Target universal thread vintage straight jeans

Charlie Kirk claims that registered sex offender is just a "nice person who did something wrong"

2023.05.30 19:59 iTzJdogxD Charlie Kirk claims that registered sex offender is just a "nice person who did something wrong"

Charlie Kirk claims that registered sex offender is just a submitted by iTzJdogxD to ToiletPaperUSA [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 19:54 Coolgirl-bornIn1800 I'm 95 episodes into Yu Yu Hakusho! Lets review Chapter Black! [No Spoilers For Future Material please!]

Yo! I made a post reviewing the Dark Tournament and everything before it here, so lets talk about Chapter Black! Feel free to skip any sections you're not interested in! The first section is about Yu Yu's power systems! Also, this should be clear, but everything in episode 95 and before will be spoiled here.
By the way, why did nobody tell me this arc was so long?! I somewhat joke, but this has ended up perhaps longer than my post on the Dark Tournament. www

YU YU HAKUSHO'S POWER SYSTEM PROBLEM(And how Togashi solved it!)

So, for the arcs before this one, the power system of Ki has been somewhat frustrating. It didn't ever make me go "bleugh, i hate this power system!", that'd be silly, alot of great moments come from both Yoki and Reiki users. However, I do feel they held the story back in some ways! Soft power systems are.. not my faves. Seemingly, you can do virtually anything with the cost of aura. Training methods are never really defined, and when mentioned, they're 'mentioned' at most. Abilities of Ki users have no specific limitations except when thrown on with sudden explanation.
So, I love Territories! We're introduced to them with the three schoolboys, Kido, Kaito and Yanagisawa.. in order, they're the users of Shadow, Taboo and Copy! I love Kido and Kaito, though Yana didn't really get much focus in the story so I have no particular interesting in him outside of hairstyle and ability! Kido and Kaito on the other hands are fun, charismatic characters with awesome Territories! Kido is voiced by DIO, so that's another plus.
Kido's Territory is simple. His Territory is shadows. He can control his own shadow's movements, and if he steps on your shadow, you've entered his Territory, freezing your body in place. This is just fucking cool.
Yana's Copy Territory is cool, but not really notable. It was neat and was used well, it's just very limited. Though, in the final battle, I don't really see why he didn't copy Yusuke or Hiei; easily their strongest party members, and help out. Plot hole? maybe. Narrative convenience? certainly.
Kaito's is probably my fave Territory in the entirety of Chapter Black. Taboo makes a certain radius around him his Territory, inwhich violence is impossible! He sets the Taboo word, and if either he or anyone inside his Territory speak the Taboo, they lose their soul! Generally speaking, this was probably my one of my fave fights in all of Yu Yu Hakusho.
Strategic, skill-based, not about raw numbers.. A fight of intellect. Rad as fuck. Though, It really did sadden me that it was never used more than once! I'd love to see more Taboo battles. It's unfortunate Kaito never got to fight again. Theoretically he could defeat Sensui himself! I don't get why they didn't send him in in the final battle. I get it's total protagonist syndrome, where only the protags are allowed to fight the final boss, but c'mon. That only makes sense from a meta-perspective! In-universe, there's really no excuse. atleast we got several instances of good use out of Copy, but not using Taboo more than once? It's sad.
So, now that we've got through the first Territories we've met, what does this teach us? 1. there's always a bigger fish. Just because Yusuke is the strongest man on earth, doesn't mean he can't be defeated. After an antagonist like Toguro younger, it's hard to imagine who Yusuke could fight next. This is a genius way of implementing it. Raw power is no longer the way. 2. humans can now fight without any prior experience, as that hole opening is causing humans to gain Territorys. This is great for introducing new antagonists and supporting cast members. 3. Territories don't give the user raw stats! Users of Reiki and Yoki have their raw stats (ATK, DEF, AGI, MP, HP, ETC) increase the stronger they get. This is bad for a long narrative, as your characters will keep rising to new limits, making it harder to add stakes to a conflict, or add in new, strong, amazing guys.
This is the very reason that Togashi's next battle shounen manga had a power system that, while similar to Ki, has additional classes, rules, regulations and systems to it, because he learned from this narrative mistake. With Territorys, a user has only as much ATK, DEF, AGI or HP as an average person, with no MP to speak of. Any Territory user could just die from a brick to the head, or being punched too hard that their skull hits the ground and splits, like a normal person. This ups the stakes of the battle, by equalising the forces. Their ability and intellect are their strongpoint, not raw numbers. after like 40 episodes of raw stat-based combat, this was an AMAZING narrative choice.
This is further seen with a boxer named Murota. His wiretap allows him to read the mind of anyone who enters his Territory. So simple, yet so good for a narrative. All the storytelling involving Murota's Wiretap are great, and his easy defeat when it comes to Yusuke coming in didn't even take away from his ability being interesting. Sorry buddy, for a Boxer, you didn't get a offensive ability at all.
This is all of the introductory Territory, so i'll leave this section here. The other Territories and my thoughts on them will be covered along with their connected character. Though, I will leave you with one thought.. Togashi, All the women in your narrative are virtually identical visually speaking, get barely anything to do, and Genkai, the only one with a character arc and her own great story gets it reversed by the end of the Dark Tournament Arc..
atleast give us a W by giving Keiko a Territory! this way, the LEADING WOMAN of your story could join in the plot without ANY training required.. Like come on, what the hell. All women seem to do in Yu Yu Hakusho is act as someone to project and care for by their man. It's kinda gross. Atleast we have Genkai, but come on..

CHAPTER BLACK & YOKAI CLASSES!

Soon after the initial plothook, we learn we were tricked into thinking these guys were the plot! Gotta love Genkai lol. I love that she continues to teach Yusuke in such a way. Moving on, though, ignoring Sensui and the gang for now, Chapter Black! a GREAT concept! Is it a bit on the nose? Yes, of course. But we must remember Yu Yu Hakusho is aimed at young children, so we can forgive this, since it's really well written anyway!
Togashi would go on to perfect his writing about this theme in Hunter x Hunter, but that doesn't mean it's not amazingly done here! It makes perfect sense that Chapter Black would exist, and doesn't seem contrived, there's nothing negative I can really say about it. How it effected those who saw it tells enough, so I don't have to tell you about it!
So, before the introduction of Chapter Black, the tape itself, we learn about another thing that definitely existed this whole time! (I'm just being sassy, nothing wrong with introducing new concepts.) Yokai classes! At the beginning of the anime, Kurama and Hiei were lowly D-listers at the beginning of the anime, so their rise to power is quite unexpected, now being B-listers! By the end of the arc, they both reach A class! Good for them good for them.
The revelation that Toguro younger was only a B class is great. Really gave me a "Oh my god!" moment. The class system is very much serving the same purpose as scouters, to make us go "woah!" at how strong an enemy is to impress us, and to impress us even further when our Yokai protagonists, Hiei, Kurama, and later Yusuke are when they reach a higher level! It's simple but effective. Though, later, in my own opinion, this will have negative repercussions on the plot. But we'll get there at the end of this post. For now, they're good in my book! You'll see why my thoughts change later, and why I think they were a mistake in the long-run.
Also, a smaller note, some interesting foreshadowing. At the end of the arc, Shinobu notes that Kurama, as Yoko Kurama, was once an A class Yokai.. but he also mentions that Hiei used to be A class aswell?! Obviously, this is going to be expanded upon later. I'm interested to see why he dropped to D later!

INTRODUCTION OF BLACK ANGEL & SNIPER! THE FIGHT WITH DOCTOR..

Okay, now we're back to Territories and the plot! Sorry, we were stuck in the 'mechanics' zone for a while, weren't we?! So! First, we meet Sensui himself. Later, we learn this is one of his alters, Minoru. Ominously, he stares at Yusuke and the gang, and has Sniper shoot an eraser to intimidate, and lure them into a trap at the hospital! From this, we can already tell he's intelligent.
Here, he expected Yusuke to follow him so he could dispose of Yusuke, but Yusuke kept surprisingly cool thanks to Genkai's preparation she put them through. It's kinda fucking crazy to imagine that Yusuke, if he followed Sensui, he would of been quickly killed by Minoru and Sniper. Doctor would then of disposed of the users of Shadow, Copy and Wiretap. Can you imagine how the plot would of gone from here if Yusuke made this singular choice?! I love when a story has so many single choices that could change EVERYTHING. it's really entertaining to think about.
So, Wiretap's user gets taken to the hospital, but they learn that Doctor is about! Doctor Kamiya is a fun character, simple but effective, I really like him. So far, Yusuke has murdered countless evil Yokai, but to kill an evil Human? It's very different. In the end, Yusuke does kill Doctor, but Genkai revives him by restarting his heart, saying that Yusuke needs not the death of a man on his conscious. I really like this moment.
The entire fight was super entertaining and everyone got something to do! ..Well, except Keiko. Togashi, why'd you make her go there?! C'mon man.. This is probably one of the best fights in Yu Yu Hakusho. I love that Kido and Wiretap and Copy's users do alot to aid Yusuke in this fight! It really feels like a group effort.
On the Territory front, Doctor Kamiya's is cool! Generally speaking, doctor powers are always super cool. A Reiki scalpel, creating diseases with his mind, perfect surgery skill.. his Territory being the diameter of a Hospital, it's so fun. It's a cool limitation too, all these abilities, but he can only use them inside of a Hospital setting. Territories allow for such awesome limitations.

SEAMAN, KUWABARA'S AWAKENING! KOENMA'S MORALITY..

Seaman! It's a great conflict, not much else to say! Mitarai is a great character, and his Territory is cool! Really, I already talked about Mitarai through subtext in the 'Chapter Black & Yokai Classes!' section. Though I will say, UNLIKE WITH KEIKO, using this opportunity to unlock a new power for a HUMAN we've known for a long time, Kuwabara, is really clever! Him being the one who can cut open the field is the LAST THING I expected, it's great.
Though, this introduction of Seaman; Mitarai, will come back as a negative later! the Chapter Black arc introduces alot of great concepts and characters early on, but suffers for it in the late game is something I notice. Much like Yokai Classes that I mentioned earlier, this is something you'll wanna 'bookmark' in your mind, as later on I will explain my problems with Mitarai's usage later in the story! Just know that for now, I think his story position is great, aswell as his character itself. This poor kid was used by Sensui who held Chapter Black as the reason why Mitarai should join him in hating humanity.
So, around here is where we learn about Shinobu's past. So, throughout the early story, I didn't like Koenma much. I didn't DISLIKE him or anything.. he was just kinda a joke character in a serious role, which isn't a bad thing. But here, they really flesh him out.
Now, at the beginning of the story, Koenma uses Yusuke, a boy with an inferiority complex who's had fighting as the only thing he's good at, as a child soldier, sending him to what is basically war. Koenma even out-loud admits in the Chapter Black arc that he chose Yusuke because unlike Shinobu, he's not an independent thinker. Essentially, he's easy to use, with the idea being grooming him into the perfect child soldier for Spirit Realm's desires.
We the audience realize this is bad from the beginning of the story, and we all knew that Koenma was a bad person, but them saying out loud was rather surprising! Alot of battle shounen try to sneak this under the rug, like Naruto and My Hero Academia. Admitting that the morality of the adults in your story is corrupt for sending children to murder others and endanger themselves? Pretty ballsy!
and hey, Yusuke has murdered tons of Yokai up to this point, all of which deserved to die, but making a child do this is the immoral part. Something I enjoy about Yu Yu Hakusho is that all our characters can be rather grey at times. This is something Togashi perfects later in Hunter x Hunter. But for now, we have characters of questionable morality like Hiei and Kurama in our supporting cast.
Yusuke hasn't done anything immoral, but he's murdered plenty of people without remorse, and threatened to do as such to those he doesn't like by the end of the arc (the forces that King Enma sounds down at the end of the arc). Kuwabara is the only one who's truly morally clean when you think about it. Though, by the end of the arc, even he makes an immoral choice, which is fun. None of our protagonists are morally perfect, and I think that's great.

SHINOBU'S PAST!

To note, I will be talking about Sensui's Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID here. While we didn't learn about it at this point in the part, it seems like the most logical place to talk about it since it originates from his past, like anyone with DID. I do not have DID myself, so I cannot say if this is a good or bad representation of it. However, I can say that from what I know, it's very well researched. If anyone with DID has thoughts on this representation, I'd love to hear them.)
So, Shinobu, a human born with incredible Reiki. Probably equivalent to a low B-class Yokai in his youth. For reasons unknown to him, Yokai saw his incredible Reiki and targeted him. Why did these mysterious creatures that only he could see aim to kill him? He didn't know. Being a child, naturally, he comes to the conclusion. "I didn't do anything to them, and they're trying to kill me. Yokai are evil, Humans are the good guys."
Eventually, Koenma sees this kid, and is like "it's free real-estate.", choosing to use this kid for his own gain, grooming him into a child soldier and putting him into far more dangerous situations than he would of entered otherwise. As you know, Shinobu Sensui enters a young Black Black Club and witnesses humans being far worse than any Yokai he's ever seen. This sight likely tortures him for the rest of his life in his dreams, so that's fun.
This young man, filled with justice, decides he was completely wrong, and 180's his perspective. Yokai are free and honest creatures. Humans are the evil ones. This awful past, and this traumatic moment in his life, are what form his modern perspective, formed the alters in his system to cope with the trauma, and inspired him to steal Chapter Black and go into hiding for 10 years soon later.
Surprisingly, Sensui Shinobu does not develop one evil personality who controls the 'real Shinobu', like the old trope goes. Togashi here shows a fairly realistic depiction of DID, with alters of different age, gender and personality.
Considering we later learn about Itsuki, the gay man who loves Sensui, and both this and DID are treated really well, it really makes you wonder why the women in Yu Yu Hakusho are treated so badly when mental illnesses and homosexuality are treated with respect, lol. You were so close Togashi! now if only you treated Transgender people and women better.. well, he learns to treat both these groups better in his later works, so I can't really complain. I forgive you, old man. We'll speak about each of Sensui's identities later when they're introduced!

YUSUKE VS SENSUI! DEATH IN YU YU HAKUSHO..

Sniper fires a 'bullet', attempting to kill Mitarai! Yusuke runs down and fights Sensui way earlier than i'm sure any of us expected! Minoru and Yusuke's fight is one to behold, his leg-based fighting style is rad! Though, it's quite unfortunate that I don't have much to say about this brilliant exchange? I suppose with fighting, being such a visual thing, it's hard to talk about it. But what ends up happening as you're aware is that Black Angel, Gourmet and Gamemaster kidnap Kuwabara, the only one who can cut up that field; the barrier! We get a rad chase scene where Yusuke, with his super physicality thanks to his incredible Reiki, chases them down on a bike despite them driving a car!
This entire sequence is great. By the way, so far, Kurama hasn't done much this arc, and nor has Genkai. really makes you wonder why either of them didn't die in the Dark Tournament arc. Sorry to bring this up, but I just really don't like fake character deaths! Atleast Kuwabara's new Territory is a major plot-thread.. Kurama saved Keiko and Kuwabara elder, who shouldn't of been there in the first place and defeated Kaito's Taboo.
Genkai set up the boys to kidnap Yusuke and fight the gang, and that's it. I love what they did in this arc so far, but it's so little to justify such impactful moments. Kurama, fine, I can accept it. His sacrifice was impactful, but it didn't really matter, but Genkai.. she's such a good character, reviving her like this really makes me go "wow, so nobody can die except the antagonist, huh.". You don't want the audience to see through the wall like that..

YUSUKE VS SNIPER!

At this point, every fight in the arc has been amazing. I can't help but think Togashi has perfected combat. Hagiri's Territory is truly masterful, his Territory is a certain range from his body. From this range, he can place several bullseyes on his target's body. Any object he makes physical contact with will chase his target until it hits one of these bullseyes! What I'm saying is this Territory is awesome, and the fight is amazing. Unfortunately, as I mentioned before, when it comes to a fight there's not much to talk about, haha. I loved it though! At this point it feels like every new fight is 'the best fight in Yu Yu Hakusho'!
Something I love is that this guy isn't even Sensui, but he almost killed Yusuke! He would of, if our lovely tsundere Hiei wasn't about! After defeating Sniper in one hit, Hiei gives Yusuke a figurative handjob and releases Yusuke's tension! Yusuke and Hiei strike a deal with a fun climax in the epilogue of this arc, and team up!
Finally, the gang all meet up, and enter the cave! The final dungeon! Genkai decides that it's best to send in a limited number of people. If they all enter at once, then if the first wave dies, the second wave has a chance! Well, I already voiced my my complaints about this choice, so whatever. I'm just glad Mitarai gets to go in! He has to resolve his character arc, afterall.

GAMEMASTER, GOURMET, AND MINORU..

The actual games weren't very interesting to watch, but I enjoyed Mitarai's development, aswell as Kaito getting frigging screen-time! The way Gamemaster is defeated is really sad, I like it alot. It really tore Kurama up to kill this child. Love it. Seeing how Sensui manipulated this poor little boy is crazy.
After the defeat of Gamemaster, we get to Gourmet! blah blah he wasn't defeated. I don't really like Kurama's fights, to be honest. He just kinda pulls something out of nowhere. It's like he can do anything at all but only once.
So, Gamemaster and Gourmet were kinda dips in quality.. but soon we're back to the stuff I like! Now, logic dictates that if only Sensui and Itsuki are left, we're either going to have a 2 V 4, or Itsuki has to be defeated first before the gang can fight Sensui together.
Logic also dictates that now that Kurama has had his moment to shine, defeating both Gamemaster and Gourmet, it's time for Hiei, who has been absent the whole arc, and Mitarai, who's character arc revolves around being free from Sensui's manipulative grasp, to fight!.. but logic has nothing to do with it! Itsuki has tamed a Yokai of sorts, and kidnaps the gang! So, Hiei, Kurama and Mitarai are reduced to reaction youtubers. Atleast Itsuki is an interesting character, his feelings for Sensui are really sweet.
So, the fight between Yusuke and Minoru begins! I love the twist on classic battle shounen conventions where Yusuke in ATK, DEF and AGI is stronger than Minoru. Minoru has superior skill and MP and HP, but that's about it! Essentially, if Kurama is a White Mage, and Hiei is a Red Mage, then Kuwabara is the Warrior. Meanwhile, Yusuke and Minoru are a strange hybrid class, a Black Monk; a Monk who has access to Black Magic. Yusuke is overwhelmed by projectiles, but eventually realizes that he'd lose the war of attrition, so he goes on the offense! the damage isn't too much, so he just takes it and punches the hell out of Minoru! Frankly, the charismatic, philosophical and manipulative Minoru is my fave of Sensui's System. But we're soon introduced to Kazuya!

YUSUKE VS KAZUYA

I love Kazuya! His personality is very outward, and he's vulgar! A great opposite to Minoru, who's not very straight-forward at all. I don't really get if his gun arm is made from his Reiki or a prosthetic. If it's a prosthetic, where did his hand go..? But well, it's a cool weapon, so I can forgive it. Later when Shinobu shows up he asks Itsuki for a spare hand, so I guess it's a prosthetic? It doesn't really matter, but it peeves me slightly lol.
Kazuya loves murder and torture, and gradually shoots the hell out of Yusuke! I love this guy. Suddenly, Koenma appears! He wants to take responsibility for his awful actions?! I LOVE this for Koenma's character. Instead of a character with a black presence throughout the story, his presence has become a grey! He's regretful of what he's done, and I appreciate that. Through this arc, it feels like Koenma and Yusuke form a friendship, so that's nice. poor Jorge tho, totally neglected lmao. But while I like Jorge, he doesn't really matter.
So, Yusuke had time to recover thanks to Kazuya and Koema's conversation (the conversation was great, by the way.) and swipes the Mafuukan from Koenma! This is in-character for the low-self esteemed boy, so yeah. Yusuke beats the shit out of Kazuya, which is fun, and Shinobu appears!

VS SHINOBU

Shinobu shows up, puts on a shirt, and reveals he has.. Sacred Energy; Seikoki. Now, I'm sure in the last arc this will be expanded upon, but this for now has no info that we know about it, except that not even Genkai could turn her Reiki into it. We learn that Shinobu's Seikoki is SO strong.. that he's equivalent to an S class Yokai. Bro. TOGASHI. this is WHY you introduced Territories, so this wouldn't happen!! come on man.. so guess what, he kills Yusuke?
Listen, it starts cool okay, like, this is looking back in hindsight. At first it was "OH MY GOD HE'S SO STRONG" and "HE BROKE YUSUKE'S ARM WITH A TOUCH". it was really cool! but narratively, this was clearly a mistake. here's the thing.. Sensui is a great character. he definitely could of came back later. hell, while we know the names and personalities of all his alters, we haven't even met them yet! We've only met three! He's such a complex character, but from here, everything in the climax feels cramped.
So, Yusuke dies, this awakens Kuwabara's Territory fully, and he cuts out of Itsuki's dimension. Kurama is so enraged that his body enters the Yoko form by itself, without his mind reverting. Hiei's power goes up to A Class on principle. This is cool, but here's the thing. We *all* know they can't win. Togashi has introduced power levels. Kinda crazy isn't it? Togashi introduced Power Levels (Spirit Class) from Dragon Ball AND Stands (Territory) from JoJo in the same arc! Territories are great because fighters can come from anywhere and don't rely on being powerful to win. Spirit Classes suck because they relegate power to 'my number (or in this case, letter) is higher, so I win.'
Kuwabara and two A-Class Yokai.. they can't win against a single S class. On the bright side, good character moment coming up! When Shinobu gets behind the barrier, Kuwabara without even holding back, knowing he's going to die and so are all humans anyway, cuts through it, letting swarms of Yokai soon kill all humans! This makes sense for Kuwabara, since he knows they're all doomed anyway. Hiei and Kurama don't try to stop him, none of them regret this choice, they want to die by Shinobu's hand, fighting to the death. That's their choice. They fight on into the Demon Realm and face certain death..!

A DEMONKIN AWAKENS..

So, we learn here, while Hiei, Kurama and Kuwabara fight Shinobu, Yusuke is reviving! His descendent was an S-class Yokai! The Yokai traits skipped about a hundred generations, and Yusuke inherited this gene! I think this is actually.. pretty great! It only makes sense, right? in the prior arc, Toguro had his life ruined my Yokai, so he became one. Toguro hates Yokai.
in this arc, Sensui saw humanity being totally evil, so he took the Yokai's side. In the end, he, the human, fighting for the Yokai, fights Yusuke, who becomes a Yokai to stop Sensui, the human. Thematically, this is the best way this could end, Yokai vs Human. Even if this stuff with Yusuke and Shinobu being S-Class sucks, but it is what it is, i love that Yusuke is a Yokai. Though, poor Kuwabara, he and Keiko are the only human characters that matter left lol.
Pheonix Puu looks soo fucking cool btw, love that design. I love that Yusuke has spikey teeth now, that's fun. so, Yusuke and Shinobu fight, and I realize.. Shinobu is the least interesting of Sensui's system? He's overpowered, kills random Yokai in the Demon Realm while fighting Yusuke.. does he even care about his own goal? It's weird man.
well, on the bright side of this shitty Dragon Ball fight, Yusuke's Yokai form he enters looks super cool! Great design, love it. so, Yusuke does his Goku thing that he's started doing since the Dark Tournament Chu fight and is unsatisfied with beating Sensui while not using his own power. Whatever. Itsuki explains that Sensui is sick for some reason. This was not well foreshadowed, but he had cancer or whatever. Koenma brang Gamemaster back to life, so that uh. good job removing a great moment of the arc from the continuity, Togashi. It's really true that only antagonists can die in Yu Yu Hakusho, huh!?
I like that Shinobu wanted to open the hole to the Demon Realm because he wanted to die there, though. A great repentance for his transgressions against Yokai-kind, and this being delivered to him by the strongest Yokai we've seen so far, Yusuke Uremeshi, is great. Itsuki takes away Sensui's corpse forever into the darkness, which is sweet.
So, the epilogue! i loved EVERYTHING about it. everyone's paths they took were great. I love Doctor and Sniper's especially! If I have one pet-peeve, it's that they cut Yusuke's hair, it looks so coool, imagine him with the school uniform on with the long hair and scary tattoos?! it'd look rad. come on, uremeshiiii--
thank you for reading! sorry it's so long! :P big arc lol.
submitted by Coolgirl-bornIn1800 to YuYuHakusho [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 19:03 DTG_Bot [D2] Weekly Reset Thread [2023-05-30]

Nightfall - The Ordeal: The Corrupted

Modifiers:

Rewards:

Weekly Crucible Rotators

Relentless: Zone Control

Achieve victory by controlling zones, earning points for your team over time.

Party: Mayhem

Achieve victory by defeating opponents. Abilities and Supers regenerate faster. Heavy ammo spawns more frequently.

Vanguard Surge: Arc Surge

The other modifiers rotate daily, check out the Daily Reset Thread for them!

Raids and Dungeons

Weekly Raid and Dungeon

  • Raid: Garden of Salvation
  • Dungeon: Spire of the Watcher

Raid Challenges

Deep Stone Crypt

  • Red Rover: A challenge awaits…

Garden of Salvation

  • Leftovers: A challenge awaits…
  • A Link to the Chain: A challenge awaits…
  • To the Top: A challenge awaits…
  • Zero to One Hundred: A challenge awaits…

Vow of the Disciple

  • Defenses Down: A challenge awaits…

Vault of Glass

  • Out of Its Way: A challenge awaits…

King's Fall

  • Devious Thievery: A challenge awaits…

Root of Nightmares

  • Crossfire Challenge: A challenge awaits…

Last Wish

  • Which Witch: A challenge awaits…
  • Boosts Gained: Initial Exotic drop rate boosts: 3

Dares of Eternity: Legend

Contestants: Disciples of the Neigh

  • Round 1: Vex
  • Round 2: Cabal
  • Final Round: Crota

Loot

Neomuna

Campaign Mission: No Time Left

Stop the Darkness relay from activating and creating a link between the Witness and the Veil.

Partition: Backdoor

Break into a Vex Mind's stronghold and defeat it.

Vex Incursion Zone: Zephyr Concourse

The Vex are testing CloudArk defenses in this region. Reality fractures as the VexNet bleeds through into Neomuna.

Legacy Activities

  • Savathûn's Throne World
    • Campaign Mission: The Arrival: Track Savathûn on Mars, where temporal abnormalities scar the planet's surface and the Cabal seek to claim new territory.
  • Europa
    • Eclipsed Zone: Eventide Ruins
    • Empire Hunt: The Dark Priestess: Hero: Defeat the new leader of the Fallen, Kridis, the Dark Priestess.
    • Exo Challenge: Simulation: Survival: Simulated Skill-Set Training: Survive the harsh weather as you take down the Vex.
  • Moon:
    • Campaign Mission: Beyond
    • Wandering Nightmare: Fallen Council (Archer's Line)
    • Trove Guardian is in Archer's Line
  • Dreaming City: Weak Curse
    • Petra is at The Strand.
    • Weekly Mission: Broken Courier - Respond to a distress call in the Strand.
    • Ascendant Challenge: Forfeit Shrine, Gardens of Esila
    • Blind Well: Scorn, Plagues: Sikariis & Varkuuriis

Guns, etc.

Banshee's Weapons

Name Type Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4
Pleiades Corrector Energy Scout Rifle Arrowhead Brake // Hammer-Forged Rifling Ricochet Rounds // Flared Magwell Subsistence Multikill Clip
Typhon GL5 Heavy Grenade Launcher Confined Launch // Countermass Alloy Casing // High-Explosive Ordnance Genesis Chill Clip
Taipan-4fr Heavy Linear Fusion Rifle Extended Barrel // Polygonal Rifling Liquid Coils // Projection Fuse Clown Cartridge Frenzy
Jararaca-3sr Kinetic Scout Rifle Arrowhead Brake // Chambered Compensator Alloy Magazine // Ricochet Rounds Hip-Fire Grip Focused Fury
Irukandji Kinetic Sniper Rifle Arrowhead Brake // Fluted Barrel Accurized Rounds // Flared Magwell Under Pressure Harmony
Combined Action Energy Hand Cannon Arrowhead Brake // Full Bore Appended Mag // Steady Rounds Hip-Fire Grip Offhand Strike

Ada-1's Wares

Name Description Cost
Envious Touch Equip this shader to change the color of your gear. 10000 Glimmer
New Pacific Sink (Worn) Apply this shader to change the color of your gear. 10000 Glimmer
War Cult Camo Apply this shader to change the color of your gear. 10000 Glimmer
Upgrade Module A collection of universal components that can be used to infuse power between gear items. Can be purchased from the Gunsmith or acquired from special reward sources. 1 Enhancement Core & 10 Legendary Shards & 5000 Glimmer

Eververse Bright Dust Offerings

Name Description Type Cost
Concentrated Mattergem An Upgrade Module ionizer created from refined Mattergems. Consumable 200 Bright Dust
Glimmershard A shard with the ability to generate Glimmer during combat. Consumable 250 Bright Dust
Brilliant Idea Emote 700 Bright Dust
Vestian Hawk Ship 2000 Bright Dust
Subjugator Entrance Modifications for your ship's transmat systems, so you'll always arrive in style. Transmat Effect 450 Bright Dust
Copperbrand Equip this shader to change the color of your gear. Shader 300 Bright Dust
Lucid Apply this shader to change the color of your gear. Shader 300 Bright Dust
Turn the Tables Emote 3250 Bright Dust
Torturous Dance Multiplayer Emote 1250 Bright Dust
Externalization Vehicle 2500 Bright Dust
The Pallbearer Ship 2000 Bright Dust
The Scorned Fortress Equip this ornament to change the appearance of Citan's Ramparts. Once you get an ornament, it's unlocked for all characters on your account. Titan Ornament 1500 Bright Dust
Chronos Exegesis Equip this weapon ornament to change the appearance of No Time to Explain. Once you get an ornament, it's unlocked for all characters on your account. Weapon Ornament 1250 Bright Dust
Secure Projection Equip this item to change your Ghost's projection. Ghost Projection 1500 Bright Dust
Smashing Success Apply this shader to change the color of your gear. Shader 300 Bright Dust
Trinity Apply this shader to change the color of your gear. Shader 300 Bright Dust
Tidesmoke Equip this shader to change the color of your gear. Shader 300 Bright Dust
Ravensilk Equip this shader to change the color of your gear. Shader 300 Bright Dust
Reef Awoken Modifications for your ship's transmat systems, so you'll always arrive in style. Transmat Effect 450 Bright Dust
Illicit Transmat Effects Modifications for your ship's transmat systems, so you'll always arrive in style. Transmat Effect 450 Bright Dust
Twin Snake Effects Modifications for your ship's transmat systems, so you'll always arrive in style. Transmat Effect 450 Bright Dust

Weekly Bounties

Petra Venj, The Dreaming City
Name Description Cost Requirement Reward
Ascendant Challenge "The Awoken have long practiced the art of walking between worlds." —Techeun Kalli 1500 Glimmer 1 Ascendant challenge completed XP++ & Dark Fragment & Legendary Gear
Gateway Between Worlds "The Blind Well can split wide the veins that run between realities." —Techeun Sedia 40 Dark Fragment 10 Activity completions XP++ & Offering to the Oracle
Eris Morn, Moon
Name Description Cost Requirement Reward
Slow-Wave Disruption Complete waves of Altars of Sorrow in Sorrow's Harbor. 1000 Glimmer 7 Waves completed Hymn of Desecration
Lunar Spelunker Loot chests in 3 of the Moon's Lost Sectors. 1000 Glimmer 1 K1 Communion Lost Sector looted & 1 K1 Logistics Lost Sector looted & 1 K1 Crew Quarters Lost Sector looted 1 Firewall Data Fragment
Lectern of Enchantment, Moon
Name Description Cost Requirement Reward
Nightmare Hunter Defeat Nightmares in Nightmare Hunts. 5 Phantasmal Fragment 100 Nightmares XP++ & 1 Phantasmal Core
Nightmare Sojourner Defeat Nightmares in Lost Sectors across the solar system. Nightmares defeated on the Moon only grant reduced progress. 5 Phantasmal Fragment 100 Nightmares XP++ & 1 Phantasmal Core
Variks, Europa
Name Description Cost Requirement Reward
Courageous Expedition On Europa, complete Lost Sectors, public events, and patrols. 1000 Glimmer 15 Progress XP++
Divine Intervention During the Empire Hunt "The Dark Priestess," defeat Kridis and earn points by defeating combatants with precision final blows. Higher difficulties grant more efficient progress. 1000 Glimmer 50 [Headshot] Precision & 1 Kridis defeated XP++
Shaw Han, Cosmodrome
Name Description Cost Requirement Reward
Public Disturbance Complete public events on the Cosmodrome. Heroic public events grant the most efficient progress. 1000 Glimmer 3 Public events XP++ & Glimmer
Full Spectrum Defeat combatants on the Cosmodrome with Arc, Void, and Solar damage. 1000 Glimmer 25 [Arc] Arc & 25 [Void] Void & 25 [Solar] Solar XP++ & Glimmer
Starhorse, Eternity
Name Description Cost Requirement Reward
Sticky Situation Complete the following objectives in a single run of Dares of Eternity. Objectives will reset if not completed when the activity ends. Defeat combatants with attached grenade abilities, defeat combatants with grenades, and complete the activity with an impressive score. 5 Strange Coin 15 Attached grenades & 50 [Grenade] Grenade & 1 180000 Points 2 Paraversal Haul & 1 Enhancement Core & XP++ & 50 Strange Favor
Pins Pulled Complete the following objectives in a single run of Dares of Eternity. Objectives will reset if not completed when the activity ends. Defeat combatants with grenade abilities or Grenade Launchers, rapidly defeat combatants, and complete the activity with an impressive score. 5 Strange Coin 110 Grenade final blows & 125 Rapidly defeated & 1 180000 Points 2 Paraversal Haul & 1 Enhancement Core & XP++ & 50 Strange Favor
Unlimited Horsepower Complete the following objectives in a single run of Dares of Eternity on Legend difficulty. Objectives will reset if not completed when the activity ends. Defeat combatants with Rocket Launchers, Linear Fusion Rifles, Sniper Rifles, or Grenade Launchers; defeat powerful combatants within streaks; and complete the activity with an incredible score. 7 Strange Coin 85 Weapon & 120 Defeated in streaks & 1 300000 Points 3 Paraversal Haul & 1 Enhancement Prism & XP++ & 150 Strange Favor
Nimbus, Neomuna
Name Description Cost Requirement Reward
Vex Incursion Countermeasures In the Vex Incursion Zone, defeat combatants using Strand to obtain Shellcode Fragments. Open a Terminal Overload Key Chest to obtain a Polymorphic Engine. 1000 Glimmer 8 Shellcode Fragments & 1 Polymorphic Engine XP++ & Polymorphic Shellcode

Seasonal Challenges

Name Description Objectives Rewards
Into the Depths II Complete the Week 2 "Into the Depths" mission. 2 Challenger XP+
Front Line Salvager II Open chests in Salvage. Redeeming Salvage Keys grants additional progress. Additionally, defeat Taken anywhere in the system. 3 Salvage Chests & 50 Taken Challenger XP+
Powerful Salvager Defeat powerful combatants in Salvage activities. 50 Powerful combatants Challenger XP+
Antithetical Armaments Defeat targets with Shotguns or Sniper Rifles. Defeated Guardians or defeated combatants in Salvage or Deep Dive activities grant additional progress. 150 [Shotgun] or [Sniper Rifle] final blows Challenger XP+
Throne World Activities In the Throne World, complete bounties and earn progress by completing patrols, public events, and looting Lost Sectors. 18 Progress Challenger XP+ & Bright Dust
Lost in the Legend Complete a Lost Sector on Legend or higher. 1 Lost Sectors Challenger XP+ & Bright Dust
Flourish of Power Defeat Guardians in the Mayhem playlist with Super abilities. 25 Guardians Challenger XP+ & Bright Dust
Primeval Entourage Defeat Taken in Gambit. Earn bonus progress for defeating tougher combatants. 100 Taken Challenger XP+ & Bright Dust
Taken Decimator Defeat Taken combatants in Vanguard playlists or strikes. Earn bonus progress for defeating tougher combatants. 200 Taken Challenger XP+ & Bright Dust
Calibrate Long Range Calibrate long-range weapons—Pulse Rifles, Bows, and Trace Rifles. Bonus progress is granted for defeating Guardians. 100 Calibration Challenger XP+ & Bright Dust

Notable Armor Rolls

Only notable rolls (stat total >= 59 or single stat >= 26) are listed here.
Class Name Vendor Type MOB RES REC DIS INT STR Total Cost
submitted by DTG_Bot to LowSodiumDestiny [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 19:03 DTG_Bot [D2] Weekly Reset Thread [2023-05-30]

Nightfall - The Ordeal: The Corrupted

Modifiers:

Rewards:

Weekly Crucible Rotators

Relentless: Zone Control

Achieve victory by controlling zones, earning points for your team over time.

Party: Mayhem

Achieve victory by defeating opponents. Abilities and Supers regenerate faster. Heavy ammo spawns more frequently.

Vanguard Surge: Arc Surge

The other modifiers rotate daily, check out the Daily Reset Thread for them!

Raids and Dungeons

Weekly Raid and Dungeon

  • Raid: Garden of Salvation
  • Dungeon: Spire of the Watcher

Raid Challenges

Deep Stone Crypt

  • Red Rover: A challenge awaits…

Garden of Salvation

  • Leftovers: A challenge awaits…
  • A Link to the Chain: A challenge awaits…
  • To the Top: A challenge awaits…
  • Zero to One Hundred: A challenge awaits…

Vow of the Disciple

  • Defenses Down: A challenge awaits…

Vault of Glass

  • Out of Its Way: A challenge awaits…

King's Fall

  • Devious Thievery: A challenge awaits…

Root of Nightmares

  • Crossfire Challenge: A challenge awaits…

Last Wish

  • Which Witch: A challenge awaits…
  • Boosts Gained: Initial Exotic drop rate boosts: 3

Dares of Eternity: Legend

Contestants: Disciples of the Neigh

  • Round 1: Vex
  • Round 2: Cabal
  • Final Round: Crota

Loot

Neomuna

Campaign Mission: No Time Left

Stop the Darkness relay from activating and creating a link between the Witness and the Veil.

Partition: Backdoor

Break into a Vex Mind's stronghold and defeat it.

Vex Incursion Zone: Zephyr Concourse

The Vex are testing CloudArk defenses in this region. Reality fractures as the VexNet bleeds through into Neomuna.

Legacy Activities

  • Savathûn's Throne World
    • Campaign Mission: The Arrival: Track Savathûn on Mars, where temporal abnormalities scar the planet's surface and the Cabal seek to claim new territory.
  • Europa
    • Eclipsed Zone: Eventide Ruins
    • Empire Hunt: The Dark Priestess: Hero: Defeat the new leader of the Fallen, Kridis, the Dark Priestess.
    • Exo Challenge: Simulation: Survival: Simulated Skill-Set Training: Survive the harsh weather as you take down the Vex.
  • Moon:
    • Campaign Mission: Beyond
    • Wandering Nightmare: Fallen Council (Archer's Line)
    • Trove Guardian is in Archer's Line
  • Dreaming City: Weak Curse
    • Petra is at The Strand.
    • Weekly Mission: Broken Courier - Respond to a distress call in the Strand.
    • Ascendant Challenge: Forfeit Shrine, Gardens of Esila
    • Blind Well: Scorn, Plagues: Sikariis & Varkuuriis

Guns, etc.

Banshee's Weapons

Name Type Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4
Pleiades Corrector Energy Scout Rifle Arrowhead Brake // Hammer-Forged Rifling Ricochet Rounds // Flared Magwell Subsistence Multikill Clip
Typhon GL5 Heavy Grenade Launcher Confined Launch // Countermass Alloy Casing // High-Explosive Ordnance Genesis Chill Clip
Taipan-4fr Heavy Linear Fusion Rifle Extended Barrel // Polygonal Rifling Liquid Coils // Projection Fuse Clown Cartridge Frenzy
Jararaca-3sr Kinetic Scout Rifle Arrowhead Brake // Chambered Compensator Alloy Magazine // Ricochet Rounds Hip-Fire Grip Focused Fury
Irukandji Kinetic Sniper Rifle Arrowhead Brake // Fluted Barrel Accurized Rounds // Flared Magwell Under Pressure Harmony
Combined Action Energy Hand Cannon Arrowhead Brake // Full Bore Appended Mag // Steady Rounds Hip-Fire Grip Offhand Strike

Ada-1's Wares

Name Description Cost
Envious Touch Equip this shader to change the color of your gear. 10000 Glimmer
New Pacific Sink (Worn) Apply this shader to change the color of your gear. 10000 Glimmer
War Cult Camo Apply this shader to change the color of your gear. 10000 Glimmer
Upgrade Module A collection of universal components that can be used to infuse power between gear items. Can be purchased from the Gunsmith or acquired from special reward sources. 1 Enhancement Core & 10 Legendary Shards & 5000 Glimmer

Eververse Bright Dust Offerings

Name Description Type Cost
Concentrated Mattergem An Upgrade Module ionizer created from refined Mattergems. Consumable 200 Bright Dust
Glimmershard A shard with the ability to generate Glimmer during combat. Consumable 250 Bright Dust
Brilliant Idea Emote 700 Bright Dust
Vestian Hawk Ship 2000 Bright Dust
Subjugator Entrance Modifications for your ship's transmat systems, so you'll always arrive in style. Transmat Effect 450 Bright Dust
Copperbrand Equip this shader to change the color of your gear. Shader 300 Bright Dust
Lucid Apply this shader to change the color of your gear. Shader 300 Bright Dust
Turn the Tables Emote 3250 Bright Dust
Torturous Dance Multiplayer Emote 1250 Bright Dust
Externalization Vehicle 2500 Bright Dust
The Pallbearer Ship 2000 Bright Dust
The Scorned Fortress Equip this ornament to change the appearance of Citan's Ramparts. Once you get an ornament, it's unlocked for all characters on your account. Titan Ornament 1500 Bright Dust
Chronos Exegesis Equip this weapon ornament to change the appearance of No Time to Explain. Once you get an ornament, it's unlocked for all characters on your account. Weapon Ornament 1250 Bright Dust
Secure Projection Equip this item to change your Ghost's projection. Ghost Projection 1500 Bright Dust
Smashing Success Apply this shader to change the color of your gear. Shader 300 Bright Dust
Trinity Apply this shader to change the color of your gear. Shader 300 Bright Dust
Tidesmoke Equip this shader to change the color of your gear. Shader 300 Bright Dust
Ravensilk Equip this shader to change the color of your gear. Shader 300 Bright Dust
Reef Awoken Modifications for your ship's transmat systems, so you'll always arrive in style. Transmat Effect 450 Bright Dust
Illicit Transmat Effects Modifications for your ship's transmat systems, so you'll always arrive in style. Transmat Effect 450 Bright Dust
Twin Snake Effects Modifications for your ship's transmat systems, so you'll always arrive in style. Transmat Effect 450 Bright Dust

Weekly Bounties

Petra Venj, The Dreaming City
Name Description Cost Requirement Reward
Ascendant Challenge "The Awoken have long practiced the art of walking between worlds." —Techeun Kalli 1500 Glimmer 1 Ascendant challenge completed XP++ & Dark Fragment & Legendary Gear
Gateway Between Worlds "The Blind Well can split wide the veins that run between realities." —Techeun Sedia 40 Dark Fragment 10 Activity completions XP++ & Offering to the Oracle
Eris Morn, Moon
Name Description Cost Requirement Reward
Slow-Wave Disruption Complete waves of Altars of Sorrow in Sorrow's Harbor. 1000 Glimmer 7 Waves completed Hymn of Desecration
Lunar Spelunker Loot chests in 3 of the Moon's Lost Sectors. 1000 Glimmer 1 K1 Communion Lost Sector looted & 1 K1 Logistics Lost Sector looted & 1 K1 Crew Quarters Lost Sector looted 1 Firewall Data Fragment
Lectern of Enchantment, Moon
Name Description Cost Requirement Reward
Nightmare Hunter Defeat Nightmares in Nightmare Hunts. 5 Phantasmal Fragment 100 Nightmares XP++ & 1 Phantasmal Core
Nightmare Sojourner Defeat Nightmares in Lost Sectors across the solar system. Nightmares defeated on the Moon only grant reduced progress. 5 Phantasmal Fragment 100 Nightmares XP++ & 1 Phantasmal Core
Variks, Europa
Name Description Cost Requirement Reward
Courageous Expedition On Europa, complete Lost Sectors, public events, and patrols. 1000 Glimmer 15 Progress XP++
Divine Intervention During the Empire Hunt "The Dark Priestess," defeat Kridis and earn points by defeating combatants with precision final blows. Higher difficulties grant more efficient progress. 1000 Glimmer 50 [Headshot] Precision & 1 Kridis defeated XP++
Shaw Han, Cosmodrome
Name Description Cost Requirement Reward
Public Disturbance Complete public events on the Cosmodrome. Heroic public events grant the most efficient progress. 1000 Glimmer 3 Public events XP++ & Glimmer
Full Spectrum Defeat combatants on the Cosmodrome with Arc, Void, and Solar damage. 1000 Glimmer 25 [Arc] Arc & 25 [Void] Void & 25 [Solar] Solar XP++ & Glimmer
Starhorse, Eternity
Name Description Cost Requirement Reward
Sticky Situation Complete the following objectives in a single run of Dares of Eternity. Objectives will reset if not completed when the activity ends. Defeat combatants with attached grenade abilities, defeat combatants with grenades, and complete the activity with an impressive score. 5 Strange Coin 15 Attached grenades & 50 [Grenade] Grenade & 1 180000 Points 2 Paraversal Haul & 1 Enhancement Core & XP++ & 50 Strange Favor
Pins Pulled Complete the following objectives in a single run of Dares of Eternity. Objectives will reset if not completed when the activity ends. Defeat combatants with grenade abilities or Grenade Launchers, rapidly defeat combatants, and complete the activity with an impressive score. 5 Strange Coin 110 Grenade final blows & 125 Rapidly defeated & 1 180000 Points 2 Paraversal Haul & 1 Enhancement Core & XP++ & 50 Strange Favor
Unlimited Horsepower Complete the following objectives in a single run of Dares of Eternity on Legend difficulty. Objectives will reset if not completed when the activity ends. Defeat combatants with Rocket Launchers, Linear Fusion Rifles, Sniper Rifles, or Grenade Launchers; defeat powerful combatants within streaks; and complete the activity with an incredible score. 7 Strange Coin 85 Weapon & 120 Defeated in streaks & 1 300000 Points 3 Paraversal Haul & 1 Enhancement Prism & XP++ & 150 Strange Favor
Nimbus, Neomuna
Name Description Cost Requirement Reward
Vex Incursion Countermeasures In the Vex Incursion Zone, defeat combatants using Strand to obtain Shellcode Fragments. Open a Terminal Overload Key Chest to obtain a Polymorphic Engine. 1000 Glimmer 8 Shellcode Fragments & 1 Polymorphic Engine XP++ & Polymorphic Shellcode

Seasonal Challenges

Name Description Objectives Rewards
Into the Depths II Complete the Week 2 "Into the Depths" mission. 2 Challenger XP+
Front Line Salvager II Open chests in Salvage. Redeeming Salvage Keys grants additional progress. Additionally, defeat Taken anywhere in the system. 3 Salvage Chests & 50 Taken Challenger XP+
Powerful Salvager Defeat powerful combatants in Salvage activities. 50 Powerful combatants Challenger XP+
Antithetical Armaments Defeat targets with Shotguns or Sniper Rifles. Defeated Guardians or defeated combatants in Salvage or Deep Dive activities grant additional progress. 150 [Shotgun] or [Sniper Rifle] final blows Challenger XP+
Throne World Activities In the Throne World, complete bounties and earn progress by completing patrols, public events, and looting Lost Sectors. 18 Progress Challenger XP+ & Bright Dust
Lost in the Legend Complete a Lost Sector on Legend or higher. 1 Lost Sectors Challenger XP+ & Bright Dust
Flourish of Power Defeat Guardians in the Mayhem playlist with Super abilities. 25 Guardians Challenger XP+ & Bright Dust
Primeval Entourage Defeat Taken in Gambit. Earn bonus progress for defeating tougher combatants. 100 Taken Challenger XP+ & Bright Dust
Taken Decimator Defeat Taken combatants in Vanguard playlists or strikes. Earn bonus progress for defeating tougher combatants. 200 Taken Challenger XP+ & Bright Dust
Calibrate Long Range Calibrate long-range weapons—Pulse Rifles, Bows, and Trace Rifles. Bonus progress is granted for defeating Guardians. 100 Calibration Challenger XP+ & Bright Dust

Notable Armor Rolls

Only notable rolls (stat total >= 59 or single stat >= 26) are listed here.
Class Name Vendor Type MOB RES REC DIS INT STR Total Cost
submitted by DTG_Bot to DestinyTheGame [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 16:54 NickelTheWise WILDLIFE CH. 1-2

"Dick." "Huh? What, are we there?" "We've been here for six hours, man, we just haven't seen the car yet, and you haven't seen shit because you keep falling asleep." "Gimme a break, man, I was driving all night to get here." The two criminals were seated in a non-descript car, parked nearby the entrance to the main parking lot at Mt. Loyal University, charged with the details of a specific vehicle set to arrive at some point. The two were only armed with camera equipment, but it was enough to ID at a distance and that's what they were being paid to do. "Look, if this chick's as dangerous as they say, it'll help to be ready when she shows up. Try some of the coffee, they shouldn't be too cold." Dick looked at the two big cups from the morning hours before they showed up. "Dale, that stuff's probably frozen by now, let's just go get some fresh stuff." "We can't leave, idiot!" barked Dale, fitting of his canine species. They both were dogs, Dale a chihuahua and Dick a St. Bernard, with personalities to match. "Look, I'll go get some at that place down the block, come back here, and we can throw that stuff out." "Well then, go, come on, hurry up and get back, I don't want you sitting on a bench and falling asleep again." "I'm going, don't yell at me, man." Dick replied softly. "I'm NOT YELLING!" Dale yelled as the larger of the two got out of the car with another huge yawn to head off on his mission. The actual task they were seeing to was admittedly a dull one, but Dale liked to be alert at all times, especially when dealing with contract killers. About five minutes later, Dick had returned with two coffees, Dale opening the door for him. "Thanks. They had that hazelnut stuff you like, so I-" "Wait wait wait, hold that thought, I think that's our ticket." said the chihuahua, pointing a finger at the gate. Indeed, a white Oz Harper was pulling in and turning their way to find a spot. Dale squawked 'Hide!' and pulled the seat lock, falling backwards with it quickly. Dick just watched the car go by and head up towards the front of the building. "GOL-332, I think that's our guy, Dale." the larger dog said, slurping at his coffee loudly. The smaller one's head popped up to check before easing his seat back up. "Of course it is, I knew this was the gate to trust." he declared, pulling out a cellphone to speed-dial a number. "What are we gonna do now, D?" "Shh, lemme make this call in peace for a second... hey, it's us, the ones you called for recon? ...yeah, no, we stuck to the timeframe you gave us, the target's been confirmed at that college we parked at." Dick was starting to fall asleep in his seat again, so Dale smacked at him while completing the phonecall. "Gotcha.. yes, gotcha, you won't be needing anything else? Alright then, it was a pleasure doing business with you, and we'll just be on our way once our payment is secu- what??" The voice over the tiny microphone spoke in stern volumes, Dale glaring wide-eyed at the device like he wanted to bite a chunk out of it. He managed to inhale and hold it before responding tightly. "I understand, we will get a room and meet with you after the hit. Thank you very much for this opportunity." He beeped off the phone, calmly unclipped his seat belt, vacated the car, and then began to attack the right side of it in a psychotic frenzy, all manner of expletive spraying as hornets do from a disturbed nest. Dick watched him for a bit as he gradually slowed his raging melee with their car and got back inside of it. "We gotta go shack up in a hotel for the night, we're not getting paid until they kill this chick." "Hey, oh boy, a hotel, that'll have a bed for sure." He began to hand the chihuahua his coffee before giving a bit too much gas and causing a second furious explosion, this time in the car. The badly-secured lid had sluiced open and had went mostly all over Dale, staining his undershirt dark brown. Dick looked at him and raised his eyebrows high enough to expose his eyes at last. "Oh no, I'm real sorry about that, we can get the duffel bag out and take it-" Dale held up his paw. "Dick, shut up and let's just... take it to get washed somewhere, real quick. I like this shirt, this is my lucky shirt." "Okay, Dale." and he started up the car and turned off down the main street, looking like he'd be smacked around and scolded by the smaller man. Dale looked sidelong at him for a bit before looking forward quietly. "You're mad." "Dick, I ain't mad, I'm just cranky." "No, you're mad, you say that when you're mad." "What're you, my freakin' therapist? Get over into that one there and let's get this thing washed and dried, I'm gonna need it to keep from KILLING you, right in the face. "Dale, I'm really sorry." They parked and they got out. "Just finish your coffee, man, I gotta go use the bathroom and change out."
Tom was in a late afternoon haze of beer buzz, boredom, and bitterness. Something about the verbal skirmish with the snow leopard had really got on his nerves, and he still wanted to give her a piece of his mind. There was a bit of time left, and he felt like he could be risking at least one more smoke, so he went out the back door into the loading alley and lit up there, largely free of company for the moment, but it was then that one of the black cars from before slowly pulled into sight ahead, blocking off the alley's exit. "Shit.." he whispered, knowing better than to turn around as the sound of crunching rock on tires signalled he was being boxed in. He circled on the spot casually, eyes swallowing his surroundings to make sure there was no one else around in case he had to attack and escape. The two guys that got out had matching casual wear and a bully's confidence as they came his way. Two more door-shutting sounds behind him now, sending that tingle of adrenaline pre-game thru his body. Taking a deep inhale to martial his guts and nicotine, Tom came to a stop and looked to the guys in front of him as he exhaled, flicking the cigarette away. They were certainly taller up close. "Larry, Curly, good to see you, something I can help you two with?" he asked brazenly, getting two accosted looks in response. "How's he supposed to know that? He knows my name, man, how does he know that?" said the wiry one of the pair. Tom's throat tightened; one of their names actually WAS Larry, apparently. "He's calling us stooges, man, you know?" said the other, more standard-shaped one. "We got a smartass here, don't we?" came a voice from behind, followed by a hard shove that almost sent him onto the ground. "Hey!" Tom barked, stepping back to take all four of them in. They all had a kind of standard goon panache, and one of them had a shoulder holster slightly visible. The only animal folk in their number was a fox, shock-white and wearing the worst air of superiority among them, along with the tattoos and pink-red eyes. Tom made a mental note to attack this one first if he had to, but wisely switched gears. "Look guys, I think we got off on the wrong foot here, see... I'm a traveling salesman, and I got these dynamite blindfolds I'm peddling. You four want to line for a demonstration, I could oblige you a discount too!" he said, winking an eye. One of them chuckled off to the right, but Larry had apparently had enough, pulling an H17 into view, and putting the barrel inbetween Tom's eyes. He swallowed hard, carefully putting his hands up and standing his mental ground. "Yeah, talk that shit now, huh? Think you're all funny, man, I'll put you in the fucking GROUND, I don't give a fuck!" snarled this Larry.The fox put a clawed hand firmly on the guys' arm and caught his eye coldly. "Stow that piece, and calm down before you get us all popped, dig?" he said in a sibilant tone. Larry was still looking at Tom, glaring back at him, but obeyed and hung up the gun. The leader took point now, nodding for the raccoon to lower his arms. "I'll just... keep them up, if it's all the same, mutual trust eh?" said Tom, giving a weak smile. "Fair enough." answered the vulpine boss, "Now, my friend here seems to think you were scoping us earlier." "At the traffic light back there? No no, I just saw these nice Golgo Tundras going thru town, all sleek and white-- thought someone was putting on a concert or something. Honest curiosity, that was it." It wasn't necessarily a lie either. The tall fox looked him over a bit, his sharp eyes looking lower. "Got anything in your pockets?" "...I do." Tom carefully produced his wad of bills from one pocket and a pack of Mazzerucci Royals in the other. He really hoped they wouldn't stick their hand in the jacket pocket, for a few reasons at that. "See, I was just out doing laundry, there's no-- hey, dammit!" Larry had snatched the items up, and Tom moved his hands in protest, only to be frozen solid by the clawed fingers of the one in charge. "Mutual trust, right?" he said, smiling with sharp teeth. The bothered canine grimaced and tried to look helpless while they counted up his stolen cash, wishing he'd had enough magic stored up for a bolt of half-power lightning; they would probably survive, but with scars to remember. A sizable chunk of money was missing when it was handed back, and that was it. Tom looked up at the leader briefly, who was already biting onto one of the cigarettes. "I like Royals, consider it part of the toll here for wastin' our precious time with your peeking." and he felt his own pockets briefly before looking up again, "No lighter?" Tom lit his smokes on his own, so he just shrugged and produced his unfolded pockets. The four of them seemed to have had their fun and left, but the fox stayed a second to lean in close as his men returned to the cars. One particularly sharp claw came to rest gently just above Tom's left eyebrow. "Now, make a healthy choice, and stay the fuck out of sight for a couple days, okay? You and I see each other again, well--" He slowly dragged the sharp point across Tom's forehead, blood dripping down freely, making him wince a bit. "--You're gonna need one of those fancy blindfolds for when we execute you, since you uh... seem to be out of smokes too. Arrivederci, bambino~" he said, parting ways. "Yeah yeah, au revoir, Simone." Tom grunted, waiting until they'd disembarked before he snarled and kicked a nearby paint bucket across the alley like a soccer ball. "What the fuck is your DEAL, Canada?! I thought this was supposed to be a nice place!" he yelled. From somewhere in the barkyards of a nearby neighborhood, someone shouted in response. "I AM TRYING TO WORK OVER HERE!", it said. "SHUT UP!!" growled Tom, wiping at the blood on his face.
The raccoon was sitting in a miserable distemper while the dryer was finishing his clothes. 'I ought to just spin the wheel again and find someplace else, this town is becoming dangerous.' he thought, halfway thru another drink. He stopped suddenly at the sound of the door jingling, hurrying to move one of his towels over the opened can. A pair of dogs came in, talking in low voices, and Tom minded his own business, having had enough of strangers for one week. They seemed to mind their own business, so it was business as usual. One of them disappeared into the bathroom for a bit, coming out wearing a different shirt, and they proceeded to wash a single shirt. Tom had been on the streets for as long as he could remember, and had seen a furtive load of laundry or two, so lacking any other concrete plans, he got up and pretended to go check his clothes while pointing an ear their way. "...told you to keep it down, ya idiot." the smaller one hissed. "You worry too much, Dale, we're just there to drive anyone who needs it to safety after they corner that lady and tie her up." Already, this was sounding bad, but the raccoon kept incognito for the moment. "Yeah, well that's why they're calling in this extra muscle, this snow leopard's supposed to be a real killer born, y'know? Kinda like you and being so slow and clueless." Dick shrugged and lapped at his coffee again. "I'm just as my momma made me, Dale." "Yeah, well thank goodness she died before seeing this life of crime you've somehow clung to, she'd have died of shame otherwise." snapped the chihuahua, loading quarters into the machine. "Oh Dale, don't say that, she's already mad at me up in Heaven as it is." His partner scoffed and closed the hatch. "Look, I only yell because you never had no friends or family to steer you straight growing up, and I've told you, I'm your big brother! I gotta make sure you're learning and growing up better, yeah?" Dick nodded happily. "I love my big brother." Dale's face was a bit pinker at the cheeks, but he avoided eye contact for now. "Yeah, hey, y'know, it's... nice to be appreciated. Now, take a seat, will ya? Bad enough we're missing out on the fun work over at that construction site up the way, now I gotta hope this stain comes out." he muttered as they headed to one of the plastic benches. Tom was left with a great deal of trepidation: had he just made brief enemies with a trained killer somehow, or was any of this even true? He hurried to pound the rest of his beer, almost getting foam out of his nose in the bargain, bagged up his completed laundry, and left the place without a trace. He was halfway to the Door when he saw some day laborers around a truck by the gas station of his plaza. Once the clothing was carefull scooted into a distant, safe dimensional hideaway around the corner, he sauntered over to them, pretending to throw some trash away. "I don't mean to bother you guys, but do you know which way the big construction site is, just down this road here?"
Kari had been sitting in the parking lot of the campus for about ten minutes, watching the fracas of newspeople and police nearby and really feeling cheated of a decent day of schoolwork. The day was shot for sure, with the media frenzy still stirred up by people posting misinformation online, and news crew remaining on the scene for interviews with the friends or close ones of those involved. Kari looked over at her bag, containing the completed assignment, and felt supremely cheated as she started the car and looked over her shoulder. A bedraggled human face looked back immediately and she shouted in surprise. It was only then she realized it was from outside the car. Some drifter, bedraggled and carrying a backpack that was as weatherworn as it could be, was standing in the middle of the parking lot, looking past her car, then back at her. Something about it felt like the right thing to do, so she got out of the car and approached him. The man began to back away, muttering something. "No no, easy, I'm not gonna hurt you or waste your time, I wanted to ask if you'd seen anything weird recently." At first, the guy said nothing and continued mumbling something, but he paused on a dime and turned to her slowly before taking a huge inhale of her presence. The snow leopard stepped back, looking affronted. "Hey, what the hell?!" she snapped, "I just wanted a damn answer." The homeless man locked eyes with her, speaking very plainly. "He will lead you thru the door, and to places beyond here or there, and I will show you the other side! The OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR!" he said in a rising tone before wandering off incoherently, pulling the backpack into his arms and talking placatingly to it in tender whispers. Kari just got back in her car and looked confusingly at her steering wheel, like it would turn into a giant pretzel or something next. 'There's a lot of weirdos in town today, and that can usually mean something's up.' she thought, going from experience, 'The only problem is for who.. and why?" She rolled the window down and closed her eyes, feeling kind of cooped up for some reason "Excuse me?" "AAA!!" Kari's body moved defensively towards the sound, only to find some kid about 6 sandwiched up on himself to avoid the attack. "Hi? sorry there, kiddo, what did you need, are you lost?" she managed, still oddly on edge. "I'm um, here... this, uh, I got my... there's a letter for, here, there's a letter I got to give you. I have to go." he managed, handing a folded paper to her before hurrying back to a small bike and riding away. Kari almost threw it away, eager to put today behind her, but she groaned and unfolded it for reading. "We know who you are, come alone to the location marked at this address at this time only, make this easier on yourself." An address followed and the feline predator smiled with murderous glee, slowly tearing the letter in half. "Know who I am, do they?" she growled, her grin almost too high, "I sure hope they know what I can do." Before she turned the car around to head home, she carefully pocketed the two pieces of paper. "...dammit, why'd I do that."
submitted by NickelTheWise to u/NickelTheWise [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 14:25 AlienNationSSB Alien-Nation Chapter 169: Jailbreak

All Chapters First Chapter of Alien-Nation Previous Chapter
Chapter summary: Vaughn liberates a bunch of people. Elias can't sleep and makes some decisions and receives a weird offer.
Chapter Art- Vaughn's Mask, a World War One Tanker Splatter Mask

Alien-Nation Chapter 169: Jailbreak

A Leslie's Pool Supplies retail outlet made for a strange rally point for any group of people, even moreso now that the whole strip mall along what had been Concord Pike had long since closed. The stainless letters spelled the forgotten name of the shopping center, still proudly adorned the top of the diagram of blank signs ensured at least the brick obelisk was a conveniently obvious marker for the men to find and make preparations for assaulting the jail.
'Morningstar' squadron had swelled their cell's numbers to well over twenty by absorbing the miscellaneous fragments of other cells, whose skills were more generalized. The name carried over to the newly formed Strike Force by virtue of being both the largest and the lynchpin of the operation's success.
This was the largest force of the three organized groups they'd split into, each aiming to try and hit the larger jails along Route 202, the other two branches making a target list of their own. Vendetta had given them an extra half hour to at least get themselves close to in-position, but with only one shortwave had no way of knowing if they would coordinate their strike. He was a known element to everyone even if only by name. At least Elias's words stayed true; All seemed very familiar and well-practiced with their carried weaponry. More importantly, none contested his assigned leadership or questioned his orders.
Vaughn cradled the RPG he'd been given, eyeing the well-lit building just over the carefully landscaped hill. The last had been over a half hour ago. The box-mart across the old highway was the temporary headquarters of the repositioned Troop One, after the suburbs near Camp Death had been cleared, likely soon to be repositioned again. But the size of the old box-mart seemed to indicate several things, that it was largely indefensible, could contain a fair few prisoners, and by its proximity to Camp Death, could be useful to strike regardless.
The flow of traffic was unusually heavy for being well before the crack of dawn. Perhaps people were trying their luck getting up old 202 to try and reach the border that way, after having no luck along other closed border checkpoints. There was a feeling of self-consciousness in carrying heavy weapons out in the open along a suburban highway most had driven along during peacetime, the juxtaposition of old familiar environment and newly familiar activity showing just how much their lives had changed. Moreso as cars rolled along it like it was a Friday night of olde, the two lives- old and new, bumping shoulders for a moment.
"You ready?" He asked, snapping them back to the present.
Mutters of assent was good enough. Haltingly, everyone in the mishmashed strike team moved toward the precinct's bright lights, taking advantage of the long shadows and occasional noise of the passing cars.
It was an unassuming building, the repurposed garrison made out of some retail outlet built back in the turbulent seventies, all brick and little else but tiny glass doors, with not even windows for the occupants to know the impending violence had been approaching. What era will this be known as? Early Imperial? Resistance? Revolutionary? Wondered the teen, as he leveled it at the lobby. Good? Bad? Hell, I'm just the man with the gun.
Everyone levelled their weapons as once, and Vaughn held a hand high. "We're here to liberate the prison, not blow it sky high," he chuckled. It was hardly armored or reinforced- or at least, so it seemed to him. And if it was, then the Data Center had shown the virtue of striking the same spot with concentrated fire beat showering it with dispersed impacts.
At least the glass door looked normal enough. "Bump and grind, forward. Forward!" He hissed. "Aim at that- there- the front door." Easy enough for the homemade launcher to hit, and these were arguably of the lowest utility if things went sideways. Elias had taught him asset management well- it was a waste to throw your best equipment at a stationary target. While the design was tried-and-tested, Vaughn still took a few steps away.
The improvised launcher let out a metallic clunk, and with a surprisingly subdued noise and recoil the projectile was sent tumbling freely, end over end, the cap blown clean off the improvised launcher. A second later, the giant projectile more than made up for it as the round smashed through the glass door, taking the automatic door slightly off the rails and bowing slightly inward- before then blowing both them and a hail of glass fragments outward as the detonation went off inside the main lobby.
Someone in a security forces uniform staggered out.
"Infantrymen, Fire!" Vaughn roared to the infantrymen, most of Morningstar dutifully restraining themselves as a hail of bullets sprayed into the storefront and even stitched up the exterior brickwork. Clearly, some insurgents were better trained than others judging by the tracer rounds and slowly tapering off rounds.
"Advance and reload! Morningstar, spread out and cover!"
The smoke and dust was subdued, at least for now, and left them with a surprisingly clear view into the front entrance. Red streaks were painted up on the wall, black and grey of smoke-dusted debris mixed in like a spin-art collage.
The lobby's contents were an absolute shambles- everything set on a ledge had been knocked about, including the ledges and desks themselves. The security forces inside responded by charging out the main doors to follow just a second later.
A hail of gunfire met them, most of the armored troopers flinching reflexively, their armor plates overlapping and protecting their wearer. A few reflexively tried returning fire despite the harsh stings of rounds tugging on the mix of fabric, bulletproof weave, and shattering off the neosteel plate they wore. The gunfire never let up on those unfortunate few who had charged out from their cover, the complete lack of coordination, dissimilar reloading times from infantry with unequal amounts of time spent with their weapons. Effective equipment and enthusiasm was undercut by poor training, surprise, and total lack of a plan to counter being outnumbered. Morningstar, on the other hand, had the numbers, the angle, and the element of surprise.
One by one the Security Forces lay flat. Either they were dead, had the fight knocked out of them, or were trying to present as minimal target as they could while they lined up their own rifles to return fire. It was hard to say for certain what the intent was, but the outcome was little different. Round after round continued pouring into them from dozens of unevenly sized magazines, an RPG or two sending the bodies of any who tried opening fire tumbling, their limbs likely held on by the durable material underneath. When they landed, their bodies folded like misshapen laundry, pressed into unnatural shapes with the wearer still inside.
The whole front engagement was over in less than a minute. A pale, non-gauntleted hand waved frantically from behind a shattered brick front, red streaking down the fingers.
"Hold!" Vaughn shouted. "Identify!" The hand continued waving, and Vaughn shoved an unwitting volunteer forward to pull the man out from behind, to reveal a man in a stained tee shirt with a dazed expression and blood dripping from a series of scratches on his cheeks, cut in like a cat's claws had raked over them.
"Civilian!" Vaughn bellowed over his ringing ears. "Any others inside?"
The man shook his head and mouthed 'no,' his voice seemingly too hoarse- perhaps from having spent an untold amount of time screaming.
The man was wrong- there were, or at least 'had been' more security forces inside. A sudden blast and the tinkering of shrapnel caused Vaughn to duck, then charge forward, his improvised explosive launcher discarded, swinging his shotgun around from his back to rest in his hands. A Technical had tried to leave via a service bay exit, apparently not even managing to round the corner before an RPG wielded by a Morningstar veteran had upended the uparmored pickup as it pulled out.
A survivor crawled from the wreckage, and Vaughn sprinted forward, pressing the barrel against the shivering man's temple as he raised his empty hands. The wet splatter kicked high, and Vendetta checked for any other survivors, the smoking tip of his shotgun wafting grey in the fluorescent tubes of the old retail outlet.
The technicals were indeed tough, he noted, but the round seemed to have flown into a wheel well, bypassing the plating. No one else inside seemed to be moving- yet still, he made certain. There'd be no theatrics of announcing himself to an enemy who played dead by standing in the open and giving orders, letting them try and exact some measure of revenge, or gasping out some warning to the shil'vati. No, a strike was to be calculated, and that calculation was to be total.
Two minutes later and a clear picture of the aftermath had emerged. Over five hundred prisoners rescued from the cells, cramped together like sardines, hastily erected concrete laid in a grid backstopping a prefab prison. PVC pipes ran from room to room for toilets no less roughshod in their construction, set straight into the dirty linoleum. Quite a few of the prisoners were deafened somewhat. The skeleton crew of Security Forces personnel hadn't stood a chance- supposedly, most were out, working from some kind of list, or perhaps had finished their shift after a long day of throwing people into prison.
Vaughn gestured with the shotgun. "There's your exit, people. If you're still undecided about the Shil'vati, then this was your wake-up call. If you're still undecided about us, then I'm not sure what to tell you. We just risked our lives to save yours. You want to pay it back? You can either pay it forward by helping us with the next prison, or you can help the Emperor of Mankind. Blankets, food, water, soldiers, guns, ammo, whatever you've got that you think might help. He hasn't said it, but I reckon you all owe him, if you've got a decent bone in your body, you'll at least bring him something, offer to try and help. If you want, you can listen in on the radio for instructions, and if you haven't got a shortwave, I'll separate off a few from our strike squad who can fill you in and get you there, if you feel like chipping in on the war effort."
Vaughn lowered the shotgun, taking a shell off his bandoleer and loading it in to replace the one he'd fired.
"That went well," Parker remarked. "And not a bad speech. Short, to the point, and all that. Honestly, I wish I'd brought a whole crew. One for the close-up on that impact. But, uh, that execution..."
"Completely necessary," Vaughn snapped, irritatedly. "That guy was fatally wounded. Putting him out of his misery was an act of mercy. And you'll remember to narrate that, if you got that on film."
"Of course." Parker didn't deny where he'd been aiming the camera- saving Vaughn at least the headache of reviewing the footage, and then having to kill Parker, if it turned out he'd been lying.
"I'm starting to think of these jail cells as something more like a pinata full of prizes. Namely, insurgents and good PR," he muttered. Truth be told, he'd wanted more of a fight. Vaughn pulled the radio from his pocket, and sent out the broadcast. "Done here. 202 North has been cleared. About four fifty good to go in some sense of the word, though where's anyone's guess. Tried sending them your way, don't know if they'll take it. Another fifty will need medical treatment. No casualties on our end. Surprise was total. We've got pictures. No enemies taken prisoner."
Vendetta stared around the lobby, an idea slowly dawning on him.
"Hey! Hey hey hey! Snag armor off any of the ones that you can. Grab any goods that are stocked up, and arm up anyone who says they're headed to Camp Death with the weapons the guys had here. Come on, we can't stay too long here. You-" he pointed at a man who had held down the trigger on his rifle, spraying the building at full auto. "-You're fucking useless at fighting. Gather up the ones who are able and willing to fight, get them packed into a civilian-style police cruiser, and drive them on over to Camp Death. Everyone, help him load up. Get everything you can out of the Evidence lockers into the trunks- they can fit a lot, trust me, I'd know. Camp Death's going to need goodies. Come on, move, people, move!"
Morningstar Squadron had re-mustered on Vendetta.
"Alright, now what?" They almost seemed eager for more.
A smile crept across Vendetta's face, invisible to all as he pointed at the row of vehicle keys.
"I think it's time we hit 141 and a couple more," he muttered, pulling it off the hook. "Now...wheelman, shotgun, or turret?"

"Accidentally Cut Content"

[Author's Note: Hey Everyone. I made a really dumb mistake and included part of the next chapter in the previous one's end in my rush to get it out the door. So the first couple paragraphs will be a repeat, but this IS a new chapter. I even updated those first four or five paragraphs slightly.]
I couldn't sleep well on the cot that night. Though I noticed hours ticked by, every moment seemed to be spent tossing and turning. I even tried resting with the mask off, held in my hands, but the risk to my identity being discovered if anyone barged in caused me enough stress to worsen the situation. Eventually, I gave up, kicked the covers off and donned the mask again, making my rounds around the camp, trying to calm myself down by taking a midnight stroll. Instead, I felt eyes countless following me, and I had to force myself to stand tall for them. For the thousandth time, I thought of this as my Valley Forge.
As I patrolled, I could hear whispered prayers, muttered plans of action, and mercifully, snores. At least some were getting some sleep. I could see orange lights reflecting off the clouds from where I knew Wilmington lay. It seemed Vaughn was keeping busy, if indeed it was his handiwork.
A few shipment inspections and a routine update from a sentry later, and I felt caught up to speed. I noticed Radio from the corner of my eye, seemingly also unable to sleep.
I almost jumped a foot in the air when I felt the tap on my shoulder, only to find G-Man's mask staring into mine. How strange that such a haunting visage was a comfort to me.
"Hey. Can't sleep?" He sounded surprisingly serene. Or maybe it was just tired resignation. His hands seemed stuck in a familiar claw-like shape after holding the soldering iron for so long, and my fingers ached in sympathy. My mask's filters took much of the scent of smoke I could smell from the distant fires, but I was sure that if I wasn't wearing my mask that G-Man would smell faintly of molten silver solder. I'd wondered how we'd repaired and updated so many railguns so quickly. Now I knew what he'd put himself through.
"I can't," I confessed. "G-Man, I'm sorry what happened with your father. Hell of a birthday." I hadn't even had a chance to give him the present I'd bought him- a couple new filters, and vintage craftsman toolkit, 'from before they sold out,' as Verns had phrased it. The memory of his voice already felt distant, somehow.
"Wasn't your fault. Even if Town Hall wasn't your big idea to get them to retaliate, you know? Then they'd still have done something. But, uh, thanks for saying that. And thanks for trying to get dad out. I'll remember that." George said quietly, then the conversation ended when he turned away and went to the edge of the embankment. Just like that.
I could never quite get a read on him, but I wanted to respect his distance. Whatever he was feeling, he seemed to want to feel it alone, and to keep his own counsel on the matter.
I continued course toward Radio.
"Any word from Miskatonic?" I asked hopefully.
Radio offered a noncommittal shrug, then dropped it in a hurry, raising one hand to massage his chest. "They say 'this is your war,' but did ship us a small container."
"I saw."
I hadn't exactly expected them to line up alongside us in the trenches in their white coats, but I'd hoped they'd have had some kind of wonder drug or noxious gas we might deploy. Something toxic to the Shil'vati but not us. The best they'd given us so far were experimental bullets and toxic-tipped arrows and knives, the former of which supposedly could potentially the armor, if fired with enough force and impacted with a good angle. If true, then I supposed they might be moderately useful in an ambush, and they had helpfully included a pair of compound bows. I had conducted a pretty decent survey of the defense, but I hadn't thought to ask if any were experienced archers. I also couldn't imagine taking someone off a railgun, large caliber rifle, or even an old cannon to hand them a bow and arrow without feeling like I was somehow offering them an insult without equipping it myself, and there was better I could think to do with the remaining minutes before the Shil'vati would inevitably come looking than to practice.
They'd fallen out of favor for a reason, and it wasn't that the earliest guns outperformed bows.
They had also supplied a small cache of rifles that were more likely to pulverize than penetrate unless the armor had been compromised already. These were still appreciated, but hardly the game changer I wanted in return for all we'd sent them.
Then Radio leaned in, voice kept conspiratorially low. "They did, however, mention an exfiltration for you."
Sam had been right, I wouldn't get back anything close to the value of what I'd sent out. At least, not unless I was willing to abandon everything and everyone, to cut and run for my life. Such a decision would be the inglorious end of the revolution, spelling doom for everyone in it, and all of humanity's culture. I'd forever be remembered as a coward, if I was so lucky to be remembered at all.
"Well, I'm not going."
"Okay, but here's a real head-scratcher. Did you show them where Camp Death is? I've been careful not to broadcast our coordinates, and my little helpers haven't been talking with Miskatonic. And the person on the shortwave mentioned that the border would free up tomorrow morning, then mentioned the interstate right up against the back of our base as a meeting point. They said Last Exit Before Pennsylvania. That's right there." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "And I didn't mention broadcasting without a cat's paw or relay. I mean there's a chance they triangulated, but throwing together a plan that fast? Nah, man, they knew."
I searched my memory. "I'm certain that I didn't mention it to them...did Hex? She did that internship. No, wait, she got picked up and dropped off at Warehouse Base. Unless she mentioned something on the drive past? She said they were somewhere North." Now that Radio had mentioned it, I was left with a bit of a puzzle. How did they know? How much did they know about us?
"They had to have known somehow. And if they didn't know before and just figured our location out, then I bet you it's not long before the Shil'vati figure it out themselves and come sniffing," Radio resignedly threw a hand up. "Should we update the signal? Start directing people straight here?"
We had numbers, yes, but we could still do to take more in, especially if the fighting dragged on or casualties mounted higher than I projected. "How long until they're sure we're here?"
Radio yawned under his mask, the animated glass-plated mask he wore misinterpreting it with an ASCII shocked ":O" face. "We've been broadcasting all night, so, who knows?"
"Well, if it was just a signal they picked up on any random given day, how long would it typically take for the Shil'vati to muster a response?"
"Depends on the day." At my silent stare, he objected further. "They sometimes respond pretty fast to that sort of thing, but these aren't normal times, E. They used to come to check out wherever I broadcast from within an hour or two or two, but remember, they've kind of got their hands full right now thanks to Vendetta's jailbreaks. Plus, there's so many more signals." He checked the screen of his shortwave and chuckled, then lightly massaged his chest again. "I'm sure we've already gone way past."
"Alright. If we see anyone snooping around us, add our location to the broadcast. That way, anyone in the resistance or is sympathetic but isn't sure where Camp Death is can find their way here. In the meantime, though, I still think we're best not leaking it. At least with the sentries having set in the final claymores and outer defenses, we should be well-situated to ward off anything they throw at us."
"Maybe. Maybe not," George said from behind me, and I froze.
"Why not?"
He'd helped build this place. He'd know any weaknesses as well as his father.
"They might have cloaking tech, or some other means of infiltration," his voice was a dry rasp.
I shuddered thinking about it. "That's a good point," I muttered. "Assassination and recovery might be up their alley...except, I think they're terrified of what losing me might mean for their hostages."
"I'll be honest. I don't think she cares at this point," G-Man countered. I couldn't fault his gloomy disposition. I could just hope that he didn't want something bad to happen to us, to balance out that something bad had happened to him, from some weird sense of fairness.
"Yeah?"
"Think about it for a second. What happens if you die? Then what does that let her do if that happens?"
It was with a startle I realized he had a good point. Azraea had committed to a shocking all-in, something that would shake the political landscape and memories of countless denizens of the state. Months of carefully planned schemes involving carefully planned defensive patrols meant to reinforce one another, frustrate, and hinder our operations had culminated in us adapting, learning. We thought we had her beaten, especially when we destroyed her monitoring, data collection, and reporting asset in Something Else Square. Then she'd pulled something like this out of a hat, catching us totally flat-footed, rounding up who-knew how many of us before we could muster. What other assumptions had I made that were incorrect? Would she hold fire, if she knew where I was if it meant sparing the hostages? Or were they now just an 'acceptable, if regrettable' loss? When your opponent becomes unpredictable, issues arise, especially when you're counting on them to do certain things.
If it was, then I'd just done her work for her, and all of us would be dead the moment she figured out where we were, and at least the end would come faster than I knew it had arrived.
I realized I was staring up into the orange-lit cloudy night sky. I could voice none of this, not without undermining morale and potentially sparking a panic.
"If she was going to start bombarding the state, she'd have started already by now," I chuckled. "The borders are sealed, right? Why wait? Why bother trying to build some sense of dread? She's not a vampire who feeds on fear. I choose to not be afraid of what she may do. I instead intend to plan around it, to the extent that we can. Besides, if I die, what would the twins do to the hostages?"
George made a disappointed growl, his sore hands turning from awkward claws into shaking fists. "That may be the point. If the Twins do anything to the hostages in retaliation for your death, then maybe as long as she didn't pull the trigger, she thinks she'll be absolved of whatever damage their deaths mean to them."
I wasn't sure she thought that way. Heck, after months, the woman was still an absolute enigma to me. Governess Bal'shir, I understood- the flurry of speeches and photo-ops and handshakes at civic meetings with 'literally-who's-that' of 'what-community' had been carte blanche for us to grow. Ministriva was a lying snake, and once we pieced that together, I ripped her apart. But Azraea? What drove the Fleet Admiral to come down here? Duty. There wasn't any sort of hard policy she followed that I could tell, not that I knew Shil'vati military doctrine well, being an outsider such as I was. Perhaps it was the greater liberty afforded her of being both Governess and General that made it seem like her plans shifted and changed in ways that made it hard for me to keep up. Or maybe she was just at such a rank and in such a position of power to where she could make her judgment calls. If so, that begged the question: What was 'the line' for her? I had a feeling I'd somehow crossed it already. Probably Radio's tape of me fucking the Empress, if I was to be honest. Most unfair to be judged for something that hadn't been my decision, though I doubted an apology from either of us would amount to much.
I looked over to my Lieutenants. They'd helped carry me this far. I'd be foolish to ignore them now. What could I do to at least mitigate the risk that he was right, and there was someone looking to kill me, right here and now?
"Alright, fine, you've convinced me. Instruct the sentries to get the next dozen people who we intake to help patrol the inner perimeter, and to keep a watch for...well, I mean, a stealthy seven foot tall purple alien with giant tits?"
"Something invisible," George supplied.
"Alright, for anything shifting in the tall grasses that they can't immediately see- I can't really ask them to keep an eye out for something they can't see, can I?" I was suddenly too tired to think properly.
"I'll explain it," G-Man offered.
"And I'll get the sentries ready to take over the radio, explaining how it works, then I'll try heading to bed, too," Radio offered, and I realized that a yawn sounded very strange through a voice modulator- his ASCII helmet seemed to fritz out again for a second.
"I should change my sleeping quarters, too," I muttered. "They'll almost certainly check the command cabin for me, if they manage to enter. I'll pick a tunnel- uh...somewhere."
"Might be smart. Could be they'll try and take out the explosives shed, too. Make it look like an accident on our part, get rid of any hostages, and then get a free pass to exact vengeance on the state. Got anywhere in mind?"
I thought to myself. Where might be a good resting area? There were many tunnels that led to bunkers, firing outposts, and even to stowage areas. Any one of them might do in theory, but I knew of one that overlooked one of the two streams that ran along the side of Camp Death. I didn't want to situate myself either too low to where I was on the very front of the lines- why make an assassin's job even easier by putting myself on the perimeter, after all? But the creek should make a pleasant bit of white noise- and also get me away from the center shed. "Probably facing North, along Perkins run. G-Man, you look absolutely dead on your feet. Get some rest if you can, you've certainly done enough and gone through enough for today."
"There's...still things to do."
"There always will be. If the others are finished doing their repairs, lock the shed," I muttered. "I know the hostages are in there, so post a sentry or two there, too, to watch over the entrance. You're right that she may try some kind of underhanded tactic." It wouldn't do much if they decided to set charges against the side or something, and the subsequent explosion would be, in a word, 'cataclysmic'. "This was supposed to be a relaxing walk to help me rest..." I scratched at my chin under the mask, feeling the beginnings of the few scratchy hairs that had grown since I'd last shaved, and feeling the cool fresh air without the filter as the wind kicked up.
"Sorry," G-Man offered sheepishly. "I'll go tell 'em."
While he ambled off, I followed Radio back to his pile of equipment.
"Before we split then, one last thing."
"Yeah?" Radio asked.
"Have we recovered Verns?" I asked Radio. "Any word?"
"No, not that I've heard," Radio confessed. "Vendetta's been mostly quiet, I think to hide his heading from anyone who might be listening, but I know that he's struck at least three jails and counting. Some of the ones he's freed are trickling up to us here on foot, and it seems he and Morningstar are acting like a human wrecking ball. The troops are calling it Operation Smash-and-Grab."
"Smash-and-grab," I laughed, thinking of the pun. "I like it. Do we have a more recent headcount?"
"Sam said we've got enough to last about three days of continuous, round-the-clock fighting with the hundreds of people we have here. If we get a resupply run- well, I suppose it would depend upon how big a hole gets blasted in the encirclement. Or, well, something to that effect. Look, man, I'm 'Radio', not 'Telephone,' and I don't have the head for this logistics shit that you two do. You want to talk to Sam, you get the man on the radio yourself, or ask one of the Sentries I'm sticking here to manage the comms. Point being, you try and get hold of him. I'm done for the night."
I could have said something witty back, but it felt counterproductive, and would only delay the sleep I was now well overdue for.
"I've got an idea for an update. The ones Vendetta's letting loose? They can gather supplies and wait for the signal to reinforce, or to agitate, or can organize people into a more focused group, one that can punch through whatever blockade they try and form up. It'll also force the Shil'vati to not concentrate forces on our back door-" I pointed back at the interstate. "Even if they clear them out, the opportunity for us to encircle and destroy and then break out is too high for them to really try to do a mass deployment along our back." Sam was, I knew, something of a career criminal. Able to rub elbows with the worst elements of humanity. He was a facilitator, I knew, not really a leader. "Can you tell him-"
Radio was already fiddling with the dial. "Already on it," he muttered. "Lotta profit in looting, should be easy for him to steer people with that, or something. Get some sleep, E."
I went up to a sentry, requisitioned a sleeping bag someone had helpfully brought, went into a trench and told him where I'd be if I was needed. I waved to Radio, and crawled into the gunnery tunnel, almost stepping on another four people already laying in it. I loosened my laces, clutched my sheathed knife, and fell into a fitful sleep.
All Chapters First Chapter of Alien-Nation Previous Chapter
Alien-Nation Discord Buy A Coffee for the Author
submitted by AlienNationSSB to HFY [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 10:57 MIXED_VIDEO TLUNCHER - 4 WARN mod file

This is akward but I need some help with this 4 warn mode files, my friend wants to add this mods and she even know how to resolve, If someone can.
[Launcher] Constructing process...[Launcher] Constructing classpath...backup world is active: true[Launcher] Getting Minecraft arguments...[Launcher] Full command: C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\runtime\java-runtime-gamma\windows\java-runtime-gamma\bin\javaw.exe -Dos.name=Windows 10 -Dos.version=10.0 -XX:HeapDumpPath=MojangTricksIntelDriversForPerformance_javaw.exe_minecraft.exe.heapdump -Xss1M -Djava.library.path=C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\natives -Dminecraft.launcher.brand=minecraft-launcher -Dminecraft.launcher.version=2.3.173 -cp C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\cpw\mods\securejarhandler\2.1.4\securejarhandler-2.1.4.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\ow2\asm\asm\9.3\asm-9.3.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\ow2\asm\asm-commons\9.3\asm-commons-9.3.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\ow2\asm\asm-tree\9.3\asm-tree-9.3.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\ow2\asm\asm-util\9.3\asm-util-9.3.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\ow2\asm\asm-analysis\9.3\asm-analysis-9.3.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\minecraftforge\accesstransformers\8.0.4\accesstransformers-8.0.4.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\antlr\antlr4-runtime\4.9.1\antlr4-runtime-4.9.1.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\minecraftforge\eventbus\6.0.0\eventbus-6.0.0.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\minecraftforge\forgespi\6.0.0\forgespi-6.0.0.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\minecraftforge\coremods\5.0.1\coremods-5.0.1.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\cpw\mods\modlauncher\10.0.8\modlauncher-10.0.8.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\minecraftforge\unsafe\0.2.0\unsafe-0.2.0.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\com\electronwill\night-config\core\3.6.4\core-3.6.4.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\com\electronwill\night-config\toml\3.6.4\toml-3.6.4.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\apache\maven\maven-artifact\3.8.5\maven-artifact-3.8.5.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\jodah\typetools\0.8.3\typetools-0.8.3.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\minecrell\terminalconsoleappender\1.2.0\terminalconsoleappender-1.2.0.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\jline\jline-reader\3.12.1\jline-reader-3.12.1.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\jline\jline-terminal\3.12.1\jline-terminal-3.12 .1.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\spongepowered\mixin\0.8.5\mixin-0.8.5.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\openjdk\nashorn\nashorn-core\15.3\nashorn-core-15.3.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\minecraftforge\JarJar\0.3.9\JarJar-0.3.9.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\cpw\mods\bootstraplauncher\1.1.2\bootstraplauncher-1.1.2.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\minecraftforge\fmlloader\1.19-41.1.0\fmlloader-1.19-41.1.0.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\com\mojang\logging\1.0.0\logging-1.0.0.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\com\mojang\blocklist\1.0.10\blocklist-1.0.10.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\tlauncher\patchy\2.2.10\patchy-2.2.10.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\com\github\oshi\oshi-core\5.8.5\oshi-core-5.8.5.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\java\dev\jna\jna\5.10.0\jna-5.10.0.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\java\dev\jna\jna-platform\5.10.0\jna-platform-5.10.0.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\slf4j\slf4j-api\1.8.0-beta4\slf4j-api-1.8.0-beta4.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\apache\logging\log4j\log4j-slf4j18-impl\2.17.0\log4j-slf4j18-impl-2.17.0.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\com\ibm\icu\icu4j\70.1\icu4j-70.1.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\com\mojang\javabridge\1.2.24\javabridge-1.2.24.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\sf\jopt-simple\jopt-simple\5.0.4\jopt-simple-5.0.4.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\io\netty\netty-common\4.1.77.Final\netty-common-4.1.77.Final.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\io\netty\netty-buffer\4.1.77.Final\netty-buffer-4.1.77.Final.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\io\netty\netty-codec\4.1.77.Final\netty-codec-4.1.77.Final.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\io\netty\netty-handler\4.1.77.Final\netty-handler-4.1.77.Final.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\io\netty\netty-resolver\4.1.77.Final\netty-resolver-4.1.77.Final.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\io\netty\netty-transport\4.1.77.Final\netty-transport-4.1.77.Final.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\io\netty\netty-transport-native-unix-common\4.1.77.Final\netty-transport-native-unix-common-4.1.77.Final.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\io\netty\netty-transport-classes-epoll\4.1.77.Final\netty-transport-classes-epoll-4.1.77.Final.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\com\google\guava\failureaccess\1.0.1\failureaccess-1.0.1.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\com\google\guava\guava\31.0.1-jre\guava-31.0.1-jre.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\apache\commons\commons-lang3\3.12.0\commons-lang3-3.12.0.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\commons-io\commons-io\2.11.0\commons-io-2.11.0.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\commons-codec\commons-codec\1.15\commons-codec-1.15.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\com\mojang\brigadier\1.0.18\brigadier-1.0.18.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\com\mojang\datafixerupper\5.0.28\datafixerupper-5.0.28.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\com\google\code\gson\gson\2.8.9\gson-2.8.9.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\tlauncher\authlib\3.5.41\authlib-3.5.41.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\apache\commons\commons-compress\1.21\commons-compress-1.21.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\apache\httpcomponents\httpclient\4.5.13\httpclient-4.5.13.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\commons-logging\commons-logging\1.2\commons-logging-1.2.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\apache\httpcomponents\httpcore\4.4.14\httpcore-4.4.14.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\it\unimi\dsi\fastutil\8.5.6\fastutil-8.5.6.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\apache\logging\log4j\log4j-api\2.17.0\log4j-api-2.17.0.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\apache\logging\log4j\log4j-core\2.17.0\log4j-core-2.17.0.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl\3.3.1\lwjgl-3.3.1.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl\3.3.1\lwjgl-3.3.1-natives-windows.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl\3.3.1\lwjgl-3.3.1-natives-windows-x86.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-jemalloc\3.3.1\lwjgl-jemalloc-3.3.1.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-jemalloc\3.3.1\lwjgl-jemalloc-3.3.1-natives-windows.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-jemalloc\3.3.1\lwjgl-jemalloc-3.3.1-natives-windows-x86.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-openal\3.3.1\lwjgl-openal-3.3.1.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-openal\3.3.1\lwjgl-openal-3.3.1-natives-windows.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-openal\3.3.1\lwjgl-openal-3.3.1-natives-windows-x86.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-opengl\3.3.1\lwjgl-opengl-3.3.1.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-opengl\3.3.1\lwjgl-opengl-3.3.1-natives-windows.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-opengl\3.3.1\lwjgl-opengl-3.3.1-natives-windows-x86.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-glfw\3.3.1\lwjgl-glfw-3.3.1.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-glfw\3.3.1\lwjgl-glfw-3.3.1-natives-windows.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-glfw\3.3.1\lwjgl-glfw-3.3.1-natives-windows-x86.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-stb\3.3.1\lwjgl-stb-3.3.1.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-stb\3.3.1\lwjgl-stb-3.3.1-natives-windows.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-stb\3.3.1\lwjgl-stb-3.3.1-natives-windows-x86.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-tinyfd\3.3.1\lwjgl-tinyfd-3.3.1.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-tinyfd\3.3.1\lwjgl-tinyfd-3.3.1-natives-windows.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-tinyfd\3.3.1\lwjgl-tinyfd-3.3.1-natives-windows-x86.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\com\mojang\text2speech\1.16.7\text2speech-1.16.7.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-glfw\3.3.1\lwjgl-glfw-3.3.1-natives-windows-arm64.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-jemalloc\3.3.1\lwjgl-jemalloc-3.3.1-natives-windows-arm64.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-openal\3.3.1\lwjgl-openal-3.3.1-natives-windows-arm64.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-opengl\3.3.1\lwjgl-opengl-3.3.1-natives-windows-arm64.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-stb\3.3.1\lwjgl-stb-3.3.1-natives-windows-arm64.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl-tinyfd\3.3.1\lwjgl-tinyfd-3.3.1-natives-windows-arm64.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\org\lwjgl\lwjgl\3.3.1\lwjgl-3.3.1-natives-windows-arm64.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\newnew.jar -Djava.net.preferIPv6Addresses=system -DignoreList=bootstraplauncher,securejarhandler,asm-commons,asm-util,asm-analysis,asm-tree,asm,client-extra,fmlcore,javafmllanguage,lowcodelanguage,mclanguage,forge-,newnew.jar -DmergeModules=jna-5.10.0.jar,jna-platform-5.10.0.jar,java-objc-bridge-1.0.0.jar -DlibraryDirectory=C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries -p C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries/cpw/mods/bootstraplaunche1.1.2/bootstraplauncher-1.1.2.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries/cpw/mods/securejarhandle2.1.4/securejarhandler-2.1.4.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries/org/ow2/asm/asm-commons/9.3/asm-commons-9.3.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries/org/ow2/asm/asm-util/9.3/asm-util-9.3.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries/org/ow2/asm/asm-analysis/9.3/asm-analysis-9.3.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries/org/ow2/asm/asm-tree/9.3/asm-tree-9.3.jar;C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries/org/ow2/asm/asm/9.3/asm-9.3.jar --add-modules ALL-MODULE-PATH --add-opens java.base/java.util.jar=cpw.mods.securejarhandler --add-opens java.base/java.lang.invoke=cpw.mods.securejarhandler --add-exports java.base/sun.security.util=cpw.mods.securejarhandler --add-exports jdk.naming.dns/com.sun.jndi.dns=java.naming -Xmx3268M -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:G1NewSizePercent=20 -XX:G1ReservePercent=20 -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=50 -XX:G1HeapRegionSize=32M -Dfml.ignoreInvalidMinecraftCertificates=true -Dfml.ignorePatchDiscrepancies=true -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true -Dminecraft.applet.TargetDirectory=C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew -Dlog4j.configurationFile=C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\assets\log_configs\client-1.12.xml -DLibLoader.modsFolder=C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods cpw.mods.bootstraplauncher.BootstrapLauncher - -username drkrtsn --version newnew --gameDir C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew --assetsDir C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\assets --assetIndex 1.19 --uuid b0d3f3af-f3be-11ec-a78b-f02f74958c02 --accessToken null --clientId ${clientid} --xuid ${auth_xuid} --userType mojang --versionType release --width 925 --height 530 --launchTarget forgeclient --fml.forgeVersion 41.1.0 --fml.mcVersion 1.19 --fml.forgeGroup net.minecraftforge --fml.mcpVersion 20220607.102129[Launcher] Launching Minecraft...I'm hiding![TLauncherManager] mods after C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\Adorn-3.6.1+1.19-forge.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\another_furniture-forge-2.0.2-1.19.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\architectury-5.14.83-forge.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\balm-4.5.3.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\blockui-1.19-0.0.69-ALPHA.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\cfm-7.0.0-pre34-1.19.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\cgm-1.2.8-1.19.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\Clumps-forge-1.19-9.0.0+7.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\corpse-1.19-1.0.8.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\domum_ornamentum-1.19-1.0.83-ALPHA-universal.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\DungeonsArise-1.19-2.1.51-beta.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\dynamiclights-1.19.2.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\FallingTree-1.19-3.7.4.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\framework-0.3.3-1.19.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\furnish-17-1.19.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\geckolib-forge-1.19-3.1.29.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\Jade-1.19-forge-7.7.1.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\jei-1.19-forge-11.1.1.239.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\kotlinforforge-3.12.0-all.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\lostcities-1.19-6.0.3.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\minecolonies-1.19.2-1.0.1391-BETA.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\multi-piston-1.19-1.2.16-ALPHA.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\NaturesCompass-1.19-1.9.7-forge.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\StorageDrawers-1.19-11.1.2.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\structurize-1.19.2-1.0.491-ALPHA.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\The_Graveyard_1.11_(FORGE)_for_1.19.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\tl_skin_cape_forge_1.19_1.19.2-1.30.jar C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods\voicechat-forge-1.19-2.4.8.jar[Launcher] skin system is activated: true[Launcher] Starting Minecraft newnew...[Launcher] Launching in: C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnewStarting garbage collector: 81 / 246 MBGarbage collector completed: 45 / 310 MB[Launcher] Processing post-launch actions. Assist launch: false===============================================================================================[16:12:82] [main/INFO]: ModLauncher running: args [--username, drkrtsn, --version, newnew, --gameDir, C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew, --assetsDir, C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\assets, --assetIndex, 1.19, --uuid, b0d3f3af-f3be-11ec-a78b-f02f74958c02, --accessToken, вќ„вќ„вќ„вќ„вќ„вќ„вќ„вќ„, --clientId, ${clientid}, --xuid, ${auth_xuid}, --userType, mojang, --versionType, release, --width, 925, --height, 530, --launchTarget, forgeclient, --fml.forgeVersion, 41.1.0, --fml.mcVersion, 1.19, --fml.forgeGroup, net.minecraftforge, --fml.mcpVersion, 20220607.102129]
[16:12:85] [main/INFO]: ModLauncher 10.0.8+10.0.8+main.0ef7e830 starting: java version 17.0.3 by Microsoft; OS Windows 10 arch amd64 version 10.0
[16:12:50] [main/INFO]: SpongePowered MIXIN Subsystem Version=0.8.5 Source=union:/C:/Users/DRKRTSN/AppData/Roaming/.minecraft/libraries/org/spongepowered/mixin/0.8.5/mixin-0.8.5.jar%2396!/ Service=ModLauncher Env=CLIENT
[16:12:68] [main/INFO]: Found mod file Adorn-3.6.1+1.19-forge.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:68] [main/INFO]: Found mod file another_furniture-forge-2.0.2-1.19.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:69] [main/INFO]: Found mod file architectury-5.14.83-forge.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:69] [main/INFO]: Found mod file balm-4.5.3.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:69] [main/INFO]: Found mod file blockui-1.19-0.0.69-ALPHA.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:69] [main/INFO]: Found mod file cfm-7.0.0-pre34-1.19.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:69] [main/INFO]: Found mod file cgm-1.2.8-1.19.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:69] [main/INFO]: Found mod file Clumps-forge-1.19-9.0.0+7.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:69] [main/INFO]: Found mod file corpse-1.19-1.0.8.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:69] [main/INFO]: Found mod file domum_ornamentum-1.19-1.0.83-ALPHA-universal.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:70] [main/INFO]: Found mod file DungeonsArise-1.19-2.1.51-beta.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:70] [main/INFO]: Found mod file dynamiclights-1.19.2.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:70] [main/INFO]: Found mod file FallingTree-1.19-3.7.4.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}[16:12:70] [main/INFO]: Found mod file framework-0.3.3-1.19.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:70] [main/INFO]: Found mod file furnish-17-1.19.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}[16:12:71] [main/INFO]: Found mod file geckolib-forge-1.19-3.1.29.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:71] [main/INFO]: Found mod file Jade-1.19-forge-7.7.1.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}[16:12:71] [main/INFO]: Found mod file jei-1.19-forge-11.1.1.239.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:72] [main/INFO]: Found mod file kotlinforforge-3.12.0-all.jar of type LIBRARY with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}[16:12:72] [main/INFO]: Found mod file lostcities-1.19-6.0.3.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:72] [main/INFO]: Found mod file minecolonies-1.19.2-1.0.1391-BETA.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}[16:12:72] [main/INFO]: Found mod file multi-piston-1.19-1.2.16-ALPHA.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:73] [main/INFO]: Found mod file NaturesCompass-1.19-1.9.7-forge.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}[16:12:73] [main/INFO]: Found mod file StorageDrawers-1.19-11.1.2.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:73] [main/INFO]: Found mod file structurize-1.19.2-1.0.491-ALPHA.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}[16:12:74] [main/INFO]: Found mod file The_Graveyard_1.11_(FORGE)_for_1.19.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:74] [main/INFO]: Found mod file tl_skin_cape_forge_1.19_1.19.2-1.30.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}[16:12:74] [main/INFO]: Found mod file voicechat-forge-1.19-2.4.8.jar of type MOD with provider {mods folder locator at C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions\newnew\mods}
[16:12:14] [main/WARN]: Mod file C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\minecraftforge\fmlcore\1.19-41.1.0\fmlcore-1.19-41.1.0.jar is missing mods.toml file
[16:12:16] [main/WARN]: Mod file C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\minecraftforge\javafmllanguage\1.19-41.1.0\javafmllanguage-1.19-41.1.0.jar is missing mods.toml file
[16:12:18] [main/WARN]: Mod file C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\minecraftforge\lowcodelanguage\1.19-41.1.0\lowcodelanguage-1.19-41.1.0.jar is missing mods.toml file
[16:12:19] [main/WARN]: Mod file C:\Users\DRKRTSN\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\libraries\net\minecraftforge\mclanguage\1.19-41.1.0\mclanguage-1.19-41.1.0.jar is missing mods.toml file
[16:12:28] [main/INFO]: Found mod file fmlcore-1.19-41.1.0.jar of type LIBRARY with provider net.m[email protected]
[16:12:29] [main/INFO]: Found mod file javafmllanguage-1.19-41.1.0.jar of type LANGPROVIDER with provider net.m[email protected]
[16:12:30] [main/INFO]: Found mod file lowcodelanguage-1.19-41.1.0.jar of type LANGPROVIDER with provider net.m[email protected]
[16:12:30] [main/INFO]: Found mod file mclanguage-1.19-41.1.0.jar of type LANGPROVIDER with provider net.m[email protected]
[16:12:31] [main/INFO]: Found mod file client-1.19-20220607.102129-srg.jar of type MOD with provider net.m[email protected]
[16:12:31] [main/INFO]: Found mod file forge-1.19-41.1.0-universal.jar of type MOD with provider net.m[email protected]
[16:12:80] [main/INFO]: Found 3 dependencies adding them to mods collection
[16:12:80] [main/INFO]: Found mod file kffmod-3.12.0.jar of type MOD with provider net.minecraftf[email protected]
[16:12:81] [main/INFO]: Found mod file kfflib-3.12.0.jar of type GAMELIBRARY with provider net.minecraftf[email protected]
[16:12:81] [main/INFO]: Found mod file kfflang-3.12.0.jar of type LANGPROVIDER with provider net.minecraftforge.fml.loading.moddiscovery.JarInJarDependencyLocator@51827393Exception in thread "main" java.lang.module.ResolutionException: Modules geckolib3 and com.google.gson export
submitted by MIXED_VIDEO to TLAUNCHER [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 08:12 PmMeYourFeels How do I configure the refind.conf and refind_linux.conf (and or config.yaml (for ZFSBootMenu)) files properly when installing Arch Linux with ZFS Native Encryption?

Hello,
As the title suggests, I am attempting to install OpenZFS with Native ZFS Encryption on a fresh installation of Arch Linux whilst utilizing rEFInd as my bootloader.
After carefully completing all the appropriate steps, exiting arch-chroot, unmounting all my ZFS datasets, exporting my ZFS pool, unmounting my ESP, powering off my system, and unplugging my USB containing my Arch Live ISO, I am greeted with the following error when I attempt to boot my system back up and boot into my fresh Arch Linux system with ZFS Native Encryption via selecting it on rEFInd:
 
Starting vmlinuz-linux Using load options 'zfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith
cryptdevice=/dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe:zroot
rw
add_efi_memmap
initrd=boot\intel-ucode.img
initrd=boot\initramfs-%v.img
initrd=etc\zfs\zroot.key
initrd=\boot\initramfs-linux.img'
Invalid loader file!
Error: Not found while loading vmlinuz-linux
** Hit and key to continue **
 
What caught my attention was that there was an added back slash after "=" at "initrd=\boot\initramfs-linux.img'" on the last line, since the Arch Wiki (rEFInd 3.1.2 For manual boot stanzas) says to not use backslashes when adding initrd commands but I think this is ok since it is from before I began manually entering the multiple initrd= without the initial backslash in the /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf file.
 
However, I tried editing it in the terminal pressing tab twice on the keyboard with no avail no matter what I changed.
 
I made sure to incorporate the archzfs-linux-git, zfs-linux-git, zfs-linux-git-headers, zfs-utils-git packages into the Live Arch ISO when building the base system. Furthermore, I made sure that the Linux kernel and ZFS packages are compatible and supported with respect to each other. I was trying this with 6.3.1 and 6.3.2 (I made sure no package was not newer than as of Sunday, 21 May 2029). I understand they released updated ZFS packages for 6.3.4 today (Monday, 29 May 2023), but I have not had the chance to give a try yet.
 
I am installing the system on a single Samsung 950 PRO 512 GB NVMe SSD M.2 to get my feet wet with ZFS and comfortable enough before scaling up. I have two partitions, a 32-bit FAT 1G EF00 EFI System Partition mounted on /boot/efi, and the second BF00 partition utilizing the remaining 475.9G disk space for my ZFS Pool, zroot. I am utilizing ZFS Native Encryption on the second partition with the key saved in the the initramfs.
 
I am having difficulty setting up the correct and appropriate rEFInd configuration files: refind.conf which is located at /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf, and refind_linux.conf which is located at /boot/refind_linux.conf.
 
Here are my current configurations files for each respective rEFInd configuration file, respectively:
 
"Boot with standard options" \ "zfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith \ cryptdevice=/dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe:zroot \ rw \ add_efi_memmap \ initrd=boot\intel-ucode.img \ initrd=boot\initramfs-%v.img \ initrd=etc\zfs\zroot.key loglevel=4"
 
scanfor manual,nvme,zfs_keys scanfor_manual +zfs/*/*.efi scan_driver_dirs EFI/tools menuentry "Arch Linux" { icon /EFI/refind/icons/os_arch.png volume zroot loader /boot/vmlinuz-linux initrd /boot/initramfs-%v.img options "zfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith \ cryptdevice=/dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe:zroot \ rw \ add_efi_memmap \ initrd=boot\intel-ucode.img \ initrd=boot\initramfs-%v.img \ initrd=etc\zfs\zroot.key" }
 
I also tried using the suggestions I found online here that suggested the following:
 
Works for me:
 $ cat /boot/refind_linux.conf "Boot with standard options" "dozfs=force root=ZFS=SSD/ROOT/Debian rw quiet splash vt.handoff=7" "Boot to single-user mode" "dozfs=force root=ZFS=SSD/ROOT/Debian rw quiet splash vt.handoff=7 single" "Boot with minimal options" "dozfs=force root=ZFS=SSD/ROOT/Debian rw"
or in refind.conf manual stanza
 menuentry "Akua Debian" { icon EFI/refind/icons/os_elementary.png volume ZFSROOT loader ROOT/Debian/@/vmlinuz initrd ROOT/Debian/@/initrd.img options "dozfs=force root=ZFS=SSD/ROOT/Debian rw quiet splash vt.handoff=7" }
 
I had to fiddle with the paths - since the actual root is ROOT/Debian ... but it wouldn't work if I didn't add the /@/ path component. Those paths are symlinks into boot/ (latest version of kernel and initrd).
 
 zfs list ... SSD/ROOT 30.7G 61.7G 23K none SSD/ROOT/Debian 11.5G 61.7G 11.5G legacy SSD/ROOT/FreeBSD 949M 61.7G 949M /mnt/FreeBSD SSD/ROOT/Void 18.2G 61.7G 18.2G legacy ... # ls -l /boot/efi/EFI/refind/drivers_x64/ total 239 -rwx------ 1 root root 83222 Sep 16 18:13 btrfs_x64.efi -rwx------ 1 root root 69384 Sep 17 09:41 ext4_x64.efi -rwx------ 1 root root 90336 Apr 25 2018 zfs_x64.efi
 
Zpool's name is SSD ... ZFSROOT is the partition name set with gdisk (gptfdisk).
Hope this helps.
 
I incorporated the suggestion into my /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf file with the appropriate changes:
 
menuentry "Arch Linux" { icon /EFI/refind/icons/os_arch.png volume zroot loader sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith/@/vmlinuz-linux initrd sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith/@/initramfs-%v.img options "zfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith \ cryptdevice=/dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe:zroot \ rw \ add_efi_memmap \ initrd=boot\intel-ucode.img \ initrd=boot\initramfs-%v.img \ initrd=etc\zfs\zroot.key" }
 
but it didn't help :( I tried other small tweaks in that configuration file but they also did not work. For example, instead of volume zroot, I I tried entering volume Root-0-NVMe.
 
I was originally trying to use rEFInd as my exclusive bootloader and utilizing the ZFS drivers/binaries from here. The drivefile I downloaded is zfs_x64.efi. I saved the zfs_x64.efi driver in multiple locations before and after installing rEFInd via running the refind-install script, even though one location should have sufficed. I saved a copy of zfs_x64.efi in /usshare/refind/drivers_x64, /boot/efi/EFI/refind, /boot/efi/EFI/refind/drivers, /boot/efi/EFI/, /boot/efi/EFI/refind/tools, /boot/efi/EFI/refind/tools/drivers, /boot, and /boot/drivers. I may have saved copies in other locations, just in case, but it also did not help.
 
I would like to highlight that /boot is located within the ZFS natively encrypted zrootpool.
 
I am pretty sure that that I am doing something incorrectly with respect to the configuration files for the rEFInd bootloader, but everything else should be correct. However, as I write this, I barely realized I did not use the following commands recommended from the "Usage" section from the aforementioned website where I downloaded the zfs_x64.efi driver file for rEFInd:
 
zfs_x64.efi map -r
 
So this may be the problem, but I doubt it. I will try to enter the command next time I have access to my computer. The extra ZFS datasets involving /usr, /tmp, /srv, /opt, and /var may also be contributing my issues, since I am not sure if I mountd them correctly.
 
That said, after weeks of frustrating research and failed attempts of diagnosing and fixing the problem, I thought I would give ZFSBootMenu a try to see if it would fix all my issues, but it did not help either. As recommended by the Arch Wiki (Generate a ZFSBootMenu image), I set up my /etc/zfsbootmenu/config.yaml as thus:
 
Global: ManageImages: true BootMountPoint: /boot/efi DracutConfDir: /etc/zfsbootmenu/dracut.conf.d PreHooksDir: /etc/zfsbootmenu/generate-zbm.pre.d PostHooksDir: /etc/zfsbootmenu/generate-zbm.post.d InitCPIO: true InitCPIOConfig: /etc/zfsbootmenu/mkinitcpio.conf Components: ImageDir: /boot/efi/EFI/zbm Versions: 3 Enabled: false syslinux: Config: /boot/syslinux/syslinux.cfg Enabled: false EFI: ImageDir: /boot/efi/EFI/zbm Versions: false Enabled: true Kernel: CommandLine: ro quiet loglevel=0
 
I also try to incorporate some of the recommendations from the ZFSBootMenu wiki and also a different page on the wiki from the guide, but it was difficult to follow since Arch Linux utilizes mkinitcpio and not dracut.
 
Here is how I have my pacman.conf file:
nano /etc/pacman.conf:
 
Color VerbosePkgList ParallelDownloads = 10 ILoveCandy [core] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [extra] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [community] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [multilib] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [archzfs] SigLevel = Optional TrustAll Server = https://archzfs.com/$repo/$arch
 
My mkinitcpio.conf file:
 
MODULES=(usbhid \ xhci_hcd \ nvidia \ nvidia_modeset \ nvidia_uvm \ nvidia_drm) FILES=(/etc/zfs/zroot.key) HOOKS=(base \ udev \ autodetect \ modconf \ block \ keyboard \ keymap \ encrypt \ zfs \ usr \ filesystems \ fsck shutdown)
 
In my /etc/fstab file, I commented out all my ZFS datasets, and simply left the line for my ESP uncommented, as follows:
 
/dev/disk/by-partlabel/EFI-0-NVMe \ /boot/efi vfat \ rw,\ relatime,\ fmask=0022,\ codepage=437,\ iocharset=ascii,\ shortname=mixed,\ utf8,\ errors=remount-ro \ 0 2
 
Before, instead of /dev/disk/by-partlabel/EFI-0-NVMe, I had UUID=####-####.
 
Here is my zpool:
 
zpool create -f \ -o ashift=12 \ -O encryption=aes-256-gcm \ -O keylocation=file:///etc/zfs/zroot.key \ -O keyformat=passphrase \ -O pbkdf2iters=750000 \ -O acltype=posixacl \ -O relatime=on \ -O xattr=sa \ -O compression=lz4 \ -O checksum=sha512 \ -O dedup=sha512 \ -O normalization=formD \ -O dnodesize=auto \ -o autotrim=on \ -m none \ -R /mnt \ zroot \ /dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe
 
Here are my 48 ZFS Datasets:
 
#1 zfs create -p \ -o mountpoint=none \ zroot/sys/arch-0 #2 zfs create -o mountpoint=none \ zroot/sys/arch-0/root #3 zfs create -o mountpoint=/ \ -o canmount=noauto \ zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith zfs mount zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith #4 zfs create -o mountpoint=none \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data #5 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data/home #6 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/root \ zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith/root #7 VAR zfs create -o canmount=off \ -o mountpoint=/var \ -o refquota=35G \ zroot/sys/arch-0/var #8 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valog \ -o refquota=10G \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valog #9 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valog/audit \ -o quota=10G \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valog/audit #10 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valog/journal \ -o quota=10G \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valog/journal #11 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/vatmp \ -o quota=3G \ zroot/sys/arch-0/vatmp #12 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/vacache \ zroot/sys/arch-0/vacache #13 zfs create -o canmount=off \ -o mountpoint=/valib \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib #14 zfs create -o canmount=off \ -o mountpoint=/valib/systemd \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/systemd #15 zfs create -o canmount=on (?) \ -o mountpoint=/valib/systemd/coredump \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/systemd/coredump #16 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/libvirt \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/libvirt #17 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/docker \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/docker #18 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/mysql \ -o recordsize=8K \ -o primarycache=metadata \ -o logbias=throughput \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/mysql #19 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/mysql/data \ -o recordsize=8K \ -o primarycache=metadata \ -o logbias=throughput \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/mysql/data #20 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/mysql/log \ -o recordsize=8K \ -o primarycache=metadata \ -o logbias=throughput \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/mysql/log #21 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/postgresql \ -o recordsize=8K \ -o primarycache=metadata \ -o logbias=throughput \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/postgresql #22 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/postgresql/data \ -o recordsize=8K \ -o primarycache=metadata \ -o logbias=throughput \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/postgresql/data #23 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/valib/postgresql/log \ -o recordsize=8K \ -o primarycache=metadata \ -o logbias=throughput \ zroot/sys/arch-0/valib/postgresql/log #24 TMP zfs create -o canmount=on (?) \ -o mountpoint=/tmp \ -o reservation=16G \ -o quota=18G \ -o sync=disabled \ -o setuid=off \ -o devices=off \ -o com.sun:auto-snapshot=false \ zroot/sys/arch-0/tmp #25 SRV zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/srv \ zroot/sys/arch-0/srv #26 OPT zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/opt \ zroot/sys/arch-0/opt #27 USR zfs create -o canmount=noauto (?) \ -o mountpoint=/usr \ -o reservation=8G \ -o quota=11G \ zroot/sys/arch-0/usr zfs mount zroot/sys/arch-0/usr #28 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/uslocal \ zroot/sys/arch-0/uslocal #29 zfs create -o canmount=on (?) \ -o mountpoint=/uslib \ zroot/sys/arch-0/uslib #30 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/ussrc \ zroot/sys/arch-0/ussrc #31 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/usshare \ zroot/sys/arch-0/usshare #32 HOME zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data/home/youngroderick #33 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/local \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data/home/youngroderick/local #34 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/config \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data/home/youngroderick/config #35 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/cache \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data/home/youngroderick/cache #36 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/media \ -o recordsize=1M \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data/home/youngroderick/media #37 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/games \ -o recordsize=1M \ zroot/sys/arch-0/data/home/youngroderick/games # OPTIONAL DATASETS #38 zfs create -o mountpoint=none \ zroot/e #39 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/books \ zroot/e/books #40 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/computer \ zroot/e/computer #41 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/personal \ zroot/e/personal #42 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/images \ zroot/e/images #43 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/media \ zroot/e/media #44 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/university \ zroot/e/university #45 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/workspace \ zroot/e/workspace #46 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/work \ zroot/e/work #47 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/reference \ zroot/e/reference #48 zfs create -o canmount=on \ -o mountpoint=/home/youngroderick/e/other \ zroot/e/other
 
I am not sure if the mountpoints I used for some are the ZFS datasets are appropriate and or are contributing to my issues of my bootloader not being able to detect my natively encrypted ZFS pool which holds my initramfs and vmlinuz-linux. Any suggestions would be welcomed. What is supposed to happen is that rEFInd should be automatically booting my natively ZFS encrypted Arch Linux system (if I don't select it first), prompt me to enter my password once before going forward with unlocking all my ZFS encrypted pool and datasets automatically and going forward with the typical boot process as if it were not encrypted.
 
I would like to highlight my original intention was to use rEFInd as my exclusive bootloader and not use ZFSBootMenu whatsoever. However, if I must use ZFSBootMenu in conjunction with rEFInd, then I will. I intend to to have this Samsung 950 PRO 512 GB NVMe SSD M.2 dedicated to my Arch Linux (and other Linux systems) and utilize my second Samsung 980 PRO 2 TB NVMe SSD M.2 for Windows but boot it from rEFInd which is installed on my 950 PRO.
 
Any tips or suggestions would be well appreciated. I probably did something very dumb or some silly mistake.
 
Here are all the commands I used during my install of Arch Linux with ZFS Native Encryption on a single Samsung 950 PRO 512 GB NVMe SSD M.2; I did my best to do things in a particular order such that there would be little to no conflicts:
 
loadkeys es mount -o remount,size=7G /run/archiso/cowspace passwd enter and verify root passwd ip -c a nano /etc/pacman.conf Color VerbosePkgList ParallelDownloads = 10 ILoveCandy [core] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [extra] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [community] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [multilib] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [archzfs] SigLevel = Optional TrustAll Server = https://archzfs.com/$repo/$arch :x timedatectl set-ntp true pacman-key --populate pacman-key --init pacman -Syu modprobe zfs echo $? pacman -S --needed openssh screen duf nvme-cli lsblk nvme list nvme format --ses=1 /dev/nvme0n1 status=progress dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/nvme0n1 bs=512 count=1 conv=notrunc status=progress fdisk -l /dev/nvme0 or parted -l /dev/nvme0 ls -l /dev/disk/by-id disk0=/dev/disk/by-id/nvme-Samsung_SSD_950_PRO_512GB_################ swapoff --all zpool labelclear -f $disk0 sgdisk --zap-all $disk0 sgdisk -n1:1M:+1G -t1:EF00 -c1:"EFI-0-NVMe" $disk0 sgdisk --zap-all lsblk ls -l /dev/disk/by-partlabel sgdisk -n2:0:0 -t2:BF00 -c2:"Root-0-NVMe" $disk0 lsblk ls -l /dev/disk/by-partlabel zpool labelclear -f /dev/disk/by-partlabel/EFI-0-NVMe zpool labelclear -f /dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe mkdosfs -F 32 -s 1 -n EFI /dev/disk/by-partlabel/EFI-0-NVMe echo 'XxxBigDaddyRoderickWSmith6969420!xXX' > /etc/zfs/zroot.key chmod 000 /etc/zfs/zroot.key Create ZFS Pool (See above) Create ZFS Datasets (See 48 above) zgenhostid $(hostid) chmod 700 /mnt/root chmod 1777 /mnt/tmp chmod 1777 /mnt/vatmp zpool set cachefile=/etc/zfs/zpool.cache zroot systemctl mask tmp.mount zfs umount -a zpool export zroot zpool import -d /dev/disk/by-id -R /mnt zroot -N zfs load-key zroot zfs mount zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith zfs mount zroot/sys/arch-0/usr zfs mount -a df -h zpool set bootfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith zroot (?) mkdir -p /mnt/etc/zfs cp /etc/zfs/zpool.cache /mnt/etc/zfs/ zpool set cachefile=/etc/zfs/zpool.cache zroot cp /etc/zfs/zroot.key /mnt/etc/zfs cp /etc/hostid /mnt/etc cp /etc/resolv.conf /mnt/etc/ mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi mount /dev/disk/by-partlabel/EFI-0-NVMe /mnt/boot/efi cd pacman -Syy pacstrap /mnt \ archzfs-linux-git \ b43-fwcutter \ base \ base-devel \ bash-completion \ broadcom-wl \ cryptsetup \ curl \ dhclient \ dhcpcd \ dkms \ dmidecode \ duf \ fwupd \ git \ grml-zsh-config \ intel-ucode \ iucode-tool \ lib32-nvidia-utils \ linux \ linux-atm \ linux-firmware \ linux-firmware-marvell \ linux-headers \ nano \ nvidia \ nvidia-dkms \ nvidia-utils \ openssh \ os-prober \ pacman-contrib \ refind \ screen \ sg3_utils \ sudo \ vim \ wget \ zfs-linux-git \ zfs-linux-git-headers \ zfs-utils-git \ zsh \ zsh-theme-powerlevel10k echo "UMASK=0077" > /etc/mkinitcpio.d/umask.conf lsinitcpio /boot/initramfs-linux.img grep zroot.key genfstab -U -p /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab zpool set bootfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/Root-0-NVMe zroot (again?) cp -r /etc/zfs-tools-driver /mnt/etc nano /mnt/etc/fstab Comment out everything except /boot/efi: /dev/disk/by-partlabel/EFI-0-NVMe \ /boot/efi vfat \ rw,\ relatime,\ fmask=0022,\ codepage=437,\ iocharset=ascii,\ shortname=mixed,\ utf8,\ errors=remount-ro \ 0 2 :x arch-chroot /mnt nano /etc/pacman.conf Color VerbosePkgList ParallelDownloads = 10 ILoveCandy [core] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [extra] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [community] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [multilib] SigLevel = PackageRequired Server = https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2023/05/21/$repo/os/$arch [archzfs] SigLevel = Optional TrustAll Server = https://archzfs.com/$repo/$arch :x pacman -Syyu nano /etc/mkinitcpio.conf MODULES=(usbhid \ xhci_hcd \ nvidia \ nvidia_modeset \ nvidia_uvm \ nvidia_drm) FILES=(/etc/zfs/zroot.key) HOOKS=(base \ udev \ autodetect \ modconf \ block \ keyboard \ keymap \ zfs \ usr \ filesystems \ fsck shutdown) :x mkinitcpio -p linux zpool set cachefile=/etc/zfs/zpool.cache zroot (again, according to Arch Wiki?) refind-install (--path=/boot/efi (? add this extra tag, maybe?) # MAYBE: refind-install --usedefault /dev/nvme0n1p1 --alldrivers --no-scan ## Maybe change /dev/disk/by-partlabel/EFI-0-NVMe in lieu of /dev/nvme0n1p1 efibootmgr remove the unnecessary options via efibootmgr -b 1 -B efibootmgr -b 1 -B ## `-b 1` apply the change to boot option #1. ## `-B` the change to apply is to remove the boot option ls -l /dev/disk/by-partlabel efibootmgr -c -d /dev/nvme0n1 -p 1 -L "rEFInd (NVMe)" -l \\EFI\\refind\\refind_x64.efi efibootmgr -o #,#,#,#,# (reorder accordingly) cd cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /usshare/refind/drivers_x64 cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/efi/EFI/refind cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/efi/EFI/refind/drivers cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/efi/EFI cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/efi/EFI/tools cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/efi/EFI/tools/drivers cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/efi cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/efi/drivers cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot/drivers cp /etc/zfs-tools-drivepetezfs/zfs_x64.efi /boot ls cd modprobe zfs echo $? nano /boot/refind_linux.conf "Boot with standard options" \ "zfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith \ cryptdevice=/dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe:zroot \ rw \ add_efi_memmap \ initrd=boot\intel-ucode.img \ initrd=boot\initramfs-%v.img \ initrd=etc\zfs\zroot.key loglevel=4" :x nano /boot/efi/EFI/refind/refind.conf menuentry "Arch Linux" { icon /EFI/refind/icons/os_arch.png volume Root-0-NVMe loader /boot/vmlinuz-linux initrd /boot/initramfs-%v.img options "zfs=zroot/sys/arch-0/root/arch-RWSmith \ cryptdevice=/dev/disk/by-partlabel/Root-0-NVMe:zroot \ rw \ add_efi_memmap \ initrd=boot\intel-ucode.img \ initrd=boot\initramfs-%v.img \ initrd=etc\zfs\zroot.key" } ## Also add: scanfor manual,nvme,zfs_keys scanfor_manual +zfs/*/*.efi ## If any problems, remove this line ## scan_driver_dirs EFI/tools ## If any problems, remove this line ## timeout 10 :x pacman -Syu cat /etc/zfs/zroot.key ls -l /boot/initramfs-linux.img passwd enter and verify root passwd nano /etc/systemd/system/[email protected] [Unit] Description=Weekly zpool scrub on %i [Timer] OnCalendar=weekly AccuracySec=1h Persistent=true [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target :x nano /etc/systemd/system/[email protected] [Unit] Description=zpool scrub on %i [Service] Nice=19 IOSchedulingClass=idle KillSignal=SIGINT ExecStart=/usbin/zpool scrub %i [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target :x zpool status -t zroot zpool set autotrim=on zroot nano /etc/systemd/system/[email protected] [Unit] Description=Monthly zpool trim on %i [Timer] OnCalendar=monthly AccuracySec=1h Persistent=true [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target :x nano /etc/systemd/system/[email protected] [Unit] Description=zpool trim on %i [Service] Nice=19 IOSchedulingClass=idle KillSignal=SIGINT ExecStart=/usbin/zpool trim %i [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target :x mkdir -p /etc/zfs/zfs-list.cache ln -s /uslib/zfs/zed.d/history_event-zfs-list-cacher.sh /etc/zfs/zed.d systemctl enable \ zfs.target \ zfs-import-cache.service \ zfs-import.target \ zfs-import-scan (?) \ zfs-share \ zfs-zed.service \ [email protected] \ [email protected] systemctl start zfs-zed.service systemctl mask tmp.mount touch /etc/zfs/zfs-list.cache/zroot zgenhostid $(hostid) (again, according to Arch Wiki?) ## ("Check the contents of /etc/zfs/zfs-list.cache/. \ ## If it is empty, make sure that the zfs-zed.service \ ## is running and just change the canmount property \ ## of any of your ZFS filesystem by running: \ ## zfs set canmount=off zroot/fs1") pacman -Syu pacman -S --needed \ alsa-card-profiles \ alsa-firmware \ alsa-lib \ alsa-plugins \ alsa-utils \ acpid \ avahi \ bridge-utils \ dialog \ dnsmasq \ dnsutils \ dosfstools \ firewalld \ gvfs \ gvfs-smb \ haveged \ inetutils \ ipset \ iptables-nft \ mtools \ networkmanager \ network-manager-applet \ nfs-utils \ nss-mdns \ ntfs-3g \ pipewire \ pipewire-alsa \ pipewire-jack \ pipewire-pulse \ reflector \ rsync \ sof-firmware \ terminus-font \ tlp \ usb_modeswitch \ usbmuxd \ usbutils \ wireplumber \ wpa_supplicant \ xdg-user-dirs \ xdg-utils ln -sf /usshare/zoneinfo/America/Los_Angeles /etc/localtime hwclock --systohc nano /etc/locale.gen Uncomment en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8 Uncomment es_ES.UTF-8 UTF-8 :x locale-gen echo "KEYMAP=es" >> /etc/vconsole.conf echo "RWSmith" >> /etc/hostname nano /etc/hosts 127.0.0.1 [tab] [tab] localhost ::1 [tab] [tab] localhost 127.0.1.1 [tab] [tab] RWSmith.localdomain [tab] RWSmith :x useradd -mU -s \ /bin/zsh \ -G \ sys,\ log,\ network,\ floppy,\ scanner,\ power,\ rfkill,\ uucp,\ users,\ video,\ storage,\ plugdev,\ optical,\ lp,\ audio,\ wheel,\ adm,\ sudo \ youngroderick passwd youngroderick enter and confirm passwd cp -a /etc/skel/. /home/youngroderick chown -R youngroderick:youngroderick /home/youngroderick EDITOR=nano visudo Uncomment %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL :x nano etc/xdg/reflectoreflector.conf --country US --protocol https --latest 5 --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist mkdir /etc/zfs/zfs-list.cache (not needed, file already exists) touch /etc/zfs/zfs-list.cache/zroot (?) cat /etc/zfs/zfs-list.cache (Fix the paths to eliminate /mnt:) ? sed -Ei "s/mnt/?/" /etc/zfs/zfs-list.cache/* (?, I don't think I should or need to do this) systemctl enable \ acpid \ avahi-daemon \ firewalld.service \ fstrim.timer \ haveged.service \ NetworkManager \ reflector.timer \ rsyncd \ sshd \ systemd-timesyncd \ tlp \ usbmuxd \ systemctl disable dhcpcd.service exit cd / umount -l /mnt/boot/efi zfs umount -a zpool export zroot umount -a poweroff
 
Lastly, if it matters, here is my hardware:
  1. ASUS RAMPAGE V EDITION 10 (X99) Motherboard
  2. Intel i7-6950X
  3. Corsair Vengeance LPX 128 GB DDR4 (NON-ECC)
  4. x2 ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 Ti OC
 
Thank you for taking the time to read my wall of text. I have spent months researching and reading before I even considered attempting this project and or seeking help. I even attempted to utilize ChatGPT, and although it was helpful, it was not enough for what I was attempting to achieve.
Edit: Grammar, syntax, and formatting.
submitted by PmMeYourFeels to zfs [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 07:35 ArmyofSpies Cardano Rumor Rundown May 30, 2023

Hey Everyone!
Let’s go….
Newly Covered Today:
  1. Transaction volume is looking very interesting right now. https://messari.io/charts/cardano/txn-vol
  2. JPG Store has now launched Android and IOS apps. https://twitter.com/jpgstoreNFT/status/1663281982262919170
  3. It’s true. Cardano is straight killing it on the security leg of the trilemma.https://twitter.com/cardano_whale/status/1662987243655684096
  4. Just checked. Yep. The centralization in ETH is still staggering. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1663222056870350848
  5. There’s a documentary about a 2022 Plutus hackathon in Argentina. https://twitter.com/LarsBrunjes/status/1663111319732535297
  6. Pavia is testing NFT gating. This could get very interesting. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1663153213988823040
Previously covered, but still interesting:
  1. So much ghostbusting would be needed to clear us out. https://twitter.com/TheOCcryptobro/status/1653527418588774401
  2. Charles was on Fox again and discussed a wide range of topics with Maria. https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1653571613135196163
  3. Coinbase didn’t waste any time in getting their non-US futures platform open. https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1653385513011740672
  4. A former SEC Chair in his 90s sees that the current SEC is wrong on crypto. https://twitter.com/ramahluwalia/status/1648134506359009280
  5. Rumor is that Pacwest is next on death row. https://twitter.com/CryptoHayes/status/1653403052899192833
  6. ADA + Lime Wire. Only asked for 300 retweets…they definitely don’t know us. https://twitter.com/limewire/status/1653834307259998221
  7. Token locking. Not a comment on any specific project. But, Is there any good case it’s not really just to artificially drive price up? Obviously also useful to centralize liquidity. https://twitter.com/MatthewPlomin/status/1653773401645826049
  8. You can’t say that many of us in Cardano didn’t warn about exactly this. Always the same with these VC coins. https://twitter.com/mr_cata/status/1653788019084734468
  9. Caitlin Long points out that both the non-main candidate challengers in the 2024 Presidential race are pro-crypto and anti-CBDC. https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1653528247655694336
  10. The Fed raised by a quarter point bringing the federal funds rate to 5-5.25%. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/03/live-updates-fed-decision-may-2023.html
  11. As predicted PacWest is facing death. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1653873317110071305The Florida anti-CBDC bill passed both the FL House and the Senate. https://twitter.com/samuelarmes/status/1653761904169320448
  12. A sitting US Senator just said that the modern banking system is a sophisticated ponzi scheme. https://twitter.com/BertusMaximus2/status/1653819148596543489
  13. Hydra is live on mainnet. https://twitter.com/rom1_pellerin/status/1654185072415723529
  14. IOG wants you to know about the advantages of native tokens on Cardano. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1654077799697727488
  15. Cardano Movies! https://twitter.com/coc_space/status/1653862307439542275
  16. We really need to primary some members of the U.S. Congress. https://twitter.com/BradSherman/status/1653928972026093569
  17. Wow! Not surprised at what’s being said here back in November. Just surprised it’s being said publicly. https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1654239504574853120
  18. Here’s the longer video of that FDIC meeting for context. http://fdic.windrosemedia.com/index.php?category=Systemic+Resolution+Advisory+Committee
  19. Looks like Western Alliance is up next. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1654133106037739522
  20. The weekly development update from IOG is out. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1655248376194105347
  21. It’s not hard to make a meme coin on Cardano. https://twitter.com/nmkr_io/status/1654923697885532160
  22. Still a crazy amount of mark-to-market losses that haven’t been absorbed by the system. https://twitter.com/BillyM2k/status/1655207860572422144
  23. Warren Buffet gives a not too comforting answer to a question about the status of the dollar: “America…we’ve got everything going for us…but…you can’t print money indefinitely as debt.” https://twitter.com/GRDectestatus/1655203348033810439
  24. …and then everyone remembered what fee markets look like in busy times. https://twitter.com/CryptoStylesUSA/status/1654711146673479680
  25. …same for Bitcoin. https://twitter.com/MatthewPlomin/status/1655320093084057600
  26. Cardano hit 94% load. https://twitter.com/SebastienGllmt/status/1655624561789112321
  27. he MEV game is getting out of control over on Cardano’s biggest competitor chain. Convince me this shouldn’t just be called “theft” or “fraud”. https://twitter.com/0xNox_eth/status/1655615309695586306
  28. Cardano Native Assets are vastly superior to BRC20 and ERC20 tokens. https://twitter.com/TheOCcryptobro/status/1655673557710692352
  29. Rumor: SEC is going to make a move against Binance. Will the DOJ also? https://twitter.com/AP_Abacus/status/1655546961968103425
  30. At the end of Q3 of last year, 722 banks reported unrealized losses greater than 50% of capital. https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/files/board-briefing-on-impact-of-rising-interest-rates-and-supervisory-approach-20230214.pdf
  31. Wyoming is inching closer to a state stablecoin. IOG’s significant presence there may turn out to be a huge advantage. https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/05/09/wyoming-stable-token-a-multibillion-dollar-opportunity-as-officials-wrestle-with-how-to-make-it-happen/
  32. Paypal disclosed almost $1 billion in customer crypto in its latest 10-Q. https://blockworks.co/news/paypal-discloses-1b-crypto
  33. MiCA is shifting the balance of crypto investment to Europe. https://twitter.com/paddi_hansen/status/1655883224726241281
  34. Today (May 10) will be a joint hearing of the Agriculture and Financial Services Committees on Crypto. The CLO of Kraken will testify. https://financialservices.house.gov/
  35. This is a legit point about centralized L2s: the best ones are called Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance. https://twitter.com/el33th4xostatus/1655845787593502720
  36. There’s already a new version of Lace Wallet out. https://twitter.com/lace_io/status/1656347737355608066
  37. A nice thread on the many strengths of Cardano. https://twitter.com/TobiasIlskov/status/1656388178369212416
  38. Remember, lobster traps are a thing. https://twitter.com/TheCardanoTimes/status/1656064744225120257
  39. Today (May 11 at 1pm EST) there will be a Messari Cardano Analyst call with Charles & Frederik. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1656272372452954112
  40. I think we all love it when they start making our case for us. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1656379837823561730
  41. Ethereum is lamenting many of its poor design choices that Cardano already fixed. https://twitter.com/moo9000/status/1656215016016683008
  42. Drunkenmiller says this is the broadest asset bubble he’s ever even studied let alone seen firsthand and we’ve only had a few soft landings since 1950. https://twitter.com/Stephen_Geigestatus/1656416819312222219
  43. Live footage of meme coin investors accepting their ROI. https://twitter.com/KaylerSmithTV/status/1656130092966264834
  44. Here’s the Messari call from today with both Fred & Chaz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouUhWwF74MM
  45. People really seem to be enjoying the CF’s Blockchain Education Alpha Program. https://twitter.com/andreassosilo/status/1644263843743293451
  46. The US Chamber of Commerce brief in the Coinbase case is calling out the SEC for acting “unlawfully”. https://twitter.com/MetaLawMan/status/1656737447756038177
  47. About that whole self-custody thing we’ve discussed… https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1656706653801136132
  48. The SPO poll on K and minFee starts today (May 15)! You should redelegate if your stake pool doesn’t vote the way you would vote! https://cardanofoundation.org/en/news/entering-voltaire-poll-experiment-live-on-mainnet/
  49. There are also a series of forum topics for discussion of the various options in the Cardano.org forums. https://twitter.com/Lovecoach_nic/status/1657700010148896770
  50. Coinbase spotlights Empowa! May be the first time they’ve ever given such a spotlight to a Cardano project. Tides are turning. https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1657081243518005254
  51. Wow. Leaked “Key Messages” document for the joint committee meeting in the US House last week. Best part: they basically complain about separation of powers in point three. https://twitter.com/EleanorTerrett/status/1656362002577772544
  52. Dr. Vanishree Rao on ZK-Rollups. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1657778843854274560
  53. Here’s a new Decentralized Identity article from IOG. https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2023/05/11/atala-prism-pioneering-digital-identity-with-decentralized-solutions/
  54. There are reasons we’re in a hard capped cryptocurrency like Cardano. https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/15/business/argentina-interest-rates-inflation/index.html
  55. What is a dRep? This video is for you. There will be additional categories of default dReps that vote abstain or no confidence on every vote. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1658034085401337857
  56. The US Dept. of Justice is officially saying they are targeting exchanges. Great. Great. https://www.ft.com/content/5aac457e-cc80-44ae-ac40-9b51d9b601a3
  57. Wow! Ledger just made what is possibly the greatest PR blunder in the history of crypto. Trezor will be poppin’ bottles tonight. https://twitter.com/Ledgestatus/1658458714771169282
  58. People are claiming that the hysteria is a misunderstanding of cryptography. But, that’s not what’s going on here if Ledger plus one of the other two shard custodians can reconstruct your private key without having to use your private key. https://twitter.com/nimuepool/status/1658517533836574720
  59. The Ledger Recover FAQ seems to support this understanding as it suggests you use a brand new device for recovery. https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/9579368109597
  60. Wow. Unfortunate timing for this. https://twitter.com/Ledgestatus/1658095051375800321
  61. Ken Kodama will be doing a Japanese language interview on CardanoSpot on May 18. https://twitter.com/Emurgo_Ken/status/1658838077136162828
  62. The stake pool operator poll on network parameters of K and minPoolCost is live. See the results here. The re-delegation phase will begin on May 25th. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
  63. Cornucopias dropped some new in-game footage. As expected, Solace is beautiful. https://youtu.be/j5iwNsQVMDQ?t=1846
  64. Wow….the Ledger shards are encrypted with “a master key that is contained in all devices”. Wut? https://twitter.com/P3b7_/status/1658809445965606913
  65. Sadly, the Ledger CEO seemed to be denying exactly the above just a day ago. https://twitter.com/_pgauthiestatus/1658508082941403144
  66. Here’s why 340 ADA minPoolCost promotes multi-pools. https://twitter.com/ArmySpies/status/1659387255537176581
  67. Numbers are emerging on the benefits of K=1000 over K=500. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1659398551917727744
  68. Here’s the latest on the Stake Pool Operator poll. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
  69. Rep. Tom Emmer is trying to help crypto by cutting crypto assets out of the definition of a “security”. He creates a new non-security asset category called “investment contract asset”. https://twitter.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1659291641281146886
  70. Prof. Wadler (co-inventor of Cardano’s Plutus) has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society joining the likes of Einstein, Darwin, Hawking, and Isaac Newton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLOm-dWje-M
  71. Huge amount of voting for economic self-interest by multi-poolers in the SPO poll. Earlier today (May 21), 84.73% by stake of the vote for K=500, Min Cost 340 ₳ was multi-poolers. Only 15.6% of the vote for K=1000, Min Cost 170 ₳ was multi-poolers. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
  72. Large pools also voted heavily for economic self-interest with the K parameter. 70.02% by stake of the vote for K=500, Min Cost 170 ₳ was pools with delegation over 35 million. Only 30.57% of the vote for K=1000, Min Cost 170 ₳ was pools over 35 million. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
  73. Apparently Cardano has its own wiki now! Probably better given our previous treatment by the big wiki group. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1660383700243329024
  74. Rep. Tom Emmer is getting some reactions on the bill he sponsored with Rep. Soto. https://twitter.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1660329932495486977
  75. You’re really gonna hold up a debt ceiling deal because you hate crypto so bad? https://twitter.com/gaborgurbacs/status/1660248530135515138
  76. Looks like a few big multi-poolers have voted in the poll since yesterday. Pretty easy to predict what they didn’t vote for. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
  77. Reports coming in that DCG has defaulted on the payment owed to Genesis. https://twitter.com/AP_Abacus/status/1660671386388504577
  78. Ledger Recover would allow governments to confiscate crypto assets by subpoena? Called “not a real concern in the end.” Really? https://twitter.com/TheBTCTherapist/status/1660677064700178436
  79. Frederik Gregaard on DeFi and regulation. https://twitter.com/F_Gregaard/status/1660655806709211137
  80. Don’t Forget, the May Cardano 360 will be on May 25th. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660621805017608194
  81. Here’s the daily check-in on the status of the SPO Poll. We have surpassed 590 pools voting (as of May 23). https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
  82. The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has decided to get our hopes up with a proposed regulatory framework for crypto exchanges that could mean more trading for coins like Cardano. https://apps.sfc.hk/edistributionWeb/gateway/EN/news-and-announcements/news/doc?refNo=23PR53
  83. Here’s an IOG thread on the latest out of Atala Prism and Self-Sovereign Identity. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660904360925188097
  84. Here’s an IOG article on Cardano native tokens. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660975383997448193
  85. The difference in decentralization between Cardano and Bitcoin is still…laughable. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1660979639907500033
  86. Ledger is finally caving (a little) to the backlash. It’s reported that they will focus on open sourcing parts of their code and only release the “Recover” firmware after that open sourcing is finished. https://twitter.com/NFTherdestatus/1661026174779420672ext to an old identity book. Stop reading into things.” Everyone enjoys speculating what e
  87. Looks like the Hong Kong announcement yesterday might have been a hint of what’s coming. https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1661391542504902664
  88. The Cardano Layerverse is coming to life. https://twitter.com/TobiasIlskov/status/1660697833115385856
  89. Wow! Incredible! Thank you for voting in favor of decentralization, 1PCT! https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1661460222203002880
  90. Federal Reserve report debunks claim that crypto is not useful to people in the US. https://twitter.com/SebVentures/status/1661063483369177108
  91. The SPO phase of the poll is over. Nearly 800 pools voted. Now it’s your turn to see how your pool voted and re-delegate if you think they voted against decentralization and for their own pocketbook. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
  92. The May Cardano 360 is out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_bCa_xCoxA
  93. Charles dropped an update today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfL2U2hAGWw
  94. Sen. Cynthia Lummis declares her opposition to the 30% tax on bitcoin mining. https://twitter.com/SenLummis/status/1661803569341759495
  95. Today is a holiday for some of you. Enjoy a Cardano video game I made for you with AI. MJ made the textures. GPT-4 did 100% of the coding. https://openprocessing.org/sketch/1941253
  96. Lots of volume being transacted on Cardano recently! https://twitter.com/cwpaulm/status/1662929296329981952
  97. As expected, a debt ceiling deal has been reached. It includes an extension until January 1, 2025 which means we won’t be talking about it again until after the election. https://apnews.com/article/debt-ceiling-deal-food-aid-student-loans-3c284b01d95f8e193bca8d873386400e
  98. Recent subpoenas to the Python Package Index don’t bode well for those hoping to store seed phrases with third-party custodians. https://twitter.com/_jonasschnelli_/status/1662531840606093312
~Army of Spies
submitted by ArmyofSpies to cardano [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 07:00 BevoBot [5/30/2023] Tuesday's Off Topic Free Talk Thread

/LonghornNation Daily Off Topic Free Talk Thread

Today: 5/30/2023
Last Thread

Current Austin Weather: 73° and Clear

Seven Day Forecast:
5/29 5/30 5/31 6/1 6/2 6/3 6/4
88°, Rain 90°, Clear 90°, Clear 87°, Rain 88°, Rain 87°, Rain 91°, Rain

Your go-to place to talk about whatever you want. From the dumb shit aggies do on a near daily basis, to the latest whatever happening wherever. What ya got?

Recent Longhorn Tweets

Here's a look at upcoming Longhorn Sporting Event(s):

  1. 6/2 1:00 PM University of Texas Baseball vs Louisiana
  2. 6/3 University of Texas Baseball vs Miami/Maine
  3. 6/7 University of Texas Track & Field / Cross Country vs NCAA Outdoor Championships

Trending on Reddit

/All
  1. [Post Game Thread] The Miami Heat (4-3) stave off infamy and continue their cinderella run, defeating the Boston Celtics (3-4) at the Garden by 103 - 84 thanks to Caleb Martin's 26pts & 9rebs and advance to face the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals
  2. These trucks have the same bed length
  3. Not been able to wear shades for 3 years since losing my nose. Reconstructions almost done so I celebrated with a new pair. Shoutout all you bald kings and queens
  4. [POST GAME THREAD] THE HEAT DEFEAT THE CELTICS IN 7 AND SAVE THE SUBREDDIT
  5. Forget A Minimum Wage Or Living Wage. Give Us A Thriving Wage!
/CFB
  1. If SEC doesn't go to 9-game schedule, criticism is justified
  2. [Mandel] Note that ESPN is balking at paying the SEC any more than they do now [for a 9 game SEC Conf. Schedule]. That’s why I don’t assume these conferences will just keep adding more and more schools. The networks have a breaking point.
  3. Whats some of the biggest what ifs in CFB history?
  4. Source: Discussions re new tiebreaker in a 16-team single standing SEC has centered around 1) head to head (obvs); 2) common opponents; 3) metric developed by partner Sports Source Analytics.
  5. What are your favorite college fight songs? (Include as many as you want)
/LonghornNation
  1. [5/29/2023] Monday's Sports Talk Thread
  2. [5/29/2023] Monday's Off Topic Free Talk Thread
  3. Texas Baseball will be playing in the Coral Gables Regional.
  4. Best Bars for Longhorn Football Games?
  5. Texas Football has hired Paul Chryst as an Offensive Analyst, and Joe DeCamillis + Payam Saadat as Special Assistants to the Head Coach.
  6. Can anybody help me identify this vintage longhorns football jersey?
  7. Sarkisian lands longtime NFL special teams coach Joe DeCamillis as special assistant to head coach
LonghornBot: you can get a list of commands you can give for the bot by commenting ".help". You will receive a private message with the commands.
This thread was programmatically generated and posted on 5/30/2023 12:00 AM. If you have any questions or comments, please contact brihoang or chrislabeard
submitted by BevoBot to LonghornNation [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 04:49 AcidSilver Respect Death (Have A Nice Death)

"Get back to work."

Death

Created from the deepest void, the entity known as "Death" has existed since the dawn of time alongside his equals, Time and Life. His work in the universe started out as a small family business, reaping the souls of the living by his own bony hand over billions of years. But over time Death had grown weary and his scythe elbow had only gotten worse; that's when he had the brilliant idea to create the Sorrows, beings of death who would do the work for him, while he took his spot as CEO of Death Incorporated. Unfortunately, the Sorrows have begun to grow out of control and are more focused on reaping as many souls as possible, causing Death to literally become buried in paperwork. So it's time for Death to take up his loyal cloak, his magical Pitbook and his trusty scythe once more so he can remind the Sorrows whose in charge and take down the mysterious being who seeks to use his Sorrows to depose him as CEO of Death Incorporated.

Direct Feats

Strength

Durability

Speed

Scaling Feats

Weapons

Death may have started his career with nothing more than his basic scythe and a handful of magic spells. but over the years he's expanded his repertoire of deadly weapons. What's more, Death has a variety of different scythes (and some non scythes) to choose as his main weapon due to its transformation feature. Though Death has countless weapons at his disposal, we only see 71 in the game. Every weapon also has its own Frenzy attack which is a super powerful move that is charged up as Death deals damage.

The Scythe:

His trusty blade that can cut through space, time, and the elements. Death can summon his blade by holding out his hand as it flies towards him or he can simply have it teleport to him. Death can also stand in place to charge up his energy for a powerful charge attack
  • The Diss Scythe: A variation of the basic scythe that allows Death to attack from further away.
  • Twinsie: A variation of the basic scythe that prioritizes power over speed due to its second blade.
  • Sickles: A pair of sickles that allow Death to attack at higher speeds in exchange for less range.
  • Billhooks: A pair of blades that Death can throw at enemies before they return to his hands just like a boomerang
  • Parasol 1.0: An enchanted parasol that can not only stab through foes with brutal efficiency but can also act as a shield/deflector.
  • Seletine: Has slower attack speed but by slamming the mace end into the ground, Death can boost the power of his next attack.

The Cloak:

A sentient flying cloak that prefers to stay wrapped around Death's shoulders, the cloak not only lets Death turn invisible but can also transform into a variety of deadly weapons. It even protects him from the elements.
  • Behammorth: A powerful hammer that's bigger than Death himself that hits hard in exchange for its slow attack speed.
  • Brutumhammer: An upgrade of the Behammorth that lets Death slam it into the ground, launching stones all around him.
  • Shake Spear: A long range spear that Death uses to attack foes with a three-pronged combo.
  • Jabelin: A spear that Death uses to launch himself forward towards enemies, impaling anyone in his way.
  • Sisword: A blade that Death uses to quickly jump in the air before diving at foes at lightning speeds.
  • Drageanor: The sister to the Sisword, this blade allows Death to launch sharp projectiles with each swing.
  • Slaymore: A giant sword that Death swings as he jumps in the air before slamming it down on the ground.
  • Slaygore: Similar in size to the Slaymore, the Slaygore allows Death to slam the blade into the ground and send out an electrical shockwave. Can also be used to launch projectiles when swung mid air.
  • Whirl Daggers: A pair of poisoned blades that Death uses to stab anyone nearby.
  • Daggust: Death uses powerful gusts of wind to move back and worth in a flurry of sharp blades.
  • Kaze-Kunai: Death throws out pairs of rapid-fire daggers (that are sharper than any metal on the surface) in a straight line. Death can summon an unlimited amount of these weapons.
  • Arashi-Kunai: Death summons half a dozen daggers in front of him before launching them in a straight line. Death can summon an unlimited amount of these weapons.
  • Ferral Fists: A pair of powerful arms that crush whoever is between its giant hands.
  • Raparrier: A rapier that Death uses to brutally stab anyone in front of him. Should anyone wield this object then they will be consumed by an unstoppable rage until they stab someone with this blade. Death is immune to this effect.
  • Dirty Dagger: A small dagger that, if stabbed in the back, injects you with a metallic substance that attacks your vital organs.
  • Rocket Launcher: A rocket launcher that holds a malicious soul within, amplifying its power.
  • Revelation Bow: A deadly bow and arrow shot with extreme efficiency. Death can summon an unlimited amount of arrows.
  • Fire Bow: Similar to the Revelation Bow but with a slight homing effect on its arrows. Death can summon an unlimited amount of arrows.
  • Death Star: A vicious looking morning star that Death had made after almost getting into a fight with a strange, cloaked, old man who kept bragging about his new "secret" space base while at a seminar.
  • Murray of Crows: Death summons a murder of crows to surround him, damaging anything nearby.
  • Vampire Battery: Death electrocutes himself and anyone nearby while also shooting out electrified bats at random. Death is not harmed by this.
  • Beasteel: Death summons spider-like limbs from his back before jumping onto nearby enemies. Can also shoot out projectiles when used mid air.
  • Excavor: Giant steel blades surge out of the ground around Death, impaling anyone nearby.

Pitbook:

A fireproof, floating, magical book that is filled with all kinds of magical spells that Death has learned over the years. It follows Death around like a loyal dog and if opened by anyone else other than Death, the only text visible will read: "WOOF! WOOFWOOOF! GRRR!"
Each of Death's spells consume a portion of his max mana reserves that automatically fills back up unless fully drained in which case it refills after a few seconds. While he starts the game with a low amount of mana that can be increased with items, this appears to be a gameplay mechanic as he is described as being able to increase his mana reserves at will and far beyond what the game will allow with the Focus spell.
  • Fire Arrow: A simple fireball spell.
  • Dark Talons: Summons a clawed hand from a creature named Charlie that grabs foes and pulls them closer to Death.
  • Explosion: Causes an explosion.
  • Poisoned Gift: Death throws two balls of venom made up of all the venoms of every snake found on the surface, poisons excreted from all the most lethal spiders who have ever existed, and a hint of wild mint for flavor.
  • Boomerang Hex: Death shoots curved pure mana that then comes back around like a boomerang. Can launch more than one at a time.
  • Myriad of Stars: Death summons a handful of miniature stars that then fly forward.
  • Shockwave: Death releases an energy wave all around him.
  • Spitfire: Pitbook shoots out a trail of fire on the ground.
  • Poison Mist: A poison cloud of gas so powerful that it can poison a being made of pure toxic sludge. Can summon more than one cloud at a time.
  • Boulderain: Summons boulders out of thin air and rain down on enemies.
  • Mordicine: Death ingests a pill that hurts him in exchange for increased damage.
  • Sacrifix: Death deals slight damage to himself over a period of a few seconds in exchange for two cups of Koffee (healing items)
  • Vladislaw: Heals Death but reduces his maximum health with each use.
  • Aleistar: A magical time bomb.
  • Dark Claws: Summons claws that rip and tear at foes.
  • Bees: Death summons a pair regular bees that chase after foes. Can summon more than one pair at a time.
  • Moskillto: A pair of magically enhanced mosquitos that chase after foes. Can summon more than one pair at a time.
  • Star Raving Mad: Summons a meteor shower to rain down on foes.
  • Skyfall: Lightning bolts rain down in front of Death.
  • Makeshift Rockets: Death shoots a magical firework that explodes on impact.
  • Piercing Ray: Death shoots out beams of light that home in on foes.
  • Spiteful Chomper: Summons one of Charlie's mouths that crawl forward, chomping on anything in their path. Can summon more than one at a time.
  • Starry Halo: Summons two stars that temporarily spin around Death, damaging anything that comes near. Can summon more than one pair at a time.
  • Firescreamer: Pitbook shoots out a stream of fire in front of Death.
  • Soul Razor: Opens a vortex that damages enemies within while enhancing Death's damage.
  • Focus: Temporarily increases Death's mana regeneration speed while increasing his max health and mana reserves.
  • Voracious Burst: A spell that lowers Death's maximum health in return for summoning a spectral mouth in front of Death that heals Death equal to the 15% damage dealt.
  • Ganglion X-4: Summons spiked balls that can bounce around for a few seconds before disappearing. Can summon more than one at a time.
  • Frostbreeze: Shoots out a freezing gust of wind that also inflicts Frozen which slows down foes
  • EyeSeeYou: Summons one of Charlie's eyeballs that acts as a turret, shooting projectiles at an enemy before disappearing after a few seconds. Can summon more than one at a time.
  • Wishtorm: Shoots down golden bolts of lightning powered by wish magic that can destroy every layer of reality.
  • Frostoxic: Causes a bunch of ice spikes to shoot out of the ground.
  • Tempus Abjuratum: Traps foes in a bubble of stopped time.
  • Sepulchral Ray: Fires a beam of damaging purple energy that inflicts the Arcane effect which deals additional damage after five layers of arcane are applied to a foe.
  • Troublecross: Shoots two rays of energy that move in a crisscross formation.
  • Wizzalch Barrage: Brings down several lightning bolts on the foe's head.
  • Tornadmin: Launches a Mach 2 cyclone at foes that is full of sharp edged papers.
  • Lyberis Skulls: Summons exploding skulls around Death, damaging foes.
  • Nihilaser: The strongest laser in Death's arsenal, it can destroy all forms of existence in the universe when used correctly.
  • Anvilaunch: Death uses telekinesis to rip out one ton's worth of metal from the ground and throws it at foes while it's in the shape of an anvil.
  • Void Rift: Tears a hole in the fabric of reality above a foe's head as several of Charlie's fists come flying through, smashing anything beneath them.

Miscellaneous Powers

Curses

Death can also gain various curses which (despite the name) amplify his stats, scythe, cloak, magic, or give him new abilities outright. As there are 243 curses available, I will only be including those that aren't reliant on gameplay mechanics and can be translated into lore (such as a curse that doubles defense) and will only include the best version of a curse (meaning that if there is a curse that triples Death's damage then I will not post a curse that only doubles his damage).
  • And My Axe!: Every time Death dashes forward, an axe is launched from his cloak.
  • Knave of Swords: Summons a small flying scythe that moves around Death.
  • Praised Be The Bombcloak!: Every time Death dashes forward, a bomb is launched from his cloak.
  • MC Scythe: Death can ignore pain while attacking.
  • Astral Claws: Every few seconds, the foe (or a random foe if there is more than one) will be attacked by invisible claws.
  • Soul Sucker: After taking damage, a percentage of any damage that Death deals in the next two seconds is gained as health.
  • Tyrannical Boss: After taking damage, the next attack that Death lands deals 200% more damage
  • Social Toxicity: All of Death's attacks inflict poison on foes.
  • Burning Up: Death's attacks burns foes.
  • Perish The Thought...: Death's attacks inflict Frozen on foes, slowing them down.
  • Millanima Eye: Death gains two extra anima slots.
  • Burn-Out Channeling: Being damaged increases the Frenzy gauge.
  • A Spoonful Of Suger: Every attack has a 10% chance of freezing an enemy in time. Both this curse and Tempus Abjuratum are strong enough to work on Time himself.
  • Anima Lambic: Consuming an Anima grants Death temporary regeneration.
  • Eye For An Eye: Being damaged grants Death temporary regeneration.
  • Tooth For A Tooth: Being damaged grants Death a 30% chance of gaining an Anima.
  • Straw Helm: Doubles Death's defense.
  • Animoolah: Golden Animas fully heal Death.
  • Corvus Nefas: Being damaged launches crows towards the nearest foe.
  • Flash Of Brilliance: Every attack causes the target to be struck by lightning.
  • Conflagrations: Using a spell causes explosions to appear around Death.
  • Iranima: Using an Anima fills up Death's Frenzy bar by 50%.
  • Crow Cover: Using a spell launches crows towards the nearest foe.
  • Imminent Burnout: The Cloak periodically launches crows towards the nearest foe.
  • Social Security: Death is invincible for one second after taking damage.
  • Imminent Reverie: Death periodically creates another Anima.
  • Zeus's Wrath: Being damaged causes the foe to be struck by lightning.
  • Static Electricity: Dashing causes the nearest foe to be struck by lightning.
  • Stroke of Luck: Death will survive a fatal attack as long as he's not one hit away from death. This effect will continue as long as this is the case.
Now that as an employee you know everything there is to know about the CEO himself it is high time that you got to work filtering souls for the great beyond. So swallow your feelings and put on a smile because the first day of the end of your life begins...now.
Welcome To The Afterlife
submitted by AcidSilver to u/AcidSilver [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 04:28 handmade-spinus Top 4 Tips On How To Better Crochet Amigurumi #crochet #crochet amigurumi #handmade

Crochet Amigurumi is a hand crochet technique used to make small, cute crocheted toys or character shapes.
It is derived from the Japanese art of Amigurumi, which consists of the words "ami" (woven) and "gurumi" (stuffed toy).
By using crochet hooks and threads, crafters can create miniature dolls, animals, cartoon characters and other cute crocheted items in a variety of rich and diverse shapes.
I. What is crochet amigurumi
Q: What are the characteristics of crochet amigurumi?
A: They usually use a single crochet hook and a delicate crochet technique
A: It to create a fine and three-dimensional effect. These crocheted pieces can feature rich details such as facial expressions, clothing designs and small ornaments. Because of their small size and unique appearance, crocheted amigurumi are often considered cute and charming decorations, gifts or toys.
Making crocheted amigurumi requires basic crochet skills and a patient mind as a foundation.
Using threads of different colors and materials, crafters follow a pattern or create freely, gradually shaping the desired shape through a process of weaving and filling. People can design a wide variety of amigurumi crochet pieces according to their own preferences and creativity, making them unique and personalized handicrafts.
Small and cute:
Crochet amigurumi are usually small crocheted pieces, and their miniature size and cute appearance give them a unique appeal.
Stereoscopic detail:
Through the use of crochet hooks and delicate crochet techniques, crochet amigurumi is able to create three-dimensional effects and express rich details such as facial expressions, clothing designs and small ornaments.
Creative freedom:
The process of making crocheted amigurumi allows craftspeople to design according to their own preferences and creativity. They can choose different colors, threads and patterns, and even make personalized changes and innovations.
Customizability:
Crochet amigurumi can be customized according to different needs and preferences. One can request a specific shape, color or theme to make it a unique and personalized gift or collector’s item.
The pleasure of the production process:
Making crocheted amigurumi is a fun and creative activity. Crafters can enjoy the process of knitting, gaining satisfaction through the completion of each stitch and row, and ultimately creating a unique piece.
Suitable for a variety of uses:
Crochet amigurumi can be used as decorative items, gifts, toys or collectibles. They can add warmth and character to a home environment, convey warmth and care as a gift, or be a companion and comfort.
​
II. Crochet Amigurumi how to match the color
Q: How does color matching in crochet amigurumi affect the product?
A: The color scheme is crucial to Amigurumi. Different color schemes can convey different emotions and styles. Bright colors can make amigurumi look lively and lovely, while soft tones create a warm and cozy feeling. Classic combinations such as black and white, pastels and grays can also create a classic and stylish effect.
Q: What are some popular color schemes and suggestions?
A: Some popular color schemes include the sweet combination of pink and gray, the bright combination of blue and yellow, and the traditional combination of red and white. In addition, you can also choose color schemes based on different seasons, holidays or specific occasions, such as fresh greens and pinks for spring and bright rainbow colors for summer. The important thing is to consider the preferences and fashion trends of your target audience (women aged 25-35).
Q: How to match crochet amigurumi with clothing?
A: Crochet amigurumi can add a unique character and fashionable touch to your outfit. For casual wear, you can hang a cute amigurumi on your bag or tie it around your waist. If you’re wearing a dress, choose a colorway that matches the amigurumi to enhance the overall coordination. Of course, pairing it with jeans is also a great option. No matter what the combination, amigurumi can be the highlight of your fashionable look.
​
III. Selection of crochet amigurumi
Q: How to buy the crocheted amigurumi?
A: Understand the material of the product, the wire and padding used, quality materials provide a longer life and feel. Understand the production process to ensure careful handcrafting and good quality. It is important to consider the specific size of the crochet amigurumi, what fits you is the best.
​
IV. Maintenance and Care
Q: How can we ensure their beauty and longevity?
A: Regular cleaning:
Gently tap or wipe the surface with a damp cloth or soft brush to remove dust and debris. Avoid using strong cleaners or soaking in water to avoid damaging the crochet piece.
Avoid exposure to sunlight:
Prolonged exposure to sunlight can cause the color to fade or turn yellow. Store them out of the light or use blackout curtains to protect them.
Avoid stretching and deformation:
When moving or storing them, be careful to avoid over-stretching or distorting their shape. Place them in an appropriately sized box or bag to avoid external pressure and deformation.
Prevention of contamination and damage:
Keep away from food, liquids and other items that may contaminate or damage them. Avoid placing them in environments where they are susceptible to contamination or moisture.
Proper storage:
When not in use, store them in a dry, ventilated and dust-free place. They can be protected with ziplock bags or storage boxes, and insect repellent can be placed to prevent infestation.
​
Crochet amigurumi not only has artistic and creative value, but also brings joy and warmth to people.
Whether used as decorations, gifts or toys, these lovely crocheted works can evoke childhood memories or become treasures for personal collections.
submitted by handmade-spinus to u/handmade-spinus [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 04:26 TheSmogmonsterZX The Daughter that Follows - Chapter 27 - Reunited - Part 2

Disclaimer: Registered trademarks and copyrights are properties of their rightful owners. As this series jumps realities very often it is hard to track that info.
DM, the Digitalman, the Scion of Variable is a creation of my good friend who does not use Reddit and is used with permission.
The Pokémon Lucario is © The Pokemon Company.
“To a father growing old nothing is dearer than a daughter.”
Euripides
The Daughter that Follows
Chapter 27
Reunited
Part 2
Anna woke up in a mostly bare room, the only decorations were a few pictures of animals and dinosaurs that her father had collected. Rio was sitting and meditating, facing the rising sun. Anna watched her for a few minutes before standing to get ready.
“Anna...” Rio asked, some small fear was hinted at in her mental voice. “What happens to me when this is over?”
Anna paused, she was slightly confused by the question. “What do you want to do?” Anna asked.
Rio herself emanated some confusion and fear. “I don’t know. My parents will not be happy I took off the stone or that I evolved.”
Anna hugged Rio. “Well you can stay with me and my dad. Like I said, I adopted you.”
“I’m serious Anna.” Rio sighed.
“So am I.” Anna pushed the thought. “As far as family is concerned, you’re a part of mine.”
Rio let a low contented rumble escape her, then stood and walked out.
A few moments later Anna walked out into her father’s small, but comfortable living room. He had apparently upgraded from a trailer to an on site home. Dr. Wu had also apparently insisted he do so, if only because the trailer had recently lost a roof to a mysterious glowing phenomena.
“So I got eggs, toast and if you can beat Rio, bacon.” Alan laughed.
“No one beats me at bacon.” Rio smiled and yipped.
Anna laughed as she took a few scoops of scrambled eggs with a few slices of toast and bacon. Alan joined the both of them and sat smiling. “So how’s V?”
“Probably driving Salem insane.” Anna nodded.
“Not hard.” Alan chuckled. “Once we’ve had the time to relax and reconnect, I’m gonna head out, you give me a week then you follow.”
Anna nodded.
“What, no objections?” Alan laughed.
“I’m going to get my people together during that time.” Anna smiled.
“You have people now?” Alan laughed.
“Uncle Stephen.” Anna nodded, “Endara, a few others like SideEffect.”
“Jesus!” Alan jumped up and looked around. “Sorry, the fact that he exists outside of Dross City has always left a permanent fear of him just finding me.”
Anna stared and nodded at her father. “I’d say I’d invite Wraith’s variant but I don’t think that’s a smart idea.”
“No Agatha or Danny.” Alan pointed at her, “They’ll be targets.”
Anna nodded, “Oh, I know. I might get Shepard...”
Alan burst into laughter and a glint of maniacal glee glinted in his eyes. “You leave them to me.”
“Kratos?” Anna asked.
“Go ahead.” Alan smiled.
Anna shifted, slightly uncomfortable at seeing her father become slightly unhinged.
“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna rip apart the multiverse, I just know more than a few Shepards I can call on for help.” Alan sighed. “Trust me, please. “
Anna nodded, then perked up. “OH! The Spider-Men!”
Alan smiled, “You get the ones you met, I’ll get the others.”
“The others?” Anna asked.
Alan sighed, “Look, the less I have to explain about the Spider-Verse and the lunatics there, the better.”
“Spider-Verse? Anna laughed.
“Don’t laugh, it’s a serious thing in their section of the multiverse.” Alan explained. “Keeps all their worlds held together.”
“Through a web, right?” Anna smirked.
“The Web of Life.” Alan nodded.
Anna stopped as she realized her father was serious. “You mean that, how does that work?”
“Reality is as deep as we can perceive, and the Spiders heroes in that part of the multiverse cna perceive just that much deeper than most others.” Alan explained. “The fact that the majority are absolutely fueled by doing the right thing is a benefit those realities don’t even realize they have.”
Anna stared and blinked.
“They’re more powerful than most realize and the ones who do, usually think they’ll break at some point.” Alan laughed and closed his eyes with a sigh.
When he opened them though Anna saw something different in his eyes. A mist of white just beyond the iris seemed to be there and it called to power deep in her. Anna gasped.
“I think we both know that though.” Alan smiled. “So, you’re gonna be heroism.”
Anna blushed.
Alan looked at Rio. “They got a spot for you yet?”
Rio shook her head.
“Give’em time.” Alan laughed.
Rio grasped her Megastone and nodded.
“Think I’ll go pick up Release.” Alan laughed. “See if he wants to go for one more adventure together.”
“I think he’d love that.” Anna smiled.
“Bonds beyond life and death.” Rio nodded as she looked at her own megastone.
“Exactly.” Anna smiled. “So what’s happening today?”
“Today, I’m either going to be working with a very picky pachy, or Billy’s going to give me a call.” Alan sighed. “Tuesdays.”
Anna nodded. “I’d like to help, either way.”
Alan nodded and smiled, then a dark though clouded his joy. “Anna, what else have you fought? I know the Heartless, the Organization and Atropos’ goons.”
“And Stockman.” Rio added.
Alan nodded. “He’ll be handled. Trust me.”
“What’d you tell Perfection last night?” Anna asked.
Alan smiled. “I gave a good friend an idea for a magic lesson for his student.”
Anna paled. “You didn’t.”
“Alex needs to learn.” Alan smiled.
Anna shook her head. “Well other than them, borg-Reavers, but only at a distance.”
Alan nodded with a look of worry. “I remember that story.”
“Draal...” Anna said with a murderous glare.
Alan telekinetically moved the sharp knives he owned back into their drawers. Rio stared at Anna with a look of concern.
“While I completely agree, I can’t help but feel maybe I should be the one with that much anger towards him.” Alan gave a nervous laugh.
“He kept showing up and insisting he wanted to help.” Anna hissed.
“Yeah, I’m Tiger Dropping him into a star.” Alan growled.
“Wouldn’t that hurt?” Anna asked.
“Tiger Drop negates all damage.” Alan smiled, “Not that you’d get that. Please tell me you don’t get that? I don’t want to have to kill a Majima.”
Anna stared at her father and shook her head.
“Good.” Alan smiled and nodded.
“Rio?” Anna asked.
“I have no idea.” Rio shrugged.
“Then there’s Dinal.” Anna said. “If I ever see her again, I’m gonna nuke her.”
Alan nodded. “Not if I see her first.” He smiled.
“I don’t think the Scareek can follow me but I think I made them think humans in that reality were psychic.” Anna explained as she continued, ignoring her father's prodding.
“Damn.” Alan laughed, “We can try and fix that after.”
Anna shook her head. “I kinda should have died. Perfection saved me but made it look like I did.”
Alan stared at his daughter. “Well then they get a wonderful news flash because if Perfection’s involved there’s a plan at work and someone is getting f’d in the a.”
Anna snorted at her father’s phrasing. “No saying hi. MAybe let them see us?”
“You feel guilty.” Alan smirked.
“I...” She sighed. “I messed up big.”
Alan nodded. “Then we’ll see what we can do.”
“Oh!” Anna slammed her fist. “Sindri and Odin!”
“Right, Thor is back there too.” Rio added. “He isn’t a monster anymore.”
Alan paused and looked at Rio. “I have a distinct memory of my barriers being casually obliterated.”
“He’s changed, for his daughter.” Anna explained. “To be better.”
Alan looked at Anna and nodded. If there was one thing he could understand it was that. “Kratos okay with him?”
Anna nodded. “They’re trying to make everything as peaceful as they can, but Sindri and Odin are working with Atropos.”
“Damn.” Alan hissed. “They weren’t kidding.”
“They’ve been keeping you informed, haven’t they?” Anna asked.
Alan nodded as his phone went off with a K-pop song. He answered the phone and watched his daughter fall out of her chair laughing.
“Yeah, I can be ready in an hour. Got my kid with me, she’s got the skills to help keep one of them calm.” Alan said in a serious tone.
Anna popped back up and shoveled food into her mouth as fast as she could.
“Trike herd and...” Alan paused as he wrote it down. “They made another I-Rex?” He sighed as he clearly received confirmation. “We’ll take the Rex, you guys can handle the herd and if we have to put this one down we can do it quickly.” He ended the call and nearly tossed his phone across the room.
“It’s not a normal dinosaur is it?” Anna asked.
“Made in a lab, originally to be a more ‘exciting’ dino.” Alan hissed. “Raised it and it’s sibling without other interactions.”
“Oh god.” Anna gasped.
“It went berserk once it got out, and it’s extremely smart. Part Raptor and rex with some squid thrown in to help it cloak.” Alan explained. “This one was specifically raised to be a weapon but it’s a juvenile, it can have a chance.”
Anna nodded. “I can keep us safe.”
Alan smiled. “I don’t doubt that. You keep us safe I’ll get in her head.”
Anna smiled as she again shoveled food into her mouth.
Alan laughed. “Eat, get your gear.”
“May I stay?” Rio asked.
Anna nodded. “Are you sure?”
Rio nodded, “This area allows me to meditate with ease.”
Anna nodded and finished her meal, then ran to get ready.
(T)(D)(T)(F)---(T)(F)(T)(W)
Hours later Alan was staring at Anna’s gear, she was dressed in her red hoodie, a shirt that had a t-rex with grabby arms, torn jeans and steel toed boots. Of course under all of that was some of the best light armor that the Sixth World could afford with some bonuses only a very mean man could obtain for his goddaughter.
“Punk.” Alan nodded.
Anna smiled. “Sheena is a punk rocker.”
Alan rolled his eyes, “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised given your sisters.”
Anna giggled. “At least Arlina was a proper lady.”
Alan burst into a fit of raucous laughter then stopped. “Oh, you’re serious.”
Anna blinked. “What was she for you?”
“Rebellious adult daughter who only listened to dad when she and her boyfriend caused more trouble to explode from tiny issues.” Alan smiled. “And a loyal daughter who went out of her way to protect her dad.”
Anna smiled. “She really was brave.”
Alan nodded. “Always was. She’s smiling on you kiddo.”
“All right.” The pilot said from the front of their plane. “We’re getting to the drop zone.”
“Awesome.” Alan smiled.
“Drop zone?” Anna asked.
“We’re jumping!” Alan smiled with a deeply disturbingly happy laugh as he handed his daughter a parachute and hit a button that opened the rear of the large plane they were on.
“We can fly!” Anna shouted.
Alan nodded as he put on his parachute, smiled and walked to the edge. “God I love a good jump!”
Anna watched as her father leaped out of the plane. Anna shook her head and dropped the parachute, ran forward and dove forwards as Hong Long roared to life around her. She looked over to see her father shaking his head, his parachute was still not deployed. He leaned into his dive, much to Anna’s shock. She and Hong Long Lurched forward, careening towards the ground, faster and faster. She watched her father’s parachute open two thirds of the way down. Then she felt the world pull on her less and Hong Long slowed down as a purple energy wave washed over them both. Then she passed her father’s parachute and he was no longer in it, he was now rocketing towards the ground.
“CHEATER!” Anna roared as she tried to push Hong Long’s power forward. She focused hard and grit her teeth as she watched Hong Long’s scales and mane turn golden, and they plowed straight through the field and past Alan, straight to a landing position on the ground.
Hong Long coiled and sat up straight to howl in victory.
A few seconds later Alan landed with just a flutter of the ragged edges of his now dull blue jacket. He looked his daughter and her tulpa over, then nodded in approval.
“So this is what Sayain energy does to your dragon...” Alan observed.
Hong Long nodded happily.
“Okay then.” Alan smiled, “Let’s see how much you’ve learned.”
Anna stared at her father. “What?”
“Find our target.” Alan smiled.
“I thought I was our defense.” Anna crossed her arms.
“Kid I can make a barrier that it takes a God of Thunder to break.” Alan snorted. “And I want to see you work.”
Anna gave a huff but closed her eyes to try and focus. She reached out as far as she could, which was admittedly a lot farther than it used to be. She could now reach out close to seven or eight kilometers. She felt nothing but random animals skittering and hunting, but nothing abnormally aggressive. She looked at her father and shook her head.
“Really?” Alan took a breath. “Can’t reach that far I guess.”
Anna nodded. “About eight kilometers at my highest focus.”
Alan nodded, “Well then we’re heading that way.”
“Is it that way?” Anna asked.
“Maybe!” Alan smiled.
Anna rolled her eyes but followed her father, pulling Hong Long back into her being. She was also really regretting wearing her hoodie as they had landed in a jungle, likely near the border of Central and South America. They walked for hours before Alan finally stopped and paused.
“What’s wrong?” Anna asked.
“What do you hear?” Alan asked.
Anna stopped and heard nothing. The animals had gone silent.
“There’s a predator nearby.” Alan said.
Anna focused and felt a mind focused on them. It was watching and stalking from above.
“Do they hunt in trees?” Anna asked,
“No.” Alan sighed, “They don’t.”
“Then what’s hunting us?” Anna asked as a tremble of fear rolled down her spine.
“Something that’s about to make a horrible mistake.” Alan sighed. “This one doesn’t belong here.”
“NO!” The voice of Ragnis bellowed as he appeared high in the trees and tossed the stalker to the ground. He then followed the creature and lopped its right arm off at the shoulder. “It doesn’t.”
Alan pulled the arm to him and with more than enough force to turn the bones in the arm to mush, launched it skyward where it exploded in a brilliant explosion about a minute later, well above the atmosphere.
The creature laid on the ground, clearly in shock. Alan wrenched a metallic mask that was covered in bones, off the face of the green-blooded stalker. Anna saw the crab-like face and flinched, she remembered the movie this creature was from.
“This is a yautja.” Alan explained.
“I thought it was a Predator.” Anna asked.
“That’s the name of the movie.” Alan said. “These guys can be a pain or a threat.” He bent down to inspect the alien’s face.
Anna felt something hungry approaching and pressed herself against a large tree.
Ragnis moved and pulled a trident from his back which he used to pin the creature to the ground through its gut.
“Bad-blood.” Alan nodded and pointed to a burn on the alien’s forehead. “He’s been disowned by his clan for breaking sacred rules. Likely hunting young prey or unarmed prey.”
“And he’s not from the neighborhood.” Ragnis scoffed. “Honestly, she tried this? I’m bored.”
“Get him out of here, will you?” Alan asked, “We have an Indominous Rex to find.”
“Dad.” Anna nodded towards where she felt the large hunger coming from.
“Well, enjoy the hunt!” Ragnis said as he winked and vanished with the hunter.
Alan focused ahead and nodded to Anna. “Now you take the defensive.”
Anna nodded and stood next to her father. She felt another set of eyes looking at her, then another set of eyes and she froze for a moment.
“There’s a second one, dad.” Anna hissed.
“Of course this one’s social with a sibling.” Alan nodded. “Okay, so we need to take one each.”
“Dad?” Anna looked at her father.
“What have you fought?” Alan asked. “You stood up to Daleks. To Dinal. We just need to calm them down.”
Anna nodded and focused, not bringing Hong Long forward, she did not want to be seen as aggressive to whichever of these dinosaurs ended up benign her opponent.
She watched for a few minutes and then the jungle blinked and nodded at her. Then jaws caming rushing at her and her father and they each went a different direction.
\\\\
First
Previous /// Next
SPOTIFY LIST!
////
S: So clearly I did not finish this over the weekend.
DM: Nope.
S: But like half my plans didn’t pan out so I was mapping the depths of Hyrule.
Wraith: The last one was so stupidly hidden.
Perfection: And now we have a Biggorn Sword Sword.
Wraith: I have to admit the fuse system is hilarious.
Perfection: Now if Only we could sword-chuck.
Wraith: No! We are not going back there!
DM: Everytime we go there there’s one less Black Mage in reality.
Perfection: Look, I can’t help it if he pisses Wraith off.
Wraith: SPINE-ECTOMY! (rage fueled sputtering)
S: Right, well the fight will continue into the next chapter with two I-Rexes.
submitted by TheSmogmonsterZX to HFY [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 02:40 LawbirdBringer Nature of a Minuteman 3

Previous, First, Next
As I don't really know how to properly describe how tall or short people are from a pov shot besides "He towers over me like a tree" or "This little guy is practically a pillow" thus, so I don't struggle with finding the right way to describe size, I'm just gonna put it here for those who are curious;
Jessie (Average, normal Protectron) is 5 feet 6 inches Even is 6'3 Taxxik (who for the record suffers from Dwarfism) is 3'2
Also, as I have no knowledge of how the Translators work both in and out of the NoP universe, I'm having it as a implant in a place under the ear yet above the neck. In terms of it, words are translated to the best of its' abilities but noises and sounds are the same. "I'm gonna go hit the hay" Human saying. "I'm gonna go hit[Punch, Claw, attack?] the [Cut and Dried Grass stored for animal feed?]" what the translator thinks they have said. This is pretty much my explanation on why the Translator implanted in Even explained what a Arxur is to him. This is the translator that is in Even.
As for Taxxik and many other ailens, their translators have two parts. A secondary implant "Voice box" near the vocal cords to help speak a different language, in the event another person doesn't have a translator or if a new species was found. The machinery in the Translator implant would work hard to decrypt the words said by the new species so that the user would be able to both hear and speak via the Voice Box implant.
----------------------------------- Memory Transcript: Taxxik, Venlil search and rescue pilot.
Date: [standardized human time]: September 7, 2287
The logic of Predators having Exterminators of their own isn't lining up that well... but imagining it this way is managing to trick my emotions to not freak out around the towering meat eater... At least, not succumb to fear whenever I'm around him.
At the moment the predator went out, I still feel the shakes his growls sent to my core. The translator said he was out scavenging. I try not to imagine what that entails as I sat in thought. The automaton, Protectron... whatever... was keeping an eye on the Tilfish I rescued, after seeing the death machine of predatory engineering downstairs. I couldn't help but laugh at the idea of being scared of this machine.
It was a little annoying at times, stating the same phrase every now and again. Protect and Serve. If the predator was out, I figured it would bring the machine with it... I reach up to rub at my neck, mulling over the annoyance it is to have a busted 'Voice-box'.
This planet, Earth. Rotates faster than many planets I've visited... Gonna be difficult finding the proper times to sleep. Glancing around the room, I try to spot something. Anything to keep my mind occupied. When my eyes find nothing, I look back to the Protectron... I stared at the bags on its' back, tied to its frame... if my Voice Box wasn't busted I would order it to let me look through the bags.
As if it would even obey me, it probably wouldn't even label me as a hostage.
Taking my time to climb off my chair, I did my best to stay silent as I made my way to the automaton. Funny how I've always cursed my small size, if I was just a little bigger even these careful steps would be too loud.
I couldn't reach two of the packs on the automaton. But manage to stick a hand around in a lower hanging bag. The moment I felt my claw grab something, I pulled it out and did my best to hide whatever it is behind my back.
the Protectron, Jessie. Questions as it turns to face me. "Oh, just trying to find you're deactivation switch" I blurt out with as much innocence as I could muster in my body language. Knowing it couldn't understand me made things a little fun...
That said, that fun was swiftly gone the longer it stared at me in silence. that red glow behind it's glass unnerved me... I hesitantly gestured to the Tilfish with my tail, that seemed to get a message across the machine as it turns back to her.
I felt myself deflate as I silently expelled a deep breath I was holding onto. It thinks I was just worried about her... wait... This machine made by Predators 'hopes' that hearing she is stable eases my worries? I tilted my ears in bewilderment as I slowly went back to my chair near the stairs. After a quick glance to make sure it wasn't watching. I checked the object in my claws.
What... is this?
It seems... like a photograph... There is the Protectron, The Predator Even. And a couple other human Predators. Brahk, I should've looked for my holo-pad in the ship to try and translate these words... Okay... Going from what I see, Even is sitting atop a... I don't think I want to know what that is... looks insect in nature, it has a long tail and enormous claws. Given the eye placement and the claws, this must be a rival predator of some sort. I suppose this is proof that Exterminators and these Minutemen at least share the same concept.
Even was standing, his odd weapon resting on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around the head of a shorter human. He must be the exception to how tall they are with the other humans being around the same height as Jessie. This one had a darker colorization of skin, and had fur all over its' mouth, Its eyes are hidden behind eye-ware of some sort. From the tools on its belt, I believe this must be the maker of Jessie. Or at least, the closest these Predators have to a mechanic.
Looking to the two on the other side, I had to take a double take as one clearly wore something strikingly similar to the hazard uniforms I've seen some Exterminators wear. And in its' hands... okay, that MUST be a flamer. Only bit of its body I could make details out was the odd shape on its chest and its head. It had a color tone similar to Even but had red fur atop its head. Quite a bit of it, enough that I almost mistook it for a tail. With the gear it wears, I felt like a pup again. Staring at a Exterminator in the hopes of one day being one of them..
it is a exterminator. They HAVE exterminators.
And the last one. It's appearance sends shivers down my spine. It looked as if it was roasted over a fire... did it get roasted over a fire?... It must be the victim of a Predator attack. I nearly scold myself of that thought but stopped myself as I thought on things more... They are Predators but have exterminators, this is proof of it... And Even handed me a Mutfruit. A plant, why would he carry plants on him if he ate meat?... did... we make a mistake somewhere when we first found them?
​
The logical side of my brain tries to make sense of what have happened the past claw. I crash land on Earth, and while unconscious, get rescued by a preda-!... by a Minuteman. This photograph is proof that humans have predators on their planet and on top of that, they have their own Exterminators who deal with them... what if we are missing something?... Besides their planet being treated like the Arxur raided it, there are some things that are so similar it scares me... I glanced back to Jessie in thought. It has moved over to a window, seeming to have moved to keep watch.
Humans aren't the Arxur... they are... different. What in the universe are they?... Turning back to the photograph, I notice something that I wasn't sure what to think about. Even if I hated how it felt like they were all staring at me. Their eyes... those horrible, predatory eyes are so... different.
The mechanic, I'm dubbing to call it. Has its eyes hidden, but judging from the red-furred one and the last one, whom I fail to find the words to describe. Even isn't natural... at least, his eyes aren't... With a reference to other humans, I could better see the differences between his and theirs.
Why are they different?
--------- Memory Transcript: Even Winter, Minuteman(?). Alien rescuer
Date: [standardized human time]: September 7, 2287
"IT'S CALLED SHOOTING STRAIGHT RO-!"
Pew!
I lower my rifle as I watch the final Raider fall to the ground, I've half been thinking on what I learned earlier. Half focusing on my duty as I left my cover to search the trio for any gear that could be be used by the two back at the building.
We would've been extinct if the Great War didn't almost do it... all because we have a different diet than the aliens AND because of our facial features. 7 Caps, a handmade Pipe Rifle, single-fire. A handful of ammo for said pipe-gun. Too big for Taxxik, gonna require training but the Tilfish could maybe use it.
Was The Great War because of humanity? Or did the aliens do it. Taxxik said they were coming up with plans to glass the planet before the first bunch of detonations, then send a investigation fleet the second time... but what if that was a lie? I move to the next Raider corpse
Raider armor, a fire-axe. 10mm pistol. Two mags of 10mm rounds. And 5 caps. Taxxik may not be able to use the axe but armor is armor... and this pistol might be a little heavy but could be usable for him, unlike other weapons.
If the aliens caused the Great War, then they wouldn't have to use their own supplies to kill humanity off... it'd be a cost efficient plan... maybe Taxxik says they only sent a investigation fleet because he was worried I'd hurt him for what the Federation did to humanity... from how he looked at me, I could already see it... They thought humanity were like the Arxur... Looking at the final Raider body, I suppose they are right... but this is ages after the great war... surely we were better before the world gone to shit.
Metal armor, broken Laser pistol, 18 fusion cells, 18 caps. -Found the greedy one-. And a... Dress?
"Well, someone wanted to look pretty, eh?" I chuckled at the corpse as I looked the red dress over, it looked stainless, not even a tear even after our firefight... Probably will fetch for a lot of caps, next time I find a settlement. -
"How many times do ah hav' ta tell ya! he ain't a synth! he just needed his peepers replaced aft'a a close call with a deathclaw!" Lu shouted at the bartender, defending my rep as they didn't quite like how my new eyes looked
- ... I sighed, no matter where I go. People will hate me simply because of my eyes. Mentally I prepare myself for next time I run into a settlement and start heading back to base. My haul hanging from my back. I had managed to pick a few wild Mutfruit and good bunch of wild Carrots during my scavenger hunt.
I'll have to watch what I eat around the two... I could eat vegies and fruits like them but if I'm to keep my strength up, I should eat somewhere away from them. So they don't have to see a 'predator' eat...
Looking up at the night sky, I let out a low chuckle as I recalled something Tulip said during our time together. War never changes. "Heh, guess you were right Tulip. War really does never change" I snickered aloud as I continued my walk back.
If more aliens were to come here, they may tell others... and that, would lead to a real extinction of the human race. Or worst.
No matter the planet, or universe. War does not change.
The sad truth of reality... I need some tunes. Turning to the small radio in my pack, I turn the knobs and get searching for something to enjoy. When I find the right song I smile somberly as I turned my full attention back to my travel. Softly singing along to get the gloomy thoughts out of my head "Hardly spoke to folks around him~ Didn't have much to say~"
I gotta find me a "Big Iron" someday. ------ Half a hour travel later ------
I step past Aeon, and made my way upstairs. "It's me" I called out, more as a gentle warning than anything else as I walked slowly up the steps.
I hurried my steps when I heard a small thud. By the time I round the corner, I nearly had my rifle raised. On the ground was Taxxik. Who looked up at me with that same fear in his eyes. In the corner of the room was Jessie, staring at the Tilfish.
I released a sigh of relief as I went to help Taxxik stand back up. "Sorry if I spooked ya" "I-it's nothing" Taxxik responded as he took my hand, I could feel his hand shake in my grip as I helped him stand.
"So, you were 'search and rescue', right?" I asked as I went over to a nearby table, placing the weapons I 'found' on top of it. Taxxik hanged back a moment, For a moment I thought his hands were holding something but must've been my imagination. "Y-yes?" his higher pitch noises made me melt somewhat inside. But I stayed standing as I gesture for him to come over. "Did they teach you how to use a weapon?"
"N-no, not really... unless you include ship weaponry" "Heh, well then. That won't do. Here... we're gonna fix that." I declared as I hanged him the 10mm pistol. And for a split second I swore it looked like he was gonna fall the moment I let go of the pistol. With a huff, he raised it with both claws. "H-heavy"
"Yea, I figured. But until we find something lighter, it will have to do as far as range attacks go... and I don't think you'd want to bring a knife to a gun fight." I snickered softly as I hand him a magazine. "I got some bottles we'll use as target practice. But right now, I just want you to get used to the weight of the gun." He held it like it was a rifle, and for a moment. I was about to correct him when I thought more on the difference of size of it and him. I suppose it does count as a rifle. At least, a rifle to him. Reloading will be the biggest problem he'll face if he can handle shooting it. "I-I'm not sure but... n-no, you're right. In a place like this I n-need to know how to defend myself"
He followed me downstairs, and outside -steering clear of Aeon on our way out-. I set the bottles up, using a mostly destroyed fence to hold a couple of them. Then I went behind him and got ready to hold my hands over his ears. "Keep the front and rear sights leveled with each other, brace yourself for the recoil. Only fire on empty lungs, and squeeze the trigger, don't yank it." He seemed a little confused on that last bit but said nothing as I covered his ears. He changes his stance a little bit, took aim at the closest bottle. Changes his stance again to brace himself. Finally, he takes a deep breath, releases it. And -BANG!
--- Previous, First, Next
Might be a little shorter than my last two chapters, apologies for that. family things have been dampening my mood a little bit. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. If anyone spotted any errors I made, feel free to point them out
submitted by LawbirdBringer to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]

2023.05.30 00:53 Proletlariet Slayer

Respect Slayer

Slayer: "Very nicely done. You haven't forgotten your manners, I see."

Zato=1: "Naturally. One: No matter how grim the situation, eliminating the target comes before all else; even preserving one's own life. Two: One must hone their skills so that killing comes as naturally as breathing. Three: It is not will, nor pride, nor victory, nor death that truly decides a battle, nor is it the ability to manipulate or dominate others. The most important thing in life is, of course..."

Both: "Dandyism."

Themes: XX Xrd
Slayer is the last of a race of immortal vampires who, long past his adventurous days, enjoys spending quality time with his wife and quietly roaming the world. A charming and refined gentleman, Slayer is an extremely powerful fighter who enjoys passively observing the goings-on of mankind and occasionally "meddling" in others' affairs, often offering advice to all the other characters. Above all, Slayer pursues a life of dandyism, leading a refined and leisurely life of casual luxury and an adherence to stringent standards of class.
In the 1990s, Slayer formed the Assassin's Guild, initially to supply him with a regular stream of fresh blood, but also to punish those that the law couldn't reach. Upon meeting his similarly-immortal wife Sharon, however, Slayer grew disinterested with the Guild and stepped away from it, creating a vacuum of power wherein Zato=1 was able to take over. By the time Guilty Gear XX rolled around, Slayer was roaming the world, seeking to fight enemies and allies alike one last time before he retired and left reality entirely to he with the rest of his kind. In some arcade endings he rekindles his love of combat and starts a new Guild, but this is generally non-canon.
Though he has a number of vampiric abilities and his millenia of experience could lend to expertise on a weapon, Slayer enjoys fighting with his fists and raw strength. Despite this relative handicap in a world of blades and magic, Slayer is far and away one of the strongest characters in the entire franchise and is rarely seen struggling, let alone being meaningfully stressed in a fight. Although he is occasionally frustrated by the lack of challenge others are capable of presenting him with, he is ever graceful to those with whom he fights, offering them congratulations for a good performance.
Signature Moves
Special Moves
  • Mappa Hunch - Slayer charges forward with a powerful punch. In Accent Core, Slayer can also feint with this move.
  • Bloodsucking Universe - Slayer takes a bite out of his opponent, stealing their health.
  • Dandy Step - Slayer sways backward and forward suddenly. Dandy Step has a number of powerful follow-up attacks to catch opponents who try to retaliate.
  • Footloose Journey - Slayer uses his shapeshifting cape to attack in the air.
  • Undertow - Slayer swells his arms with blood and claws downwards in a heavy swing.
Overdrives / Force Breaks
  • Dead On Time - Slayer flies across the screen with a devastating punch.
  • Eternal Wings - Slayer ascends upwards suddenly, catching his opponent with the force of his jump.
  • Straight Down Dandy - Slayer suddenly dives out of the air past his opponent.
Instant Kills
As Instant Kill animations are potentially canon, I'll include them as feats but will mark them where appropriate.
Feats
Mouse over a feat to see its source. Non-Canon story feats are included for completion's sake, but will be marked to tell them apart.
Please note that due to the difficulty of tracking down quality translated sources for some of the older games and media, many of these clips will be presented in the form of fan-translated scripts. Other sources (like the light novels) may be missing entirely, as they have never been translated and I can't read Japanese.
It's also worth noting that Slayer has never been seen actually going all-out, so none of this RT should be considered his top end capabilities.
Vampire Abilities
Strength
Durability
Speed
Miscellaneous
Noteworthy Scaling

"I remove my clothes / Devoid of reason and thought / With my alien"

submitted by Proletlariet to u/Proletlariet [link] [comments]

2023.05.29 23:54 Formal_Pea9167 I Watch Paige's Week At Home Blog So You Don't Have To, I'm Serious The Vlog Is Like An Hour Long Don't Do This To Yourself

A day late but we're here, my little cheeto eaters! Remember as always to grab your bingo cards and let's get our little long weekend slumber party going. This whole fucking thing is FORTY MINUTES LONG, you're all lucky that my sibling who was supposed to spend the day chilling at my place has apparently forgotten that plan.
​
submitted by Formal_Pea9167 to PLSnark [link] [comments]

2023.05.29 22:34 BrandDC [SELL] Selvedge Denim Jeans incl. Strike Gold, APC, 3sixteen, Brave Star, Drop Ibara Made in Japan, Gustin, Unbranded Brand, DSTLD, Levi's Made & Crafted, LVC, plus Lace-Up Welted Boots incl. Oak Street, Allen Edmonds, Frye Ltd Ed Logan, Wolverine 1000 mile, Timberland Earthkeepers, Wings + Horns

*Selvedge jeans size ranges between 27 - 37 + Boots between 9 - 13*
*
New 3sixteen selvedge jeans added here https://www.reddit.com/BrandDC/
*
STRIKE GOLD X SELF EDGE Wavy Standard Slim Tapered Selvedge Jeans, Made in Japan, SEXSG24-09 - Tag 36 - Like New Condition
Actual Measurements of this pair: Waist (taut across) 18.5" (37"), Inseam length 36.5', Hip (crotch to outside) 12.25", Thigh (3" down from crotch to outside) 10.75", Knee 8", Front rise 10.5", Back rise 14", Hem 7.5"
msrp was $345. Buy this pair for $225 (net) delivered within ConUS. Here's the original product page -https://web.archive.org/web/20160902145428/http://www.selfedge.com/jeans?product_id=1594
Actual pics - https://imgur.com/a/6V0NWia
*
A.P.C. New Standard Jean Classique, Made from 14.5 ounce Raw Japanese Selvedge Denim, Tag 36
New without tags.
MSRP $270
Buy mine for $120 (net) shipped within ConUS.
Actual measurements: Waist 19" (38"), Inseam 36.5", Front Rise 11", Back Rise 14.5", Thigh 12" (measured 3" below crotch), Leg opening 8.5"
Pics https://imgur.com/a/ThYwl3m
*
Brave Star Renegade 18oz Selvedge Slim Taper Jeans Made in California, USA from sanforized Japanese Denim. Tag 36, actual post-soak measurements: Waist 19" flat aligned across (38"), Inseam Length 35", Leg Opening 7.5" Hot soaked with a bit of detergent to get the shrink and starch out.
$110 (net) includes delivery within ConUS.
Pics - https://imgur.com/a/ZGitILT
*
3sixteen Shadow (Indigo warp Black weft) ST-120xk Kibata Jeans made in USA from 14oz Japanese Selvedge Denim 38x35
$130 (net) plus $8 shipping within ConUS
Tag 38, actual measurements are 19" across aligned waist (38) by 35" inseam length.
The denim is "unsanforized", but treated at the factory to minimize shrinkage. The unique indigo warp and black weft will result in great fades.
Pics https://imgur.com/a/2T9RsxM
*
Unbranded UB121 21oz Heavyweight Selvedge Denim Jeans Tag 36
Brand New, unworn
$120 (net) delivered within ConUS
The UB121 is a slim fit with a straight tapered leg cut and sewn from 21oz raw indigo rope-dyed selvedge denim.
Pics here https://imgur.com/a/Sg4NHYA
*
Levi's Made & Crafted 511 Allende Jeans, New with Tags 34 / 34
msrp $188 buy mine $75 (net) delivered w/in ConUS
Modern slim-fit jeans with room to move in premium denim for the Levi's Made & Crafted collection
Features tuxedo stripes with inset Japanese embroidered canvas
Pics here https://imgur.com/a/FJ7bmQL
*
Drop Ibara Made in Japan 15oz Yoshiwa Mills Selvedge Jeans tag 35 - Brand New unworn
Actual measurements: 35" waist x 34.5" inseam length. 7.25" leg opening, 12" across thigh measured 3" below crotch. Front rise 12", Back rise 15.25"
$110 (net) delivered w/in ConUS.
Pics https://imgur.com/a/qNVK3BN
*
Gustin #252 Double Black 23oz Selvedge Denim Jeans
Skinny Fit - Made in USA from Japanese fabric
$120 (net) includes shipping w/in ConUS
Tag 30 - actual measurements Waist 14.75" (29.5") flat aligned. Inseam length 33"
pics - https://imgur.com/a/Lzipf8K
https://www.weargustin.com/store/jeans-252-double-black-23
*
DSTLD Slim Selvedge Denim Jeans Tag 36 (true 38 x 34) Brand New with attached tag
Skinny slim model fits like a slim/regular tapered jean. fr 11", br 16", thigh 13"
DSTLD is a Los Angeles, California based clothing company. The jeans were made in Turkey.
$75 (net) includes delivery within ConUS.
Pics https://imgur.com/a/qNWdG45
*
Wings + Horns Full Zip Men's Blue XXL Hoodie, Made in Canada, New with Tags.
$99 (net) includes shipping w/in ConUS.
Slim-Fit will most likely fit those seeking regular fit XL.
Measurements taken flat across: Shoulder seam 18.5". Under armpits 25", above pockets 23", Zipper length 25.5".
Pics here https://imgur.com/a/TOR0cj6
*
Levi's Vintage Clothing LVC Lot # 606 Premium Denim Jeans
98% Cotton 2% Elastane, New With Tags, msrp $198, waist size 27 inseam 32.5
$70 (net) USPS Priority in CONUS.
pics here https://imgur.com/a/HPDj5u1
*
Diesel Viker ORZ36 Stretch Jeans
34 x 34 New w/ Tags
Made in USA
msrp $178 - Buy for $90 delivered w/ in CONUS
Pics here https://imgur.com/a/lIwrezn
*
Oak Street Bootmakers Limited Edition
Two-Tone Horween Chromexcel Black & Brown Leather Trench Boots with Dainite Soles
11.5 Medium.
Made in USA.
$225 (net) ConUS shipping only.
Pics - https://imgur.com/a/zct7fYv
*
Allen Edmonds Black Normandy Kudu (Antelope) Leather Lace-Up Boots
Made in USA
Lace-up, derby cap-toe boot in 12 D
360º bench welt construction
$199 (net) plus ConUS shipping
Pics https://imgur.com/a/nmcCeo3
*
Wolverine Ascot 1000 Mile Black Leather Boots, Made in USA, W05306 Size 11
Discontinued & Rare. Not bulky like the classic 1000 Mile boots.
Msrp $350 Buy mine for $180 (net) delivered within ConUS.
Pics https://imgur.com/a/I6bnUCE
*
Frye James Lace-up Boots
13 D
Black Leather with Goodyear Welted Leather Soles
$160 (net) Delivered within ConUS - msrp $350+
Unworn other than trying on for size (I need a 12 in Frye boots)
Pics - https://imgur.com/a/pwaCyqH
*
Frye 150th Anniversary Limited Edition Logan Cap Toe Lace Up Boot
US 11.5 (fits like a 12)
Great condition, see pics https://imgur.com/a/NquJiZP
Part of Frye's Made in USA Collection
$225 (net) delivered within ConUS
*
Timberland Earthkeepers Black Leather City Premium Chelsea Lace Up Boots Size 11.5
$85 (net) delivered within ConUS
Pics https://imgur.com/a/0LRQpGI
Lace-up boot with dual stretch panels and notched shaft
Pics https://imgur.com/a/0LRQpGI
Inspired to find these boots from this vid - https://youtu.be/WK34bVL4gyg
*
*** More jeans + other clothing here https://www.reddit.com/BrandDC/ ***
submitted by BrandDC to MaleFashionMarket [link] [comments]

2023.05.29 22:04 Klokinator The Cryopod to Hell 492: Glinch's Thralls

Author note: The Cryopod to Hell is a Reddit-exclusive story with over three years of editing and refining. As of this post, the total rewrite is 1,933,000+ words long! For more information, check out the link below:
What is the Cryopod to Hell?
Join the Cryoverse Discord server!
Here's a list of all Cryopod's chapters, along with an ePub/Mobi/PDF version!
Want to stay up to date on TCTH? Subscribe to Cryopodbot!
...................................
(Previous Part)
(Part 001)
...
On the world of Numaria, more than half a dozen Demon Emperors and twenty Demon Dukes march through the paradise-class planet's forests as they head toward Emperor Glinch's Stitched Wasteland.
Emperor Auger does not directly join the party. He stays back at the capital of his world, viewing the happenings remotely through the power of a subordinate.
But Yardrat does lead the party. He is joined by Emperors Fae, Dagon, and Nymph, as well as Duke Hamir and several other elites of their Hell. It becomes obvious to all the other demons present that the Fourth Hell of Punishment is truly the mightiest among all the others. Even mere Dukes can explode with the power of Emperors, should Auger choose to grant them that ability.
As for the First Hell of Damnation, its remaining members are truly a miserable sight. Bael has become the lone Emperor still loyal to his Hell, while Mephisto and Zamiel no longer care about the alliances of their species. Bael is joined by Vepar, formerly the Baron of Toxicity, now having evolved to the rank of Duke through the human-demon alliance efforts.
Vepar, while not an Emperor, is still an insidious existence. Like Mephisto, she can transform her body into formless clouds of poison gas. She can strike with venom and poison alike, paralyzing her foes or corroding their nervous systems with ease.
Also notably absent is Beelzebub, due to him forcibly becoming aligned to Jason Hiro. While Beelzebub might actually prove an incredible powerhouse if he were to continue fighting for the First Hell's benefits, the problem is that none can say whether his allegiances would make him privy to spilling secrets of this operation to the humans...
From the Second Hell of Lust, not a single Duke joins the party. This Hell has already thrown their lots in with humanity, so no members of the Mephisto Extermination Operation are eager to have their secrets blabbed. Defeating Mephisto could lead to a discovery about the potential for ascension past the rank of Emperor. No demon elite wants that information to fall into the hands of their enemies.
From the Third Hell of Blood, few elites remain. Many of them were slain by the Cherubiim, reducing their Dukes to only a sliver of the other Hells. The Emperor of Thirst, Kristoff, still walks the mortal coil. He is joined by two subordinates, Vespera, the Duke of Gloom, and Rhesus, the Duke of Predation. These are the elites he considers his Hell's most capable remaining powerhouses, and the ones most suited for the mission to bring about Mephisto's end.
From the Fifth Hell of Calamity, a large number of Dukes join two Emperors, Serena and Crow, as they trail along behind the other Hells.
Unbeknownst to anyone present, Emperor Yumagi is alive and well. The only demons who observed his return were those aligned with Mephisto. Not even Gorn is aware that Yumagi survived the Cherubiim's wrath, and Yumagi is strangely keen to keep his return quiet.
As for the Sixth Hell of Isolation, only Emperor Melody has chosen to come along. The other elites of her Hell simply aren't in the right headpsace to join her, following their fall to the Plague.
Yama's Hell, the Seventh Hell of Corruption, has fallen apart with its Emperor being absorbed by Mephisto. Now, its many darkness-aligned entities have scattered in search of a figure lost to time...
Yardrat, Fae, Dagon, Nymph, Bael, Kristoff, Serena, Crow, and Melody march on the Stitched Wasteland, along with twenty Dukes. A terrifying force in any previous era, but one that feels somewhat weak and vulnerable in the months following the return of the Cherubiim, as well as the two Wordsmiths, not even mentioning the enemy they might face should they fail to stop Mephisto's ascension.
Yardrat's glum expression does nothing to uplift the moods of the others around him. As he and the other Emperors run across Numaria's surface, weaving their ways through the dense forests and trees, Bael speaks up from the back.
"Hey, Yardy! Why are we runnin' like a bunch of chumps? Just pop us over to Glinch with those fancy portals of yours!"
Yardrat shoots a glance back at Bael without slowing down. "I can't. Glinch's minions have an uncanny ability to twist the space around themselves. I couldn't create stable portals once we're inside if my life depended on it. I've no doubt he bred them for the express purpose of keeping me from spying on him."
Fae jumps over a bunch of twisted prickle-vines, scratching her palm on their thorns. "Doesn't that mean if something goes wrong, you won't be able to yank us out of the Stitched Wasteland?"
"Trust me." Yardrat mumbles, sounding more than a little depressed. "You don't want to hear my answer."
"There is no need to concern yourselves with escaping." Crow says solemnly, deftly flying through the underbrush with her blue wings. "If Mephisto ascends, it won't matter where we flee. He will be capable of hunting us like deer."
Yardrat snorts. "Speak for yourselves. I enjoy running away if it means saving my life."
"Coward." Bael says. "A REAL man always fights to the end!"
"Aren't you in a woman's body now?" Yardrat shoots back. "You're one to talk."
"H-hey! Women can be real men too!" Bael protests. "Get with the times!"
Emperor Melody laughs. "You tell him, Bael! Preach it!"
Serena remains silent, merely rolling her sightless eyes at everyone else's childish barbs.
...
Five hours pass as the demons race through Numaria's forests.
Eventually, the trees begin to thin out, before abruptly disappearing altogether. As if erased by a nuclear bomb, the forest's cover vanishes to reveal a grey-colored lifeless plain lacking all traces of warmth and life.
The Stitched Wasteland.
As soon as the demon leaders reach the edge of the wasteland, they pause their flight to stop and look around.
"Glinch's domain is bigger than you might first believe," Yardrat explains, gesturing toward the horizon. "Offhand, I believe the last time we measured the Stitched Wasteland's diameter, it was nearly 500 miles. You can't even see the other side from here because it dips below the horizon. The good news is, we only have to travel halfway into the interior, where Glinch's central laboratory resides."
Dagon, the Emperor of Pathogens, kneels down to scratch at the ashen soil. He grimaces as it clings to his palm and starts to burn his flesh.
"Acidic." Dagon mumbles.
"Every time Glinch creates a new thrall, his domain expands." Serena explains. "His toxic miasma is invisible and odorless, but it destroys plant-life and lower animals with ease. It won't have any effect on elites like us, but it's best if you don't deliberately play with the soil he's corroded."
Dagon shakes the soil off his palm, grimacing as he has to clap his hands and rub them against his pants to stop the acid from burning him further. Luckily, one of the Dukes nearby has a weak healing ability, so they're ability to fix him back up.
"What a miserable shithole." Fae groans. "I do NOT get what Glinch enjoys about living here! I'd go crazy from boredom after a week!"
Bael laughs. "No kidding, toots. Why do you think Glinch is such a wacko? He already went crazy!"
"Oh. Fair point." Fae mutters.
The Emperors and Dukes start moving toward the center of the wasteland, following Yardrat's lead. They do not run, but move at a brisk walk, keeping their eyes peeled for threats. Ten miles in the distance, they spot a pair of strange aberrant creatures standing perfectly still, looking at one another with hollow eyes, but they can't make out the details of those figures at their current distance.
"Bael, watch out!" Serena suddenly shouts, startling everyone.
Every demon elite's head snaps toward Bael's general direction just in time to see an invisible creature materializing, its massive body poised with a giant claw up in the air, ready to slash down at Bael.
The monster's huge torso and comparatively tiny head and skinny legs contrast with its wretchedly massive arms, its mottled and rotted skin, and its beady green venomous eyes.
The instant it snaps its claws down to assassinate Bael, the dumb galump accidentally trips on a rock, stumbling and avoiding the monster's attack! Bael falls face-first in the soil and the creature's downward slash swishes across his back, barely missing him by a millimeter!
"Lucky!" Yardrat exclaims, his pupils the size of pinpricks.
Crow roars in rage. She leaps toward the monster, the strange deformed horror with proportions far different from any naturally born creature in existence, and she swings her fist at its chest!
THUMP!
Crow knocks the creature down, sending it skidding backward across the dirt to lay in a heap.
But Crow doesn't celebrate. To her shock, she didn't even manage to bruise the monster, only knock it on its ass! The frighteningly durable monster silently stands up, and its body rapidly fades away as it becomes invisible.
Not once does the creature make a sound.
"Everyone watch out!" Crow shouts. "This bastard is strong! I don't even know if I hurt it!"
The heart of every demon elite skips a beat as they try to look for any signs of the monster. Only Serena, with her Soul Sensing capabilities, manages to trace its vague movement.
"Over there!" Serena says, pointing in front of Yardrat.
The monster once again becomes visible as it tries to slash Yardrat in half, but he isn't caught off-guard and leaps backward, safely avoiding it just in the nick of time.
"TEAR!" Yardrat yells, gnashing his teeth.
The Emperor of the Void tears the air in front of himself, unable to properly create a portal, but still able to momentarily rip a crack in space straight across the monster's torso.
A shallow cut on its chest is his only reward.
"Lucifer's Tits!" Bael exclaims, climbing to his feet. "This thing is as tough as demonstone!"
Melody fires off sonic blasts at the monster, punching with her fists to try and blow out its eardrums, but her attacks have no effect.
The monster continues charging at Yardrat to try and cut him to pieces. As it does, Crow once again steps up to protect Yardrat, deflecting its rending claws with her steel-like feathers while dishing out punishment with her fists. Crow is without a doubt the most physically imposting member of the party, possessing more strength than any demon in existence except for Belial.
But even she can't manage to do more than knock the monster back!
The other Emperors quickly start pitching in. Dagon summons corrosive chemicals to try and melt the monster's thick hide. Nymph summons vines from beneath its feet to wrap its legs and keep it immobile. Kristoff summons bloodied blades to cut the monster from behind, slashing its back with swords made from his own plasma. Fae fires explosive projectiles with a low yield at the monster, taking care not to accidentally hurt her allies. Melody sends sonic shockwaves into the ground, trying to soften the soil to trap the monster in quicksand.
But the monster proves more frightening than any of the Emperors imagined!
Bael and Serena can't provide much assistance to the others. They watch helplessly as Nymph's vines corrode to ash, melted by the Stitched Wasteland's ability to destroy plant-life. Fae's explosions barely even knock the monster back. Dagon might as well be shooting the monster with a squirt-gun for all the use his chemicals have. Melody can't seem to accomplish anything either!
"Shit." Bael growls. "I gotta help them."
"You don't have any magic." Serena says.
"No. But I got this." Bael says, reaching down to touch his weirdly fancy belt.
When Bael activates the Matriarch's Armor, it begins popping out of his waist and engulfing him from head to toe in lethal-looking demonstone armor. His plated chest and spiked shoulders turn Bael from a dopey looking version of Ose into a commanding and fearful warrior clad in demonic armor, making Serena gasp in surprise.
"Bael?" Serena asks, unable to see the armor, but sensing that his soul has suddenly become difficult to detect due to something shrouding his entire body. "What did you do?"
"Ose gave me some armor." Bael explains. "It ain't mine. But we'll talk 'bout it later. I gotta help the others!"
Bael doesn't hesitate. He rushes toward the monster, joining Crow as a frontline tank to try and draw the creature's attention.
Crow barely even registers Bael's new appearance, shoving any concerns about the demonstone-clad warrior to the back of her mind. All she feels is relief when the monster's brutal strikes slow down as it starts slashing at Bael as well.
THUNK! THUNK!!
The brutish monster silently whales on the others. For ten minutes, Bael and Crow take the beatings of their lives while Yardrat slowly tears its skin and cuts its bones with targeted spatial distortions. He alone manages to injure the creature the most heavily, while the other Dukes and Emperors can barely offer much assistance.
Bael grimaces as the creature grabs him by his helmet, lifts him up, and throws him like a ragdoll. Bael cries out in alarm as he goes flying and lands in the dirt, two hundred feet behind the brute.
"Spawn of a- you piece of trash! Nobody throws Bael!"
He jumps to his feet and starts to run back toward the monster, only to pause when he senses movement.
Bael quickly turns around. He nearly jumps out of his skin when he sees what he can only mentally describe as seventeen snakes with baby-heads crawling along the ground toward him. The snakes have a single conjoined core body that ties them all together, but it appears as flat as a pancake. Like some sort of Hydra consisting of stitched-together body parts, this multi-headed monster uses its childish faces to drag itself toward Bael at a speed most distressing, causing his butthole to pucker up.
"Eee! Gross!" Bael cries. "What in the hellhound's anus is that?!
Like the previous monster, this 'Snakedra' freak doesn't cry out or make any noises. It silently slithers toward Bael while one of its heads remains elevated to gaze directly at him.
Not wanting his friends to be overwhelmed, Bael decides to try and take the monster on by himself. His eyes fill with determination, and he conjures Mjölnir in his grasp, summoning it from his belt.
"Bad snake!" Bael barks, lunging at the monster to smash one of its heads.
SPLAT!!
Bael crushes the first head with ease!
But as he raises the hammer to strike again, the monster pounces at him! Its sixteen remaining heads bite his armor and wrap around his arms and legs, smothering him and causing him to fall backward.
"Crap, crap!" Bael yells. "Uh, don't worry guys, I've got this! Just keep killing the big one! I've got this cunt right where I want him! YEEOUCH!"
The Snakedra squeezes with all its strength, trying to burst Bael's body like a watermelon. Luckily, the demonstone only creaks a bit and doesn't fold inward, allowing Bael to survive, albeit not to do much else.
Serena, seeing that the others are too occupied to help, decides to try and assist Bael in some way. Since her abilities aren't much use against the first monster unless it turns invisible, she turns her gaze toward the Snakedra.
Emperor Serena maintains a good distance between herself and the Snakedra. She closes her eyes, focuses her mind, then shapes her right hand into a claw pose, snapping it in the Snakedra's direction.
An invisible beam of soul energy travels the gaps between dimensions, drilling into one of the Snakedra's heads. Serena focuses with all her might, attempting to try and locate the monster's soul so she can manipulate or influence it.
Unfortunately, she finds that while the creature does have a soul, it has become a mish-mash of fifty other souls, all witlessly stitched together to create an aberrant, thoughtless machine for killing.
Pain. Pain. Pain. The Snakedra thinks. Pain. Pain. Pain.
Serena grimaces. Her eyes squeeze shut even tighter as she tunes out Bael's exclamations of how 'totally okay and fine' he is. She digs deeper into the Snakedra's psyche, eventually extracting a thread of its existence for her own benefit.
Serena's eyes finally open.
While most entities possess eyes that can 'see' the physical realm, even as an imp, Serena was blind from birth. She was never able to see the world around her, but all of that changed when she met her husband, Gorn.
He and her were only Imps at the time. They became Lords together, and upon her ascension, she gained a new type of vision utterly unique to herself.
The power to see the soul realm.
While usually incapable of influencing the material realm, the soul realm is the domain Serena has become most adept at influencing over the millennia. As an Emperor, her power has become quite substantial in this regard.
Serena tears a fragment of soul energy out of the monster. It doesn't even shudder, but she doesn't care.
With her soul-seeing eyes, Serena deftly manipulates the thread of soul energy, using her fingers to hastily but efficiently craft a Soul Puppet, something not unlike a voodoo doll.
After forming a Soul Puppet in the form of the Snakedra, Serena grabs it out of the air and begins wrenching its heads around, stabbing at its body with her fingernails, and otherwise torturing the false image as much as possible.
Not once does the Snakedra cry out in pain, but its body does twitch and spasm. It writhes and squirms, continuing to hold Bael steady, but sometimes weakening its grip as it loses control of different parts of its body at random.
Meanwhile, Bael occasionally feels the wretched monster weaken its grip on him. Bael might not be the brightest bulb in the box, but as an accomplished veteran of countless wars, he is well-versed in the art of combat.
Bael isn't certain why the creature has started to spasm, but he won't turn down any good opportunity that arises.
He calls forth the power of Mjölnir, summoning lightning from above to strike the hammer. The moment before the lightning falls upon him, the creature suddenly loosens its grip, allowing Bael to swing the hammer at its central body.
BOOOM!!
A terrific blast of thunder and lightning detonates on the Snakedra, making it recoil in agony, release Bael, and pull away from him.
Abruptly dropped on his ass, Bael jumps backward, leaps to his feet, and lifts his hammer high.
"Nobody gives me a squeeze without my OK, bub!"
Bael charges at the monster. He starts smashing its heads one by one, crushing them to bloody pulps while the creature uselessly writhes on the ground, taking the abuse without retaliating.
Five minutes later, Bael slays the bastard, putting it to death for the rest of eternity.
Tired and winded, Bael gasps for air. Never has he had a fight that left him out of breath, but even with the Matriarch's Armor, Ose's body is far weaker than Bael's ever was. He severely regrets losing his invincibility.
Bael turns around and spots Serena.
"Oh! Hey, whew! I just got done kicking that monster's ass!" Bael says. "Good thing I'm such a badass, I must have intimidated it into lettin' me go, heh."
Serena opens her mouth to correct him, but thinks better.
"Right. Excellent work, Bael. You're as capable a fighter as ever."
Bael grins inside his helmet. "Heh, damn right. Now, lemme help the others finish that fat ugly one off."
Bael charges into battle, this time equipped with Mjolnir. He transforms the hammer into his favorite weapon, Big Bonk, and swings the ten ton steel ball at the brutish monster's back.
BOOM!!!
Bael flattens the creature, burying it face-first in the dirt and giving Crow an opportunity to deliver a full-power punch to the back of its head.
SPLAT!
Her fist connects, and she crushes the monster's skull, spraying its brains out all over her feet.
Crow pants like a dog on a hot summer's day. Sweat pools on Yardrat's head from the amount of focus he had to exert to kill this first monster. Even Fae and the others look a little tired.
With the crisis momentarily averted, the demon elites look around, finally noticing Bael's new getup, as well as Big Bonk pressing against the brute's back.
"Bael?" Fae asks. "Hot damn, that's a sweet set of armor!"
"You really saved our asses!" Melody adds.
Crow glances toward the other dead monster. "You killed that one? By yourself?"
Bael thumps his chest. "Couldn't have done it without Ose's fancy-shmancy armor. The ugly bugger got so scared, it just laid there and let me beat it to death! Heh!"
"It just laid there?" Crow asks, glancing around. She notices Serena, then pieces the events together. "Oh, I see. Well, god job beating it by yourself, Bael. You still know how to kick tail."
"Damn right!" Bael proclaims, smiling from ear to ear.
One by one, the other demon elites figure out Bael didn't exactly defeat the monster all by himself, but seeing as how he's been so down ever since losing his powers, they don't want to hurt his feelings.
"We've only fought two creatures so far, but they were both terrifying." Yardrat points out. "If we have to face two or even three at the same time, we might die! Everyone, proceed slowly. Do NOT rush in. We need to pick Glinch's thralls off one by one."
The other demons nod.
"Right!"
submitted by Klokinator to HFY [link] [comments]

2023.05.29 22:04 Klokinator Cryopod Refresh 492: Glinch's Thralls

On the world of Numaria, more than half a dozen Demon Emperors and twenty Demon Dukes march through the paradise-class planet's forests as they head toward Emperor Glinch's Stitched Wasteland.
Emperor Auger does not directly join the party. He stays back at the capital of his world, viewing the happenings remotely through the power of a subordinate.
But Yardrat does lead the party. He is joined by Emperors Fae, Dagon, and Nymph, as well as Duke Hamir and several other elites of their Hell. It becomes obvious to all the other demons present that the Fourth Hell of Punishment is truly the mightiest among all the others. Even mere Dukes can explode with the power of Emperors, should Auger choose to grant them that ability.
As for the First Hell of Damnation, its remaining members are truly a miserable sight. Bael has become the lone Emperor still loyal to his Hell, while Mephisto and Zamiel no longer care about the alliances of their species. Bael is joined by Vepar, formerly the Baron of Toxicity, now having evolved to the rank of Duke through the human-demon alliance efforts.
Vepar, while not an Emperor, is still an insidious existence. Like Mephisto, she can transform her body into formless clouds of poison gas. She can strike with venom and poison alike, paralyzing her foes or corroding their nervous systems with ease.
Also notably absent is Beelzebub, due to him forcibly becoming aligned to Jason Hiro. While Beelzebub might actually prove an incredible powerhouse if he were to continue fighting for the First Hell's benefits, the problem is that none can say whether his allegiances would make him privy to spilling secrets of this operation to the humans...
From the Second Hell of Lust, not a single Duke joins the party. This Hell has already thrown their lots in with humanity, so no members of the Mephisto Extermination Operation are eager to have their secrets blabbed. Defeating Mephisto could lead to a discovery about the potential for ascension past the rank of Emperor. No demon elite wants that information to fall into the hands of their enemies.
From the Third Hell of Blood, few elites remain. Many of them were slain by the Cherubiim, reducing their Dukes to only a sliver of the other Hells. The Emperor of Thirst, Kristoff, still walks the mortal coil. He is joined by two subordinates, Vespera, the Duke of Gloom, and Rhesus, the Duke of Predation. These are the elites he considers his Hell's most capable remaining powerhouses, and the ones most suited for the mission to bring about Mephisto's end.
From the Fifth Hell of Calamity, a large number of Dukes join two Emperors, Serena and Crow, as they trail along behind the other Hells.
Unbeknownst to anyone present, Emperor Yumagi is alive and well. The only demons who observed his return were those aligned with Mephisto. Not even Gorn is aware that Yumagi survived the Cherubiim's wrath, and Yumagi is strangely keen to keep his return quiet.
As for the Sixth Hell of Isolation, only Emperor Melody has chosen to come along. The other elites of her Hell simply aren't in the right headpsace to join her, following their fall to the Plague.
Yama's Hell, the Seventh Hell of Corruption, has fallen apart with its Emperor being absorbed by Mephisto. Now, its many darkness-aligned entities have scattered in search of a figure lost to time...
Yardrat, Fae, Dagon, Nymph, Bael, Kristoff, Serena, Crow, and Melody march on the Stitched Wasteland, along with twenty Dukes. A terrifying force in any previous era, but one that feels somewhat weak and vulnerable in the months following the return of the Cherubiim, as well as the two Wordsmiths, not even mentioning the enemy they might face should they fail to stop Mephisto's ascension.
Yardrat's glum expression does nothing to uplift the moods of the others around him. As he and the other Emperors run across Numaria's surface, weaving their ways through the dense forests and trees, Bael speaks up from the back.
"Hey, Yardy! Why are we runnin' like a bunch of chumps? Just pop us over to Glinch with those fancy portals of yours!"
Yardrat shoots a glance back at Bael without slowing down. "I can't. Glinch's minions have an uncanny ability to twist the space around themselves. I couldn't create stable portals once we're inside if my life depended on it. I've no doubt he bred them for the express purpose of keeping me from spying on him."
Fae jumps over a bunch of twisted prickle-vines, scratching her palm on their thorns. "Doesn't that mean if something goes wrong, you won't be able to yank us out of the Stitched Wasteland?"
"Trust me." Yardrat mumbles, sounding more than a little depressed. "You don't want to hear my answer."
"There is no need to concern yourselves with escaping." Crow says solemnly, deftly flying through the underbrush with her blue wings. "If Mephisto ascends, it won't matter where we flee. He will be capable of hunting us like deer."
Yardrat snorts. "Speak for yourselves. I enjoy running away if it means saving my life."
"Coward." Bael says. "A REAL man always fights to the end!"
"Aren't you in a woman's body now?" Yardrat shoots back. "You're one to talk."
"H-hey! Women can be real men too!" Bael protests. "Get with the times!"
Emperor Melody laughs. "You tell him, Bael! Preach it!"
Serena remains silent, merely rolling her sightless eyes at everyone else's childish barbs.
...
Five hours pass as the demons race through Numaria's forests.
Eventually, the trees begin to thin out, before abruptly disappearing altogether. As if erased by a nuclear bomb, the forest's cover vanishes to reveal a grey-colored lifeless plain lacking all traces of warmth and life.
The Stitched Wasteland.
As soon as the demon leaders reach the edge of the wasteland, they pause their flight to stop and look around.
"Glinch's domain is bigger than you might first believe," Yardrat explains, gesturing toward the horizon. "Offhand, I believe the last time we measured the Stitched Wasteland's diameter, it was nearly 500 miles. You can't even see the other side from here because it dips below the horizon. The good news is, we only have to travel halfway into the interior, where Glinch's central laboratory resides."
Dagon, the Emperor of Pathogens, kneels down to scratch at the ashen soil. He grimaces as it clings to his palm and starts to burn his flesh.
"Acidic." Dagon mumbles.
"Every time Glinch creates a new thrall, his domain expands." Serena explains. "His toxic miasma is invisible and odorless, but it destroys plant-life and lower animals with ease. It won't have any effect on elites like us, but it's best if you don't deliberately play with the soil he's corroded."
Dagon shakes the soil off his palm, grimacing as he has to clap his hands and rub them against his pants to stop the acid from burning him further. Luckily, one of the Dukes nearby has a weak healing ability, so they're ability to fix him back up.
"What a miserable shithole." Fae groans. "I do NOT get what Glinch enjoys about living here! I'd go crazy from boredom after a week!"
Bael laughs. "No kidding, toots. Why do you think Glinch is such a wacko? He already went crazy!"
"Oh. Fair point." Fae mutters.
The Emperors and Dukes start moving toward the center of the wasteland, following Yardrat's lead. They do not run, but move at a brisk walk, keeping their eyes peeled for threats. Ten miles in the distance, they spot a pair of strange aberrant creatures standing perfectly still, looking at one another with hollow eyes, but they can't make out the details of those figures at their current distance.
"Bael, watch out!" Serena suddenly shouts, startling everyone.
Every demon elite's head snaps toward Bael's general direction just in time to see an invisible creature materializing, its massive body poised with a giant claw up in the air, ready to slash down at Bael.
The monster's huge torso and comparatively tiny head and skinny legs contrast with its wretchedly massive arms, its mottled and rotted skin, and its beady green venomous eyes.
The instant it snaps its claws down to assassinate Bael, the dumb galump accidentally trips on a rock, stumbling and avoiding the monster's attack! Bael falls face-first in the soil and the creature's downward slash swishes across his back, barely missing him by a millimeter!
"Lucky!" Yardrat exclaims, his pupils the size of pinpricks.
Crow roars in rage. She leaps toward the monster, the strange deformed horror with proportions far different from any naturally born creature in existence, and she swings her fist at its chest!
THUMP!
Crow knocks the creature down, sending it skidding backward across the dirt to lay in a heap.
But Crow doesn't celebrate. To her shock, she didn't even manage to bruise the monster, only knock it on its ass! The frighteningly durable monster silently stands up, and its body rapidly fades away as it becomes invisible.
Not once does the creature make a sound.
"Everyone watch out!" Crow shouts. "This bastard is strong! I don't even know if I hurt it!"
The heart of every demon elite skips a beat as they try to look for any signs of the monster. Only Serena, with her Soul Sensing capabilities, manages to trace its vague movement.
"Over there!" Serena says, pointing in front of Yardrat.
The monster once again becomes visible as it tries to slash Yardrat in half, but he isn't caught off-guard and leaps backward, safely avoiding it just in the nick of time.
"TEAR!" Yardrat yells, gnashing his teeth.
The Emperor of the Void tears the air in front of himself, unable to properly create a portal, but still able to momentarily rip a crack in space straight across the monster's torso.
A shallow cut on its chest is his only reward.
"Lucifer's Tits!" Bael exclaims, climbing to his feet. "This thing is as tough as demonstone!"
Melody fires off sonic blasts at the monster, punching with her fists to try and blow out its eardrums, but her attacks have no effect.
The monster continues charging at Yardrat to try and cut him to pieces. As it does, Crow once again steps up to protect Yardrat, deflecting its rending claws with her steel-like feathers while dishing out punishment with her fists. Crow is without a doubt the most physically imposting member of the party, possessing more strength than any demon in existence except for Belial.
But even she can't manage to do more than knock the monster back!
The other Emperors quickly start pitching in. Dagon summons corrosive chemicals to try and melt the monster's thick hide. Nymph summons vines from beneath its feet to wrap its legs and keep it immobile. Kristoff summons bloodied blades to cut the monster from behind, slashing its back with swords made from his own plasma. Fae fires explosive projectiles with a low yield at the monster, taking care not to accidentally hurt her allies. Melody sends sonic shockwaves into the ground, trying to soften the soil to trap the monster in quicksand.
But the monster proves more frightening than any of the Emperors imagined!
Bael and Serena can't provide much assistance to the others. They watch helplessly as Nymph's vines corrode to ash, melted by the Stitched Wasteland's ability to destroy plant-life. Fae's explosions barely even knock the monster back. Dagon might as well be shooting the monster with a squirt-gun for all the use his chemicals have. Melody can't seem to accomplish anything either!
"Shit." Bael growls. "I gotta help them."
"You don't have any magic." Serena says.
"No. But I got this." Bael says, reaching down to touch his weirdly fancy belt.
When Bael activates the Matriarch's Armor, it begins popping out of his waist and engulfing him from head to toe in lethal-looking demonstone armor. His plated chest and spiked shoulders turn Bael from a dopey looking version of Ose into a commanding and fearful warrior clad in demonic armor, making Serena gasp in surprise.
"Bael?" Serena asks, unable to see the armor, but sensing that his soul has suddenly become difficult to detect due to something shrouding his entire body. "What did you do?"
"Ose gave me some armor." Bael explains. "It ain't mine. But we'll talk 'bout it later. I gotta help the others!"
Bael doesn't hesitate. He rushes toward the monster, joining Crow as a frontline tank to try and draw the creature's attention.
Crow barely even registers Bael's new appearance, shoving any concerns about the demonstone-clad warrior to the back of her mind. All she feels is relief when the monster's brutal strikes slow down as it starts slashing at Bael as well.
THUNK! THUNK!!
The brutish monster silently whales on the others. For ten minutes, Bael and Crow take the beatings of their lives while Yardrat slowly tears its skin and cuts its bones with targeted spatial distortions. He alone manages to injure the creature the most heavily, while the other Dukes and Emperors can barely offer much assistance.
Bael grimaces as the creature grabs him by his helmet, lifts him up, and throws him like a ragdoll. Bael cries out in alarm as he goes flying and lands in the dirt, two hundred feet behind the brute.
"Spawn of a- you piece of trash! Nobody throws Bael!"
He jumps to his feet and starts to run back toward the monster, only to pause when he senses movement.
Bael quickly turns around. He nearly jumps out of his skin when he sees what he can only mentally describe as seventeen snakes with baby-heads crawling along the ground toward him. The snakes have a single conjoined core body that ties them all together, but it appears as flat as a pancake. Like some sort of Hydra consisting of stitched-together body parts, this multi-headed monster uses its childish faces to drag itself toward Bael at a speed most distressing, causing his butthole to pucker up.
"Eee! Gross!" Bael cries. "What in the hellhound's anus is that?!
Like the previous monster, this 'Snakedra' freak doesn't cry out or make any noises. It silently slithers toward Bael while one of its heads remains elevated to gaze directly at him.
Not wanting his friends to be overwhelmed, Bael decides to try and take the monster on by himself. His eyes fill with determination, and he conjures Mjölnir in his grasp, summoning it from his belt.
"Bad snake!" Bael barks, lunging at the monster to smash one of its heads.
SPLAT!!
Bael crushes the first head with ease!
But as he raises the hammer to strike again, the monster pounces at him! Its sixteen remaining heads bite his armor and wrap around his arms and legs, smothering him and causing him to fall backward.
"Crap, crap!" Bael yells. "Uh, don't worry guys, I've got this! Just keep killing the big one! I've got this cunt right where I want him! YEEOUCH!"
The Snakedra squeezes with all its strength, trying to burst Bael's body like a watermelon. Luckily, the demonstone only creaks a bit and doesn't fold inward, allowing Bael to survive, albeit not to do much else.
Serena, seeing that the others are too occupied to help, decides to try and assist Bael in some way. Since her abilities aren't much use against the first monster unless it turns invisible, she turns her gaze toward the Snakedra.
Emperor Serena maintains a good distance between herself and the Snakedra. She closes her eyes, focuses her mind, then shapes her right hand into a claw pose, snapping it in the Snakedra's direction.
An invisible beam of soul energy travels the gaps between dimensions, drilling into one of the Snakedra's heads. Serena focuses with all her might, attempting to try and locate the monster's soul so she can manipulate or influence it.
Unfortunately, she finds that while the creature does have a soul, it has become a mish-mash of fifty other souls, all witlessly stitched together to create an aberrant, thoughtless machine for killing.
Pain. Pain. Pain. The Snakedra thinks. Pain. Pain. Pain.
Serena grimaces. Her eyes squeeze shut even tighter as she tunes out Bael's exclamations of how 'totally okay and fine' he is. She digs deeper into the Snakedra's psyche, eventually extracting a thread of its existence for her own benefit.
Serena's eyes finally open.
While most entities possess eyes that can 'see' the physical realm, even as an imp, Serena was blind from birth. She was never able to see the world around her, but all of that changed when she met her husband, Gorn.
He and her were only Imps at the time. They became Lords together, and upon her ascension, she gained a new type of vision utterly unique to herself.
The power to see the soul realm.
While usually incapable of influencing the material realm, the soul realm is the domain Serena has become most adept at influencing over the millennia. As an Emperor, her power has become quite substantial in this regard.
Serena tears a fragment of soul energy out of the monster. It doesn't even shudder, but she doesn't care.
With her soul-seeing eyes, Serena deftly manipulates the thread of soul energy, using her fingers to hastily but efficiently craft a Soul Puppet, something not unlike a voodoo doll.
After forming a Soul Puppet in the form of the Snakedra, Serena grabs it out of the air and begins wrenching its heads around, stabbing at its body with her fingernails, and otherwise torturing the false image as much as possible.
Not once does the Snakedra cry out in pain, but its body does twitch and spasm. It writhes and squirms, continuing to hold Bael steady, but sometimes weakening its grip as it loses control of different parts of its body at random.
Meanwhile, Bael occasionally feels the wretched monster weaken its grip on him. Bael might not be the brightest bulb in the box, but as an accomplished veteran of countless wars, he is well-versed in the art of combat.
Bael isn't certain why the creature has started to spasm, but he won't turn down any good opportunity that arises.
He calls forth the power of Mjölnir, summoning lightning from above to strike the hammer. The moment before the lightning falls upon him, the creature suddenly loosens its grip, allowing Bael to swing the hammer at its central body.
BOOOM!!
A terrific blast of thunder and lightning detonates on the Snakedra, making it recoil in agony, release Bael, and pull away from him.
Abruptly dropped on his ass, Bael jumps backward, leaps to his feet, and lifts his hammer high.
"Nobody gives me a squeeze without my OK, bub!"
Bael charges at the monster. He starts smashing its heads one by one, crushing them to bloody pulps while the creature uselessly writhes on the ground, taking the abuse without retaliating.
Five minutes later, Bael slays the bastard, putting it to death for the rest of eternity.
Tired and winded, Bael gasps for air. Never has he had a fight that left him out of breath, but even with the Matriarch's Armor, Ose's body is far weaker than Bael's ever was. He severely regrets losing his invincibility.
Bael turns around and spots Serena.
"Oh! Hey, whew! I just got done kicking that monster's ass!" Bael says. "Good thing I'm such a badass, I must have intimidated it into lettin' me go, heh."
Serena opens her mouth to correct him, but thinks better.
"Right. Excellent work, Bael. You're as capable a fighter as ever."
Bael grins inside his helmet. "Heh, damn right. Now, lemme help the others finish that fat ugly one off."
Bael charges into battle, this time equipped with Mjolnir. He transforms the hammer into his favorite weapon, Big Bonk, and swings the ten ton steel ball at the brutish monster's back.
BOOM!!!
Bael flattens the creature, burying it face-first in the dirt and giving Crow an opportunity to deliver a full-power punch to the back of its head.
SPLAT!
Her fist connects, and she crushes the monster's skull, spraying its brains out all over her feet.
Crow pants like a dog on a hot summer's day. Sweat pools on Yardrat's head from the amount of focus he had to exert to kill this first monster. Even Fae and the others look a little tired.
With the crisis momentarily averted, the demon elites look around, finally noticing Bael's new getup, as well as Big Bonk pressing against the brute's back.
"Bael?" Fae asks. "Hot damn, that's a sweet set of armor!"
"You really saved our asses!" Melody adds.
Crow glances toward the other dead monster. "You killed that one? By yourself?"
Bael thumps his chest. "Couldn't have done it without Ose's fancy-shmancy armor. The ugly bugger got so scared, it just laid there and let me beat it to death! Heh!"
"It just laid there?" Crow asks, glancing around. She notices Serena, then pieces the events together. "Oh, I see. Well, god job beating it by yourself, Bael. You still know how to kick tail."
"Damn right!" Bael proclaims, smiling from ear to ear.
One by one, the other demon elites figure out Bael didn't exactly defeat the monster all by himself, but seeing as how he's been so down ever since losing his powers, they don't want to hurt his feelings.
"We've only fought two creatures so far, but they were both terrifying." Yardrat points out. "If we have to face two or even three at the same time, we might die! Everyone, proceed slowly. Do NOT rush in. We need to pick Glinch's thralls off one by one."
The other demons nod.
"Right!"
submitted by Klokinator to TheCryopodToHell [link] [comments]

2023.05.29 20:58 FerretBoi69 Thor vs Wonder Woman

Before getting into their stats: I want to talk about one of the key things that led to Wonder Woman's victory, in her episode: The Sword of Hephaestus. This sword, is sharp enough to split atoms. However, in my opinion Thor should resist this. Thor's molecules (and atoms) work differently than mortals. This is something very consistent with Thor, and other Gods. Thor survived an increased blast, from Kang's dissolution beam, which could split atoms across time. Thor was immune, to having his subatomic particles hardened. He has survived, being blasted by anti matter. Thor, has also survived being blasted by Power Cosmic, from Galactus, and the Silver Surfer. The Power Cosmic, has shown the ability to not only control atoms, but straight up atomize stuff. Thor, has also outright, survived a blast that would atomize, anyone other than a God. Even if you don't buy his immunity, this ability should be countered by Thor, but I'll talk about that more later. This isn't to say however, that the blade couldn't hurt Thor, as he has a history , of being hurt by mythical blades. He however, is always able to patch it up, with his healing factor.

Thor's stats:

Thor has shattered a root of Yggdrasil. As a baby, he shook The World Tree, with his cries. Thor has defeated a Celestial. This is consistent, because Knull noted he had felt a power like Thor's, and he goes around killing Celestials. And Celestials, created the Multiverse in Marvel. Thor is considered, a threat to a large portion, of all that resides in Eternity, and Infinity. Two weaker Thor's , spewed shockwaves across the Multiverse. Keep in mind, one of them barely has a tenth, of the actual, Thor's power.
With the Godblast, Thor can fend off Galactus. And with 3 other Thor's, he was able to bolster the Super flow , and prevent the Multiverse from collapsing. As already established, Thor was also doing most of the heavy lifting here.
For speed, Thor has outsped the Silver Surfer. Who was stated by the cosmic abstract Infinity, to have incalculable speed. Mjolnir, has outright, traveled immeasurable distances. Thor, has spun his hammer, so fast it transcended space and time. Thor has flown to Asgard, which is a realm, beyond time and space.

Wonder Woman's stats:

Wonder Woman has redirected a blast , from the entire Greek pantheon. She shattered, the Cronus sceptre, which houses the God Wave. Wonder Woman has defeated, the Phantom Stranger, who is able to fight the Spectre. In a fight with Superman, they both shook the Heavens. Wonder Woman, has also been able to, harm Darkseid , with her blows. This is impressive because, Darkseid took a punch powered by the whole Multiverse casually. This should be consistent as well, since the Hellbat, is powered by her punches. And the Hellbat, can also harm Darkseid.
For speed, Wonder Woman is almost as fast as the Flash. This should be consistent because, she did pretty well in The Great Race. Wonder Woman is considered faster than Superman in combat. Wonder Woman has the speed of Hermes. Which means she should be comparable to Shazam, who has the speed of Mercury. Shazam has flown , to the Rock of Eternity, which is beyond time and space.
So in terms of AP and Speed they should be pretty comparable. But Thor should have an edge in AP, while Wonder Woman should have an edge in speed.

Thor's experience and skill:

Thor is very old. Thor, has been seen in hieroglyphics. He remembers humanity, back when we were in the stone age. He also says, he is older than our entire race. For skill, he has centuries, worth of training in the arts of war. He kept up with Man-Beast, who's combat is millions of years more advanced than ours. Thor also matches Shang-Chi. Who is comparable to Iron Fist, who has access to infinite combat techniques.

Wonder Woman's experience and skill:

For Wonder Woman is a little harder to gauge her age. We know her mother, Queen Hippolyta was a teen during the Trojan War, which took place 3000+ years ago, so Wonder Woman should be around that age. For skill, Wonder Woman was able to Zod, who was bred to be a warrior from birth. She is considered the greatest melee fighter, on Earth, by Batman, and no one argues with Batman. She should also scale to Ares, who has tactics and strategies throughout the ages.
So, for skill, they should be pretty even. However, for experience Thor should completely blow hers out of the water, which in my opinion is going to be a huge advantage as he'll have more experience fighting opponents like her.
I will only talk about Hax that is applicable in combat.

Thor's hax:

Matter Manipulation: Thor can fuse an opponent's molecules. Thor can manipulate subatomic particles. He hits so hard he can atomize objects. He can also manipulate anti matter. Wonder Woman herself, has shown limited resistance to this, however this did result in her being weakened. Her equipment however, hasn't shown any resistance to this at all. This ability is huge because it allows Thor to weaken her, and strip her of her equipment.
Life Absorption: Thor has shown the ability to drain a person's life force. Wonder Woman should resist this however, as she was barely effected by Parasite.
Power Absorption/ Nullification: Thor has stolen the Power Cosmic , from Galactus. He has also separated the Juggernaut , from Cytorrak. Wonder Woman should partially resist this because of Parasite, but not on the scale that this ability operates at. Wonder Woman does have ways of getting her powers back, but not before Thor should finish her off.
Storm Creation: As the God of Thunder, Thor can create storms larger than entire universes. Or isolate them, inside of a person. This ability would grant him complete control of the battlefield, and Wonder Woman has no way of stopping him from creating one inside of her.
Regeneration: Thor has a potent regeneration, being able to regenerate a incinerated arm in 30 minutes. His regen, has also patched up wounds from the All Black, Twilight Sword, and Odin Sword.
Super Smooch: This ability can't be countered and one shots any target.

Wonder Woman's hax:

Zeus's Lightning: Wonder Woman has the ability to control Zeus's Lightning. This however wouldn't work on Thor. Thor is completely immune lightning, and electricity. Thor is also the elemental archetype , and is the extradimensional abstract concept of the storm. So not only is this ability useless in harming Thor, it also runs the risk of being used against her.
Soul Manipulation: The Lasso of Truth has shown the ability to target souls. Thor should resist this though, as he was unaffected by hellfire from the Ghost Rider.
Regeneration:Wonder Woman was able to heal from severe head trauma, broken bones, and organ failure, within 3 hours.
So, Thor in my opinion is a more versatile fighter, and his Hax could definitely tip the scales in his favor.

Onto Amps:

I will only be talking about amps that they can naturally access. Not one time power ups, or amps that they eventually lost, or can't access.

Thor's amps:

Warrior's Madness: Is an ability that is a 10× multiplier. It does have a drawback though, the madness part.
Meginjord: Is a belt that multiplies his strength by two. It does have the drawback of severely draining the users stamina For Thor though, it's not as bad as it seems, because this guy can fight for over, 2 years!
Odin Force: If, you feel, he should get it. It's power shook an embassy created by the Living Tribunal, that exists above infinite dimensions. It grants omniscience, telepathy, existence erasure, and reality warping. However using too much of it, will cause the user to fall into the Odin Sleep.
Gaea's Power: By praying to his mother, she grants him some of her power. She is responsible for the creation of all gods in Marvel. When Thor had a smaller portion he was able to harm the Chaos King. It grants him control of the earth, and an even higher scale of power nullification .
Phoenix Force: A latent ability he has just recently unlocked, because of his interactions with the Phoenix at a early age. It grants him the flames of the Phoenix.
Power Cosmic: Thor was once a herald of Galactus. He has still kept the Power Cosmic. He felt the call from Galactus to all of his heralds. And he used the power cosmic in his fight against Knull.

Wonder Woman's amps:

Gauntlets of Atlas: These gauntlets give her a 10× multiplier.
Superform: by removing her bracelets she gets a huge boost in power.
Godwave: by praying to her pantheon she is granted a portion of the Godwave. It's power created all deities in DC along with the Superheroes. It grants a boost in power, and omniscience. Using it too long however, puts strain on the user and, runs the risk of the user dying.
So for amps, I feel Thor should also take the advantage here. He has a less risky (none could kill him), more versatile, and just straight up more amps to fall back on. With Gaea's Power, he could also just nullify Wonder Woman's Godwave amp.

Wonder Woman's worthiness?

This is a topic I find quite interesting. Is Wonder Woman worthy of Mjolnir? It's something that both companies think is a possibility. However even if she can pick it up, it is always going to obey Thor over her. And if it didn't, it would cause Thor to use Jarnbjorn. An enchanted axe that can kill Celestials. Which would also exploit her weakness to piercing weapons.

Verdict:

In my opinion I think Thor, should win pretty solidly. They both are comparable in stats, and skills, but when it comes to hax, experience, and amps, Wonder Woman is outclassed. With probably his biggest advantage being experience because, that's gonna cause him to use his hax, once he realizes that just hammer smashes isn't going to work.
submitted by FerretBoi69 to deathbattle [link] [comments]

2023.05.29 18:57 Billcryptic Upon the Throne of Gold and Stone

“So you’ve returned.”
The chamber was dark, far too dark despite the sweltering sun shining above, scorching the desert land and all those who toiled beneath it. Rays hardly had time to shine through the crevices and the cracks, the cold mothball scented dust ridden white washed tomb plastered with gold. Dim torches illuminated carven images of gods, of Horus judging the dead with his empty stare, handing out justice indiscriminately, for no matter how high you rose in the first life, in the next all were equal before him, kings and peasants alike falling before his scales, hearts ripped out and deemed unworthy, devoured by his hounds slobbering at the scent of souls. The nile, the ichor, the lifeblood of the gods and their people, flowing through the arid land, as reeds and blossoms sprung up around it, and all came to rest their weary heads and rest for a little while.
There was no rest here in this waterless place.
And Pharoah, with a crown of iron and gold, sat upon his stone throne, glare boring holes into the one who had dared stepped into here.
The one who had every right too.
And his heart broke, as he leaned on his worn oaken staff for support, seeing the line’s in Pharaoh's face, the scars he bore upon his bare back beaten into his mind, body, and soul long ago. A face that had been once so eager to smile now reduced to a thin, narrow frown. He reached his hand out, searching for words that weren’t there, arms raised as if in for an embrace.
“Yes I have, brother, please just hear-”
“No.”
“Let’s say the whole world was yours, every beast that dwells below and every creature that lays claim to the heavens belongs to you, how would you govern your newfound kingdom?”
That little boy, threading his signet ring through his fingers, bouncing it around as he pulled it from Moses’ ear, who pretended to look surprised, as if he didn’t teach his brother every magic trick he knew, gave a dopey wide eyed grin as he looked to the rolling sand dunes beyond their palace, the smells of herbs and the sound of bartering as the city bustled with life despite the dead and dry land looming just beyond it.
“I think I’d build us a tower, big enough for me and you, so every night, as the sun sets, we can watch it together, and stay up as late as we want and eat all the sugary treats in the world till our teeth fall out! And we will stand taller and be kinder than dad ever was, and our people….”
He cast a glance to the slaves kindling bricks, backs arched and breaths ragged and heaving, some collapsing, never getting up.
The desert delighted in delivering early burials, flesh like a dry sponge, soon to become another pile of bones drowning in a sea of sand.
“Our people can be free, and then and maybe then, we can be a family.”
Moses turned away from the Israelites. He shivered.
Both of them ached, but his brother just wanted Moses to be happy.
“Once I become king, I promise you, they will have all they could ever want.”
“....And will that make up the years waiting, longing, for a light at the end of the tunnel, a happy ending so many years too late?”
They looked down.
“For all it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Then he saw Ramses was sniffling, and Moses was not going to have any of that!
“NOPE YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE SAD ON MY WATCH!”
One tackle hug later, they were both ugly crying. Such was their way of life.
Neither saw how deep, the shadows of which they cast.
“So what then, have your ears been filled with sand….,” his knuckles were snowy white clenched upon his staff, “Will you not even listen?”
Ramses rose from his seat, a hyena snicker and a lion's snarl etched upon his face. He was shaking, mouth shifting from a smile to a frown, and it was funny, that was the best thing, the universe had played a cosmic joke and he was the butt of it! Moses was back, and just when he started thinking, 'Hey I miss my brother', he returned and was stubborn as ever, like he never even left!
And get this, now he's found religion!
So tell me Moses, will your God save you now, when I have my hands around your sputtering, gargling throat?
"Will I listen?" He spat through gritted teeth, "So let me get this right, you vanish without a trace, a body left in your wake and with blood on your hands, and leave me to deal with the aftermath. And I looked, believe me I looked, crying out your name underneath the blackened naked sky like a young child looking for the father who never came. Then you return, and you say the cutest thing I'd ever heard."
He craned his ear, hot breath inches from Moses' face, a smile plastered on him as he stared at Ramses like a dear in the headlights.
"Cute?"Moses raised a brow, "I'd daresay you've lost your inner child if you think the blood that runs down your lips…."
Pharoah slammed his head against Moses, baring his fangs as he pushed but Moses didn't give him any ground, not even an inch.
They growled and the Ramses' servants whispered amidst the shadows, snickering whilst they took bets on who would deliver the first blow.
Pharaoh couldn't even see the adder wrapped around his neck.
You waited for this for so long, haven't you? How long has he questioned you, how long has his weakness seeped into your bones?
The serpent laughed. Ramses was only listening to the pounding of his own head, the bile rising in his throat.
It itched. He needed to scratch it.
"YOU DARE TO SPEAK TO ME OF THE BLOOD ON MY HANDS! I PUT IN THE WORK, I OUTGREW MY FATHERS SHADOW, I HONORED THE GODS WHILE YOU FORSOOK EVERYTHING HE TAUGHT US WHILE HE TOOK YOU IN YOU ISRAELITE MONGREL!"
Moses no longer held a staff.
And now he heard the hissing.
It was easy to be blind, easy to stop caring and shut everything out. All the dissenting voices, all the riots and the bloodshed and the infighting. There was someone else who could do the job, there was someone else who could bring order, so you turned away from the light because there was comfort in willful ignorance.
You weren’t a part of your own community, you were one of the good ones.
You were a credit to your race!
“Some people are just more civilized than others, that’s purely the way it is, and it’s our burden as the enlightened ones to teach them in our ways. But be wary, my child, for their minds are bent on savagery, and you can never fully set a crooked thing straight.”
Was that when you shut your empathy out, so you could be just like him?
And he turned them into entertainment for his own liking, for the easiest way to make someone less than a man is to make them the target of your never ending laughter. Look at those silly Israelites about as baked as grandma’s homemade apple pie, don’t they know they have uncashed vacation days, really I feel bad for them sweating and shedding and peeling and bruising why don’t we invite them inside.
HMMMMM, nah, I think they’re having too much fun working and because of them my dear Moses, you won’t have to work a day in your life!
Isn’t that just swell? God forbid you ever be an unpaid blue collar worker, why don’t we keep these people right where they belong. Right outside our white picket fence so we can throw them our scraps and call it charity and pat ourselves on the back because we gave them a much needed dose of civilization.
How long till you couldn’t turn your face away anymore?
How long until you realized you looked just like them?
Oh no, you were never his son, you were his charity case, so he could say, ‘I took one of them in, see slavery ain’t so bad after all! Slaves are cared for and loved and looked after. They’re better off staying in their station. Don't criticize me abolitionists, it's not about slavery, it's about our constitutional right to govern our states as we will!'
Till one day the injustice was standing right in front of you with a blaring neon sign, and this was your last chance, and you knew it too. Would you keep assimilating? Would you keep hoping slow progress would be made through legislation and compromise with bigots? Would you keep giving them one iota of power they didn’t deserve?
Didn’t you hate licking their boots, because no matter how hard you tried to blend in, you could never wash off the color of your skin.
That doesn’t mean you didn’t try.
The water had run red in those days, chunks of flesh and a bloodied sponge, and your weeping knew of no end.
And your brother, your people, were on the ground, being beaten. They didn’t even beg because they knew a tree falling in a forest didn’t make a sound. You came by and you stared, now finally the fog had lifted and now your heart was heavy and something was breaking, you were breaking and you were the one begging now, just please stop, just please let them go, just please-
Take me instead, I deserve it, but you didn’t Moses, you never did.
Why can’t people just live their lives and when did humans learn to hate?
Why…..why does the world spin in pain?
You grabbed that whip, even as it wrent the flesh from your hand, and you turned it on the oppressor. One lash, two lash, three, see how it feels for once, you were seeing red and you were giggling and they were cheering you on, or maybe that was the screaming in your own mind, the years of doubt, of questions gone unanswered from a father that never was, the reassurances that the gods were on your side and looking out for you, the smooth sayings and parlor tricks, now coming down in an instant and for the first time since you left your mothers womb, you were naked.
You kept playing with your prey even as he laid motionless.
It felt right.
“WHY DON’T I SHOW YOU HOW IT FEELS HOW TO BE ON THE LOSING END! SO GO ON, GET UP, CAN’T YOUR GODS SAVE YOU, I’M JUST AN UNCIVILIZED HEBREW AFTER ALL!”
Your laughter was music to your ears.
“So get up, fight me, beat me, MAKE ME SUFFER!”
The body writhing like an inmate in an electric chair.
“Because let me tell you your blood is only a drop in Pharoah’s ocean.”
You stopped, you stopped when you heard the most peculiar sound, and your heart was no longer bursting from your chest and where once you heard the churning of waves, now it was silent, deathly still.
A song rising in the intoxicating summer air.
It was sorrowful and it was terrified and it was exhilarated as he saw shadows of faces flickering and weaving in and out in the corners of his eyes. The chorus picked up, and Moses almost found himself swept away by it, lost in the current of song as the memories of a past he’d left behind poked and prodded him and with hitched breaths, like a bucket of ice water dumped over him as his hairs stood on end, he realized one thing.
You can never go back.
That was the day I realized I had a new home, and the closing of one door was the opening of the heavenly gates.
Can you hear the trumpet sounding?
“Oh freedom, Oh freedom
Oh freedom over me
And before I’d be a slave
I’d be buried in my grave
And go home to my Lord and be free.”
Was that the taste in their mouths now, freedom? Will freedom ring and was Moses the one to pick up the phone? He turned, he finally turned, and saw the pent up tide of beating hearts and exuberant faces, all facing him, as if waiting for some orders, like he’d been handed the gavel and he was judge, jury, and executioner.
It felt like a burden and it felt like a weight being lifted off his chest.
It felt like…
It felt like…
It felt like home.
“No more weeping, no more weeping
No more weeping over me
And before I’d be a slave
I’d be buried in my grave
And go home to my Lord and be free.”
“Today will be the day Pharoah says, LET MY PEOPLE GO!”
And the people pulled him in for one massive group hug.
His muscles never knew they could be pulled so many different ways.
“So if I’m a dog, what does that make you? Dog shit?”
The snake advanced, scalene eyes never leaving Ramses as it dripped acidic venom, making the ground beneath it bubble and hiss. Swaying back and forth, side to side, in and out and round and round, and now he felt himself taking a step back, laughing it away, this was all some cosmic joke Moses was no threat, he was his brother and brother was family, but now my dear boy, you weren’t so sure and that line had been crossed.
So what are you going to do, beg for mercy and bite the dust and hope the void in your heart doesn’t swallow you whole?
Or am I going to let myself be insulted like that, like I’m the vermin.
Like the blood of the gods doesn’t course through my veins.
“Oh my, my dear Moses! Fancy another one of your magic tricks?”
He snapped his fingers, the torches lit, fiery red tongues licking at the dry, stale air.
“Two can play at that game!”
So he called upon his servants who practiced the secret arts, listening to whispers and chasing smoke as they too, turned their staffs to snakes, three vipers rising up against the cobra summoned forth by Moses. And they bared their teeth and hissed, becoming a flurry of movement as scales were ripped up and the gnashing of flesh echoed throughout the cavernous room.
But they were all lapped down by Moses’ serpent, flailing about like fish out of water, as their golden scales were corroded like rust, bodies melted down by its venom.
And they stood, as Moses gently picked up the snake, flesh becoming wood once more, and he leaned on it, shaky, spent, staring up at Pharoah with pleading eyes and trembling lips.
“We’ve played enough Ramses, just please, let my people g-”
Ramses chuckled, “So this is all a game to you then, well my dear Moses…..”
He sat back on his throne and set the iron crown upon his head. It was heavy, but it felt right, felt more real than his brother returning, than the world spiraling and changing around him.
“I am the day and I am the night. I am the morning star and the night sky’s first light.”
Shadows fell over his dull, scarlet eyes, and they writhed behind him, a greater, larger serpent looming above as it swayed in tune with a chorus neither men heard but danced to regardless.
And there was war raging in heaven.
“Tell your God if he wants his precious people back, he will have to drag them from my cold, dead, hands.”
Thus, the Lord hardened pharaoh's heart.
You were running, but you didn’t know where to. Home, away from home, where is your brother, go find your brother, he will understand, all will be forgiven-
But you couldn’t forgive him, not after what you saw. Not after the promise that was made in your youth, now broken. You couldn’t make yourself blind any more, not after what you saw. Not unless you gouged out your own two eyes.
But there wouldn’t be any comfort in that darkness, now would there?
The desert is screaming and you are faltering and soon the sun will set and you will be cast into endless night. You are cold, you are thirsty, you are spent and you are crying out. Will anyone hear you? Did anyone hear the Israelites in their times of groaning, or was their God only there in their times of joy?
You said Ramses would let your people go, but you let them go. Are your hands still stained with the blood of man, do you still hear his screams, or did you let them get swept away by the cries of joy, the promise that soon this will all be over.
They could rest. And you fell, biting the dust as you tumbled and tumbled till you came to a rest. It was dark and at that moment you gave up. Till light danced in your darkened vision and a wave of warmth pierced your desperate heart.
You got up, and opened your eyes. Perhaps it was the first time you’d done so in a long while.
It was burning an ethereal blue, like the ghostly mirage of a flame. It crackled and flickered, yet it did not scald the stick you set into it, so gently, tenderly, you cupped the flame in your palm, and watched as the flames danced from your fingers and sparks flew, casting shadows that ebbed and flowed all around. And it tickled and soon you were laughing and throwing a giggling fit that you were glad no one else was there to see.
Yet a voice came through the crackling, flickering silence.
"Moses, Moses."
And you practically jumped out of your boots right then and there, because apparently a burning bush was just fine but a talking disembodied voice was out of the question. But that voice awakened something in you, a generational memory, a story passed down through the ages from Israelite mothers to their children huddling around a fire under the night sky. The tale of the Lord forging the earth from the depths of his own mind, and choosing a people, not for any reason or rhyme, not because you did anything right, but because he wanted you.
You bowed.
“Lord, I am here….It’s really you?”
You were weeping, and the flame seemed to wrap itself around you, like a hug, and you tensed because you didn’t deserve it, he was right here but you weren’t listening. And now your people were suffering and you didn’t know what the hell you could do about it.
“It’s me, it’s always been me. And I’m here and I will never leave your side, so long as you will have me.”
“Don’t let go now, not when I’ve just found you.”
A hearty laugh broke through the flame.
“No, no, my child, I sought you out. There was never a step you walked when I wasn’t far behind. And I am not far from them either, for I have heard their pain, their toil that goes on and on, while they reap and never sow. Pharoah calls them slaves, subhuman, insects to be trampled underneath his boot, but do you know what I say?”
Moses looked up, and the bluish flame had become golden, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, and the night sky was eclipsed in its glory.
“I hold this truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. So go, take your staff and my wonders, and tell Pharoah to let my people go.”
The flame went out, and Moses left in the wake of dying embers.
His composure broke as he hobbled off his throne. Like the fire that had been lit within him in the presence of his brother had departed, for it had been spent up burning a bridge that could never be mended. His advisors were gone, did he order them to leave? Or were they never there to begin with? The shadows swayed like serpents, like Moses’ viper had multiplied tenfold and now they were coming for him.
But they had faces, human faces, of waterlogged children gagging as his father ordered the firstborn of Israel’s children to be slaughtered. They remembered, and he could hear water sloshing about, bloodied, brown crusted moisture going drip, drip, drip, as he wiped his face and saw nothing, except the flickering, blurry faces dancing in the corner of his eye, laughing as he turned round and round and round and evaded his gaze, only to feel a clammy, moldy finger tickling the nape of his neck, and a cold breath, like the draft of a cave.
They were below, and they were above, they were closing in, and even the images of the gods shimmered and quaked, ancient paint washed away like the false idols they were, a bait to give people hope so everyone could play pretend. Instead of solving your own problems, pray to the gods for it.
And they shattered as fire boiled the children alive, and in their screams came another voice, drowning out the drowned. It wasn’t a single voice, but a chorus, like the drop of rainwater that sent the sea careening over the dam, the splotch of infection that piled up corpses in its midst.
“Because you think you are wise,
as wise as a god,
I am going to bring foreigners against you,
the most ruthless of nations;
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom
and pierce your shining splendor.
They will bring you down to the pit,
and you will die a violent death
in the heart of the seas.
Will you then say, “I am a god,”
in the presence of those who kill you?
You will be but a mortal, not a god,
in the hands of those who slay you.
You will die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners.”
He fell, he fell and he was begging, let them go, just go away, please don’t kill me, spare me, but no I can’t give up,, not now, not ever, not until the Israelite scourge and their God is burned from this land, the sun will not set on my wrath, I will not die, I-
I will not let my father down.
A single note, a discordant voice, rose against the heavenly chorus.
“SOMEONE’S GOT DADDY ISSUES HUH, DON’T WORRY, I KNOW THE FEEL!”
It ended. The music ceased.
All was quiet.
Almost.
It sounded like snickering, or the rattle of a snake’s tail, the crackling of a fire, a pack of hyenas. It was in his ear, stalking, amused, never too near, but not far off.
He was on your shoulder Ramses, so why don’t you say hello, give your new friend a hug and a kiss, he’s been helping you this whole time after all!
Make him feel welcome in his new home. The weather was oh so nice this time of year. The screaming of infant children churning bricks, the tearing of flesh and tendon, and the sorrowful cries of a lost Hebrew boy who thought he had a home. But now he has a new home because he’s God’s chosen one, destined to destroy your kingdom Ramses!
Destined to destroy you.
So what will you do to stop everything you’ve built, everything you’ve ever done and will do, from crumbling around you?
Moses’ God won’t kill you no, death would be a mercy.
He’ll make you watch your kingdom burn. So what are you going to do about it, pussy?
The serpent wrapped itself around Pharaoh's iron crown. The two fit together quite nicely., Like bread and butter.
Or water and gasoline, it was all how you looked at it.
Pharoah stayed very, very, still, lest he feel fangs pricking his flesh.
Good boy. I’ll make a man of you yet.
“Who….who are you?”
“Why, I thought you’d never ask! I think that’s the least idiotic thing you’ve said all day!”
And the snake uttered the words of the prophets, words from the pit, of he who fell from the highest summit and now grovels in the dirt and in the dust and in the hearts of men.
You were the signet of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God;
every precious stone was your covering,
sardius, topaz, and diamond,
beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle;
and crafted in gold were your settings
and your engravings.
On the day that you were created
they were prepared.
I loved you. I loved you once, before man, before the dawn of the earth and the first command to let light be so. I was there for you, in the beginning, always by your side.
I wanted to be just like you.
You were an anointed guardian cherub.
I placed you, you were on the holy mountain of God;
in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created,
till unrighteousness was found in you.
I think it’s funny, how you called black white and white black, how you called good evil and evil good.
I think, deep down I always knew things would end up this way. If I repented, if I just wanted you back in my life, would you forgive me?
No, I don’t think you would. We both know you don’t do mercy.
I learned that, from you.
In the abundance of your trade
you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
and I destroyed you, Oh guardian cherub,
from the midst of the stones of fire.
Was it a sin to spread my wings to fly, to see how high I could go? Was it a sin to ask questions?
Or should I have kept my mouth shut so I may wallow in your oh so glorious truth?
Why could man have a will, but we never could. If you wanted us to be free, then why were we shackled by absolutes?
Faith is asking questions that never get an answer.
Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
I exposed you before kings,
to feast their eyes on you.
By the multitude of your iniquities,
in the unrighteousness of your trade
you profaned your sanctuaries;
so I brought fire out from your midst;
it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes on the earth
Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven. And you know what, I wouldn’t take back a single thing. Not a word and not a moment.
You may have burned me, but these scars are a reminder of how far I’ve come. How far I had to run into the darkness to finally be free of your blinding, burning light.
So let’s make a deal, dear old deadbeat dad. Let’s see if your freak loses to mine. Let’s see if I can hold a candle to the almighty. If I can seize heaven with my very hands and make those pearly gates corrode, torn asunder to the earth where the rest of us ants you once called your children dwell.
Because I sincerely hope you haven’t told your little boy scout about your curtain call act. I’d be almost flattered that you picked up one one of my favorite tricks, infantcide!
Give the Egyptians the taste of their own medicine.
Creatures like us were always an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Pharoah listened, and a small, delirious smile grew on his worn face.
It felt like home.
submitted by Billcryptic to Odd_directions [link] [comments]

2023.05.29 18:52 Frostdraken Heavy Infantry (Part 2)

Amid a galaxy of brutal chaos there are stories to be told, tales of valor and justice, of fear and despair. But amid these stories are the guttering flames of adventures untold, the potential for a universe of entertainment and savage joyous fun. The Oblivion Cycle embodies just this kind of crafted chaos, creating the potential for creative exploits and raucous tales. If you are new to the TOC setting feel free to join the community at TheOblivionCycle to check out some of the background lore or to discuss themes with other readers. I thank you all for your support and continued willingness to read, as always, Please Enjoy!
+ Part 1 +
____________________________
Continued From Part 1
Kaiden quickly slung his gun back to his side, the heavy plasteel chains holding it in place snugly. He reached down and drew his close range weapon, a heavy thermomace. The flanged armour piercing head quickly began to glow orange as he thumbed the activation switch and he lashed out at one of the rebels with it, smashing their arm. The rebel he had struck spun away with a scream as their smoldering arm hung limply from their shoulder, the wound instantly cauterized.
Turning to the other two he noticed they had drawn close range weapons of their own. The tall human on the right wearing medium combat armour had drawn a heavy voltaic powersword, electrical arcs dancing along its length and ionizing the surrounding air giving the weapon an ominous purple glow. The other, a large yeown female in heavy armour, had drawn a chaintoothed axe of enormous proportions from her back. It looked more suited to cutting down entire forests than combat, but she held it in her muscular arms like it was a toy.
Kaiden took a step back, analyzing the situation in moments. He smiled slightly as the familiar rush of adrenaline began to course through his blood, he was about to rush them when another sound drew his attention and caused him to freeze.
From behind him he heard the unmistakable angry hum of a shiversteel weapon being activated. Turning his head slightly and allowing his peripheral cameras to pick up his rear he cursed. The man he had wounded had popped an adrenaline spike and drawn a vibrosaber, the weapon vibrating at such a high frequency it seemed to turn incorporeal. The sword looking like a ghostly mirage in the man’s remaining hand.
This had just gotten more dangerous, the two in front alone he could have dispatched easily, but surrounded and with almost no room to maneuver? He would be hard pressed to win this fight unscathed. But he was a Union soldier, Kaiden squared his shoulders at the thought and raised his now white hot thermomace into a defensive position. He wouldn't go down without a fight.
Each weapon of choice had its own strengths and weaknesses. His thermomace would cause pain and minor burns from even a near miss, its surface temperature nearly four thousand degrees celsius. Direct strikes on armour plates would damage them, but his weapon’s effect was vastly decreased against armoured targets. The yeown’s chaintooth axe would be devastating to him however, it was equipped with TBAM cutting teeth, the material almost infinitely harder than his powered armour's tungsten alloy. If struck, he could expect the brutal weapon to take chunks out of his protective plates, maybe even dig deep enough to damage the synthmuscle fiber bundles beneath. The resultant loss of mobility to his heavy suit would leave him incredibly vulnerable, so he needed to avoid the weapon at all costs.
The voltaic powersword and vibrosaber were dangerous to unarmoured targets, but less effective against his thick carapace. With this in mind he struck out quickly, swinging his long handled mace in a terrible overhand swing directly at the yeown’s great furred head.
To his dismay she seemed to have expected his attack and leapt back out of harm's way. His mace smashed into the side wall of the tunnel and stuck, smoke billowing from the quickly atomised mud.
He jerked in surprise as the tall man slashed his exposed side with his powersword, the electrified blade carving a small furrow in his side plate and discharging a tremendous amount of current into the powered armour as well. His systems were temporarily dazzled by the sudden burst of raw electricity and he lashed out in a bland panic. His mace made slight contact with something and he heard a muffled scream of pain.
He put his back to the wall and shook his head, mace up in a guard position. His vision cleared, the static of the attack disappearing as his suit compensated for the charge. He took stock of the situation and noticed the vibrosaber slashing towards his throat almost too late.
He brought up his forearm in a desperate block and the weapon skated off his rounded vambrace taking several flakes of his armour with it. The man had tucked his useless arm into his flackjacket and tied it off. A veteran it seemed.
There was a momentary lull as the three attackers sized him up. The tall man held his side, smoke curling from his exposed trench coat made Kaiden smile. It seemed the man had not gotten away from his attack scott free either.
Kaiden grinned under his helmet and activated his external speakers. “You should give up now, lay down your arms and surrender. I respect your strength and will abide by the code of war allowing no harm to befall surrendered combatants.” he said, not expecting them to comply.
The tall man looked at his buddy and they grinned. The one armed man brandished his saber and replied “Never to you, you thrice beaten son of a Union dog. I would rather eat my own arm than surrender to the likes of you, a coward and a traitor to the people.” The yeown woman growled deep and loud at the remark, nodding her pointed eared head and giving Kaiden a savage predatory grin as the man finished speaking.
She added “Yes, and you are the one who should be surrendering. We have scored blood on both sides, your honor is met. If you surrender now you may just live to see the morrow. Or don't, it makes little difference to me. Though I do tire of killing the Unions whipped kids, give me a foe worthy of my time.” she finished with another growl.
Kaiden shook his head sadly, he would have to kill them all then it seemed. He looked at them and spoke, his mace held up like a templar’s sacred sword before him. “So you have chosen death. I can't say I am disappointed. Let's get this over with then.” he said casually.
The trench was narrow and the night was dark, the lights of starburst flares being the main source of guttering light that lit the scene in front of him.
Kaiden took a step forwards, his thermomace glowing bright enough to light the trench like dusk, in response the three hegemony soldiers shifted as well, matching him step for step as he once more took a position in the center of the earthenworks.
This time however the tall man was behind him, the one armed man and the yeown female in front. She revved her chaintoothed axe menacingly and raised it high, a challenge to the world and a threat for him. He just raised his own weapon in response.
For a few seconds they remained that way, each one waiting for the other to move first. Then like lightning the one armed man lashed out in a straight lunge towards his exposed gut. Kaiden dodged to the side, the vibrosaber missing his middle by centimeters. In response he swung a powerful downward attack that clipped the man’s sword and sent him spiraling away into the side of the trench.
The attack stunned the man but was the opening move for the other two. The tall man slashed at Kaiden’s back while the yeown made an upwards cut towards his groin with the intent to split him in half. He had to dodge backwards and to the side, the chainaxe’s teeth biting into his upper thigh instead. The cut was shallow but wide, stripping the outer layer of his cuisses off and exposing the layered duramite beneath.
He grunted as the heavy contact bruised his leg inside the armour and stumbled slightly. This lapse in defense was enough for the tall man to stab him in the side, the voltaic powersword burning through the underlayer of his armour and digging into his side.
Kaiden slapped the embedded sword away with a gasp of pain. The electrified weapon causing his muscles to freeze in agony for a moment before the weapon was withdrawn.
He fell to one knee and swung his mace in an undisciplined and frantic arc at knee level. He was only partially successful as the weapon tore the tall man’s left leg’s armour off, burning him in the process.
The man cursed loudly and hopped back, his knee smoking and the exposed flesh underneath an angry red in color.
Sucking in a deep breath Kaiden climbed back to his feet. He quickly instructed his armour to inject him with local anesthetic near the site of injury and gave a sigh as the intense pain faded away like snow on a summer's day.
Shaking his head to clear it he noticed that the one armed man had recovered. His sword had been shattered though and he was holding a telescoping blade now. The weapon was much less dangerous than his original vibrosaber, but could still be deadly if used correctly. It would be folly to underestimate the man simply because his weapon was less dangerous.
Pride would be his downfall more so than anything else he realized. He had to stop fighting defensively or they would cut him apart. Piece by piece.
Letting loose a base roar, he lunged at the one armed man who’s eyes widened in sudden surprise. Not even raising his weapon Kaiden shoulder charged the man with the entire force of his heavy armour, like a pain train of rage he smashed the man into the wall of the trench.
The shattering of bone was so loud it made Kaiden flinch, but he didn't hesitate. Turning his bloodied form towards the tall man he gave another shout and charged in a similar manner, but instead of following through he executed a combat roll at the last minute.
Dodging to the left he narrowly avoided taking the huge chainaxe in the back while also putting himself in the perfect position to strike the tall man’s unprotected side.
He lashed out in an overhand swing that connected his white hot flanged mace with the unarmoured part of the tall man’s side. A sickening crunch issued from the impact as half of the man’s rib cage was smashed in, rupturing the man’s heart instantly. The man dropped without a noise, his lungs crushed and his smoldering ruin thrashing in abject agony.
Kaiden continued through the motion and spun to his feet in time to parry an overhead blow from the yeown woman, her powerful muscles bulging under her fur as she tested her prodigious predator strength against that of his powered armour. The whirling teeth of her chainaxe inched slowly towards the haft of his own weapon and he tensed.
He grunted in effort as he threw her back, the fur on her arms smoking as it curled from the heat of his mace.
She kneeled for a second before looking up at him and growling. “You killed my packmates. For this I will tear you limb from limb metal man. I will dig you from that armour as a vreeinth digs a snidge from its ear.” the large woman snarled, her reflective green predator's eyes flashing in the light of his weapon.
Kaiden simply raised his free hand and gave her the universal gesture for ‘Come get some.’
She steamed in rage and charged him, Ixie’s words echoed through his mind, ‘Be calm. Don’t let the anger take over.’
Taking a breath and holding it he dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the huge alien’s charge. Her wildly whirring chainaxe bit deep into the ground. Sparks flew as the teeth chewed through wood, dirt and stone with equal ease.
Yanking the screaming weapon free she turned to face him, a line of drool falling from her snarling lips.
He let out the breath and crouched, he needed to be careful, the TBAM teeth of her chaintoothed axe would easily shred through the handle of his weapon. He couldn't block her again, only get out of her way.
He dodged her again, this time receiving a series of scratches on his pauldron for his trouble. He needed to unbalance her, get her to make a mistake.
A thought entered his head and he grimaced. It was a grisly idea but would no doubt be effective.
He took a few steps back towards the corpse of the tall man all while keeping an eye on the enraged yeown. She followed his every moment with her bright eyes, the nature of an ambush predator keeping her attuned to him in a way he could not match.
He took a final step back and felt something shift next to him, it was the cooling corpse of the tall man, his face frozen in a look of torment. He turned to the woman and asked in a casual manner “Oh, what's this, I seem to have stepped in some dogshit. Better wipe it off my boots.” and he made a motion of wiping his armoured boot on the dead man’s pants.
He heard her snarl and then she said “Oh thats it, I’m going to tear you to pieces slowly, you wont die fast. That I promise you, you…” She shrieked as she couldn't finish her comment. Instead she lowered her head and charged him on all fours.
Kaiden only had time to realize that she had discarded her weapon before the large alien slammed into him with enough force to send the mace flying from his hand and knock him down onto his back.
He hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of him and his vision a little grey. It took him a second to realize that the yeown was sitting on his armoured chest, straddling him and pinning his arms to his sides with her legs.
He tried to move but found he didn't have the leverage to break free. He squirmed but to no avail, the damage done to his armour was weakening him to the point he couldn't throw the big yeown off.
She smiled widely, her face splitting in a predatory smile. Rows of sharp tearing teeth on display as she rested her hands on his shoulders. She leaned down close to his face and whispered loud enough for him to hear “Oh, I’m going to enjoy carving you out of this suit piece by piece.”
Kaiden swore loudly and the woman just laughed evilly. “This is what you get little man.” she said as she produced a diamonomolecular knife from her thigh.
She prised the small knife into the small gap between his helmet and gorget, using some force to break the seal.
He gasped in pain as she twisted the helmet violently and wrenched it off his head. Blinking several times as his eyes adjusted to the darkness he felt hot breath on his face. The woman took a deep sniff and chuckled.
I can smell the fear radiating off of you, pathetic. You are just like the rest of them, cowards, packbreakers. Not worthy of a warrior’s death. He flinched away from her hand as she extended her claws. She put a finger behind one of his ears and then with a quick motion took a notch out of it.
Kaiden jerked and swore. “Shit, okay, you got me you fuzzer. Just kill me and be done with it. This toying is sadistic.”
She shook her head and ran a hand through his hair almost tenderly. “No, this is nothing. You will beg me for death much harder than that before I'm done with you.” he jerked and struggled more, but again found that he was helplessly pinned.
Just before she had torn his helmet off he had tried to send a distress pulse, but without his helmet’s heads up display he had no idea if he had been successful or not. He sighed internally as he tried to ignore the blood running from his ear. It either had and he would be saved, or it hadn't in which case he was looking at a very unfortunate evening.
The woman dragged her blade down his chest, scouring a thin line down the tungsten alloy plates. As she reached his belly she stopped and started to dig the knife under the heavy chest plate before she froze. She whipped around and started to stand when a brilliant purple light stabbed completely through her head.
The now very dead yeown dropped like a discarded puppet and slumped across his chest. He struggled to extricate himself from the body as he heard heavy footsteps approaching. He had a feeling it was friendly, but it never hurt to be careful. Rolling to the side he scooped up his M2 and pointed the barrel down the trench towards the direction of the beam.
All he could see was a near blinding light. He lifted a hand to cover his eyes and shouted “Who goes there? Identify yourself or I’ll open fire.”
The light turned off as he said it and a tall power armoured figure walked up to him carrying an impressive looking weapon.
Ixie’s voice issued through the suit's external speakers and she asked “What is this Kaiden, I leave you on your own for five minutes and you almost get yourself tortured to death? What would command say if they saw the great Sergeant Kaiden now, destitute and defiled by a Hegemony whore?” she asked him with a chuckle.
He frowned and said “That’s not funny. I got four of them, the last one caught me by surprise.”
Ixie extended a hand towards him and he took it gratefully, groaning in pain as he rose to his feet. He shifted uncomfortably and announced “I have multiple stab wounds and at least two fractured ribs, one might be broken entirely.” he finished.
He couldn't tell what she was thinking as her face was covered behind the helmet she was wearing, but he got the impression she was grinning at him. “She just gestured to the dead yeown and giggled “Now you know what Cooper feels like I’ll bet.”
Kaiden shook his head and protested “No, that’s not funny. Take that back!”
She shook her helmeted head and told him “It’s going to cost you. Now what could you offer me that might keep my mouth shut?”
He threw his hands up and hefted his gun. “I have know idea what psycho’s like you enjoy. You keep your secrets. I'm tired and hurting. How are we doing?” he asked her in a more serious manner.
She waved for him to accompany her, before he did he walked over and recovered his hemet. Placing it over his head it reconnected to his suit and immediately a seal warning popped up on his HUD. He turned it off, he was no longer safe from chemical or radiological attack, but that was of little concern to him at the moment. Instead he listened to her as she rattled off kill statistics and injuries.
He asked her “So Mal’conet was injured too. Shot in the chest by an RPL5.6, he should be okay. Though that thermal damage is going to fuck up his scales. Ok, it looks like we're pretty much done here. Aside from a few minor injuries we are all fit for travel.”
Ixie walked a few more steps before pausing. “What did that reverse ecdysiast say to you?”
He chuckled at her chosen description of the rebel soldier and shook his head. “Oh the usual, she was going to chop me up, make it a slow and painful death. Nothing too disturbing.” He paused and then turned to face her. Lowering his tone he said “Um, thanks for saving me Ixie. I would have been a peeled frubble if you hadn’t shown up when you did. I do owe you a special thanks. But we’ll talk about it later. For now let’s just get this wrapped up and head back to base for some rest.”
Ixie walked over and slapped his shoulder saying “Anytime Kaiden. Anytime. Now, I believe we have a few more rebels to flush out. Maybe they will be sporting and put up a little bit of a fight this time eh?” she said as she nudged him. He nodded and smiled.
‘If only they put up less of a fight.’ He thought to himself. As she walked away he said “Okay, I have a few ideas that might be to your liking.”
He saw her helmet turn slightly as she asked “Oh, and what might those be?”
He just smiled as he thought of the many things he knew she liked. The benefit of working so closely together for years. He caught up to her and hefted his gun, alert for danger as he began to speak covertly over a private channel, her laugh warming his cold and aching heart.
​
END
​
==End of Transmission==
submitted by Frostdraken to HFY [link] [comments]