Kawasaki mule clutch problems

It's finally here. The Finale of Total Drama Fandom Island

2023.03.22 09:24 Hot_Tailor_9687 It's finally here. The Finale of Total Drama Fandom Island

They woke up in an old shack in the middle of Boney Island.
"Darn, we should've been on guard for shenanigans" said Jason.
"Is it really just us left?" asked Sasha in wonder.
"Yep, we're the Final Four, I guess" said Amethyst.

Amethyst: Wow, the Final Four. I can’t believe it, I’m so close!
Jason: I think I’m pretty much in the clear now. I just have to steel myself for any squeamish challenges, and that one million dollars is as good as mine!
Mabel: This is all so exciting! I bet Dipper and the others are going crazy seeing me here in the finale!
Sasha: Everybody left earned their place here in the Finale. Now, I’ve gotta give it my all and earn that one million dollars!
They stretched and warmed up, and met up on the beach. Jason figured out by flying up that they were on Boney Island. Jason tensed as he heard movement in the bushes.
Chef emerged in warpaint. "Campers! I am proud to say you have made it to the Final Four! Your most grueling challenge will now commence, and here's how it all starts: The first leg is a race back to Wawanakwa, but there's only one canoe here on Boney Island: A map of the island shows where the canoe is and I have the only copy. You have to beat me before-"
Mabel knocked him out cold with the grappling gun. Sasha shook her head in amusement. "Kakashi-sensei, you're not, Master Chief, but we will not fail you or your training. Sasha grabbed the map, scanned it and then ran off into the jungle, her gear letting her glide among the trees.
Chef had to smile as Sasha disappeared into the jungle. The other three finalists quickly gave chase. Jason and Amethyst, with their powers now back at full, raced away into the thickets, while Mabel used her grappling gun to make like Tarzan and glided from tree to tree.
Sasha found the canoe first, but she realized it was too big for her to carry alone onto shore, so she thought of a plan. Jason and Mabel arrived soon after, and Sasha thought of a plan.
“Guys, with her powers, Amethyst is the one to beat. We’ve gotta team up against her or else she’ll flatten us!”
Jason nodded. “That makes sense, Sasha. Alright, it’s three against Amethyst”
“Hooray for conniving!” yelled Mabel.
Sasha: I needed to know if I was as good at manipulation as my fellow Corpsmen. I needed to see if I was powerful enough to twist their minds and make them fight each other. Especially Jason and Amethyst. They’re practically gods compared to Mabel and me.
They made it to the shoreline. Mabel hopped on as Sasha and Jason pushed the canoe into the water.
“Aren’t you guys forgetting someone?” asked a voice behind them.
Sasha froze. Even Jason was tense. They were not fighting some villainous enemy, either of them. They were conniving against someone who had been a friend to them.
No! yelled Eren’s voice in her head. This is a competition!
Amethyst laughed. “Oh, I get it. Welp, it was fun pretending we were all in this together, but I guess now it’s time to let the rocks tumble”
“We don’t wanna fight you, Amethyst!” Sasha yelled.
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to fight me, neither!”
Amethyst morphed into a gigantic wrestler, and sucker punched Jason just as he flew in to try and poof her. He sailed backwards into the sand and landed with a sickening thud. Sasha screamed, but Mabel was quicker. She aimed and fired her grappling hook at Amethyst’s leg, entwining it in its cord. Sasha grabbed onto the gun and pulled with all her might, sending Amethyst tumbling over them, pushing the canoe into the water.
The canoe drifted away back to Wawanakwa, leaving Jason and Amethyst behind.
“Whew. I’m glad it’s just the two of us, Mabel! We were screwed if those two got a foothold on us.”
“Yeah. Thanks a lot, Sasha!” They paddled as hard as they could towards Wawanakwa.
Chris: Wow! Our underdogs are really kicking it in all cylinders! I’m here at Wawanakwa with the families and friends of our four finalists. They’re here to give them all the cheering and support they’ll need to win! Let’s start with Amethyst’s family from Beach City. Sierra and Topher, you’re on!
Sierra: Thanks, Chris! We’re here with the Gem Community from Beach City here by the campfire!
Topher: That’s right, Sierra. Pearl, we know you didn’t expect Amethyst to win the Wildcard, let alone make the Finals. What do you and the rest of Beach City have to say?
Pearl: Oh, Amethyst, we are so proud! You held your tongue and got by using your wits! Now, there’s only four of you left and I know they don’t stand a chance against OUR Amethyst!
Garnet: Show them the might of the Crystal Gems
Peridot: GET ‘EM, AMETHYST, YOU CAN DO IT!
Bismuth: You got ‘em on the ropes, Deep-Cut! Knock them out!
Steven: Everybody at the Kindergarden’s cheering for you, Amethyst!
Carnelian: Go, sis!
Skinny: You rock!
Holly Blue: Go, Earth Team! Ugh, what am I even saying?
Jasper: SHOW THEM WHAT EARTH GEMS ARE MADE OF, AMETHYST!
Blue Diamond: (on a holoscreen) Do us proud, Amethyst!
Yellow Diamond: Divide and conquer them, that’s the way to do it!
White Diamond: Is this some sort of Earth entertainment activity? How delightful. Go for it, Amethyst!
Spinel: We’re sending you virtual hugs from light-years away!
Ronaldo: I knew you were a lock on for the finals, Amethyst! All the theories were pointing at you!
Beach City Citizens: AMETHYST! AMETHYST! AMETHYST! AMETHYST!
Topher: Wow, what a crowd! Let’s go see Jason’s demigod comrades from Berkeley, California! The floor’s yours, Brick. Jo and Dawn!
Brick: Oh, we’re on? I was busy looking at those cool Roman phalanx formations!
Dawn: Can’t we settle this peacefully?
Jo: Speak for yourself, Granola Girl. I want to sign up with these guys. They’ve got gyms, tracks and hot baths! Say, I’m pretty sure I’ve got the bloodline of some Roman god in me, could I join you?
Hazel: I can certainly see Victoria or Mars in your blood. We can talk about your application after this
Brick: I’m losing my mind over these formations
Frank: Thanks! I drilled them myself
Dawn: What would you like to say to Jason? I can hook you up telepathically
Hazel: All we want to say is we’re proud and honored by our great former praetor, and it’s great to see him again so… er… full of life
Percy: You’ve got this bro!
Annabeth: Winning this silly TV show is a cakewalk for the hero who toppled the giants!
Leo: ZAP THEM, MAN, YOU’VE GOT THIS!
Piper:…
Nico: Give her some room, people….
Coach Hedge: Man, what a bunch of delinquents! Put them in line, Grace!
Piper: No matter what, you’ve already won in our book (literally), Jason.
Roman demigods: intense cheering
Jo: Yeah, now that’s a cheer! Spartans! Awoo! Awoo!
Dawn: Back to you, Chris
Chris: Thanks, Dawn. Up next is Mabel’s Gravity Falls family. Dakota and Sam, take it away!
Dakota: I’m here with my friend at the Future Celebrities Club Pacifica Northwest! What do you have to say to Mabel?
Pacifica: Omigosh, bestie, I’m so proud. Once you win this thing, you’re gonna be a flipping star! We are so getting ourselves a TV talk show after this! We’ll invite cute boybands from Korea and prank them with Soos in a monster suit hiding behind the sofas!
Dakota: That show concept is so fetch!
Sam: I already knew Soos from the online gaming circuit! Man, Mabel’s awesome! Got any words of inspiration?
Soos: Mabel! Don’t be scared to be nice! Be yourself! Don’t change your strategy now! That’s my takeaway from all the reality TV shows I watch
Grunkle Stan: That’s my granddaughter! She’s on TV!
Dipper: I knew you could do it! Just stay true to yourself, Mabel! You’ve got this!
Gideon: We won’t stop looking for a way to get Grunkle Stan’s memories back, baby! Winning this contest will go a long way!
Bill: is a statue
Dakota: How did that get there…
Bill: manifesting from the void. You call this entertainment? Where’s the fire? Where’s the dead contestants? Where’s the {REDACTED]? Come on, Chris McLean, they told me this was the craziest reality show in the multiverse, let’s get sickening! Oh no wait, I still can’t do anything. Oh well, those other campers don’t stand a chance against Mabel. She’s embraced chaos and it’s her weapon now. She’ll get the drop on them. Buy cryptocurrency! Bye! Dissipates
Dipper: Huh, even Bill had something nice to say
Wendy: That’s why Mabel’s gotta win!
Sam: Back to you, Chris!
Chris: Now, we turn to Sasha’s Survey Corps family!
Duncan: We’re here with the totally-rad Survey Corps to get their scoop on Sasha and why she should win this season
Courtney: If I had my way, we could totally turn this into a succinct discussion on social conditioning and the horrors of child conscription, but given the limited time, we can only ask the Corps on Sasha and her journey so far
Mikasa: I speak for everyone when I say Sasha got all the way to the finals because of her combination of strength in body and strength in heart. Even when her strength fails her, the friends she’s made along the way always have her back. That’s why she will win this
Connie: I know, right?! Either Sasha wins, or it’s rigged!
Levi: Just remember your training
Jean: We've got faith in you, Sasha. Go for it!
Zoe: The odds are in your favor, Sasha. This time, the Corps won't have to settle for defeat!
Courtney: Sasha's lucky to have such faithful friends! We now bring you back to the ongoing race back to Wawanakwa!

Sasha was flying in the air. She saw pieces of roast meat flying along with her, with smiley faces, beckoning her to take a bite. She gladly bit in, savoring the juices
“Ouch!”
Sasha shook her head. She was still flying, but not of her own power, but because Jason was carrying her. Then she had bit his arm.
“What in the Three Sisters?! Jason, where’s Mabel?!”
“She tricked you. Amethyst and Mabel have had an alliance since the Merge.”
Amethyst shapeshifted out of boat form as soon as she hit the shore. “Oh man! The look on Sasha’s face when she wakes up!”
“I almost feel bad,” said Mabel. “But I don’t wanna face Sasha in the Triple Dog Dare Challenge. She’ll cream us for sure”
“Oh, I’m winning that, through and through, but Sasha might threaten your spot in the Final Two, so we had to cut her loose”
Chris nodded. “Amethyst and Mabel, congratulations! You’re in the Final Three! It’s Jason vs. Sasha for the third spot!”
Sasha saw her prospects were grim. “Drop me, Grace. You deserve the final spot”
“I won’t do that. Romans fight fairly”
“OK, then I’ll duel you on the beach for the final spot. Corpsmen fight to the end”
“Deal”
They landed and squared off meters away from the shore, knee-deep in the water. Jason drew his coin and flipped it, and a sword materialized from it. Sasha drew her twin blades and squared off. Everyone on the beach was silent as the two giantslayers began their duel.
Both were speedsters in combat, but Jason had the advantage of having the power of the wind itself. He ran circles around Sasha, who was forced to parry and keep on the defensive. Demigods cheered for Jason while the Corpsmen urged Sasha to fight on. Sasha’s dual blades afforded her the opportunity to attack and block at the same time, but Jason gave her few openings. Jason’s advantage was that his blade carried his full force, while Sasha’s dual swords halved her attacking power at the benefit of raising range and versatility. Still, Sasha pressed on, forcing herself to lunge in and try to turn the tide on Jason. Steel clashed against bronze and sparks flew. Jason nicked Sasha in the arm.
Suddenly, something awoke within Sasha. Her grip tightened and she began to move much faster, with more force in her strikes. She began pushing Jason back. She began to flip, turn, feint and tumble in the air, the grace of her Corps training coming into full display. Jason began to betray signs of tiring. Sasha twirled, describing a helicopter in the air, blades teetering towards Jason, who parried with his sword.
This time, Sasha nicked Jason on the cheek.
“She’s doing great! She’s gonna win this for sure!” said Connie
Levi shook his head. “It’s over”
“What?!”
Annabeth Chase nodded in agreement. “Sasha was never going to win”
Leo scoffed. “I’m all for Jason winning, but how come you counting Sasha out like that?”
Annabeth rolled her eyes. “It’s so obvious”
Zoe nodded. “Look at them. Look at where they’re standing. A rather brilliant application of simple physics, really”
Leo scanned the area around them. The lake shone blue against the white sand.
The lake.
“Oh,” said Leo.
“Oh, shit,” said Connie.
Jason grinned. “You’ve given it everything you’ve got, Sasha, well done! Now, it’s my turn.” He stabbed the waters with his sword, wincing as the act reminded him of Caligula, and called down the lightning.
Sasha had no time at all to process what happened as the jolts of electricity raced across the lake and into her.
When she awoke, her friends were all around her, grinning and cheering.
“Oh, guys, I had the weirdest dream! I was on a reality TV show and I made it all the way to the finals, until someone fried me…”
Connie sobbed. “Oh, but you did! You did all of that, baby, you made it to the first ever finals of Total Drama Fandom Island and we are freaking proud of ya!”
“Well done!” Jean was overjoyed.
Zoe beamed, “You showed them the Corps are not to be underestimated”
Chris McLean entered the tent, and beamed at Sasha. “Sasha Braus, you are this season’s third runner up! Thanks to the ton of sponsors we gotten since going multiversal, we can actually afford to give ALL our finalists cash prizes! You’re taking fifty thousand dollars home!”
“Fifty thousa-“ Sasha was dazed. “Whatever are we gonna do with fifty grand?!”
“I’ll tell ya what we’ll do,” said Connie. “There’s like restaurants in this wonderful country where you can eat all the meat you want at a price! As soon as this show’s over, we’re hitting one of those restos!”
“Canada is so beautiful,” murmured Mikasa. “Even the Titans here are friendly, and covered in soft fuzzy fur”
“Hyperboreans are harmless unless you mess with ‘em” said Frank Zhang, peeking in from outside.
Three contestants remained. Jason joined Mabel and Amethyst and headed for the special stage erected by the staff.
“History repeats itself,” said Heather. “Three Gophers remain, and the last Bass places fourth”
“Who do you think will win the Dare?” asked Owen.
“Amethyst and Mabel are pretty unhinged,” said Gwen. “If I were Jason, I’d be very worried”
“The dude shoots lightning like a freaking Sith Lord. The Triple Dog Dare isn’t fazing Jason” countered Duncan.
“Campers, congratulations on making it this far” said Chris. “For your next challenge, we bring you the Triple Dog Dare! Your fellow contestants, even Sasha just now, have written down dares that you must beat, from Patrick to Sasha. Now, instead of a roulette, we’ll just run them down from Patrick to Sasha. Ready?”
“Ready!” said the three in unison

Amethyst: They’re in for it now, I didn’t come all this way to lose
Jason: I’ve been memory-wiped, hit by flying bricks and skewered in the back. Nothing is going to hold me down now
Mabel: No dare is too squeamish for Mabel Pines!

“Alright, who goes first?” Chris asked.
“Ladies first,” said Jason.
“I’m non-binary,” said Amethyst. “So Mabel’s going first”
Mabel bit her lip. Patrick was the first eliminated and his challenge was either going to be stupidly easy or stupidly impossible.
She shrugged. I’ve done both. “Bring it, Patrick!”
Patrick Star stepped forward from the Peanut Gallery. “Mabel, I dare ya to eat a Triple Patty Deluxe in one bite!”
“I’ll do it!” Mabel saw the juicy burger and realized how hungry she was. She opened as wide as her jaw would allow, crushing the burger a bit to shrink it, and shoved it in her mouth. She chewed hungrily, and swallowed.
“Good job! Here’s your present!”
“Thanks, Pat!”
Chris clapped. “Alright, Mabel. Now you get a freebie, and the next time you can use it to pass a challenge to someone else. The first to back out is ELIMINATED.”
“Cool”
“Now, pick who goes next!”
“Go, Jason! I know Bakugou has a special challenge for you”
Jason: Now why on Earth would Bakugou have something in mind for me?
Bakugou stepped forward. “Alright, discount Pikachu, I bought my friend Denki with me. The challenge is to short-circuit him before he does it to you.
Denki Kaminari stepped into the fray. “Hiya, I heard you can fly, too, on top of using lightning. Man that is so unfair!”
“Alright, let’s do this”
The two squared off and fired bolts of lightning at each other. The sparks flew in all direction, even making Amethyst’s hair puff up and Mabel’s braces to glow”
“Cool!” said Mabel.
“I needed the new hairstyle,” admitted Amethyst.
They both strained as the lightning surge moved back and forth.
Deku gasped in the audience. “Wow, Denki could actually match a demigod in electrical output!”
“That’s our friend right there, get ‘em, Denki!” yelled Yaoyorozu.
An explosion sent smoke billowing all over the stage. When it settled. Jason was still standing, while Denki had folded.
Bakugou smirked. “Nice job, punk. Here’s your freebie” Jason caught the party favor as Bakugou flung it to him.
“Jason, pick the next challenger,” said Chris.
“Amethyst? It’s your turn”
LSP flew in with a yellow, sour-faced creature. “Amethyst, baby, your challenge is simple. Kiss the Earl of Lemongrab!”
“A’ight, here goes nothing” She kissed him and felt her lips burn. “Oof, boy, you’re better than Fire Salt!”
“Mmmm, you have proven acceptable” said Lemongrab. “Accept this favor”
“Mabel! Your turn again!”
“Next round, we both pass it on to Jason. We have to force him to quit so it’s us girls for the Finale!” “Got it, Amethyst!”
Mabel watched Brian Griffin walk onto the stage. “Mabel, my challenge is this. Say something nice about my novel, Faster than the Speed of Love”
Mabel felt a shiver down her spine. “It’s nice you thought of the needs of the mentally-challenged in writing this novel”
“Why, thank you, I- HEY!”
Stewie Griffin ran up to the stage. “Yass, Mabel, slay! Drag his arse, okay, here’s your favor”. He dragged Brian back to the seats by the ear.
Mabel turned. “Jason!”
Hermione Granger stepped up. “Jason Grace. I have but a riddle for you. Three students sit at Argus Filch’s detention room. They are either Gryffindors, who always tell the truth, or Slytherins, who tell naught but lies. Student One says “All of us are Slytherins”. Student Two is mum. Student Three says “Exactly one of us is a Gryffindor”. Who is who?”
“I’ve heard this riddle before,” said Jason. “Student One is a Slytherin, since if he were Gryffindor, he would be lying, which he cannot. Since he is a Slytherin, they are not all Slytherins, otherwise he’d be telling the truth. Student Two is mum, which is suspicious, and Student Three can be lying or no. They cannot be all of either. If Three is a Gryffindor, that means Two is a Slytherin, since Three’s statement must be true if he is Gryffindor. If Three is a Slytherin, then Two must be Slytherin also, since if Two was Gryffindor then Three must be telling the truth, but then all three would be Slytherin, making One’s statement true, when we already know it’s a lie. Therefore. One and Two are Slytherin, and Three is a Gryffindor.”
“Brilliant! And well-reasoned. Alright, Jason, here’s your favor”
“My brain fucking hurts,” said Amethyst.
“You don’t have a brain, silly, you got some sorta microchips,” said Mabel.
“Can I eat ‘em? All that logic made my head hurt”
“Alright, Amethyst, you’re up again,” said Jason.
“I just said my head hurts! Sheesh”
Cyborg entered the fray. “Yo, Amethyst! BB over here wants to challenge your shapeshifting skills!”
“Bring it on, BB! I’m ready for ya, anytime!”
“Oh, word, Amethyst? Get ready, coz I am kicking your butt across the animal kingdom!”
The green and the purple squared up. They began slowly, mouse, cow, tiger, rabbit, then picked up the pace, to owls, ravens, peacocks, dinosaurs, onto more complex animals, insects and fantastic creatures. Then Amethyst started morphing inanimate objects, to which Beast Boy threw in the towel.
“Man, I shoulda known better than to challenge you, sis! Here’s your favor!”
“Jason, next!”
Jason: I knew the girls were gonna gang up on me sooner or later. Welp, bring it!
Jett flew in. “Jason, think fast!” She dashed past him, and grabbed Piper and Leo from the audience.
“What the fuck?!” Amethyst gasped.
“What the heck is she thinking?!” said Mabel. “You can’t be lifting up demigods!”
Jett flew to the ceiling of the really-high circus tent, and flung Piper and Leo to the ground in opposite directions.
Jason’s calm smirk shocked everyone. Instead of making like Superman and flying to either of them, he willed the spirits of the winds to catch both of them and land them safely.
Jett beamed at Jason, though Leo tried to throw hands at her, and was intercepted by fellow pyro Phoenix (“Chill, fam, it was all planned out!”).
“I know when to cut my losses, but I’ll damn well try before I do any cutting”
Brimstone smiled in the audience. “That kid’s got potential”
Sage nodded. “He has the calmness and power of a storm”
“Mabel? Your turn”
Mabel breezed through Ponyhead’s Tiktok challenge, while Jason took Gray’s stripping challenge pretty well (“Walking around naked is a literal rite of manhood in Rome”), though several girls had to be restrained from throwing themselves at Jason and Piper had to be restrained from stabbing them. Jason passed it back to Mabel, who found the bugs Raymond challenged her to find. Mabel passed it back to Jason, who solved Lisa’s calculus problem pretty well (“I went to math college!”). Jason passed it back to Mabel, who had to outpun Sans, and took him down a notch with her keen wit. She passed it back to Jason, who did Seraphine’s KPOP song-and-dance number challenge (and once again made the girlies scream). Jason passed it to Amethyst, seeing Mabel could not be fazed. Amethyst nearly floundered on Baljeet’s trigonometry question, but luckily, her Gem did the math for her. Amethyst threw it back to Jason, and Gaara challenged him to a chess match, which he narrowly won. Jason went back at Amethyst, who beat Darcy at her own game when she challenged her to a makeover competition, to which Amethyst simply shapeshifted into what Darcy was wearing, but purple and sparkly. Amethyst passed back to Jason, and Jason beat Barry at a randomized 3v3 on Pokemon Showdown. Jason passed to Mabel, and Mabel had to beat Arthur in a jig-off. Mabel trounced Arthur and passed it back to Jason. Sasha’s challenge was simple: “Jason, Catch!”
Jason caught whatever it was Sasha threw. It was heavy, darned heavy, and it was pretty hot, so he dropped it, but quickly caught it again and again. Finally, Sasha said “OK! Timer’s up! You win!”
Jason unwrapped the heavy, hot object and frowned.
It was a hot brick with a smiley face and a note that said “Oh, kiss me again, Jason-senpai!”
Percy Jackson was cackling in the audience.
“Campers, you worked the house DOWN!!!” said Chris. “Not a single challenge passed off, so now, we gotta base it on how many favors you have!”
Mabel and Amethyst gulped. Their plan to take down Jason had backfired.
“Jason, you got nine favors! Congratulations, you’re in the final two!”
“Mabel, you got five favors, Amethyst, you got four. Congratulations, Mabel, join Jason for the final leg of the Finale!”
“Amethyst, congratulations on being the first wildcard contestant to ever make it to the final three! Well, unless you count Courtney in Action as a wildcard, (which she’s NOT, according to her own lawyer’s affidavit!). You are the second-runner up and you get to take home fifty thousand dollars!”
“Wow, awesome! This’ll help add new stuff at the Kindergarden! We can buy PS5s, or even-“
“Let’s do the budgeting at home, Amethyst,” said Pearl. “Congratulations, we’re so proud of you!”
“AMETHYST, YOU ROCKED!” yelled Steven.
“That’s my Gem in the rough! C’mere,” Sans joined them and proceeded to make out with Amethyst.
“I may have lost the season, but I got the skeleton of my dreams, baby!”
Heather gagged. “Ugh, get a room, you two!”
Alejandro countered. “Oh, but mi amor, you are the same! Third placers who bagged the perfect man for them!”
Heather scoffed. “I’m the lucky one in the relationship? You wish, Burromuerto!” Then she tackled him into a kiss on the floor.
Piper was next to gag. “Are you guys trying to summon my mom?! Please don’t, if she sees me with Jason, she’s gonna freak”
“Your mom’s already here in a way, pumpkin!” Chris said. “We often have coffee together as in-laws. She gives me juicy tips on how to milk all that lovey-dovey drama for all the ratings it’s worth! You guys, the Courtney-Duncan-Gwen love triangle drama was Aphrodite’s whole idea!”
Duncan gasped, Gwen’s eyes bugged. Courtney looked like she was ready to go full-on God of War, scale Olympus and strangle Aphrodite.
Sierra gasped. “What a twist! The fans are gonna go crazy”
“Well, Mabel? It’s down to you and me”
“Uh-huh. Ready to get pummeled, Sparky?”
Jason stopped a laugh. “Sure am. If I remember correctly, the last challenge is a footrace”
They stood there, facing the long obstacle course designed by the fallen twenty campers.

Jason: I am shaking. I never thought it would come down to Mabel and me. But I really want to win this whole thing for the Legion back home, so, sorry Mabel. I’m going all out.
Mabel: I can’t breathe right now. I can’t even move. Why did it have to come down to me and that ridiculously cute guy from California? I’m entering fight-or-flight mode but I know I have to choose to fight

“Campers! This is your last chance to win the one million dollars! Jason, you can take your coin and Mabel can take her grappling gun with her! The obstacle course is the final challenge and the first to reach the finish lines takes all. One last time, you two. DO YOU WANNA BE FAMOUS???!!!!”
They shot off into a sprint. Jason waded through jellyfish. Mabel dodged mini-landmines. Jason bounced off floating pink clouds, Mabel rode a muscular, genetically-enhanced pig, Jason rode a broomstick, Mabel dodged Batarangs, Jason grabbed a gun and mowed down training robots and defused the Spike and Mabel used Dimensional Scissors to get around a chasm. Jason dodged magical attacks, while Mabel swam like an otter across a pond.
They were neck and neck. Piper clutched her blade. Dipper hugged Waddles tight.
Jason rode a skateboard as nuclear waste dripped from the trees, Mabel dodged lasers and bones and skulls flying at her, Jason danced his butt off to activate a hovering bridge. Mabel activated a giant baking soda volcano, propelling her forward, Jason ran through quicksand, Mabel dodged shadows, Jason ran away from Beedrills, and Mabel climbed a mountain of burnt scones, Jason grabbed some Corps gear and rappelled down Sasquatchanakwa’s back. Mabel rode a pink Lion across the lake, punching Fang in the face as she passed.
Jason used his lightning to scare Lion off, throwing Mabel to the ground. Jason jogged past her, towards the finish line. Mabel pulled out her grappling gun and shot for the finish line’s pole. It latched on and she rocketed to the finish line, passing Jason at the last second.
“WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!” Chris boomed. “MABEL PINES, OF GRAVITY FALLS, YOU ARE TOTAL DRAMA FANDOM ISLAND’S FIRST EVER CHAMPION!!”
Jason Grace beamed at Mabel. “Great job, Mabel! You won against all odds. New Rome salutes you!”
Waddles ran up to Mabel and she caught him in a big hug. “Oh, we did it, Mr. Waddles! We won Total Drama Island!!!”
The other campers cheered.
“A jolly good show, Mabel!” said Arthur
“I knew you could do it, Mabel!” said Baljeet
“Mabel, that was awesome!” said Seraphine
“Not bad at all!” said Barry
“Impressive, and here I thought you’d be an early boot,” said Darcy
Demigods and the Gravity Falls citizens cheered wildly. Even the Survey Corps and the Beach City community hooted all around. All the audience from all across the Multiverse clapped in adulation.
“Jason Grace of New Rome, congratulations for being our First First Runner Up! You’ll be taking home one hundred thousand dollars!”
“We can finally afford those Temple renovations I was planning… well, I was planning until I died, so…”
Piper and Leo and the rest of the Seven ran up to hug Jason, or rather pile onto him.
“I’m so glad I came,” said Piper. “When I heard you got brought back from the dead just to compete in some reality show, I cringed. I really didn’t know how to react, where to start. I owed you, Jason, I-“
“You don’t owe me anything, Pipes. I’m happy for you. I want nothing more but for you to keep on being happy with your new life”
They hugged awkwardly, but sweetly.
“Hey, McLean! How about casting me for Season 2, eh?” said Leo Valdez.
“Or me, I really loved this whole season!” said Connie, hugging Sasha.
“Count me in if you’re casting Season 2 now!” said Peridot
“I’m open for participation, Mr. McLean” said Pacifica.
“Me too!” said Squidward Tentacles.
“And me!” said Natsu Dragneel
“What about me?” asked Ron Weasley
“You can’t have a season two without me!” yelled Jessie of Team Rocket.
“Chill out dudes! I’ve got Season 2 greenlighted and you can all email your audition tapes starting tomorrow!”
They all cheered. The Gravity Falls community carried Mabel atop them like a parade float, towards the lake. Percy Jackson smiled. “Think they’re gonna dunk her in?”
Annabeth Chase winced. “I hope not! It’s only fun when, well, you’re with that special someone”
“I wonder who’ll be in Season Two?”
“Wanna file for an audition, Seaweed Brain?”
“It’s one crazy show, but I like crazy sometimes”
Mabel thanked everyone for their support. “I’d never have won without all of you guys. My Screaming Gophers family, and the nice guys at the Killer Bass. Sasha, Arthur, Cyborg, Sans. All of you. I’m so happy I got to meet you all!”
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Chris cleared his throat. “We got the contestants to vote our Mr. and Ms. Congeniality for this season! Congratulations to Gaara and Seraphine!”
“I am honored. No one would’ve believed this ten years ago,” said Gaara, tearing up.
“Oh, you deserve it!” said Seraphine. “You’re a very sweet guy. Thank you, guys, for voting me!”
“You guys get fifty grand each! And that’s not all, everyone not in the Finals is taking home one thousand dollars TIMES the number of challenge wins you got in your entire run!”
Squidward laughed. “Patrick’s STILL not getting anything”
“He won the gift of friendship,” said Spongebob. “Didn’t ya, Pat?”
“That’s true!” said Sasha Braus. “Patrick, we’ll all fondly remember you and each other as we go back to our everyday lives!”
“There’s still one question that’s bugging me,” said Grunkle Stan. “Mabel, what do ya plan to do with your one million dollars?”
Mabel took the giant check from Chris McLean and thought deeply. “I’ve always wanted to expand your gift shop, Grunkle, and- WAIT A MINUTE, GRUNKLE, YOUR MIND-“
Grunkle Stan laughed. “It’s amazing what these Survey Corps scientists can cook up from the spit of a human-Gem hybrid and nectar from those demigods”
Mabel stared at her fellow finalists. “You guys, I…”
“It was horrible when we found out the price he paid to save you and the world from Bill Cipher” said Sasha. “So when we realized we had all the pieces to the puzzle of restoring lost memories, we jumped right at it!”
“Take it from someone who knows, Mabel. It’s a living hell knowing you should know about someone and not remember them” said Jason.
“Think of it as a prize from us for winning!” said Amethyst.
Mabel spent the rest of that day hugging everyone out of sheer joy.
Raymond purred. “Ah, all’s well that ends well, eh?”
Ponyhead beamed. “You bet, baby! Hey, Gorillanakwaz, hit it!”
Arthur Kirkland, Cyborg, Jett, Seraphine and Gaara hit the stage.
Arthur took up the bass, Jett the keyboard, Cyborg the drums and Gaara and Seraphine took the mikes, and an old, familiar tune began.
You never ever leave my mind
My sweet, sweet Caroline
Every time I look into your eyes, I feel like I’m alive
The whole island was vibing to the song and rocking to its melody
Every time I want to say hello, every time I want to stay, I go
Could never find the words to let you know, sometimes
You play my mind a million times
Mabel danced with all her friends, switching from Dipper, to Waddles, to Soos, Wendy and Pacifica, even Gideon. Sasha danced with Connie. Gems, Survey Corpsmen and demigod legionnaires joined hands in a circle and danced around the campfire. Jason waved as Piper danced with her girlfriend Shel, and suddenly, Jett came along and they began to dance, too.
Chris Mclean waved one last time at the camera. “Thanks for joining us here on Total Drama Fandom Island. Stay tuned for Season Two coming to you in May! Eighteen new contestants from all over the fandom multiverse will compete for the crown at TOTAL DRAMA FANDOMS SEASON TWO: FANDOM ACTION!

submitted by Hot_Tailor_9687 to Totaldrama [link] [comments]

2023.03.22 08:01 Notostracant Poetically speaking, a triops kaiju would attack Phoenix, Arizona

Yea, this is completely out of left-field but this is a neat little thought I've had in my mind the past couple days as a Godzilla fan and triops enthusiast. This was probably fueled by me rewatching the Godzilla triops video that I fondly remember watching years ago. I shouldn't need to say this but it is obviously fake, but it is still an entertaining watch that I'm sure many of you have already seen before
Why Phoenix, AZ?

The name itself, Phoenix, has obvious symbolism when it comes to triops. The phoenix rising from the ashes is comparable to the vernal pool teeming with life, drying out, and springing back to life once more.
Arizona is one state in the US that has an endemic triops population, notably T. longicaudatus, a hermaphroditic species. The fact that it can reproduce on its own adds to the fear factor and fits thematically with some popular monster depictions, such as the 1998 Godzilla film where Zilla's babies play an important role in the final act. ^{^{^Side}} ^{^{^note:}} ^{^{^this}} ^{^{^isn't}} ^{^{^a}} ^{^{^good}} ^{^{^Godzilla}} ^{^{^film}} ^{^{^:(}}
Man's hubris. Phoenix is one example some people point out as a shining example of what's wrong with contemporary urban planning and modern civilization as a whole. I shouldn't need to elaborate on this further, but for those who want a better explanation, Phoenix is a very unsustainable city. A strong dependence on the dwindling Colorado riveaquifers, massive urban sprawl (read: very car-centric), and extreme temperatures have made Phoenix environmentally very inefficient, even with current regulations in place. There is absolutely no reason for large golf courses and Kentucky blue grass lawns to exist in the middle of a desert while the threat of climate change is ever looming over this city. The original Godzilla was a narrative on the danger's of nuclear weapons and likewise the recent Shin Godzilla dealt with the implications behind nucleanatural disaster and the political climate of Japan. The point I'm trying to make is this hypothetical triops kaiju would be a symbol of the effects of climate change and man's hubris in addressing it in the same spirit how Godzilla symbolizes the lack of prudence with nuclear technology and the responsibility of mankind. What better city would fit this theme than Phoenix?
Arizona's soil, notably in the desert regions, is typically sandy or gravelly. We all know triops love digging in this stuff!
Triops tend to grow faster and are more active the warmer it gets. Arizona can get pretty hot. Shouldn't need to elaborate further

Okay, so if you're still with me you see why Phoenix is this kaiju's own Tokyo. Now we can get to the fun part, which is what characteristics this kaiju would have along with a potential name

Ebira (shrimp-ra, a common suffix for kaijus) would be a fitting name for this beast, but that name is already taken by this lovely crustacean! Instead, I propose Kabura would be a fitting name. Kabuto is Japanese for helmet, hence beni-kabuto ebi. Most kaiju names are 3 syllables and end in -ra, so Kabura is what I would name this creature. Incidentally, kabu means turnip, which I find adorable and gives us a color scheme in our next point
With Kabura as a name, it would be fitting to make this triop turnip colored. The top of the carapace would be a lovely purple color that fades to white ventrally. This is a unique color for a triop and honestly I would love to have one like it.
Every good kaiju needs a beam attack. I don't make the rules that's just how it is. A blue colored beam would contrast the red/orange rocks and landscape around Phoenix nicely, but the G-man already has dibs on this one. Going back to the turnip colors, purple would fit nicely and also contrast with the scenery just as well. I also find it natural that this beam comes from its third eye
How would Kabura come to be? To fit in with the already established themes, I believe a train derailment would be fitting. After the disaster in East Palestine the absurd amount of train derailments in this country has taken to the public's interest. In fact, there was recently a train carrying corn syrup that derailed in Arizona. This plays into the whole "negligent stewards of the Earth" theme based on the impact these derailments have on the environment and communities when hazardous materials are released. For this monster, I find a train carrying Potassium-40 derailing in the Arizona desert as a suitable creation story. Of course this isn't realistic in the slightest (we're talking about giant shrimps after all!) but it is a nod to the original Godzilla triops video.
Notable abilities. This baby can dig with its gigantic appendages like no other. I can see it spending most of its time underground and in particular resting inside an aquifer where it also lays its eggs, only coming out to feed or to protect its clutch. This has the potential to be a focal point of this story, as now an important source of water is not only inhabited/made unpotable by a titan, but might need to be destroyed outright before its eggs have a chance to hatch. A little allegory for the consequences of eco-disasteclimate change.
As hinted earlier, the real threat posed by this monster is that it can impregnate itself and create an exponentially growing problem as these triops grow and gain an appetite to match, fitting perfectly with the theme by representing the positive feedback-loops associated with climate change.
Finally, the question you're probably all wondering is how big would this monster be. The original Godzilla was 50m tall with later depictions doubling this height. I could see this kaiju when full grown as being 50m tall as well, but 150m long. I could see it being able to temporarily raise its body using its tail to a height of 100m, putting it face-to-face with modern Godzilla

And that's all I really felt like writing as this post is long enough already. Feel free to leave any thoughts below. I know the talk of climate change might be controversial to some viewers, but just think of it as an excuse for this fictional thing to exist.

submitted by Notostracant to triops [link] [comments]

2023.03.22 06:16 wsppan Today In Phishstory - March 22nd

# Today In Phishstory - March 22nd Brought to you by tiph-bot. Beep.
All data extracted via The Phishnet API.

Phish

Phish, Monday 03/22/1993 (30 years ago) Crest Theatre, Sacramento, CA, USA
Gap Chart, Tour: 1993 WinteSpring Tour
Set 1 : Chalk Dust Torture , Guelah Papyrus , Uncle Pen , Stash , Bouncing Around the Room , Rift , Weigh > Reba , Sparkle > David Bowie ¹
Set 2 : Golgi Apparatus , It's Ice > The Lizards > Tela > Wilson > AC/DC Bag > Colonel Forbin's Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird > The Sloth > McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters , Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove
Encore : Amazing Grace ² , Fire
1 Simpsons, Oom Pa Pa, Random Note, and All Fall Down signals in intro. 2 Without microphones.
Jamchart Notes:
Reba - Really fluid and laid-back jamming, with Trey all but absent (relatively speaking), as if inciting the others to respond. This results in an all but total dialing down of the sound. Not so much a secret language, as a testament to the band, who, via subdued and nuanced playing, manage to maintain the structure of the jam before Trey works through a series of cool rhythmic shifts and wonderful sustain to arrive at the "note."
It's Ice - Band uses the jam as a segue for a performance of the entire suite of Gamehenge songs, one of only 5 such performances. Unfinished.
Show Notes:
Trey and Mike teased Fire (Ohio Players) in Stash. The Bowie intro contained Simpsons, Oom Pa Pa, Random Note, and All Fall Down signals and Mike teasing Sailor's Hornpipe and briefly Split Open And Melt. The second set included Gamehendge narration in between songs from It's Ice through McGrupp. This was the first Gamehendge since October 13, 1991 (193 shows). Trey teased Johnny B. Goode in AC/DC Bag. Weekapaug contained a Sundown tease from Mike. Amazing Grace was performed without microphones.
Listen now at Phish.in!
Phish, Sunday 03/22/1992 (31 years ago) Cultural Center Auditorium, Charleston, WV, USA
Gap Chart, Tour: 1992 Spring Tour
Set 1 : Sparkle , All Things Reconsidered , Foam , The Landlady
Show Notes:
This set, performed live for the Mountain Stage radio program and as an opener for Buckwheat Zydeco, was broadcast several weeks later on National Public Radio.
Listen now at Phish.in!
Phish, Friday 03/22/1991 (32 years ago) The Inferno, Steamboat Springs, CO, USA
Gap Chart, Tour: 1991 WinteSpring Tour
Set 1 : Chalk Dust Torture ¹ , Llama , You Enjoy Myself ² , The Landlady > Destiny Unbound , Bouncing Around the Room , Split Open and Melt , The Squirming Coil > Buried Alive > Cavern > Reba , Fire
Set 2 : The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg > Run Like an Antelope ³ > Foam , Paul and Silas , Stash , Runaway Jim > Guelah Papyrus , Hold Your Head Up > Terrapin > Let's Go , Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove
Encore : Magilla , Golgi Apparatus
1 Aborted twice. 2 Vocal jam partially based on burgers. 3 Vocal jam in intro.
Jamchart Notes:
Run Like an Antelope - Really good and unsual vocal jam in the intro, followed by a pugnacious jam with sick Mike and Trey.
Show Notes:
This show started with bad sound problems, resulting in the band aborting two attempts at a Chalk Dust Torture opener. After the first Chalk Dust failed, the band said a round of "thank yous" and Fish added "good night, we'll see you next time." Antelope contained a vocal jam in the intro and a Jean Pierre tease from Trey. YEM contained Who Knows teases. The YEM vocal jam was partially based on burgers. Before Terrapin, Fish was introduced as "the late Henrietta," and then commented that he is no longer Henrietta, but has not yet thought of a new name. He and Trey introduced Chris Kuroda (as "Cooter," with a "Charge!" tease) and Colorado fan "Erik the Viking." Terrapin included a brief Whole Lotta Love jam. Weekapaug contained a Theme from Bonanza tease by Trey.
Listen now at Phish.in!
Phish, Tuesday 03/22/1988 (35 years ago) Nectar's, Burlington, VT, USA
Gap Chart, Tour: 1988 Tour
Set 1 : Harpua , Wilson > Peaches en Regalia , Funky Bitch , Golgi Apparatus , Suzy Greenberg , You Enjoy Myself , The Lizards , Good Times Bad Times , Happy Birthday to You ¹ , Colonel Forbin's Ascent > Icculus > Colonel Forbin's Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird > AC/DC Bag
1 "Dub" style.
Show Notes:
Happy birthday was performed in a "dub style" and was played for "Christa" and "Jen." The recording in circulation cuts in the middle of AC/DC Bag; this setlist may be incomplete.
Listen now at Phish.in!
Phish, 1987-03-22 Nectar's, Burlington, VT, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/phish-march-22-1987-nectars-burlington-vt-usa.html
Tour: 1987 Tour
Show Notes:

Mike Gordon

Mike Gordon, 2019-03-22 The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/mike-gordon-march-22-2019-the-sinclair-cambridge-ma-usa.html
Tour: Not Part of a Tour
Show Notes:
Mike Gordon, 2014-03-22 The Rio Theatre, Vancouver, BC, , Canada
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/mike-gordon-march-22-2014-the-rio-theatre-vancouver-bc-canada.html
Tour: Mike Gordon - Spring 2014 Overstep Tour
Show Notes: This show featured the Mike Gordon debuts of Oceans of Diamonds and I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate. Peel contained quotes of William Shakespeare's "As You Like It." 555 contained additional intro lyrics "Trash cans in the distance / Seagulls in a line / Transmission's boiling up and over / Follow me to find / Can't wait to get away." This show was remastered and officially released via LivePhish.
Mike Gordon, 2011-03-22 Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/mike-gordon-march-22-2011-brooklyn-bowl-brooklyn-ny-usa.html
Tour: Mike Gordon - Winter 2011 Tour
Show Notes: The Void included a dance "contest" with audience members. Call to the Post was teased before Horizon Line.

Page McConnell

The Meter Men with Page McConnell, 2013-03-22 Grand Ballroom, New York, NY, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/page-mcconnell-march-22-2013-grand-ballroom-new-york-ny-usa.html
Tour: Page - The Meter Men w/Page McConnell Spring 2013
Show Notes:

Other

The Allman Brothers Band, 2005-03-22 Beacon Theatre, New York, NY, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/guest-appearance-march-22-2005-beacon-theatre-new-york-ny-usa.html
Tour: Not Part of a Tour
Show Notes: This gig was a benefit for The Big House Foundation and also featured sets from Gov't Mule, Derek Trucks Band, Oteil and the Peacemakers, and Jaimoe's Jassss Band. The Allman Brothers (full setlist) were joined by Trey on guitar and Chuck Leavell on keyboards for the show- closing "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed."
Buckwheat Zydeco, 1992-03-22 Cultural Center Auditorium, Charleston, WV, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/guest-appearance-march-22-1992-cultural-center-auditorium-charleston-wv-usa.html
Tour: Not Part of a Tour
Show Notes: Phish was the opening act on this bill that was headlined by Buckwheat Zydeco. Trey sat in for Juke Joint Johnny. This performance was taped for later airing on the public radio program Mountain Stage.

submitted by wsppan to phish [link] [comments]

2023.03.22 05:46 Awkward-Rent-2588 Wow… could I be in the rare camp that actually doesn’t like Gravity KS buttons? (In a hitbox)

As some may have saw in my last post, I recently modded my hitbox and switched the Sanwa buttons out for Gravity KS. I have to say, at least so far, the change is not as good as expected yet.
For example, compared to the more sensitive Sanwa, sometimes when doing a double quarter circle forward quickly I’m getting 2,6 instead of 2,3,6 sometimes. It’s not terribly often or anything but in the clutch where I really need that speed I can do the motion as fast as I could on my sanwas… surely this is an actuation thing right? Anyone else that made a similar change noticed that as well? I never had a problem with resting my hands on Sanwa; I never got accidental presses personally. In comparison it definitely takes more force to actuate the Gravity buttons; for long sessions this becomes cumbersome.
One thing I will give the KS is they are more forgiving say if you press more to the side of the button compared to Sanwa. It’s definitely a more well made uniform button… the plunger and switch both feel high quality and provide more tactile feed back than Sanwa. You can definitely “feel” the button press more.
Just seeing if anyone else made similar changes from Sanwa only to realize maybe Sanwa was right for you all along. I’m going to give the Gravity buttons more time before I ditch them and I haven’t giving my fingers a much needed break so maybe it’s other factors throwing off my execution but one thing I will say for anyone still wondering: it’s all preference and there will be an adjustment period no matter what buttons you side with.

submitted by Awkward-Rent-2588 to fightsticks [link] [comments]

2023.03.22 00:22 dofferdk Clutch problems

I have DC simracing DC 2 pedals, and i bought a clutch for it, but when releasing the clutch it is making squeaky sound, but only when releasing it slowly, has anyone else got this problem and does anybody know how to fix it

submitted by dofferdk to simracing [link] [comments]

2023.03.21 23:34 Elzath911 2nd Silverado transmission shot within a year, what now?

2017 Silverado 1500 4x4 LS - V8 - 5.3L
90k miles total Half of that hauling 1.5 to 2.5 ton trailer w/ load
Regular maintenance, ATF changed at ~70k miles
After ~50k miles I saw in the manual that Chevy recommended it, so I began using 93 Octane.
@ ~80k miles began noticing occasional shutter, rare issues of it revving up to 4k-5k rpm randomly while driving.
Today, with no trailer, it began revving up high while cruising at 30 mph and started to produce a grinding noise. Grinding noise quit after ~30 ft. Came to a stop and upon attempting to take off it would not go. It would rev up much higher than the pressure to the accelerator would seem to cause. Eventually it took off with a lurch and after 3 lights, about a mile from the first occurrence, I was able to pull it into a parking lot. It never lost acceleration while driving, just would take a couple of minutes before it would decide to drive when accelerating from a stop. No warning lights on the dash, trans temp never went above 170f, oil never went above ~200f. ATF was brown with fine particles metal in it, best seen when wiped onto a towel. Towed it to my office, where I started it up to park in the garage and it had no problems doing so.
I posted here last year seeking advice for my 2015 Silverado. It had ~80k miles with nearly its entire mileage was spent pulling the same traileload. It had a code for the torque clutch converter stuck off and I found about half a pound of metal shavings in the trans pan. Can link that post in comments if needed for reference. No repairs have been made, it's just been sitting in our garage.
Looking for advice on which truck would be better to have repaired, or if i should just attempt to sell/trade-in for something else. Both are company vehicles, but my sister and I are the company owners.

submitted by Elzath911 to MechanicAdvice [link] [comments]

2023.03.21 22:29 Healthy_Ability_4594 Clutch slave cylinder problems

So I bought a new csc because I lost all pedal feel mid drive. I installed the new one and I tried to see if there were leaks and sure enough it started to piss out a lot of fluid. Any advise?

submitted by Healthy_Ability_4594 to E36_ [link] [comments]

2023.03.21 22:16 uniqueme1 [SHOW/BOOK SPOILERS] Reaction from someone who read the original 5 books

I know I'm way late to this party. I put off watching the series because of my love of the book series - all of Asimov's works, really. (I actually met the man in high school by winning a local science fiction writing contest.) I finally sat down and tried it, and was actually hooked after the first episode. But it was a roller coaster watching the season and while there have been some highs I'm feeling frustrated after the season 1 finale.
First of all, this is a beautiful looking series. Not just the cinematography but the costumes and set design. The acting is pretty great all around (except possibly for Foss).
As far as the story ... look, I get it. Adaptations are tough in general, but Foundation was always going to be an especially tough one. It deals with societal changes over thousands of years with a changing cast of characters. So I get some of the changes they made. Making>! Hari an AI instead of a recording makes sense. He can persist as a character over 1000 years, and Cleon can (possibly) personify the decay of the empire. In a lesser sense, I get why they might want characters like Gaal and Hardin persist over time (slow aging?). Without that continuity it's hard for a viewer to remain engaged. Changing genders or making Hardin a warden instead of mayor, sure. But others..!<
I absolute love what they did with the genetic dynasty and the emperor. Lee Pace absolutely kills it and I think the concept is original and worth exploring in detail. The concept of soul (in the the subplot about religion) was thought provoking and beautifully done.
I love Demerzel as the only robot left (although sadly she doesn't seem to be R. Daneel, if she was created for Cleon I) and that even adds even a more interesting dimension. I was hoping they would hint at the 3 laws of Robotics, but they really haven't and even if they do incorporate it it will have to be a perversion of the "zeroth" law.
My biggest problem is that the very idea of psychohistory is that the individual is less important than the tides of history. And that Hari himself is a component of that, not a driver or an architect. Him appearing at the Vault and telling them exactly what to do is the very antithesis of the main concepts of the book! Gaal and Hardin having precognition obviously fits in with the idea of the 2nd foundation, but it seems as if they are abandoning this idea that the real foundation was the 2nd foundation ("stars end" should have been Trantor, not Helicon, unless that's a fake out). It all left me feeling meh. I loved the idea of exploring cultural/societal shifts during long periods of time (using religion to cover technology, shifting to trade, etc). But if they are abandoning that idea - and sticking to the more conventional trope that the individual *can* be the difference - then this is Foundation only in name, for me.

So at the end of the series I'm left with that I love the very things that aren't in the book, and many of the plot points adapted by the book I dislike. I think the showrunners are using psychohistory as a McGuffin and not really as the backbone of the narrative. I'm willing to watch more - mostly to see what they do with Cleon/ Demerzel as opposed what they actually do with the concept of Foundation/2nd Foundation/The Mule. And *really* hoping they incorporate Asimov's laws of robotics and R. Daneel, because I would love love that.

submitted by uniqueme1 to FoundationTV [link] [comments]

2023.03.21 21:30 RideshareHeathen Feedback & Thoughts

Posting here, should anyone look for more feedback than just Steam Reviews.

Played about 11 hours so far, with a few short games and then one that lasted for about 6 hours to see just how far you can get. Even with it being EA, I was pretty impressed. The game caught my eye based on the C&C visuals and vibe and honestly is playing better than some phone Tower Defense games I have tried out. A long game like the one I had was certainly challenging due to the lack of additional research, but I have it wishlisted and will certainly give the game a more in-depth playthrough when there is more to do.

Some thoughts:
Pros:
-Simple game play that might have you losing a few matches at first, but once things can be researched I think it becomes pretty easy to keep growing and expanding.
-While everything is pixeled, the layout and feel is also easy to get used to. It didn't take much to figure out how to build things with some efficiency to keep unlocking more space.
-Pixelation Filter is nice! Feels fun to turn it on and gives that old game vibes, but off the game is pretty clean and sharp looking!
-2x and 4x Speed option is nice and the game doesn't seem to suffer much for it. I know plenty of TD's that just break past 2x speeds, even if they offer higher.
-My Pros list is short as its still EA, but I've already suggested it to a few of my friends as a simple time sink while we have downtime.
Cons/Suggestions:
--The turret audio gets wildly intense at times and I often played with the volume nearly at zero. After several hours on one map, the audio was just a total mess of "under attack/turret lost" and mine + enemy gunfire going rampant. I know this is a hard one to address, but if 30 guns are firing, I would limit that sound clip to only a few playing vs every single one going off.
--When you are placing anything, such as a wall and you accidentally click another object while in placement mode, it deselects that and selects the new thing. If in placement mode, disabling the ability to select something would be clutch. Otherwise, I frequently place a wall, click a turret, have to mouse back to the wall, select it and go back into trying to place it and hope I didnt lose the turret behind it (I did). Then you have to also re-place the turret and run into a similar problem. Later in the game, this is really painful with walls being blown away instantly and trying to replace your defenses. Typically it was just me letting a huge swath of defense getting destroyed, then trying to rebuild it all between waves or after the blob moved on.
--Boss HP bars are nice, at first, but at one point I had I think 6 or 7 and it consumed nearly 50% of my screen, making it difficult to see paths and build things.
--No mass repair option, or even a choice to auto-repair. Being able to toggle that for say, just walls, just turrets, etc, would be really nice. Otherwise, I stopped using the repair at all and just let stuff die and then replaced it. Only really used the repair on my HQ as needed.
-Turrets have the ability to shoot different things based on the priority you choose, but a 'deadliest' or 'boss' first would be neat! I set a pile of turrets to shoot highest HP thinking that would work, but it looked like they would switch to something else after some damage was done, moving to a higher HP unit because it was new in that targeting range. They don't stick to the boss or the bigger threats. Tried this with several settings to see if I could find one to do this, but didn't find one that worked.
-No mass select for turrets. Having to manually select each one to change priorities is a slow, tedious process.
-On the main home page and when loading, the camera shakes/tries to be dynamic in movement but its just really disorienting. It can follow the unit but it swinging around does not feel thematic or needed. Loading a map the cannon fires and the screen zooms in/out at a tilted angle. I think a little wiggle here is okay, but the zooming tilt effect is a bit much.
-No pause feature. Opening the research panel and it pausing would be nice, or an overall option to pause. Its not a huge con and I get why there might not be one. Still, it can be pretty useful. UI: --The UI isn't bad, especially again in EA and really gives that old C&C feel. However, a few things complicate the game:
--No shortcuts for buildings, if you misclick during placement, you have to go re-select it.
--Opening the research window in a game, its always stuck in a weird place with the camera in the upper right. Have to use WASD to reposition it every time. If its going to open in a static place, maybe a zoomed out full view is better, like it is on the main home page. Makes it easier to zoom into what I need to see.
--Text in the research descriptions is all different. Font size is huge for some titles, with tiny red & green text that's a little hard to see. You have to zoom in a good bit to read it clearly. Feels like the description box is a set size and the text is trying to squeeze into that space.
--The 'Expand' button on multiple playthroughs covers building space. Can you make it only pop up when you hover over the dome?
-Not every time, but most my games when I build the Radar, the spot for it still has the silver background, some games its all black.
Huge wall of text, thanks for reading it all if you did! I know the game is EA, but this is going to be something I keep an eye on and I really think its good so far and has tons of potential! Thanks for your hard work and I am looking forward to seeing the direction you take it :D

submitted by RideshareHeathen to TerrytorialDisputes [link] [comments]

2023.03.21 21:15 fak9717 Husqvarna won't start,, HELP!!!

Husqvarna LGT2654, won't start. A bit of history, it started , roared, drove it to the bottom of the driveway, shut it down,, bam, won't start. OK,, now what have I checked. First, turning the key does absolutely nothing. Battery tested at 12.5 volts. Machine has a 4 post selenoid,, hot wire from starter at 12.5. When I jump the solenoid, it sparks and engine rattles, but does not rotate, .ore like a 1/16th second try at a start. Now that, as I see it,, leaves me thinking of 2 possible problems (maybe 3!!). There are 2 other wires, a white and black going into the solenoid. Now, when I turn the ignition key on, there is no juice on the white wire !!!! I think there should be positive voltage down the white wire. Thinking there is a problem with the ignition, key, wiring (PTO). Other possible issue is one of those damn safety switches. They all seem intact,, seat, clutch, mower switch,and gear neutral. Lastly, I guess somewhere there could be a bad ground,, but checked all, and seem intact. Any help truly appreciated!!!

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2023.03.21 21:15 fak9717 Husqvarna won't start!!!

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2023.03.21 21:13 fak9717 Husqvarna won't start, HELP!!!

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2023.03.21 21:12 fak9717 Husqvarna won't start,, HELP!!!

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2023.03.21 21:12 fak9717 Husqvarna won't start,, HELP!!

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2023.03.21 21:11 fak9717 Husqvarna won't start,, HELP!!

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2023.03.21 21:10 fak9717 Husqvarna won't start, HELP!!!

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2023.03.21 21:09 fak9717 Help Husqvarna won't start!!!!

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2023.03.21 19:50 MonitoliMal Live A Live Only Resistant Attacks Part 5: The Final Chapter

Now for the moment some of you have been waiting for... How was The Dominion of Hate? Who did I pick to be the protagonist? How many dungeons did I do? How many superbosses did I fight? Did I have to break the rules to see the true ending? All that and more will be answered here and now!
This chapter took so much research to route correctly, so here's a numbered list of how I managed to complete this chapter:
Part 1 Choosing a Protagonist
If you guessed that Masaru would be my protagonist, you'd be correct! Here's why:
In a standard playthrough this would only matter a little, but here it matters a lot here because to unlock most of the party, you have to beat them in a one-on-one duel. There are some exceptions. For example, Cube and Sundown Kid are free no matter what, fighting Akira is optional, and you can skip fighting Pogo and Masaru if you're playing as Lei and Cube or Sundown Kid respectively. Out of all of the playable characters that were fightable, all but one of them had resistances that were either natural or equipment-based: Lei is resitant to agile and slashing attacks; Pogo is resistant to blunt, divine, and demonic attacks; Oboromaru is resistant to blunt, spirit, projectile, and water attacks; and Akira is resistant to water and spirit attacks. You may have noticed that I said that ALL BUT ONE playable character that you can fight has resistances. This is because Masaru has none and nothing can change that.
With all of this information in mind, here is the criteria for the ideal protagonist to minimize rule breaks in order from most to least important:

Protagonist is able to skip fighting Masaru
Protagonist is able to fight Lei
Protagonist is able to fight Akira

(Being able to fight Pogo and Oboromaru was not a concern because everyone has attacks that play to Oboromau's resistances and Pogo could damage himself with Fly Huge Boom, which is a move that's easy to dodge)
Taking rule 1 into account, that only left me with Cube, Sundown Kid, and Masaru. The problem? Cube could take down Akira but not Lei since he has no agile or slashing attacks, Masaru could take down Lei but not Akira since he has no water or spirit attacks, and Sundown Kid couldn't defeat either of them. There were items that could deal spirit damage in this chapter, but I was worried I wouldn't have enough supply since I knew there was only 1 Solomon's Thighbone. Besides that, Akira himself was the only one who had an unlimited supply of spirit attacks in the form of the Showa Chick Launcher and some of his attacks...
Or was he? I remembered something: Akira may have had the most items that could attack infinitely, but he was not the only one to have them in any capacity: Lei was holding onto a Bottle Gourd that I got in the previous chapter. The Bottle Gourd does, in fact, do spirit damage!
This meant that I could strike rule 3 off of the list, thereby making Masaru my protagonist for the chapter.
Part 2 A Huge, High-Powered, Intimidating Team. The Likes of Which You've Never Seen
Starting in the Castle Dungeon, I had early access to the armory, so I looted it and went off to the Last Hero's Grave. Here, I could grab Cube's Battery and start the quest to get Sundown Kid for later, but the most important part was fighting Lei. After force-feeding her Fleetfoot sandwiches, she was my first official party member.
Heading back down the mountain, I made a beeline for Akira. I was forced to target him with the Bottle Gourd, which unfortunately had a long charge time. This meant that I had to aim where he was going to be instead of where he was standing. Eventually, I drained him of all his health and he became my ally as well as vastly expanding my infinite items, giving me access to more wind, fire, water, earth, projectile, martial, and spirit attacks. Next on the chopping block was Oboromaru, but he went down real easy.
I was fairly certain that this would be the party I would use to fight Odio (I'll get into why later), but I still wanted to get into their dungeons to stockpile items and equipment for them. I would also want to enter the other characters' dungeons because I would possibly want to fight the optional bosses. But before I talk about the dungeons, I can't forget to talk about...
Part 2.5 The Omnipresent Enemies
There are a variety of enemies in this chapter. When I was just playing as Masaru (or even when Lei was in my party), I had to run away a lot because the enemies either could trigger my counter moves easily or just weren't resistant to my moves. But when I got Akira and Oboromaru, I could fight almost anything. I'm not joking when I say that some of these battles took longer than the boss battles. Here were some of the harder battles I had to fight:

Dragon Killer and Pistachio or Giant Face enemies (forgot their name): The Dragon Killer is always the leader in these fights. This one took me a while to figure out. The Dragon Killer has resistances to everything. However, I then figured out that you can just kill them with the fire tiles from Oboromaru's Fireflies' Wake. I didn't have to worry about colateral damage either because both the Pistachio and Giant Faces are also resistant to fire attacks.
Claustrophilia and Entmophilia: The 2 Entmophilia could be dispatched with wind attacks, but I had to be careful not to counter with Masaru. If I did that, I would have to flee. Meanwhile with Claustrophilia, I had to take it down with martial attacks. Lei would do this ideally, and luckily Claustrophilia had no attacks she could counter, but she did plenty of damage.
Grangras: I feel like half of my playtime in this chapter was fighting this mammoth no matter what allies he came with. Grangras's only resistance was water attacks. This meant I had to use both Akira's Cold Day in Hell and Oboromaru's Winter's Chill. I initially also tried using the Katabuki Laquer with the other party members, but I realized that being adjacent to Gangras was a big mistake since that could trigger his Avalanche attack which spawned water tiles that healed him. This meant I had to chip damage off of him from a distance. His ranged attack was weak, thank god, but the fight still took a long time because of his high health pool. To add to the length of this fight, there are 3 types of allies that could spawn with him. The Bulb enemies were pretty easy to deal with, but the Kuu Warrior-like enemies and a second Gangras were not. The Kuu Warriors were easy to kill with Wise Fox's Grace and Cross Slash, but did a lot of damage with Big Bang Boom and were easy to counter if I couldn't kill them in one hit. Meanwhile, another Gangras doubled the length of the already long fight. I don't know why, but I got this enemy more than any other in the chapter.
The Chimera-like enemies (Forgot name): These were the only enemies with resistances in this chapter that I could not kill. The problem is that their counter heals them. Combined with my pathetic damage, this made them basically invincible.

Throughout this chapter, I had to fight these enemies, so just keep this in mind as I go forward.
Part 3: The Trials, Remaining Characters, and (Lack of) Optional Bosses
The first trial I decided to go for was Akira's Trial of Heart. I did this by teleporting away from enemies constantly. I had to use a guide to ransack the entire place, still getting lost, meaning I was encountering several enemies, levelling me up little by little.
Once I beat it, I finished chasing Sundown Kid down and picked up Cube to do his dungeon, having him temporarily replace Lei. I bypassed Sundown Kid for now and went to the Trial of Wisdom. After completing that, it was then that I picked up Sundown Kid and went to the Trial of Time. I at first tried to fight the Jaggedy Jacks, but I could barely make a dent in their health. Instead, I just grabbed the magnum and left, getting some extra loot afterwards.
After that, I grabbed Pogo by making him poke holes in himself with Fly Huge Boom. I got into the Trial of Instinct and beat it with ease, again ignoring the optional boss inside. After how bad the Jaggedy Jacks were, I decided to only fight optional bosses if I had to.
After I got done with it, I picked up Lei again. I hadn't gotten her to level 16 yet while the others were already at that level. To get her there, I decided to finally do Masaru's Trial of Power. The fight against Aposphilo was pretty easy since he was weak to Spirit attacks as well as many others, meaning that the Showa Chick Launcher came in clutch. This dungeon had so much equipment to go around.
However, I made it out in one piece and with Lei at level 16. This was when I decided I was ready to do the Trial of Skill. This dungeon was also loot-heavy but the barrier to getting the loot was easy since I had all of Lei's moves as well as only having to fight the Bountiful Heart over and over again, who was weak to spirit. All I had to do was spam Heavenly Peaks Descent as Lei and Showa Chick Launcher as everyone else. Sometimes the Chick Launcher even turned him to stone, killing him instantly. Ransacking this place was a cinch.
You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned the Trial of Keys yet. That's because it's the only impossible dungeon. The Shadows have no resistances, so no need to even bother.
Now that all of the trials were cleared or were impossible, I could enter the final dungeon: Archon's Roost. This location had the most valuable items such as the Golden Burial Gown, which basically made one character resistant to everything. With that item and others, all of my party was heavily resistant to most of the elements. The Shroud of Demons and Bael's Blood would also be essential for the battle against the Sin of Odio. Speaking of which...
Part 4: The Demon, the Myth, the Legend: Odio
Finally, I can talk about why I chose Akira, Oboromaru, and Lei to be my main party members. Besides dispatching the enemies better than most of the other characters, they also also were the best-equipped to deal with Odio's resistances in the his first phase. Want to see how?
I decided to target his first phase one limb at a time just so the other limbs wouldn't attack me on multiple fronts. I started with The Maw of Odio. The Maw is resistant to wind, earth, spirit, and demonic attacks. With Masaru, I spammed Worldbreaker's Wrath. With Akira, I used The Devil's Due. With Oboromaru, I used Phantom Butterflies. Most importantly, with Lei I used Heavenly Peaks Descent. While the others did chip damage, Lei was doing quite a bit. The Maw attacked Lei and Oboromaru constantly and debuffed them, but if that happened, I had stockpiled so many healing items from the many dungeons and enemies.
The Maw went down and it was on to the Eyes of Odio. The eyes were weak to water, wind, spirit, divine, and demonic attacks. Yet again, I only attacked one eye at a time starting on the left. I used the same moves as Lei and Oboromaru but I switched to the Showa Chick Launcher with Masaru and Judgement Day for Akira to heavily debuff it. The Eyes were slightly harder because it used the incredibly powerful Shadow of Despair and Expunge, which could damage my party members and heal itself. Despite this, the first eye went down and I could use the same tactics on the other Eye.
Now it was time to fight Purity of Odio. Unfortunately, Purity of Odio had no resistances or weaknesses. I kept my distance and used the same moves with everyone but Masaru, who switched back to Worldbreaker's Wrath. Judgement Day and Phantom Butterflies were especially potent since they could inflict poison, which I consider Purity of Odio's true weakness. Because I kept my distance, Purity of Odio only used Shadow of Despair and Denial. Denial could interrupt people, so that only made Judgement Day all the more potent since it could also hinder his accuracy. Again, I still had so many healing items. If someone was about to die or had a debilitating condition, I could pull out an Izanagi Scroll and heal everyone. Despite this, Oboromaru fell in this fight because he got overwhelmed. Luckily, I didn't really need him to finish the fight.
After NOT executing Oersted, it was now time for the boss rush. There was nothing of note in these fights because they were literally the same fights I had already done except there were no minions, which was a relief for Sundown Kid's fight with O. Dio.
Now it's the moment you've all been waiting for. Is it possible to beat Sin of Odio while only attacking with attacks he's resistant to? Let's see.
The Arms are resistant to martial and demonic attacks while the Body is weak to just demonic attacks. I attacked the left arm first. With Masaru, I crippled it with Celestial Palm. Lei then used Monkey's Palm to do more damage. From a distance, Oboromaru used the Spring-Loaded Punch Gun to chip at the Arm. Finally and most importantly, Akira used The Devil's Due to hit the Arm and the Body, as he's the only one in the party with unlimited demonic attacks (Cube also has a demonic attack, but it's weak so that's why I didn't consider him). Unfortunately, this put Oboromaru and Akira at the mercy of the Body's attacks, which were pretty powerful. The Arm's attacks were nothing to scoff at either. Because it could easily knock characters back, I purposefully kept Akira out of its range. Luckily, I still had healing items a'pleanty. Even if a character fell unconcious, the couldn't be dealt a finishing blow in this fight. I used the same procedure on the other arm before. After that, I proceeded to only using only The Devil's Due on the Body, keeping more of a distance this time. Lament of the Damned could debilitate everyone pretty badly, but Akira was wearing the Golden Burial Gown, so he only took the damage and not the effects. Overall, half of my area-healing items were consumed.
Eventually, Odio used Absolute Condemnation, locking my primary party members and forcing Cube, Sundown Kid, and Pogo to fight. I'm not entirely sure if all of them have to hit Sin of Odio to proceed or if only one has to, but just to make sure, Sundown Kid and Pogo used Shrouds of Demons while Cube used Force Shutdown (a demonic move). After Cube used Force Shutdown one more time, everyone was freed for the final attack on Odio. I used Akira and Cube's demonic moves one more time each and passed with everyone else (luckily, you don't need to attack Sin of Odio with everyone).
Using Absolute Condemnation one more time, all of the party members were trapped, meaning it was all up to Oersted to kill his dark side. He needed just one demonic attack and this fight would be over! Oersted slayed Sin of Odio the same way Hasshe did all those years ago: Archon's Mark!
Part 5 Enjoy the Ending
What a run this was! Unfortunately, I had to break the rules quite a bit throughout the entire run, but the parts I didn't have to rule break made me play the game differently than I had done in any of my previous playthroughs. I never considered grinding in the first area of the Prehistoric chapter, avoiding countering in Present Day, taking out minions slowly one at a time at a distance in Imperial China, intentionally skipping The Prisoner in Edo Japan, and avoiding the easy encounters in the Near Future.
Another fruitful playthrough of Live a Live in the books. I honestly think I should consider speedrunning this game if I enjoy replaying it so much. Or perhaps I could do another challenge run in the future. If you have any ideas for challenges, leave them in the comments and good day to you all!

submitted by MonitoliMal to livealive [link] [comments]

2023.03.21 19:29 FancyFireDrake Can I help someone with a Far Cry 5 Jump?

Okay so odd title for a post probably but let me explain.
A while ago I had a BLAST doing a Far Cry Dual Jump Project with u/Astrangeplaytomake
Doing the Far Cry 4 Jump was just a blast, probably also in part because I simply adored 4 and still do. A while after this challenge though, as fate would have it, I ended up getting my hands on both Far Cry 6 and 5 (the later free through the game pass). I ended up playing both and gotta say I love 6. Not 4 but close. I am tempted to make a Jump for 6 and Yara after all at some point so heads up for that.
But 5?
Here is the thing. I just did NOT like Far Cry 5. Not going to get into details but this game was a let down for me (no offense if you like 5 more power to you). However on the other hand I still had a BUNCH of ideas for a Jump focused on it.
Now I do NOT want my bias to taint any Jump I were to make. Making a Jump from a place that is anything but appreciation for the source material is a bad place to begin with but active dislike can only end in disaster and for those that enjoyed 5 it is simply not fair. I dont want to risk making a Jump that is in poor taste you all deserve better.
But on the other hand, I actually have some ideas that could be made part of a Far Cry 5 Jump.
So my offer, can I help anyone that happens to have Far Cry 5 as a favorite game or anything? Or can we make a community effort of it? I already have some options that I feel like posting at least and the fact that I got them as ideas is the reason I am making this Post to begin with. though frankly even here I have the worry that some may be in poor taste or could at least be rephrased:
Perks
Divine Intervention (Free/500): So all of a sudden a nuclear apocalypse is happening even though you just got finished destroying the doomsday cult and everything you did is turned to shit? Fuck that! Besides its not like a mushroom cloud is hanging over Yara so clearly this isn’t how things HAD to play out every time. Basically this on the House Perk makes it so the global tensions wont escalate in a Nuclear War. In fact there wont be any Global Tension at all… well not more than usual at least.
If you pay for this Perk with 500 CP you also get something to keep with you on your chain specifically to protect you against such sudden twists. Whenever something happens you couldn’t have seen coming, someone in the Himalayas pressing a Button that launches bombs or the like, your chain wont end. Things will align in such a way to prevent the event or end with your survival. Your welcome.
Blissless (Free/300): With all the drugs and indoctrination going around you’d be forgiven for worrying about your mental state so let me help you out. Your mind is essentially a fortress, invulnerable to the mind bending effects of Bliss. You would still see the strange visions and hallucinations but any hope of it converting you is none. Same for any attempts to turn you into a sleeper agent. This is free for this Jump but costs 300 CP if you want to keep it.
Clutch Nixons Legacy (300): Clutch Nixon is one of the things the people of Hope County are the most proud of. Now you too can step into his footsteps, having an uncanny ability to perform crazy stunts in any vehicle, or lacking one even in a Wingsuit, alongside a truly marvelous driving skill in whatever vehicle you get behind.

Companions
Longinus (100): This born again warmonger is about to finish his atonement in the eyes of the Lord, having tracked down the last of Blood Diamonds… here of all places. He considered it strange how his shame brought him in the middle of the States… but realized once he saw what was happening here. Hope County is in the clutches of one who walks with the Devil. And as someone who walked with the Devil so long, he realizes that God gave him a chance at redemption. Fond of quoting the bible and wondering what Gun Jesus would use, he has plenty of Weaponry to bring against the Seed family.

Drawbacks
New Dawn (+300): No matter what you do, the Nukes will come to Hope County after all. You must find a way to survive the nuclear fallout, which will only be possible in one of the various Bunkers of Hope County. This nuclear war will not only devastate the World but extend your Jumping time to 10 years starting from the day Rush and his Security Captain come to this place. It should go without saying that this Drawback deactivates Divine Intervention.
Family Reunion (+300): Well… this just made things a whole lot worse. See a few weeks ago each of the different Heralds got a new ‘best warrior’. One that has been given the title Seraphim. Each of them is a peerless fighter and a beast that could take on entire armies. And for you? They might as well have Plot Armor each of them guaranteed to put up a worthy fight against you and none of your non Far Cry Perks work against them.
Who are they?
Previous Far Cry Protagonists.
Yep. See Hurk saw what the Cult was doing and called in his Tat Bros and as that was happening some mercenary returned to a safe house all the way from Africa. Somehow after each of them nearly decimated the cult by themselves, MAGAZINES of Bliss Bullets were shot at each of them and frankly insane amounts of luck later, Jackal, Jason and Ajay end up as the dreaded Seraphim.
The Jackal is John’s Seraphim, the entire Yes Ideology giving his blissed out mind some more hope after the horrors he endured. Jason is the Seraphim of Faith, who saw in him the Beast that slumbered and promised him a place where he could let go of his awakened anger… unless it was needed of course and she is to him a lot more honest than Citra. Ajay meanwhile is Jacob’s Seraphim. He used him first to get rid of a CIA Agent that was trying to find some tape and seeing the potential in the Kingslayer of Kyrat and how desperate he may be for a family, took him in. But deep down… none of them would condone cultists or mad man and some fraction of their collapsed psyche is still there ready to break out.
It IS possible to undo the effects on the various Far Cry Heroes. But take my word for it that it will be a difficult task, much more difficult than simply killing them. But if you do? Not only will they help you against the Cult, you can take them with you as a companion.

Scenario
Day of Reckoning (+300):
Joseph Seed hears voices. A voice claiming to be God. A voice that inspired him down this path of causing misery.
There is just one teeny tiny problem. That voice he hears it is from an otherworldly and powerful being.
But it’s the other guy.
Joseph Seed is led on by the Devil pretending to be his Lord and by selecting this Scenario you enter a World where such machinations wouldn’t simply end in Nuclear fire and destruction. It will instead be Hellfire and damnation. Joseph’s continued creation of suffering in the name of God is to be the catalyst for the Anti-Christs birth.
Once the Anti-Christ arrives, many members of Eden’s Gate will defect to them and their charisma, be branded with marks on the forehead. With Hope County surrounded by hellish flames it will only take a week before the Anti-christ decides to set out to the rest of the World. First Montana, then the States… than the whole World will burn.
It is up to you to stop this. The resistance of Hope County will be weakened immensely and Joseph himself broken by the revelation. Someone needs to step up and save the World.
The Anti-christ is no easy opponent however. Whatever lethal blow you may deal? It will heal miraculously as no simply earthly weapon can harm him and even should you possess weapons not from this Jump they will be vastly less effective than they should.
You must endure for six days at least. Six days in which Hope County will be impossible to escape and demons run rampant. Six days in which you also must ensure Joseph, now perhaps craving death, will survive. Why? You will see that on the seventh day.
On the seventh day of the invasion Joseph will gain an idea. How to get a weapon that could kill the Anti-Christ. Imitate the very crucifixion of Christ, and let something akin to the Spear of Longinus end a Martyrs life. Joseph himself will offer himself up for his task and will hope that the residents of Hope County will make him suffer so that someone can die with his and the peoples sins. Than you must do the killing blow.
Whatever weapon you use for it, be it a Gun or a Blade or even a Baseball Bat… at first nothing will happen but upon Joseph taking his final breath the weapon will glow and you will KNOW that it will work.
Using this weapon you must march upon the twisted place that once was Eden Gates Church and kill the Son of Satan with the weapon you made.
This wont be an easy fight, the Anti-Christ is guaranteed to be a difficult opponent for you, guaranteed to require all your skill. But manage this fight? You will be rewarded properly.
Reward: As a New Dawn breaks upon Hope County, the signs of the Apocalypse washed away, the damage healed and lives restored and mad man bested, you will see it all and see that it was good.
You will also see Your Spear maybe not literally but you still have the weapon that killed the Anti-Christ and it still possesses its strange properties. You can kill even the supposedly immortal with it and against the evil and vile it will be more effective than any other weapon.
Furthermore you gain the Perk Lion of Judah. You have become the natural bane of Demons and Evil and your majestic presence worthy of a Savior will make them cover and anything you do against them become more potent. And if you act like a Lamb and be good for goodness sake and to help your fellow men, you find yourself growing that bit stronger for it.
Finally you may take all of Hope County with you alongside its various people. Why this can even include people of the Cult. Even the recently deceased like Joseph Seed himself. How would he feel about coming back from the dead like the Son of God?

submitted by FancyFireDrake to JumpChain [link] [comments]

2023.03.21 19:01 KhoaFraelich Are electric cars the future? Taking a look down the road

https://preview.redd.it/vhsqoz62e9oa1.png?width=660&format=png&auto=webp&s=8cd340d948dd3a2ba707db4974cbf6312c0f6212
Q: I spoke to a guy in my building who has a 2017 Tesla. He couldn't stop telling me how great a car it is! Then I saw you on television talking about electric cars. I’m still not sure if you are in favor of electric cars or not. So, are electric cars the future?

A: Although electric cars have been around for more than 100 years, they have really only improved in the last 15 years or so.

I owned an electric car in the 1980s, and it was a terrible car with limited range and acceleration. Today, nearly every electric car has a range of more than 200 miles (some as high as 500 miles) with a performance that matches — or bests — most gasoline cars.

For many drivers, an electric car can meet all their driving needs, especially if they can charge at home. Where electric cars can fall short is in cold-weather performance (range can drop to as low as 50%), finding a public charging station, and initial cost.

Are electric cars the future? Yes, but instead of battery electric, they may have electric motors powered by hydrogen. I think in 25 or 30 years, gasoline cars may be as rare as cars with a clutch pedal.

Q: I have a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland with a 3.6L V-6 engine with 103,000 miles on it. I am about to put in my fourth radiator due to leaking. The first radiator was covered under warranty; the others were paid for out of pocket.

Jeep knows they have a systemic problem with the design being part plastic, but they are not doing anything about it. Based on my experience, this is definitely my last Jeep.

There are aluminum aftermarket radiators out there. Do you know of one that has been successfully used to replace Jeep's plastic, junky radiator? The last radiator lasted only 23,000 miles.

A: Today, nearly every vehicle manufacturer uses radiators with aluminum cooling cores and plastic tanks. Although I have seen some failures of the radiators in the Grand Cherokee, they weren't to the extent that you are experiencing.

I looked at Summit Racing, and even their high-performance radiators are an aluminum and plastic type. I did find one source online that does have a fully aluminum radiator. If I had that many failures, I certainly would give it a try.

I would also be very critical about mounting and would look for issues that could affect the radiator, such as worn engine mounts. I would also check Jeep forums to see what other Jeep owners are using.

Q: I have a 2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible that trembles when I accelerate through the gears. In the last few weeks, it actually ran smoothly for three days, but it's now back to trembling when accelerating. What could it be?

A: The most common cause is lack of maintenance. Spark plugs, ignition wires and ignition coils can fail over time and cause a stutter and hesitation. Many owners look under the hood of this vehicle and see that the intake manifold needs to be removed to change the spark plugs, and they just put off servicing the car.

Also, if it hasn’t been performed yet, you may want to consider replacing the timing belt. The timing belt is not a simple replacement, as it takes about seven hours, but if it fails, you will be replacing the engine.

Q: How long should headlights last? I had one car in which the headlights lasted 10 years. In my current car, I’m replacing bulbs every two years.

A: The average life of a conventional halogen bulb is five years (although they start to dim after about two years).

High-performance halogen bulbs may only last two years, but the light is whiter and brighter. As we age, we need more light to see, so vehicle lighting is critical for driving safety.

Q: I have been using synthetic oil in an older truck for 15 years. The last time I purchased a 5-quart jug, it was almost $30. On the same shelf was a store brand for about $18. Should I take a chance on this non-name oil?

A: As big as retailers are, they don’t own refineries. I have no problem with store-brand oil, as long as it meets the vehicle specifications.

Source: Providencejournal

submitted by KhoaFraelich to CarScannerOBD2 [link] [comments]

2023.03.21 18:58 a15minutestory [WP] You are a student in the most prestigious magic academy in the kingdom. No one knows how you got in, sure you have amazing magic potential, but you’re “magic blind” meaning you can only feel the presence of magic and not see any magic. [Part 64]

A slave-driving murderer had just publicly declared war on us. The cheering and applause of the people standing around us was an eerie and ominous accompaniment to the feeling of dread swelling in my chest and radiating down to my stomach. He'd captured all of them thus far. I swallowed and dropped my gaze down to the pavement as it dawned on me that all of those people had tasted freedom, and were then immediately and mercilessly hunted down and dragged back to hell.
But there was an interesting caveat there. He called us by the names O'Malley had erroneously wrote down in his ledger. The men that were chasing us that day had picked up our actual fake aliases, but then we'd killed them at the inn. It seemed that knowledge died with them– a drop of good luck in a raging downpour it seemed.
"William," I said just loud enough to catch his attention.
He turned and eyed me. "Huh? Were you talking to me?"
I lifted an eyebrow. "Yeah. Who else would I be calling William?"
He narrowed his eyes, "It's Tovin, you spaz."
I glanced around nervously. Nobody appeared to have been listening to us. I took him by the shoulder and led him away from the crowd gathered around the picture boxes. "What are you doing?" I hissed.
"What am I doing?" he scoffed. "What are you doing? You know my name. What, are you playing a game right now?"
"Our aliases," I said through my teeth. "We're using fake names, remember?"
His expression changed from annoyed and confused to forlorn and somber. He swallowed and looked away. "... I'm losing it again, aren't I?" he asked.
I remained silent. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want him to feel worse about it, but that would have been a dangerous slip-up in front of the wrong person. Before now, I was starting to think that Tovin back home had overblown how quickly the mental decline would be.
"Don't worry about it," I said finally, passing him on the sidewalk further into the city. "Come on. We need to find a way to make some money."
"And fast," he added, trailing behind me. "We need food, clothes, and a couple of beds. And more cigarettes, too. I've only got a few left and I'm trying to make them last."
We walked the mazelike streets of Bronzegirder looking for work. I wasn't used to Diesel society yet and often found myself hung up on storefront windows that marketed all kinds of gadgets and technology. I would do my best not to stare when people walked by wearing metallic pieces on their persons.
Some wore gadgets on their forearms, some on their wrists, and others in various other areas. I wondered what purpose they served, where they were sold, and how expensive they could be. And it wasn't just the gadgets. There were far more dark-skinned people here than we had in Galgia. It was something I had read about but never experienced. They ranged from light tan all the way to almost black, and it just added to the culture shock.
There appeared to be people living in the buildings above the storefronts. The tall towers we had seen in the far distance earlier served as housing as well as business space. Diesillians stood on their balconies, some hanging wet laundry, others leaning over their railing while they enjoyed a drink or a smoke. We passed so many things I would have wanted to stop and look at were we not being hunted. DuPonte seemed awfully sure of himself when he said he'd find us, but for the life of me, I couldn't imagine how one would find antything they were looking for in this city.
"I'm totally lost," I admitted. "We need a map or something."
He remained quiet. I turned to speak to him more directly only to find that he wasn't behind me anymore. My stomach dropped as I looked around at the sea of people.
"William?" I called out. "William!"
It was no good. I'd have to literally scream if I wanted to breach the drone of the crowd, and I couldn't afford to draw too much attention to myself. There was also the possibility that he'd forgotten his name again anyway. I adjusted the straps of my backpack and sighed deeply before doubling back. He couldn't have wandered too far away, and he'd be easy to spot against the horde of people in more modern clothing.
I kept close to the storefronts as I picked up my pace. I began to peer into each store as I passed them. The longer I searched, the more I worried. He wasn't in his right mind. He'd get himself noticed and captured if he let too much slip, or pulled down his hood. I came to the turn we had taken after we'd left the picture boxes. He was with me at this point, I was sure of it. I turned around and swallowed as I scanned the crowd.
This was really, really, bad.
"William?" I tried again. I decided to cross the street and nearly got run over by one of their vehicles. It screeched to a stop and when I lowered my arms, I found the front of the metallic machine inches from my face.
"Git the fuck oudda da road!" shouted the pilot, shaking his fist in the air. I quickly scurried onto the opposite sidewalk and made my way down the street with the flow of the crowd. I kept my eyes peeled as I walked. It was difficult to see over everyone's shoulders. Diesillians were a good deal taller than Galgians as a rule, and it made it a nightmare for an average-sized guy like myself. Just when I was about to start asking around, something caught my ear.
Something I never expected to hear– music.
I stopped in my tracks and the public parted around me like a river around a boulder. I turned toward the sound and followed my ears to a large silver pavilion nestled between two tall buildings. It looked like an empty lot that had been designed for another tall building but instead served as some sort of inner-city courtyard where live entertainment performed.
I slowly approached as a woman stood in front of a mic stand singing while a band performed with shining metallic instruments behind her. She had black hair styled in a way I'd never seen hair styled. It was pulled up and around under a hat and shined the same as her red lipstick did. But what awed me the most was that she was singing.
No danger; no combat; no sign of beasts being summoned forth. She sang beautifully, adding something to music that I had never in my life once considered because in Galgia, to sing was to slaughter. Music was a tool of war and forbidden entirely outside of such circumstances, for if one of us were even to hum, anything could come crawling out of the resulting portal.
But here she was, singing what I presumed were the words to a poem in perfect rhythm and harmony with the band that played behind her.
"You're my machine, my heart's ignition. The gears that keep my love in motion. You're the engine that never tires– the pistons set my soul on fire."
I was completely taken in. It was therefore no surprise to me that here in the crowd, I spotted Tovin watching her with equal admiration from the edge of the stage. I weaved through the crowd as politely as I was able and then stopped next to him. He glanced at me before quickly returning his eyes back to the stage. I didn't say anything to him; no words needed said so long as she was singing.
"You, my dear, a love machine, the one that keeps my bearings clean– I'm addicted to your engine's roar, your power's what I'm living for."
I wasn't a hundred percent sure what she was talking about, but it was clearly a love song written for one lucky guy. When the song was finished, she ever so slightly lifted her ruby-red dress from the sides and took a bow. The crowd clapped, a few whistles coming from somewhere behind us.
"Thank you," she said softly into the mic. "It's important to remember that love conquers all," she said, passing her deep black eyes over us. "Hatred fades over time, but love lasts; it endures. This next song is about a long lost love and reconnection."
We stayed and listened to a couple more songs before she left the stage, and the band with her. She disappeared on promises of returning tomorrow for a second show. Of all the things thus far I had seen in the land of our enemy, something so sweet as non-weaponized music ranked among the most surprising and awe-inspiring.
As the crowd began to disperse back onto the main street, I turned to Tovin. "Hey, do me a favor and don't disappear like that. I didn't know where you were and we've got to stick together."
"Can we come back here tomorrow?" he asked, completely ignoring what I'd said. He stared at me with hopeful eyes, a small smile on his face. It still felt strange of him to ask me permission for anything, but I couldn't deny that it was a pretty magical performance.
"Only if we live that long," I answered with a heaping helping of snark. "We need money so we can get off these streets tonight. Come on, we're losing daylight."
He looked past my shoulder and suddenly pointed. "What about that?"
I turned to see a bulletin board posted on the side of a building not far from us. On it were several posts, but one of them specifically read, "200 Octim Sign-On Bonus." The two of us walked up the board and looked over the job.
"There's a sign-on bonus," Tovin said as his eyes moved down the paper. "The Empress needs you. Galgian dogs sent monsters to run amok in our fair empire. Officials are spread thin amidst heightened tensions with Galgia's military. Find and kill monsters for bounties. Seek employment at the Hunters' Barracks at 443 Alloy Avenue on the north side of town. Look for the men in uniform."
"Monsters?" I asked. "There aren't any monsters in Galgia. None in all of Aurii if our textbooks are accurate."
"You want to at least check it out?" he asked.
"I think we'd be wasting our time," I said dismissively. "We hiked through a bunch of wilderness closer to the Galgian border and we didn't see anything all night."
He folded his arms. "Then let's get our sign-on bonus and leave."
That was such a fantastic point that I pushed my palm against my forehead and visibly cringed. "Oof. Why am I so dumb?" I whined.
"I don't think you're dumb," Tovin said as he moved down the bulletin board to look at other flyers. "I think you're just honest to a fault. It never would have occurred to you to do something so underhanded."
I would never get used to compliments from Tovin. It was like watching a different person wear his body and speak with his voice. Had life at ENU really been such a drag on him?
"None of these other jobs are offering money upfront," he added, turning to face me. "Let's head to the north side of town and see if we can find Alloy Avenue."
x - - x - - x - - ★ - - x - - x - - x
The walk was long and difficult– not because it was too far, but because we had to pass so much delicious-smelling food along the way. I hadn't been sure before if Tovin was as hungry as I was, but the north side of Bronzegirder was quiet enough to hear both of our stomachs growling in concert with one another. The buildings were made of brick in the district we wandered through, and the walkways were closer to cobblestone like the kind we had back home. The roads were three times as wide, there were benches along the walkways, and they had planted trees caged in black iron gates at the trunks. The few people that strolled the sidewalks on Alloy Avenue were well-to-do, dressed in expensive-looking suits and wearing high hats with wide brims.
"I like this side of town better," Tovin said as we looked for building addresses. "Though I have to say, I'm surprised to see trees in the collossity."
"Goes a little against what we were taught doesn't it?" I asked.
"I don't recall being taught anything," he grumbled. "It's just another thing I somehow know."
I cast him a sympathetic glance and he didn't seem to like it. He scowled at me, "Don't you pity me."
"I'm not," I rolled my eyes. "I'd never feel bad for you Tovin, not in a thousand years."
"Just shut up," he snapped. "We're here."
He stopped in front of a brick building with an impressive stone staircase that had bronze handrails running up the length of them. At the top were two men in uniform just as the flyer had indicated. He was the first to start up the steps and I quickly followed behind him. As we passed them I took a good look at their uniforms. I could have sworn that I'd seen them somewhere before. We walked up to the glass doors and pulled them open.
A blast of warm air blew over us as we entered the building and it was a welcome reprieve from the cold. Inside was smaller than I had anticipated. I was expecting high ceilings, murals, metal artwork, and all kinds of stuff from how nice the outside looked. Instead, we found ourselves standing in a dirty lobby about the size of a headmaster's office. There were several rows of chairs dotted with people filling out forms on clipboards. At the back of the lobby was a little window with a man sitting on the other side. He was dark-skinned, had a shaved head, and bore a grisly pink scar across his cheek. He waved us forward when he noticed us.
"Let me do the talking," I whispered to Tovin, taking the lead in front of him as we made our way over; he didn't protest.
"Afternoon, gentlemen," he spoke into a microphone that relayed his voice to us through a little black device on the window. "Thinking about joining up?"
Before I could even speak, Tovin leaned onto the counter. "So when you say monsters," he adopted a skeptical look. "You mean like the ones that don't exist?"
The man behind the counter rolled his eyes. "Oh, great, another conspiracy theorist."
"What did you call me?" Tovin shot back.
"Ahhh, ha ha," I called out loudly, pulling Tovin back by his shoulder. "My brother is better at fighting than talking," I covered quickly. "Just talk to me from here on in."
He cast me a disinterested glance before handing us both clipboards with forms attached. "Whatever. Just read the whole thing and sign the liability waiver at the bottom. He's free to deny their existence while they're chewing his face off, but the empire won't be responsible for it."
I took both of the clipboards and passed one to Tovin. The two of us sat down and began going through them– and immediately, we faced a problem. They wanted first and last names, home addresses, medical history, and something called landline numbers. Tovin and I exchanged glances; this wasn't going to work.
I stood up and slowly walked back up to the counter as I looked over the document. Every time I looked, it seemed more and more ridiculous. Blood type? Social security number? Insurance provider? I didn't know what any of this meant. It might as well have been in an entirely different language.
"Did you have a question?" asked the man behind the counter.
"Yeah, I don't have most of this information," I said, setting the clipboard down on the counter. "Sorry, but we're gonna have to just go."
"Well, hang on now," he said, reaching under the little pass-through window and retrieving the clipboard. "I take it you boys are homeless then?" he asked.
"Uhh... Yeah," I answered tentatively. Did they really have such a homeless problem that he was able to jump to that conclusion so quickly? "We don't know how to answer these questions, so thanks anyways."
"I said hang on, dammit," he called through the mic before swiveling around in his chair and pulling some kind of lever underneath it that caused it to sink lower to the floor. He opened a cabinet and began rifling through it. I peered through the window at his chair– it was on some kind of ball axis that allowed him to spin in it freely. I felt like every couple of minutes I was seeing something I'd never seen before. He swiveled back around and lifted his chair back up before he handing me a new form. It was more like a strip of paper with three questions on it.
Shirt size, shoe size, and pant size.
There was a second slip of paper underneath it. I looked back up at the window attendant as Tovin appeared next to me. I handed him the slip of paper and we exchanged glances.
"The empire isn't being picky right now," spoke the man through the speaker. "You'll be assigned a number, a gun, and a uniform. You won't be eligible for emergency care, and you can't be assigned to a party. It'll be just the two of you. If you're still interested, we need all the help we can get."
I shrugged at Tovin, and he got to work filling out the information. I leaned on the counter and jotted down my uniform size before signing the waiver and handing everything back. He took both of the documents and then nodded toward the door on his right. "Come on back."
He reached under the table and did something that caused the door to make a whirring sound. It popped open on its own, and he thumbed us over to it. "Close it on your way in. Walk straight down the hall and through the third door on your left. Your hunter number is 27B and his is 28B."
We walked down the hallway and found the designated door already opened and with a sign on the inside that read, "Uniforms HERE" with an arrow pointing into the room. We were met by a portly woman with bouncy curls that hung down to her shoulders. She sat behind a desk absolutely surrounded by hanging uniforms, all kept in clear covering. She sized us up with a retractable ruler– the coolest ruler I had ever seen. After she took our measurements, she began sifting through uniforms.
"Why did they ask us for our sizes if they were going to measure us?" Tovin grumbled.
"I don't know," I whispered. "Just be quiet."
"Don't tell me to be quiet," he shot back, elbowing me in the ribs.
She turned around holding two suits by the hangers, one in each hand. "Your uniforms will come out of your first bounty collected," she announced. "No money needed upfront. Change into them and make sure they fit." We took them from her and she breezed past us. "Holler out here when you're changed." She closed the door behind her.
We turned away from one another and began getting dressed. I pulled back the crinkly clear material and looked down at the uniform. Now that I was seeing it closer, it was actually an extremely dark shade of blue, rather than black as I had thought prior. I looked down at the hat and held it in my hands. I had seen it before. Then, all at once, it came rushing back to me.
These were the uniforms of the men that had come to the mine. They had come carrying guns to inspect the worksite after what had happened to Hammer. Skully must have thought a monster had gotten to him based on the state of his body. I stared down at the uniform in disbelief. Could monsters really be running around in Diesel territory?
"You better not be looking over here," Tovin warned.
They had mistaken what Tovin had done for a monster attack. Skully's "fonekall" wasn't a pilgrimage. It was some form of long-distance communication. She reached out to the capital to request aid from someone, and they sent these guys. I began to wonder if I was making a mistake. If we could be dispatched like that, then we could feasibly be sent back to the camp.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. We were only in it for the sign-on bonus. Once we had that in our hands, we'd be outta here. We could even jump to the next town. They knew nothing about us other than our clothing size. We could be dust in the wind by tomorrow morning.
I shoved those thoughts to the back of my mind and quickly got dressed. The uniform fit perfectly, it was comfortable, and best of all had been designed with a high collar. It covered our neck markings perfectly. I turned to see Tovin with the hat on already. He looked like a classic Diesel villain from a comic book I had read as a kid.
"It fits nice," he said, testing the range of motion he had in his arms. "I think this will work."
"Yeah," I nodded. "Let's get our money and get the hell out."
"Speaking my language," he smirked.
He moved for the door and leaned out, calling for the attendant. I looked at myself in the full-body mirror and did a quick turnaround. I had to admit, I looked pretty darn stylish. The white gloves, belt, and hat looked pretty good against the dark blue and gold buttons.
The woman returned and smiled at both of us, her curls bouncing as she tossed her gaze cartoonishly left and right between us. "You two look good!"
"Thanks," I smiled back. "When do we get our sign-on bonus?"
"Oh, don't worry about that just yet," she said, moving back to her desk. "Do you boys know how to shoot?" she asked as she sat down.
"Shoot?" Tovin asked.
"A gun," she clarified, her smile fading. "Have either of you shot a gun?"
"No, ma'am," I answered. "Our parents didn't let us near them growing up."
"That's no problem," she said, lifting her hands. "We're happy to teach you the basics. You'll just exit the room and go left down to the very end of the hallway. I'll buzz you through the double doors at the end, and Old Mitchell will take you from there."
Tovin audibly groaned, and I took him by the arm, leading him out of the room. We walked down the hallway as he bellyached about what a waste of time it was. It was unlike him to turn his nose up at the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of a new weapon. In fact, he'd been acting weirdly childish lately. I didn't like it. It beat dealing with Tovin-Classic, but it was still a hassle. As we neared the end of the hallway, we began hearing the sound of guns being fired one by one.
The doors buckled and hummed the same as the first door had, and we pushed them open. We passed into a large room with Diesillians shooting at targets a good distance away. This was why the building was so large and the lobby was so small. The brick walls were covered in informational and safety posters, as well as what appeared to be schematics for the weapons themselves.
I looked across the large room to see a man striding toward us. He was wearing shiny black boots that were laced tightly to his calves. His pants and jacket were hunter green, and he bore perhaps the silliest mustache I'd ever seen; It was long and curled at the tips. I had to be careful not to snicker– his eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses, and I couldn't tell if he was watching me.
"New recruits?" he called out to us from entirely too far away.
"Yes sir," I called back. "My brother and I just signed up."
"Brothers!" he exclaimed. "I love it, dammit!" He stopped in front of us. He was chewing on something and was being as obnoxious as he possibly could about it. He was wearing perhaps the stupidest hat I had seen of the Diesel yet. It had no visible brim and was high on one side while sloping down toward the other. For the life of me, I couldn't discern the purpose of it.
"You boys know how to shoot?" he asked.
"No sir," I shook my head. "We're new at this."
"Good," he smiled widely. "That means you haven't formed any bad habits yet. I love newbies," he said before waving for us to follow him. "Come on, let's get you your rifles. I'm Mitch, but folks around here call me Old Mitchell."
"James," I said as I followed after him. "This is my brother William." It was difficult to talk over the noise of the weapons. I occasionally jumped when someone shot their gun nearby– a reflex I couldn't wait to be rid of. He led us to a small room; so small that it might as well have been a glorified safe. He disappeared inside and came back out holding two guns. The same long metal tubes Tovin and I had been attacked with at O'Malley's inn.
We each took one and promptly inspected it. Suddenly, Old Mitchell stepped forward and grabbed both of our guns by the barrel, lifting them so they were pointed at the ceiling.
"You boys ever even held one of these?" he barked. "Careful where you aim. Never point one of these at anything or anyone that you're not prepared to destroy."
"They sweep you, Mitch?" asked a man as he passed behind us.
"Pointed 'em right at me," he called back with a laugh. "We'll get 'em straightened out, don't you worry about that." He looked at us both, chewing aggressively. "Now I'm gonna let these rifles go. You keep 'em pointed up, you understand?"
"Yes, sir," I answered.
"Sure," Tovin said in a disinterested tone.
He let go of our rifles and we kept them pointed at the ceiling as we were told. I looked up and down the length of the tube before turning it over and inspecting the area under the barrel. It was split underneath with what looked like some kind of spring running along the length of the tube.
"They're not loaded," Mitch said, waving for us to follow him to the other side of the room. "But you will always treat them like they are. I'm going to show you how to load them over here. Set them down on the desk, I'm gonna stand between the two of you so I can watch you both."
I set my gun down in front of me and looked to my right. There was a box of what I presumed to be bullets. I expected them to be round pellet-like projectiles, but they were tubular with roughly textured heads on them.
"Turn your weapon over. You'll notice you can see a spring inside the bottom of the barrel. Close to the other end of your gun, you'll find a little round tab there. Take that tab and push it with your thumb all the way up toward the tip of the barrel. You'll then pop it out to the side there."
I did as he asked, and sure enough, the barrel popped out to the left at the tip of the weapon. I glanced over at Tovin who was struggling with the spring. Old Mitchell moved over and helped him with it. "Sometimes they get stuck," he muttered as he got Tovin to the same step I was at.
"Now," he shouted. "Take your ammunition right there in the box next to you, and begin placing the rounds into the underside of the barrel, flat side first. Then, you'll load more bullets into the gun overlapping one another. Be careful not to let the rounds collide with one another too heavily, or you could have a little accident."
I loaded the bullets carefully one after another until the barrel was about full. He checked on Tovin's rifle, and then inspected mine.
"Good. Now realign the barrel, there and come with me to the bay," he said, starting toward the practice range. I carefully lifted the weapon and rested it against my shoulder, turning with Tovin to follow him. When we stopped at the range, he motioned for Tovin first. "Come on, Will, we're gonna start with you."
"Pass," he said nonchalantly.
Old Mitchell blinked twice. "What?"
"I want to see Gill do it first," he said, stepping out of my way.
"It's a nickname," I said quickly, stepping up to the range. "Anyways, I'll go first, I don't mind, what do I do here?"
Mitch remained silent for a couple of seconds before clapping his hands once. "Okay! Well, go ahead and pull the hammer back."
I looked down at the weapon and then back up at him. Sensing my confusion, he carefully reached forward and pulled back a little tiny lever on the top of the rifle until it clicked. "That's called pulling the hammer back," he said. "Will, you watching this?"
He didn't wait for a response. "Next thing you're gonna do is pull that lever out underneath the gun. That's going to load the weapon with a fresh cartridge. You're gonna do that between every shot, now. Lift it up against your shoulder like this; get it snug in there." He pulled it against my shoulder. "Look down the iron sight there at the tip of the rifle and line it up against your target. Your weapon is primed and ready to fire. You're good for fifteen shots before you've got to reload. You can always flip it over to see how many bullets are left. Go ahead and aim carefully, and try and hit that target paper down there."
At the end of the range, there was a piece of paper with a silhouette of a human head, shoulders, and torso. I closed one eye for better aim and held the gun tightly as I lined up my shot.
"Don't pull the trigger," Mitch advised in my left ear. "Squeeze it. Squeeze the trigger until it doesn't move easily anymore. Then when you're sure about your aim, squeeze with just that little bit of extra strength you need."
I did as he said, and felt what he was referring to. With my target in sight, my hand steady, and my aim as true as I could hope for, I fired the weapon. The shot rang out right in my ear, but interestingly enough, it wasn't so bad when I was the one firing. I was ready for it, and expecting it.
"Holy smokes!" exclaimed Mitch. "You put one right between the eyes!"
"Beginners's luck," said a man from behind me. "I did the same thing first time I shot, and never did it again."
"Let's prove him wrong, James," Old Mitchell laughed. "Now use that lever under the gun to eject the casing and load a fresh bullet."
I pulled the lever and the shiny little bullet casing popped out the top and flew over my shoulder. It was a really satisfying feeling.
"Do I pull the hammer again? I asked.
"Nope, it'll pop back down. You'll only pull that hammer back the first time. Go ahead and fire again, only this time, aim for the neck."
"Alright," I said, closing my eye and tightening my focus. I squeezed the trigger just as I had the first time and shot a hole straight through the center of the target's neck. I lifted my head and smiled. "I hit it!"
"No way," said the man behind me. "Ain't never shot before, my ass. He's taking you for a ride, Mitch."
"You're sure you're new at this, son?" Old Mitchell asked, one eye half shut. "That's really impressive, kid. Seriously, if this is your first time holding a rifle, you might be cut out for the military. Had a staff sergeant with worse aim than you."
"Alright, alright," Tovin pushed me aside. "My turn. Let me show you something you'll never forget."
The two of us took turns shooting for hours. We hadn't even noticed the time going by. For once, it seemed Tovin had found something he wasn't naturally amazing at, and it was infuriating him to no end.
Conversely, I found something I was really, really good at. I hit my target almost every time, and to be honest, I couldn't figure out what was so difficult about it. A crowd had gathered to watch me shoot. I got really swift with the lever, and could shoot out both of a target's eyes, and put one in its forehead in a matter of seconds.
Tovin wasn't a bad shot, but I knew how he felt. If he wasn't first, he was last as far as he was concerned, and at one point he about threw his rifle. Old Mitchell had to talk to him about how some things come naturally to others, and how he shouldn't be discouraged from coming to the range and practicing.
It was rich hearing Tovin get that talk of all people. The natural genius that outshined everyone, struggling with something for the very first time. I almost couldn't believe I was better than him at something, and of course, it just had to be the thing that we'd never do again once we found our friends and went back home.
Our friends.
We were wasting time here. "Hey, Mitchel," I turned toward him. "When do we get our sign-on bonus? It was supposed to be something like 200 octims."
"You get your sign-on bonus when you bring back your first bounty," he responded quickly.
"What?" Tovin shouted. "That's not fair! We signed on, now where's our money?"
I was equally upset. We were lied to. But it made sense that they couldn't just hand us uniforms, cash, and a gun, and let us go. They wanted to make sure we at least killed a monster.
"It's fine," I said with a sigh. "Where can we find bounties?"
"It's not fine," Tovin protested.
I yanked him by the collar of his shirt and looked him in the eyes. "It's fine," I said slowly and firmly. "We'll run out, bag a monster, and be back before dark."
He held eye contact with me for several seconds before shrugging me off of him and walking away. He stormed across the bay and left through the double doors at the other end of the room.
"My brother was the same way," said Mitch. "Hard-headed. Stubborn as a mule. Loyal as anyone you'd ever meet though."
He had no idea. Tovin wasn't just difficult, but he was turning into a walking liability. I didn't know how much longer I could take him acting like this. Suddenly, Mitch extended his arm, pointing to a door adjacent to where he'd gotten our guns from.
"Bounty board is in there. Come on, I'll show you."
It was a medium-sized room with several corkboards wall to wall filled with bounties. Every monster was named and almost all of them were sketched to a professional degree. You could find how much money the monster was going for, which hunters it had killed, where it was last seen, as well as whether or not there were hunters currently after it.
They had a system where you would notate which monster you were going after, and if you didn't return, they'd add your name under the list of hunters that died searching for it. There were so many monsters I couldn't believe it, and according to Old Mitchell, these were only the monsters within a five-mile radius of Bronzegirder.
I learned the process of choosing a bounty and chose a smaller monster with no names under its fatality list. Mitch agreed it was a good monster for beginners, and offered a few pointers for tracking it. I submitted the bounty request and got it approved before leaving the bay and heading down the hall in search of Tovin. I entered the lobby and didn't see him. I left the building and found him at the top of the steps staring out into the street where a couple of vehicles were hauling something massive together under a tarp.
Several uniformed hunters were walking slowly next to the vehicles. Their uniforms were tattered and bloodstained, and a few of them walked with a limp. We watched as the exhausted men passed the building on their way down the road. Two of them were sobbing silently, but we could tell by their exposed teeth and wrinkled expressions that they'd lost someone.
From beneath the tarp, a scaly limb fell off the side of the vehicle and dangled lifelessly. It was a reptilian-looking arm with an open wound, and the shredded remnants of a uniform hanging from its claws.
"Gill," Tovin said quietly. "Is that..."
"Yeah," I answered.
"That's definitely a monster."
Writing Prompt Submitted by u/My-Last-Hope

submitted by a15minutestory to A15MinuteMythos [link] [comments]

2023.03.21 18:21 Galaxy_the_nightwing First Impressions part 43

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-----Squeaks-----
"Everyone agreed?" Her new Community's [Caretaker] asks the group after they made a rough plan. Everyone agreed and split off to quickly set up their various jobs, leaving her with her two Aviae. The [Broodmother] turned to her and had a concerned expression.
"Are you sure about this? He seems very tence and we don't know what stage he's in. He could very well end up hurting you." Squeaks' confidence in her [Provider] didn't waver at the question. Puffing up confidently she replied, completely sure with herself.
"Im sure, I trust him. Either way, someone has to be with the [pup] who can listen for and answer it's Instict-calls." She paused before tacking on, "And keep it calm." The two reluctantly agree to that point.
"Ok. Make sure to get out of there if something does happen, though. We can find another way to calm him." Squeaks nodded at her then turned and scrambled back inside the [main tree]. Climbing up the shaft for the [elevator] she slowed once she got close to the tunnel Damian was perched at the enterance of. Getting out had been pretty easy, all things considered, since he wasn't paying attention to anything behind him (besides the occasional glance back at particularly pained whimpers from the [pup]). The problem lied now in getting back in without being noticed. Damian was constantly scanning and watching the main doorway, making it hard to just get where she was. Honestly, she's suprised she was even able to get this close.
She took a breath then scrambled up his blind spot when he glanced away from her to scan around the tunnel again. She froze in place near the tunnel, desperately hoping her coloring helped her blend in, when his gaze snapped towards her at the quick movement. There was a long tence stretch of silent staring before his eyes narrowed and head tilted ever so slightly. He slowly moved the blade from his legs and set one hand down next to him, sliding his legs close to he edge and letting one drop over. The slow cautious pace of his movements made it seem like he was trying to sneak up on something, but she was staring right at him. Letting her eyes glance around, keeping the rest of her body perfectly still, she was just able to see something out of the corner of her eye.
She couldn't get a good look at it from he way she was positioned but it didn't look too far from her. Before she could try and figure out what it was, Damian went from slow stalking movements to quick lunging ones. She instinctively bolted up higher and wiggled into a small hole in the shaft. Peering out she saw Damian with one hand gripping the edge of the tunnel and the leg on that side bent up close to him with the other leg straightened out more. Both of his feet were pressed against the wall of the shaft, pushing up an at angle to help support some of his weight as he hung there. Glancing at his other hand, she saw a surveillance drone held tightly in his grip.
He studied it, turning it around in his hand to look at it's different sides curiously. Taking advantage of his distraction, she scrambled up the rest of the way to the tunnel and hurried down it slightly. Glancing back, he didn't seem to notice her. Relaxing in relief, she walked more calmly over to the [pup] and softly greeted it.
Greeting-pup.
The [pup] looked at her and barely muttered a returning greeting. Confused, she tilted her head and questioned it.
Quiet-hurt? Hurt-hurt? Hurt-calm? No-call-help?
The [pup] glanced past her at where Damian was climbing back onto the edge of the tunnel then whimpered softly.
Loud-anger-brute. Loud-anger-sound. Quiet-ignore-Runt.
Squeaks blinked then glanced back at said human, who had sat back on the edge, legs dangling, and still looking over the surveillance drone. Not knowing what the [pup] could mean she called out her own loud whimper to test his reaction. Immediately his head whipped around and he stared at her with an incredibly intense gaze that would have seemed aggressive if she didn't know better. He glanced over both of them then his expression relaxed and he made multiple short comfort-hisses at them before turning back around.
When he hissed at them she heard the [pup] whimper fearfully under it's breath. Now understanding the situation she explained it as best she could to the pained [pup].
Pup-wrong. No-angry. Comfort-calm. Care-concerned.
The [pup] made a soft confused noise.
Care-concerned? No-Brute-Protector? Care-Scavenger?
That one took a second for her instincts to translate for her. ''No-brute-protector'? Is it asking if Damian isn't a [Guard]?' Her instincts then caught up with her thoughts and translated for her. 'Oh! It's asking if he's a [Caretaker] instead of a [Guard]! It's Community's equivalent roles must not be able to do both at the same time. Or maybe they can and it's just confused?'
Guard-Caretaker. Provider. Protect-hurt-pup. Wary-unknown-others. Attempt-help-alone.
The [pup] stared at her for a bit as it processed that then glanced at Damian. She wondered what was going through it's head. Still looking at the human, who had thrown the drone away and broken it, it questioned her answer.
Protect-care? Scavenger-Shoat? Sire?
Before she could answer that 'no, she wasn't a child' and 'yes, he was her [Caretaker], in a way', the [pup] pulled itself off the ground and onto all fours. She immediately abandoned answering and instead ran over to try and convince it to lay back down. She was ignored as it slowly, painfully, dragged itself and one of the cloth-coverings down the short tunnel towards Damian. Damian didn't seem to notice until it started to painfully crawl into his lap.
He immediately picked it up and gently cradled it to his chest, softly muttering to it as he wraps the cloth around it. As he did, he stood back up and brought it back over to the cloth pile. When he tried to set it down, it squealed loudly and clung to his torso-cloth as tightly as it could.
No! No-leave! Stay! Brute-stay! Runt-good. Runt-quiet. Runt-stay-Brute!
Damian winced at the loud noise and cradled it back to his chest, softly muttering and cooing at it to calm it back down again. He looked extremely confused at the loud yell, which confused Squeaks. Didn't his instincts translate for him? Sure it might take a few seconds every now and then, but he shouldn't be confused for this long. Maybe his instincts are being repressed because of the effects of the Dark-crest or whatever it was the [Caretaker] and [Broodmother] told her. Deciding to help out, she trotted over and gained Damian's attention.
"It's asking not to be left back here again." Damian looked worried, confused, and fearful all at the same time as he replied.
"But-...but I need to keep watch. You two are safer back here." As he spoke his grip loosened as he subconsciously tried to set the [pup] down. That earned him another loud scream of a squeal, which made him jump and clutch it closer to him.
-----Runt-----
Why wasn't Brute-possible-Sire responding? Did he not say it right? No, Instinct told him he did. Did Brute not want him to join its Sounder? Then why was he being held? Why was he being ignored? Why was Scavenger and Brute just making not-instinct-traslate-noise? Why was he being put down!
Noooooo! Stay! No-leave! Comfort! Comfort-pup-pain!
Squealing as loud as he could and digging his claws into the not-skin of the Brute's chest, he pleaded to stay. He ignored the pain that burned through his side at his wiggling and protesting. The Brute held it close again and he trembled in both desperation and pain, whimpering his pain softly with each breath. It wasn't long until he felt the grip on him change. Instead of being pressed against his back and legs, he was now sitting on one of it's arms and leaned against its chest.
He glanced back when the Brute started to move. He watched it take apart the den-pile and move it farther up the not-den-path. It remade the den-pile there and sat down in it once it deemed it good enough. He watched Scavenger come over and be lifted next to Brute's neck. He listened to them make those not-instinct-talk-noises back and forth for a bit. Once he realized he wasn't going to be set down again he settled himself and started to doze off.
-----Ree-----
Bigwings has been gone for a long time. Ree was getting worried as the absence of his clutchmate slowly grew more and more apparent to his still maturing instincts. Damian seemed angry when he left and he didn't like how his parents scrambled around once he was gone. Ree glanced back at his littlefeather. She was chatting away with the two not-flock beings and looked to be perfectly happy to do so. But Ree is her longfeather. He knows her better than he knows himself.
He can see the minute twitching of the fur on her shoulder blades, the slight shifting of her tailfeathers like she couldn't find a comfortable position for them, the subtle shifting of her ear-tufts. She was anxious. She felt vulnerable. She felt scared. She didn't feel safe. Littlefeather wasn't safe. Clutch is seperated. Clutch is in danger! Protect clutch!
Quickly shaking his head and pushing away the fog that had fallen over it, he collected himself. 'No. No! That's not my job. I'm not the Bigwings. Even if I was, we're safe. We're protected. There's no danger to protect from. We're fine. Damian can handle himself. He'll be back.' Despite trying to reason with himself, his instincts disagreed and kept telling him his clutch was in danger. That he had to protect them. To find his separated clutchmate and bring him back. To keep them all safe.
Ree glanced at his Pa. The dark blue bird was watching a screen larger than the other ones surrounding it. Standing, he called back a short 'I'll be back, stay' warble to his littlefeather. He didn't look back at her but heard her reply of a 'be quick' trill. He silently walked up behind his Pa and watched the screen over his shoulder. It took a second or two to figure out what he was looking at. Once he did, his instincts froze from the constant shifting in the back of his mind.
The screen showed a dark tunnel with Damian sat and leaned against the side, a pile of various cloths under him and a bundle of it in his grip. Squeaks, Ree's almost-but-not-quite-clutchmate, curled up on his shoulder. What drew his instinct's attention was the various new wounds covering his clutchmate's figure. It wasnt nearly as many as his hatching. Though, to be fair, he couldn't remember much from that time. It was mostly fuzzy blurs and blobs of bright color. But he had seen the images of all the wounds Damian had gotten protecting them when no one was looking.
Despite that, it was still bad enough for his instincts to churn and twist in his mind. Tying itself into knots with the need to protect his clutch and the horrible feeling of failing to do so. His instincts hated that he had failed and begged him to find his clutchmate. To wrap his wings around him and keep away the world. To keep him safe. To do his job! Shaking his head to clear it again, he made up his mind. Going back to his clutchmate he called out to her with the sounds only clutchmates knew.
'I'll be back [long distance/time pronunciation]. Stay.' Immediately she turned to him with a worried warble.
'You're leaving [long distance/time pronunciation]? Let me co-' He interrupted her before she could finish with a warning growl to his voice.
'No. I'm getting our clutchmate. Stay.' At the sound of the growl she ducked her head, ending up presenting her neck, and averted her gaze in a non-verbal 'Sorry.' He huffed and shook himself off in a non-verbal acceptance of the apology. Tapping the right sides of their beaks together, he trilled out a goodbye. Gaining one back, he turned and carefully snuck out of the room without any of the adults noticing. Once outside the door he paused, not quite sure where to go.
His instincts pressed against his mind and nudged at him in question. It almost whispered in his hear for him to trust it. Let it lead him to his clutchmate. He hesitated. He's grown used to ignoring his instincts since they tried to make him interfere with or completely take over his Bigwing's job, despite him not being his clutch's Bigwings. But.....did he really have another option?
He took a second or two to think it over but eventually shook himself off and let his instincts lightly drape over his mind. Feeling a small......tug? nudge? on his very being, he followed it. He let himself trust his instincts without constantly questioning it's directions and thinking them over before following through with them. He just let himself be led without the constant doubts and mistrust of his instincts. It felt nice. To not have to worry and just let himself be.
Was this what everyone else felt with their instincts? Not ever questioning and turning over every sentence it told them? Just complete trust in it? He can understand why they say it's useful and calming. He understood what he had been told of how peaceful it was to let his instincts drive him and just be a passenger for the ride.
It makes him wonder though. Why was he always in a constant back and forth with his instincts? Why did they think he was a role he wasn't? Why did he constantly have to push away his instincts and ignore them? Each question just led to another question without being able to figure it out. Just a constant loop of why, why, why without the time to try and puzzle it out. Maybe he can take advantage of letting his instincts take over his body. Try and ponder on these questions and figure at least a few out.
And that's just what he did. As his instincts led him through the maze of hallways, ever closer to his clutchmate, he turned his attention to the swarm of questions that had piled up over the time his instincts had developed. He kept a wary eye on his instincts but worked on trying to detangle a few questions and answer them as he floated peacefully in the back of his own mind.

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