I been trying to find videos or pictures of the new fruit just trying to see move list and animations.

CONUS shipping only. If G&S is requested, buyer must pay fee. Flaired users only.

• Bvlgari (Bulgari) – La Gemme - OROM
  • Full presentation.
  • 100ml bottle, sprayed 5-6 times.
  • $325 shipped (retails at $400 + tax).
• Thomas de Monaco - Eau Coeur
  • Full presentation.
  • 48.5/50ml.
  • $225 shipped (retails at $290 + tax).
• [WTT ONLY] Dior Homme Parfum
  • Full presentation.
  • 99/100ml.

WTT list: Amouage Love Tuberose, Matière Première Falcon Leather, Fréderic Malle En Passant, Giardini di Toscana Borabora, Giardini di Toscana Celeste, Dior Privée Lucky, Guerlain Tonka Sarrapia Extrait 75, Profumum Roma Gioiosa, Nasomatto Sadonaso, Nasomatto Narcotic Venus, Caswell-Massey Lilac. All full presentation.
Add-ons only:

• Zara - Leather Jardin
  • Full presentation.
  • 90ml bottle, sprayed 4 times.
  • $45
• Zara - Vibrant Leather & Tobacco Elixir
  • Full presentation.
  • 60ml bottle, sprayed 4 times.
  • $25
• Zara - Vibrant Leather & Violet Elixir
  • Full presentation.
  • 60ml bottle, sprayed 4 times.
  • $25
• Sarah Jessica Parker - Stash
  • Full presentation.
  • 50ml bottle, sprayed 5-6 times.
  • $20
  • Notes: The liquid appears to have a large dent, but I confirmed by buying several bottles that it's just how it comes even when BNIB. I bought this bottle BNIB and have only sprayed it 5-6 times.
• Lattafa - Ameer Al Oudh Intense Oud
  • Full presentation.
  • 100ml bottle, sprayed 3 times.
  • $12

Pictures: https://imgur.com/a/VVe7aCE.

So, i asked him to prom and he said yes, but i havent talked to him since sophomore year and we’re seniors now. We went together, but didnt talk together much. We didnt even sit next together, we just took pictures. I thought i wouldnt see him after prom again, but i ended up seeing him at a house party and he came up to me. We pregamed a lot beforehand and shared a drink. After talking for a bit, i went upstairs with my friends and he ended up coming upstairs like 20 minutes later. We talked together for the rest of the party until i had to leave. The thing is, i dont know if he was talking to me because he was drunk or because he actually likes me. He also doesnt really text me at all, even when planning everything for prom. I still want to hang out with him after promhouse but im not sure if hell say yes.

I’m sorry if this isn’t quite the right place for this, but I can’t talk to anybody in my life at all about it and I desperately need help and advice. I need a completely unbiased opinion hence why I’m here asking internet strangers.
I F/20 have been with my bf M/28 for about 9 months now, so when I was 19 and he was 27. It hasn’t really been the smoothest of sailings but what relationship is? I love him a lot and he makes me feel special.
This takes us to the other night. He went to a friends place for a group meal and I was at a family gathering. Me and my boyfriend texted consistently through the evening, just chatting and keeping each other updated.
My family likes to drink and regretfully I did end up getting pretty drunk (I have had problems with addiction but I like to think I’m getting better). Also where I’m from, the legal drinking age is 18+.
As the night wound down I was given the option to stay the night at the family members place, however like an idiot I decided to walk home (about 30 mins). It was about 11:30 at this point.
On the walk home I fell over and have two very nasty scrapes on my knee. There was a lot of blood and I sent a picture to my boyfriend trying to make light of it.
As I stood up and tried to walk home, my messages became few and far between as I was focusing on just getting myself home. My boyfriend was getting more and more worried and concerned (very understandable) but had had a drink himself so couldn’t come and pick me up.
Anyway, long story short, my boyfriend confided to me the following night that he’d had a pretty major breakdown of sorts and ended up self harming. He says it was due to the stress of me and my fall and he was so overwhelmed that once he’d gotten back to his place from the meal, he harmed himself. He tried to stress that it isn’t my fault, I didn’t make him do it, but obviously if I hadn’t gotten so drunk then he wouldn’t have felt the need to harm himself. So it is my fault.
I am wracked with guilt. I wish I hadn’t been so naive and stupid. He never does silly stuff like this when he’s drunk. He’s so much better than me and doesn’t deserve to feel like this, how do I get myself over it?

You can read Part 1 here.

Interlude: Two Promises

Japanese	Romaji	English
あなたしか見えないの	anata shika mienai no	I can only see you.
あなたしか見えないの	anata shika mienai no	I can only see you.
なんであなたしか見えないの？	nande anata shika mienai no?	...why can I only see you?

Feeling absolutely terrible, Subject A remarks without much thought, “You have everything that everyone else doesn’t have.” (The emphasis is the author’s, and is used in mostly the same way throughout the book when Subject A uses みんな “everyone” to refer to the five versions of her friend.) The moment those words leave her mouth, Subject A immediately realizes that she is blaming Four again as well as the fruitlessness of doing so. She is disappointed in herself for saying it. However, of course, Four doesn’t know the other versions of herself and thinks “everyone” refers to the people around them in this world, so she starts listing her own faults. Regretting what she said, Subject A apologizes and tells Four to disregard those words.
Subject A personally considers talking about other worlds to be taboo, but she ends up doing it again. “I still haven’t been to that beach,” she mutters, referring to a promise she made with Three to go together. It has been Four’s world for so long, Subject A hasn’t had the chance to meet Three. Four comments that she and her classmates had also talked about wanting to go to the beach, but she had to take on some student committee work. Hearing Four’s promise leaves a bad taste in Subject A’s mouth.

あたしもきみと海に行くって、約束したんだけどな。 皆あなたを愛している。 皆あなたばかりを求める。 みんなあなたとおんなじなのに。 なんであなたしか見えないの？
Even though I also promised to go to the beach with you [Three, while also seeing Three and Four as the same person]. Everyone loves you. Everyone wants only you. Even though everyone else [the versions other than Four] is the same person as you. Why can I/everyone only see you? (p. 80, emphasis is the author’s)

Chorus 2: Catchy

Japanese	Romaji	English
あなたしか見えないの	anata shika mienai no	I can only see you.
蠱毒巣食った呪ひ言	kodoku sukutta noroigoto	Words cursed in a venomous pit.[1]
此方は気にせずお幸せに	kochira wa ki ni sezu oshiawase ni	(*) Please be happy and don't worry about me.
嗚呼、堕ちていく	aa, ochite iku	Aah, I'm falling in...

(Note from original translator) [1] The wording used here is really interesting- "蠱毒" is a method of making poison where many venomous animals are trapped in a single vessel and are forced to eat each other until a single survivor emerges.
Subject A calls Four キャッチー (“catchy”). Both of them aren’t really sure what that means. Subject A thinks she was being cynical or sarcastic saying that. Four guesses that it means “popular” or “well-received”. It’s very clear that 呪ひ言 (noroigoto, curse) here refers to the word “catchy” itself. It’s referenced in the song Catchy !? here:

唯、何時かのあの子の呪いが / 焼き付いている It’s just, at some point that girl’s curse / Was etched into my brain… (TL by teary eyes, with edits by khattikeri and Violet)

And in the chapter linked to Catchy !? as well:

何時しかわたしに「呪いの言葉」を贈ったあの子。 That girl who, at some point, gifted me [Four] the “curse”. (p. 14) [TL Note: The first-person pronoun わたし is used exclusively by Four. The speaker in this chapter is the one who chooses between the versions, and whose first-person pronoun is recorded only as ■.]

Adding on to the original song translator Kaz’s note [1], 蠱毒 (kodoku) is an ancient poisonous magic with some recorded use in Japan’s Nara period (710-784 or 794) and appearing in Japanese folklore. r-906 also uses the classical Japanese_rule) writing style 呪ひ言 as opposed to modern 呪い言. These probably emphasize that Subject A’s emotions towards Four, the other versions and the person choosing between them have been brewing for a long time.
I also saw a Japanese comment on the song noting that 蠱毒巣食った is a homophone of 孤独救った (kodoku sukutta, "saved from loneliness"). Subject A does complain during narration about feeling lonely because there’s no way she could tell anyone about the five worlds and five versions of her friend (p. 65), so dropping those cryptic comments to Four about "everyone else" and calling her "catchy" could be a way of alleviating her loneliness, even if done unconsciously, or even if only for a little while.
Staring straight into Four’s eyes, Subject A adds that even though Four always receives lots of attention from everyone, she strives to and manages to respond to all the attention. Subject A begins to say, “Even if I didn’t exist, you…” probably intending to say Four wouldn’t be any less happier. This is linked to the third line of the lyrics, which uses unnaturally formal or polite words as Subject A puts a barrier between the two of them again.

Chorus 3: Consolation

Japanese	Romaji	English
あなたしか見えないの	anata shika mienai no	I can only see you.
有象無象のひとりなら	uzoumuzou no hitori nara	(*) Since I’m just another face in the crowd,
あなたの「特別」に成れたのね！	anata no "tokubetsu" ni nareta no ne!	(*) I’ve become "special" to you!
嗚呼、素敵だわ	aa, suteki da wa	(*) Aah, isn’t that wonderful?
クセになっちゃうわ	kuse ni nacchau wa	Oh, I could get addicted to this.
目も当てられないわ	me mo aterarenai wa	I can't stand watching this.

Four interrupts by joking, “Oh, what’s this? So you’re jealous? How adorable!” and pats Subject A’s head. For the first time today, Subject A bursts out laughing. It reminds Four of how the two of them used to play around. Four consoles Subject A,

「大丈夫だよ。自分がいなくても、なんて言わないで。確かにわたし結構友達多い自覚はあるし、色々と頼られたりするけど、みんな等しく友達なんだから。もちろんきみもね」 “It’s okay. Don’t say things like ‘even if you didn’t exist’. Certainly I know that I have quite a lot of friends, and they depend on me in many ways, but it’s because everyone is equally precious to me as friends. You too, of course.” (p. 81)

Subject A thinks about Four’s words.

数年前の切なる願いは叶わなかった。やはりそうだった。 あなたにとって全ての友達は等しく「特別」なのだ。あたしも含めて。 だからこんなどうしようもないあたしも見離さず会いに来てくれたんでしょう？
My fervent wish from years ago [to be “special” to you] didn’t come true. Just as I thought. After all, all your friends are equally “special” to you. Including me. That’s why, even though I’m so hopeless, you didn’t abandon me and came to meet me, right? (p. 82)

Subject A realizes that although she isn’t more important as a friend than others, she's still extremely precious to Four. The last line in the text above suggests that she's grateful and happy about that. Nonetheless, she feels hopelessly pathetic and lonely due to her wish not coming true and having wrongfully blamed and resented Four.
目も当てられない literally describes “something one cannot look at”, and is usually used to refer to a tragedy or disaster that one cannot endure watching. In this case, like how Subject A can’t stand watching herself. On the other hand, in line with the literal meaning, as Four invites Subject A to come to her classroom whenever she likes, promises to talk more with her and leaves, Subject A also thinks that Four is dazzling (眩しい, p. 83). In other words, so bright that Subject A can’t look at her.

ああ、なんて眩しいのだろう。 この一点のかげりもない清らかな眩しさはまるで―― Ah, how dazzling. This clear, dazzling brightness, without so much as a single shadow, is just like― (p. 83)

It's not stated explicitly, but due to the repeated use of the phrase 一点のかげりもない, it's clear that Subject A compares Four to the full moon with a completely unobstructed view.

一点のかげりもない満月は、眩しすぎて少し苦手だ。 The full moon, not obscured by even a single cloud, is so dazzling it's slightly difficult to bear. (p. 68)

I don't know what disliking the bright full moon is supposed to say about Subject A. It could just be that Subject A hadn't made up with Four at the time of p. 68, and the full moon reminds Subject A of her. The slideshow-like paper in the music video does state that Four's motif is the full moon. The other versions' motifs are other phases of the moon.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

The English title diaLOG is a pun using the Japanese title. 会話 (kaiwa) means "dialogue" in the sense of "conversation" while 記録 (kiroku) means "log" in the sense of "record". By the way, "dialogue" and "dialog" are different spellings of the same word, but "dialogue" is the preferred spelling when used to mean "conversation" in both British and American English, whereas "dialog" is used primarily in computing contexts like in "dialog box".
I mentioned this as a reply to a comment on Part 1, but it seems strange to me that Four specifically is depicted to scribble over the projector showing the other versions of herself while laughing and delighted at herself in the music video. Four is just a version that gets chosen and doesn't know that the other versions exist. Subject A did blame Four in the past though, so maybe the scene is showing what Subject A used to think.
Hatsune Miku is the main vocal playing the role of Subject A, while the five CeVIO AI Musical Isotopes sing the backup vocals and act as the five versions. COKO harmonizes and sings backup almost throughout all choruses/sabi, taking on the biggest role both in terms of duration and importance. In contrast, KAFU, SEKAI, RIME and HARU only get two or three lines to sing, so COKO outshines her fellow Musical Isotopes just like Four outshines her other versions.

Afterword

Thank you for reading my longwinded analysis! I love the song and book. Maybe too much, since I lost sleep one night hyperfixating on this song and how it relates to the book, so this has been my way of getting it out of my system.
Again, feel free to comment your own thoughts, including your own interpretations and parts you want clarified.

My inability to control my emotions has been plaguing and ruining my life since I was a teenager.
I'm not a bad person. I don't think badly of people. I want friends in my life, I want acceptance. I want people to see me as someone they can confide with and talk to, but in a split second if my emotions get triggered by something I just lose it. I'll either cry, get extremely defensive, or get angry. It's been like this for years, and despite how much better I've gotten since starting DBT treatment at therapy and learning how to control it better, it still tries to sneak through the cracks. I feel like shit now.
Yesterday I was visiting the grave of someone who was a good friend of mine when I was 12 years old. It was a long time ago and I only knew him for a year, but him being gone by suicide has been hurting me for a very long time. Sometimes I break out in tears out of random because he appears in my head. I can't listen to certain songs because of him. He shows up in my dreams and it ruins my day. The point is he meant a lot to me as a good friend who left too early, and so I visit him yearly at his grave to talk to him. I'm extremely emotionally passionate about this person. It's a very sensitive subject for me.
This year I went to his grave and spoke to him for a little while, and when I set my flowers down on his grave I took a picture of it. This picture is not to be shared, it never was; it was strictly so that I could see it and remind myself that I went, so I could see the grave even when I'm not there; I lack transportation. It's a way of coping with it. It's probably bad to do, and I'm sorry. I get it. You don't need to yell at me that it's bad because I know it is now. Just refrain from that right now, please.
I didn't know that at first, I didn't know if I should've felt guilty, but I ended up asking my friend group if it was wrong of me to take a picture of a grave. One of them said that, yes it was wrong. I respected his opinion, and said that that was fine. I did ask for an answer after all, so it was all on me. That didn't upset me.
But then he continued the next sentence with, "Graves are for rememberance, not for your entertainment", and my heart stopped. I became so angry and upset when he said this that I was starting to lose control of my thoughts. It didn't help that I was too distracted by something outside of texting that I didn't give myself the time to think before I replied. I responded very angrily at him and said "F*ck You" and "how dare you accuse me of finding entertainment out of my best friend dying". I was absolutely livid in the moment.
When I first read what he said, in my mind it sounded like he'd told me, "I'm being entertained" by my best friend's death, as if I'm finding enjoyment out of it, and by how much this person's death has been affecting me in the many years since he's been gone, it enraged me. I couldn't control myself and I just snapped at him.
Over time despite still being upset by the "entertainment" statement, I felt shitty that I reacted that way a few hours later. I sent him a lengthy message apologizing for my response to him earlier, and despite him being online multiple times, I got no response. I'm being actively ignored.
I hate emotional disregulation. I hate myself, so much. Even when I feel like I've gotten better, it still tries to effect me, it still sneaks through the cracks and makes me feel like I absolutely have to defend myself from something so awful that wasn't really that big of a deal in the first place. I read too much, I overanalyze, everything seems so personal against me. It's torture. I can't keep a stable group of friends because I chase them off.
I'm such a goddamn child and I hate myself for it. I've lost so many good friends because I just can't control my emotions. It's so humiliating and dehumanizing to myself that I can't just act like a normal goddamn human being who responds in a mature, acceptable way, instead of having an adult temper tantrum. Me feeling this way always begins the same way, too. I feel regret, it snowballs into me hating myself, then I try to push people away on my own terms, I log off of everything and not speak for hours to spare people from dealing with me. I feel like a monster. I cry myself away as I play video games to try to distract myself from all the damage I do.
This shit is torture. I hate it so much. I am no doubtingly a biproduct of my father's abuse and I can't even dare have children of my own out of the immense fear that one day I'll hurt them too. I hate myself. I hate that I was born to pass down the line of being an abusive asshole like my father did. I truly don't believe I deserve any of the goodness I receive in my life. I feel like I'm a menace to everyone I associate with, and that they genuinely would feel so much better off without me.
Sometimes I'll go for hours in a day just to isolate from everyone because I feel like my friends deserve breaks from my garbage. I feel like an actual monster in a cage who can't communicate without destroying something. I'm doomed to fail and I hate it so much. All I wanted was a normal life. That was literally it. I don't know anymore.

Klaviyo has been great for some of our ecommerce shops, but I'm on a mission to find a more cost effective (equal or better features) alternative to Klaviyo... It's just gotten out of hand.
I previously talked about Omnisend versus Klaviyo in another thread (one of my current short list options for smaller stores), but have heard a few different names mentioned that I want to add to this resource list below.
I'll keep it updated as a test and learn more about each...

• Omnisend: Feels like the best option to displace Klaviyo rn, has similar features, a bit easier to use and some better SMS functionality built in... AND it's much cheaper...
• Sendlane: Seen their name mentioned a lot, tried them like 4 years ago (when they first came out), but seems like they are leaning more into ecom so I'm going to test them out again.
• Brevo: Previously known as Sendinblue (god I had these rebrands), and I have used this when trying to control costs as they have a more unique "pay per send" model.
• Shopify Email: Not my fav, very underpowered but honestly probably the best thing to start with for most small shops that don't have any spare margin yet.
• Bento: Hadn't heard of them until recently, like their vibe, need to test out. Focused on growth marketing as a whole, with email automation as a center point. Seems interesting!
• Attentive: Intriguing SMS-first platform that also does email marketing. I think they are a good option if text is a core channel for you.
• ActiveCampaign: Really broad marketing suite today, good if you want to geek out on funnels and flows. Collect data on pretty much everything, good if you are an email marketer trying to sell ecommerce products (but maybe too complex the other way around).
• MailerLite: Solid, cheap, generous free tier. I love MailerLite for any brand I know I need to collect emails for but don't quite know what I'm going to do with them yet.
• Drip: Ehh... I feel like they USED to be good like 5+ years ago then got acquired and spit out by Leadpages. Not the top of my list.
• Mailchimp: I get it for some situations where you are familiar with them, but ugh... trying to steer clear of their sneaky pricing and confusing marketing.

Any I'm missing? Happy to add to the list and test.

I have an open book exam tomorrow, and my printer (HP officejet) was broken (cant print colour properly anymore) so I ordered a new one, the epson ecotank et4850, and it arrived yesterday evening.
While printing my slides, I realised that my prints are not very readable, especially notes I took during class. You can see it in the picture, the color one is the epson, the black and white is my old HP. Some words are barely readable, and this kind of worries me. Is this fixable, is this even normal? Can I do something besides aligning the heads (already done it twice now) to make the text look sharper and less fuzzy?
Great thanks in advance

I've been with my partner for eight years in an open relationship. He's not only my dream partner but also the author of an insightful book on relationship dynamics. Despite my recent jealousy, I strive to prove myself as his best friend, longing for open communication. However, I'm confused and hurt by his dismissive attitude towards my emotions.
We both practice Tantra and collaborate professionally, which has been fulfilling. I was inspired by him and started doing couples clients with him and taking my own clients. It’s been a good partnership. He’s taught me so much and makes me feel loved a lot of the time. I’ve been his biggest fan and he has been mine. (We have been sexless for over a year, however, nobody really initiates it, but I touch him intimately when we watch movies. I have complained about it a few times but I don’t wish to coerce.)
But the reason I need advice - I find myself questioning his intentions with a new colleague and his shockingly sudden pattern of lies. Despite his denying it, I feel like I'm being replaced, and I am frustrated that he lied to me, amplifying my insecurities.
It began with him scheduling a 1-hour session with a client named "Jenny." I assisted in tidying up the space and then waited quietly in my room as usual. However, I ended up staying in my room for 3 hours while they conversed in the living room and then went into the massage room much later.
Only after I pressed him for an explanation did he admit it was actually a "training session." This revelation concerned me, as I have been his go-to partner for couples and four-hands for the last 8 years aside from when I’m not available he would have a backup. I overheard him giving her a copy of his book on open relationships. She’s also very attractive and his type (skinny and blond as seen on the Ring camera) I can’t help wonder why he wouldn’t have told me it was a training session in the first place. I asked if she inquired first or he offered and he said the former but I wonder if that’s a lie too.
The next day, he mentioned he was going out to buy a phone, confirming it was for her. This was unusual, as he had only purchased phones for me in the past that I had to reimburse (just so I didn’t have to partake in the transaction.) So this is some serious mentorship.
Later that evening, he had a solo session with a couple, but afterwards, he spent 4 hours at his favorite Thai restaurant which is rare. I’m betting it was the girl he was dining with (“Jenny”) I found her real name on his Instagram following, and it appears she’s married as of last year. When he returned, he claimed it was his clients who took him out and the leftovers he offered me were all cold. I suspect he was covering for her and that it was a business meeting or they did a couples together. I screenshotted her profile, sent to him and said I thought he may be out with her. He didn’t deny it, when he came home, he said it was his couple clients taking him out. I feel like I can tell when he lies now, like he’s just so happy to share but it’s really not sharing and doesn’t care if I’m suspicious.
We didn’t interact much that night, but before bed he abruptly moved to his bedding to his room, citing that he can no longer tolerate the disorganization of mine although it’s been a longstanding arrangement. I reacted poorly, expressing frustration at his sudden disengagement and suggesting I might get my own place after my tummy tuck recovery. He dismissed my concerns, attributing them to emotional manipulation and urging me to sleep it off.
The next morning, he texted me about a 2-hour client appointment at 7 pm listed as “Morgan” I inquired if it was with his new partner or a training session, to which he denied. However, while outside waiting, I noticed on the Ring camera that it was the same woman holding my massage oil bottle (he must have given it to her the night prior) They shared an intimate greeting. When I confronted him, he claimed it was her client and a four-hands session and that she didn’t have an incall location so it’s here, quickly updating the calendar to reflect it as “Morgan incall 2 hour with her client Jenny”. His nonchalant lying was alarming, especially given his usual transparency.
He even greeted the client "Jenny" alone, as if she were his regular client, and later in our argument he referred to her as “his client” I suspected he arranged the appointment for her, knowing it would upset me because it means he chose her instead of me when I was home and available (and truthfully struggling financially since I was in a car accident a few days ago and I have an upcoming tummy tuck)
I went up to my room after their client left (I said I don’t know why I need to remain hidden and outside of my living space if she’s not a client), he said she’s coming back up to take photos for her website. I refused to hide in my room and was in an emotional rage, insisting on meeting her if she comes up and making her aware that I exist. He tried to calm me initially, even saying “she’s not at all my type” which I know to be untrue and saying I’m doing all this over a girl he’s not even romantically involved with. I used harmful words calling him a pimp and groomer. He sent her home before she came back up.
He remains indifferent, denies any wrongdoing, and insists I stop emotionally manipulating him (which I have agreed to and want to demonstrate) but his refusal to address my concerns leaves me feeling gaslit and unconsidered. He also said he’ll never do business with me, so I suppose I am replaced. It's a heart-wrenching situation, leaving me questioning our future together.
Sometimes we just go back to normal after arguments, no closure other than he will just do as he pleases and I have to deserving of his sharing any information with me, which obviously I’m not deemed worthy of anymore.
I’m honestly having trouble not crying every few minutes and it’s the next day (I haven’t slept), I’m scared this is really the end of my usually dreamy life and I’m struggling with thoughts of self-harm. How can I redeem myself and address how I feel to him? Should I just let things play out and do my best to be loving despite how hurt and disappointed I feel?

I would just like to clarify that I am not a parent, nor in a relationship, if kids were involved I wouldn't walk away like this.
I am a second-year college student, I have two more years until I graduate and leave. I grew up poor, its a struggle to afford college, I have a part-time job which helps make ends meet. My part-time job includes working with children, I have to do safeguarding training. My mother was a single parent, my dad wasn't in the picture. Although my dad weren't in the picture, I realised they were bad as each other. As I went through the training, there were lots of types of abuse and examples of abuse mentioned, I soon realised almost all abuse that were listed (Apart from the one including s and ends in l) I experienced.
My mother was a neglectful parent, for example, she didn't get us to wash or teach us about personal hygiene, when I was 13, my teacher took me aside to speak about personal hygiene, I thought I was normal. My siblings have always denied that my mother was abusive, since accepting I was abused I started therapy and I am still coming to terms with it. My family are a dysfunctional family, full of gambling, drug and alcohol addicts. Every single day there was always shouting and arguing between my siblings, me and my mother. we never acted like a normal family, if we did it was only an act to showcase that "we're doing okay", as soon as CPS left, it went back to normal.
Why am I done with my family? Why am I walking and away from my family and never forget? It's to do with the latest drama. My family and I had an argument over politics, they disagree with me massively. My family kept threatening to disown me, my own sister was threatening to not let me see my nephew anymore. A day later there was another argument, my sister said I am really my father's daughter, it seemed to me she was saying we're not related and i'm an abusive prick like him.
I am done with my family, I am done with constantly coming back to them after they say the most hurtful things. I am done enabling them and helping them when they treat me like this. My mental health has been spiralling down for years. When I'm not around them I feel relaxed. It doesn't help the fact that I'm living with my other sister who doesn't work, doesn't have any money and relies on me to put a roof of her head and feed her.
Unfortantely, because of college and being scared for my safety, I won't be moving until after I graduated. I have planned it, I bought a refurbished phone, I ordered a sim card, I am slowly deleting social media accounts one by one, this is a new reddit account which I may no longer use, I have picked the location I want to move to, it's 8+ hours away from where my family and I live. I've created a new "secret" bank account, I won't be sending the bank details to anyone. I already have a placed organised, my friend is allowing me to purchase a property their family owns, it's rundown, it's needs some repairs but it's affordable and most of the repairs I can do.
I hate the fact I have to wait two years, but its happening, I am done with my family, I also hate the fact I have to be around them for two more years. I have planned my escape route, when to escape.

Me and my bf have been together for over 2 years now and we had our ups and downs. We broke up once after he ignored me for a few weeks but then got back together after a month or so. But atm I am not sure if this realtionship is still worth my time.
The way he has been trreating me makes me kinda unhappy. He never gives me compliments or any cute gifts or if I text him "I love you" he doesnt respond. I alredy talked to him about that issue but he brushed me off by saying that he wasn't the type for such things. This really annoys me but I tried to look over it. A lot of the time he doesn't acknowledge my emotions and feelings. He also gets annoyed if I try to take a picture with him.
If I'm over at his house don't ever really spent time together. He rather sits on his pc all day to play video games. Sometimes I bring my PC over to his house but then we also dont really play together. Generally he doesnt really want to play games with me bc I tend to rage over a lot of things. He also doesn't want to do a lot of activties when I suggest to do something such as having a picknick or else bc it's "not his vibe"
Another thing that bothers me is his hygene. He barely brushed his teeth and showers like once or twice a week but the teeth brushing thing bothers me a lot more (obviously)
Also he didn't wish me a happy birthday two years in a row bc he doesn't like it if others do it for him, so he doesn't do it for others. But to be fair he got me really cool gifts for my birthday
There are also good aspects about our relationship like that he makes me laugh or pays for my food if we order takeout and IF we spend time together it is a lot of fun.
But yeah I really don't know what to do

Yes this is a rant, but it’s probably how most long-term Bedrock players feel. The information is relevant as I have been dealing with these issues on Xbox both next gen and old since I have both. My gf plays on the newer one since she’s the host of our 4 year survival world. I can’t explain all the bugs as I usually have a list of bugs I keep for games I play, but never expected I’d need one for Minecraft til now since I’m just starting to notice a lot of persistent bugs that range from slightly-annoying to game-breaking. Here’s my spiel. Yeah I wrote it when I was angry but it’s filtered.
For PC users, I don’t know why it’s turning my text into a code block despite me retyping it.

 Unpopular request I bet among the devs, but how about, now this might sound wild, the devs actually fix some heavy bugs before adding more new stuff that’s not gonna work right half the time. The shulker box dupe glitch is STILL a thing. Entities with name tags that randomly disappear, and almost EVERY arthropod getting stuck on fences, glass panes, and bamboo; like why devs? How in the world are PANDAS getting stuck on bamboo, and why do most entities(including pandas) have to path-find around bamboo like it’s a whole block wide? More importantly they always get stuck on it, and with it happening to fences too is beyond me because there are mobs that have been in the game from the start that I notice are getting stuck on these thin-type blocks. They definitely messed something up because they fixed it and now it’s back. Minecraft is statistically losing more and more long-term players on Bedrock edition(don’t know how bad Java has gotten, but with how lazy the devs have been, seemingly, I bet it’s bad). I know they need to bring in new players but now vanilla Minecraft is becoming comparable to games like Geometry Dash. Beat it once, done, and never come back. Or make a new world to do it all again but tbh most people don’t do that if their intent is to have one major survival world. For older gen players, they have to deal with stuff like broken chunks or chunks not even loading in, more commonly when using an Elytra. I’ve seen videos of people running and flying into invisible walls making fast ways of travel non-applicable. Would really love to see some improvement to the game, especially since I took a THREE YEAR BREAK and came back to see I could still abuse the s**t out of shulker boxes😂🤦C’mon devs, put that money to some actual good use. It’s like they don’t even have testers. Not only do we the players have to deal with the actual game mechanics, we gotta deal with bs like literal game-breaking bugs. This post is in terms of pure vanilla survival. I don’t even wanna know what add-ons be doing to the game through all of this. Anyways I’d love to hear some opinions on this, or more so, please educate me on why after three years, there are still these half-baked updates? Not even looking forward to new updates now. 

Hey everyone,
I'm reaching out because I'm quite concerned about my downstairs neighbor, who is in his 60s. Lately, he's been displaying some really strange behavior that's left me feeling uneasy.
Last night, for instance, he was blasting loud music at around 2 am and yelling. Also, he's been sending me a lot of random text messages that don't seem to make any sense. It seems like he's angry or going through something, but I'm not sure exactly what. He's been sending me threats like whoever tries to contact him he will disable them, and sending me a random pictures and paragraphs that are all over the place.
I'm worried that he might be experiencing a psychotic episode or some other mental health crisis. I'm not sure if I should intervene or if there's anything I can do to help.
Has anyone else experienced something similar? What would you recommend I do in this situation? I want to help my neighbour, but I also want to make sure I handle the situation appropriately.
Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Me and my bf have been together for over 2 years now and we had our ups and downs. We broke up once after he ignored me for a few weeks but then got back together after a month or so. But atm I am not sure if this realtionship is still worth my time.
The way he has been trreating me makes me kinda unhappy. He never gives me compliments or any cute gifts or if I text him "I love you" he doesnt respond. I alredy talked to him about that issue but he brushed me off by saying that he wasn't the type for such things. This really annoys me but I tried to look over it. A lot of the time he doesn't acknowledge my emotions and feelings. He also gets annoyed if I try to take a picture with him.
If I'm over at his house don't ever really spent time together. He rather sits on his pc all day to play video games. Sometimes I bring my PC over to his house but then we also dont really play together. Generally he doesnt really want to play games with me bc I tend to rage over a lot of things. He also doesn't want to do a lot of activties when I suggest to do something such as having a picknick or else bc it's "not his vibe"
Another thing that bothers me is his hygene. He barely brushed his teeth and showers like once or twice a week but the teeth brushing thing bothers me a lot more (obviously)
Also he didn't wish me a happy birthday two years in a row bc he doesn't like it if others do it for him, so he doesn't do it for others. But to be fair he got me really cool gifts for my birthday
There are also good aspects about our relationship like that he makes me laugh or pays for my food if we order takeout and IF we spend time together it is a lot of fun.
But yeah I really don't know what to do

For example, restaurant table tops that normally list under business and industrial>restaurant supplies etc but also fit well under Home and garden > furniture etc..?
Current workaround, I made a listing under each category with the text slightly fine tuned for each type of shopper. I'm wondering if there's a way to get a single listing posted to more than one category.
Keywords alone don't seem sufficient, otherwise I'd stick to one category. I'm already noticing more attention to the listings under Home & Garden than the ones under Business pulled in the course of months.

Hello. I (18f) and my older sister (20f) discovered deleted texts to seggsworkers on our dads phone, as well as nsfw pictures, back in January. This came as a shock, as they have always seems like newlyweds, even though they have been married for 20 years. Our mother seems oblivious, and we also snooped though her devices, and it does not look like she is cheating. We decided to keep it to ourselves, and not tell our mom, since I am soon finishing school, and have many exams coming up as week as some post-graduation parties. My sister is also travelling for 3 months, but with her coming home at the end of June, as well as me finishing high school by that time, we can't keep it a secret to our mom any longer.
In the time, that my sister has been away, I have regularly looked through my fathers phone, and he still cheats. He also spends a lot every time, and we are not rich. I have taken pictures of many of the messages as evidence. Our dad is a very intense man and works in high-stress and physically hard jobs (think police), and the fact, that we looked though his phone, makes us therefore reluctant to tell our dad first. But we don't know, how/if we should tell our mother first, so that she hears it from her children instead of her husband himself.
Hey, big sister here.
To answer some questions and speculations, first of all, it was me, who first snooped through the phone. I only did it, because I saw a pattern of our father using the family computer but only being on the Google start page, when I went to talk to him, and I did one time see him very briefly looking at some naked women, before he closed the site. As our parents are very loving and active in bed (trust me, the walls are not soundproof), I got very concerned and of course curious. I know it’s wrong to snoop, but I feel excused, as my speculations were right.
We live in Europe, so no firearms in sight. Our father has been verbally and physically abusive throughout our childhood. Nothing crazy, but he has thrown me against a wall, given a few slaps here and there and used to have this bad habit of covering me and my sisters mouth and nose when we didn’t behave or talked a bit too loud - this stopped around 14. Our relationship with our father is very complicated as we have gotten older and are not little princesses anymore and stand up for each other and ourselves. We are still afraid to confront him first and alone, as we fear he may beat us or threaten us. We did consider doing this with a hidden camera, I don’t mind taking a beating then.
Our parents are looking at farms and want to move as my sister graduates, so doesn’t look like a divorce is happening soon.
All of this is very stressful, but we can’t keep this from our mother. She has the best family to back her up, and our house is fully paid off, so financially she will be okay no matter what. Our father has no family tho’, only his older sister, who he doesn’t see so often.Advice?

Trying to determine a good number to possibly list the levered version of the empress all white PCB all white ball top and button caps… I haven’t decided if I’m gonna list it yet because I don’t know what a fair price would be and I would like to at least get what I paid back… So this is just a generalprice and interest check… If I decide to list it, I’ll upload pictures

(I probably used the wrong flair)
Before I elaborate, I know there is (I believe) on the login screen a disclaimer saying something like “the people depicted are fictional and do not represent an historical figure,” but with gold order troops they are literally depictions of historical people.
As an example, John Basilone. A USMC Medal of Honor recipient who unfortunately died in 1945. I feel like it would be appropriate to use his likeness in the game.
I would say we should depict them physically accurately in the game to honor them, but for German and Japanese gold order soldiers, I do not know who they are or what things they may have done.
There could be surviving family members who don’t want them in the game, legal reasons, or there simply aren’t enough pictures of them for them to do it. This isn’t something that should be high on Dark Flow’s list, but in any case, I would like opinions about this.

First Previous Next
Patreon Official Subreddit Series Wiki Royal Road
Two items — a crystal ball, and a green leather-bound notebook — sat benignly and idly atop of the black-robed professor’s desk.
The camera lingered on them, giving them what most may see as an undeserved moment in the spotlight.
But to those that knew, to the parties invested in this controversy, this little pause and dramatic zoom-in was accompanied by a hair-raising excitement… along with an untempered nervousness for what was to come.
It definitely caused the investigative duo on the other side of the screen some pause for thought; prompting them to stand intently, pondering both the orb and the notebook.
Ilunor, as far as I could tell, was entranced by the green notebook in particular. Though it wasn’t a trance born out of any positive emotion, but instead, one of abject horror.
“Recommended Reading Materials for the Studious Student.” Sorecar announced with a steady breath, prompting Ilunor to visibly flinch in his seat, as the man reached a finger over to point at the hand-scrawled title of the leather-bound notebook. That finger soon found itself carefully manipulating its pages, opening the cover first, before turning over the internal dust-cover to reveal letters and symbols written in High Nexian, but arranged in a manner the EVI simply could not translate.
“Error: Unable to Translate. Cause: Unrecognized and/or unintelligible organization of local script-forms.”
Yet despite this, it seemed as if both Sorecar and the Apprentice were able to draw something from its otherwise senseless pages. As despite being written haphazardly, with letters and pictograms arranged in no meaningful order, they were able to still draw meaning where the EVI couldn’t.
“Within these pages lie materials for the studious student. Materials are to be found within The Library, and are to be retrieved with great haste. May you make swift work of their contents, and may those after you find only ash in your wake. Seek, unlearn, and remove from the grip of the eternal entity, that which was once a gift but is now a curse. Seek, unlearn, and remove; with the fires of your passion, oh studious student.” Sorecar read aloud, managing to read something verbatim from the nonsensical pages of the book.
Ilunor’s eyes were practically glazed over at this point, as he began bringing his cape over across his chest, tucking his legs towards his chin in the process.
“This is it.” The apprentice announced with a half-cracked smile. “Please, keep going. I’m certain your skills of appraisal far exceed my own, Professor.”
Sorecar obliged by flipping the page, turning over to two pages of complete gibberish, once again watermarked by the EVI’s error message; but proving no challenge at all for the ever-inquisitive professor.
“Section One, A Tainted Reality: A Wretched Collection of Historical Affidavits During the Reconciliation and Reformation of Otherwise Lost Realities.” Sorecar paused, before turning towards the apprentice. “It lists an entire section’s worth of books, in titles held within spatial positions with reference to their potentialities within the ever-evolving library.”
Thacea’s features visibly flinched at that revelation, but similar to the apprentice in the footage, she refused to comment. At least not for now. Her eyes however betrayed a look of mild distress, which subsided somewhat as the apprentice urged the armorer to continue.
Which he did, as he flipped from page to page across the relatively small notebook, only pausing to read in between what he interpreted to be different sections and ‘chapters’.
“Section Two. The Unspoken War and the Treacherous Alliance.”
“Section Three. All surviving works from Alaroy Rital.”
The apprentice cocked her head, as if trying to recall some familiarity in that name. “Alaroy Rital.” She repeated. “I don’t recall hearing of such a name before.”
“Well his full name, as far as I recall, and vastly aided by the book is as follows: Alaroy Rital, Lord-Mayor of the Township of the Two Rivers, Slayer of the Dragon of the Grey Canyon, Repeller of the Tainted Blight of the Orsin, Liberator of the Aether, and Grand Master of the Elusian Guild Hall of Adventurers.” Sorecar responded succinctly, prompting the apprentice to once more clench her eyes shut in deep thought, before finally letting out a sigh of defeat.
“The name is both familiar yet foreign at the same time.” She finally admitted.
“As far as I recall, and mind you, my memory of those years are far from perfect… the man was a local hero of sorts. Though his record was besmirched by some controversy or another.” Sorecar offered, prompting the apprentice to finally shrug, giving up on this particular subject matter entirely.
“There are more sections, yes?”
“Correct.”
“Then let’s move on.”
Sorecar nodded promptly at that, flipping the pages over until he hit the next section.
“Section Four. A Sordid Account of the Most Bizarre of Newrealmer Arrivals: A Death By Harmonization and the Ensuing Investigation.”
That immediately got my attention, causing me to jolt forwards, prompting the armor to quickly follow as it automatically switched from the currently active in-armor-postural-readjustment mode, and back into its active configuration.
“Section Five. The Unfortunate Procedures Against Unruly Realms and the Instances in Which Such Procedures Were Incurred.”
The armorer paused after that, not necessarily due to its contents, but as if puzzled by what lay ahead in the next few final pages. In fact, he flipped back and forth between the pages soon after that, treading and retreading what were effectively the last five pages of the book. “There is an appendix which includes titles not covered by these sections, however it will take some time to read through them.”
“That’s enough for now, professor.” The apprentice offered, prompting the man to quickly pull back, closing the notebook with an unsatisfying thump. “We have our glowing wand.” The apprentice surmised. “The oeuvre of works which are no doubt the subject of this grand controversy. Now all we need to find is the contract which ties everything together.”
“I’m assuming you haven’t forgotten about our second item of interest?” Sorecar gestured towards the crystal ball.
“Of course not, professor. However, the fact we’ve found that book implies that we must be close to its dependent article.” The apprentice responded with a renewed sense of urgency, as she began using that same ornate magnifying glass in an attempt to further pick apart each and every nook and cranny of Mal’tory’s desk.
Part of me wanted to make some joke about how this was every unpaid intern’s dream, to be rummaging through your boss’ stuff.
But that part of me was completely buried underneath the confusion and dread that came with the revelations from within that little green book.
I… honestly didn’t know what I was expecting, but I felt like I’d been suckerpunched, with the wind being knocked right out of me from the implications of exactly what had been selectively purged from the library.
It was a struggle to process it all, which more or less made me dull out the more eccentric aspects of the apprentice’s investigation; as she unlocked drawer after drawer, pulling out pile after pile of magical nicknacks and more documents than what was possible from that finite amount of space.
Sorecar was clearly of the same opinion as the rest of us right now however, as he continued obsessing over the book, his hands once more trailing over to inspect its cryptic pages. The man seemed transfixed on the second and third sections in particular, though his featureless visor made it difficult to really pin down what his reactions were.
Yet throughout all of this, it was clear the reactions on the homefront were much, much more animated, as Ilunor was just about ready to pass out from the stress, and Thacea seemed about ready to burst at the seams if her featureless facade was of any indication.
“That was the book.” Ilunor finally chimed out, just as the narration through the recording had died down during the more tepid phase of the apprentice’s investigation. “I know it.”
“I thought your memories when it came to the whole Mal’tory book burning situation was lost, Ilunor?” Thalmin countered.
“It was. I mean, it still is. But I remember parts of that room. I vaguely recall the emergence of a book that I was forced to…” The Vunerian trailed off, as if struggling to piece together words.
“... to sign?” Thalmin offered in a surprisingly helpful tone which stood at odds with how he earlier regarded the Vunerian.
“No. No you imbecil-” The Vunerian paused, realizing his misstep as he backtracked from what would’ve otherwise been an expected response. “That wasn’t a book of binding. It’s not comparable to the yearbook, if that was where your assumptions were leading to, Prince Thalmin.” Ilunor clarified, gripping the armrests of his seat tight between his fingers.
It was about this point in time that I expected Thacea to chime in, to elaborate on the nature of the book with her encyclopedic knowledge on seemingly every aspect of the magical world.
But she didn’t.
Instead, her eyes remained practically glued to the screen, as I realized that whatever had been revealed thus far had hit much, much harder than I could’ve imagined.
Ilunor, as if taking note of this silence, elected to fill in for Thacea. “The book… is an adjacent artifact. It is, as the apprentice has noted, an eclectic oeuvre of works, a list if you will, to be bound to and referenced by a contract and a spell of binding. The book itself isn’t the binding agent, moreso the reference material by which the contract is hinged upon.”
“So what’s with the illegible text? Are they ciphers or some magical equivalent of it?” I gestured once more at the bird’s eye view offered by the drone, and the pages of indecipherable text currently beneath Sorecar’s hands.
“Those are anchor runes, earthrelamer.” Ilunor answered with a frustrated sigh. “It is frustrating to see them for what they are not. Frankly, it’s as if your sight-seers and memory-shards were designed to mimic the world as it is seen through the eyes of a particularly weak-fielded commoner.” The Vunerian went off, venting his frustrations through a rant before finally calming down. “But I digress. Those runes are referred to as anchors for a reason. For tethered to them are akin to pages of text to be openly read and deciphered within the manastreams. Granted, this form of writing is not common; moreso used for the purposes of contracts and other such magical binds.”
“And on the topic of contracts. I’m assuming that the contract… your contract, is what the Apprentice is currently rummaging for?” I gestured towards the screen once more, at the apprentice who was now buried ankle-deep in piles upon piles of books, documents, and an assortment of scrolls that criss-crossed across the room’s mahogany and carpeted floors.
“Unless she’s a complete nitwit, then I’d imagine so, yes.” Ilunor responded with his signature cattiness. “In any case, the fact she’s even trying proves that she’s barely above a fool anyways.” The Vunerian shrugged. “And before you ask, earthrealmer, let me preempt your question. The contract, at least on the professor’s end, has more than likely suffered the same fate as my own. Namely, its existence is more than certain to be dubious at best. What the apprentice will surely find will be nothing more than ash at the bottom of that bottomless drawer. Which… given its sheer size and scale, and the potential inhabitants within its limitless confines, will more than likely result in even ash being difficult if not impossible to find.”
There was… more than one point I wanted to raise with Ilunor’s statements. However, before I could address any of them, the elf in question finally spoke up once more; now surrounded by an entire archive’s worth of documents and nicknacks.
“Nothing.” Larial spoke with a sullen breath, taking a moment to steady herself as she made a point of not sitting on Mal’tory’s chair. “At least nothing that’s relevant to our case.” She continued, resting her palms flat against the green suede of the desk.
“Were you really expecting anything different, Apprentice?” Sorecar countered, having since moved from pondering the pages of the book to now pondering the depths of the crystal ball.
“I’d assumed the damage to the man hadn’t been so severe.” Larial admitted, alluding to something else that drew all of our collective attention. “When I first saw him in the healing ward… he looked… intact. You couldn’t even tell there was anything wrong with him.”
“And yet they called you of all people, to aid in the ritual.” The armorer surmised, with a tone of voice that now more resembled that of a fully fledged Academy Professor. His happy go lucky persona had subsided completely, at least for now, as he addressed Larial in a manner more akin to what I’d expected of the Dean. “You have been around the Academy for long enough to understand that calling upon the aid of apprentices is unprecedented. Which means that despite how things may seem on the surface, that lurking beneath the seemingly calm waters, is a hydrostorm of epic proportions.”
“This entire situation is unprecedented, professor.” Larial countered meekly. “But you are correct. It… must have been desperate if they required the aid of apprentices. I just… cannot fathom the fact that the professors must have…” The apprentice trailed off, her face scrunching up and breaking eye contact with the armorer as if too skittish to broach the next point.
Sorecar didn’t reply, nor did he complete her sentence for her, simply allowing her to recuperate and reorganize her thoughts herself.
“... brought the man back from the brink.” She managed out, offering what was in effect a euphemism that didn’t seem to sit right with the armorer, if his immediate head cock was of any indication.
“That is the only way you can explain the complete loss of a contract.” Sorecar reasoned. “You were hoping to find it, despite knowing well that it, amongst the rest of his contracts, have more than likely gone up in flames.” It was around that point that he walked around behind the desk, and reached down into the drawer the apprentice had been searching in. His arm sank impossibly deep, deeper than what should have been physically possible inside of that small and limited space. After a few moments, the man finally brought his hand back up, holding within it what appeared to be fine specks of ash that he allowed to filter back down into the dark depths of the seemingly bottomless drawer. “And there you have it — ash. Most of it has no doubt already been consumed by the bottom-feeders. However, what remains is enough to account for what is perhaps more contracts than most would form in their lives.”
The man stood back up soon after, before once more taking his place at the front of the desk.
“Well, I believe that answers our prior speculations on Auris Ping’s potential relations, contractual or otherwise, with Professor Mal’tory.” Thalmin growled out, punctuating the moment of silence within the footage; which soon continued with a resonant sigh from the apprentice.
“I guess, in a way, I was trying to find the contract not so much because of my assigned task, but because I wanted to perhaps prove to myself that the situation wasn’t as dire as my intuition leads me to believe. The loss of all these contracts can only mean one thing.” Larial paused, once more trying to find the strength inside of her to face whatever facts were self-evident in this case. “The man was lost.” She finally managed out through a shaky breath. “His soul must have departed from his mortal coil. And yet…”
“... and yet he remains.” Sorecar surmised.
“They must have re-tethered it before I arrived that night.” The apprentice shot back. “But I felt nothing different when they asked me to aid in the mana-channeling processes. This whole situation is just…” She sighed, prompting Sorecar to cock his head.
“Unprecedented?”
“Yes.” The apprentice once more admitted, sinking her face into her hands and taking a moment to process it all, more or less falling into the same camp all of us were currently in. “Moreover, it brings up a very disturbing question.”
“Which is?”
“If his soul was truly untethered, even for a split second… how exactly were they able to retether it? Or more specifically, through what means are they using to permanently retether his soul to his mortal coil?”
This question seemed to cause some level of concern from Sorecar, as his answer soon demonstrated. “There are… ways of doing so that aren’t exclusive to being spellbound to armor.” The man offered under a dour breath. “Especially if the body is… fresh, in a manner of speaking. Though it requires the use of-” He stopped, halting himself from going down what was clearly a darkening path. “I apologize for prompting this rather… dark and dreary subject matter, Apprentice.” Sorecar offered, as that empathetic, kinder side of him returned without much prompting.
“It’s quite alright. It… it needed to be said, if we are to complete this investigation with any degree of professionalism.” The apprentice concluded with a small smile. “Whatever the case may be, it is clear that we are unable to procure the contract through which the perpetrator of the library’s burning was bound. We have, however, undeniable proof of Professor Mal’tory’s involvement with the scandal.” She pointed at the green notebook. “And of course, a potential interloper who may or may not have been a part of this conspiracy; thereby expanding this from a mere Academy matter, to one which could implicate others beyond its walls.” She pointed at the crystal ball. “Have you discovered anything from your observations thus far, Professor?” The apprentice inquired, prompting the man to nod, as he knelt down to eye-level, pondering the orb from desk-height.
“The inherent limitations of the Echovale make it so that it’s near impossible to transcribe anything following the cessation of a communique.” Sorecar began. “Though of course, you knew this, and hoped that because I am perhaps one of the greatest armorers to have ever lived, that I would be able to aid in this impossible endeavor, hmm?” The armorer’s tone of voice had more or less resumed that flighty, happy-go-lucky one I knew him for.
The apprentice, hearing this, could only smile awkwardly in response. “I wouldn’t have put it that… bluntly, professor. But I do indeed have faith in your ability to make the impossible, well… probable, at the least.”
“Hmph! Well, I couldn’t pin a face or a name, but I was able to pin a definite location if that helps.” The man offered.
“Any stray piece of information will help tremendously, professor.”
“The Crownlands.” He answered without a hint of hesitation, prompting the Apprentice to raise both of her brows up high.
“That’s as far as I am able to draw from the residual echoes within the vale.” He tapped at the ball, generating a series of satisfying clinks in the process.
“So the man wasn’t acting alone. Or rather, perhaps he was consulting someone.” The apprentice pondered. “Then again, that final communique could very well be with Lord Lartia—” The apprentice paused, before placing both palms softly across her throat. “—may his soul rest in peaceful slumber.” Following another moment of silence, the apprentice’s hands soon shifted towards the ball. “In any case, if it isn’t Lord Lartia, then who could it possibly be? Maybe we should…” The apprentice suddenly stopped; as if realizing the dangers of diving any deeper into this growing conspiracy. “No.” She quickly corrected herself. “Whatever the case may be, this is probably now completely out of my purview. I was assigned to collect any evidence I deemed to be relevant to recent happenings, and I believe this should suffice.”
“Whatever you believe is best, apprentice.” Sorecar acquiesced, prompting the apprentice to slowly, but surely, pack the archive’s worth of documents, books, and scrolls all back into the drawer using nothing but telekinetic spells.
This left just the crystal ball, and the little green book, both of which the apprentice promptly pocketed into a small pouch, before placing it somewhere beneath her cloak.
“Though on that note…” Sorecar began, pointing towards the apprentice’s cloak. “If I may ask, how do you plan on divvying up these finite pieces of evidence?”
This caught the apprentice off-guard, as her mouth opened, but no response came through.
“Moreover, are you even obligated to hand in this evidence? Or are you only expected to write a report to all parties involved?” Sorecar continued, pressing the matter further, causing the apprentice to stop mid-stride. “Because if primary evidence isn’t explicitly required, might I offer my services as a master forger?” The man spoke with a hint of mischievousness, the duality of the word perhaps translating equally well despite the language barrier.
“I may need to contact my superiors to ask if a… copy will be satisfactory to their needs. I believe not, but… we shall see. In any case, I am due to submit the evidence along with my report no later than the end of next week. As such, this should give me ample time to organize my findings, which is especially convenient given the roster of duties I am expected to cover over the next few days.” The apprentice took a moment to pinch the bridge of her nose, halting her rambles as she steadied herself with a sigh. “But I digress, I believe I will take you up on that offer, Professor Pliska.”
“It would be my pleasure to welcome you into my domain, apprentice.”
The rest of the footage consisted of small talk between the pair, with nothing in particular standing out as the topics being addressed soon turned from high-stakes espionage, and back into faculty banter.
Yet despite that, none of us broke the silence that now dominated the boring trip back. Not even as the footage came to a complete stop, and there was nothing more left to play.
I leaned back against the armor, eliciting a series of creaks from the couch below me, echoing across the high-ceilinged room and disrupting the tentative peace that came with this ominous silence.
“This explains… a lot.” Thalmin offered, finally breaking the silence with a tentative tone of voice. “It explains your contract, and its abrupt cessation.” He continued, turning towards Ilunor. “It explains Mal’tory, or at least, his current lack of public appearances. And it reveals to us exactly what he was trying to hide from you, Emma.” The lupinor eventually turned towards me. “And I think the sections of the library, selectively pruned, are self-explanatory as well.”
“Section four, and section five, at least.” I replied shortly thereafter. “I have no idea who or what Alaroy Rital has to hide in section three, and don’t even get me started on section two, let alone section one.” It was at that point that I turned towards Thacea, who let out a sharp exhale upon me bringing up section one.
“The removal of all information relevant to… and I quote — Tainted Realities — speaks volumes to the inherent fears of the Nexus. Though I know not what specifically they may fear from your discovery of its deep and now-lost lore.” Thacea offered through a pensive gaze. “There are many rumors, legends that come with the phrase Tainted Reality. Though most are mythical; epics of long lost eras that dwell between the blurry line that exists between history and legend. Perhaps the records within the library were pieces of irrefutable evidence that would’ve shed light on this nebulous subject matter. But even so… that begs the question… why? Why would they hide what is effectively a non-issue when it comes to your discovery of its lore? Taint, and more specifically, the concept of a Tainted Reality, is something that is inconsequential in the contemporary world. Its history, even if it proves to be true, is neither a disruptive political element, nor a practical tool for war, that could be used in countering the Nexus.” The avinor’s explanations were clear, concise, and yet they belied something personal that she clearly wasn’t broaching.
And I wasn’t about to dig either, not when this topic very clearly hit close to home for her.
“This leaves the second subject matter then.” I offered, giving the avinor an off-ramp towards a potentially more palatable topic.
“The Unspoken War and the Treacherous Alliance?”
“Correct.” I nodded.
“That… I have no knowledge of.” The avinor admitted, prompting me to turn to both the lupinor and the Vunerian for answers.
“Don’t look at me, earthrealmer, I’m the one who lost all memories on the subject, remember?” Ilunor countered.
“I’m afraid I’m as in the dark as you are on this one, Emma.” Thalmin replied with a loud huff, leaving me with perhaps more questions than answers at this point.
“Right then.” I nodded. “Well, regardless, as disquieting, confusing, and disturbing as these revelations have been, they are exactly that — revelations.” I took a moment to stand up, resting both hands on my hips, as if adopting Ilunor’s more theatrical approach to things. “We started today off with no intel on Mal’tory, with no idea how we were going to complete The Library’s Seekership questline, and no knowledge on exactly where we stood in this game. We’re ending today off with a firm grasp on exactly what we need to do, what exactly was scorched in the library, and a tentative understanding on Mal’tory’s fate. I’d say that’s an incredible step forward, even if the answers we now have are leading to even more questions.”
“Reality is often filled with disturbing truths, but only when we acknowledge them, can we act to change them.” Thacea offered.
“Here here!” Thalmin reaffirmed through a firm stomp, standing up tall and ready.
“While certain revelations come as disappointments… namely the survival of Professor Mal’tory… it is indeed somewhat satisfying to hear that the man is at the very least suffering for his actions.” The little thing spoke maliciously, as he too stood up. This prompted a look of worry to form amidst all three of us, but instead of reacting accordingly, he instead displayed an expression of confusion. “What? The man was a monster! He actively antagonized not only me, but this entire group! Surely you also feel at least some sense of satisfaction at the consequences of his actions catching up to him!”
“The delight in an enemy’s defeat, best comes from the resistance of the blade against his body. Not from the suffering incurred from happenstance.” Thalmin countered, whilst Thacea and I refused to entertain that line of thought, as I quickly placed a palm across my forehead, bonking it once again in the process.
“Right, well, here’s the game plan. We now have a clear target to complete our first objective — the notebook. We grab that, hand it in to the library, and presto, we accomplish the Seekership questline. Now comes the difficult part… how exactly do we do that?” I turned to the group, as offers and suggestions finally came flying in.
“Take advantage of your life debt?” Ilunor offered.
“I wouldn’t take advantage of that card just yet, Ilunor. Not if we have other options.” Thacea countered.
“What if we steal it?” Thalmin proposed.
“Thievery isn’t a diplomatic approach, Thalmin.” Thacea shot back with a glare.
“Well, Emma here was able to grapple her way, through manaless means, across the outside of the castle towards the apprentice whilst she was in the medical wing. I’m sure we can pull something else off in a similar capacity!” The lupinor countered.
“No, Thalmin. As much as I would like to try, I believe it might be best if we try a more diplomatic approach.” I offered, prompting the three to cock their heads.
“We could just ask, right?”
First Previous Next
​
(Author’s Note: And there we have it! The first step towards the completion of the Library's questline! We've found exactly what we were looking for, the list of books that were ordered to be put to the dragon flame by Mal'tory. With that being said however, a new series of questions arises... exactly why were these books targeted in particular? Moreover, what exactly was lost as a result? These questions and more will continue to linger in the back the gangs' minds as we push forward! Especially as we now find ourselves in the midst of another conundrum, exactly how are we going to get the book to the library! Regardless, this is still a massive step forward, and one that will surely bring Emma and Ilunor closer towards addressing the first phase of their intertwined fates with the library! I hope you guys enjoy! :D The next Two Chapters are already up on Patreon if you guys are interested in getting early access to future chapters!)
[If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 84 and Chapter 85 of this story is already out on there!)]