of being concerned in the import, manufacture, distribution or sale of any goods prohibited in this Act, shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a penalty of £20,000 or of three times the value of the goods, whichever is the greater, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or to both; or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a penalty of any amount, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years, or to both.

Section 6: Extent, commencement and short title
(1) This Act extends to England only.
(2) This bill shall come into force six months after receiving Royal Assent.
(3) This Act may be cited as the Inefficient Light Bulb Ban Act 2023.
This Bill was written by Ruijormar, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on behalf of His Majesty’s 32nd Government and was inspired by the real life Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information (Lighting Products) Regulations 2021
​
Opening Speech:
My Lords,
As of today, close to two thirds of light bulbs sold in the UK are LED lights. These have, on average, a 5 times longer lifetime and 80% less power consumption than the alternatives. A complete shift to LED would reduce carbon emissions by 1.26 million tonnes per year, while also saving consumers an average of 75£ per year on energy bills. I urge the House to support this bill, so that we may turn off the power on inefficient lighting and shine a light on a more sustainable future.
This reading shall end on Wednesday 31st May at 10pm.

my feet are massive 33CM long. i also have regular width, and some well felt suppination (i angle on my feet's outer sides).
i skated a lot as a kid, and picking it back up i've spent weeks simply trying to find my size in a durable/long lasting option.
i live in Egypt, and my only options are purchasing online. my relatives/friends can bring me from almost any country, but sadly i cant travel to check fit in person.
i've been using the K2 FIT BOA 84mm ($200) from inline warehouse. i've gotten the 32cm size instead of their maximum 33, due to recommending a snugger fit if divisive. it fits well, i believe the 33 would be better though. there is some pressure on my toes.
the suppination is giving me a nightmare though, its almost impossible to be stable and accelerate properly without all my weight digging into my ankle as the boot is tilted (the boot is not perpendicular from the ground, more like 15 degrees off). i try countering by choking my feet to death using the BOA and laces, but then in 30mins my entire foot will be crying and all the laces and adjustments seem like they will snap any second, and it still doenst correct my ankle roll significantly
with the k2 fit boa not being laterally adjustable i was really frustrated and i'm looking for another purchase, with lateral adjustability, and bigger wheel sizes. preferable 3 wheeler.
im not into doing tricks, i am mainly trying to have a workout and enjoy long rides. there is a severe lack of pavement and i'm mostly on rough asphalt along the traffic. large wheels are my preference, i love the speed and agility and i know ill have fun taking the learning curve. powerslide models don't seem to come close to size even though they speak to me. (i don't blame them, i basically can only find timbs for shoes)
would you be able to recommend ANY good options?
TLDR: Needing 33cm skate with lateral/ankle roll adjustment. largest possible wheel (better if 3 wheels), dont mind a steep learning curve, reputation for being comfortable cuz ordering online. use for very long cruises and to excersize, used mid traffic on asphalt)
its a hard ask, but i appreciate any help.
note: ive thought about powerslide's doop, as an entry to 3 wheel tirnity or even offroad however i cant find many reviews and the ones i did find that did not feel heavily sponsored mentioned instability and gimicky feel

Hi everyone, welcome to part two of Isaac Asimov’s The Caves of Steel. This is my first time being a read runner so here goes nothing! Questions are posted in the comments and feel free to add any additional comments as well.
Chapter 7 - Excursion into Spacetown
Baley is talking to the police commissioner Enderby about Daneel and their upcoming trip to Spacetown. Enderby is clearly not a fan of the spacers and warns Baley about going there. They decide for Enderby to be “present” via trimensional personification (like a facetime call I guess).
Before entering Spacetown Baley and Daneel have to enter a “personal” to cleanse themselves and undergo a medical testing (seems just a little excessive).
He is then free to enter, and we are introduced to the spacer Dr. Han Fastolfe who is in charge of the murder investigation on their end.
Enderby tunes in via the aforementioned method and Baley announces he knows what happened to Dr. Sarton. He believes there was no murder and that Sarton is alive. Moreover, Daneel is Sarton!
Chapter 8 - Debate Over a Robot
Baley points to the fact that Enderby saw only a charred something and could not recognize Dr. Sarton, especially with his broken glasses. Also, Daneel is too good at being a human to be a robot, and has certain human organs too (as conveniently noticed when being cleaned in the previous chapter). He further argues that Daneel violated the first law of robotics when threatening to shoot the rioters (which Fastolfe argues was not a violation) and that Daneel’s drive for justice is an abstraction that robots cannot use (Fastolfe says Daneel’s definition of justice is not abstract and is based on law enforcement).
Baley then asks how the information got leaked that Daneel was a robot as Jessie found out. When they were separated the day before, Baley implies that Daneel was in contact with a group to spread the leak throughout the city. This would cause riots and attacks on Spacetown, leading to Spacer ships coming down and taking over the cities. So the Spacers staged a murder using a robot in place of Sarton to put all this in motion.
Fastolfe then severs Daneel’s arm to prove he is a robot, and that indeed seems to be the case as Baley sees the inner workings of a robot where flesh should be.
Chapter 9 - Elucidation by a Spacer
Baley recovers from shock and thinks about the possible repercussions for accusing the Spacers of conspiracy (including demotion of status which if we remember is kind of a big deal). However Fastolfe is not fazed at all and insists Baley stays on the case. In fact he is impressed!
Fastolfe goes on to mention that Spacemen have no built-up resistance to Earthmen diseases at all and that is why they separate themselves so fully from Earthmen under the guise of superiority. He reveals that modern cities can’t go on how they are as they can’t live off of themselves at all, especially compared to the past. He suggests emigration to new worlds (as opposed to just outer worlds which is restricted).
Fastolfe says while Earthmen’s problem is overpopulation, theirs is underpopulation. They have really long life spans and kill their children if they don’t meet physical and mental standards before they mature (what!). Their plan is to introduce their robots to Earth to upset the balance of the city’s economy, forcing Earthmen to emigrate.
On their way back, Daneel says to Baley that they do have one suspect for the murder not yet mentioned; Enderby!
Chapter 10 - Afternoon of a Plain-Clothes Man
However it is quickly revealed that Enderby is no longer a suspect as the Spacemen have already gone through that investigation (what a cheap cliffhanger). He mentions they did cerebroanalysis on him that gives them info on “the temperamental and emotional makeup of an individual” (just a little creepy).
Baley is now talking to Enderby who is not happy but ultimately forgets the incident. Baley requests a two-man apartment out of caution due to the rumor spreading that Daneel is a robot, however it turns out there is no such rumor. He still gets the apartment anyway.
Baley makes a call to an unknown person in Washington who agrees to fly to New York the next day. Daneel procures a list of over a million medievalists in the city.
They go to eat at a section kitchen which are generic layouts copied throughout a city. They use staggered eating times for efficiency (of course) except if you have privileges such as official business. Baley and Daneel don’t get to choose their meal due to rationing.
Daneel notices there are 8 people staring at them from within the section kitchen, 6 of which he remembers (impressive) were also present at the shoe store incident!
Chapter 11 - Escape Along the Strips
Baley deduces that the people watching won’t start a riot in the kitchen due to safety. He decides to “run the strips” to escape, a game done by teens that can lead to disaster. They leave the kitchen and are being followed. Baley starts this game, and after some fancy tricks there is only one follower left. After some more dangerous stunts he loses the last pursuer.
They reach a power plant where Daneel tells Baley (perhaps unwittingly) that gamma radiation would effectively kill him. At their new apartment, Baley’s son Ben arrives who reveals that someone at the office let him know where the new apartment was.
Chapter 12 - Words from an Expert
At the office the next day, we find out the person Baley called at Washington was Dr. Gerrigel, a roboticist. Daneel has looked over his files and found two of the people who followed them the night before and who were also at the shoe store.
Gerrigel arrives and Baley immediately asks him about whether a robot could be built without the first law of robotics and murder a human. Gerrigel estimates it would take 50 years for this to happen effectively. Baley then questions that this is true on Earth, but is it true on the outer worlds. He uses the example of Daneel and him pointing his blaster at humans at the shoe store. The chapter ends by him insinuating a robot such as Daneel could also hide a blaster inside themselves, as the weapon used in the murder could not be found.

The theme of this build is to bring out the feel of a Vulcan Command Fleet ship. From what I could tell, they used sci ships as the workhorses of their fleet, the traditional place of cruisers. So I wanted to basically use one of the vulcan themed sci ships in as cruiser-like a role as I could get it... while still acting like a sci ship.
I decided that that was going to involve drawing aggro, and handling having that aggro. I hesitate to label this a tank, because I have no intention of actually running any content with it that actually needs a tank. I don't usually inflict my theme builds on groups attempting elite content. So this is more of a "keep the PUG alive" style of tank, than anything you'd ever find in a DPS race HSE run.
Essentially this is a plasma-based DEWsci ship, with a threat and survival theme. The build makes quite a few off-meta choices, like the decision to use embassy sci consoles for their threat generating abilities, rather than the more traditional research station consoles that could boost my exotic and ctrlx stats much better.
Highly Specialized and the Research Lab Scientist Doffs help mitigate the lack of stat-boosting consoles. And Precision Multitargetting does a lot better than I thought it would at making up for the small number of Tac boff slots, by letting me use the subsystem targeting abilities native to all sci ships in order to have access to FAW while using my tac slots for other things.
Overall it's not perfect by any means, and has plenty of room for improvement, even keeping to my theme. Especially in the personal traits, where eventually I would like to add Boilmer to improve the cooldown situation. Inspiring Leadership and psychological warfare to further improve the ship's epg and ctrlx stats. Menacing and Enlightened would be pretty perfect for the ship. And maybe Fulcrum Shift, Fragment of AI Tech, and/or Cyclic Power Capacitors could all benefit this ship quite a lot more than what I have now.
I'm also planning on replacing the 3 fleet dranuur dual beam banks with something else. Right now I've got an internal debate on just normal [ctrd] focused ones or crafted [over] ones for fun. The dranur proc, like all procs, just doesn't do much, so despite being fine for the theme, I can replace it with something more interesting without feeling bad at all.

Captain Details

Captain Name	Arora
Captain Career	Engineering
Captain Faction	Starfleet
Captain Race	Vulcan
Primary Specialization	Intelligence
Secondary Specialization	Strategist

Space Skill Tree

Rank	Engineering		Science		Tactical
Lieutenant			Improved Shield Restoration	Advanced Shield Capacity	Advanced Energy Weapon Training
Lt. Commander	Improved Electro-Plasma System Flow	Advanced Impulse Expertise	Improved Control Expertise	Improved Drain Expertise	Advanced Targeting Expertise
	Full Impulse Energy Shunt		Control Amplification	Drain Infection
Commander				Shield Hardness	Advanced Weapon Amplification	Advanced Weapon Specialization
Captain			Advanced Exotic Particle Generator	Advanced Long Range Targeting Sensors	Advanced Hull Penetration	Shield Weakening
Admiral		Engineering Readiness		Scientific Readiness	Coordination Protocols	Tactical Readiness
					Defensive Coordination
					Offensive Coordination
0 Points Left	7		19		20

Space Skill Unlocks

Purchases	Engineering	Science	Tactical
2	Emergency Power to Shields III	Engineering Team III	Directed Energy Modulation III
5	Battery Expertise	Sector Space Travel Speed	Threat Control
7	Emergency Power to Engines III	Auxiliary Power to the Emergency Battery III	Eject Warp Plasma III
10		Maximum Shield Capacity	Projectile Critical Chance
12		Auxiliary Power to Structural Integrity Field III	Boarding Parties III
15		Starship Perception	Energy Critical Chance
17		Auxiliary Power to Inertial Dampers III	Aceton Beam III
20			Accuracy

Ship Loadout: Sh'vhal Temporal Science Spearhead

Slot	Item
Fore Weapon 1	Advanced Piezo-Plasma Beam Array
Fore Weapon 2	Advanced Fleet Dual Plasma Beam Bank
Fore Weapon 3	Advanced Fleet Dual Plasma Beam Bank
Fore Weapon 4	Advanced Fleet Dual Plasma Beam Bank
Aft Weapon 1	Omni-Directional Plasma Beam Array
Aft Weapon 2	Plasmatic Biomatter Auto-Turret
Aft Weapon 3	Altamid Modified Plasma Omni
Deflector	[Elite Fleet Intervention Protomatter Deflector Array ]() Mk XV [ColCrit][CtrlX]x2[EPG][Sh/HullCap] Epic
Secondary Deflector	Deteriorating Secondary Deflector Mk XV [+Chance][CtrlX][EPG/ShdHeal][EPG][ProjDmg] Epic
Impulse Engines	[Prevailing Fortified Impulse Engines ]() Mk XV [Spd] Ultra Rare
Warp Core	Revolutionary Warp Core Mk XV [A->W][ACap][EPS] Epic
Shields	[Revolutionary Covariant Shield Array ]() Mk XV [Cap]x3[Cp/Rg][Reg] Epic
Devices	Red Matter Capacitor
	Kobyashi Maru Transponder
	Deuterium Surplus
	Reactive Armor Catalyst
3 Engineering Consoles	Altamid Modified Swarm Processor Mk XV Epic
	Console - Zero-Point Energy Conduit Mk XV Epic
	Console - Universal - Hull Image Refractors Epic
4 Science Consoles	Console - Universal - Piezo-Electric Focuser Mk XV Ultra Rare
	Console - Science - Plasma-Generating Weapon Signature Amplifier Mk XV Ultra Rare
	Console - Science - Plasma-Generating Weapon Signature Amplifier Mk XV Ultra Rare
	Console - Science - Plasma-Generating Weapon Signature Amplifier Mk XV Epic
4 Tactical Consoles	Console - Tactical - Energetic Protomatter Matrix Infuser Mk XV Epic
	Console - Tactical - Energetic Protomatter Matrix Infuser Mk XV Epic
	Console - Tactical - Energetic Protomatter Matrix Infuser Mk XV Epic
	Console - Tactical - Energetic Protomatter Matrix Infuser Mk XV Epic
T6-X Universal Console	Console - Tactical - Fek'ihri Torment Engine Mk XV Epic

Officer Details

Bridge Officers	Power
Commander Science-Temporal Operative	Entropic Redistribution I
Engineered Soldier (Space)	Chronometric Inversion Field I
	Very Cold in Space III
	Gravity Well III
Lt. Commander Universal-Command	Emergency Power to Shields I
Engineered Soldier (Space)	Auxiliary to Structural I
	Call Emergency Artillery I
Lt. Commander Tactical	Best Served Cold I
Leadership + Superior Space Warfare Specialist	Attack Pattern Beta I
	Kemocite-Laced Weaponry III
Lieutenant Science	Tractor Beam I
Astrophysicist	Photonic Officer I
Ensign Engineering	Emergency Power to Weapons I
Leadership+Tactician

Traits & Duty Officers

Trait	Name	Description
Personal Traits	Accurate	Space Trait. Improves the accuracy of space weapons.
	Automated Rerouting	Chance to receive a Shield Heal when activating any Bridge Officer ability.
	Beam Barrage	Gain Beam Damage when activating Beam skills
	Beam Training	Increases Damage from your [[Beam Weapon
	EPS Manifold Efficiency	Space Trait. When you use Emergency Power to Auxiliary, Emergency Power to Engines, Emergency Power to Shields, or Emergency Power to Weapons, this trait causes all of your other power levels to gain a moderate subsystem boost. When you use any Battery, this trait causes all of your other power levels to gain a large subsystem boost.
	Grace Under Fire	Space Trait. If you take more than 20% of your hitpoints in damage within a 5 second period, the cooldown on [[Ability: Miraculous Repairs
	Operative	Increases Critical Chance and Critical Severity.
	Particle Manipulator	Improved Criticals for Exotic Damage, based on Particle Generators
	Warp Theorist	Space Trait. Improves your Warp Core Potential skill, which increases all power levels of your ship. Also improves Electro-Plasma Systems, which improve power transfer and regeneration rates aboard your ship.
Starship Traits	Digital Compilation	- While this trait is slotted, whenever an enemy of Frigate rank or higher is defeated after receiving [Exotic Damage] from you, they will be transformed into a Digitizer Probe which will chase nearby enemies, dealing Plasma Damage to any that they are near. You may have up to 5 Digitizer Probes active at a time from this Trait. Enermies digitized by this Trait will not Warp Core Breach.
	Emergency Weapon Cycle	- While this starship trait is active, using Emergency Power to Weapons will also reduce weapon power cost and increase your weapon fire rate moderately.
	Highly Specialized	- Game Description: Make the most of your bridge officer specialists! Each time one of their abilities is activated, it will cause all other specialist bridge officer abilities to recharge more quickly, allowing them all to be used more frequently. In addition, you will gain a boost to Starship Hull Repair, Starship Weapon Specialization and Starship Particle Generators skills. This skill buff stacks up to 5 times.
	Improved Gravity Well	- Your Gravity Well anomalies last twice as long, and recharge much faster. Additionally, the primary foe targeted by your Gravity Well activation will have their damage resistance rating reduced for the duration of the anomaly.
	Precision Multi-Targeting	Activating any Subsystem Targeting ability will additionally grant you Fire at Will I and +100 Accuracy Rating for 10 seconds.
	Totally Lost All Control	While your ship is above 80% Shield Capacity, activating a Shield Healing Bridge Officer Ability will redirect a portion of the expended restorative energy and temporarily overclock your starship weapons, granting them a significant boost to both Critical Chance and Critical Severity for a few seconds. This effect can only be triggered once every several seconds.
Space Reputation Traits	Energy Refrequencer	Heals Hull when Dealing Damage
	Precision	Increases your Critical Hit Chance in space combat.
	Chrono-Capacitor Array	Reduces Bridge Officer Recharge Times
	Advanced Targeting Systems	Slightly increases critical severity in space combat.
	Auxiliary Power Configuration - Defense	In space combat you gain a bonus to Maximum Hull HP, Maximum Shield HP, Kinetic Damage Resistance Rating and Energy Damage Resistance Rating that scales based on your Auxiliary Power Level.
Duty Officers	Shield Distribution Officer	[SP] Attack Pattern Beta restores hull when firing
	Armory Officer	[SP] Chance to set a random second subsystem offline when using Subsystem Targeting attacks
	Gravimetric Scientist	[SP] Chance to create an aftershock Gravity Well
	Research Lab Scientist	[SP] Increased Skills from using Ensign Bridge Officer Abilities
	Research Lab Scientist	[SP] Increased Skills from using Lieutenant Bridge Officer Abilities
	Research Lab Scientist	[SP] Increased Skills from using Lt Commander Bridge Officer Abilities
	Research Lab Scientist	[SP] Increased Skills from using Lt Commander Bridge Officer Abilities

Greetings, K-popers!
Are you fascinated by the intricate layers of meaning within K-pop lyrics? Do you find yourself eagerly searching for translations, analyzing fan interpretations, or engaging in discussions with fellow fans to uncover the hidden stories behind the songs?
Have you ever stumbled upon a song's meaning that completely surprised you or transformed your appreciation for the track?
What drives you to explore these hidden depths—is it the emotional connection, the artist's creative process, or the exhilaration of unraveling the layers of artistry within K-pop?
Join the conversation and shed light on your favorite moments of discovery!

Gerri supported by Roman for the US CEO!!
I’m basing this on clues I don’t think I’ve seen mentioned before. The focus is on names (which the creators love to give special meaning) and the promo (where clues are sometimes hidden).
Gerri - In the cartoon Tom and Jerry, Tom is always the aggressor but Jerry is the clever one who always wins. Gerri’s last name is Kellman or “kill man” - she will “kill” Tom and/or Kendall. She already had an in with Matsson when they were in Sweden and she is very good at her job. I’ve read they cut scenes where Gerri checked in on Roman after the funeral; perhaps they deleted this scene to not give too much away?
Roman - Gerri will take Roman under her wing, after she feels sad for him after the funeral. If you look at the promo pic two people are shown wearing watches. Logan (it’s his time to go) and Roman (it’s his time to win). Going back to names - Romulus as the one who kills his brother will be his vote against him at the board meeting, paralleling season 1 vote. Roman will do this because he is hurt - he supported Kendall when Kendall was devastated after killing a kid, but Kendall just belittled Roman after Roman cried at the funeral. Logan was the king because of the trauma he suffered making him realize common man has cruel tendencies, and Roman has experienced this first hand - abused as a child and trampled by the mob. This successional trauma will give Roman the “I don’t give an f- attitude to vote against his brother once again at the board meeting.

Ten times and once more Mara asked the Oracle Engine to show her the sword that was death and the way it would appear. Ten times and once more the Oracle Engine showed Mara an image of her family.
First it showed her Sjur Eido, laughing and bright with strength, who would recede and later return.
Then it showed her Uldren, her brother, who explored the ruins of the fallen worlds and sought out challenges to test himself.
Then it showed Mara her own face and lingered on the secret brightness of her eyes.
Last of all, leaving Mara imperious with disdain toward her own feelings, curtly aloof toward all who asked her what troubled her, it showed her Osana, who had remained behind.
Mara dwelt on this puzzle. A mother who had remained behind; a sister with secrets; a brother who hunted and explored; a woman who was plain and fierce. She understood then that the answer to her question lay within herself and that to defeat what was coming, she would need a perfect understanding of herself. Isolation would be her watchword, for an isolated system is easiest of all to understand.
- Tyrannocide II

​

Later. Much later. It is the night before the day of screams. Mara meditates cross-legged in a cradle of null gravity. Variks has told her more than once how the Fallen speak of the Awoken as sterile, unable to regrow their flesh, cursed to bear their scars forever. Also how they think of the Awoken as self-twinned, coexisting with their own shadows. Didn't ancient Inanna, queen of heaven, descend into the underworld to confront her shadow twin, sister Ereshkigal?
Inanna was judged full of hubris and executed.
You cannot defeat a thing that is synonymous with death except on its own territory. You cannot fear and flee from death. You must face it. Death is a sword, and a sword is like a crossing-point, like a bridge—and a bridge may be walked two ways.

​

Secrets are her virtue and the virtue of her nemesis. The being whose existence she deduced from the analogy-of-family the Oracle Engine showed her.
Mara will begin the end of that Queen's brother today. She knows what that means for the fate of her own. An eye for an eye. She must think now of the fate of entire cosmos—and of her tender, half-assembled answer to the cold sword logic of the Hive. She must not grieve. She must not fear.
Was Inanna afraid when she descended? Mara's not going to be outclassed by some ancient fable. After all, Mara's name is death. But there is one thing she admires most about Inanna over all the other myths of katabasis.
Inanna went to conquer.
- Tyrannocide III

In order to understand the dangers confronting the Awoken when they returned to Sol system, Mara went to the Oracle Engine. It showed her the Analogy-Of-Family. This was a comparison between the Sov Dynasty and something that was "synonymous with death". We would letter find out this was the Osmium Dynasty of the Hive. The analogy between these two families was so absolute that their fates have become intertwined. The Sovs and the Osmiums are "shadow twinned". Lets have a look at how that has affected them:
Mara died. This was all part of the plan. She was killed at the hand of her enemy, and then walked into the underworld, took said enemy's power and returned home with it. However, her home had been desecrated. She has destroyed a Pyramid and turned down the chance of being a Disciple.
Savathun also died at the hand of her enemy. She also returned with power. Her home was also desecrated. It was also all part of the plan. She also destroyed a Pyramid and turned down a chance of being a Disciple.
Xivu Arath is a warrior unmatched. A person of strength and power who has been missing from the scene for a while, but who's return will herald the return of...
Sjur Eido, a warrior unmatched. A person of strength and power who has been missing from the scene for a while, but whose return has been heralded.
Uldren, Prince of the Awoken and Master of Crows, was killed at the height of his grief and anger after losing the person he loved. Then he was risen anew, becoming something different but still recalling who he used to be.
Oryx, Taken King and Navigator, was also killed at the height of his grief and anger after losing a loved one. Now, the Lucent Hive are attempting to bring him back. If he was to return he would also be remade a new like his shadow-twin Uldren.
Makes you wonder what has become of Osana Sov and Taox.