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leam1983 · 2 years

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Razer Blade 14 - Thoughts

Specs before anyone asks:

AMD Ryzen™ 9 6900HX Processor (8-Cores /16-Threads, 20MB Cache, Up to 4.9 GHz max boost) with Radeon™ 680M Graphics.

Windows 11 Home.

14-inch FHD 144Hz, 1920 x 1080. ...

NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3060 (6GB GDDR6 VRAM)

1TB SSD (M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4)

Actual thoughts below the cut. Send gamer hate at [email protected]

So. It, um, certainly is a laptop. At fourteen inches, it's just about comfortable enough to sit in someone's lap, assuming you're not looking to kill your cojones by sitting cross-legged through a maxed-out run on Cyberpunk 2077. Not that you could, it's only got 6 GB of VRAM and the onboard RTX 3060 draws a ton of juice. You'd be lucky to get an hour at 1080p Medium. Being a Ryzen lappy, it also doesn't support Thunderbolt, so you couldn't exactly turn it into a hybrid system by plugging in a docked GPU while at home. Your only other option is the humble 6900HX's onboard Radeon graphics, which are, well...

Calling them limited by today's standards would be fair.

So why the fuck did I buy that? Because I'm an adult, and I need something with a screen and a keyboard that can follow me. The Steam Deck's great for my Linux needs and it still is my contender for actual portable gaming, but I've increasingly found myself getting shipped around the city to deal with sales reps directly for the sake of my job, and dealing with a car dealership's Sales Director typically means waiting. Waiting quite a bit, at that. If I'm told to sit around a break room and wait above ninety minutes, I'm getting comfortable and getting some work done.

All that, and the fact that I already have a decent gaming PC. I don't need the new portable hotness, not when gaming at work would get me fired, and not when I'd be liable to wait for a hotel room or some other accommodation to consider loading up a Skyrim save away from home.

On the plus side, the USB-C ports are decently zippy and allowed me to tether to our single Windows server rack quite comfortably.

You're not here for Adult Shit, though, any old croaker can run some form of a word-processor or an office suite. In terms of performance, the onboard RTX 3060 outpaces my housebound RTX 2080 in terms of raytracing capabilities, but has less of a texture buffer. Warhammer 40K: Darktide runs with all its bells and whistles cranked to High on my main rig, and with ray-tracing turned off. On my laptop, my single Darktide run yielded a steady 60 FPS at low-to-medium details, with a few ray-tracing elements turned on. Considering the type of game this is, it's really an "apples or oranges" sort of deal. Crisper details you won't really slow down to look at, or deeper shadows? Take your pick.

The same goes for Cyberpunk 2077, with things improving if you step down a notch and consider older titles. FarCry 5 is amenable with the 3060's lean VRAM budget, as is Assassin's Creed Odyssey - everything gets cranked up with no complaints other than the cooling array's incessant whining.

Therein lies the one reason why I think even gaming laptops should be seen as a stopgap for when computers aren't available: heat transfer. If you're the type to pack a gamepad while on the go, odds are this won't concern you. If you're hoping to tackle an FPS or a Management game, however, odds are you'll quickly realize how toasty your hands and fingers can become. Over time, the resulting feeling can be quite uncomfortable. If you've gone for one of the pricier Blades or any other laptop with an Intel CPU, you've got access to Thunderbolt 3 and as such, could reliably dock the machine and use it as a hybrid rig, thereby negating any heating-related issues. As this is quite the commitment - and a pricey one at that - it's almost more worthwhile to do what I've done, and to invest into a mobile gap-filler.

Do I like it, though? I'll answer like a boring adult man nearing his forties and say that it does what I need it to, without looking like your typically cheap ASUS Aspire build. It's utterly quiet unless taxed, seeing as the 6900HX covers both processing and video display as long as low-effort jobs are presented. You can set it to consistently default to the snappier RTX 3060 if you absolutely must get that high-frequency Refresh Rate feel even while working on someone's Sales portfolio, but then this adds a consistent low hum to the overall use experience. I like the idea of knowing that my laptop's GPU is effectively turned completely off until taxed. In an office, not being known as the one guy with a jet engine of a notes-taker feels particularly good.

As you'd expect of Razer, however, very little is serviceable or upgradeable, with the onboard Wi-Fi suite and default audio and video drivers absolutely requiring the presence of a default, factory-flashed recovery partition. Delete that, and your custom Windows install is going to get unpleasant really, really quickly. I've also attempted to use one of my old Windows 11 serials to upgrade from the default Home Windows fork to the Pro, and it seems as though this particular Home license key is linked to the recovery partition. I can change OSes at will, but doing so will require that I invest in a USB-to-Ethernet adapter first, to work around my lack of an onboard Ethernet port.

Small ray of sunshine, though - remove six tri-wing screws as well as the backplate itself, and you get access to the one and only serviceable component, which is its SSD drive. The M.2 slot could theoretically accept any size of drive whatsoever, but the Blade 14's confines are so tight that tests show chipsets going above 2 GBs will bend slightly when screwed in. The one source I checked who tried it with an obscenely-priced 8 GB stick from Sabrent claims the laptop still works fine after several weeks, but I wouldn't expect them to maintain their optimism once a chip's solder pads pop off. The safest bet would be a simple 2 GB stick, with anything higher perhaps requiring a little bit of literal hacking to raise the stick while somehow making contact with the port's pins.

My thinking is that I could perhaps find an M.2 riser cable, if those do indeed exist, snip it down to barely an inch, solder its other connector end back on, using that to connect with a high-capacity double-sided NVME drive I'd have stuck to the backplate proper with a combination of thumb tack and electric tape. Problem solved, I think - only I'd be unable to touch my laptop's backplate without burning my fingers.

At that point, you have to question who really needs 8 GBs of storage on a laptop, of all things...

I'm more than satisfied, all things told - except perhaps with that dreaded Razer tax. It's almost worth it, seeing as a few gaming-related stickers got the office's Apple cultists to ask me if I'd just gotten a vintage MacBook. Cover up the three tangled snakes and it certainly passes a cursory inspection.

#IT post #tech review #razer blade 14 #thoughts #windows #linux #laptop #gaming #productivity

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ajmmorg · 2 years

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gzbanana · 2 years

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kirindensetsu · 3 years

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The Making of Fubuki

((Reposting from Den of Angels workshop thread because I wanted my friends to be able to see~))

After years of pining after dolls I couldn't afford as a broke teenager, my first BJD was a Bobobie Sprite I purchased for my 18th birthday. Unfortunately, she didn't live up to my expectations and I never really bonded with her. Her face was cute enough, but the Bobobie body lacked the grace and posing ability I imagined for the Unseelie faerie I'd been daydreaming of for years. Sueding and wiring didn't help, blushing and tattooing highlighted her blockiness, it was a mess. I packed her away and tried not to think about my disappointment for 12 years. In the meantime I learned to build and paint resin garage kits, inherited one of my sister's dolls, bought some others, took anatomy & physiology in college, and did a couple extensive restorations and full-body modifications. I was sure I had thrown her away at some point as a failed project, but last weekend I found her tucked away in a doll bag I thought was empty. Having just finished substantial mods on a Dollshe body, and awaiting an unfinished Unoa kit for my birthday in September, I decided that I owed it to her to try again. Doll nudity below the cut, looooong post--

My Sprite was originally going to be a pooka with golden eyes and extensive woad tattoos. The golden eyes are incredible, so those are staying, but she's now going to be a blue oni to fit in with the rest of my collection. My plan is to do extensive additive epoxy work, and then to use Krylon Fusion to give everything a unified finish. The goal of the project is to reduce the... idk, STRAIGHTNESS of the old Bobobie body. I was never going to be happy with it, the lines were all far too rigid.

Head: Modified mouth for a wider, smirking smile. Magnets added to headcap (old Bobobie used an S-hook iirc; I did this part back in 2008). Forehead drilled for 3mm brass rod armature, and epoxy used to sculpt horns over rod. Bust: Substantial subtractive modifications to breasts, which involved removal and readdition of nipples. Addition of epoxy clay to back and shoulders to give a more curved body line in profile. Deepening of shoulder sockets with 18mm eye bevel, followed by sanding to make shoulders narrower. Waist: Reshaping of upper torso joint into sphere for smoother range of motion. Subtraction of resin in back and addition of epoxy in front to enhance lumbar curve. Hips: Substantial reshaping of lower waist seam to more naturally follow the pelvic girdle. It reminded me of granny panties before Added epoxy to butt, again for lumbar curve. Thighs: Suwariko joint mod (cut the thigh and added a PVC insert to enable swivelling at the hip). Added epoxy to make her thighs look less straight. Calves: Removed 1cm of length at the ankles and rebevelled the socket. Removed resin at the ankles to bring them in, and added epoxy at the calves to make them curvier. Feet: Sculpted little claws, which were cute, and then decided the feet needed to be 5mm longer. Cut across, drilled and pinned with brass rod for structural strength, gap filled with epoxy clay. I also modded her feet to have defined arches and balls back when I first got her. Alas, spitting into the ocean. I added S-hooks, but did so by drilling the ankle and inserting brass rod to form the axle for the hook. Arms: The proportions on her upper arms BOTHERED me! they were so SHORT! and I only just figured out that's what I hated about them last week! I added 5mm to the upper arms by cutting them in the middle and using SteelStik to make a structural repair (plumber's epoxy putty has a shorter open time but far greater structural strength than artist's epoxy clay). Sanded the heck out of the wrists to give them a more delicate taper. Hands: Beyond salvage. The hands were my least-favorite part of this sculpt. I tried to bulk them up to look less spidery but it was just too difficult... I've ordered a different pair of MSD hands which will have claws added, and then when everything is painted it'll all match. Thanks for reading this far! Here's a preview of what her golden eyes look like next to Krylon Fusion in Antique Blue.

((first progress post)) I think I'm mostly done adding epoxy clay (at least where it'll show; presumably the wrist sockets will require tweaks to fit the new hands), so now it's time for finish sanding. I start with 60 grit for shaping, then switch to a 120 grit sanding sponge. To check for scratches, pinholes, and inadequately feathered edges, I apply a wash of diluted acrylic paint. Once the paint has dried, I scrub the piece with a nylon scouring pad. Paint remains in the surface irregularities.

All sanded with 220 grit. I don't think I'll be going higher than 400 because I want there to be some tooth for the paint.

Any pitting in the epoxy clay that can't be sanded out is marked with a Sharpie and will be patched with Tamiya spot putty.

I did a test spray of the Krylon Fusion on the headcap and it's fantastic! Holy cow is it *poisonous* tho, I'm used to working with volatile chemicals but this was something else. Get OUT OF THE AREA between coats and leave it outside until it stops outgassing, not just until it's ready to handle.

This test piece is four light coats sprayed 1 minute apart, allowed to cure for 4 hours, and then wetsanded to remove the spray texture. It's pretty sturdy but I will wait several more days to see how it continues to cure before experimenting with matte sealants. ((progress update 2))

Haven't done much but sand-and-fill-and-sand-and-fill, but my 14mm beveller came in today so I can start deepening her elbow and ankle sockets. Added some epoxy clay to the insides of the eyewells so 14mm eyes will fit with no gap. I need a needle file to clean up the corners of her mouth... Monster feets! Nails on the right came out better than the left, still need to feather-sand everything.

Elbows progress. The early Bobobie elbows are I guess /technically/ double-jointed because the joint is a sphere with two slots, but I thought I could do better than that. You can see epoxy clay spliced in to make the sphere into a peanut: this isn't a structurally sound repair unless you pop it apart and drill/pin/glue-epoxy it back together.

View from the back. By keeping the joint heads spherical with no elbow-shaped detailing, there's some rotation as well as flexion, which I like.

Touching her face with one of her old hands. I hope the new ones come soon!

((progress update 4))

In good news, these parts are all ready for paint! It's really hard to do prepwork with no filler primer, hope I didn't miss any spots...

In less good news, her new hands arrived and they are... very smol ;u; I forgot that the new trend for slim minis means that everyone has TINY LITTLE HANDS.

They are, however, beautifully sculpted and a good 3D reference for what needs fixing and how. Bobobie palm is very short relative to fingers: I made a transverse cut behind the knuckles and added epoxy to lengthen More curved volume across the back of the hand: Not necessarily realistic, but looks a little cuter, plus it makes the transition into the cylinder of the wrist look less stylistically jarring. More defined joint angles: Some of these I did via cut-and-thermoform repositioning, mostly I'm aiming to fake it by building up and carving away at the weird smooth curves. The fingers are just TOO SKINNY: But obviously I'm not going to squish rice-grain-sized blobs of epoxy to the fingers, right? It's too fiddly, it doesn't want to stick. What's the solution? Brace for a truly hideous WIP image--

"AAAAAAGH WHAT IS THAT DARK GRAY MESS" it's JB Weld epoxy! It's like load-bearing, slow-curing modeller's putty! Slathering putty onto an armature and then carving it away to refine the shape is how anime figure artists make hands and detailed hair. I was thinking about it from a polymer clay technique/perspective so I missed the obvious solution. Hand in the foreground has more layers than the hand in the background, every layer gets the shape a lil closer. ((progress post 5)) Parts set up on sticks so I can handle them without touching...

... and after 4 light coats!

Closeup of the head, lil' glossy because it's still drying. For the deeper areas like the joint slots, mouth, and the crannies of the ears, I'm going to have to decant some of the paint into a jar and apply it with a sacrificial brush.

((progress post 6)) I return from Depression! I finally finished sanding-and-spraying the Krylon Fusion coats, gave her a last polish with microfine to even out the texture, and have started blushing her. I'm using a mixture of Tamiya X-series acrylics applied via airbrush for basic contouring, then I'll go back in with pastel to add warm tones and details.

Fun discovery: in an attempt to cover some accidental overspray, I tried spraying the Fusion directly into the paint cup of the airbrush and using it to "erase" back to the base color. I'm NEVER using this product straight from the can again, it goes on so smooth and gorgeous from the airbrush! No orange peel or bubbles to sand away. I'm seriously tempted to get a can of pink and try blushing with it.

((progress post 7)) Doing a faceup over a spray-painted substrate is HARD I want to CRY. I talked about sanding out the spray texture to get an untextured surface, right? Welp, didn't/couldn't sand well enough in the corners of the mouth and the folds of the eyelids, so it's crusty-looking with pastels over it and now there's nothing I can do about it that doesn't involve stripping down to resin and starting again.

((final post)) Sueded and strung!

I didn't take pictures of the sueding process because I was using Barge Cement and it is messy and time-sensitive. I used masking tape to make templates of her joints, transferred to some thin gray lamb suede I found on eBay, and glued it fuzzy side out. The suede was thicker than real pliver, more like the thickness of silicone KIPS discs, but I think it worked out without too many fit issues. The trim store had 3.5mm elastic in a beautiful slate-blue color that I thought would look nicer in the joint slots, so she's strung throughout with thicker elastic. Some more poses to show off the functional mods~ Suwariko joints let her sit crosslegged, and more mobile wrists let her put her hands into the pose.

A more ball-and-socked shaped contact surface at her waist lets her slouch at a full range of angles instead of being locked into two.

With longer upper arms, she can reach the ground in this pose! You can also see how the modded waist joint lets her cock her hips.

She could always stand with locked knees. I think she needs some wire in her legs to let the suwariko joints hold their rotation against gravity, but I'll see how the elastic tension settles in first.

A parting shot out the snowy window. We've been having a hard time picking between a few names for her, but I think this settles it. Welcome back, Fubuki~

#making-of-fubuki #doll custom #bjd #bobobie

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snkpolls · 4 years

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SnK Episode 68 Poll Results (for Anime Only Watchers)

The poll closed with 59 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Manga Readers’ poll, click here.

Anime only watchers, beware of spoilers if you venture over to the manga readers’ poll results.

RATE THE EPISODE 53 Responses

The response was overwhelmingly positive with 88.7% of responses giving the episode a 4 or a 5. In addition, there weren’t any 1s or 2s this time around. A noted contrast to the previous episode. Suppose Sasha’s death ruined the experience for some.

it epic

I NEED MORE

awesome

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MOMENTS WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 55 Responses

The scene with the largest amount of reception (18.2%) was the final scene of the episode, where Eren repeats his mantra to himself in the mirror while revealing his new look. Behind that was the reveal that Armin is talking to Annie (10.9%). At a tie (9.1%), people most enjoyed Hange’s eccentric greeting to the Marleyan soldiers and Onyankopon explaining why he believes people are different. At another tie (7.3%), were the scenes where Sasha is enjoying Nicolo’s cooking, and the scene where Eren is washing himself at the sink.

WHAT WAS THE MOST EMOTIONAL PART OF THE VISIT TO SASHA’S GRAVE? 57 Responses

The visit to Sasha’s grave was packed with many tragic moments. According to the responders, the most emotional of those was Connie’s line about losing “his half” (47.4%). Following that we have the scene of grieving Mikasa with 24.6%. In third place is Nicolo’s general grief. Other responses were, in this order, Sasha’s Father agreeing to a free meal from Nicolo, seeing the girl that Sasha saved from a Titan all those years ago and simply Sasha’s family appearing.

AFTER SEVERAL TENSE AND ACTION PACKED EPISODES, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE TRANSITION TO SOMETHING MORE CALM? 53 Responses

Ever since the series started, AoT has had a clear contrast between the content of its episodes. Episode 68 of the series notably contrasts with the prior 3-4 episodes. So we wanted to know how the fans respond to these sorts of things. 32.1% stated that they enjoyed the slower paced episode after weeks of chaos. An equal number of responders (32.1%) noted that although they far preferred the action-based content, they understood the need for the slower episodes. A little over 13% said they actually preferred the exposition-esque content, so they were happy with the change and finally, a bit over 11% stated that they were indifferent.

I view exposition equally as important as action.

Watching the show dissect what happened before and after the attack on Marley made everything so clear, I love how they were able to capture the drama of both sequences

I'm definetly here more dialogue heavy epiodes and flashbacks but maybe with a slower pacing. It felt a little messy because the episode was also dealing with Sasha's as well as backstory. I think thst was probably intentional though.

They both have their merits.

Still feels great

WOULD YOU RATHER GET A SURPRISE GREETING FROM EREN & HANGE, OR ARMIN & LEVI? 55 Responses

Marleyan Soldiers got two sets of surprises in this episode. One from Eren and Hange, one from Armin and Levi. The fans would clearly prefer to get one of those from Eren and Hange (78.2%) than Armin and Lavi (21.8%).

ON A SCALE OF 1-5, HOW HAPPY ARE YOU TO BE BACK ON PARADIS? 55 Responses

We recently returned to Paradis Island and according to the responders, it was a much wanted development, with 85.4% giving a 4 or a 5 when it comes to hype about the return to the island.

ARMIN SAYS THAT ONCE EREN INFILTRATED MARLEY, THERE WAS NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO ATTACK IN ORDER TO PREVENT IMMEDIATE RETALIATION. DO YOU AGREE WITH HIM? 55 Responses

The raid on Liberio is being questioned not only by the audiences, but also by the characters in-universe. Still, when it comes to Armin’s justification for the attack, the majority (69.1%) think that there was no other choice for Paradis, be it because they could afford to lose Eren/Founding Titan or because Marley would have retaliated easily. Others (~10%) think that they either should have made more effort to find Eren before it came to the raid or should have just let him go. 14.5% simply aren’t sure.

They had no choice but to retrieve Eren, but that doesn't necessarily mean a full blown attack. I think Armin is trying to convince himself here.

Yes. Marley could have captured Eren and had Zeke or someone else eat him for the founding powers.

DO YOU THINK IT’S PLAUSIBLE THAT MARLEY WILL FIND A WAY TO QUICKLY COUNTERATTACK ANYWAY? 53 Responses

When it comes to Marley, one could wonder if they will attempt a quick counterattack. 67.9% believe so, 15.1% dissent. And 9.4% state that they have been spoiled. For the write-in responder who feels that we are spoiling via the question itself, we assure you that anything we ask here had once been a matter of debate among manga readers when the corresponding chapters were fresh and we did not know the outcome. We would just like to give anime only watchers the same opportunity to have these debates.

I don't know.

The fleet has been destroyed, but what about the airforce (if they have one)? I doubt Paradis has the mean to counter that.

I'm not really sure honestly

This question is a spoiler itself: if you ask this, maybe it means that's what will happen. Thank you.

WHEN EREN FIRES HIS GUN AT THE END OF EMA’S TALK, IT TRANSITIONS TO SASHA TAKING A BULLET IN THE PREVIOUS EPISODE. DO YOU FEEL THAT THE NARRATIVE IS TRYING TO PIN THE BLAME SOLELY ON EREN? 55 Responses

Eren’s rifle shot was juxtaposed with Sasha’s death, showcasing a possible thread in the narrative. Does the narrative believe that Eren is to blame for Sasha’s death? 38.2% think it’s a yes and 45.5% think it’s a possibility. On the other hand, almost 11% don’t think the story is trying to go for that route.

While I don’t think it’s trying to pin the blame solely on Eren. I think it’s trying to say he shares a large portion of the blame.

He may be partly at fault, but not fully.

Yes. But they shouldn't. Because it was GabBitch who killed Sasha, and GabBitch alone.

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT ZEKE, YELENA AND THE VOLUNTEERS ARE SINCERE IN THEIR WISH TO HELP PARADIS? 55 Responses

Zeke, Yelena and Co. are a set of characters. Are they a trustworthy set of characters? Certainly up to debate. 67.8% believe they’re trustworthy to a degree, at the very least. In contrast to 23.6% who find no trust in them. A select few have been spoiled.

Mmm Yelena & co. maybe...I love Zeke but he's big sus this season

I think they are loyal to Zeke, and his goal is to get the funding titan. At the moment, this means allying themselves with Paradis, but that could easily change.

They are very sus, Yelena is especially loose. IDK who they'll be loyal too.

DO YOU THINK THAT EREN WANTS TO USE THE WALL TITANS AS A SIMPLE DETERRENT, OR DOES HE WANT TO FLATTEN THE EARTH? 55 Responses

The possibility of a Rumbling has been brought up more than a few times throughout the series (mostly this season) and the question remains, “will Eren use the Rumbling to flatten the Earth?” 60% think that’ll be the case, in contrast to almost 11% who dissent. 27.3% were already spoiled about the outcome.

That idiot definetly wants to flatten the earth. Empathy and logic has never been Erens strong suit.

DO YOU THINK THAT EMA HAVE BECOME MORE DISTANT FROM EACH OTHER? 55 Responses

The iconic EMA trio has been together through thick and thin, so something truly must happen for them to “break up”, so to say. Would one say that they have grown apart? 56.4% think so, but only insofar as Eren goes. 25.5% believe that they all have grown apart to a degree. 9.1% dissent to these assertions and a select few have been spoiled.

Even Mikasa and Armin seem distant! They were coping on their own after coming back to Paradis.

I like to refer to them as E MA. lol. Yehhhh anyway- somethings defs off with them.

ARMIN SAID HE DIDN’T SEE ANY NOTEWORTHY MEMORIES FROM BERTOLT WHEN EREN ASKED HIM ABOUT IT. DO YOU THINK HE’S BEING TRUTHFUL? 55 Responses

A whole bunch of people doubt Armin’s statement about not seeing anything useful in Bertolt’s memories (81.8%), though some (14.5%) think the boy’s telling the truth. A select few have been spoiled.

DO YOU THINK MIKASA IS LOSING HOPE IN THE WORDS THAT ONCE GAVE HER STRENGTH? 56 Responses

Long ago, Mikasa stated that one must fight, survive and win. If they don’t fight, they won’t survive and will lose. But with some losses drumming up on the plate, could she start doubting this mantra? 46.4% believe that we cannot say one way or another until we see more. 26.8% don’t believe that Sasha’s death will shake her confidence in that belief and it’s just a brief moment of doubt, in contrast to 23.2% who believe that Sasha’s demise will irreparably change Mikasa’s philosophy.

No....? I did't even realise she was that close to Sasha. I feel like if she loses Eren THEN she'll lose hope.

what words?

Mikasa deserves better than emo world destroyer Eren!!! She's too pure.

EREN SEEMED TO BE MISSING WHEN THE SURVEY CORPS WERE INTERACTING WITH THE VOLUNTEERS. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT MIGHT BE? 54 Responses

Eren wasn’t present when the others were interacting with the volunteers. Some believe it is noteworthy, others do not think so. 38.9% simply aren’t certain. 29.6% think it’s the SC decision to keep Eren away from Zeke’s followers. On the other, 20.4% predict that it was Eren’s own choice of isolation. A select few have simply been spoiled.

Didn’t notice this until now

Maybe he had already left for Marley?

ARMIN WAS HOPEFUL THAT THEY COULD SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS THROUGH DIPLOMACY. EREN FELT THAT PEACE WAS NEVER AN OPTION. WHO DO YOU AGREE WITH MORE? 54 Responses

A noted contrast in Eren and Armin’s beliefs was showcased in this episode. 57.4% find themselves siding more with Eren’s anti-diplomatic measures, while 42.6% support Armin’s more peaceful ways.

WE GOT A GLIMPSE OF ANNIE IN THIS EPISODE. WHAT BEST MATCHES YOUR THOUGHTS? 55 Responses

Annie has been encased in that crystal for years at this point, both in and out of universe. Is she going to get out of that crystal? Just a little over 69% believe so, in contrast to the one person who doesn’t. 23.6% were spoiled one way or another.

Sis is running out of time...it would really suck if her 13 years were up before she even got out of her lil crystal

This has GOT to wake up, surely.

She got a nose reduction surgery

HOW DO YOU THINK ZEKE WILL RATE HIS STAY AT THE HOTEL OF GIANT TREES? 55 Responses

Zeke seemed shocked to find his hotel to be a forest of Giant Trees. An iconic location, seen throughout the series. We asked how you believe Zeke will rate his stay. A plurality (40%) think that he won’t be there long enough to do so. 29.1% believe he’ll give it an average score, in contrast to 23.6% who imagine Zeke loving his getaway! 7.3% have been spoiled.

WHAT BEST DESCRIBES YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT PIXIS ARRESTING THE VOLUNTEERS? 55 Responses

It would appear Pixis detained the volunteers while the SC were away. The majority (52.7%) don’t find it to be a controversial decision, noting that both parties have a mutual understanding between each other. A noted minority (29.1%) thought that it was actually the best course of action, arguing that the Paradisian Military has no way of knowing whether the volunteers are trustworthy or not now that Zeke is here on Paradis. In contrast, 18.2% thought that it was mistake, given how much assistance the Volunteers have provided to the islanders.

WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE WAY THE PARADISIANS ARE SEEN TREATING MARLEYANS? 55 Responses

We saw some noted mistreatment of Marleyans by the Paradisians this episode. So we asked the responders what their thoughts were on this development. A plurality (47.3%) couldn’t say one way or the other and needed to see more to pass their judgment. 34.5% were open in their condemnation of those actions, in contrast to the 12.7% who were supportive of such activities.

Cycle of haaaate. No one is justified in acting that way but it's understandable that they do

Some good, some bad. Military police doing the worst of course.

An eye for an eye ✌

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

I don't know what to say anymore. This episode made me question my previous ideologies regarding the characters

In my opinion, this episode has more fanservice than usual, from the ship moments of Levihan and Aruani, and to the display of Mikasa's ass and Eren's abs, but Mappa is not over the top and can still get the plot moving and still have those moments that can move the viewers.

I believe in Onyankopon supremacy

Even though I love Mappa post timeskip designs, the pre timeskip design of some characters seemed a bit off to me (particularly Armin and Eren). It distracted me a bit from the action.

Eren standing Infront of the mirror was way better in manga. Mappa need to put more effort. No hate tho.

Idk, didn't blow me away. I'm seriously concerned for Armin, he's definetly losing it. Appreciated the flashbacks and the new characters too. Onyankopon has captured my mf heart, if he dies, I die too. 😌

Chad Eren

Niccolo x Sasha OTP

What the shit dude…

Gabi will forever be the worst character to me, no matter what the anime tries to do to justify her

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 54 Responses

Thanks again to everyone who responded!

#snk poll #snk polls #snk spoilers #snk s4 #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #snk #aot

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universalshirts · 3 years

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Universal Shirts

Market Shirts Online: A Guide to Pricing Your Tees for Retail

Just how much should you bill for your tees? Find out prices ideas & approaches in this short article.

One of the concerns we obtain most often right here at Real Thread is: How much should I bill for my tee shirts at retail?

It's a tougher question than you might believe, and there's a ton of approach that enters play when considering what price point to market your product at. So, we've gathered some methods of the profession to offer you an establishing factor on how to value your custom-made t-shirts for retail.

Wanting to sell Universal shirts Tampa online? Know your expenses

The extremely first thing you must take into consideration when valuing your tee shirts for retail is how much it sets you back to produce them. Obviously, you wish to keep expenses somewhat reduced, however not at the expenditure of quality. Something we have actually located to be widely real is that people are willing to pay more for a retail high quality tee, rather than a t-shirt that's uncomfortable and has a rough feeling. So paying $1 or $2 even more on the front end may enable you to charge $5-- 10 more at retail, plus you'll produce consumers who like your item, tell their good friends regarding it and also return for more! That's how you develop a successful brand name.

That being claimed, don't hesitate to price your t-shirts wherefore they deserve. If you're selling a top notch t-shirt, see to it your cost communicates that. If you're valuing your t-shirts for less than they deserve, your customers are going to view them as less than they're worth. So rate them as they need to be priced, and also let your product speak for itself.

Study the marketplace

Taking a look at the current market is also a superb method of identifying what your retail expense should be. Taking a look at a competing tee line to see how they value their tee shirts is an excellent embarking on point.

This isn't to state you ought to just value your tee shirts at the very same cost, or just $1 less than your rivals, however it is necessary to think of what other people are billing for their item when you're attempting to share to your consumers that they ought to pick you.

A tee shirt prices calculator

Once you have your t-shirt expense down, you can use it to calculate a rate determined by your desired portion of earnings. A write-up from Entrepreneur states that the majority of retailers strive an earnings margin of concerning 50%.

Using the 50% margin, all you would certainly have to do is multiply your price to generate by 2, and also you 'd have your retail price. But if going for any other earnings margin percentage, you'll utilize this formula:

Cost Formula:

Market price = [( cost to create) ÷ (100-profit %)] x 100

So allow's claim you intend to set your profit margin at 60%, and your t shirt sets you back $10.00 to generate. Because instance, your formula will certainly appear like this:

List price = [( 10.00) ÷ (100-- 60)] x 100

List price = [10.00 ÷ 40] x 100

Retail Price = 0.25 x 100

List price = $25.

Straightforward enough, right? Now that we've got the mathematical part of pricing down, allow's enter into some psychology.

Cloak & Dapper t-shirt home window screen.

Price for individuals, not for numbers.

This next reality might be among the most crucial and the very least considered aspects when individuals are pricing their product. That fact is: People do not constantly act logically.

If people acted reasonably all of the time, valuing a product would be exceptionally routine. You can connect your prices into an equation, obtain a rate that most individuals would certainly set, as well as start marketing. However people are emotional, and whether you assume it or not, the price of your product is mosting likely to activate an emotional reaction in your clients.

Great prices will consist of thinking about human behavior and also human feeling to locate a wonderful area that will certainly persuade people to select your Universal shirts. With that in mind, right here are 3 quick rates strategies that will certainly assist you optimize your rate for emotion over reasoning:.

1) End your cost with a non-round number, as opposed to a zero or a 5. Factor being: when humans are checking details to decide, they obtain careless. So, although the distinction in between $30 as well as $29 is just $1, it seems like a great deal more. As well as we'll make decisions based upon that feeling.

2) Package products together, and also provide a cost break. Rather than stay with offering every one of your items individually, think about producing a bundle package also. Claim you're marketing 3 various tee shirts for $20 each. Take into consideration using a choice to get the tee shirts together for $55 total amount.

Ugmonk even pricing example.

Ugmonk provides a terrific example of bundle rates in the picture above. They market a set of 4 tee shirts for $100 (or $25 each), rather than their regular pricing of $28 each. Focusing the bundle around one style or concept like they do offers this bundle some incentive aims as well!

Numerous words have actually been written on how product packing rises profits, so we'll spare you the reading as well as offer you the brief version: when applied right, it functions. You'll sell extra tees with less initiative, as well as your clients conserve cash. Win, win.

Key to bundling though: make certain you offer an option to get each item individually also. Some clients may simply desire the one item, which's penalty. And also, providing separately lets the customer see the bargain they get by acquiring a packed bundle.

3) Use Anchor Pricing. This means showing the initial price, after that showing what you're actually billing for it. One brand that does a wonderful task of this Huckberry, an online menswear industry. With partnerships with brands, they have the ability to offer unique offers for their customers.

In the image listed below, you can see that conventional retail for the S/S Breton Tee Shirt is $55.00. Nonetheless, at Huckberry, you can get it for $44.98. This lets you recognize that you're getting a bargain that you won't get somewhere else. (Notice that their cost is likewise a non-round number!).

Huckberry anchor rate example.

An additional fantastic usage for anchor prices is when partnered with the bundle strategy. Making use of the instance earlier, buying 3 Universalshirts individually would set you back $60, but you developed a package for $55. So, your item web page could review similar to this: $55 $60.

In this manner, the customer sees the value of the offer and recognizes what they're conserving.

There is a lot more that might go into this lesson, yet this is a terrific establishing factor! Start by

1) Understanding your expense

2) Investigating the marketplace

3) Establishing your earnings margin

4) Rates for individuals and

5) Getting paid!

Whether you have a dream of a beginning a tee line, have taken some actions in the direction of it, or currently have a running firm, we hope you discovered this article practical.

If you haven't yet, download Real String's Guide to Ecommerce for pointers on how to start a business.

Likewise, if you're presently offering online or looking to begin, our gratification program can help. Leave the selecting and also packaging to us while you concentrate on designing and also offering your top quality custom-made merch.

Happy selling!

#Universal shirts #Universalshirts #Universal shirts Tampa

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cindibeavis5 · 4 years

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Review of GSA Search Engine Ranker and Step by Step Tutorial

GSA software verified lists set up guide

Table of ContentsMust Have GSA Search Engine Ranker video tutorials How To Build Backlinks With GSA Search Engine Ranker High-quality GSA SER help Why Is GSA Search Engine Ranker Still Good in 2020

First off, you will need Scrapebox. GScraper will likewise work, however we utilize Scrapebox. Now, considering that you have no confirmed URLs in your GSA SER yet, you will require some head start, after which the lists will grow greatly. First you will begin by choosing some target keywords. For example, you can utilize all of the short article classifications from ezinearticles - GSA SER tutorial.

Copy all of them and paste them into a file called. Now open Scrapebox and import the file into the Harvester section. Select, and leave it at that for now, because it's time to get the engines footprints from GSA SER. Go to your GSA Online Search Engine Ranker -> -> -> ->.

Right click on the textarea and pick all. Copy and paste them into a file called. Up until now so great. Now go back to Scrapebox and click the "M" button above the radio button. This will just include each of your keywords to each of the entries in the file: Now, select all the 48540 keywords (you will have far more because I simply included footprints from one engine), and copy and paste them into a brand-new file called - GSA Search Engine Ranker Manual.

Simply select the file as the source file, and name the target file. Then click. This will merely randomize each line from the source file, so as to not tip off search engine of any search patterns. As you can see from the above photo, it will search numerous times for the very same footprint, and only alters the keyword.

At this moment we are all set to scrape our target URLs. Make sure you have some nice and juice private proxies (BuyProxies are the ones I recommend for this function also), and let it roll. At 50 personal proxies, I let Scrapebox run at 7 connections. At this rate, my proxies have never died, and have constantly scraped till the very end of the list of keywords.

GSA Search Engine Ranker Recommend Services

Remember that this may take a long time. At the end, considering you obtained some great proxies, you will be taking a look at millions of target URLs. And now it's time to produce verified URLs from them. Go back to GSA Search Engine Ranker, and create a new job selecting the engines for which you exported footprints.

Okay up until now so excellent. Now these are the rest of the steps to take in order to begin the validated links building process: might be https://google. com or something else you will blast with meaningless links. Choose some random anchor texts, ratios, etc. Once again, random config for the posts, simply do not tick the, because we will be submitting a lot of posts, a great deal of times.

Deselect all search engines. Uncheck the checkbox. We will only be utilizing by hand imported target URLs. Leave the which will offer some benefit target URLs. Enable arranged publishing at its default values 5 accounts and 5 posts per account. Get rid of all filters and pick all types of backlinks to produce.

Click and enjoy your new creation spur into presence. Right-click it, and relabel it accordingly. Yes, this will not be the only one. Right-click it again -> -> ->, and duplicate the task 6 times for an overall of 7 verified link contractors. Select the 6 brand-new duplicated projects, copy 30 60 brand-new email accounts, and after that: right-click -> -> -> ->.

Get Kick-ass GSA Search Engine Ranker Help at - Asia Virtual Solutions

Now, choose all of the 7 projects, right-click, ->, and select the batch file which Scrapebox created consisting of all of the scraped URLs. Randomize the links, and split them to each of the jobs. Put all of the projects into a task group from our GSA SER. I constantly use caps-lock on the task group names as it is much easier to spot them that method. GSA Search Engine Ranker tutorials.

GSA Search Engine Ranker Tutorial Blog post

Set your threads at 6 10 per proxy, set the jobs to status, and click the button. Leave the projects running until there are no more target URLs left to attempt and post to - GSA SER manual. You can check remaining target URLs for all of the 7 jobs by right-clicking on the task group -> ->.

When all of the target URLs are extinct, you will have a good starting quantity of site lists. Now it's time to grow them tremendously. The next procedure I will teach you has actually helped me make around 50,000 validated backlinks in just a single day: In simply a single day while writing this, I scraped some brand-new target URLs utilizing the next basic technique I will share with you, and this is the variety of backlinks it included to our site lists.

Close to 12k for a day not too shoddy, not too shoddy at all. To start with I desire you to understand the principle of this method. We currently explained this one a little in a comparable GSA SER performance, but that's cool. Let's state you have actually produced a link pyramid campaign in GSA SER including 3 tiers.

Your Tier 3 backlinks point to your Tier 2 backlinks right? Okay. Now, there are probably thousands of other users out there who are utilizing GSA SER and likewise have actually created similar link pyramids. Their Tier 3 backlinks will indicate their Tier 2 backlinks too right? Excellent. Nevertheless, their Tier 3 backlinks and your Tier 3 backlinks might overlap and be on the very same sites i.

How to Use GSA SER with Proxies for Maximum Results

youtube

blog site comments on the very same article, guestbook remarks, and so on. What you will do is simply take all the outbound links on your Tier 3 URLs i. e. the URL of the blog post you left a discuss. GSA Search Engine Ranker training. These outgoing links have a very, really high opportunity to be pointing towards the Tier 2 of some other GSA SER user.

Learn How To Use GSA Search Engine Ranker

So you see, these outgoing links have a great chance of being matched by a GSA SER engine. Now, let's state that your Tier 3 managed to produce 3,000 blog site comments - GSA SER Training. Scraping the outbound links of all these 3k URLs will leave you with countless brand-new target URLs, quite simply, since Tier 3 projects are mainly spam and there are a great deal of these links.

How to Use GSA SER with Proxies for Maximum Results

Hope you got the idea. Now here's how you do that. Initially you export all of the verified blog remarks and guestbooks from all of the 7 validated link contractors. Here's how you do that: Select all the 7 jobs and right-click on them -> ->. Right-click on the table of verified backlinks -> -> - GSA Search Engine Ranker help.

Call the file. Now open Scrapebox once again. Go to -> (if you do not see it, install it, it's free): Load the file into the Link Extractor. Then click ->. Make certain you have actually chosen the radio button which suggests that the addon will draw out the outbound links on the packed URLs.

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gibberingcultist · 4 years

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The Forgotten Age

We think we know the history of the Earth, but there are secrets that lie beyond our reckoning and truths that could undo our entire understanding of the universe. When renowned historian Alejandro Vela discovers one of these secrets, the ruins of an ancient and forgotten Aztec city, it sets into motion a plot that could unravel the very fabric of time.

Designers: Matthew Newman Artists: Andreas Adamek, Justin Adams, W. T. Arnold, Borja Pindado Arribas, Cristi Balanescu (cover), + 55 more! Players: 1-4 (best at 3 per BGG). But I would say Arkham Horror LCG is always best at 2 players. Playtime: 60-120 minutes per scenario. BGG Weight: 3.86 / 5 Mechanisms: Action Point Allowance System, Cooperative Play, Deck / Pool Building, Hand Management, Role Playing, Variable Player Powers

I am so far behind schedule on all these Arkham Horror LCG expansions and mythos pack reviews. The Dream-Eaters Cycle was recently released and already FFG has two more Arkham Horror LCG box expansions planned for the near future. The Innsmouth Conspiracy and potentially something called The War of the Outer Gods. We shall see if that second title is accurate or not in due time. Either way I can already see the money draining from my wallet like venom from a serpent’s fangs.

This will actually be my second time playing through The Forgotten Age expansion. The first time was with a party of three and we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. I found my first overall experience with TFA to be a incredibly frustrating. It was a grueling, torturous journey through the Mexican rain forest. We picked all the wrong supplies for all the wrong characters it seemed.

So after it was all said and done, I was pretty sure that I wasn’t ever going to play this expansion again. But with recently finishing The Circle Undone and not having all the mythos packs for the Dream-Eaters Cycle in my possession, I caved and returned to base camp to go on the expedition all over again. This time with a better idea of what will be needed. Characters with very high agility and well…. blankets. Why didn’t my first expedition group take basic bedding with them?! I’m surprised we even had boots on our feet, we were so unprepared for survival in the outdoors. Hopefully the second time through will be a little smoother.

So as I already mentioned, knowing how important agility is for your investigators; my girlfriend and I selected the two investigators from the The Forgotten Age campaign with the highest agility (feetsies). These two also seemed to have the highest potential for the most bonus actions in a round, which is always a good thing to have in this god-forsaken game. We chose Ursula Downs and Finn Edwards. We can’t help but think that Finn is really just allowing himself to be employed by Ursula to get himself away from some sort of shady business dealings back home. Or to make a hefty profit selling all of our equipment and provisions. Because why else wouldn’t we have blankets?! I swear that stuff is getting stolen from under us.

“I have had it with these motherfucking snakes in this motherfucking jungle!” The pit vipers aren’t too bad as long as you are as spry and nimble as Ursula and Finn. We were able to stay ahead of the sneks by constantly moving and clearing each location of clues as quickly as possible. The Boa was a bigger concern as he was hunting us through most the scenario. We don’t plan on killing anything with vengeance points. IF we can help it that is. Neither of us really had any weapons readied during this scenario anyway. Just the trench coat on our backs and the track shoes on our feet. We were bouncing all over the jungle like gummy bears hopped up on Ayahuasca juice (is that a thing?).

Once confronted by Ichtaca, Keeper of the Etzli, we really had no choice but to parlay with her. I’m not sure why Alejandro Vela is so opposed to working with the locals (at this point in the game). Sounds like he’s part of the White Savior Industrial Complex. We discovered the Etzli ruins, thanks to Ichtaca and left behind a wake of snakes (very much alive mind you) and watchful Guardians. Rushing exploration and clue gathering was the way to go for this scenario. Very thematic and fun.

In this first scenario, one gets introduced to the exploration deck. Where one could potentially lose his/her movement actions based on what cards are randomly drawn from a small shuffled deck. A deck consisting of a handful of treacheries mixed in with a variety of potentially discoverable locations. I guess I don’t mind the exploration deck mechanic. More times than not, we will unluckily draw all the treachery cards rather quickly. So we take the explore action early knowing full well that we are going to draw treachery cards. After all the treachery cards have been randomly drawn and discarded, THEN we can explore without fear or consequence. And that’s a great feeling.

Welp. So much for trying to maintain zero vengeance points. Yig’s fury went from 0 to 5 in just one scenario. We were rapidly overwhelmed with serpent humanoids and barely got out of the Etzli temple with the Relic of Ages in hand. It’s almost as if investigators were meant to die/lose this scenario. Ursula suffered a mental trauma after being hounded by Yig’s minions every step of the way. Her treachery card was what did her in though. She was unable to heed the Call of the Unknown after taking such a beating from the treachery filled exploration deck.

We both found this scenario too frustrating. The difficulty ramped up to 11 and we were still ill prepared for such things. None of our weapons were even drawn during this game, so once again we just had to keep moving. Trying our best to stay ahead of the wave of snake creatures. The only reason Finn was able to get out of the temple, after snagging the Relic of Ages, was because he was lucky enough to draw his I’m outta here! card right when he needed it most. There was no way he was going to make it past the 7 or 8 monsters in his linear path. This relic better be worth it.

….Aaand it’s gone. We lost the relic. Or Harlan did. Whoever the fuck he is. We chose to keep the relic safe by giving it to some rando in passing. Then we are shocked when the supposedly trusty vagabond up and leaves town. Great.

Threads of Fate was another rather frustrating scenario with a ungodly amount of enemies. The moment we were able to eliminate just one of the Haunting Nightgaunts terrorizing us, we would advance the agenda deck, reshuffle the discard pile, only to draw the very same Haunting Nightguant! GAH! These guys are tough as well, 4HP, running away from them is hard due to doubling the negative modifiers. Terrifying creatures.

It was neat that there were multiple Acts or multiple storylines (threads) to follow and investigate. We were only able to fully complete one of the three but at least the scenario still rewarded us for making an attempt at the others. In that you receive some bonus experience points for just getting past Act 1 of each deck. Alejandro Vela was rescued and now resides in one of our decks. I would have preferred to have the Relic but circumstances prevented us from making it so.

Wait, it was all a dream?! But I consumed actual gas in driving to this fever dream. I want my gas supply point back. The Boundary Beyond would be strike 3 for us. Another overly frustrating scenario with too many monsters and a damn near impossible end goal. We were suppose to lose weren’t we? Considering we only managed to get 3 out of the 6 locations explored correctly, and then wiped of clues before being overwhelmed by enemies. The added penalties for exploring was very rough and we felt it… hard. Like for instance, one location forced you to take a physical damage to take the explore action. Which inevitably resulted in drawing a treachery card, making the damage you received to draw the treachery even more painful. So consume another precious action, take another physical damage, and try your luck again!

The Harbinger of Valusia once again made his appearance known. A damn near impossible enemy to combat while also trying to achieve your necessary win condition. With Alert and Retaliate active even when exhausted, the Harbinger is going to just decimate anyone interested in doing any amount of damage to him. Especially book nerds like us. We were able to inflict 2 damage on him though before getting TKO’ed. 2 damage out of his 20hp! I feel like we should be further down on his health track. Ugh.

During set-up, players are instructed to set aside the Agenda 3 and Act 3 cards. I imagine this is to mislead the players about the intended length of the scenario? And well… it worked! During what we thought was our very last turn (before the agenda would advance), we both made some hail mary plays to try and acquire as many clues/locations as possible before ending the scenario. Only to find out, the scenario wasn’t over. By the time we realized we had more rounds at our disposal, we were either already eliminated or stuck in some impossible situation. I can see that designers are looking to subvert players expectations in whatever means possible, but this ended up just frustrating my girlfriend to the point that she considered quitting the campaign all together. She is calling AH-LCG an abusive relationship. Wondering why we keep going back to it.

The Story So Far

Wait. Why are we back in the jungle again?! Let’s recap. Going back a few scenarios, we uncovered information on a secret cabal, called the Brotherhood, who had interests in the Eztli relic (missing!). This Brotherhood also had a great deal of information on Alejandro’s previous expedition into the Mexican rain forest. According to Ichtaca, the Brotherhood is seeking a place called the Nexus of N’kai. OK fine. So without any other bit of information given by Ichtaca, we set off on another expedition back to the relic’s original location. For what I imagine is to seek out additional clues in regards to the power behind the relic.

During our road trip to Mexico City, Alejandro voices his opinion that the documented symbols adorning the relic is not of Mayan or Aztec heritage. Hmm…ok.

We putz around Mexico for a while, eating lots of fish tacos and drinking lots of margaritas (or so I imagine), but doing not much else. A week later, Ichtaca FINALLY decides it’s time perform some sort of cryptic incantation, alone in her room. An event that results in a dream like scenario which gives us some insight. Insight into (Tenochtitlan locations?) a cave that Ichtaca believes is the path that leads to the Nexus. She wants us to go with. Do we have time to grab some Pozole before we go? I think so.

Part 1

The first half of the Heart of the Elder’s mythos pack seems more of a catch-up scenario. Because we only received insight on 3 of the 6 paths/stone pillars outside the cave, we had to spend some days trying to decode the other 3. The stone pillars are essentially the lock tumblers allowing access to the cave maw.

I find it hard to believe Ichtaca had been running all over this jungle, secretly protecting the relic from outsiders, and never once discovered or learned about this cave. And if she did know of it, why did it take so long for her to explore it? And it she did explore it, why didn’t she know the 6 paths from the start?! Gah!

We did not like this part of the scenario. It felt like another throw away scenario that really wasn’t needed. It took two attempts at it to get the remaining 3 paths. Our first day/attempt resulted in no additional paths and Ursula ended up dying to the snake monsters. On the second day, a replay of the same scenario mind you, we had much better luck in not drawing snake monsters to hound us the entire time. So that helped us focus on clue gathering. The whole idea of playing the same scenario over and over again until you achieve some specific goal, rubs me the wrong way. Repetition in this regard is no fun. We also were annoyed that progressing the Act deck, which is normally a good thing to advance, significantly hampered our overall goal. So on the second day, knowing that it would be detriment to advance the Act deck, we advanced it only when we were ready to take on the additional headache.

Part II

After we gained access to the cave, we had a good spelunking time getting clues and discovering locations. It’s as if clue gathering is what we excel at. We lucked out on drawing a minimal amount of enemies during the mythos phase. Which helped us deal with everything else thrown at us. We felt like we had plenty of time to achieve the overall objective and we got a heck of a lot of XP from this scenario (both parts 1 and 2). Which makes the sting of part 1 a little less so. Part 2’s flavor text alludes to a Journey to the Center of the Earth type inner world, taking place below ours. Which is kind of neat.

The end of the scenario was a little confusing. Alejandro betrayed us?! He was working in unison or is commanding some sort of alien race to find and gain access to Yoth, cavern of the serpents? Why? I take it Alejandro is a member of the Brotherhood, which would explain why they had information on Alejandro’s expedition. It was information of the inside variety lols. My girlfriend thought the entire campaign was over after reading “It is your last human memory.” So we just died?! Not quite.

Alejandro was working with scientific, alien creatures? Hah! So we got mind-swapped with a couple Yithians and mentally transported to some unknown location beyond space and time that acts as a mass-information compiler. What are the aliens doing with our physical bodies right now? The other aliens didn’t seem to mind us wandering around their utopian society. That is until we fucked with their experiments. I suppose we would be the real aliens at this point. We had a lot of fun playing this scenario. This would be the first time, in publication order, that your investigator’s card gets swapped out for another scenario specific one. The next instance of this taking place during the prologue of The Circle Undone campaign. Both enjoyable experiences.

We slithered around, doing our best to hold on to our items with our noodly appendages. We did manage to perform all six of the necessary intellectual pursuits before mind-melding back into our original bodies. AKA we were a rightful pains in the ass. 9 xp from this scenario! So that’s very nice. This scenario required a lot of card-play. Mostly we used our cards just for the modifier icons to pass tests. As your Yithian character card allowed for the doubling of icons for one card per test. This coupled with our ever reducing max-hand size, made the end goal of holding 10 cards at once a rather tricky puzzle to figure out. We would not have achieved this goal had it not been for our new pen-pal, the Custodian, and the best room in the house, the Yithian Orrery.

What were we suppose to do with the Out of Body Experience treachery cards? I was never instructed in the setup but I feel like these should have been shuffled into our decks at some point. The backside of the Yithian investigator cards have Do you remember…? in the Deckbuilding Requirements section. So maybe it was a mistake in that these treachery cards should have been included in our decks to start. Not sure. We didn’t utilize them. This will probably be corrected in the Return to.

Now lets see what Alejandro and his alien buds were up to while we took a mental holiday.

I hear people play this scenario just to see how far down into the depths they can get before they are torn to shreds. We got to level 5 (the bare minimum) and immediately got the hell out of there! One could get a significant amount of XP on this scenario though. If everyone is well suited for fighting monsters and dealing with the ever growing pain that is the chaos bag. We on the other hand are NOT well suited for dealing with monsters. Besides running away from them. Finn Edwards recently purchased a Ornate Bow which has been pretty damn effective at eliminating a bunch of annoying or persistent enemies. Enemies with the Hunter trait mostly. Lets hope the next scenario is more about getting clues and not fighting a Boss of some kind.

The Depths of Yoth is an alright concept for a scenario but just like in a previous scenario (The Heart of the Elders Part 1) you essentially just play the same mini-game multiple times. At least with this scenario, with the reset between floors/levels, the locations are randomized. Your starting location and which locations are available will be slightly different between floors. We quickly learned which icon to look for in order to find the Steps of Yoth (how to progress). And I’m so confused on what’s going on in the over-arching story that we don’t even care anymore. Both Ichtaca and Alejandro have turned on us and want the Relic of Ages for different reasons. Ichtaca, I believe wants to awaken Yoth for some terrible reason. Hopefully it will all make more sense after the next scenario.

We finished! …thank God/Yig. We did get an above-average ending. Resolution 1 if that does anything for you. We lost the original Relic of Ages so we didn’t get the best ending but we refused the tempting offers from both Ichtaca and Alejandro Vela and went about mending the tear in the fabric of time…ourselves somehow. Luckily for us, The Relic of Ages was rediscovered in A Pocket of Time which I suppose makes sense that we traveled through time and found a earlier/later version of the one we lost. I’m always impressed with the final scenarios of each of the major campaigns. This one was no different. The story seemed to come together. Both Ichtaca (Yig worshiper) and Alejandro (Yithian in disguise) had ulterior motives which is understandable. I liked that we could have sided with either of them to change the world as we know it forever.

We didn’t kill a single enemy this scenario. Besides those EZ-PZ cultists. So we were once again dogged by a myriad of serpent & elite enemies. We were use to though after the sixth or seventh scenario where that happened this campaign. Finn Edwards handled running away from 5 different monster enemies himself, each round for two or three rounds. One free evade, three normal evade actions, and a Leo De Luca evade action. While Ursula Downs worked vigorously at exploring and clearing clues from as many shattered locations as possible. Taking damage and horror when necessary. It worked. I can’t wait to go back to playing some Guardian and Survivor class characters. Or really anyone with dynamite

We don’t officially get to play the bonus, secret mission because we lost the Relic of Ages from our timeline but we will play it anyway just to see what it’s like. Going on the assumption that we didn’t hand a complete stranger one of the most powerful objects in the known universe. So we will play that next and I will report on it here.

Man, fuck this game. We got devoured by Yig pretty quickly in our attempt to undo our past mistakes. Turn Back Time has a cool concept but this scenario is not designed with pacifists like us in mind. It’s tough! Arm yourself to the teeth before entering the Eztli Ruins again! We didn’t REALLY deserve to unlock this scenario and we are going to continue acting like this scenario never happened. Our own form of time travel.

Now that we are done with this campaign we will play a Return To… or start The Dream-Eaters cycle and hope that our last Mythos pack gets delivered very soon.

In Summary

Of all the Arkham Horror campaigns that I’ve played, The Forgotten Age is and will remain my least favorite. With that said I was impressed by how many of the scenarios ended up having a decently high personal rating. This tells me that the scenarios themselves aren’t bad but the over-arching story and mechanisms introduced are what leaves a foul malignancy festering in my mind when contemplating The Forgotten Age. Mainly due to the frustrations with the exploration deck, the supply point system (never having what you need), and having to suffer the ridiculous amount of serpent creatures all looking to settle their poisonous fangs into your meaty neck. The Harbinger of Valusia is still out there, slithering around the jungle with a whopping 18 HP! Good luck with that Mexico.

Final Score (Avg)

#Arkham Horror LCG #The Forgotten Age #h.p. lovecraft

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gailstansfield · 4 years

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How to Install GSA Search Engine Ranker.

RANK YOUTUBE VIDEOS WITH GSA SER

Table of ContentsGSA Search Engine Ranker: Learn To Rank Sites How To Get High Quality Backlinks GSA Search Engine Ranker Best GSA Search Engine Ranker Products And Services Help Tutorial: Use GSA SER for Tier 1 Link Building

To start with, you will require Scrapebox. GScraper will also work, but we use Scrapebox. Now, considering that you have actually no confirmed URLs in your GSA SER yet, you will need some running start, after which the lists will grow greatly. First you will start by selecting some target keywords. For example, you can use all of the post categories from ezinearticles - GSA SER reviews.

Copy all of them and paste them into a file called. Now open Scrapebox and import the file into the Harvester area. Select, and leave it at that for now, due to the fact that it's time to get the engines footprints from GSA SER. Go to your GSA Online Search Engine Ranker -> -> -> ->.

Right click on the textarea and pick all. Copy and paste them into a file called. So far so good. Now go back to Scrapebox and click the "M" button above the radio button. This will merely add each of your keywords to each of the entries in the file: Now, choose all the 48540 keywords (you will have much more because I simply included footprints from one engine), and copy and paste them into a brand-new file called - GSA Search Engine Ranker help.

Merely choose the file as the source file, and call the target file. Then click. This will simply randomize each line from the source file, so as to not tip off online search engine of any search patterns. As you can see from the above picture, it will search numerous times for the exact same footprint, and just changes the keyword.

At this point we are ready to scrape our target URLs. Ensure you have some nice and juice personal proxies (BuyProxies are the ones I recommend for this purpose too), and let it roll. At 50 private proxies, I let Scrapebox perform at 7 connections. At this rate, my proxies have never passed away, and have constantly scraped till the very end of the list of keywords.

GSA Search Engine Ranker and VPS – The Ultimate ...

Bear in mind that this might take a long time. At the end, considering you got yourself some great proxies, you will be taking a look at countless target URLs. And now it's time to develop verified URLs from them. Return to GSA Online Search Engine Ranker, and produce a new project choosing the engines for which you exported footprints.

Okay so far so excellent. Now these are the remainder of the steps to take in order to begin the validated links constructing process: might be https://google. com or something else you will blast with meaningless links. Pick some random anchor texts, ratios, and so on. Again, random config for the short articles, just do not tick the, due to the fact that we will be sending a lot of articles, a lot of times.

Deselect all online search engine. Uncheck the checkbox. We will only be utilizing by hand imported target URLs. Leave the which will offer some benefit target URLs. Permit scheduled publishing at its default values 5 accounts and 5 posts per account. Remove all filters and choose all types of backlinks to develop.

Click and see your new creation stimulate into existence. Right-click it, and rename it appropriately. Yes, this will not be the only one. Right-click it again -> -> ->, and duplicate the task 6 times for an overall of 7 validated link contractors. Select the 6 new duplicated jobs, copy 30 60 new e-mail accounts, and then: right-click -> -> -> ->.

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Now, select all of the 7 projects, right-click, ->, and pick the batch file which Scrapebox produced consisting of all of the scraped URLs. Randomize the links, and split them to each of the tasks. Put all of the jobs into a task group from our GSA SER. I constantly use caps-lock on the job group names as it is a lot easier to identify them that method. GSA Search Engine Ranker Video Tutorials.

GSA Search Engine Ranker Youtube - How to

Set your threads at 6 10 per proxy, set the tasks to status, and click the button. Leave the projects running till there disappear target URLs left to attempt and post to - GSA Search Engine Ranker video tutorials. You can inspect remaining target URLs for all of the 7 jobs by right-clicking on the job group -> ->.

When all of the target URLs are extinct, you will have a nice beginning amount of website lists. Now it's time to grow them significantly. The next procedure I will teach you has assisted me make around 50,000 verified backlinks in just a single day: In simply a single day while composing this, I scraped some new target URLs using the next basic technique I will share with you, and this is the variety of backlinks it contributed to our website lists.

Close to 12k for a day not too shabby, not too shoddy at all. First off I desire you to understand the principle of this strategy. We currently discussed this one a little in a comparable GSA SER functionality, however that's cool. Let's say you have produced a link pyramid project in GSA SER consisting of 3 tiers.

Your Tier 3 backlinks indicate your Tier 2 backlinks right? Okay. Now, there are most likely countless other users out there who are using GSA SER and likewise have developed similar link pyramids. Their Tier 3 backlinks will indicate their Tier 2 backlinks as well right? Excellent. Nevertheless, their Tier 3 backlinks and your Tier 3 backlinks might overlap and be on the exact same websites i.

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youtube

blog site comments on the very same blog site posts, guestbook comments, and so on. What you will do is merely take all the outgoing links on your Tier 3 URLs i. e. the URL of the post you left a discuss. GSA SER help. These outbound links have a very, very high opportunity to be pointing towards the Tier 2 of some other GSA SER user.

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So you see, these outgoing links have a great opportunity of being matched by a GSA SER engine. Now, let's state that your Tier 3 handled to develop 3,000 blog remarks - GSA SER reviews. Scraping the outbound links of all these 3k URLs will leave you with millions of brand-new target URLs, rather simply, since Tier 3 tasks are mainly spam and there are a great deal of these links.

GSA Search Engine Ranker - video tutorials

Hope you got the idea. Now here's how you do that. Initially you export all of the confirmed blog comments and guestbooks from all of the 7 confirmed link builders. Here's how you do that: Select all the 7 projects and right-click on them -> ->. Right-click on the table of validated backlinks -> -> - Gsa Search Engine Ranker Training.

Call the file. Now open Scrapebox again. Go to -> (if you do not see it, install it, it's free): Load the file into the Link Extractor. Then click ->. Make certain you have chosen the radio button which indicates that the addon will extract the outgoing links on the packed URLs.

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silverfootstepswrites · 5 years

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Lullaby [100%]

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Read Equinox here and come back!

_________

On the day Ami turned 16, she didn’t request a big party or a car.

“Are you sure?” asked Sakura for what felt like the millionth time. She glanced up at the window. Tobirama sat at the controls, his elbow leaning on the intercom button as he listened in. Ami fiddled with the strap of the electric guitar. It had a shiny seafoam green body. She ran her fingers down the maple fingerboard.

“Yeah! This is what I’ve always wanted to do,” insisted Ami, looking up. Her eyes glittered with excitement.

“I’ve always wanted to play a song you wrote for me, Mom,” Ami added. She gave the strings a strum in an easy G-chord. The callouses on the pads of her fingers had toughened them into the perfect tools for plucking the steel strings. And her fingers were strong from years of practicing on almost any musical instrument she could get her hands on.

“Don’t thank me. Daddy wrote the riff for this,” Sakura reminded her, sitting down behind the drums. She pulled her headphones up from her neck and set them over her ears.

“Thank you, Daddy. I love you!” Ami chirruped, blowing a kiss toward the window. Tobirama didn’t return the gesture, but a smile curled his mouth.

“Happy birthday, Angel,” he said in a quiet voice before he pushed play on the backing track.

_________

Everyone in Old Pines knew about the Siren nest right on the border with the forest. It also happened to be the town’s second pack of werewolves. Technically. It was only one wolf and a half, but according to Kiba, that was enough to count.

Ami wrinkled her nose whenever Kiba and Mari showed up on the back porch covered in mud and whatever else they had picked up in the forest. Sometimes she clicked her tongue as she wiped the remaining deer blood off Mari’s face. At least they had stopped bringing back dead rabbits and raccoons.

“Did you have fun?” she asked.

“Yeah! Pop broke the deer’s neck in, like, 5 seconds!” Mari chirruped.

“Well that’s cool,” answered Ami. A smile crossing her face as her little sister tried to throw her arms around her waist. She held up a finger, reminding Mari of the filth covering her clothes. Mari whined a little but stood still.

“Sorry, Peanut. I know you don’t like seeing blood,” Kiba apologized as he pulled his shirt over his head. There were a few scrapes on his back, but he seemed otherwise unharmed.

“That’s alright, Pop. It’s more the mud than the blood, honestly,” Ami replied. And then she smiled when Kiba mussed her hair.

“Heads up!” Sakura called.

Ami jumped out of the way just as cold water spurted out of the hose. Mari and Kiba yelped in unison. As they squirmed, Tobirama’s cool voice warned them:

“If you run from this, you’re not walking in that house.”

They froze. Turned to stare at each other. And then Kiba’s head drooped. They submitted to the torment of the icy water on their hair and bodies. When Itachi approached to shampoo their hair, Kiba’s head snapped up. He threw his arms around him, pulling him into the cold water.

“STOP! HELP!” Itachi yelped, sputtering against the water. Mari wrapped her arms around him, too.

“Sakura! Turn off the water!” he pleaded.

Sakura, hand on her hip, aimed the hose to the side for a bit. She considered the three of them. Sopping on the back porch. Itachi’s hair falling into his face, making him look like a wet dog. She turned her head to look at Tobirama, who stood by the garden faucet connecting the hose to the house, smirking.

Kakashi appeared in the doorway, a bowl of cereal in one hand. A spoon in the other.

“Kakashi! Make them stop!” Itachi begged.

Kakashi took in the scene, like a good cop was wont to do. And then he took a big bite of cereal. Crunching the pieces loudly between his molars.

“Not my jurisdiction,” he decided.

Sakura aimed the hose back at them and listened to all three of them howl.

Itachi had his revenge later when he grabbed Sakura by the waist as they walked into the house. His frozen hands pressing to her stomach and back as she shrieked with laughter.

Dinner, as usual, was crowded and noisy. With so many people laughing and chewing, it was impossible for the house to stay quiet. But as they began to clear the table and throw out the garbage, Ami tugged on the edge of Kiba’s shirt. He paused mid-step, hands heavy with plates. Ami stared back at him, her big green eyes blinking slowly at him.

“Babe?” he called over his shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“Ami and I’ll do the dishes,” Kiba offered. Sakura withdrew her hands from the soapy water. She took Itachi by the elbow and murmured something into his ear. He wiped his hands dry too before he put them on Mari’s shoulders.

“Show me that math homework, Mari. Let’s get that out of the way,” he announced. Groaning, Mari still pulled him up the stairs to where she had dropped her backpack right after school.

Sakura’s eyes met Kakashi’s.

“Let’s go walk the dogs,” he suggested.

At those words, the beagle sitting by the front door bolted to his feet. Following him was a brown and white mutt that yapped as it also ran to the door.

It smelled like autumn when they stepped out of the house. Sakura’s left hand slipped into Tobirama’s as they descended the wooden steps. And then she took Kakashi’s with her right.

“What do you think that’s about?” Sakura wondered as they headed down the sidewalk. The dogs’ panting filled the night air. Sakura could smell the hint of fairy magic as they passed behind the cafe. The lights in the windows were dark. Ino had closed up and gone home for the night by now, of course.

“You think she fought with a friend? The girls usually go to Kiba for things like that,” Kakashi suggested. Sakura wrinkled her nose as she considered that.

“Do you think she’s in trouble and didn’t want us to know?” Tobirama then said.

Sakura snorted at that. “Then why would she go to Kiba? She’d run right to Daddy.” She nudged him with her elbow. And Tobirama looked bewildered.

“Me?”

Kakashi leaned forward to level Tobirama with a knowing look. “Softie.”

“Like a big teddy bear,” snickered Sakura. And when Tobirama’s face scrunched into a scowl, she leaned closer with a smile. “I love it,” she added.

The answer to their question came later that night. Long after Mari and Ami had gone to bed. And after the dogs had fallen asleep too. Even after Kakashi had come home from his final check around the small town.

Kiba sat at the kitchen table, staring down into his beer. Swirling the amber drink around and around as he seemed to think very carefully about something.

“What’s on your mind?” prompted Sakura, settling in the seat beside him, her arms draping across his shoulders. He, of course, wasn’t even a little startled. She could never sneak up on him- not with his insane sense of hearing and smell.

“Our big girl’s got a lot on her mind, apparently,” he sighed.

“School?” guessed Itachi, sitting across from him. Tobirama settled next to Itachi, his arm resting on the back of the chair.

“Murder?” wondered Sakura, thinking back on her experiences as a teenager.

“School, actually. Well, sorta. College,” Kiba replied.

“College already?” marveled Itachi. And then he paused to think before he amended, “Actually, no. She’s a sophomore already. That makes sense.”

“What about college?” Sakura prompted. Because if this was just a talk about the cost of tuition, she knew Kiba wouldn’t look so miserable. Between all their salaries (and the royalties she and Tobirama earned from their music), they were more than prepared to send both their daughters to private universities (if that was what they wanted, of course).

“I’m just... well.... aw, jeez, Kakashi, maybe you should sit,” Kiba fumbled through the words, rubbing the back of his neck.

“....Alright,” Kakashi agreed. He glanced around the kitchen, which, someone usually criticized of being too small for their family at least once a week. Sakura got out of her chair to let him sit instead. She settled in his lap, feeling his arms wrap around her waist.

“So what’s up, Kiba?” Sakura urged him.

Kiba heaved a sigh that sounded odd coming from him. Because Kiba was all smiles and corny jokes. Even the girls agreed that he was the most fun, even though they tried to pretend that they were too old for the occasional fart joke.

“Well, so... Ami’s been looking at schools. And she’s been worried about.... well... distance.”

No one pretended not to have understood.

Sakura felt Kakashi’s arms tighten a little. She placed her hand on top of his. Patting softly as she kept her eyes fixed on Kiba. Who looked guilty for having brought it up at all.

“She was saying how she’s been thinking of going to school on the west coast. But then she started talking about how not everyone could come visit or see her graduate.”

Itachi’s forehead wrinkled. “She’s thought ahead that much about it? All by herself? Why wouldn’t she talk to us about it first?”

“She probably didn’t want Kakashi to feel hurt. Or lonely,” Tobirama guessed.

“Did I say something to make her worry like that?” wondered Kakashi. Sakura patted his hand again.

“She’s a teenager. That’s why. You didn’t do anything wrong,” she assured him.

Over the years, Kakashi had worked hard to extend the reach of his territory. Each new mile he gained was a struggle. It took years and years of effort, pushing and straining against the magical threads that bound him to the cornerstone of the old church wrapped in ivy. He could freely wander the shores of the beach now. And he could venture deeper and deeper into the forest, matching Kiba’s strides with ease.

But even that progress could only take him so far.

Sakura patted his hand again. “Hey. Let’s make tomorrow family night. We’ll have dinner and then talk things out,” she suggested.

Kakashi rested his forehead on her back. She felt him nod against her shoulder blade and patted his hand a little harder.

Of course the talk with Ami went well the following day. She was such a sweet girl who had dreaded the thought of making her beloved Papa feel left out.

“But I don’t want you to be sad, Papa,” she insisted, tears in her eyes as she threw her arms around Kakashi’s middle. And he hugged her close, his hand rubbing up and down her back.

“I know, sweetheart. But you have to do what’s right for you. Not me,” he told her.

“I love you so much, Papa,” Ami mumbled in response.

Despite the tears, the night ended on a positive note. Ami was in a good enough mood that she graced everyone with a kiss on the cheek before she went to bed.

Sakura took a deep breath as she leaned on the arm of the sofa. She watched her oldest daughter disappear up the stairs.

“She’s such a good girl. I wonder who she takes after. Definitely not me,” Sakura remarked.

“True,” muttered Kiba. Snickering, he caught her foot when she aimed a kick at his stomach. And through their laughter, they exchanged a look. Because even as he sat there smiling, Kakashi looked sad. He might have fooled someone else- but definitely not his family.

“You alright, Kakashi?” Itachi asked.

Kakashi nodded a little too slowly. “Of course,” he replied.

He definitely wasn’t.

_________

A few nights later, something half-woke Sakura. The crickets trilled outside in a delicate chorus. As the sunrise drew closer, the blackness of the horizon began to glow. Softly at first, and then brighter. And that light diffused in through the window.

It was the swish of the comforter that pulled Sakura from her dreams.

“Wha?” she croaked, head rising from the indent in her pillow.

“It’s alright. I just heard a noise,” Kakashi whispered, rising on his elbow. He turned his head one way, then the other. Throwing his legs off the side of the bed, he sniffed at the air.

Sakura began to sit up too. Tobirama’s arm slipped off of her, catching in the crook of her elbow. He didn’t stir.

“Don’t go alone. Maybe Kiba should go with you,” she suggested. But she stopped when Kakashi turned back to her, his eyes gleaming a little too brightly in the almost-morning.

“I’ll be careful,” Kakashi assured her. And when she continued to stare at him, he added, “And I’ll pick up coffee on the way back.”

Only when she nodded did Kakashi lean in to kiss her forehead. And then her pout before he slipped out of bed. Running a hand through his rumpled hair, Kakashi crept through the silent house. As he descended the stairs, he spotted Kiba and Mari both in their wolf forms, sprawled out on the back porch. Mari’s hind legs twitched a little as she dreamt.

And then there was the noise again.

Kakashi seamlessly transitioned into other form as he left the house. Black wisps of smoke flickering from the end of his tail as he descended the wooden steps. Barely displacing the gravel path with his paws. And once he hit the street, he broke into a run. Pulled by a faint voice that was almost familiar.

He followed the sounds down the streets, turning corners on a path that he knew by heart. And in the blink of an eye, he found himself standing in front of the old, white church. The tower glowing softly in the light of the rising sun.

“Papa.”

Kakashi turned. A little golden-brown dog sat in the grass. Tail wagging. A bright red kerchief was tied around its neck.

“Biscuit?”

“Papa,” the dog said again. His mouth moving perfectly with the sounds.

Biscuit had lived a long, healthy life. And while the dogs that Kakashi adopted tended to live longer than normal, old age eventually caught up with each of them. Biscuit had fallen asleep one night and hadn’t woken up again. And like all of the other dogs Kakashi had taken in over the years, he was laid to rest in the graveyard of the church.

So it was strange that Biscuit stood in front of Kakashi now. Tail swishing back and forth, head cocking to one side.

“You made it, Papa,” Biscuit said.

“Uh.... I guess I did,” Kakashi replied, fazing back into his human form. Tail wagging harder now, Biscuit trotted up to him. He nuzzled against Kakashi’s palm. And Kakashi responded by patting his neck, hand ruffling through the thick golden fur.

“Oh, wow. I.... I really missed you, bud,” Kakashi then said.

“I know,” Biscuit answered. And if a dog could smile, that was what Biscuit was doing.

After a while of petting Biscuit, Kakashi spoke again.

“So... this just a nice visit... or...?” Kakashi trailed off. Unsure of what was even going on. Biscuit tilted his head to the other side.

“You’ve been feeling sad, Papa. So we decided to help.” As Biscuit spoke, ethereal threads of silver rose from the soil. They wove together into the shapes of more paws and wagging tails. They came in all shapes and sizes. Short and squat. Tall and skinny. And slowly, those silver threads condensed, turning black and gold and white. Turning into patches of white and dun on glossy fur.

Bull snuffled at him. Pakkun shook himself before he peered up with big eyes. Shiba was there, too. And all of the other dogs he had taken in over the years. Stretching back and back all the way until the very beginning. To the first stray mutt he had taken in off the street.

“I don’t understand,” Kakashi whispered. He turned his head back toward Biscuit when he felt a lick on his hand.

“It’s okay, Papa,” Biscuit told him. “Since you took care of us, we’ll take care of the town from now on. You can go.” Behind him, Bull gave a sage nod of his wrinkly head.

“Go where?”

“Anywhere,” Biscuit replied. And then he disappeared into silver threads that dissolved into the air. The rest of the dogs followed one by one. Unraveling and twisting into nothingness. Pakkun was the last to go. The pug stared up at him with big, wet eyes.

“Take good care of Mama,” Pakkun requested. And before Kakashi could promise him that he would, the dog was gone.

Sakura woke for a second time a little while later when she felt Kakashi’s hand on her shoulder. Her eyes opened right away.

“Is everything alright?” she demanded.

And this time, Tobirama woke up too. Squinting angrily at the morning light like he always did.

“I need to show you something,” Kakashi blurted out. And the excitement in his face was impossible to argue with. Sakura looked over her shoulder at Tobirama. He glared back at her. The anger faded when she bent over and planted a kiss on his lips. He let out a sigh before he sat up, running a hand through his tangled hair.

“I’m not driving,” he grumbled as he got out of bed.

It took a few minutes to wake everyone and load them into the minivan.

“Where are we going?” Itachi asked as he gripped the steering wheel. He wore his sunglasses, scowling against the morning sunlight. Kakashi stood next to the window, his hand resting on top of the car.

“Toward the highway,” Kakashi instructed. And then he slipped into the shape of a smoky black dog and took off down the street.

The minivan crackled down the asphalt, chasing after the dark shape that cut across town. When they reached the town’s limits, Itachi slowed the car. He could see the black dog sitting beside the wooden sign that read ‘Old Pines’ in dark green letters. Sakura rolled the window down and stuck her head out of the car.

“What’re we doing out here?” Ami wondered, craning her head to peer out the window. Mari leaned against her shoulder, not quite asleep but not quite awake either.

As the car rolled to a stop next to the sign, Kakashi got to his feet. He gave a pointed look toward the car before he slowly began taking steps past the sign. He crossed over the border of the town. Then took another step. Then another.

“Kakashi, what are-” Sakura interrupted herself with a gasp. Her hands flying to her mouth.

“No way,” Kiba breathed.

One by one, the members of their family piled out of the car. Sakura leaned against Kiba’s side as she watched Kakashi take off in a run down the empty road. Until he was just a black blob against the asphalt. Itachi leaned his elbow on Sakura’s other shoulder. After a minute, Kakashi began running back toward them.

“Papa! It’s a miracle!” Mari exclaimed as she ran to greet him. She threw her arms around his neck. And, laughing, Ami threw her arms around him too. Kakashi shifted back into his human form, an arm around each of his daughters as he squeezed them tight.

“I’m so happy for you, Papa,” Ami said.

“Thank you,” he said. And it sounded like he was choking back tears.

“SHERIFF!” Kiba bellowed. Their eyes popped open as he grabbed them and lifted all three of them off the ground. Sakura wormed her way inside the cluster. The girls giggled as her hair tickled their noses.

“Where should we go?” Kiba wondered. Because there had been so many times when they had seen or done things and wished that Kakashi could see them too.

“Anywhere,” laughed Sakura in response.

“I suggest somewhere tropical because you seriously need a tan, Kakashi,” remarked Itachi, leaning on the hood of the minivan.

“Hidan’s shooting a music video in Aruba. We could crash it,” suggested Tobirama, looking over an email on his phone.

Ami’s head popped up from somewhere under Kiba’s arm. “Really? Can we do that, Daddy?” she inquired, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Of course. I’m the boss,” Tobirama scoffed. He turned away to make a phone call. Holding it away from his ear in anticipation of Hidan’s adamant protest.

_________

As the years passed, the town of Old Pines changed very little. Sometimes people thought they heard dogs barking in the distance more often than they used to. But the smell of fairy magic, sweet and warm, still hung in the air near the little cafe on the corner. And when summer retreated, the leaves on the trees began to turn orange and gold, lighting up the town in bright shades.

The once small cabin on the edge of town had grown into something that now fit such a large family. Little crystals of peridot hung from the curtain rods, tinkling against each other whenever someone walked past. The mantelpiece above the fireplace was always crowded with picture frames of various shapes and sizes- all the members of their big family squeezed together to fit into each shot.

What had changed were the souvenirs that had begun to overtake the house. Gaudy magnets appeared on the fridge. Mysterious wood carvings sat on the bookshelves. Useless and shiny bits that scattered the house to remind its occupants of distant lands.

“Don’t forget flip-flops. Hotel floors are not to be trusted.”

“Is anyone gonna check a bag? I need to take my hairspray.”

“Yeah, squeeze it in mine. Can I put my sneakers in yours then?”

“Has anyone seen my sweater? The blue one with stripes. I can’t find it anywhe- Nevermind. Thank you, Baba!”

The entire house overflowed with the sounds of zippers and people running back and forth between rooms. Tobirama was the only one who sat still. He had finished packing his suitcase two days ago. It sat in the corner of his room with his passport resting on top.

“Are you sure you’re alright to travel?” he queried for the millionth time. He watched Sakura sitting on the edge of the bed. She sat wrestling with a t-shirt, trying to fold it in the neat, trendy way that was all over the internet nowadays. Tobirama huffed. He got to his feet.

“Give me that,” he grumbled. Grabbing it out of her hands, he folded it into a perfect square. And then he went on to fold the rest of the shirts sitting on the bed.

“The doctor says I’m fine. Besides. We’ve been planning this trip since last year,” Sakura replied as she watched him.

“I moved stuff around on the itinerary so we won’t be walking around as much.”

They both started. When they looked up, they found Itachi in the doorway, his back against the doorjamb. He scrolled through his document on his tablet, which he had probably checked about a thousand times by now.

“Maybe we should rent a car,” Itachi then worried as he eyed Sakura.

“Absolutely not. Parking in Rome is a nightmare,” Sakura protested.

“Can’t drive in Europe. Don’t they all drive on the left?” Kiba piped up, his head appearing over Itachi’s shoulder. He squinted down at the tablet too.

“That’s just England,” replied Itachi. When Itachi snickered at him, Kiba knocked into the back of Itachi’s knee, making his leg buckle. Sakura stifled a snort into her fist.

“Pop?” a voice came from down the hall. Kiba twisted his head to yell back, “Yeah?”

“Is there room in your bag for my umbrella?”

“Think so. Go for it.”

“Kay. Thanks!”

Kiba then ducked under Itachi’s tablet to enter the room. Hands in the back pockets of his jeans, he plopped down on the bed beside Sakura. She had given up on packing as Tobirama seized the rest of her clothes and began placing them in her empty suitcase for her.

“Kiba, we need to have a serious talk,” Kakashi announced as he appeared in the doorway, Ami tucked under his arm. Itachi moved to the side so she could roll Kiba’s suitcase into the room.

Kiba arched an eyebrow. “About?”

“This,” Ami said before she opened his suitcase to reveal the contents within.

Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and pointer finger. Tobirama let out a noise of exasperation.

“....You can’t be serious, Kiba,” Tobirama whispered. He sounded defeated.

“What?”

“I refuse to be seen with you if all you’re packing is flannel,” Itachi declared.

“That’s, like, all I own,” Kiba insisted.

“No, it’s not. You have plenty of nice shirts. I know. Because we buy them for you every year, Pop,” Mari piped up as she appeared in the doorway. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at his fashion choices.

“It’s my aesthetic!”

When everyone continued to glare, Kiba threw his hands up in the air. “Babe. Come on.”

Everyone’s stare turned to Sakura. She considered this as she rubbed her hand over the bump under her sweatshirt.

“Stop bullying him. He can wear what he wants,” Sakura decided.

Kiba’s face turned smug. “Thank you.”

“We can always photoshop him out of all our pictures later,” Sakura then added.

“Babe!”

“Aw, Mom. You’re such a savage,” Mari cackled. She crossed the room to slap Sakura a high five.

In the midst of all this chatter and laughter, the doorbell rang. Mari and Ami swiveled their heads to stare at each other.

“You get it.”

“No, you get it.”

“Can someone get the door, please!” Kakashi interrupted the squabbling. The girls exchanged one last look before they both hurried out of the room. Their footsteps stumbled down the stairs together, just slightly out of sync with each other. They giggled, probably as one elbowed the other. Everyone upstairs stayed quiet as they listened to the door open.

“Heya, pups! Excited for your trip?” Hana’s voice drifted upstairs.

As Itachi crouched to help Tobirama continue packing, Sakura closed her eyes.

She could remember what this house had felt like all those years ago. When she had first driven into this tiny town in the middle of the night. Her sedan crammed with her possessions. The inside of her head even more cluttered than her car. Back then, this house had just been another place to run away to. Quiet. Far from prying eyes.

She had never imagined living somewhere so noisy.

“Sakura?”

Her eyes opened. Kakashi was kneeling in front of her. A faint smile on his lips.

“Are you feeling okay?” His hand brushed against her cheek.

She had also never imagined living somewhere that felt so warm.

“Yeah. Everything’s alright,” she assured him. Even without trying, she found herself returning his smile.

#polysaku #equinox #lullaby #itasaku #tobisaku #kibasaku #kakasaku #i just need a happy ending okay?

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brownstonearmy · 4 years

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2020-05-24: “Legal” Litter Liberation, Part 3

July 26 (Sunday afternoon)

Picking up right where the last adventure left off, our party of intrepid adventurers has returned to Yula's mansion to settle their obligation. Except there's a tiny problem: the party's hourglass tattoos haven't run out of sand. Yula explains that it means they came back a few minutes before the 24 hour reclamation period was over and that the party could accidentally lead the vault reclamation guards back to the mansion. Yula storms off to his Breakable Objects Room and starts throwing things to release some of the stress of the situation.

As a precautionary measure, Lucky dons the invisibility cloak and casts invisibility on the rest of the party just in case something shows up. Six minutes later, the teleportation circle activates and one of the clockwork reclamation agents crawls through. It is missing one of its legs and is thoroughly scorched from its recent collision with lava, but it's still hunting for the treasures that were stolen from Goldleaf's vault. Everyone tries to remain still and quiet to avoid attracting any attention in the remaining 4 minutes, though it's more difficult for Spleenifer because of her chainmail and squeaky shoes.

Eventually, though, the timer runs out and the mechanical guard's body sags in defeat. It blinks out of existence after having failed in its mission to retrieve the stolen items. Yula returns to the party and begins inspecting the recovered items. He chastises the party for leaving fingerprints and mortal body odor on many of the items. Fuego flings a sizable booger onto Yula's 4,000 GP shirt in response. Half of the recovered items Yula deems to be salvageable, and takes those for his personal use. The items that Yula deemed to be unsalvageable or spoiled were gifted to the party. The items were still perfectly usable, so the party still came out ahead. Here's what Yula left the party with:

Portable Hole

Wand of Magic Detection

Wand of Secrets

Periapt of Health

Dust of Disappearance

Marvelous Pigments

Shield +1

Weapon +1

Slippers of Spider Climbing

Paste of Attunement

Moments later, a wagonload of gold appears in the teleportation circle. It's the insurance payment that will be providing the necessary funds to construct Yula's ostentatious litterbox. All that's left is to do is actually build the thing. Bostvick hears the commotion in the teleportation chamber and comes to investigate. He asks Spleenifer if she managed to get a relaxation chair for the litterbox to potentially negotiate Bostvick's freedom from his obligation. Unfortunately for Bostvick, there is no throne in the loot the party recovered.

While Yula stashes the salvageable items, the party gets to work building a litterbox. The sides of the new litterbox are lined with platinum, and the litter is a tasteful mixture of volcanic sand and gypsum dust (for clumping purposes). But the piece de resistance of the new litterbox comes from Lucky. The ethereal sand from the desert dream world appears to be made of concentrated energy. Perhaps it could be used to make the litterbox self cleaning? Or maybe it could be set up as a trap to set up to launch a holy lightning bolt up Yula's butt the first time he uses the litterbox?

WHY NOT BOTH?

Yula returns from hiding his freshly-stolen possessions and eagerly awaits the chance to use his new litterbox. Fuego almost used it first, you know, for quality control purposes and DEFINITELY NOT as display of dominance. Spleenifer stopped Fuego, because this is going to be a very intimate and personal moment between a fiend and his litterbox. Yula is thrilled at the quality of the siding and the minimalist aesthetic of the sand arranged to resemble a Japanese rock garden. He shuts the door in the party's collective face and rushes to attend to business.

There is a sigh of relief and some joyous exultations, but they are cut short by a warbling scream. All is silent for several minutes before the seneschal comes to check on Yula. Everyone is still under the effects of Lucky's Seeming spell, with Fuego still looking like Yula and Spleenifer still looking like seneschal Storm. Everyone with a coin of obligation feels the metal grow cold. Real Storm has an awkward conversation with her doppelganger about her future employment and eventually forces her way into the litterbox room to do a wellness check. Thanks to the brilliant energy of that spectral sand, Yula's corporeal form is no more!

According to the terms of the Coin of Obligation, the bodily death of one or both parties in an agreement ends the obligation. Storm, tired of her innumerable years stuck managing Yula's estate, takes the next train to Splitsville. The party starts sleuthing around the mansion looking for easily-looted things and also the treasure that was stolen. Spleenifer finds Yula's bedchamber with a dumbwaiter in one of the walls, but as she is looking around, she senses infernal evil below. Unfortunately for Spleenifer, she's too large to fit in the dumbwaiter. But Norm, on the other hand... Norm is dumbwaiter-sized. He hops in, ready to complete his first infernal exorcism (but you know... using daggers).

Lucky and Fuego are stuffing armload after armload of silverware into whatever they find that can hold it. Fuego's staying close to the dumbwaiter, though, in case Norm needs to make an emergency escape. But there doesn't seem to be anything immediately dangerous about the room in which Norm finds himself. It's a smaller room with lead-lined walls covered in infernal runes. The only furnishings here are a bed and a safe in one wall. Although too heavy to lift normally, the portable hole comes in handy as Norm is able to wedge some of the material into a small crack in the wall and dump the safe into the hole. If he can get it back to his house, Norm plans to use the Chime of Opening on it to find out what was inside. Success!

In an adjoining room, Spleenifer finds a shine to Asmodeus, complete with a blood-soaked altar. Naturally, Spleenifer smites the heck out of such an unholy place of worship. But so far, there's no sign of the missing treasure. After Storm's departure, word is getting around to the rest of the servants and slaves that Yula is no more. Everyone else starts looting whatever they can carry, and Spleenifer goes to check on Bostvick.

Bostvick thinks that Spleenifer is just there to gloat at first, but she offers him a job working at SHART. It's a decent position for a geologist like Bostvick to have, and best of all, the employment is completely voluntary. He accepts and starts packing his bag. When Bostvick learns that Spleenifer and the rest of the party were looking for the confiscated treasures, he gives Spleenifer some disappointing news: Yula has probably already teleported that treasure to a different vault for safekeeping. Yula has an entire network of vaults where he keeps his treasures, periodically rotating things between vaults.

Down in Yula's lead-lined safe room, Norm is now ready to explore what's beyond the door in this room. It leads to a staircase with yet another door at the top. But Norm has been in enough bad-guy hideouts to know that there's probably some traps here. Indeed, every other step is marked with a glyph of warding. Though he couldn't know it at the time, the glyph only triggers if someone without infernal ancestry puts weight on that step. So it's for the best that Norm didn't take any chances with those steps. He deftly avoids the traps and comes out the other door, which turns out to be a secret door hidden behind the large statue of Asmodeus in the shrine that Spleenifer previously desecrated (consecrated?).

Moments later, the party is reunited, but there's still the problem of how exactly to get home. Fortunately, the contingency plan that Norm came up before the heist comes into play. While everyone else was interviewing people for information about the vault's floorplan and defenses, Norm was collecting information about potential places to safely teleport in the event that the heist went pear-shaped. He also managed to find a spell scroll of Teleport in the seneschal's office (presumably to be used for business travel, but things are weird right now). Anyway, the party and Bostvick teleport into Brownstone and spend the rest of the day relaxing.

Lucky goes to visit Hilaria after unloading 10 sets of silverware (worth approximately 1,000 GP) from inside the shirt Lucky borrowed from Hilaria. This is going to be help Lucky and Hilaria throw an amazingly fancy party. Fuego has an equivalent amount of silverware, but they are more concerned with the melted salvage value of the silverware. But back at Lucky's place, Lucky asks Hilaria if she would mind watching Lucky while she slept to prevent any sudden or random wild teleports. Hilaria agrees to be the big spoon, and the two snuggle the night away. They may have done more, but we faded to black out of respect for their privacy. And either way, Lucky woke up the next morning glowing. Literally glowing. As in, emitting light in a 5 foot radius around her.

But let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Norm got the safe back to his house and booped it with the Chime of Opening. Inside were several ledgers detailing all of Yula's shady business transactions. The most recent transaction was recorded earlier today, and it mentions moving supplies to another vault in Fort Cainesbury, a town in the Kingdom of Obrus about 60 miles northwest of Cedar Hollow. That smells like an adventure hook if I ever heard one!

Spleenifer is eager to do some cross-stitching to unwind after such an eventful adventure, but she is unfortunately out of the necessary thread. She makes a stop at Oneida's, the local glovemaker, to acquire more supplies. As Spleenifer purchases the last spool of black yarn, a pompous and entitled woman named Gertruda Frostart gets up in Spleenifer's face about trying to steal her man by being better than her at cross-stitching. Apparently Gertruda is trying to court Hjalmar Magnusson, a local wealthy businessman, by showing just how literate and spiritual she is through tasteful renditions of holy verses on fabric. Spleenifer graciously offers to split the yarn in half for Gertruda, and in an extremely satisfying power move, slices the ball of yarn right down the center and leaving hundreds of functionally-useless tiny bits of yarn. Gertruda grabs her half of the yarn and flips Spleenifer a copper piece out of spite before storming out the door in pursuit of her dream man.

July 27 (Monday morning)

The party assembles at SHART HQ for after a restful and well-deserved sleep in their own beds the previous night. Dave gives them their work assignment for the day: deliver a notice to someone called Granny Agatha, informing them that the waste collection tax is going up for Granny Agatha. According to Dave, this has to be done in person, and he hasn't raised her rates in over a decade because Granny Agatha gives him the heebie-jeebies.

When Fuego (going by Q on this fair Monday morning) asks why Granny Agatha is so scary, Dave can't quite put a finger on the reason. She's shriveled and old, lots of black birds seem to hang out at her house, and sometimes she has lots of meat in her trash. To motivate the party to take on this assignment, Dave promises everyone the day off if they can deliver that notice.

Well, that and an envelope. Norm recognizes the envelope as the kind the constabulary uses to send important correspondence about legal matters. Dave doesn't specify or even know what's in the envelope, only that Granny Agatha is supposed to get that, too. Even though it's not illegal to open other people's letters, it's definitely frowned upon and the party eventually decides to leave the letter unopened until it reaches its intended recipient. The party sets out for Granny Agatha's house.

But alas, the journey to Granny Agatha's house is not a terribly smooth one. A well-dressed dragonborn preacher with a full head of hair, of all things, berates the party as they pass by. The dragonborn preacher is Jrr'al Oshtreeth of the Reformed Church of the Dragon Lord, and he's announcing his support of Zaribeth Quickfingers as the mayoral candidate in the upcoming special election. Jrr'al implores his congregation to similarly pledge their collective support to Zaribeth since the current mayor is clearly too cozy with SHART, having gifted the organization an interest-free loan of all the money in the town's coffers with no oversight while simultaneously employing disingenuous sorcerers, disgraced law officers, degenerate women of faith, and distasteful harlots.

Q and Jrr'al exchange several harsh statements, but Norm opts to stop the argument a different way: by stuffing Jrr'al into the portable hole. Although the action does stop Jrr'al's tirade, it is not appreciated by his congregation. Norm makes a few hostile remarks in kind, causing several churchmembers to rush at him. Q puts on a mighty fine performance with real tears and everything, pleading with the crowd that Norm was merely defending their honor. Lucky does her best to help quell the commotion, while Spleenifer uses her impressive wingspan to stop more people from attacking Norm. Apologies are exchanged with various levels of sincerity, and Jrr'al is dumped out of the hole with the promise that everyone leave each other alone.

Eventually the party reaches Granny Agatha's house. Just as Dave mentioned, a collection of crows are perched on the roof and squawking at the party. Agatha opens the door right after the first knock, swooning over how adorable everyone is and offering the party free cookies. Everyone politely refuses, though Q decides it's probably more polite to take some cookies for the road to make sure Granny Agatha doesn't feel slighted. The party informs Granny Agatha that the waste collection tax is going to be going up, per Dave's request. Granny Agatha doesn't seem to take it too hard, though she does mention that she's on a fixed income.

Next comes the letter from the constabulary. Her arthritic hands open up the envelope and she starts reading, her face growing increasingly dissatisfied. During this moment of silence, Spleenifer notices the stench of undeath coming from beyond the kitchen. Spleenifer hops up and goes to investigate, but Granny Agatha stops her. Agatha can sense that Spleenifer is a woman of faith, and asks her to please exercise restraint before proceeding.

Yes, Granny Agatha keeps an undead skeleton around to help with housework and baking. The skeleton's name is Tandy, and she's been with Agatha's family for at least 200 years. Tandy's been a part of Agatha's life for as long as she can remember, and she keeps Tandy muzzled and indoors at all times to prevent any unfortunate biting incidents. Spleenifer requests to see Tandy, and Agatha agrees on the promise that Tandy not be harmed in any way. It's a difficult choice, but Spleenifer agrees.

Inside the kitchen, a small boy is mixing up some more pastries. The boy is introduced as Milo Cherrycheeks, and Agatha legally adopted him about a year ago. Milo's arm is bandaged up, and Q asks him what happened. He replies that he burned his arm on the stovetop while cooking. Q asks to see the wound, and the injury appears consistent with a stove burn. They offer to heal Milo with Healing Word, and Milo readily agrees.

Granny Agatha remarks how wonderful it is that people are helping Milo, and mentions that she adopted him a year ago because his parents considered him to be a burden. The letter Agatha received from the constabulary was actually a lawsuit from Milo's parents, Rudd and Hadley Warren, accusing Granny Agatha of owing 9 years of late child support payment for Milo. Norm takes a look at the letter, and concludes that it is legitimate, though it would probably get thrown out in court. According to the letter, the court date is on Monday, August 17.

The adventure concludes for the evening with the characters having fulfilled their mission from Dave. Granny Agatha praises them for being such professional and polite individuals, and before sending them off, makes sure to apply a generous dab of icing to each cookie she sends with the adventurers. Everybody reaches level 10 at this point; stay tuned next time for more!

#shits and giggles #adventure log #Dungeons and Dragons #fishdavidson #court #child support #cookies #heist

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movieshdblogs · 3 years

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Corner Gaming Desk | Table with Keyboard Tray Space USA

You’ve hit the helpdesk today We’re going to review the Eureka Ergonomic 60″ L Shaped Gaming Desk So we’ll move on to opening the case next We’ll put it togetherLet me tell you some of the steps I’ve been through and maybe some things to avoid, then let me give you my general opinions we got from this office Put it together for about a week and I’ll tell you my thoughts and durability stuff like that, so let’s get into it first.When you open the box everything is well packed it is in a foam some kind of hard foam everything has a place so everything is protectedThat’s nice, this desk is a partitioned desk, so it’s shipped in 2 different pieces, everything is pre-drilled with the threaded metal bits pre-installed Already glued, shipping was not damaged, here is the desk with the two halves put together before clamps and plates are on the seamClosed close to this plastic corner piece I removed from the desk and I was the first to install this desk with the lights kind of offIt was darker, it was actually a little hard to see this little piece in there and it prevented the desk from merging together, so just remember that Remove that pieceSo that two pieces of the desk can be pushed together all the way and here you can see the formation of the support system of this desk it seems that each piece of the deskProperly supported which is nice and here are some extra support struts that stick out at the top one thing I noticed is that everything lines up correctly so I didn’t have any via threaded issuesWhile putting these screws in and here it is with all the screws in, I had relatively no problems putting these in everything threaded well, nothing tangled I didn’t have eitherToo much trouble with everything so what I’m showing you here is that these legs are in two different sizes, one for the short depth side and one for the long depth okay side don’t panic this desk is used by a nine-year-old kid andWhat I’m going to show you here is how a nine-year-old can make this desk messy and the surface seems not to be protected much but when we wash itThey come out beautifully and brand new, it’s not the most resistant material I’ve seen on a desk, the Mars Cougar and Mars 120 isA bit more scratch-resistant, but this desk came out very clean and has these wire chase ways on the side for cable management which is great It is so deep that you can put a lot of wires in itIt has a central section to hold the wires from the monitor, mouse, and keyboard, it also has a second chase method on the other side, and here’s the desk bringing them togetherHolds 127 inches comfortably, and it also holds the entire desktop we plan on putting two 27 inches on so the way to do that is we’ll have to turn the computer on in the back

a side of l and two 27s and 27-inch curves can fit together now my feelings with this desk I’ve been really looking forward to in other desks is that it only has aWeight capacity is 176lbs and what that means is how sturdy the desk is, so I just put my hand on the desk and kind of move my hand on the desk, which makes Screen shaking makes your mouth vibrate, it is strong enough for a child but if you are an older person Corner Gaming DeskIt’s probably on the keyboard or if you mount your monitor on that desk, you’ll probably get some screen shake and other components going into itTo be able to see the vibration well, I hope you enjoyed blogging a few things, uh to summarize ah the mouse pad comes with the deskIt’s a nice mouse pad, it’s a soft piece of cloth, and it goes the whole depth of the desk, it was very nice, I picked this up during the holiday season, so it was forNow note at the time of this video that it is not available, I saw it for 199 I saw it on the convenient website eureka As much as 2.99 but I think you can get it for close to 200 anywayI’ve been using this desk for over a week now and am loving it! Its a nice sturdy desk that I use for my office and it fits perfectly against corners. I was able to build it by myself in about an hour with the directions included in the box.All parts of the desk have a sticker and is labeled in the instructions to easily put it together. My only complaint with the instructions is the lack of words/ captions to go along with the pictures.None the less, it was still relatively easy to build. I use the desk with two monitors and there is plenty of extra space for some paperwork and a printer.After everything was set, I did notice that the keyboard tray wasn’t the smoothest and had some friction when sliding it back in. Sprayed dry lube on the sliders and it fixed the problem A great product for the price and was a much needed upgrade from my old desk. 5 Best Gaming Desks in 2021 Corner Gaming Desk FULL READ NOW TOP 5 BEST GAMING DESKS 2021–2022Corner Gaming Desk | Table with Keyboard Tray Space USA — (findnowblogs.com)

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fabrichut · 7 years

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I Want to Learn to Sew...Now What?

So you got a sewing machine for the holidays. Congratulations! A sewing machine is a great investment for your new hobby! …Now what?

1. Stock up on essential items There are some basic things every sewist needs in their arsenal, no matter what you are sewing.

Seam ripper – every sewist has to rip something out, no matter how long they have been doing this. Everyone makes mistakes! You want to be prepared to backtrack if needed.

Scissors big and small – A good pair of scissors stays sharp for a long time. Your kitchen scissors that you keep in the junk drawer are not going to cut it this time (get it?). You want scissors that have never touched paper, and you never want to let them touch paper. You will need more than one pair, and in more than one size. Some heavier fabrics will need a larger pair, whereas some of your lighter fabrics will not need as much heft in the cut.

Extra bobbins – Bobbins are so small and so easy to lose, you are going to want some extras. You also want to be able to keep as many filled bobbins as possible so that when you need to change colors, you will have the bobbin ready. You also want to be able to fill a bobbin with the thread you are working with without having to unroll another bobbin to do so.

Needles – Chances are that your machine comes with a few extra needles for when yours breaks. However, you are going to want to use different needles for different projects. Schmetz has a great chart depicting what needles should be used for different projects, as well as this link which shows what the points of certain needles look like and what each of the band colors mean for what you are working on.

Thread – Always keep spools of black and white thread handy. Black and white are the most commonly used colors in projects, followed by neutral colors. You don’t have to match every color in every project you make, but if you love purple and know you’ll be sewing lots of purple things, then by all means get purple thread!

Tape measure – A tape measure allows you to measure areas that are not necessarily straight and flat and thus harder to measure with a ruler or yardstick. They come in 60” and 120” lengths and can often come in fun colors!

Pins or clips – No matter how much control you think you have, you will never have complete control over your fabrics. Pins keep things in place where you put them while you are working on other parts of a project. Pins keep a pattern stuck to your fabric while you are tracing it or measuring it. Clips help when you are not too keen on poking holes in your fabric or if you are working with several layers of fabric.

Pin cushion – (or other storage device) This one should be self-explanatory. No one likes stepping on a pin, do they? There are plenty of fun ways to keep your pins, from your typical tomato-shaped pin cushion to a magnetized saucer or pin cushion for your wrist.

A few other supplies you may want to try include a rotary cutter and a self-healing mat (to make cutting fabric much quicker and easier on the hands), tailor’s chalk or marking pencil/pen (for tracing patterns onto your fabric without permanently marking said fabric), the aforementioned Wonder clips, pinking shears (for cutting edges of fabric so that they do not fray), or if you do not want to get pinking shears – Fray Check (which seals the edges of your fabric).

2. Take a Class You sit down at your machine to start a project, and a space-ship control panel looks back at you. What do these buttons do? How do I do a zig-zag stitch? What is a blind hem stitch? How do I change stitches? Overwhelmed, you stand back up and walk away, only to come back a week later to the same dilemma.

Fear not, beginner sewist! Even the most experienced seamstress had to start somewhere, and more often than not they had someone to teach them, whether it was a mother or grandmother or a Home Economics teacher. Fabric Hut offers free classes with machines purchased in its store, or you can sign up for one of our classes online or over the phone. In your class you will learn the ins and outs of your machine at a comfortable pace. Able to learn on your own? Read through the manual. Modern machine manuals tend to be very user-friendly and often explain things in layman’s terms so that when you are confused by a certain setting, you can check the manual and it will help.

3. Choose a starter project Even if your end goal is to recreate Marie Antoinette’s most elaborate gown, you have to start small. A pillow case, a zipper pencil pouch, a drawstring bag, or a rice heating pack can all be great starting projects. Most starting projects will have very few instructions and will be fairly self-explanatory. One of the main reasons new sewists quit sewing early is that they try to get too complicated too fast.

Play with your machine. Find some scrap fabric and sew some stitches with it, seeing how it feels pulling through the machine, what certain stitches look like on cotton vs. knit vs. heavier fabrics. Get comfortable with your machine and find out all the cool things it can do, then use those features to your advantage later on when you have a more complicated project to work on. Looking for tips? Check out our Sewing Know How Pinterest board for some informative articles and necessary knowledge.

4. Find a pattern While you may think you know how to make something as simple as a pillow case, it is always a good idea to have a pattern available – even if only for visual reference. This will keep you from having a pillow case shaped like a triangle or a zipper pouch shaped like a blob. You can find patterns from the major companies like McCall’s and Simplicity in most fabric stores (including Fabric Hut!)

There are also lots of independent pattern companies that sell downloadable PDF patterns. An easy way to find them is to search Google or Pinterest for the type of pattern you want like “leggings sewing pattern” or “elephant stuffed animal sewing pattern” or “baby quilt pattern.”

Read the directions on the pattern. Does something look funky? Are you unsure what the numbers and letters on the back of the pattern mean? Ask questions! We get questions about patterns all the time and we are more than happy to answer them when you bring them in.

5. Dive In!

Double check before you cut. Make sure the pattern is laying the right way. Check the directions again as you go. Stitch slowly so you can control your fabric. Make sure to trim and tuck in all your threads when you’re done!

6. Be easy on yourself. When a kid learns to do something new, they don’t care if they’re perfect the first time, they know they’re learning. You are too! Sewing is a skill that takes practice. Don’t give up if you finish your first thing and think it looks bad. It was a learning experience, and I bet you’ll have figured out at least one thing to do next time and one thing NOT to do.

7. Find a community. Getting in touch with other people that sew is so beneficial. If none of your friends or family members sew, see if your area has a local chapter of the American Sewing Guild or find out if there’s an “open sew” time somewhere near you. Online there are many Facebook groups devoted to different kinds of sewing and plenty of Youtube tutorials (check out our partner Dad Sews!). There are also sites like Textillia and Craftster with forums. Even Instagram is a great resource – follow hashtags like #sewing, #quilting, and #sewingtutorial.

Here at Fabric Hut we have our classroom open on Wednesday for open sewing time (bring your machine!) and host American Sewing Guild chapters once a month. Interested in forming your own group to meet here? Drop us a line and let’s get something started!

Learning to sew opens up new worlds for people. Have fun! Experiment! The possibilities of fabric combinations and techniques are endless!

Have more suggestions for communities, tools and resources? Let us know in the comments!

Want to find a sewing class at Fabric Hut or buy some supplies? Check out our inventory at http://www.fabrichut.com

#learn to sew #learning to sew #sewing

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