#how to use large and small function in excel

[tanadrin]

Honestly, I *don't* want to mix things with proportional representation. I see proportional representation as an excellent way of increasing the importance of dealings between politicians and reducing the incentive effects of the voters. But in my ideal world I'll need to negotiate with people who do like proportional representation, and this system is a compromise I could get behind. Plus you can plug and play any three different electoral systems for different compromises.

First past the post is a bad, undemocratic electoral system. First past the post privileges large parties by making small ones unviable, and distorts the composition of parliaments by wasting votes. It can be gerrymandered in a way proportional representation cannot be. It produces highly unrepresentative outcomes. It is a bad electoral system! All good voting systems are to some degree inclined to more proportional results.

I've never heard the accusation that PR "increases the importance of dealings between politicians," but look. I don't know how else to put this. That is a stupid objection. Just absolutely boneheaded. You haven't thought about this at all, I reckon.

People hate on "politicians" as a generic class, but it's like hating on lawyers as a generic class. You need politicians. You want politicians. You want people whose specialized job it is to read legislation, fight about what should go in it, represent your interests, and come to balanced compromises about those interests. People percieve politics as messy, venal, and corrupt, and it can be all those things, but guess what? The alternative to career politicians is part-time citizens who don't know what the fuck they're doing, have no expertise in the legislative process, and therefore are at the mercy of lobbyists who can walk them like a dog because they're naive and inexperienced.

There's this especially (but not exclusively) American pathology that is a suspicion of government that works too well. This peculiar notion that if only we sabotage government a little bit it will keep tyranny in check and make politicians more honest... somehow. But filling government with random yahoos doesn't get you a noble collegium of Tocquevillian citizen-lawmakers, it gets you a pack of Marjorie Taylor Greens and Lauren Boberts. You know--morons. Americans will support all these ballot initiatives that fuck up government on purpose, like term-limiting legislators and keeping their salaries low so only rich people can afford to go into politics (and even then are only willing to do it as a stepping stone to other gigs), and vote for people who promise to make government work even worse by cutting the budget and lowering taxes, and then have the absolute gall to whine about how badly the government works. My fellow Americans, you did that on purpose.

(And there's this weird paradox where Americans all loathe Congress. Who keeps voting these creeps in? Well. You do. Congresscritters are generally pretty highly approved of by their own constituents. The stereotype of lazy, stupid, venal politicians always seems to apply to the other guys.)

And you will also note that since the abolition of things that used to facilitate deals between politicians in the U.S. congress--since the abolition of earmarks and chummy socials between congressmen and the post--generally, since the post-Gingrich upheaval in the House--it has gotten harder to pass even necessary, basic legislation, because it is harder to make the basic compromises necessary to keep government functioning. Having three separate legislatures that each can claim a different sort of democratic mandate isn't a recipe for good legislation, it's a recipe for paralysis and constitutional crisis.

[acti-veg]

hello, if you have time please could you respond to the Guardian article "If you want to save the world, veganism isn’t the answer"? thank you

Ahhh, her again. She does the same thing here as she always does, comparing realistic arable farming solutions to idealised animal agriculture which exists almost nowhere, and is how a vanishingly small minority of anyone’s meat, dairy and eggs are being produced.

She raises points that we are largely all already aware of, that crop farming can be harmful too, which of course also includes the crops that farmed animals are fed on. She touts the old fantasies of 'regenerative grazing' which is a contradiction in terms that has debunked many times over, perhaps most thoroughly in this report.

I think the best response though, is one from George Monbiot in his excellent book Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet. Monbiot knows Isabella Tree personally, and has done the maths on her own farm:

"Only when livestock numbers fall so far that their husbandry scarcely qualifies as food production is animal farming compatible with a rich, functional ecosystem. For example, the Knepp Wildland project, run by my friends Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell, where small herds of cattle and pigs roam freely across a large estate, is often cited as an example of how meat and wildlife and can be reconciled (..)"

"If their system were to be rolled out across 10 per cent of the UK’s farmland, and if, as it’s champions propose, we obtained our meat this way, it would furnish each of the people of the United Kingdom with 420 grams per head, enough for around three meals. This means a 99.5 per cent cut in our consumption (…) If all the farmland in the U.K. were managed this way, it would provide us with 75kcal per day (one thirteenth of our requirement) in the form of meat, and nothing else."

As you can see, this is pure fantasy. People point to examples like these despite them being almost unworkable at any kind of scale, and even in these idyllic, thoroughly unrealistic examples, animals are still being bred, exploited and killed unnecessarily.

Yes, plant agriculture has an impact too, but it is far more sustainable and less resource intensive, producing more food using less land. Even if you ignore animal rights entirely (as Tree always does), plant agriculture and alternative proteins are just objectively a better way to feed our population, which ever way you spin it.

[myalgicencephalomyelitiscfstom]

Summary that was posted on social media:

1) Here it is, our overview of the most interesting ME/CFS studies of 2024. If you think we’re missing an important one, feel free to post it as a comment below

https://mecfsskeptic.com/2024-looking-back-on-a-year-of-me-cfs-research

2) A recent preprint used data from the UK Biobank and showed that there are many differences in the blood between ME/CFS patients and controls. Their analysis suggests that these differences are not due to inactivity or deconditioning.

3) The Intramural NIH study did the most extensive set of biological measurements ever conducted in ME/CFS patients but because of the low sample size (n = 17) and focus on ‘effort preference’ it has mostly led to disappointment.

4) The MCAM study recruited patients from 7 ME/CFS specialty clinics and assessed cognitive functioning in more than 200 patients. Accuracy was relatively normal but information processing speed was significantly lower in patients versus controls.

5) This year, the largest study on repeated cardiopulmonary exercise testing in ME/CFS was published. Although there were small to moderate effects, there was a large overlap between patients and controls. It is unclear if this procedure can be used as a diagnostic test.

6) 2024 also saw two big rehabilitation trials for children with ME/CFS: MAGENTA and FITNET-NHS. Both had null results suggesting that GET and online CBT (FITNET) are unlikely to be cost-effective.

7) We also had a new prevalence estimate using statistics data for NHS Hospitals in England. Extrapolating the highest rates to the entire UK would mean that 390.000 people (0.585%) get ME/CFS in their lifetime.

A Norwegian study showed how wages dropped dramatically and sickness benefits increased before and after an ME/CFS diagnosis.

9) Honourable mention: following the tragic death of Maeve Boothby O’Neill, Prof. Emeritus Jonathan Edwards wrote a paper on managing nutritional failure in people with severe ME/CFS, including suggestions that can supplement the NICE Guideline.

====== comment: Another excellent blog from this account. Note that the social media summary only highlights a few of the many studies that are discussed in the post. Saying that, I didn’t find it overly long either. Highly recommended.

[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

Headcanon - Niffty held to Ransom

-----------

Niffty is taken by the Vees, in a post extermination bid to extort the Radio Demon publicly. Every audio-capable item in all of hell is just about annihilated with the howling explosion of sound that comes in response.

Husk is the one to grab at Al’s arm before the demon storms out to wage war, and manages to pull him back. Get him to think for a minute… yes, this was a sneaky tactic to incite him into starting the conflict, but… he didn’t have to go 1 vs 3.

Alastor stills, frighteningly so. Something in the glare passing between the sinners seems to… say something. Suddenly Alastor flicks out his left hand, manifesting the chain and twining it about the wrist there. 

Angel shouts, lurching forwards, but Husk isn’t responding with anger or horror. He’s almost grinning. 

Alastor raises his other hand, claws extended, and slashes down through the mass of chains and flesh of his left arm. Blood sprays up over the chains, Husk’s face and the collar… which shatter. [Get more creatively descriptive here etc. Explosion of power, a deal broken by the dealer is rare and chaotic.]

Husk’s power siphons back, and he can easily conjure his staff as a golden glow imbues around the restored overlord. Etc.

“Hmmm, one might say it’s only fair…” Alastor adds, and a few wisps of power transfer over in a shrieking mess from the bloody gashes down his arm, sinking into Husk. “I did promise some of my own power in our original deal.”

“Yeah, you did… so how about you let me get that for you.” He grins back, brilliant yellow light washes over the injury, patching it easily. “Gonna need both hands functional if you wanna rip the Vees apart as violently as I do. That girl might be fucking terrifying, but she grows on ya… and I don’t like that she’s within a few inches of that moth fucker, let alone the others.” 

Husk twirls his cane, the action natural even after all these decades, as the intensity of the emotions begin to build again. He and Al striding towards the door and barely holding onto a form small enough for inside use… 

Charlie blocks the door.

“Look, I know that the Vees are doing this whole calling out thing through the television and it’s not good, but you can’t just go destroy the city to get Niffty back. We can find a new way, a better one!”

“Charlotte… move.”

“Princess, this is… this is overlord business. You can’t be seen getting involved… and they all out declared war with that little stunt. I can get away with intervening because I've been under Al’s banner for so long that they’d expect it… but if you turn up, they’ll pull a hissy fit about royalty favouring the radio demon over them and some bullshit like that. Its political all the way down. So just move aside and let us go get our weird little lady back…”

The pair explode outside, and expand in form, describe etc.

Wading through the city and enjoying the mindless destruction they cause, eyes pinned on the Vee Tower. Where three large forms then appear. Velvette having Niffty spun tightly into a web of sharp filaments, to dangle…

Epic battle, snarky back and forths, etc.

They do win, but barely. Husk is delighted to kill Valentino with his bare hands, and Alastor eats Vox’s heart before the overlord’s screen shuts off… but Velvette, well, there was something about her that just didn’t sit right with them about mindlessly devouring. She was still somewhat new to hell, and the Vees had gotten to her immediately… maybe she could be changed for the better?

Ugh, Charlie’s nonsense was working on them.

And then there’s Rosie. Always excellent at sensing an issue, in full Overlord form and cheerful as she squares up to the little Overlord, (epic fight scene, end with her solidly beating the Doll and tasting her blood). “Hmmm, she was right Alastor dear, I could very well eat her for breakfast. Hah!” she recalls their first meeting with the little fashionista so clearly.

Niffty freed, checked on, she’s okay but actually frightened. 

They’re so preoccupied in the whole mess that it takes a long moment before the new souls they acquired register. Husk’s eyes widen. “No fuckin’ way…”

A bloody, triumphant and somewhat battered mess, they shrink down to regular size and shadow travel to the Hotel porch. 

“Hmmm, on a scale of one to ten…”

“Fifty.”

“Well that’s not ideal, is it sugar?”

Charlie is horrified at the violence, happy they’re okay, angry at the whole thing, and squeezing niffty so hard the maid's head might just pop off. Vaggie is furious and pleased… she’d wanted to do in Val for licking Charlie that one time… (and also what he did to Angel, but you can't go letting people know you care or they start wanting to be friendly and ugh).

Husk takes Angel aside and hands him his contract, letting the sinner tear it to shreds himself. He admits not really having any idea what to do with Val’s whole… enterprise, but maybe Angel might be a far more compassionate captain at the wheel, if he wants a job.

If, and its a big if, the Vees do reform at some point… they were bound to their conquerors, and Husk would make damn sure Val never went near Angel or the others the fucker hurt, again.  Things would change.

Alastor was also revolted with his acquisitions… technologically based as they were. Disgusting.

Only Rosie was delighted, as she was a fashionista at heart and did quite the good trade in boutique attire on the regular… 

Still, they were dripping blood and gore on the rug, for which they were told off. Sternly.

Time to come to terms with it or whatevs.

Two overlords vouching for the hotel, the vees powered down and competent assistancts taking over the companies for their new bosses… etc.

Maybe something about finding out where the old overlords ended up, reintegrating by forcing them into the hotel or something.

Lucifer is horrified to find all of his ad searches and commercials are now parenting courses, and doesn’t find out why for weeks. “Are you a depressed monarch who couldn’t parent to save his daughter’s life? Well, give us a call today!” 

“Who the FUCK is making these ads?!”

“Hah, well Dad… funny story but-...”

the King loses. his. tiny. mind.

+fit in the post adam harm and broken cane somewhere.

Flesh out better.

[molagboop]

After referencing numerous diagrams, avian necropsy records, and my own prior knowledge of human musculoskeletal structure, I have devised speculative anatomical structure for Chozo.

We'll start small with my first attempts to properly chart basic skeletal structure from last year (seeing as how that's what I used as a jumping off point), then move on to the research-based stuff. I wanted to walk through the process of solving problems presented by the skeletal structure.

First we have a cursory look at the ribcage. Drafted June 7, 2023. Leaning into the more humanoid appearance.

New addition, May 2024: a first shot at sussing out wing bones. These bones need to be much, much larger to accommodate the full breadth of the limb: this is just a rough outline. The skeleton also needs to bear muscles that are strong enough to carry the Chozo in flight, hence the new protrusion on the chest: a keel. Two variants of this new breast came out of this drawing session: one with a large keel that extends below the sternum and one with a normal keel.

Image credit: Wikipedia

Human ribcages have this ridge along the bottom that the last six ribs are attached to (noted in grey on the image above). We're not doing that with the Chozo ribcage.

The sternum is the structure in the middle, which the ribs are attached to. See those two bones attached to the top of each side of the sternum, stretching away from the center of the ribs and forming sort of a capital "T" silhouette? Those are the clavicles. When you're drawing any humanoid form, the clavicles are an excellent landmark (and as I've been taught, the first place you should start on anatomy after you've laid out your pose, armature, etc).

It's also part of why wings are so difficult to suss out on Chozo skeletons. In birds, a bone that consists of a fusion of the two clavicles is a crucial part of flight: the clavicle bridges the gap between the ribs and the arms, and for birds, the wings are their arms. That's problem number one: effectively consolidating two pairs of arms on one torso.

We have a few bones to add onto the human skeleton in order to make flight possible for Chozo. First, we'll assume all bones are hollow. This makes them lighter, demanding considerably less energy to lift them off the ground in the first place.

I've modified the sternum to add a keel, which the base flight muscles are going to be anchored to.

First pass at revising the skeletal structure. I made a few modifications unrelated to the wings. The pelvis is similar to that of a human, though a little wider to accommodate egg-laying. I may end up reworking the pelvis entirely to make it more bird-like, but I'm more interested in making those wings fit at the moment. Chozo have a human femur/patella, and avian lower legs.

Here's a thing I slapped together in 3 minutes in January of last year to illustrate which bones are where for the layman. Onto different matters.

Skeleton, labeled.

Generally, the wings' humerus is attached to the scapulacoracoid, a bone attached to the keel that's sort of Y-shaped. That's how a real bird's shoulders are structured. Humans posses a scapula (shoulderblade), which has two protrusions: the acromion process and the coracoid process. The acromion process is where our humerus joins the shoulder. The coracoid process in humans is not exactly big enough nor ideally shaped to anchor flight muscles to.

At first, I had three ideas:

Invent a new bone attached to the keel that serves the function of the coracoid.

Modify the scapula to fit a new bone that anchors the flight muscles (the scapulacoracoid is analogous to the human scapula, after all).

Forego the keel and invent a bone on the spine that does the same thing.

To start, I added the furcula, a Y-shaped bone on the sternum, flanking the keel. Fun fact: not all birds have a furcula (better known as the "wishbone" in some parts of the world).

Real quick muscular structure layout sans flight muscles.

First pass at the flight muscles. Not the most accurate wing muscles in the world (neglected to depict the muscles near the tip of the wing, for one).

In this model of the musculature, a good deal of the flight muscles around the breast and torso are hidden by the pectoralis major, much like several non-flying human muscles.

Flesh applied over muscle.

Feathers applied over flesh.

That was my first attempt at constructing the Chozo skeleton. You'll notice the wing bone solution is inelegant. See, wings are analogous to arms. Their metacarpals are finger bones. In order to give Chozo both arms and wings, we'll need to deviate from both avian and human skeletal structures to make the pieces fit together.

I can't make the flight muscles stretch comfortably over the clavicle: that has the potential to impede motion in the arms. My first idea in the second round of flight bone shenanigans was to invent a second bone that fit between the spine and the scapula, like shoulder-bound plate tectonics (working name "scapula trellis"). I wasn't wholly confident that I could configure flight muscles in a logical manner even with this setup.

At one point I consulted Raven Beak's model. Note the patches on the back of the torso on the powersuit: that's where the wings emerge in phase 2. It looks like they're anchored to the scapula or an adjacent structure.

Barring the fact that his wings are absolutely ridiculous, I wasn't sure I could work with this. Gorgeous structures, but the feathers don't seem big enough to handle flight.

So I was left to brainstorm, and drafted up a few sketches for a second scapula to anchor the wings' shoulder joints to. I was more confident in this than I was the previous design, but I wanted to fish for ideas from other parts of nature.

Enter dinosaurs. Specifically, the Pteranodon with its shoulder girdle.

The addition of a shoulder girdle as an anchor for the yardarm (the term I'm using for the humerus of the wing, applicable only to creatures that have both wings and arms) seemed like a better solution. Positioning it below the scapula allows me to place the wings a little lower on the back, providing minimal interference between the two sets of limbs.

Whether we're rolling with the shoulder girdle or a second scapula, the intended result is the same: the wings have moved down on the back of the torso (personally, I'm digging the girdle, but the second scapula is on the table if anyone else wants to try their hand at this).

Muscles from the back, illustrated. Note the distance between the deltoid (shoulder muscle) and the wings. The shoulder girdle is situated in the lower-middle of the back of the ribcage.

A few notes: the acromioecstasia exists because the muscle that usually connects between the body and the patagialis longus on real birds is located on the pectoralis major. If I emulated that, we'd have flesh crossing over the deltoid to reach the front of the body, which would obstruct movement of the arms. We don't want that, so I moved that section of the wing to the back. We're compensating by adding additional musculature up front.

Wing muscles from the front. All three pectoral muscles are attached to the keel. The pectoralis medius is an extension of the pectoralis major, running beneath it and several other muscles. The pectoralis minor (also known as the supracoracoideus) lies beneath both the major and the medius. The pectoralis medius and major are responsible for the downstroke, while the supracoracoideus raises the wing between flaps.

Flight is very taxing on the individual. Power suit wearers actually have an easier time flying than non-wearers because the suit passively offsets the metabolic demands of flight with its own Energy.

It's important to note that these sizes are not necessarily "to scale". Chozo wings should actually be much bigger than my canvas permitted me to show. I had to keep increasing the size of the canvas on one of my files to accommodate a reasonable wingspan, but even that's not broad enough! I had to stop expanding the canvas for the sake of my CPU. If any muscles look too dinky or the scale seems off on some bones, that's why: I just needed to swiftly illustrate where things are.

A Chozo's total wingspan should at least be twice the individual's standing height. Any smaller and there's no lift.

I still don't necessarily consider the wings "solved": if any speculative biology enthusiasts want to weigh in further on the subject, feel free!

After laying out the bulk of the skeleton (and before solving the wing problem), I decided to go a little further in my studies. Thus, we have organs.

First, the digestive system.

The esophagus is self-explanatory. Food goes in through the beak, traveling into the body through the esophagus.

The crop is used to store food: this is where digestion begins. Many parents regurgitate mushy, enzymatic food for their children from the crop. Very nutritious and promotes growth.

The proventriculus is the first half of the stomach: protein bonds begin to break down here. Gastric fluid produced here aids the gizzard in mushing things.

The gizzard is where the bulk of food-crushing occurs. Breaks larger matter down through transfer between areas within the organ.

The liver and gallbladder are crucial in digesting fats. Real bird livers have two lobes: the left is smaller than the right. Two bile ducts from the liver connect to the distal duodenum: the right duct is connected to the gallbladder. Chozo only need one.

The duodenum is the start of the small intestine, running in tandem with the pancreas. Pancreatic enzymes created by the latter assist in completing digestion, processing sugars, etc.

Digestion is finished in the other sections of the small intestine, where nutrients are absorbed.

Chozo kidneys largely resemble their human counterparts. Connected to the lower half of the gastrointestinal system. Urate is disposed of through the cloaca, transferred from point A to point B by the thin ureters bridging the kidneys to the large intestine.

Bacterial fermentation in the ceca extracts nutrients from plant material that can't be digested through enzymatic breakdown. The ceca and large intestine also reabsorb moisture, forming the solid portion of indigestible waste. The ceca are larger in tribes that eat more fruit and other plant products. Mawkin ceca are fairly small: they live quite an active lifestyle, and plant matter supplements their all-rounder diet with meat as the foremost staple.

The large intestine is the end of the line. Renal and intestinal waste is ejected here. The end of the reproductive tract forks to the distal segment to facilitate egg laying. Mammals have considerably larger large intestines than Chozo to dry out waste before expulsion.

Next we have the respiratory system. The trachea takes in air and delivers it to the lungs. Unlike mammalian lungs, Chozo lungs are inelastic: they don't expand and contract. The air sacs do all the expanding and contracting: they're connected to the lungs through a network of bronchii.

The high metabolic rate required for flight demands a ton of oxygen, and Chozo respiratory organs are designed to do just that. The mechanics are fascinating but I won't take up too much of your time explaining the finer points. Wikipedia's write-up on the circulatory system of birds is a good place to start if you want to dive deeper.

The short version is thus: air enters through the nostrils, traveling into the bronchi through the trachea and syrinx (the syrinx helps Chozo vocalize). The bronchi deliver air to the lungs. When Chozo inhale, the posterior and anterior sacs expand: the posterior sacs take in fresh air while the anterior sacs fill with air that has already passed through the lungs. Air is constantly circulating through the lungs, and it's a one-way flow.

Parabronchii are microscopic tubes that run perpendicular to the blood capillaries. Parabronchii efficiently diffuse oxygen from the air into the blood.

The next image set deals with a few extraneous vital organs. I'm not going to illustrate the nervous system nor arterial network, just as I neglected to illustrate all the bronchi in the respiratory system. That's a lot of tubes!

The circulatory system is pretty standard, but it pulls largely from Dread. Here's the thing: in the pre-boss fight cutscene for Raven Beak (aptly named 0086_comanderorbital_video_artwork_01.webm in the files), we see him contributing to Samus' biological makeup. His heart is set firmly in the center of his chest.

This is anatomically accurate to real birds! Bird hearts are placed similarly in the center of the chest, flanked by the left and right lobes of the liver (linked image is a labeled black and white illustration of a dissected pigeon, showing most of the major organs).

The brain is exactly what you think it is. No, the most interesting part of this last image set is the harus.

The harus is an accessory to the lymphatic system. You'll notice its proximity to the respiratory system. Lymphatic capillaries accompanying the parabronchi network filter more harmful atmospheric molecules into the harus, which makes use of specialized cells to recycle these molecules in a process that synthesizes ATP. In addition to this, the harus helps maintain the body's proper pH levels in hostile environments. This organ is what allows the Thoha to breathe in Zebes' toxic atmosphere.

Headcanon time: the majority of non-powersuit related genetic alteration done to Samus Aran in her youth is related to this organ: her respiratory system was altered with the proper instructions to produce specialized harus cells on their own without needing to transplant the organ. Samus can breathe on Zebes because her lungs can perform the function of the harus while she breathes.

Full-size pngs for everything are available on Ko-fi and Patreon. The canvas for this project was pretty big because I wanted to be able to capture the scale of the wings somewhat.

ADDENDUM, May 16, 2024: Chozo should have a modified pelvic bone that more closely resembles a synsacrum, not a humanoid ilium: I am a fool and completely forgot to make alterations in that department.

[crowwbones]

Burnt Leaves

Simon "Ghost" Riley x GNC Reader

SFW / Fluff & Comfort / No Dialogue / TW: Drug abuse mentions, mildly unhealthy coping with insomnia, one off-handed joke about dying

Summary: You deal with plenty of bullshit as is, and insomnia is just the straw threatening to break your back. You have your ways to deal with it, though. Seems like the skull masked lieutenant needs a new coping mechanism as well.

I may write more if people actually enjoy this, also i wrote this at like 3 am and i am dealing with insomnia myself, pls excuse if it sucks lmao

Being in the military was probably your best option. You weren't small or weak, you had quite a ways to go, sure, but you held your own. That's what initially impressed your training captain. You had a drive despite being depressed as shit. Which, maybe you lied to your recruiting officer. And the doctor. And your training sqaudron. But what's a little lie compared to staying in that drug den you reluctantly call home?

The harsh drills and tense, full body aching was nothing to you. Not compared to watching your mother be strung out on a stained, burned, broken couch while being left in the drug dealers care. Hell, or even when you had to help her find a dehydrated vein with a short and dull needle. Perhaps something that you considered a life saving skill, but it made you feel disgusting if you thought about it for too long.

You've been shifted around a few bases when you were needed, seeing as you were sort of an everyman. Excelled in the maintenance of weaponry, one hell of a mechanic, and maybe a few things you knew how to do that were definitely against the Geneva Convention. To be fair, though, if you had to decide between dying and using a makeshift gun that was severely out of regulation, you'd take your chances in court.

But all of this shifting around and half assed childhood you had lead to even more goddamn problems you didn't need. Often, maybe every few nights every single week, you dealt with insomnia. Bad weeks had you trying to fight the uncomfortable disorder every night, but you lucked out with having to deal with it half the time usually.

It was always so uncomfortable. The inside of your skin felt like it was covered in small pyramid-shaped cones that pressed into every nerve where there was pressure. Your eyes were heavy but never heavy enough to induce sleep. Your mind would never fog up the way it was supposed to. And it drove you absolutely crazy.

You had a few ways to deal with it, as most chronic sufferers do. Sometimes you accepted it and laid there until pure exhaustion won. Your worst option.

Most of the time, though, you'd already spent a few hours hoping, tossing and turning in restlessness before getting up. You'd lace your boots and try to walk it off. Speed up the exhaustion process manually. And it worked maybe 50 percent of the time. And you'd collapse back into your bunk, shoes still on and pillow over your head, and get just enough sleep that you wouldn't hate yourself in the morning.

And the nights that even that didn't work, you'd find yourself in the kitchenette of the rec area. You'd stare desperately at the coffee pot you were using to heat up water while you waited to choke down a bland, bitter chamomile tea. You couldn't stand tea on its own. You didn't have a sweet tooth, but you could accept when something needed a little bit of sweetness.

This often settled you down enough. The overwhelming tired made you cry in the barely lit room while your tea steeped, palms pressed into your burning eyes as you wished you'd just fucking sleep. And you'd stop. You'd drink your tea. And get enough sleep to function.

And you fell into this pattern and habit.

Until this one mother fucker.

See, you ended up being called in to aid in the upkeep up vehicles and guns at a fairly large base that served as home grounds to plenty of "real soliders". You didn't pay mind to many of them, but Captain Price's team at least treated you decently since you were the one making sure their guns jammed significantly less. However, Ghost creeped you the fuck out.

That teams lieutenant was horrifying to you. He stood way too tall, was way too broad to move that fucking quietly. He held this awful aura to him that was completely unreadable. And he barely ever spoke to you in a way that didn't feel like a back handed... well, you wouldn't even call them compliments. The man would stare more often than breathe, just watch you move about your job from the doorways and wait for you to notice he was there before declaring that he would have been able to kill you six different ways by that point. You've been able to get that number down to four, at least.

And for some reason. This also included your overstimulated and tired crying time at the coffee pot at 2 a.m. as well. It seemed like it was his third time just watching you when he spoke up for the first time, mostly just asking what the hell you were doing. You'd jump out of your skin, a blessing of a feeling if it didn't shoot unnerving shivers down your spine, and stammer out a half coherent response about tea leaves. And then he just... stood there. Watching you drink your tea and then leave after you were done.

At some point during this routine, he'd started to invite himself to sit across from you at the small table. He never really struck up conversations, though you swore you could see amusement in his eye as you made faces at the bitter tea. He knew you were burning the leaves, but he couldn't tell you that. Listening to another person rip into him about being British was very low on his to-do list.

This became comfortable. You began to tolerate his shadow-like presence. Maybe even enjoyed the silent company. You could guess that he was suffering the same just from how tired his eyes looked past the mask. Maybe he too found solace in a shared solidarity that you two really haven't expressed. It was bittersweet. Two barely functioning and sleep deprived people finding a space to relax, lit only by a half burnt out overhead lamp. Maybe, even if a bit selfishly, you had begun to go a little morr often judt for the company of a man you didn't know the actual name of.

Ghost never left before you, but only arrived after you began heating some water. He never had a cup himself, sat himself in the same chair, and limited himself to a handful of yrs or no questions a night. You didn't mind.

But he once again found a way to disrupt this routine.

You were reaching up to grab a mug from the cabinet above you, your other hand grabbing the coffee pot of hot water. You heard him move, which honestly should have been your que to turn around, and you felt him standing directly behind you. He covered your hand on the handle with his much larger one and practically forced you to let him grab the pot. He grabbed two mugs and moved off to the side, only meeting your eyes when you didn't move.

What ever fucking compelled him to do that, you had no idea. You were staring with bloodshot eyes and still even had your hand vaguely where the pot was. He simply nodded his head to the table and turned back to the mugs.

Guess you weren't making your tea? Deep down, thr angsty teen part of you hoped it was the forever sleep kind of deal. But that was dumb, so you shook your head a little to ignore that.

Ghost set your mug down on the table before sitting himself across from you, lifting his mask up enough to take a drink.

You've yet to see him do that, so your brain was just kind of off at this point. You stared, not that you meant to, as the man replaced his mask and set his mug down, staring back at you with a quirked brow. You looked down in a daz3 before grabbing your own mug, taking a long sip. Did he make a different kind of tea? Why the hell did it taste so... so much better? Your confusion actually earned you a small laugh from the other, a quiet, muffled chuckle from under his mask. That shouldn't have given you butterflies. He still scared you, after all.

He never explained himself, but from then on, you left the tea making duties to him and he didn't seem to mind. You fell into the pattern of getting there before your insomnia got into full swing every night, starting the water and getting the mugs. Then your midnight partner would show up and handle the rest.

As much as the mask gave you the creeps, it was growing on you. Like the previously bitter tea. 

[dinthoqaf]

Tell us about your guild? IC story/relations and members/roles as well as OOC information. Are they active? Recruiting?

Probably my favorite thing to talk about! Before I go on to explain anything about the guild, I do wanna say that I truly am blessed as the GM of the Sanctum. I was blessed in our first run-through up till we needed to take our hiatus, I was lucky as a GM when I opened up my Goblin Guild for a few years on @frostahesmegabite and I'm just as lucky with reopening it with a completely different crew. I've been blessed with great writers and even better people and it's only reinforced my opinion that coming back to Villian-based RP was a good idea. Now that I'm done fluffin' my folks (lol), I can answer your stuff for ya! Structure/Roles: The Sanctum of the Forbidden isn't an 'Open for everyone' type of guild. I'm picky on who we recruit, who we bring in character-wise, and how we go about things and that's for a large variety of reasons. The primary reasons are that the concepts of playing a villain tend to require an advanced understanding of story writing, and being able to work with the community you're both in and surrounded by (ie the guild and the public RP population). Structurally we go from New Bloods (New Members) to one of three groups, those being The Onslaught (Our Militant wing), The Shades (Think Rogues, Hunters, Engineers, Specialists essentially.), and Mystics (Individuals who excel at Magical Arts and/or Research). Most members never go beyond this as the next rank is the Inner Sanctum. This belongs to our Officer Core and there's 1 Officer per branch (Once we grow larger if needed, a new rank between that 3 and Inner Sanctum will be created for Sub-Officers to help officers work with their associated branches.) and then you have Dinthoqaf at the top. These roles do not dictate what events you can/can't do or anything, it's merely what your character would prefer to do work-wise, and if your character wants none of them? Then we'll go with what works best as we emphasize personal RP as much as possible over forcing a square peg into a round hole. (I should also add, we're neutral, so Alliance or Horde toons are welcome!) All in all, it's a pretty simple system. The guild operates OOC a bit more loosely however while I do make decisions on things that directly dictate the direction of the guild (final approvals like most GMs), I try to defer to the Inner Sanctum (Officers) in most other matters. Discussing issues, guild reforms on rules if needed, disciplinary actions on what's suitable, and things of that nature. When decisions are made, we go over them with everyone. At this point, we invite everyone in the guild (New Bloods too, even a brand new one.) to offer opinions and insight on the decision and to offer counters on whether they feel something is too strict and things along that nature. No one in the Sanctum is above reproach, especially myself and none of the officers are either. If they mess up, if they did something poorly, I want to know so it can be corrected and fixed. If -I- do something wrong, I cannot begin to fix anything if I don't know about it and I try to make sure all of my members know that they can discuss anything with me, even my failings, without the worry of reprisal. (And I know, it's easy to -say- that, but I try to make sure my actions speak louder than my words in this aspect whenever possible. Best example I have is just a couple weeks ago I made a small poll that offered complete anonymity on my performance and critiques on how people thought the guild was functioning and I've made it a point to adhere to that. No email collections made sure to keep reiterating no specific examples that would out someone, etc.) But I digress cause this is probably already immeasurably longer than you wanted! (Sorry! lol)

Recruiting/Recruitment? Yes, we're always recruiting as our most common method is through referrals/word of mouth. I do have a few discord ads floating around, but I don't like recruiting on the wow forums and I refuse to recruit through the wow public chat channels in-game (Trade, LFG, etc.). You will also catch us occasionally supporting WRA's in-game Guild Faire (Horde side currently till I can be bothered to make an Alliance toon to level and represent us with lol) to support server growth/rp! If you ever see any Sanctum members online and you have questions, give us a poke! Either we'll answer ya or if it's a non-officer, they'll poke/lead you to one of us for ya! :D Activity! Right now the Sanctum is going a bit slow. It's the holiday season. Most of our members have families (Kids, spouses, SO's, etc.) and hold full-time jobs and as some folks know, companies love Overtime this time of year but don't let that dissuade you. Some just have extended travel plans. We're expected to hit full speed on everything again as schedules return to normal in early to mid-January! Story Line? The Sanctum has its overall storyline, which is currently a 'holy war' between Dinthoqaf and his brother, Ammaelin, who absolutely hate one another. Dinthoqaf is making efforts to become a God (It'll never happen, promise. This story has been smoldering for 12 years now and Din will never get what he wants cause, come on.) and his brother stands directly opposed to letting it happen. Not because Din's a 'bad guy' (which he is tbf) but because his brother is just as much an asshole as Din is and believes that Din needs to be put down for the betterment of his family's history and future (That and the fact he's been wounded/humiliated by Din several times has nothing to do with it *wink wink*. Belf Paladin Pride, amirite?). The Sanctum is a core group of individuals who support and/or have belief in Din becoming what he aims to be in the desire that once he becomes this God, he'll cleanse Azeroth of its petty factional squabbles and make it a place where people such as himself and those who follow him will no longer be outcasts or shamed/hated by society simply for being who/what they are. (Essentially, he feels the Horde/Alliance are complicit in their powers and trample on people like he used to be and who he recruits and he is a power monger intent on ripping it all down.) We also have another big bad playing the bigger scene too on this war/rivalry, but, spoilers~.

People tend to join Dinthoqaf primarily because they hate the factions, because they're outcasts and need someone to help them survive, or they just don't know where to go anymore in life. Whatever the reason is, Dinthoqaf takes all willing to serve and aid his cause and becomes something of a father figure to all those who need it.

While this is our 'general' guild storyline, I keep the story relatively simple primarily because I emphasize and encourage personal storylines. Guild story is great, but you know what's more satisfying? Seeing your character -grow-. I'm a storyline whore like that. Dinthoqaf aims to become a god, yes, but I try to play him as a Support Role as often as possible. I want to help -you- build the stories you want to build, to help your character hit the next benchmark you want them to build. As much as I like to lead, I obtain my satisfaction as GM through being a tool to help you get what you need out of your RP. If you read all the way to this, you have no idea how much I appreciate you sticking it out. I have a lot to say but that's because of how proud I am of the community we've built. <3

[screenmobile]

Does a screened-in porch need a foundation?

A screened-in porch serves as a delightful extension of your living space, offering a harmonious blend of indoor comfort and outdoor ambiance. However, a common question arises: Does a screened-in porch require a foundation? The answer largely depends on the design and structural requirements of your porch. While some screened-in porches can be built on existing decks or patios, others may necessitate a dedicated foundation to ensure stability and longevity. It's essential to consult local building codes and a structural engineer to determine the appropriate foundation for your specific project.

Exploring Different Types of Patio Enclosures

When considering enhancing your outdoor space, it's beneficial to understand the various types of patio enclosures available. Each type offers unique advantages tailored to different needs and preferences.

Screened-In Porches

These enclosures feature mesh screens attached to a frame, allowing fresh air to circulate while keeping insects and debris at bay.

Benefits:

Excellent ventilation

Protection from pests

Cost-effective solution

Considerations:

Limited protection against harsh weather

May require additional maintenance to keep screens intact

Glass Enclosures (Sunrooms)

Constructed with large glass panels, these enclosures provide unobstructed views of the outdoors while offering protection from the elements.

Benefits:

Year-round usability

Enhanced natural light

Increased property value

Considerations:

Higher installation costs

Potential need for climate control systems

Retractable Enclosures

These versatile systems feature sliding panels or roofs that can be adjusted based on weather conditions, offering flexibility between open and enclosed spaces.

Benefits:

Adaptability to changing weather

Modern aesthetic appeal

Considerations:

Complex installation process

Regular maintenance of mechanical components

Lattice Patio Enclosures

Featuring a crisscross pattern of strips, usually made from wood or vinyl, lattice enclosures provide partial shade and privacy while allowing airflow and light to pass through.

Benefits:

Aesthetic appeal

Partial sun protection

Flexible design options

Considerations:

Limited protection from rain

May not keep out small insects

Key Considerations When Choosing a Patio Enclosure

Selecting the right patio enclosure involves evaluating several factors to ensure it aligns with your lifestyle and home architecture.

Climate and Weather Patterns: In regions with extreme weather conditions, durable materials and sturdy construction are paramount to withstand environmental stresses.

Intended Use: Determine how you plan to utilize the space—be it for dining, relaxation, or entertainment—to choose an enclosure that complements these activities.

Budget Constraints: Establish a clear budget that accounts for both initial construction and ongoing maintenance costs.

Aesthetic Integration: Ensure the chosen enclosure harmonizes with your home's existing design elements, enhancing overall curb appeal.

Balancing Cost, Materials, Functionality, and Aesthetics

Achieving the ideal patio enclosure requires a thoughtful balance of various factors:

Cost: While screened-in porches are generally more affordable, sunrooms and glass enclosures represent a higher investment but offer additional benefits.

Materials: Opt for materials that offer durability and low maintenance, such as aluminum or vinyl, without compromising on aesthetic appeal.

Functionality: Consider features like insulation, ventilation, and ease of access to ensure the space meets your practical needs.

Aesthetics: Select design elements and finishes that reflect your personal style while complementing your home's architecture.

Conclusion

Investing in a patio enclosure is a significant decision that enhances your home's functionality and aesthetic appeal. By understanding the various types of enclosures and carefully considering factors such as climate, intended use, budget, and design harmony, you can make an informed choice that brings lasting satisfaction.Ready to transform your outdoor space into a versatile and inviting haven? If you're in South Bend, consult with a reputable home improvement specialist to explore the best patio enclosure options tailored to your needs. Make a decision today that will enrich your living experience for years to come.

[elizabethemerald]

Summon the Cat: Part 5

Master post

It was hobby night in the Kyle household. The past two months had been wonderful for Selina. She had gotten Danny and Jazz enrolled in school under fake identities created by Oracle. She was delighted that both of them decided to take her last name. Danny and Jasmine Kyle. 

Without the pressure of their previous living situation, both kids were excelling. Jazz of course loved school and was happy and excited to be back. The fact that she didn't have to worry about her brother getting hurt by a ghost allowed her to top the school charts and get involved in the clubs she never had time for before. She also didn’t have to tutor to make sure she had enough money to buy food for herself and Danny, which freed up so much time. 

Danny was also doing well. It had only taken two conversations and one training session with him to realize he was neurodivergent just like Dick was. While Dick and Jazz had learned some coping strategies for how their brains functioned, Danny didn’t have those. So she paid extra for a tutor to help him learn those coping strategies. On top of that, Gotham Academy’s young engineer program was known worldwide for its incredible quality in hands-on learning. He was able to put the brilliant and creative mind that had helped him survive two years as the solo hero in Amity to more productive use. 

Even in the just two months he was there, he already had two patents filed. Selina was so happy for him. Being an astronaut was now probably beyond his reach because of his medical problems, but he could still help NASA and Star Labs with their space programs. If Bruce would finish up with his whining and complaining he would be a shoe-in for the Wayne Space and Aeronautics program. 

Of course Bruce was still at the height of his bitching and moaning about how Danny must be an otherworldly being that was trying to take advantage of her naivete. She wanted to shake him or slap him. Of course he was an otherworldly being! That’s what a ghost is, you idiot! But he’s not taking advantage of her, he’s being protected by a parent for the first time in his life, you obstinate prick. 

The two kids were still working through a lot of issues left over from their previous guardians. Selina couldn’t even call the Fentons “parents” in good conscience. Hell, they barely counted as guardians. The two of them still shared a bedroom, partially out of necessity due to the lack of bedrooms, and partially out of a desire to be there for each other when they had nightmares. Selina’s heart broke every time Danny’s screaming nightmares woke up the household. He had no shortage of nightmare fuel, from the ghosts he had fought, to the GIW, to what his own parents had done to him. 

Unfortunately, Jazz wasn’t immune to the nightmares either. Selina would often wake early to make breakfast and find Jazz already awake with dark rings under her eyes. Sometimes when Selina returned from her “evening work” Jazz would be awake and studying on her own, unable to fall asleep. She hoped that given enough time her kids would eventually be able to at least sleep through the night. 

It was in the effort of them recovering from the horrors they had experienced, that had them all enjoying hobby night. Harley and Ivy were with them as well, though the Bat girls hadn’t been able to make it, much to Jazz’s disappointment. Jazz was working in front of a large basin of water as she wove a small basket. Ivy was leaning over her shoulder and giving her directions as well as telling anecdotes about weaving plants together. Ivy’s plants were already in some cases stronger than steel, and when woven properly they could be strong enough to stop Bane dead in his tracks and even restrain Superman. Jazz laughed and said that wasn’t quite her interest, but it was nice that she could relax with Selina’s friend. 

Danny was playing with his ice ability, with Harley giving him suggestions on what to create. The Kents had given her the suggestion that allowing her son to play and normalize his powers was vital to keep him from suppressing his nature. So as Harley gave Danny suggestions and he laughed and shaped his ice to follow, showing how normal and accepted his powers were. It also helped train and improve his control as he made little icy music boxes and puppets. 

Selina also had her own craft in front of her. Part of the hobby night was not just a chance for all of them to hang together, but also a time to engage in each other’s hobbies. Danny and Selina had each made their own baskets, Selina’s ended up looking more like a bird’s nest, which had Danny floating in the air with laughter. Now she was working on a model of the solar system to enjoy Danny’s hobbies. 

She took a moment to look around at her, her friends and her kids surrounding her and happy. Now seemed the perfect time to bring up the topic that had been on her mind almost since the first night Danny and Jazz had slept over. 

“Since we’re all here, do you mind if we talk about something?” Selina asked. 

She couldn’t help a small flinch as Danny and Jazz reacted. She had tried to keep her voice uplifted and cheerful, but her two kids both looked like she was going to share bad news. Jazz had tensed, ready to move in any direction. While Danny looked like he was about to fly out of the room through the wall. Selina hated again what the Fentons had done to her kids that even a family conversation was such cause for concern. 

“I want to buy a new house where we all have our own rooms and space.” Selina said quickly to clear up the fear and confusion. “I’ve squared away my finances and done some research into homes.” 

Jazz relaxed a little and Danny at least looked like he was relaxing though Seline could see he was still ready to flee if necessary. Harley and Ivy looked up with confusion and curiosity respectively. 

“Ya want us to leave, ‘Lina?” Harley asked. 

“No, this is relevant to you too.” Selina said. “I was thinking that with the Sirens pooling our wealth we could get a larger place with more rooms for our interests.” 

“Oh that would be amazing!” Harley cheered. 

Selina could see Danny brighten at the idea, but also Jazz dim and start to withdraw. She wouldn’t allow that to happen. 

“Jazz, you and Danny will have your own rooms so you don’t have to share, but with large enough beds so you can if you want. You would of course have space for any baskets or any other hobbies or interests. Danny, you would have room to do your homework and store some telescopes. Then maybe we could have room for my after hours work and perhaps a greenhouse or some gymnastics equipment.”

Now Jazz looked happier and Danny had started floating up above the couch in excitement. Selina smiled and pulled out the packet of papers she had prepared and passed it around. Danny started flipping through some of the papers with Harley leaning over his shoulder pointing out the details of the houses. 

“Drake Manor? Are we looking at buying a manor house?” Jazz asked in confusion with one of the papers in her hand.

“What? Drake Manor-?” Selina sat up and leaned over and could see a pamphlet laid out in the exact same manner as the others she had created but she definitely didn’t choose that one. 

“Oh Ancients! We’re going to be fruitloops!” Danny said, then swooped over to Jazz and looked at the paper. “Wow, it's even cheaper than the townhouses.”

“Wait, really?” Selina stood up and looked at it and sure enough the manor next door to the Waynes was for sale at an incredibly cheap price. She looked closer and saw that the Manor was being sold by the owner, the Heir of the Drakes. 

Selina squinted her eyes for a moment before she smiled. It seemed Tim wanted his family close, even though it would piss Bruce off, or maybe especially because it would piss the Bat off. 

“Hmm. I must have missed the price when I put it in the packet.” Selina said, giving a meaningful glance to Harley and Ivy, who both smirk back at her. “Drake Manor might just be perfect for our needs, if that works for all of you.” 

[guardian-of-fandoms]

"This is him?"

"Yup..."

Everyone crowded around the bed, staring at the stranger in a mix of confusion, astonishment, and dread.

Doc stared at the cybernetic in fascination, then studied the charts.

"Incredible... While damaged, this technology is astonishing! Powered by the body's natural bio-electricity, INGENIOUS!!!"

Dani nodded, glancing back at the charts.

"Doctor Mcswain said his body produces an unnatural amount of it, though. From what he did to the traffic light, we know he can absorb power, would that explain it?"

"Excellent deduction!"

Doc nodded, carefully scanning the metal and wires.

"If my guesses here are correct, our visitor has some truly unique abilities! It appears that the Cybernetic's ability to absorb power converts it to bio-electricity, which our visitor requires high amounts of. Not only does he require high amounts of power to power the cybernetic, but it appears that his body has simply.... altered itself to accept this electricity as a natural function. This process would've taken years.... astounding..."

"And i noticed something else.... Shields, shooting electricity, Isn't that familiar? It's just like Cody- Our Cody's- Repulsor Badge... before it blew up, anyway..."

Doc nodded again, musing at Dani's observation.

"Interesting... By the laws of the Multiverse, anything is possible! Perhaps in this other reality, the technology was perfected, and never encountered the shortcomings it did here."

Kade scoffed, leaning against the door.

"Yeah, yeah, he's a cool science experiment. Look, Can we find out who he is or not?"

"Ah, right!"

Doc held out his tablet, and a small scanner.

"I'll simply preform a Biometric scan! If he really is a version of Cody, then in theory, he should match identically on a genetic scale."

Kade rolled his eyes, watching as Dani examined the stranger's gear.

"Let's just get this over with... Once Doc does his science thing, we'll prove once and for all that this guy isn't Cody!"

Dani examined the back panel of his armor plate, frowning as she stared at the engraving.

Like she'd spotted earlier, it was the insignia for the rescue bots, but something was off.

Going diagonally across the mark was a large crack, but not a real crack. It was clearly part of the design, but she couldn't understand why....

".... Whoever this guy is... it seems like he went through a lot..."

Charlie stared at the scars, at the damaged cybernetic, the signs of struggle and pain.

"... What happened to you..."

A small chime came from Doc's scanner, and he stared at the tablet.

".... I'll be..."

Wordlessly, he handed it to Charlie, who let out a long, slow hiss.

".... My god..."

It was a match.

Dani and Graham instantly leaned in for a peek, a similar shock washing over them.

"So... That's it, then? He really is a version of Cody?"

"It... It's a genetic match.... If the Biometric is accepting him, then... that means-"

"Absolutely nothing."

Kade threw his hands out, groaning as he pinched his brow.

"No offense, Doc, but your Tech's bugged out how many times now?! No, no, it's...... it's a fluke or something!! I've said it before, THIS. ISN'T. CODY."

"WHAT IS YOUR DEAL?!?!"

Dani groaned, pushing past Graham to jab a finger at Kade's chest.

"Even if he's not Cody, he's clearly in trouble and needs our help!!! Why are you being so hard on him?!"

"Needs our help?! Are you all forgetting that he attacked us?! No matter why he's here, we can't just trust him!"

"We should at least hear him out."

Charlie tried to calm things down, coming between both his kids.

"Listen. Doc, why don't you scan him a few more times, just to be sure? In the mean time, we can at least make sure he recovers from his injuries. Once he wakes up, we'll let him tell his side of the story, and decide where to go from there."

Dani and Kade couldn't meet the other's eyes, but seemed satisfied for now.

Doc leaned over with the scanner, musing to himself as he eyed the cybernetic.

"Incredible... such advanced designs... as well as ironing out the flaws in the repulsor badge...."

He leaned in for a closer look, and gently ran a hand over the shoulder, trying to take in the connective wires and delicate parts.

"Perhaps once he wakes up, I can asess the damage, and attempt base repairs..."

Doc gently grasped the damaged plating, as Kade shook his head.

"Sure, give the random guy his electricity powers back...."

Dani shot him a dirty look, and Charlie could only sigh.

"Look. We don't know what's going on here, but we're going to find out. we just need to-"

"AH!"

Doc suddenly yelped, and everyone glanced over, the stranger's left arm tightly gripping Doc's wrist.

Everyone tensed, as the stranger quickly sat upright, his eyes wide as he gasped for breath, whipping his head around the room.

"WHERE AM I?!"

Charlie ran up to the Bed, throwing his arm in front of Doc.

"Hey, hey, you're okay, you're okay. We're not going to hurt you, we took you to the hospital. You're safe here."

He gasped, but his breath slowly evened out, and he let go of Doc, the man wincing as he rubbed his wrist.

"Quite the grip..."

"Sorry... You scared me, Doc."

"You... know me?"

The stranger stretched out, examining the damage to his arm.

"Well, yeah, You look just like the Doc Greene from my world. You even have the same tie."

"Fascinating!"

Charlie couldn't help but chuckle over how quickly Doc bounced back from the scare, but leaned closer to the bed.

"Look... We need to ask you a few questions..."

The stranger sighed, rubbing his neck.

"I figured... But first, what happened to Morocco?"

"He escaped, but-"

"YOU DIDN'T TRACK HIM?!"

He shot up, sliding his legs over the side of the bed.

He could be anywhere by now!! Do you have any idea what he's capable of?!"

He attempted to stand, but instantly felt weak, his knees nearly buckling as Charlie rushed to steady him.

"We'll find him, I promise. But you're in bad shape, you need our help."

Charlie wasn't prepared for the darkness in his eyes.

"None of you are supposed to be involved in this. I came here for ONE JOB, and i FAILED. I have to find that... Monster... before it's too late..."

"Well, we're involved now, deal with it."

Kade glared, slowly coming closer to the bed, his face set in a deep scowl.

"Don't think for one minute that i trust you. I know sketchy when I see it, and I'm not letting you out of my sight. I want answers, so start talking."

The stranger was quiet, then slowly let out a dark, sarcastic chuckle, pulling away from charlie as he leaned on the bed's railing.

"Ever stubborn, Kade... You're just like mine used to be..."

"Used to be?"

Kade felt uneasy at that, as the stranger sighed, before looking around at everyone in the room.

"My name is Cody Burns. I came here from another Dimension, a reality parallel to this one. If i'm right, i'm guessing I ran into my dimensional counterpart already."

Kade's glare didn't drop, his eyes sharp.

"You told him and Frankie your name was Cole."

"It's best if they don't get involved. I feel bad for lying to them, but it's for their own safety."

"That why you kicked our butts earlier? For our own safety?"

"I was trying to keep you all out of this, I was just trying to keep you out of the way."

"If you know so much about us, then why don't you know that it's our job to get involved with this crap?"

The visitor met his eyes, a pointed, cold, sense of emptiness in them.

"Don't do that... Don't pretend you know me...."

Cautiously, Charlie gripped his shoulder, feeling a pang in his heart.

"... How old are you?"

The visitor looked surprised, hesitating, but sighed.

"... Nineteen..."

"Nineteen..."

Charlie studied him carefully.

Was this was Cody- his cody- would look like?

He was slim, but near Kade's height.

But despite the scarring, the damaged cybernetic, what haunted him most, was the emptiness in his eyes.

His Son's eyes, so full of life, so vibrant, so kind, were now dull, pained, haunted by a darkness Charlie couldn't understand.

... What happened to him? What happened in his world to cause such pain?

"... Son-"

His face changed instantly, and he quickly pulled out of Charlie's grasp, his jaw clenching as he hissed out a slow breath, his eyes meeting the floor.

"Don't... I'm....I'm not yours, I'm not your son."

Charlie pulled away, another pang shooting through his heart as his eyes widened.

"I... I'm sorry..."

The air in the room grew tense, a heavy weight hanging overhead.

All except Kade, who only narrowed his eyes.

"... Look, Uh... Kade has a point."

Graham nervously trailed his eyes to the floor, feeling everyone turn to look at him.

"I'm sorry, but, you can't take on your Morocco alone. You're hurt, and most of your equipment needs repaired, if not completely rebuilt. As the Rescue Team, it's our job to take care of emergencies, and i'm pretty sure this counts."

Dani nodded, adding,

"Yeah, Alternate Dimension or no, you're still a Cody, right? That means you're family, and family takes care of each other. You're going to need us."

"... You have no idea how dangerous the Morocco of my world is!"

Dani practically snorted.

"He's Doctor Morocco, we have a guess. And, maybe you should tell us, then!"

"Is he... Human?"

Graham reflected on what he's been in the woods, the monster of twisted metal.

The visitor only sighed.

"... I don't even know anymore. Doctor Morocco.... He had this obsession with... Immortality."

Dani only groaned.

"Is there a version of him that doesn't?"

"He was obsessed with living forever, keeping his mind perfect for eternity. Once he discovered Cybertronians... He got... Ideas."

He leaned away from the bed, now able to support himself, but unsteadily.

"After he learned about them, he was convinced his human body was holding him back. So... he decided to upgrade. He fused his immortality technology into a robotic body, and implanted his brain inside."

Jaws dropped, and even Kade looked surprised.

"... Woah..."

"All he is now is a ghost of what was. But it doesn't matter what form he takes. He's dangerous. And he needs to PAY for what he's done..."

The pain in his eyes sent a flurry of dark possibilities through the minds of the team.

He slowly rubbed his right shoulder, His eyes closing as he grasped the metal.

".... I promised i'd hunt him down to the ends of the earth. Instead, i followed him across the fabric of reality. I won't stop now. I won't stop until I tear him to pieces with my bare hands."

Silence rang out across the room, heavy and swallowing.

Everyone exchanged glances with one another, shock and horror filling them.

Despite himself, a dark, ominous feeling sank deep into Kade's gut.

The visitor took an unsteady step forward, his face dark.

"Got any smart comments about that, hothead?"

Kade was quiet for a moment, then shook his head.

"Just wondering what happened to you."

The visitor stared at him, then slowly, barked out a slow, bitter laugh.

"Sometimes, I wonder that too..."

Charlie awkwardly cleared his throat, trying to redirect attention.

"Anyways... What do you say? Will you accept our help?"

Charlie gazed at him softly, trying to sound convincing.

"I Promise. We'll do anything we can to help you catch him."

The visitor stared at him, then sighed.

"... Do i have a choice?"

He moved to the side, spotting his equipment.

"Seeing as I don't have a choice, fine. But let me make one thing clear. Morocco. Is. Mine."

Charlie nodded sollemley, and the visitor sighed.

".... So, what now?"

"First, we need to talk to Doctor Mcswain about discharging you."

"Wait!"

Dani suddenly remembered something, explaining,

"Doctor McSwain has him on file as a John Doe, she's going to need a name."

The visitor sighed, pulling his jacket on over his bandages, surpised that somebody had apparently washed the blood out.

"Look, to avoid any confusion with my counterpart, why don't you all just call me... Cole?"

Charlie nodded, handing over his chest plate.

"If that's comfortable for you, we can call you Cole."

"Thank you..."

He buckled his chest plate in place, but struggled, his cybernetic sparking as it made erratic movements.

"Here..."

Charlie held him get it in place, frowning at the massive dent in the front.

"Hmm... After we get your discharge in order, Doc, can you fix him up at the lab?"

"Certainly!"

"No, No, I don't have time!"

Cole sighed as he pulled away from Charlie, clutching his Cybernetic as he took a step back.

"I need to find Morocco as soon as possible!"

"And we'll find him. Alright... How bout this? Doc, Graham, you and Boulder take Co- Cole... to the lab, and get him fixed up, and find a way to take out this Alternate Morocco. Dani, Kade, we'll do patrols of the island, and see if we can find any trace of him."

Cole reluctantly nodded.

"Alright... I'll go along with this, for now. But the second you find anything, i'm handling it from there."

Kade scoffed.

"Oh, I bet you will, "Cole"."

"And here we go, classic Kade!"

"Oh, I bet you know all about me, huh?"

Cole took a heavy step forward, jabbing a finger at kade.

"Yeah, I do! I know you're an arrogant hothead, and you HATE accepting that MAYBE, SOMEBODY KNOWS MORE THAN YOU!"

"You know what I know right now?"

Despite the near match in height, Kade was just barely taller, and kept his tone even as he stared into "Cole's" eyes.

"I know a thing or two about putting on a phony Tough Guy act. And I know that if you storm out there like this, you're gonna get yourself killed."

"You don't get to lecture me.... You have NO RIGHT to lecture me."

"And why not?"

"Because I've survived this long without you!"

He cut himself off, his eyes going wide, a thin gasp escaping him.

Kade's eyes went wide, before he sighed.

".... We done here?"

The visitor clutched his arm, pain etched across his face as he turned his back.

".... We're done..."

The implications of his statement rang cold, and charlie rubbed his neck.

"... Kade... Take a walk."

Kade shrugged, then motioned to Dani and Graham.

"A word?"

They followed him out, and as the door closed behind them, dug a hand through his pocket.

"... So... I think that's telling."

"You were too hard on him."

Dani gave Kade a pointed glare, and he only sighed.

"We needed answers, didn't we?"

"I wouldn't exactly call those answers a victory."

Kade stopped, and held out his find from the forest.

"... He dropped this, earlier."

"Is that... a comn?"

Kade clicked it open, revealing the photo inside.

"He hollowed it out, like a locket or something."

"Woah..."

Dani gingerly took it from Kade's hands, recognizing the photo instantly.

"Isn't that-"

"Yeah."

Graham leaned over Dani's shoulder, frowning as he studied the device.

"I don't get it... why a Comn?"

"Think about it."

Kade leaned against a wall, his eyes trained on the comn.

"We use the comns to comunicate, to talk to each other. If this one wasn't getting it's intended use-"

Dani traced the photo, a dark realization clicking inside her.

".... Then there's nobody to talk to..."

Kade nodded solemly, and Graham clicked the comn closed.

"... I guess that's it, then."

"Wasn't that hard to figure out."

Kade took the comn back, his eyes softening as he glanced back at the door.

"I'm not saying i'm totally on board here, but... IF that really is Cody... Then there's no way any version of us would just send him on a crazy mission like this alone. At least...."

Dani finished the thought, slumping against the wall.

"... Not willingly..."

[inexdecor24]

Living Room Storage Bench – The Perfect Blend of Style and Functionality

A living room storage bench is more than just a seating option; it’s a multifunctional piece that enhances organization while elevating your interior decor. Whether you need a space-saving solution for small apartments or an elegant piece to complement your spacious living room, a storage bench is an excellent investment.

Why Choose a Living Room Storage Bench?

A living room storage bench provides dual functionality, offering both comfortable seating and ample storage. It is ideal for decluttering your living space while adding a stylish accent to your home decor. Here are some compelling reasons to invest in one:

Maximizes Storage – Perfect for stashing away blankets, pillows, books, and toys.

Adds Extra Seating – Ideal for accommodating guests without overcrowding the space.

Enhances Aesthetic Appeal – Available in various styles and finishes to match any decor.

Space-Saving Design – An excellent solution for small living rooms and apartments.

Types of Living Room Storage Benches

When selecting the best storage bench for your living room, it’s essential to consider the different types available. Here are some popular options:

1. Ottoman Storage Bench

An ottoman storage bench offers a luxurious and upholstered look while providing hidden storage. These benches typically feature a cushioned top that lifts to reveal a spacious compartment.

Best For: Elegant and cozy interiors.

Material Options: Velvet, leather, and fabric.

Ideal Use: Storing magazines, throws, and remote controls.

2. Wooden Storage Bench

A wooden storage bench adds a classic and rustic touch to any living room. With a sturdy frame and built-in compartments, it is a timeless choice.

Best For: Traditional and farmhouse-style interiors.

Material Options: Solid wood, engineered wood, or reclaimed wood.

Ideal Use: Storing shoes, books, and board games.

3. Upholstered Storage Bench

For a softer and more refined look, an upholstered storage bench is an excellent option. It combines comfort with elegance, making it a versatile addition to your space.

Best For: Modern and chic interiors.

Material Options: Linen, polyester, or microfiber.

Ideal Use: Extra seating and storage for decorative pillows.

4. Entryway Storage Bench

While primarily used in entryways, an entryway storage bench also works well in living rooms, offering a stylish yet practical touch.

Best For: Contemporary and transitional homes.

Material Options: Wicker, rattan, or composite wood.

Ideal Use: Storing shoes, umbrellas, and pet accessories.

How to Choose the Best Living Room Storage Bench

Selecting the right storage bench for your living room involves considering several key factors. Here’s what you need to look for:

1. Size and Dimensions

Before purchasing, measure the available space in your living room to ensure the bench fits perfectly. Consider whether you need a compact option for a small apartment or a larger bench for an expansive living area.

2. Storage Capacity

Think about what you plan to store in your bench. If you need a place to hide large blankets, choose a deep storage compartment. If it’s for smaller items like books and remotes, a shallow design may suffice.

3. Material and Durability

Choose a material that complements your decor and is durable enough for long-term use. Solid wood is robust, while upholstered options provide comfort but may require more maintenance.

4. Style and Aesthetic Appeal

From modern minimalistic to rustic farmhouse, there are storage benches for every design preference. Opt for neutral tones for versatility or bold colors to make a statement.

5. Functionality and Features

Some benches come with additional features such as armrests, cushioned seating, or divided compartments for better organization. Pick one that suits your specific needs.

Best Living Room Storage Bench Ideas

Looking for inspiration? Here are some stylish living room storage bench ideas to elevate your space:

1. Tufted Velvet Bench with Gold Legs

Perfect for adding a touch of glamor to a modern living room.

2. Rustic Wooden Storage Bench with Baskets

A great choice for farmhouse-inspired interiors, offering a combination of open shelving and woven baskets.

3. Mid-Century Modern Bench with Sliding Doors

A sleek design featuring a combination of wood and metal elements, ideal for contemporary homes.

4. Convertible Storage Bench with Pull-Out Drawers

An excellent option for maximizing storage while maintaining an elegant aesthetic.

How to Style a Living Room Storage Bench

A well-placed storage bench can become a focal point in your living room. Here are some expert styling tips:

Add Decorative Cushions: Enhance comfort and aesthetics by adding a mix of textured and patterned cushions.

Layer with Throws: Drape a cozy throw over the bench to create a warm and inviting look.

Pair with a Coffee Table: Place your storage bench opposite a stylish coffee table to create a balanced seating area.

Use a Tray for Organization: A decorative tray on top of your bench can hold candles, books, or small plants for an elegant touch.

Where to Buy the Best Living Room Storage Benches

If you’re ready to purchase a living room storage bench, here are some top places to shop:

Amazon: A wide selection of styles and price points.

Wayfair: Trendy and customizable storage benches.

IKEA: Affordable and space-saving options.

Pottery Barn: High-quality, luxurious designs.

West Elm: Modern and mid-century inspired choices.

Final Thoughts

A living room storage bench is a must-have piece of furniture that blends practicality with style. Whether you need extra seating, hidden storage, or a decorative accent, there’s a perfect option for every home. You can transform your living space into an organized and stylish sanctuary by choosing the right size, material, and design.

[acti-veg]

Hi hello! To be honest, I feel a little bad personally asking for your help, but your book and blog have been really helpful to me in the past and I can’t find anything anywhere else. I’d really appreciate hearing your thoughts on a certain argument I’m confused about right now. :(

Lately my non-vegan (vegan-curious?) brother has been asking me a lot of questions about the ethics of carnism. While I’m able to do my research on most of these questions, there are a couple things that I’m a little stuck on. If that’s ok, I’d really appreciate if you shared what you know and think.

He recently watched a video about how it’s possible to give animals better lives while still eating their meat (this one: https://youtu.be/5sVfTPaxRwk?si=dUOp_Y90ndWIFBK6 ) (I honestly disagree with A LOT of points in this video and I wish my brother watched a vegan documentary instead, but he’s just not really interested in those, at least for now) and now that’s exactly what he’s arguing for.

The obvious issue I see is that even in perfect conditions, it’s not possible to kill animals both painlessly and quickly enough to produce as much meat as we currently do for the same cheap price. Of course I believe that exploiting an animal for our benefit is STILL wrong (and horrible!!) in general, but that’s not really convincing to him. He doesn’t think there would be anything wrong with farming animals for meat/milk/eggs as long as each animal has enough space to free roam and has access to food and water, etc. I’ve found an extremely similar argument (“eating animals is justified as long as they are treated humanely”) debunked in your book, but I’d like to hear your thoughts about another part of it.

One of his main arguments (and the one I’m unsure about) is that if those animals lived in the wild, they would be killed by predators in much more brutal ways and wouldn’t live as long as they would in captivity, so being kept by humans could be beneficial for the animals too. The animals get to live a better life in captivity than they would in the wild while humans in return get to use their milk/eggs and/or meat. Therefore, being kept by humans is in their best interests. Of course in our current situation this is completely hypothetical, but he believes that this is something our society should strive for.

I just wanted to ask your opinion on this because I’m a little stuck. I personally understand that exploiting an animal would still never be ok in general, but other than that, how ethical would that scenario be really?

Thank you so much in advance! Also this isn’t really time sensitive so no rush. Hope you have a good day :)

Hey anon, I’m glad that my resources have helped you out. I’d be glad to weigh in on these arguments, no need to feel bad at all - it’s what my blog is for!

You’re right that it would not be possible to provide even nearly enough meat for everyone under a system like that - that makes the central premise of his argument false. There are farms now where animals are allowed to freely roam, they live longer than factory farmed animals do and they are in general treated better. I’ll quote from George Monbiot’s excellent book Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet on what that looks like:

‘Only when livestock numbers fall so far that their husbandry scarcely qualifies as food production is animal farming compatible with a rich, functional ecosystem. For example, the Knepp Wildland project, run by my friends Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell, where small herds of cattle and pigs roam freely across a large estate, is often cited as an example of how meat and wildlife and can be reconciled (..)’

'If their system were to be rolled out across 10 per cent of the UK’s farmland, and if, as it’s champions propose, we obtained our meat this way, it would furnish each of the people of the United Kingdom with 420 grams per head, enough for around three meals. This means a 99.5 per cent cut in our consumption (…) If all the farmland in the U.K. were managed this way, it would provide us with 75kcal per day (one thirteenth of our requirement) in the form of meat, and nothing else.’

Even under such a system, the idea that it is better for animals to be exploited their entire lives then killed for profit than to be free to pursue their own interests is wishful thinking at best. Most of them are killed when they’re not even adults yet, and that would remain the case under any system when meat is even close to affordable for the average person. It is not up to us to decide on behalf of billions of animals that it is better for them to die for our interests than to live and serve their own. It is just not our place to decide that. Most of the animals we farm also don’t (and can’t) exist in the wild either, so any argument about what they would experience there is a bit redundant.

The most relevant point though, is this: You can’t justify the actual based on the hypothetical. Even if this kind of system were viable at scale without massive land use, emissions and affordable only to the rich, that isn’t how meat and dairy is produced now. If this is the system that your brother thinks would make meat, dairy and eggs ethical, why isn’t he boycotting animal agriculture until that happens? I assume he’s eating the same factory farmed products from restaurants and the supermarket that everyone else is? Why?

“If we do X in this way, then X would be okay,” does not make sense as an argument to justify doing X now, when we are not doing it in that way now. If your brother earnestly believes that this is the way to make meat and dairy ethical, that means he is admitting that our current system is not ethical, and therefore, it is unethical for him to be buying and consuming these products now. It is nonsensical to justify an existing system using some sort of unrealistic, future utopia.

This is what you need to pin him down on. Dismiss any talk of how things ought to be as irrelevant and focus on what is the case now. This is not a hypothetical. When he eats a slice of bacon, it has come from an animal who has almost definitely been factory farmed, has lived a miserable, short life before having their throat slit for profit. Never mind what could be done, that is what is being done now, that is what he is eating. How does he justify that now?

[a-cupof-jo]

Play Action - Teaser

Football Player!Jung Jaehyun x Sports Analyst!Fem!Reader

Genre: grump x sunshine, falls easily x doesn’t know what love is

Warning(s): none

Teaser WC: 1.5k

Projected WC: 15k

Play Action Playlist

Part of the Picture Perfect Image Universe

Summary:

Jung Jaehyun wouldn’t know hard work if it slapped him in the face. He has an unnatural talent as a Tight End- I should know- but he has gotten off easy. So when a drunken night leaves his image in a lest-than-stelar light, who better to fix it than the Angel’s exclusive date-for-hire. I would not let myself be pulled into a football players life again, but Jaehyun makes it hard to stay away.

A/n: rough edit sorry :/

~~

I have loved Jeno Lee for 93 days. 

I love the way he makes me laugh and how he is always attentive to me. He never makes me feel bad when I don't want to go out or if I am feeling so overwhelmed with work that I can't make myself function properly. We weren't best friends, it was something different between us.

Mutual respect and appreciation drove our relationship. I could not put my heart in more capable hands. They were more competent at steering that bus than any other emotion I know. 

We were steady and knew exactly what was expected of each other. With him, I feel happy and in control of my life, of the future and what it holds. 

There weren't many times Jeno wasn't smiling, but I liked to think that I only added more joy and happiness to his life. I celebrate his victories and let him lay his worries on me.

Celebrating is what we were doing tonight. No matter how much I tended to avoid crowds and large gatherings, I would put on my brave face. This was important to him, and me, to us. Months had been put into this to make it possible. 

He wouldn't judge me for my tardiness- much. No one likes to admit their faults, but luckily when they are on display, you don't have to. Which is why I'm sure he already assumed that I was going to be late, but the street vendor had been busy and I couldn't resist the roasted pecans.

Adrian Young Memorial Stadium was magnificent. Tall pillars and exterior walls built of locally sourced quartz and the limestone exuded the quiet strength that came from the neighboring mountains. It held a long tradition of hosting some of the most spectacular moments of football history, a tradition that the Angel’s intended to keep. 

A long quiet hall greeted me as I pushed through the authorized personnel only hallway. It wasn't unfamiliar, but as I took in the boards boasting years of excellence and the man that made this team great it was hard to not feel small, insignificant. 

Glancing at my watch, my groan echoed around me.

It was official- I was the worst girlfriend ever. If I ever had any doubt before, it was now gone. 20 minutes late and showing up nearly empty handed to the biggest celebration of the last 20 seasons. 

Maybe nobody would notice the slightly disheveled woman racing down the hall. It’s not like I was an important figure that would be missed, not in a room full of professional athletes. Stopping where laughter and cheers spilled from the doors, I counted back from 10, pulling lightly at my shirt to straighten it. Calm, cool, composed, that was me. I was a woman that exuded confidence. They would not see me faulted. Which is why I decided that 5 more minutes without showing my face would be better than arriving looking like I had just been caught in a wind tunnel.

I wish I was one of those women who always had it together. They could run 5K and jump into a board meeting right after. These were the women that ran the world, and made sure everyone around them knew it.

The cool sink water trickled down my scalp as I worked to slick down the curls that had broken free of the updo I had twisted my hair into. Bathroom mirrors had a good way of letting me know that I looked worse than I felt. Splotchy red cheeks and a slight runny nose no amount of paper towels shoved up my nose would solve was really the look I was going for tonight. Thank you, January. 

Reapplying the light layering of makeup I had slapped on this morning didn't take long, but I couldn't convince myself to pull away from the vanity. My lipstick was perfect and not an eyelash was out of place, yet I couldn’t push away the gnawing that I would never hold up in the eyes of those in Jeno’s circle, in Jeno’s eyes.

“Come on, Y/n,” there was nothing to be worried about. Jeno would be patiently waiting, not worrying in the slightest that it would look weird that his date was missing. His teammates would be too focused on getting as much alcohol in their system in as little amount of time as possible. I would not be participating in that endeavor. Getting plastered in public is asking for something to go wrong. I did not need my image having “party animal” attached to it.  

“Who does he think he is demanding that I quit my job? That bag of shriveled up- oh,” wide eyes blinked at me as the door to the bathroom slammed open. The badge that hung from her hip confirmed that she was a member of the Angel’s team. If I remembered correctly, Marketing and PR, under that brick Vanessa. “Sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was in here. I find that venting is best performed in front of an audience and I thought that it was just going to be my reflection tonight But now you’re here. Do you mind? It’s just-there is this man that I was trying to help- if he would just let me, but apparently all my ideas are stupid and not worthy of a mighty Angel. See if I try to help him again. I mean what kind of person says that ” 

“You’re fine,” the timid smile I tried to give looked more like a grimace as I glanced one more time in the mirror. She had steamrolled me and there was not an inkling idea how I was supposed to respond to that. Rushing to the door I considered thanking her for finally kicking my feet into gear. Even if it was by the desire to get away from the word vomit she had thrown at a virtual stranger. “I am just going to leave.”

She cringed at me as if realizing her faux pas,  “Have a good night.”

I had to get out of there. 

Now I was definitely not running down the hall, but I could have broken the record for fastest speed walk I’m sure. So much for freshening up. It wouldn’t matter, most of the people I was going to be interacting with would not remember this night anyway. 

Pausing in front of the door, I tried to fix my face to exude happiness and openness. I was inviting. I was there to celebrate and have a good time. I would not make people think I was trying to escape the entire night.

“No,” the woman’s voice barely rose above the music blasting through the music. My stomach dropped at the panic lacing that word. “You need to stop. Don’t say it.” The cracked closet door in the hall pushed just farther open. If something happened to her then-

“What? You don’t want me to tell you I love you? I have been in love since before I had a name for the feeling I get in my chest when you are around. There has not been a time that I have not loved you. You must see that.”

Blood rushed to my ears as I approached the door. Fear poked the back of my skull and my throat went dry. 

“Jeno,” my heart sank as her voice cracked. “I can’t”

“Why?” There it went. My heart shattered on the floor, stomped on by a man who loved someone else.

“There are so many reasons! Your job and reputation, mine, the fact that you have a girlfriend!”

"She's not you!" Heat raced up my chest and ignited in my face. My chest heaved as I pulled in a wet breath. I watched, aching, as he leaned forward, cupping her cheeks, “She’s a fake girlfriend. You know that Y/n is a fake girlfriend. She is a friend. All I see is you.” 

Right. 

Fake.

As I wipe at the tears that have pressed at the corners of my eyes, I spin away from the door and scowl as I come face to face with Jaehyun, the Angel’s laid back Tight End and one of Jeno’s closest friends. 

I would not look foolish in front of him,  getting teary-eyed at the knowledge that my fake boyfriend loved his social media manager. Look him in the eye, raise your chin, don’t let it wobble, keep your feet straight and limbs loose. I knew about this, Jeno has not taken me off guard. I would convince myself of this and Jaehyun would be none the wiser.

“Excuse me,” voice clipped, I pushed past the man that towered over common-folk. “I have a party to be attending.”

Finally pushing through the doors a grin presses at my teeth and I mentally correct my mantra for the night, reset my racing thoughts and remember that I am there for one reason.

I have faked being in love with Jeno Lee for 93 days and everyone was going to believe it.

[softhuntersseo]

Basic Steps to Build Your Shopify Website — Softhunters

Shopify makes it effortless to set up an e-commerce website. Even a novice user can accomplish it in parts. Shopify is because of its friendly design coupled with powerful features; Shopify is one of the most widely used e-commerce platforms by both small and large businesses. Some of the services they offer include customizable online store templates and effective payment gateways. Shopify website design company can create a strong online presence if they sell tangible products, services, or even digital items.

Read More :- https://softhunters.in/basic-steps-to-build-your-shopify-website/

The Shopify store is simple to use, allowing you to run your business without requiring extensive technical knowledge. This blog post will enumerate the fundamentals of creating a Shopify website.

Creating a Shopify Account

The first step in growing your Shopify store is to create an account. To try this, visit Shopify.com and click on the “Start free trial” button in the top right corner. Then, offer your e-mail address, password, and store name.

The store name will initially function as your number one domain. After developing your account, Shopify will ask you some questions about your business. Fill these out and click on “Enter my store” to proceed. This initial setup system is designed to be short and clean, allowing you to begin building your savings properly away.

Establishing Your Shopify Store

Once you have got your account installation, it is time to configure your keep settings. Access the menu on the left aspect of your Shopify dashboard, which incorporates hyperlinks to all of your save gear and features. Use the settings button at the left to set your keep name, time quarter, forex, and other number one settings.

This step is essential as it inspires the way your shop operates and how clients will perceive it. Make certain all information is correct to ensure easy operations and compliance with local regulations.

Selecting A Theme

Your themes control the presence and design of your site. To select a theme, go to the “online store” in the sales channel in the left sidebar, and then select the theme “Theme.” Some free themes are available for your use in Shopify, and you can also visit the theme stores for the paid ones.

Choose a theme that fits your brand and niche. Check reviews to determine if they can serve your goals and be supported by any additional features you want to integrate in the future. The subject should appeal to the eyes and provide an excellent user experience to maintain customers.

Including Products and Services

Now that your store displays as you want it to, it has time to populate it with your products. Return to the Shopify Admin Dashboard. On the Left Menu, click “Product.” To upload a product, click “Add the Product”. You can include the title, description, price, images, and additional details per product.

Ensure to categorize your products using collections or categories for easy visibility. This is essential as it will directly impact your sales and customer satisfaction.

Be sure to detail product descriptions and use high-quality images so buyers can make quality purchasing decisions.

Personalize Your Theme

Once you have chosen a theme, you may use it to represent your brand in a more customized manner. To try this, click on the “Online Store” tab, after which, at the theme you have selected, hover over it and click “Customize.” From the left-hand equipment inside the editor, you can regulate hues, fonts, and layouts. You also can add or delete sections.

Customization is crucial to making your save stand out and mirror your emblem identification. Ensure that your design stays consistent on all pages so that you can give it an expert touch.

Pages Setup and Content Preparation

You can create additional pages for your website, furthermore, your products. The same applies to the ‘Contact’ and ‘FAQ’ pages — a setup guide and live builder are available. For sharing more details regarding your brand or products, blogs can assist you in promoting the business and help in audience engagement. Also, every content must be created in a manner that makes the customer confident and loyal towards the brand.

Instructions for Setting Up Payment Options

If you want to sell, you need to select a payment option first. Under Settings or Setup Guide, scroll to Payment. Log into your cash account and choose Shopify payment or any other provider if you wish to use PayPal.This is essential to ensure the payment setup works properly and securely. It also determines whether you can process transactions and get paid directly.

Sourcing Suppliers and Additional Funding

Reexamine yourself. What is the profile of the partner you want to work with? In what manner do you intend to work with them? When looking to outsource, do not run away from your network. Existing contacts are the best place to start with a Shopify web development Agency. Easy deals and fewer problems are sometimes discovered just one step away.

Additionally, analyze what you can do within a certain budget. Let’s take a more realistic view to ensure you can achieve practical things and trace the path to interesting opportunities within a budget.

Additional Suggestions for Achieving Success

The following tips can aid in improving your Shopify store.

Establish A Brand Style Guide

Create a general style guide rule document comprising typography, color scheme, and logo style for your brand before commencing the designing of your website. This will help in maintaining said standards throughout your site and marketing resources.

Think About Store Layout

Always keep in mind customer trust, aesthetics, and mobile devices when it comes to modern e-commerce design principles. Launch with a minimum viable product (MVP) and refine through the feedback of your customers.

Make Use of Shopify Apps

There is a suite of apps available within Shopify that can assist in improving features within your store. Consider apps that can enhance customer satisfaction, bot automation, and revenue generation.

Blogging on The Shopify platform

Shopify enables users to store blog posts so that pre-approved content can be designed and managed within the store. This could generate traffic and keep customers engaged.

Conclusion

The process of building a Shopify store is a straightforward one and can be achieved in various stages. With these tips and regular improvements in your store, you can make a successful online presence and build your business accordingly.

Always pay attention to the identity of your brand and the experience of customers for long-term success. The best web development company is always present to provide you with all the support for your Shopify website.

[geekysolution]

Get the Best Company in Delhi — Geeky Solution

In today's fast-paced digital world, businesses must stay ahead of the competition by leveraging the latest technology and innovative solutions. If you are looking for the best company in Delhi to handle your tech-related needs, look no further than Geeky Solution. With a strong presence in the industry and a reputation for delivering top-notch services, Geeky Solution is the go-to choice for businesses and individuals looking for exceptional IT solutions.

 Why Choose Geeky Solution?

1. Expertise in a Wide Range of Services

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4. Use of Latest Technologies

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Getting started with Geeky Solution is a hassle-free process. Here’s how you can collaborate with them:

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Final Thoughts

If you are looking for the best company in Delhi to handle your web development, app development, digital marketing, or IT consulting needs, Geeky Solution is the perfect choice. Their expertise, customer-centric approach, and commitment to delivering high-quality solutions make them the ideal partner for businesses looking to thrive in the digital landscape.

[definesanity]

Sit Back, Relax, And Enjoy The Chaos

The battle raged as usual, although Baiser was having fun.

Oh, she's always having fun, but ticking off Sulfer was a fun past time.

The rage in her eyes was always so delicious...

But what came out of her mouth definitely made her think.

"It used to be easier, damn it!" Sulfer shouted, as she broke through the glass Baiser summoned in front of her. "If it wasn't for you, we'd be able to do things BETTER!"

Baiser paused. 'Is that so...'

"Fall back."

"Eh?" Leopard paused mid gunshot.

"Fall back." Baiser repeated herself. "That's an order."

Everyone looked confused, including Tres Magia, but they vanished into a portal.

A grin was on Baiser's face that made their skin crawl.

---------

They sat at the table, the grin now a smirk as Utena rested her hand on her hand.

"Any reason why we retreated?" Nemo asked, looking at her phone. "It's unlike you."

"I was just thinking: I want the Tres Magia to grow, and for us too, via battles and learning. So I thought, after Sulfer's comment, why not put it to the test?" Utena then clasped her hands together. "The idea is simple."

Everyone leaned in...

"We take a break."

...And they blinked. "Eh?"

"Think about it!" Utena became animated and excited, standing up and walking around the table. "They don't realise they have to think when fighting us, to use their abilites, to keep them in shape! By laying low, we allow them to realise and become more on edge, allowing us to reenter the picture with renewed vigor!"

She sat back down. "So! Thoughts?"

Everyone was in a thinking pose, sans Korisu, who was playing with her teddie bear, and Matama then spoke up. "What are we going to do? And for how long?"

"At least a month, and... I guess, just hang out? Go about our lives?"

"...Mm." Korisu nodded.

"We are in favour?" Utena asked. Hands raised. A smile. "Excellent."

----------------------

Two days down. It seemed the confusion started...

But Utena doesn't know what to do.

She was wondering aimlessly, when she thought of something: She had Tanaka's phone number...

"Hello?"

"A-Ah, Tanaka, hello..."

"Utena." It was curt. "Why are you calling me?"

"Long story, s-sorry... but, I currently have nothing to do, everyone else is enjoying their time off, and..."

A sigh was heard. "I'll text you a place I know. Don't worry, I'll be there. Until then."

She then hung up, and left Utena to look at what was texted.

---------------

One hour later, and she and Tanaka sat down at a table in, of all places, a jazz bar with dart boards and pool tables. No one else was around them, thankfully, allowing them to quietly discuss what Utena did.

By the end of the story, Tanaka looked surprised, but also oddly... proud, looking?

"You must have quite the large amount of patience to see this out." she commented, drinking from what Utena recognised as Leitz Eins Zwei Zero Riesling. Zero alcohol, and an alternative to wine.

She was bored one night and needed something to do. Looking up drinks was what she chose to do.

Erstwhile, Utena simply had a Shirley Temple, a none-alcoholic cocktail. She gave a small drink of it, and answered back to the former villain. "It's been hard already, but I need to see it through... if not for my sake, then for those three."

"And after you have waited?"

"I'll make my reappearance and see if it has worked or not. Then, business as usual, heh..."

Tanaka took a slow sip of her wine, enjoying it and the jazz playing. "There's more to you just inviting me, isn't there?"

"Perception is a strong suit, huh...?" Utena rubbed the back of her neck. "Basically, I was thinking: If another force, like a monster or a Magical Girl or something like that starts to fight us, we need to make sure we can cooperate better. Sure we can work together, yeah, but actually functioning? It's something I want to test if it's possible..."

"...Starting with the one who caused you a lot of agnoy which you dealt back at me." the woman finished. She then sighed. "Fine. I'm in."

Utena gave her a thumbs up in lieu of a verbal reply.

---------

"Alley-OPP!"

Imitatio gave a yell as Magia Baiser launched her into the air, but she quickly held her greatsword to her chest, as requested, and fell back down.

"DON'T FUCK WITH THIS MAGICAL GIRL!" Baiser then delivered a swift kick to the Magical 'Girl's blade, launching her horizontally and quickly, and Imitatio then simply cut down the mannequin Schiavo Baiser had made just for the attack.

Halting her movement by sticking the sword into the ground, Imitatio then nodded back at Baiser.

This could work...!

-----------------------