Uranium is a chemical element with symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium radioactively decays by emitting an alpha particle. The half-life of this decay varies between 159,200 and 4.5 billion years for different isotopes, making them useful for dating the age of the Earth. The most common isotopes in natural uranium are uranium-238 (which has 146 neutrons and accounts for over 99% of uranium on Earth) and uranium-235 (which has 143 neutrons). Uranium has the highest atomic weight of the primordially occurring elements. Its density is about 70% higher than that of lead, and slightly lower than that of gold or tungsten. It occurs naturally in low concentrations of a few parts per million in soil, rock and water, and is commercially extracted from uranium-bearing minerals such as uraninite.[6] Many contemporary uses of uranium exploit its unique nuclear properties. Uranium-235 is the only naturally occurring fissile isotope, which makes it widely used in nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons. However, because of the tiny concentrations found in nature, uranium needs to undergo enrichment so that enough uranium-235 is present. Uranium-238 is fissionable by fast neutrons, and is fertile, meaning it can be transmuted to fissile plutonium-239 in a nuclear reactor. Another fissile isotope, uranium-233, can be produced from natural thorium and is studied for future industrial use in nuclear technology. Uranium-238 has a small probability for spontaneous fission or even induced fission with fast neutrons; uranium-235, and to a lesser degree uranium-233, have a much higher fission cross-section for slow neutrons. In sufficient concentration, these isotopes maintain a sustained nuclear chain reaction. This generates the heat in nuclear power reactors, and produces the fissile material for nuclear weapons. Depleted uranium (238U) is used in kinetic energy penetrators and armor plating.[7][8]
The 1789 discovery of uranium in the mineral pitchblende is credited to Martin Heinrich Klaproth, who named the new element after the recently discovered planet Uranus. Eugène-Melchior Péligot was the first person to isolate the metal and its radioactive properties were discovered in 1896 by Henri Becquerel. Research by Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner, Enrico Fermi and others, such as J. Robert Oppenheimer starting in 1934 led to its use as a fuel in the nuclear power industry and in Little Boy, the first nuclear weapon used in war. An ensuing arms race during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union produced tens of thousands of nuclear weapons that used uranium metal and uranium-derived plutonium-239. Dismantling of these weapons and related nuclear facilities is carried out within various nuclear disarmament programs and costs billions of dollars. Weapon-grade uranium obtained from nuclear weapons is diluted with uranium-238 and reused as fuel for nuclear reactors. The development and deployment of these nuclear reactors continue on a global base as they are powerful sources of CO2-free energy. Spent nuclear fuel forms radioactive waste, which mostly consists of uranium-238 and poses significant health threat and environmental impact. Uranium is a silvery white, weakly radioactive metal. It has a Mohs hardness of 6, sufficient to scratch glass and approximately equal to that of titanium, rhodium, manganese and niobium. It is malleable, ductile, slightly paramagnetic, strongly electropositive and a poor electrical conductor.[9][10] Uranium metal has a very high density of 19.1 g/cm3,[11] denser than lead (11.3 g/cm3),[12] but slightly less dense than tungsten and gold (19.3 g/cm3).[13][14]
Uranium metal reacts with almost all non-metal elements (with the exception of the noble gases) and their compounds, with reactivity increasing with temperature.[15] Hydrochloric and nitric acids dissolve uranium, but non-oxidizing acids other than hydrochloric acid attack the element very slowly.[9] When finely divided, it can react with cold water; in air, uranium metal becomes coated with a dark layer of uranium oxide.[10] Uranium in ores is extracted chemically and converted into uranium dioxide or other chemical forms usable in industry.
Uranium-235 was the first isotope that was found to be fissile. Other naturally occurring isotopes are fissionable, but not fissile. On bombardment with slow neutrons, its uranium-235 isotope will most of the time divide into two smaller nuclei, releasing nuclear binding energy and more neutrons. If too many of these neutrons are absorbed by other uranium-235 nuclei, a nuclear chain reaction occurs that results in a burst of heat or (in special circumstances) an explosion. In a nuclear reactor, such a chain reaction is slowed and controlled by a neutron poison, absorbing some of the free neutrons. Such neutron absorbent materials are often part of reactor control rods (see nuclear reactor physics for a description of this process of reactor control).
As little as 15 lb (6.8 kg) of uranium-235 can be used to make an atomic bomb.[16] The nuclear weapon detonated over Hiroshima, called Little Boy, relied on uranium fission. However, the first nuclear bomb (the Gadget used at Trinity) and the bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki (Fat Man) were both plutonium bombs.
Uranium metal has three allotropic forms:[17]
α (orthorhombic) stable up to 668 °C (1,234 °F). Orthorhombic, space group No. 63, Cmcm, lattice parameters a = 285.4 pm, b = 587 pm, c = 495.5 pm.[18] β (tetragonal) stable from 668 to 775 °C (1,234 to 1,427 °F). Tetragonal, space group P42/mnm, P42nm, or P4n2, lattice parameters a = 565.6 pm, b = c = 1075.9 pm.[18] γ (body-centered cubic) from 775 °C (1,427 °F) to melting point—this is the most malleable and ductile state. Body-centered cubic, lattice parameter a = 352.4 pm.[18]
The major application of uranium in the military sector is in high-density penetrators. This ammunition consists of depleted uranium (DU) alloyed with 1–2% other elements, such as titanium or molybdenum.[19] At high impact speed, the density, hardness, and pyrophoricity of the projectile enable the destruction of heavily armored targets. Tank armor and other removable vehicle armor can also be hardened with depleted uranium plates. The use of depleted uranium became politically and environmentally contentious after the use of such munitions by the US, UK and other countries during wars in the Persian Gulf and the Balkans raised questions concerning uranium compounds left in the soil[8][20][21][22] (see Gulf War syndrome).[16]
Depleted uranium is also used as a shielding material in some containers used to store and transport radioactive materials. While the metal itself is radioactive, its high density makes it more effective than lead in halting radiation from strong sources such as radium.[9] Other uses of depleted uranium include counterweights for aircraft control surfaces, as ballast for missile re-entry vehicles and as a shielding material.[10] Due to its high density, this material is found in inertial guidance systems and in gyroscopic compasses.[10] Depleted uranium is preferred over similarly dense metals due to its ability to be easily machined and cast as well as its relatively low cost.[23] The main risk of exposure to depleted uranium is chemical poisoning by uranium oxide rather than radioactivity (uranium being only a weak alpha emitter).
During the later stages of World War II, the entire Cold War, and to a lesser extent afterwards, uranium-235 has been used as the fissile explosive material to produce nuclear weapons. Initially, two major types of fission bombs were built: a relatively simple device that uses uranium-235 and a more complicated mechanism that uses plutonium-239 derived from uranium-238. Later, a much more complicated and far more powerful type of fission/fusion bomb (thermonuclear weapon) was built, that uses a plutonium-based device to cause a mixture of tritium and deuterium to undergo nuclear fusion. Such bombs are jacketed in a non-fissile (unenriched) uranium case, and they derive more than half their power from the fission of this material by fast neutrons from the nuclear fusion process.[24]
The main use of uranium in the civilian sector is to fuel nuclear power plants. One kilogram of uranium-235 can theoretically produce about 20 terajoules of energy (2×1013 joules), assuming complete fission; as much energy as 1.5 million kilograms (1,500 tonnes) of coal.[7]
Commercial nuclear power plants use fuel that is typically enriched to around 3% uranium-235.[7] The CANDU and Magnox designs are the only commercial reactors capable of using unenriched uranium fuel. Fuel used for United States Navy reactors is typically highly enriched in uranium-235 (the exact values are classified). In a breeder reactor, uranium-238 can also be converted into plutonium through the following reaction:[10]
Before (and, occasionally, after) the discovery of radioactivity, uranium was primarily used in small amounts for yellow glass and pottery glazes, such as uranium glass and in Fiestaware.[25]
The discovery and isolation of radium in uranium ore (pitchblende) by Marie Curie sparked the development of uranium mining to extract the radium, which was used to make glow-in-the-dark paints for clock and aircraft dials.[26][27] This left a prodigious quantity of uranium as a waste product, since it takes three tonnes of uranium to extract one gram of radium. This waste product was diverted to the glazing industry, making uranium glazes very inexpensive and abundant. Besides the pottery glazes, uranium tile glazes accounted for the bulk of the use, including common bathroom and kitchen tiles which can be produced in green, yellow, mauve, black, blue, red and other colors.
Uranium was also used in photographic chemicals (especially uranium nitrate as a toner),[10] in lamp filaments for stage lighting bulbs,[28] to improve the appearance of dentures,[29] and in the leather and wood industries for stains and dyes. Uranium salts are mordants of silk or wool. Uranyl acetate and uranyl formate are used as electron-dense "stains" in transmission electron microscopy, to increase the contrast of biological specimens in ultrathin sections and in negative staining of viruses, isolated cell organelles and macromolecules.
The discovery of the radioactivity of uranium ushered in additional scientific and practical uses of the element. The long half-life of the isotope uranium-238 (4.47×109 years) makes it well-suited for use in estimating the age of the earliest igneous rocks and for other types of radiometric dating, including uranium–thorium dating, uranium–lead dating and uranium–uranium dating. Uranium metal is used for X-ray targets in the making of high-energy X-rays.[10]
The use of uranium in its natural oxide form dates back to at least the year 79 CE, when it was used in the Roman Empire to add a yellow color to ceramic glazes.[10] Yellow glass with 1% uranium oxide was found in a Roman villa on Cape Posillipo in the Bay of Naples, Italy, by R. T. Gunther of the University of Oxford in 1912.[30] Starting in the late Middle Ages, pitchblende was extracted from the Habsburg silver mines in Joachimsthal, Bohemia (now Jáchymov in the Czech Republic), and was used as a coloring agent in the local glassmaking industry.[31] In the early 19th century, the world's only known sources of uranium ore were these mines. Mining for uranium in the Ore Mountains ceased on the German side after the Cold War ended and SDAG Wismut was wound down. On the Czech side there were attempts during the uranium price bubble of 2007 to restart mining, but those were quickly abandoned following a fall in uranium prices.[32][33]
The discovery of the element is credited to the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth. While he was working in his experimental laboratory in Berlin in 1789, Klaproth was able to precipitate a yellow compound (likely sodium diuranate) by dissolving pitchblende in nitric acid and neutralizing the solution with sodium hydroxide.[31] Klaproth assumed the yellow substance was the oxide of a yet-undiscovered element and heated it with charcoal to obtain a black powder, which he thought was the newly discovered metal itself (in fact, that powder was an oxide of uranium).[31][34] He named the newly discovered element after the planet Uranus (named after the primordial Greek god of the sky), which had been discovered eight years earlier by William Herschel.[35]
In 1841, Eugène-Melchior Péligot, Professor of Analytical Chemistry at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (Central School of Arts and Manufactures) in Paris, isolated the first sample of uranium metal by heating uranium tetrachloride with potassium.[31][36]
Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity by using uranium in 1896.[15] Becquerel made the discovery in Paris by leaving a sample of a uranium salt, K2UO2(SO4)2 (potassium uranyl sulfate), on top of an unexposed photographic plate in a drawer and noting that the plate had become "fogged".[37] He determined that a form of invisible light or rays emitted by uranium had exposed the plate.
During World War I when the Central Powers suffered a shortage of molybdenum to make artillery gun barrels and high speed tool steels they routinely substituted ferrouranium alloys which present many of the same physical characteristics. When this practice became known in 1916 the USA government requested several prominent universities to research these uses for uranium and tools made with these formulas remained in use for several decades only ending when the Manhattan Project and the Cold War placed a large demand on uranium for fission research and weapon development.[38][39][40]
A team led by Enrico Fermi in 1934 observed that bombarding uranium with neutrons produces the emission of beta rays (electrons or positrons from the elements produced; see beta particle).[41] The fission products were at first mistaken for new elements with atomic numbers 93 and 94, which the Dean of the Faculty of Rome, Orso Mario Corbino, christened ausonium and hesperium, respectively.[42][43][44][45] The experiments leading to the discovery of uranium's ability to fission (break apart) into lighter elements and release binding energy were conducted by Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann[41] in Hahn's laboratory in Berlin. Lise Meitner and her nephew, the physicist Otto Robert Frisch, published the physical explanation in February 1939 and named the process "nuclear fission".[46] Soon after, Fermi hypothesized that the fission of uranium might release enough neutrons to sustain a fission reaction. Confirmation of this hypothesis came in 1939, and later work found that on average about 2.5 neutrons are released by each fission of the rare uranium isotope uranium-235.[41] Fermi urged Alfred O. C. Nier to separate uranium isotopes for determination of the fissile component, and on 29 February 1940, Nier used an instrument he built at the University of Minnesota to separate the world's first uranium-235 sample in the Tate Laboratory. After mailed to Columbia University's cyclotron, John Dunning confirmed the sample to be the isolated fissile material on 1 March.[47] Further work found that the far more common uranium-238 isotope can be transmuted into plutonium, which, like uranium-235, is also fissile by thermal neutrons. These discoveries led numerous countries to begin working on the development of nuclear weapons and nuclear power. Despite fission having been discovered in Germany, the Uranverein ("uranium club") Germany's wartime project to research nuclear power and/or weapons was hampered by limited resources, infighting, the exile or non-involvement of several prominent scientists in the field and several crucial mistakes such as failing to account for impurities in available graphite samples which made it appear less suitable as a neutron moderator than it is in reality. Germany's attempts to build a natural uranium / heavy water reactor had not come close to reaching criticality by the time the Americans reached Haigerloch, the site of the last German wartime reactor experiment.[48]
On 2 December 1942, as part of the Manhattan Project, another team led by Enrico Fermi was able to initiate the first artificial self-sustained nuclear chain reaction, Chicago Pile-1. An initial plan using enriched uranium-235 was abandoned as it was as yet unavailable in sufficient quantities.[49] Working in a lab below the stands of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago, the team created the conditions needed for such a reaction by piling together 360 tonnes of graphite, 53 tonnes of uranium oxide, and 5.5 tonnes of uranium metal, a majority of which was supplied by Westinghouse Lamp Plant in a makeshift production process.[41][50]
Two major types of atomic bombs were developed by the United States during World War II: a uranium-based device (codenamed "Little Boy") whose fissile material was highly enriched uranium, and a plutonium-based device (see Trinity test and "Fat Man") whose plutonium was derived from uranium-238. The uranium-based Little Boy device became the first nuclear weapon used in war when it was detonated over the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Exploding with a yield equivalent to 12,500 tonnes of trinitrotoluene, the blast and thermal wave of the bomb destroyed nearly 50,000 buildings and killed approximately 75,000 people (see Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki).[37] Initially it was believed that uranium was relatively rare, and that nuclear proliferation could be avoided by simply buying up all known uranium stocks, but within a decade large deposits of it were discovered in many places around the world.[51][52]
The X-10 Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, formerly known as the Clinton Pile and X-10 Pile, was the world's second artificial nuclear reactor (after Enrico Fermi's Chicago Pile) and was the first reactor designed and built for continuous operation. Argonne National Laboratory's Experimental Breeder Reactor I, located at the Atomic Energy Commission's National Reactor Testing Station near Arco, Idaho, became the first nuclear reactor to create electricity on 20 December 1951.[53] Initially, four 150-watt light bulbs were lit by the reactor, but improvements eventually enabled it to power the whole facility (later, the town of Arco became the first in the world to have all its electricity come from nuclear power generated by BORAX-III, another reactor designed and operated by Argonne National Laboratory).[54][55] The world's first commercial scale nuclear power station, Obninsk in the Soviet Union, began generation with its reactor AM-1 on 27 June 1954. Other early nuclear power plants were Calder Hall in England, which began generation on 17 October 1956,[56] and the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, which began on 26 May 1958. Nuclear power was used for the first time for propulsion by a submarine, the USS Nautilus, in 1954.[41][57]
Prehistoric naturally occurring fission Main article: Natural nuclear fission reactor In 1972, the French physicist Francis Perrin discovered fifteen ancient and no longer active natural nuclear fission reactors in three separate ore deposits at the Oklo mine in Gabon, West Africa, collectively known as the Oklo Fossil Reactors. The ore deposit is 1.7 billion years old; then, uranium-235 constituted about 3% of the total uranium on Earth.[58] This is high enough to permit a sustained nuclear fission chain reaction to occur, provided other supporting conditions exist. The capacity of the surrounding sediment to contain the health-threatening nuclear waste products has been cited by the U.S. federal government as supporting evidence for the feasibility to store spent nuclear fuel at the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.[58]
Above-ground nuclear tests by the Soviet Union and the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s and by France into the 1970s and 1980s[23] spread a significant amount of fallout from uranium daughter isotopes around the world.[59] Additional fallout and pollution occurred from several nuclear accidents.[60]
Uranium miners have a higher incidence of cancer. An excess risk of lung cancer among Navajo uranium miners, for example, has been documented and linked to their occupation.[61] The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, a 1990 law in the US, required $100,000 in "compassion payments" to uranium miners diagnosed with cancer or other respiratory ailments.[62]
During the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, huge stockpiles of uranium were amassed and tens of thousands of nuclear weapons were created using enriched uranium and plutonium made from uranium. After the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, an estimated 600 short tons (540 metric tons) of highly enriched weapons grade uranium (enough to make 40,000 nuclear warheads) had been stored in often inadequately guarded facilities in the Russian Federation and several other former Soviet states.[16] Police in Asia, Europe, and South America on at least 16 occasions from 1993 to 2005 have intercepted shipments of smuggled bomb-grade uranium or plutonium, most of which was from ex-Soviet sources.[16] From 1993 to 2005 the Material Protection, Control, and Accounting Program, operated by the federal government of the United States, spent approximately US $550 million to help safeguard uranium and plutonium stockpiles in Russia. This money was used for improvements and security enhancements at research and storage facilities.[16]
Safety of nuclear facilities in Russia has been significantly improved since the stabilization of political and economical turmoil of the early 1990s. For example, in 1993 there were 29 incidents ranking above level 1 on the International Nuclear Event Scale, and this number dropped under four per year in 1995–2003. The number of employers receiving annual radiation doses above 20 mSv, which is equivalent to a single full-body CT scan,[63] saw a strong decline around 2000. In November 2015, the Russian government approved a federal program for nuclear and radiation safety for 2016 to 2030 with a budget of 562 billion rubles (ca. 8 billion dollars). Its key issue is "the deferred liabilities accumulated during the 70 years of the nuclear industry, particularly during the time of the Soviet Union". Approximately 73% of the budget will be spent on decommissioning aged and obsolete nuclear reactors and nuclear facilities, especially those involved in state defense programs; 20% will go in processing and disposal of nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, and 5% into monitoring and ensuring of nuclear and radiation safety.[64]
Along with all elements having atomic weights higher than that of iron, uranium is only naturally formed by the r-process (rapid neutron capture) in supernovae and neutron star mergers.[65] Primordial thorium and uranium are only produced in the r-process, because the s-process (slow neutron capture) is too slow and cannot pass the gap of instability after bismuth.[66][67] Besides the two extant primordial uranium isotopes, 235U and 238U, the r-process also produced significant quantities of 236U, which has a shorter half-life and so is an extinct radionuclide, having long since decayed completely to 232Th. Uranium-236 was itself enriched by the decay of 244Pu, accounting for the observed higher-than-expected abundance of thorium and lower-than-expected abundance of uranium.[68] While the natural abundance of uranium has been supplemented by the decay of extinct 242Pu (half-life 0.375 million years) and 247Cm (half-life 16 million years), producing 238U and 235U respectively, this occurred to an almost negligible extent due to the shorter half-lives of these parents and their lower production than 236U and 244Pu, the parents of thorium: the 247Cm:235U ratio at the formation of the Solar System was (7.0±1.6)×10−5.[69]
Uranium is a naturally occurring element that can be found in low levels within all rock, soil, and water. Uranium is the 51st element in order of abundance in the Earth's crust. Uranium is also the highest-numbered element to be found naturally in significant quantities on Earth and is almost always found combined with other elements.[10] The decay of uranium, thorium, and potassium-40 in the Earth's mantle is thought to be the main source of heat[70][71] that keeps the Earth's outer core in the liquid state and drives mantle convection, which in turn drives plate tectonics.
Uranium's average concentration in the Earth's crust is (depending on the reference) 2 to 4 parts per million,[9][23] or about 40 times as abundant as silver.[15] The Earth's crust from the surface to 25 km (15 mi) down is calculated to contain 1017 kg (2×1017 lb) of uranium while the oceans may contain 1013 kg (2×1013 lb).[9] The concentration of uranium in soil ranges from 0.7 to 11 parts per million (up to 15 parts per million in farmland soil due to use of phosphate fertilizers),[72] and its concentration in sea water is 3 parts per billion.[23]
Uranium is more plentiful than antimony, tin, cadmium, mercury, or silver, and it is about as abundant as arsenic or molybdenum.[10][23] Uranium is found in hundreds of minerals, including uraninite (the most common uranium ore), carnotite, autunite, uranophane, torbernite, and coffinite.[10] Significant concentrations of uranium occur in some substances such as phosphate rock deposits, and minerals such as lignite, and monazite sands in uranium-rich ores[10] (it is recovered commercially from sources with as little as 0.1% uranium[15]).
Some bacteria, such as Shewanella putrefaciens, Geobacter metallireducens and some strains of Burkholderia fungorum, use uranium for their growth and convert U(VI) to U(IV).[73][74] Recent research suggests that this pathway includes reduction of the soluble U(VI) via an intermediate U(V) pentavalent state.[75][76] Other organisms, such as the lichen Trapelia involuta or microorganisms such as the bacterium Citrobacter, can absorb concentrations of uranium that are up to 300 times the level of their environment.[77] Citrobacter species absorb uranyl ions when given glycerol phosphate (or other similar organic phosphates). After one day, one gram of bacteria can encrust themselves with nine grams of uranyl phosphate crystals; this creates the possibility that these organisms could be used in bioremediation to decontaminate uranium-polluted water.[31][78] The proteobacterium Geobacter has also been shown to bioremediate uranium in ground water.[79] The mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices increases uranium content in the roots of its symbiotic plant.[80]
In nature, uranium(VI) forms highly soluble carbonate complexes at alkaline pH. This leads to an increase in mobility and availability of uranium to groundwater and soil from nuclear wastes which leads to health hazards. However, it is difficult to precipitate uranium as phosphate in the presence of excess carbonate at alkaline pH. A Sphingomonas sp. strain BSAR-1 has been found to express a high activity alkaline phosphatase (PhoK) that has been applied for bioprecipitation of uranium as uranyl phosphate species from alkaline solutions. The precipitation ability was enhanced by overexpressing PhoK protein in E. coli.[81]
Plants absorb some uranium from soil. Dry weight concentrations of uranium in plants range from 5 to 60 parts per billion, and ash from burnt wood can have concentrations up to 4 parts per million.[31] Dry weight concentrations of uranium in food plants are typically lower with one to two micrograms per day ingested through the food people eat.[31]
Production and mining Main article: Uranium mining Worldwide production of uranium in 2021 amounted to 48,332 tonnes, of which 21,819 t (45%) was mined in Kazakhstan. Other important uranium mining countries are Namibia (5,753 t), Canada (4,693 t), Australia (4,192 t), Uzbekistan (3,500 t), and Russia (2,635 t).[82]
Uranium ore is mined in several ways: by open pit, underground, in-situ leaching, and borehole mining (see uranium mining).[7] Low-grade uranium ore mined typically contains 0.01 to 0.25% uranium oxides. Extensive measures must be employed to extract the metal from its ore.[83] High-grade ores found in Athabasca Basin deposits in Saskatchewan, Canada can contain up to 23% uranium oxides on average.[84] Uranium ore is crushed and rendered into a fine powder and then leached with either an acid or alkali. The leachate is subjected to one of several sequences of precipitation, solvent extraction, and ion exchange. The resulting mixture, called yellowcake, contains at least 75% uranium oxides U3O8. Yellowcake is then calcined to remove impurities from the milling process before refining and conversion.[85]
Commercial-grade uranium can be produced through the reduction of uranium halides with alkali or alkaline earth metals.[10] Uranium metal can also be prepared through electrolysis of KUF 5 or UF 4, dissolved in molten calcium chloride (CaCl 2) and sodium chloride (NaCl) solution.[10] Very pure uranium is produced through the thermal decomposition of uranium halides on a hot filament.[10]
It is estimated that 6.1 million tonnes of uranium exists in ore reserves that are economically viable at US$130 per kg of uranium,[87] while 35 million tonnes are classed as mineral resources (reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction).[88]
Australia has 28% of the world's known uranium ore reserves[87] and the world's largest single uranium deposit is located at the Olympic Dam Mine in South Australia.[89] There is a significant reserve of uranium in Bakouma, a sub-prefecture in the prefecture of Mbomou in the Central African Republic.[90]
Some uranium also originates from dismantled nuclear weapons.[91] For example, in 1993–2013 Russia supplied the United States with 15,000 tonnes of low-enriched uranium within the Megatons to Megawatts Program.[92]
An additional 4.6 billion tonnes of uranium are estimated to be dissolved in sea water (Japanese scientists in the 1980s showed that extraction of uranium from sea water using ion exchangers was technically feasible).[93][94] There have been experiments to extract uranium from sea water,[95] but the yield has been low due to the carbonate present in the water. In 2012, ORNL researchers announced the successful development of a new absorbent material dubbed HiCap which performs surface retention of solid or gas molecules, atoms or ions and also effectively removes toxic metals from water, according to results verified by researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.[96][97]
In 2005, ten countries accounted for the majority of the world's concentrated uranium oxides: Canada (27.9%), Australia (22.8%), Kazakhstan (10.5%), Russia (8.0%), Namibia (7.5%), Niger (7.4%), Uzbekistan (5.5%), the United States (2.5%), Argentina (2.1%) and Ukraine (1.9%).[99] In 2008 Kazakhstan was forecast to increase production and become the world's largest supplier of uranium by 2009.[100][101] The prediction came true, and Kazakhstan does dominate the world's uranium market since 2010. In 2021, its share was 45.1%, followed by Namibia (11.9%), Canada (9.7%), Australia (8.7%), Uzbekistan (7.2%), Niger (4.7%), Russia (5.5%), China (3.9%), India (1.3%), Ukraine (0.9%), and South Africa (0.8%), with a world total production of 48,332 tonnes.[82] Most of uranium was produced not by conventional underground mining of ores (29% of production), but by in situ leaching (66%).[82][102]
In the late 1960s, UN geologists also discovered major uranium deposits and other rare mineral reserves in Somalia. The find was the largest of its kind, with industry experts estimating the deposits at over 25% of the world's then known uranium reserves of 800,000 tons.[103]
The ultimate available supply is believed to be sufficient for at least the next 85 years,[88] although some studies indicate underinvestment in the late twentieth century may produce supply problems in the 21st century.[104] Uranium deposits seem to be log-normal distributed. There is a 300-fold increase in the amount of uranium recoverable for each tenfold decrease in ore grade.[105] In other words, there is little high grade ore and proportionately much more low grade ore available.
Calcined uranium yellowcake, as produced in many large mills, contains a distribution of uranium oxidation species in various forms ranging from most oxidized to least oxidized. Particles with short residence times in a calciner will generally be less oxidized than those with long retention times or particles recovered in the stack scrubber. Uranium content is usually referenced to U 3O 8, which dates to the days of the Manhattan Project when U 3O 8 was used as an analytical chemistry reporting standard.[106]
Phase relationships in the uranium-oxygen system are complex. The most important oxidation states of uranium are uranium(IV) and uranium(VI), and their two corresponding oxides are, respectively, uranium dioxide (UO 2) and uranium trioxide (UO 3).[107] Other uranium oxides such as uranium monoxide (UO), diuranium pentoxide (U 2O 5), and uranium peroxide (UO 4·2H 2O) also exist.
The most common forms of uranium oxide are triuranium octoxide (U 3O 8) and UO 2.[108] Both oxide forms are solids that have low solubility in water and are relatively stable over a wide range of environmental conditions. Triuranium octoxide is (depending on conditions) the most stable compound of uranium and is the form most commonly found in nature. Uranium dioxide is the form in which uranium is most commonly used as a nuclear reactor fuel.[108] At ambient temperatures, UO 2 will gradually convert to U 3O 8. Because of their stability, uranium oxides are generally considered the preferred chemical form for storage or disposal.[108]
Salts of many oxidation states of uranium are water-soluble and may be studied in aqueous solutions. The most common ionic forms are U3+ (brown-red), U4+ (green), UO+ 2 (unstable), and UO2+ 2 (yellow), for U(III), U(IV), U(V), and U(VI), respectively.[109] A few solid and semi-metallic compounds such as UO and US exist for the formal oxidation state uranium(II), but no simple ions are known to exist in solution for that state. Ions of U3+ liberate hydrogen from water and are therefore considered to be highly unstable. The UO2+ 2 ion represents the uranium(VI) state and is known to form compounds such as uranyl carbonate, uranyl chloride and uranyl sulfate. UO2+ 2 also forms complexes with various organic chelating agents, the most commonly encountered of which is uranyl acetate.[109]
Unlike the uranyl salts of uranium and polyatomic ion uranium-oxide cationic forms, the uranates, salts containing a polyatomic uranium-oxide anion, are generally not water-soluble.
Carbonates The interactions of carbonate anions with uranium(VI) cause the Pourbaix diagram to change greatly when the medium is changed from water to a carbonate containing solution. While the vast majority of carbonates are insoluble in water (students are often taught that all carbonates other than those of alkali metals are insoluble in water), uranium carbonates are often soluble in water. This is because a U(VI) cation is able to bind two terminal oxides and three or more carbonates to form anionic complexes.
Effects of pH The uranium fraction diagrams in the presence of carbonate illustrate this further: when the pH of a uranium(VI) solution increases, the uranium is converted to a hydrated uranium oxide hydroxide and at high pHs it becomes an anionic hydroxide complex.
When carbonate is added, uranium is converted to a series of carbonate complexes if the pH is increased. One effect of these reactions is increased solubility of uranium in the pH range 6 to 8, a fact that has a direct bearing on the long term stability of spent uranium dioxide nuclear fuels.
Hydrides, carbides and nitrides Uranium metal heated to 250 to 300 °C (482 to 572 °F) reacts with hydrogen to form uranium hydride. Even higher temperatures will reversibly remove the hydrogen. This property makes uranium hydrides convenient starting materials to create reactive uranium powder along with various uranium carbide, nitride, and halide compounds.[111] Two crystal modifications of uranium hydride exist: an α form that is obtained at low temperatures and a β form that is created when the formation temperature is above 250 °C.[111]
Uranium carbides and uranium nitrides are both relatively inert semimetallic compounds that are minimally soluble in acids, react with water, and can ignite in air to form U 3O 8.[111] Carbides of uranium include uranium monocarbide (UC), uranium dicarbide (UC 2), and diuranium tricarbide (U 2C 3). Both UC and UC 2 are formed by adding carbon to molten uranium or by exposing the metal to carbon monoxide at high temperatures. Stable below 1800 °C, U 2C 3 is prepared by subjecting a heated mixture of UC and UC 2 to mechanical stress.[112] Uranium nitrides obtained by direct exposure of the metal to nitrogen include uranium mononitride (UN), uranium dinitride (UN 2), and diuranium trinitride (U 2N 3).[112]

Language: English

Pet Wears I Need

• Gold Ingot
  
• Spring Bunny Nose, Red Envelope, Ruff
  
• Eco Brown Hiking Backpack, Eco Orange Pumpkin Eyepatch, Eco Red Cranberry Branch Wings, Green Lotus, Icey Aura(May Not Exist??), Rainbow Cloud Wings
  
• Eco Orange Maple Cape, Eco Orange Pumpkin Pie Wings, Jetpack(Both), Headband, Bow Tie, Top Hat, Walking Cane, Jade Moth Wings, Monkey King Crown, Magpie Wings
  
• Gold Crown, Lightbulb Hat, Dragonfly Fairy Wings, Magic Girl Wings
  

Pets I Have Available - ♡

• 4 Dragonfly
  
• Gold Tiger
  
• 3 Metal Ox
  
• Ocean Egg
  
• 7 Corgi
  
• R King Penguin
  
• 4 White Tiger
  
• 4 Pine Marten
  
• 2 Toucan
  
• 3 SwordFish
  
• 3 Dilophosaurus
  
• 3 Koi Fish
  
• R Merhorse
  
• 3 Orangutan
  
• 4 Parakeet
  
• 5 Tarsier
  
• 5 Woodpecker
  
• 4 Zebra
  
• 9 Camel
  
• 9 Donkey
  
• 3 Kirin
  
• 5 Cardinal
  
• 5 Wolpertinger
  

(All my stuff is here)
Implacable had been a pleasant houseguest. As flirtatious as she was, she wasn’t the kind of person to leave things out of order or cause a mess that she would expect the owner to pick up. The most she did was tease others and flaunt herself, and if that was basis to condemn a fellow shipgirl, then Richelieu mused she would have to keep an entire book of condemnations, which would be a waste of time and would, at the very least, be a poor showing of a defender of a faith that preached love and patience.
One thing she did learn from the encounter is that it was getting easier and easier to know Implacable’s mind, or perhaps more importantly, her heart. Everything she did seemed to be filtered through her urges, so there was almost nothing she did that wasn’t tinged with eroticism. Richelieu had started to interrogate the idea that Implacable’s lewdness was a deeply held part of her being, and an inseparable part that was best left untouched.
Richelieu began to go through her mail with this on her mind, and she found an invitation to one of Queen Elizabeth’s Royal balls. Her majesty held these now and again, probably on the assumption that it’s just something a queen should do every now and again to show off how much of a queen they were, to be able to have such a thing arranged at the drop of a hat. It wasn’t really something Richelieu had much experience with herself- Her country had made it very clear on more than one occasion that kings and queens were not something they wanted to have.
She would go, of course. People on the base were always looking for some way to unwind, and even people who one wouldn’t normally expect to put on something fancy could find some way to get their hands on something fancy.
Richelieu looked through the rest of her mail, and found that there were only a couple of things of immediate importance. Her workday was effectively over, and if there weren’t any more pressing matters, she would simply spend more of the day with her cats. It was at that moment that someone was polite enough to actually ring her doorbell, so she had to go and answer it.
Algérie was standing there, wearing a smile. Of all of the visitors she could have had at this hour, she might have been one of the most welcome. The cruiser prided herself on cultivating a certain level of maturity, so she wasn’t going to be someone who would be cavalier about doing things that would stress her out. “Good evening, your holiness.”
She stepped aside to let her guest in. “Good evening to you, too. To be honest, I was hoping that someone might stop by, and it’s even better that it’s you. My sister is a rather intense person, and though I love her, I don’t think I would like to chance another argument at this hour.”
“Don’t you worry, I fully understand. Foch is off having an evening of her own, so I started to wonder who else might be free. And then I thought of our hardworking holiness, so I couldn’t help just coming by to see how, and what she was doing.” She looked at the mail on her table, easily picking out the invitation. “Another royal ball? Well, one thing you can say about the queen is that she’s certainly energetic.”
“With the addition of Implacable and other ships to their forces here, I think she has some excuses to celebrate.” Richelieu replied. “And it’s not as though the rest of us are going to turn down a party, are we?”
Algérie giggled. “I think that it took until the others saw you in that swimsuit that they began to understand what kind of person you are. Now, we knew about it even before then, but I think some people needed evidence they could see with their own eyes before they could truly understand our beautiful Richelieu.” She walked over and opened a cabinet. “You don’t mind if I pour myself a drink, do you?”
“You can go right ahead. And feel free to pour me some, too. Not too much.” She watched the cruiser go about the business of getting some glasses. “To be honest, the homeland sends me so much of it that I hardly know what to do with it all. You could probably take a whole bottle home with you, if you liked.”
“I appreciate your offer, but I prefer to make my own choices. You could donate some to Eugen’s bar, if you liked- I find it doubtful she would turn it down.”
“Perhaps.” She replied, and watched as the cruiser took her time going through each bottle before she found one that received her approval. “You look like you’ve been well, so I guess you’re not here to talk about some troubles.”
“Hm? I was just paying a visit. We are from the same country, after all, and it’s not as though we’ve ever butted heads with each other.” She giggled a little. “Ahhh, there we go. Sometimes people think that the most expensive wines are a good gift, but whoever had this one sent to you must have had an eye for quality.” She poured a couple of glasses. “…As does that royal woman who seems to have taken a liking to you.”
Richelieu pouted a little. “You…” She cleared her throat. “Ah… Well, Implacable does seem to have something she’s after, but I don’t think she wants me as a prize she can boast about to others.”
“Fair enough. But I think it was only a matter of time until you caught someone’s attention. If it wasn’t her, I’m sure that someone might be clawing at your door sooner or later, once they understood who you are when you’re away from the altar.” She poured a glass for both of them, and then walked over to hand one to Richelieu. “Here.”
She took it in one hand. “I didn’t know you had any kind of interest in my potential romantic life. I thought you’d confine yourself to your own pursuits.”
“Your holiness, the two of us live under the same roof. I don’t think I can escape hearing about what happens in this dorm.” She sat down beside the cardinal, and tapped their glasses together with just the lightest touch. “And I think about whatever I hear, especially when it’s about to happen to someone important to us.”
Richelieu took a sip from her glass. Algérie was right, and the cruiser certainly had her own eye for quality. “So, I’m assuming you’re here because you have an opinion?”
“No~” She said, and utterly indulged in the contents of her own glass. “…I mean it when I said I just wanted to see how you were. You don’t look like you’ve been stressed by this turn, and that is what I’m happiest to see. It’s not often that someone in your position for an outside stranger to approach you without seeking favor. At least, no official favor. It seems to agree with you.”
“…It does, honestly.” She replied. “…I don’t know if she’ll consider it, but I find myself hoping that she will also show up at this ball that Queen Elizabeth is throwing,”
Algérie leaned forward a little. “I see, and what might you hope to do with her, if she does show up? Especially if she’s in that nun-inspired dress she wears practically everywhere?”
Richelieu blushed a bit. “…Whatever my mood takes me to do, I suppose, but I’m not going to leave her alone in the corner, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I figured you wouldn’t, but I’m sure you don’t really mind you might get some looks. You’re like your sister, in that you’re a woman of strong beliefs.”
Richelieu sighed a little. “If people decide that be keeping company Implacable is worth clicking their tongues over, then I shall have to prepare a very special sermon for the base after the fact about the callings of the faith.”
“Hehe, no doubt. Anyway, I’m not here to have an opinion on what you’re doing, just seeing if what you’re doing has treated you well.”
The cardinal sat back, and smiled. “Since fair’s fair, why don’t you tell me more about how you’re doing?”
Algérie giggled. “Oh, you want to hear about that? Well, why don’t I just tell you all the ways that Foch is just the most delightful little housemate~”
---------
Richelieu was quite comfortable with going to Queen Elizabeth’s ball. Even though her majesty tended to use these occasions to boast about the ability and achievements of the Royal Navy, there wasn't much difference between what she was doing and similar events held by other countries. All that was really differed was the level of ostentation, as well as how many maids happened to be involved. In fact, she began to wonder what would happen if such a ball happened back in Paris, and figured that it wouldn’t be any less extravagant.
Richelieu didn’t even have to change much about her regular appearance to fit in to such an event, as the only alteration she made to her normal attire was to wear a longer skirt for the occasion. She didn’t really need to go all out, or even refrain from wearing something revealing. After all, the dresses worn by Massachusetts and South Dakota for formal occasions like these seemed to pass social muster, so there wasn’t much she could do so seem out of place as long as she didn’t show up in her casual sweater and pleated skirt.
It didn’t take long for her to get herself in order, as she was quite used to keeping up outward appearances. She welcomed dressing up, as it tended to put her in the right frame of mind for whatever she was going to do- When she put on her swimsuit, it immediately put her in the right mood for fun at the beach. When she put on her new year’s dress, it was hard to think of anything other than enjoying a festival with the others.
And for now, it meant she was just going to enjoy the celebration, as well as the excellent cooking of the Royal Maids.
She looked at herself in the mirror after putting on her earrings, was satisfied with what she saw, and then headed over to the Royal dorms.
She was greeted in front by Belfast, and conducted herself inside under the lights and fixtures of the royal ballroom that her majesty had insisted on building. An open floor, a buffet, plenty of room for anyone and everyone who wanted to dance, and the maids ready to serve. Southampton had been pulled into conducting the manjuu band for the moment, but she would be able to escape those duties once she had gotten them in order. Richelieu herself found that, over time, the Royals had managed to learn to adjust the lights to not be too bright, as someone had explained that dazzling the guests was only a figurative aim.
The first thing the cardinal did was grab herself a glass of wine while exchanging the usual pleasantries to whoever wanted to say hello to her.
“Heeey, Riche!” Came a cheerful voice from someone who wanted to do more than just say hello. Even if Hornet was something of a stranger, she would still find it in her to find the union carrier amusing, and even found it in her to admire the fact that Hornet would never surrender her sense of fashion for anything. She was probably the only person she knew who would find a way to incorporate hotpants into formal wear. “…Waiting for someone?”
“Maybe I am.” She said. “And you?”
“Enty feels she has to show up to things like this. Or that’s what she says, but she’s always liked to find something to do that’s not fighting. And York also wanted to come because she likes the wines people always seem to show up with, so...” Hornet blushed a little. “Well, maybe I’m here to also make sure that Yorkie finds her way home all right. Once she ended up accidentally following Rossiya home.”
The cardinal hmmed. “On the face of it, that doesn’t sound too terrible. Rossiya is also responsible, so I don’t see something like that turning out poorly.”
“Yeah, but she just takes things at value sometimes. She just assumed that Yorktown going to bed with her was part of some kind of deep training program.” Hornet shook her head. “Buuut, that’s a whole other thing. Mind if I wait with you?”
“There’s no telling if she’ll show up.” She hmmed. “…But I won’t stop you.”
Hornet giggled. “Thanks. I’m just waiting for Northie to show- I think she’d knock it out of the part if she found something fancy to wear, ‘cause you’ve seen what Massachusetts and South Dakota look like when they put on their duds, right?”
“It’s… Difficult to forget.” She said. As much as those two were mainly focused on their strength and protecting others, those warrior women also looked splendid in their formal wear. Some might say it was almost unfair to everyone else. “As much as they feel out of place wearing such things, it’s easy to see them turning heads.”
“Ahh, yeah, I know, right?” She blinked. “So… Who are you waiting to see, anyway?”
“Hm?” She didn’t even hesitate. “…Just staying a moment to see if Implacable shows up here. It could go either way- Either she doesn’t find a setting like this to be intimate enough, or she isn’t worried about making a spectacle.”
“Haha, I get it.” Hornet then stretched, Richelieu’s eyes darting over to watch the fit carrier do so. Richelieu was starting to think about Algérie’s words from before, and began to wonder who else she might have caught the eye of, if not Implacable. It was merely a thought exercise. “…But seeing as she’s part of the reason we’re even having this in the first place, it’d be weird if she didn’t. And she doesn’t exactly seem shy to you, right?”
Richelieu blushed a bit once more. If anything, Implacable might not feel she was being ogled enough. “That is true…” She took a deep breath as she thought about the ways that the royal carrier liked to draw attention to herself.
“Ahhh, I get it!” Hornet put on her widest smile. “…You actually like her, don’t you? Don’t even worry about what I think about it, just you do you, okay?” Her eyes roamed around the room. “Oooh, there’s Northie! See you later~”
Richelieu finally treated herself to her wine, and found a place to set the empty glass, and it wasn’t long after she finished up her drink that Implacable showed up.
The woman was still dressed in her own version of a nun’s getup, and it was under the light of the ballroom that Richelieu finally registered exactly how bare the carrier’s outfit was. The woman’s detached sleeves made it look like there was far more dress than was actually there, in the front, in the side, in the back… All around. There was some formalwear that the others favored that could be just as scanty, but tonight her focus was Implacable.
And Implacable returned the favor.
She smiled, and walked over to Richelieu with that eye-catching sway to her hips that even Richelieu couldn’t really resist watching, if only because of how naturally it seemed to come to the woman, and she seemed to make her way across the room as if there wasn’t even a crowd at all. It didn’t take much more than an effortless stroll for the voluptuous carrier to find herself in front of Richelieu. “Hello again~. Fancy a moment, or his her lovely holiness already spoken for, as far as the evening goes?”
“I think I’m willing to give you more than a moment.” She smiled. “I thought that if you chose to show up, I might have your company?”
She giggled. “Oooh, has her holiness gotten a taste for courting scandal? If so, consider me an eager participant.”
“It’s not something that should be as scandalous.” She shrugged. “If they see it that way, then there’s going to be some very pointed preaching in everyone’s future.”
Implacable took one step closer. “Mmm… You’d do something like that for my sake? How sweet of you. I knew you were a kind person.”
Richelieu’s blush remained small but became a darker shade of red. “It’s… It’s not just for you, it’s for anyone that follows you that may seem a bit odd in some way to others. If being around you was sinful, that would have some rather earthshaking implications for the foundation of the faith, considering the company kept by our savior in his living ministry.”
“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” She looked at Richelieu. “Now… Won’t you make me your date?”
“Of course.” She put an arm around Implacable’s waist, and she felt the carrier shiver in delight under her touch. It was impossible to avoid touching bare skin no matter how she chose to hold her companion, so Richelieu decided to just go with it- After all, it did seem to be the kind of touch that Implacable wanted. The carrier even briefly snuggled up to her.
“Ahhh… It feels like you wear gloves all the time to keep your hands warm for others… I like it~”
The cardinal couldn’t help giving the carrier a friendly squeeze. “Thank you… I want every part of my presence to feel welcome.”
“Ahhh~. But don’t worry, it’s not like I’ll post a review all over Juustagram of her holiness’s warm, graceful hands.”
Richelieu went around the room with her date in tow, the cardinal giving the usual greetings while Implacable would give a little wave to whoever the cardinal ended up talking to. It wasn’t long until Seattle and Southampton got the band in tune, and Implacable tilted her head to listen. “Ahh… People here always seem to make such lovely music of all kinds. I wonder how many of us share this gift. But, I wonder what you will do?”
“The only thing to do in a ballroom, when there is music appropriate for the room.” She took one of Implacable’s hands in hers, and led her onto the dance floor.
It became very apparent that her partner wanted to hold her close. Or be held close. One of those. But either way it resulted Richelieu being pressed by Implacable’s substantial curves, and she had to steel herself to avoid looking like she was getting hot and bothered by the physical friendliness of her dance partner. She wasn’t entirely successful, wearing her blush the full time they were together on the dance floor.
The carrier giggled. “Hehe… People are looking. But you don’t seem to mind.”
Richelieu shook her head. “I don’t think I can bring myself to believe that anyone would mind. Besides, if they want to misunderstand me, then they are free to do that. I can always educate them later.”
“Oooh… Well, I’m sure you don’t plan to educate them the same way that Chapayev might.” As close as they were Implacable was taking great care not to step on her partner’s feet. ”Mmm… Everyone has their own reason for pursuing physical touch… Now, what’s yours, that you would hold me this close? You didn’t even flinch for a second.”
Richelieu cleared her throat. “I won’t say I haven’t been curious, but in your case it seems to give you comfort, and, like the others here, I want you to be able to live a fulfilling life. And this seems to be at least a part of what that means to you.”
The carrier then leaned in. “If I were to offer myself to you, then, would you accept it, no strings attached?”
Now, that is what it took to turn Richelieu extra red, and she shook her head quickly to regain her famous composure. “Ah… That’s a heavy question to ask.”
Implacable giggled. “You don’t have to answer it now, of course, but there may be a time when you’re going to have to have an answer ready on your lips… One way or another~” Implacable then decided to discreetly grind her hips against Richelieu, mixing it so easily into the dance that the cardinal really was the only one who knew it had even happened.
Richelieu was now completely wound up, her heart beginning to outrace her head. As much as she was off the clock at this time, she wasn’t about to let someone fluster her without a response, as well as let this woman know she wasn’t going to surrender the initiative to a foreign carrier. She breathed in, and gave Implacable a kiss on the lips in front of everyone. Implacable shuddered in a mix of surprise and joy, and Richelieu pulled back, only really registering what she had done after the fact.
It did have the desired effect, though, and Implacable put on a warm smile of her own. “Ahh~ I know that wasn’t your answer, but… I still feel as though I’ve been blessed by her sweet holiness. I’ll remember that, when I think to give you some blessings of my own.”
After that, Implacable decided to let Richelieu take the lead on the dance floor.
-----------
The rest of the party proceeded largely the same from there. Queen Elizabeth gave a speech, as it was a privilege of her position, and it wasn’t that much different than speeches Richelieu had heard before from any kind of leader she could name. But she wasn’t really done with her companion, and the reverse also seemed to be true.
“Not interested in calling it a night?” Richelieu began.
“No, not yet. I just wanted to have time with you away from the crowd- All to myself, perhaps.”
Richelieu walked along with her. “Nothing wrong with that. It’s no problem with me to have you as company.”
“Ahh… You made that quite clear.” She put her hands behind her back, and kept her eyes on Richelieu. “I think I’ll walk you home, and leave at that. As I said, there’s no need to rush.”
“Of course.” She smiled. “It’s unusual to meet someone like who’s willing to take their time.”
Implacable giggled. “Are you disappointed?”
“Not at all… I’d guess you’re just as curious about me as I have been about you.” She had a stretch. She did want to just lay down after a socially demanding evening. “…And I don’t think I’d respond as well if you walked into my church and decided to ask to just jump into bed with me.”
“It’s true, I wanted to know more about you.” She said. “I wanted to know what made you flustered, how fast your heart beat when you were in close company, and more besides, slowly enough to savor every little bit I learned.” She gently bumped her hip against Richelieu. “I was happy to just soak in everything I could find about you.”
Richelieu found herself putting her arm back around Implacable’s waist. “You know you make me blush… And as for that question you asked, I don’t think I’ll have an answer for you until something like that happens. But… I think I would like to find out together, once you’ve found out everything you want to know about me.”
She gave Richelieu a kiss on the cheek. “Mmm… For now, my curiosity is satisfied… We’ll see about everything else later.”
The two of them parted ways once they reached the Iris dorm, but they would not remain apart for long.

“Is that so? Okay… But that’s kind of lame. Here goes the roulette… \rolling sounds*”* … … “Aaaand the result is…The Haunted Mansion! (Wow, I can't believe some people are so incompetent at making decisions they leave it to somebody else. How embarrassing.) Anyways, head to that place now.”
The group immediately started to move towards where the location was at. They closed up the map and made their way over, all the while Satsuko pointed out various attractions, booths, and games he showed interest in. But as much he begged to try them out, the group wanted to focus on getting to their destination.
The route to the house didn’t take long, arriving at a big and tall building that looked old and unsturdy. It was painted in colors of black and dark purple, resembling an old western house. Above the house was a dark thundercloud that simply floated above, looking as though it would rain down any given moment, or strike the ground with thunder and electricity.
“Well, it definitely looks like a haunted house.” Sumireko said. “But it kinda looks like something that my old high school would make for Halloween.”
She pointed to the yard of the house, which was filled with cardboard cutouts of spooky ghosts, rickety signs with red paint written on them, and a poor attempt at creating a corpse using a mannequin and toilet paper.
"Looks like someone ran out of budget for the outside decorations. Heh." Mary said, examining one of the cutouts."
Suddenly, music that sounded like the kind belonging to the public domain began to play, and the sound of thunder cracked, while strobe lights flickered on and off. A voice of unknown origin started speaking in a deep and menacing voice.
“Muahahaha!!! Who dares arrive at the front of my domain!? You dare enter, you foolish humans!?”
“EEP!!!” Satsuko jumped from the voice, quickly grabbing onto Mary for safety.
“I am Dark Madness, the scourge of the gates of hell, the king of savage, the ruler of the anti-dimensions! Should you enter I assure you will face my wrath, you will cry for your parents to come pick you up after you wet yourselves!”
“Ahhh!! No! He sounds so scary!” Satsuko said.
“That’s scary???” The others thought.
“I can already tell you’re all shaking in your boots! As expected!!! I recommend you turn back around before you walk into your own graves! But if you heed my warning and enter regardless, then best of luck to you all… But not like you’re going to need it anyways since you’ll all be DEAD!!! MUAHAHAHAHA!!!”
The voice stopped and it became quiet. Satsuko was still shaking with tears while the others could only think about how odd the voice sounded.
“It almost sounded like they were using a voice filter.” Sumireko said. “Also, walk into our own graves? What kind of nonsensical script were they reading off of?”
“Well, we still need to go in and complete whatever challenge the host made for us.” Meiling said.
"Let's hope it's not as disappointing as this presentation." Mary said.
The group passed through a gate that indicated the entry, labeled with a somewhat poorly scribbled sign that said: "ENTER TO GET TERRIFIED"
"...so…dark." Satsuko muttered.
The door to the house looked as old as the rest. Sumireko reached to open the door when it opened up by itself, very, very slowly. In fact it was so slow that she got annoyed and pulled a Suika by kicking the door all the way open.
“If you’re going to open it by yourself, at least do it faster!” Sumireko shouted. The four then went inside the haunted house.
Inside was dark and hard to see due to lack of lighting. All they could see was a narrow hallway that went down a straight path, lined with various doors of different shapes and designs. They tried a few of the doors, but it was obvious they were fake after a quick attempt to open a few.
“Fake doors, oh wow, how scary.” Sumireko said with sarcasm. “Someone should take notes.”
“Well, I do have to agree with you on that.” Meiling said. “Though I feel like that’s because we all got out of a situation that was similar but more dire at the same time.”
They headed straight down the hall, reaching a corner that forced them to turn to their left. As soon as they all turned the corner something came out of the ceiling tile and fell in front of them. A few of them let out small gasps of fright, but only Satsuko shrieked in terror.
"W-what is that?!?" Satsuko asked.
It was a humanoid figure, a sack was over their head, their body was hung up by their neck with a rope. A red liquid looked to be dripping out from their fingertips, landing on the floor. At first glance it looked real, a sight to dread. But as they took a second look, it soon came to their realization that it was simply a mannequin covered in ketchup and lingering with a putrefact scent coming from it.
"It smells…really bad!" Meiling said. She carefully opened the jacket, revealing the nasty source: a piece of extremely decayed meat.
"Ugh! Get this off here!" Sumireko said, sealing her nostrils with two fingers.
“Ah, so you all have found one of my many victims? You must be petrified in horror. Maybe you all should turn around and leave before you end up exactly like this unlucky fellow.”
"Yeah, count on it" Mary said in a sarcastic tone. But before she could take a step further, she felt something tugging her dress. It was Satsuko, who was looking at her with a frightened expression, and teary eyes.
"I want to get out…Auntie…I'm so scared…" He said in a shaky tone.
“A…A…A-A-A-A-A–A-AUNTIE!!!!!????” Mary thought, her mind exploding with a flood of emotions. She certainly didn't expect that, and wouldn't particularly mind if it was another child, but to add insult to injury, it was her own wielder…in a regressed version of himself.
"Wait, i'm not your-"
Another ceiling tile collapsed behind the others. Satsuko quickly hugged Mary even tighter than before, shrieking with terror. The others however, were displeased with what they witnessed falling.
It wasn’t another fake mannequin pretending to be a corpse, no. It was a pile of dirty laundry.
“Dirty…Laundry?” Sumireko said.
“Muahahaha! Feast your eyes on such a horrible sight! The fear that all of you must be feeling, the pain your minds bear from looking at the smelly socks, and shirts with holes in them!”
Everyone didn’t know why dirty laundry would be considered scary in the slightest. Sure, it looked a little disturbing, but nothing that would exist in someone’s nightmares.
“Okay, let’s just keep moving.” Meiling said, pushing past the hanged corpse. Sumireko followed while Mary had to carry Satsuko with her due to the boy being too terrified to follow.
"Now that I think about it…I have a clue of how the so-called owner of this place is." Sumireko said.
They continued throughout the mansion, encountering more jumpscares and things that were supposed to be scary. They got things such as cold lunches, an F on a homework assignment, and a clothing store that had a sign next to it saying they’re forced to go shopping. Occasionally they got something that made them gasp or be startled when they saw it, such as a spike pit one of them almost fell into, a swinging axe, and a body bag leaking with maggots. But upon second glances it was revealed that the spike pit was made with pool noodles, the swinging axe was foam instead of metal and the body bag was actually a bunch of stuffing, and the maggots was cooked pasta.
On the other hand, Satsuko stuck his face on Mary's chest, trying to avoid seeing the things that the rest of the group considered not scary.
"I'm getting tired of this, honestly. Where is the exit?" Sumireko said.
“Maybe that door would lead us out of here.” Meiling pointed to a door that was close by. The door in particular however was covered with caution tape, fake locks, and several signs and warnings to not go in or face extreme consequences. That was without a doubt the door they needed to enter.
"Oh, you know what? Fuck this." Sumireko said, kicking the door down in frustration.
The door broke off its hinges, collapsing on the floor. The group walked into the apparent dark room, unable to see anything inside.
“Oh great, a dark room. I wonder what will be jumping out of the shadows this time?” Sumireko said with sarcasm. She walked forward, only to be genuinely startled by the sight of blue-colored flames igniting a meter away from her. “Oh geez! What in the!?” She shouted.
“Hahaha… Ahahahaha… AHAHAHAHAAAA!!!”
A large object appeared within the blue ring of fire, taking the form of a large skull with flames coming out of its eyesockets, snakes falling out of their mouth each time their jaw moved, and somehow was quite expressive. Sumireko, Meiling and Mary all sensed the figure being more threatening than what they believed. Satsuko only became more terrified, latching onto Mary with the grip of a bear.
“Welcome… To your doom!!! I am Dark Madness! I have come from a dimension where there only existed pain and agony. I was born with a terrifying curse that caused me to incinerate anyone who got close to me! You all should fear my power!!!”
Meiling stood in front of everyone else, getting into a defensive pose.
“Oh? What’s this? You dare challenge me? Surely you must not understand what I am capable of. I have conquered realms far more powerful than yours, defeated beasts of omnipotent force, harvested forbidden knowledge that added to my strength. You are but a fool if you think you stand a chance!”
Meiling kept her pose up, but it wavered as the skull continued to speak. She felt a lingering horror trailing down her spine, while the feeling of heat coming from the flames in front of her. The others were concerned on how to face this kind of threat, when Sumireko noticed something that stood out.
A green curtain that was over on the left side of the room. It wasn’t anything special, but its placement seemed quite off. She moved over to the curtain while the skull continued to speak. She reached over and pulled the curtain open, revealing a large machine, and a familiar looking figure standing by.
“You will all fall! You will all be destroyed once I use my-” The figure stopped, realizing something was wrong and turned around to face Sumireko. And her thoughts were correct, as it was another variant of Satsujin, except they were shorter and looked quite young, not as young as Satsuko, a bit older actually. His eyes were colored brown and gray respectively.
“I knew it.” Sumireko said, folding her arms.
The figure froze, unsure how to respond. They took the mic they were using to control the skull, and said. “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”
There was no response. The group continued to stare at him, with a disappointed expression, except for Satsuko.
"It was…fake?"
“Yep, it was.” Sumireko said. “And it’s all thanks to… whoever this person is.”
Realizing that their cover had been blown, the teenage Satsujin quickly got desperate, and started to speak in a peculiar way.
“So…You have all figured it out.” He said, a hand close to his face. “The skull was merely a diversion I made in order to make you all drop your guard. The real opponent you face is me…Sateen!!!” He said in an edgy manner.
The others stared blankly, including Satsuko who had no idea what he was talking about. Mary on the other hand started to laugh, while Meiling showed disappointment.
“Sateen?” Meiling asked. “What kind of name is Sateen?”
“Shut up! It’s a cool name! It fits my dark and tortured personality! You wouldn’t understand the life I had!” Sateen said in an edgy tone. “Anyways…If you want to defeat me… You’ll have to beat my challenge!”
“And what’s the challenge?”
“You’ll have to come up with the darkest and edgiest backstory you could think of! If you can beat me then I’ll give you what you want. If you lose… then you’ll be trapped in an ever-spiraling tunnel of life and death! You will feel your soul leak out only to be pulled back in over and over, with no hopes of escape!”
“...”
Everyone was quiet. They all thought that his idea for a challenge didn’t seem too hard, especially considering what most of them had already gone through within a span of less than a week.
“Oh, and I will personally judge you on how edgy your backstory is. If it isn’t edgy enough, then you fail the challenge.” He added. “Let’s have you start, China.” He pointed at Meiling.
Meiling felt triggered, almost wanting to bash the kid’s skull in for the nickname. But she held back knowing violence will not get them anywhere at this current moment.
“Very well… You wanna know my backstory… Well I shall tell then.” Meiling said with a smirk.
"No, I have a better idea. Let Sumireko say hers."
“Wait…What?” Meiling said, hearing the voice speak. Mary and Sumireko were also confused.
"I know some things about her that you don't. Let's just say she used to be like him as well."
They looked at Sumireko, as she started to look the other way. “Um…T-that was a long time ago. Besides, I’m an adult, I’ve outgrown that phase.” She said.
"Yeah, that's why I need you to act like a nerd again. You are the only one here who can speak his same language."
“Can’t I just…Not embarrass myself?”
“Someone is trying to deny her past... You can do this… Unleash your inner chuunibyou.”
Sumireko shook her head in denial.
"Let's raise the stakes higher. If you manage to convince him to give up, I'll give you a reward later."
“...Ugh…In the name of Hakurei…” She had eyes on her, she knew what she had to do but mentally she was hesitant. Sumireko pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking about how awkward she’s going to feel, while Sateen started to get impatient.
“Well? What are you waiting for? Unless you’re actually a coward who already admitted defeat.” He said.
Bearing no other choice, Sumireko stepped forward, lifting her cape and showing a small display of her psychic powers by lighting a large flame behind her. She formed a pose, raising her arm to draw near her face while resting her arm on the other hand.
“My name is Sumireko Usami! Queen of the Occult! The Master of Psychokinesis! The Dweller of Gensokyo and the Outside World! I have been born with these powers that only manifested around Middle School! Though my powers are great I struggle in holding back for I fear of harming others! I have faced monsters, deities, and creatures of many shapes and sizes! I have suffered through the fires of hell and the taste of direct magic! I survived an encounter with a phone call from Mary and avoided being crushed by falling earth! If you dare face me, then you will face the terrifying power of a former high school student!!!”
What she said sounded both intimidating and cheesy. Sumireko stood there in silence, everyone looked at her with surprised faces that looked like they had nothing to say, nothing to show. The Psychic girl herself started to blush upon realizing that what she just said sounded very stupid.
“Oh god…I sounded like an idiot!!! I knew this was a bad idea. Why did I go through with this? This is exactly why I outgrew this phase!” Sumireko thought.
“Wow…So…cool…” Sateen said, amazed by Sumireko’s pose and self-introduction. “To think that a woman of such power has existed… A goddess even.”
“...Eh?” Sumireko’s blush faded, replaced with a look of confusion.
“...But that’s not enough. You were close, amazing even. But you need something more in order to impress me.” Sateen said.
"And guess who is behind you…" A voice said behind Sateen.
"It's me, the one and only…Mary!!!" Mary said, doing a cool pose with her blade. “I have been crafted by a legend along with my brothers and sisters, only to have been forgotten. I have been used in the name of blood and vengeance, but also sadness and misery. I swore to protect the boy I love, even if I were to forsake myself and my life in his name.”
“Woah…That’s also cool.” Sateen said. “Not as cool as the other girl, but still.”
As if feeling like she didn’t want to be left out, Meiling also joined in the fray, taking one of her usual fighting poses. “My name is Hong Meiling! I am the gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the loyal guard of Remilia and Flandre Scarlet, the friend of a time-stopping maid and a 1-week magician! I grew up in Ancient China where I trained in martial arts! I left in order to find my purpose in life, only to face obstacle after obstacle. Through blood, sweat and tears I broke through those obstacles, leaving behind a bloody past!”
“Cool…” Sateen was also impressed by Meiling. “You are all so cool.”
"…But I will never be like that…" Satsuteen said, lowering his head.
"I'm worth nothing."
The others looked at him with concerned faces. The off-voice proceeded to explain the situation.
"One of Satsujin's desires was to be worth something. Years of mental abuse led him to this constant cycle of apparenting to be something good…only to fail loudly at it. This led him to experience a deep depression, and altered his own way of being. He became bitter and pessimistic, always blaming himself for not being able to fight back. But he did enjoy the little things in life, like going to visit his grandmother, eating dinner with his young brother, or even something as simple as eating chocolates. This is the physical form of his teenhood."
“So that’s why he’s…” Sumireko paused mid-sentence, thinking about how it makes sense now.
Sateen looked like he was gloomy, brooding with his thoughts and expressions, staring down at the floor and his hands. But he clenched them into fists, looking back up at the others with a different look compared to before.
"...No…I can't keep being like this…I have to be better…better…" He said, with a bitter expression on his face. He opened one of his hands, and a weapon manifested around his grip. Long like a spear, but the blade was cured and one-sided, making it a more unique weapon. He swung it forward, taking a stance as though he was in the spotlight for the moment. “This is my Spear of Acies! A powerful weapon that was crafted using the horn of a Qiongqi, sculpted by the hands of Hades’ bare hands, designed by the unholy priestess of hell! It’s power has the ability to slice down mountains in half, obliterate the souls of even the purest of living creatures! Only I have the strength to wield such power, even if it drains me in the process and turn me into a hollow corpse! I shall use it to express myself, and show you all what I’m truly capable of!!!”
He leaped into the air, twirling the weapon so fast it formed a circle. He spun around three times in two different directions before he landed back on the ground. He dashed right forward towards the group, chanting his ultimate special attack.
“Titan’s Wrath “Destruction of the 83 Moons of Saturn”!!!!!”
But then out of nowhere, as he was a second away from unleashing his attack. His foot slipped on the ground, causing him to fall forward and splat right on the floor. His weapon flew out of his hands, landing only a few meters away from him and the group.
Mary reached for it, and after a quick inspection, she said:
"This spear looks like it was sharpened with stones. Do you actually know how to sharpen something like this?!? The edge is all messed up, cracked, rusty and…"
She looked at Sateen struggling to get up. Or rather, he wasn’t trying to. He was too focused on holding back his tears while the sound of his sniffling was picked up.
“Damn it… It was going to be… so cool.” He said while his voice cracked.
"So much effort…for nothing."
"Why?!?! Why does it have to be just me, the one who always gets the bad impression?!?"
Mary realized that he was actually hurt, torn even from the level of humiliation he received after all the build-up. The thought of going up to him and comfort him came into her mind almost immediately, call it maternal instinct even. However, Sumireko already beat her to the chase. The Psychic Girl walked over to Sateen, sitting next to him and quietly patted him on the shoulder.
“I know how it feels, kid.” She said. “We all have had our fair share of humiliation…But that’s only because the normos don’t know how awesome we really are. You may think you screwed up but in reality we were lucky that we didn’t get obliterated by your weapon of mass destruction.”
“...R-Really? You don’t think I’m a fool?” Sateen asked, glancing at Sumireko.
“Of course. From one Chuuni to another, we should have each other’s backs. Also, that attack name you came up with, that was such a cool name. You got any other cool moves like that?”
Sateen was shocked by many factors. But the two factors that mattered most were that 1. He had someone who could relate to him in his edginess. And 2. It was a girl of all people that was talking to him. A girl that is now taking a closer look, seems very pretty with those glasses, that short brown hair, that gentle and smooth skin. He quickly looked in the opposite direction, turning his entire body around.
“W-Well. I-I am glad that you are impressed by me. M-Most people would either cower in fear or tremble upon my might, but you happen to be one of the few who are able to withstand my intimidating aura.” Sateen said, internally he was panicking, thinking of what to say that could avoid him making a fool out of himself once more in front of such a beautiful girl.
Sumireko was a little confused on how he was acting now, but Mary knew better. She could tell how he was acting because Satsujin acted in a similar way once before with Mystia.
"I remember when Satsujin had an anxiety attack when he got his face revealed to his newmet friends. He was so scared that someone would make fun of his scarred face, but hopefully Mystia was there to calm him down." Mary said.
"And when she complimented him…he went red as a tomato. Heh…Good times."
Another minute later, Sateen felt better about himself thanks to the confidence boost from Sumireko. He stood back up, looking at everyone, including Satsuko and let out a deep sigh.
“You have all bested me… But that is only because I was using just 1% of my power!” He quickly added. “Because I know that you wouldn’t stand a chance against me if I didn’t hold back, I willingly accept defeat for now.”
As he said that, a small light glowed in the room everyone was in. Out popped into existence a small blue key with a red gem in the center, flying around until floating into Satsuko’s hands. Then it was followed up by random victory music.
“Congratulations! You have acquired one of the keys needed in order to unlock the entrance to the Tower of Reminiscence!”
“Wait, really? That’s all it took?” Meiling asked the voice.
"Yeah. Doing things not-violently is also a valid option."
“So, we just need to get the rest of the keys in order to go into the tower then?” Mary said.
“Looks like it.” Sumireko said. “I think the map said we had four locations, so if this is key number one, then we only need to get three more.”
"And as for me? It would be shameful for an omniscient entity like me to not fulfill their promises. Here's your reward."
\snap**
A strange-looking fruit appeared in front of Sumireko, which was reminiscent of a prickly pear's fruit , with a red and yellow color gradient across it. The surface of the fruit had a few marks in the form of veins, and the center of it displayed a skin fold resembling a closed eye.
“A fruit?” Sumireko said.
“Not just any fruit. This fruit gives anyone who consumes it enhanced power. Those who have devoured the fruit have grown both in physical and mental strength."
"Trust me when I say you would wish these weren't endangered to the point of near extinction. They have a godly taste."
“...Okay.” Sumireko said, biting into the fruit without a moment of hesitation. “Hm…Tastes very sweet and smooth."
"So, how are you feeling?"
“...Not that much dif-”
Sumireko paused, a flourishing sensation of psychic energy coursing through her body, her veins, her spirit. Her hair spiked up from the gust of wind that blew around her and against the others who surrounded her. It lasted for a few seconds before coming to an instant halt.
“...Woah.” Sumireko said.
"Oh, I should have said before that the effects kick in REALLY hard. Hehehe… Now…what if you try to read someone's mind now?"
“Read someone’s mind?” Sumireko said. “I don’t think I ever tried that before.”
"I'm not kidding, try it."
She did what the voice suggested. Looking over at Sateen, she concentrated with her mind a little, looking directly at him like how Satori would do it.
“Um…Why is she staring at me like that…Could it be that she has become impressed by my awesomeness? Maybe she wants to know more about my dark origin? No… Maybe it’s more than that!”
It worked, she was able to hear his thoughts. It sounded loud and clear as if he was actually speaking right now.
“No… Maybe she… in… with me… perhaps she would………”
But as she continued, her mind quickly turned foggy, and a mild headache ensued. She broke her connection with Sateen’s mind, shaking her head with slight fatigue.
“Ow… I guess I can’t do it for too long.” Sumireko said.
"The only problem is that you can do it on one person at once, but it's much better than having no control over it. And don't overdo it, or… you could cause yourself a thrombosis in the worst of cases."
After a moment to recover, Sumireko and the others decided to head to their next location. They pulled out the map, seeing one of the tokens that floated over the haunted house now gone, replaced with a little flag with a check mark instead.
"Please choose a new location to go. And no, no more effortless choices from now on, sorry."
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This takes place in a hotel. I was with the Ocean's 12 Gang and we had just robbed a hotel room and needed to escape using the elevators. However, we couldn't let the Pastor see us.
I told the Ocean's 12 Gang I'd make sure the pastor was in the chapel (which was right beside the elevators). I walk into the chapel and there's a funeral happening. I don't know what happened to the Ocean's 12 Gang, but from this point on, I didn't see them.
So, I go to sit with my parents who are sitting in front of the open casket of the old woman whose funeral it was.
I looked away from the old woman, and when I looked back she was facing my dad (still lying in the casket) while smiling. I can't remember if her eyes were closed or just weren't there at all. Regardless of the fact, she was smiling the most terrifying, bone-chilling, all-teeth smile. Now that this woman was facing us, it was apparent she was the late Queen Elizabeth II.
I said to my dad, "Aww, dad, look, she's smiling at you." But my parents didn't have the same reaction I did, they were horrified and confused.
My mother then told me, "Be careful at funerals where the casket is open because the corpse might get up and start running after you because the devil might be in them." Terrifying, right? That's not the worse part.
After she said that, I turned around, and walking right by me was none other than the devil himself.
He was all red, with black contours. He wore a black and red cape-like thing with tall red horns. I wasn't sure at the time if it was the actual devil or someone dressed as him. I've come to the conclusion that it was definitely the devil.
What does this mean?

Getting grazed by a bullet mechanic and a hard-core shooter.
So if I ever made a hardcore historical shooter a grazing the head thing would be cool. Basically if the player gets shot on the top of the head but not exactly his forehead. I have a feeling you will not realign die but just get grazed. After that happens you first person view makes a ringing sound for like 7 secs and you see red and the corner of your screen where you got grazed. Any thoughts on this idea? Keep in mind this is not for Arcady games like cod it’s for hardcore shooter

Now, as an aspiring writer, ideas are my lifeblood; however, lifeblood is useless without an actual body. At the end of it all, you just got a bag of blood stored in that noggin.
This leads to my next lesson: Expectations vs. Reality. We all have big projects, some that we're committed to for years, putting hours upon hours of work into it only for life/depression/procrastination to ruin everything and grind all that progress to a stopGODFUCKINGDAMNIT!
Sorry, I'm just lamenting lost dreams. Basically, it's okay to write stuff down; the big issue is actually doing something with it. So, I've learned over many years from elementary school all the way to campus-life that starting big almost never works unless you commit to it. This is why I decided to start writing short stories only recently, all the way back in 2021 when I started writing up play scripts outside of class. My biggest dream is to write cyberpunk novels/short-stories like Johnny Nneumonic, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Snowcrash, Necromancer, and Daemons. However, I also want to fuck Dolly Parton, that doesn't mean it's going to happen.
When starting out writing, you have to go small, uncomplicated, just set an Archetype, the setting, what message you want to tell, what action will happen, and write a seven to eight short about it. I like doing it this way because it allows you to form the characters as the stories go along; to make a big story, just set up several little stories that develop into a bigger world. By the time you've written eights shorts, you've got a fucking novel; however, I also don't continue writing things that don't motivate or interest me anymore. If you want to write an action story, focus on the action; here's an example:
Strasbourg, Sector 306, Fall of 2072
The Dodge Champion speeds through 18th Highway. I'm searching through the glove compartment for a change of boxers; incontinence sets in as I feel a burning-hot trickle of neon-orange piss flow down my pants and stain the cheap-leather prints of the Dodge-Champion 1986.
It's 9:43pm, and the coyotes howl with me as Clay floors it down to Oakville going 85 kms. The gas is probably worth more than whatever gangrene-filled excuse of kidneys I'm sporting, but I wasn't using them anyway. Pill-bottles fall to the car-floor like maracas playing a rain dance: a hash of midnight owl, 12 Oz. of pure hashish laced with a two drops of liquid ecstacy, a zip lock bag of gorilla-glue on-the-cheap, cocktails of NRG sprays (energy drink mixtures treated with a dime-bag of cocaine), and a prescription bottle of fxhyr and dexydrin.
"Jobe! Shut the fuck up!", Claye slaps me hard, but I can see him grinning like a hyena on spaz as he focuses back on the road. A light sting of pain shoots out from my cheek, mixing with the euphoria of the ⁹steal(theft?) and drugs; it's one thing to jack a suit's ride, but sniffing up his product makes for an edging of a gasm. "Watch-time, you beautiful bastard!", I nod groggily as I rifle around the back, forgetting the seat belt as I'm yanked back to sitting. Steadying my nerves, I focus behind and reach out for the com-tablet, clutching it's plastic casing as I fiddle around with the nobs to the police frequency.
"353 to all highway units. Report of GTA, two white males, speeding down Lewvan 18th Highway."
Shit. "Claye, we got Mounties incoming. Once you see blue and red, steady the Dodge while I get the Halberd." Jobe was shaking, whether from the narcos in his system, the speed of the Champion rattling his teeth, or the mix of fear and excitement as he began loading up the Halberd 75 with plaz-bolt., he couldn't tell...
End excerpt.
That's an excerpt from a book I'm working on called Wireharvest. A big project, but I've designed it to be low-maintenance. A basic Pulp-Fictionesque cyberpunk thriller set in Saskatchewan (or Sector 306 in the book) following two bank-robbing brothers, two mounties, a cyborg nun, and an ex-oil refinery worker turned whistle-blowebomber. Instead of focusing on one story and getting bogged down with the narrative, I like to mix it up and switch to other views whenever I think it'll make it seem interesting. That's the lesson: go simple. Pick the archetypes for what characters you want to focus on, the kind of genre you're going with, a basic overview of what the setting is, and just start fucking writing. No long brain-storm sessions, no workshopping the stories (Well maybe go to workshops, sometimes that does help), no bullshit. Just write up what comes to mind and leave it for a bit; the world-building will come naturally.
Anyways, I hope this helps you. If it doesn't, then maybe it isn't your kind of style. Maybe you think more visually rather than...wordy? I don't know, I'm tired. Go check out other people and study; invest yourself in the writing cauldron of creativity...this is starting to sound like a bad self-help book.

My fiance and I are looking to buy homes in DE as she is starting medical residency at a hospital there, and obviously this market is horrendous to buy in but we can't really change that (wish us luck as we submit our 7th offer). Through our search, there are a few homes we are looking at that are slightly lower in price, and I think it has to do with the fact that they do not have central air. For example, there's one particular home we are looking at that is 1750 sq ft, cape cod style built in 1940 that does not have central air, neither a/c nor heating. We would obviously want central air instead of window units for a home this large, but neither of us have ANY idea even where to start estimating how much it would cost to factor into our budget.
Long story short, obviously a true estime depends on the home and is a case by case basis, but is there any metric we could be using to roughly hash out what adding central air would cost to some of these homes? Average unit prices, installing duct work where there is none already, etc?. Anything would be helpful for us to try and weigh out all options to try and beat this awful market right now.
Thanks!

I'm not sure what fascination I had with the cathedral. Maybe it was the fact that it was old and had so much history. Maybe it's the fact that it was supposed to have already been torn down, and yet there it was. Untouched and lost to the sands of time. My hand gently touches the columns that still stand as tall as ever. Most of the cathedral lies in ruin. The only parts that still stand are parts of the roof, one or two stained glass panels, the columns, and the altar. I think the altar is what draws me in the most. It's heavy marble feels as smooth as ever. My eyes travel along its majestic design. Not having the slightest clue of what I'm truly looking for. However, there are no scratches, knicks, or even a small crack. It puzzled me because while everything else looked as if it were covered in dust or close to falling apart, here it stood. Untouched by time itself. I jerk my hand back as my index finger is cut by something upon the altar. I don't visibly see what it is that cut me, but I notice almost immediately what happens to my blood upon the ivory white marble altar. The best way that I could describe it is that the lines of the altar turned into a blood red color and the ivory white became an onyx black. A random woman grabbed my wrist tightly and continued to scream at me "What have you done? What have you done?! Do you realize what you've done?!" Her hand felt frail against my wrist. No matter how much I struggled to break free from her bony fingers, she just wouldn't let go. I looked at her in anger as I kept trying to escape. My anger turned to fear as I saw her. She was dressed as a traditional nun, but she looked to be crying blood and convulsing. Her jaw was open wide as she looked to be trying to gasp for air. She appeared as if she could hardly stand. I turned to what she was looking at, and in my horror, it felt like I was frozen with fear. It was like every muscle in my system shut down. There was a woman that floated above the altar. The nun let me go as she made the sign of the cross and began to pray. If there ever was a God in this cathedral, they left it a long time ago. "Child! Step forward." This woman in black commanded me. Her face was covered with a black veil and her black dress was longer than her. My eyes widened as I moved to her slowly. "Child, you mustn't do this! She can not be free-" the nun was interrupted by a force that neither of us could see. She threw up blood as she fell to her knees. The nun had one hand on her throat as if to try to stop the large amounts of blood that spilled from her neck as the other was a balled fist on the ground. I was grateful that the nun didn't suffer for too long, but guilt was written all over my face. I didn't kill the sister, but I felt like I might as well have. Had I just listened to the other villagers, Sister Molly Chapman wouldn't have died in such a gruesome manner. "I said step forward, boy!" The floating woman said in utter annoyance. I felt guilty as I had to walk past the only mother figure that I had in my life. Her corpse was permanently embedded into my memories as I walked up the broken stairs that led to the altar. "Do you know who I am?" She asked with her black gloved palms facing me and her covered face lowered as if to try to meet my eyes. "No ma'am. I do not." She floated down to me. She barely left three feet of distance between us. The closer she got to me, the colder the air felt, as if death itself was trying to make its presence known. "Do you know this cathedral and its history?" Again I told her no. "Long ago, this cathedral was used to worship God on Sundays. Just as any other church would. However, a great and terrible fire started from the basement. The people here tried to escape-" as she spoke, I could not help but to turn around and see that the once broken pews were full of people. The pews no longer looked broken, but the cathedral's atmosphere felt like it was slowly choking me. I couldn't see the eyes of the people, but all at once, they did not look at the woman in black or the altar itself. They stared blankly at me instead. "But they could not. For the doors were barred shut." The flesh of the people in pews began to burn away in front of me. "They tried to break the windows, but nothing was strong enough to get past the wood panels that were placed there. They tried the basement, but as you can tell, the flames prevented them from going anywhere near it." The more she spoke, the more the air felt heavier and heavier. I could feel their rage pour quickly into me. "I don't understand! None of you should be alive!" My eyes widened as they stood up from the pews. "We know." They said in unison. "And I'm here because they summoned me to get you" the woman said as visible rage radiated on their faces. Slowly they walked to me with fire in their hands as I tried to make a run for it. My foot got stuck into one of the planks. They came closer to me and I could feel the heat intense as I tried to wriggle free. Just as I freed myself, the lady in black dug her nails deep into my shoulders as I screamed in agonizing pain. The people were now only a few feet from me as they surrounded me. They did not speak a word as their flame coated hands…gripped me tightly. Without me realizing it, the lady in black allowed just enough gasoline to roll down my shoulders that it took what felt like minutes for me to burn…to death.