So I recently got the abs, visa, and brake light on my dash. Took it to autozone and they told me it was the driver side abs sensor. I picked it up and replaced it but while I did that I disconnected my battery hoping it would clear the codes but after I finished the lights are still on? Anyone know how to reset the codes without a scan tool or maybe anyone has some insight on to what else it might be?

Literally this started happening in February. One of our hens feet turned black and they fell off in April. I have knicknamed her stumpy. My wife wanted me to put her out of her misery but she now seems to be getting along. She mostly stays in the coop on nesting on the eggs but we make sure she has water and food nearby. She does hop around a bit and I’m actually waiting to see if she becomes more mobile.
I don’t heat our coop in the winter too much except having an incandescent light which was turning on at 4am and running until 9 am. It hit -40 just after Christmas but maybe it was frost bite? Any ideas what else it could have been that caused this?
Also, is there a way we could make her live better?

New house (2018) 1900 square foot
100 amp service.
15 amp breaker will trip, inconsistently. 2 separate circuits one on each side of the breaker panel, not side by side of each other either.
The following scenarios are intermittent. Which has been everything from 1 time a month, or even twice within 10 minutes. I can not get it to constantly happen.
​

1. All 3 outside outlets on 1 circuit. (1 front, 1 side, 1 rear); Using a 12/3 75' construction grade extension cord with a 12 amp weed eater can trip the breaker fairly common at least 1 trip each time I mow/edge, yet a 12 amp lawnmower has only caused it to trip once. The Weed eater trips on load demand (when I pull the trigger) Does not happen if plugged into side outlet that is 10 feet from metebreaker panel. (Or at least has not happened yet)
2. Same outlet at problem 1 using all 3 outlets. 4 - 100 ft Christmas led lights, 3 - 10 ft led fairy lights, 1 led snowman (probably 10 ft of fairy lights in it). 2 -25' extension cords. 1 - Digital timer. This will trip at least once a week with only 8 hours on time (4pm - 12). I removed the digital timer and it still happened about 1 time a week.
3. Computer room far side of the house, 48 feet from the circuit breaker (bedroom that shares bedroom next to it on same circuit, other bedroom is office with printer). 4 items plugged in. 1 Printer (90% of the time in sleep mode) not sure the watts used since its mainly off or asleep. 1 Computer @ 149 watt on and 23 watt sleep draw. 1 television @ 408 watt draw. Router at 10 watt. All 4 can be on for hours and not cause a trip. Yet at least once every 60 days a trip will happen. I have even woke up to a tripped breaker overnight when the TV was off, and all the other items in sleep mode. I can push the PC, be printing and the TV streaming for long 12 hour days without issue (Load pushing does not trip it)

Ok so question is this. Am I just overloading and this is normal or is there a risk/issue here I should seek more then internet professionals about.

In short (hopefully), I’m (35f) fully aware that I have a narcissist for a mother (65f). Her behavior has destroyed each of her 4 daughters (33f: GC, 35f -me: rebel child, 43f: most abused, current mediatothinks everyone should get along for the sake of family/is finally seeing the truth and setting boundaries, 47f: alcoholic and basically a narc mirror of our mother) we have all always had a very unstable family dynamic and have bounced back and forth between each other for decades, only speaking with certain people in our immediate circle and cutting off others for weeks/months/years at a time. We all have mental illnesses and struggles.
My mother tends to be very two-faced when it comes to all of her daughters, constantly talking shit about one to the other, and tends to pit us against each other. The current dynamic of the family has been a separation for the last 5 years, with only the two middle children speaking to each other and only the oldest/youngest speaking to each other. We basically all have a reason to hate the other side and our family is just ruined honestly, I don’t think there’s any hope for any of it ever being better or any semblance of normal.
Basically I’m just wondering, is the gossiping to/about your children narcissistic behavior? Or just her being a generally trash person?
Recently my nmom decided she was going to “suggest I take an anxiety medication on a daily basis,” and when I told her that I didn’t want her making suggestions about my life because we don’t have a mothedaughter relationship due to her being emotionally unavailable during my childhood and to keep it light, she went absolutely postal. She’s been trashing me and the other middle sister all over Facebook. Told the other middle sister that she’s walking out of my life, not attending my child’s 10th birthday party, basically accusing me of “wasting” the last 5 years, on and on and on. Zero self awareness, empathy, accountability, maturity.
I’m really considering going fully NC because I don’t want to put my kids through the whole jumping in and out of their lives thing and have them grow up with no sense of family security or understanding of unconditional love like I have.

I (30F) have been with my fiancé (35M) for 12 years. Let's call him Jack to make things less complicated. The first 6-7 years were rough but the last few have been okay. My biggest issue has been with his family.
I have had been belittled, ridiculed, and threatened in the past. More recently, I have been just made to feel like an outsider any time I go to their house. So, I told Jack the last time we were there (Christmas) that I would miss any more events they had but he was free to go and take the kids. I have plenty of homework or other things at home to keep me busy while they're gone.
Today, he mentions a kindergarten graduation party they are having for his niece. I tell him to go ahead and take our oldest and youngest. I could use the time to get some homework done (yay summer classes). He lights into me about how I'm being manipulative and selfish by not going because I know that if I don't go he won't because he will feel some kind of way. I tried to explain that I wouldn't mind being left behind and I could get caught up on reading and he's more than welcome to go. I also told him it was a boundary I had set months ago, which he acknowledged. He then told me to get dressed (I had just gotten out of the shower) and do whatever I want while he goes back outside where he was.
As I write this, I don't exactly see where I am in the wrong, but if I am, if someone on the outside looking in could explain what I'm not seeing, I would be very grateful and willing to apologize and go. I just don't see the point in me going there and feeling uncomfortable the entire time when I don't have to.
Am I the asshole?

I went in last week to get a lump on the back of my head checked out. The nurse tells me it could just be an infected hair folicle. It's been giving me headaches and it gets inflammed at times. Doc comes in and humorously announces, "Looks like, uh, skin cancer!" with a little smirk. "We need to schedule the specialist, teleconference, they'll call you to set it up." The Doc and nurse just look at me with a blank face that says "Okay, go away now." My stomach turns and I start feeling light headed, I repeat what he tells me, "So I just wait for them to schedule me an appointment?" "Yeah." So I waited for a whole week for the scheduler and no call, then I get a letter on June 1st, dated May 25th, that says something like We've been unsuccessful in trying to contact you, please call this number to setup your specialist appointment or you will have to get a new referral. I was waiting all damn week. Anyways I set up an appointment and its at the end of June. Almost a whole month after the Doc told me I might have skin cancer. Lesson learned, I can't wait on the VA to take care of me, I'm 100% and it just feels like crap.
On Christmas Eve I had a mental health appointment online, waited for an hour, but my provider didn't show up. Called behavioral health and they said the Doc called out until holidays were over. No notice, nothing. It was a hard Christmas Eve alone, with my thoughts. That's when I lost faith in VA healthcare. I never have ideations, in fact I'm really driven to be successful as of late.
Anyways, if you have something wrong, call them fucks. Don't wait for them to make the first move.
Edit: spelling.

TLDR: Was raised in an abusive household, parents and culture disagree it was abusive, I want to cut contact, WIBTA for going NC without explaining anything?
I (39F) was raised in an "abusive but with good intentions" household, where my culture and parents still don't think anything was abusive at all. My family was relatively wealthy, so I was extremely privileged, and I will forever be grateful for the fact that they did raise me the best way they knew how, considering they weren't taught how to regulate emotions themselves.
Yesterday, I had a discussion with my dad (~70M) about his mentality that emotions are choices. As a child, whenever I came complaining to him about something, he would tell me, "It's your choice to be sad about it. If you want to wallow, that's okay. It's also your choice to move on and be happy." Of course nobody wants to choose to be sad, so I got really good at pretending to "choose to be happy" instead.
When I had depression in my 30's, I didn't understand why I was constantly sad. I thought I just wasn't choosing to be happy hard enough. Finally, I got into therapy, and two years in, I can proudly say that I've made tons of progress. I'm doing it because I have two young kids and don't want them to go through what I did.
I was mostly speaking in hypotheticals when I was trying to explain to my dad that his mentality on emotions being choices was harmful. My dad kept insisting he was right, even when my sister stepped in to support me with more evidence. Finally, as a last ditch effort, I earnestly explained that his mentality contributed to MY poor emotional and mental health as an adult, and that I would really appreciate it if he stopped advising it.
My dad was my hero for as long as I can remember. I used to think he was the smartest, most understanding person in the world. I honestly would have just disengaged from the conversation a long time ago if I didn't care about him. I really thought he would listen to his daughter if I made myself vulnerable like that. Shockingly, he said he was sorry I blamed him for my issues (I don't, so he can't be sorry about that), but that he wasn't sorry for raising me the way he thought was best (so I guess he's not sorry for anything). I explained that I didn't blame him, and that I very much appreciated that they tried their very best. I said that I was simply trying to give a real case study of the way his words and mentality are harmful to show why he needs to please stop advising it, regardless of what he believes to be true.
Unfortunately, he doubled down on stance, emphasizing that we can't control what others say but can control what we choose do about it. I had no idea my dad was this prideful. My sister followed up by saying that if someone told her what I just did, she hopes her response would be more along the lines of, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. Thanks for telling me, that must have been hard. How can we move forward together?" And he just "liked" what she said.
At this point, it's clear to me that he values being right more than he values my feelings or well-being. I can't control what he says, but I can choose to stop listening and being around this toxicity. I've lived in constant fear and anxiety of my physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially abusive narcissistic mom (she was our primary caregiver while my dad worked) for 39 years; I've been thinking of going NC with her as a birthday present to myself for my 40th birthday this year. I just didn't know how to go about it while still trying to see my dad.
After yesterday's revelation though, I'm thinking it probably isn't worth it to continue seeing someone who doesn't value my feelings either, even though it's my ex-hero. It would probably be easier to just cut them both off at the same time. Going NC is unheard of in my culture and I'm sure I will get a lot of grief from their relatives and friends about how the Ten Commandments say to honor your mother and father or I'll regret it and all that stuff. They're going to think it was just over this one argument, when it's really about the missing missing reasons for nearly 40 years. Family therapy might be an option but I really don't want to spend another ounce of energy on them, nor do I think they deserve it or are entitled to it. I also don't want to have to explain any of this to them because again, I don't want to waste any more time or energy on them after nearly 40 years.
WIBTAH for just blocking them on everything without explaining anything?
What do I tell my kids who adore my dad?
What do I do if/when they just show up at my door for Christmas because they think they are entitled to my time whenever they want (they live in a different country and already have tickets without discussing anything with us)?

I (39F) was raised in an "abusive but with good intentions" household, where my culture and parents still don't think anything was abusive at all. My family was relatively wealthy, so I was extremely privileged, and I will forever be grateful for the fact that they did raise me the best way they knew how, considering they weren't taught how to regulate emotions themselves.
Yesterday, I had a discussion with my dad (~70M) about his mentality that emotions are choices. As a child, whenever I came complaining to him about something, he would tell me, "It's your choice to be sad about it. If you want to wallow, that's okay. It's also your choice to move on and be happy." Of course nobody wants to choose to be sad, so I got really good at pretending to "choose to be happy" instead.
When I had depression in my 30's, I didn't understand why I was constantly sad. I thought I just wasn't choosing to be happy hard enough. Finally, I got into therapy, and two years in, I can proudly say that I've made tons of progress. I'm doing it because I have two young kids and don't want them to go through what I did.
I was mostly speaking in hypotheticals when I was trying to explain to my dad that his mentality on emotions being choices was harmful. My dad kept insisting he was right, even when my sister stepped in to support me with more evidence. Finally, as a last ditch effort, I earnestly explained that his mentality contributed to MY poor emotional and mental health as an adult, and that I would really appreciate it if he stopped advising it.
My dad was my hero for as long as I can remember. I used to think he was the smartest, most understanding person in the world. I honestly would have just disengaged from the conversation a long time ago if I didn't care about him. I really thought he would listen to his daughter if I made myself vulnerable like that. Shockingly, he said he was sorry I blamed him for my issues (I don't, so he can't be sorry about that), but that he wasn't sorry for raising me the way he thought was best (so I guess he's not sorry for anything). I explained that I didn't blame him, and that I very much appreciated that they tried their very best. I said that I was simply trying to give a real case study of the way his words and mentality are harmful to show why he needs to please stop advising it, regardless of what he believes to be true.
Unfortunately, he doubled down on stance, emphasizing that we can't control what others say but can control what we choose do about it. My sister followed up by saying that if someone told her what I just did, she hopes her response would be more along the lines of, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. Thanks for telling me, that must have been hard. How can we move forward together?" And he just "liked" what she said.
At this point, it's clear to me that he values being right more than he values my feelings or well-being. I can't control what he says, but I can choose to stop listening and being around this toxicity. I've lived in constant fear and anxiety of my physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially abusive narcissistic mom (she was our primary caregiver while my dad worked) for 39 years; I've been thinking of going NC with her as a birthday present to myself for my 40th birthday this year. I just didn't know how to go about it while still trying to see my dad.
After yesterday's revelation though, I'm thinking it probably isn't worth it to continue seeing someone who doesn't value my feelings either, even though it's my ex-hero. It would probably be easier to just cut them both off at the same time. Going NC is unheard of in my culture and I'm sure I will get a lot of grief from their relatives and friends about how the Ten Commandments say to honor your mother and father or I'll regret it and all that stuff. They're going to think it was just over this one argument, when it's really about the missing missing reasons for nearly 40 years. Family therapy might be an option but I really don't want to spend another ounce of energy on them, nor do I think they deserve it or are entitled to it. I also don't want to have to explain any of this to them because again, I don't want to waste any more time or energy on them after nearly 40 years.
So how should I go about this?
Also, I hesitate because my two young kids adore my dad. They don't see him often (like once a year, and less recently because of COVID) and don't necessarily ask for him, but they get super excited when I tell them we're visiting or he's visiting. What will I tell them?
What will I do when Christmas comes? My dad already has tickets to visit because my parents just assume they are entitled to spend time with us whenever they want/can without discussing availability with us. (When I got married, we spent our first Christmas with my family, and told them we'd do the following year with my husband's family. My parents ended up inviting themselves to my husband's family's gathering in a different state/city for that second Christmas. And I'm sure they think that I'm supposed to be super grateful and feel super lucky that I got to spend Christmas with both sets of parents.)
Am I making the right decision???

Special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for allowing fanfiction and giving us Tilfish.
[First] [Prior] [Next]
.*~*.
Memory Transcription Subject: ? , run run run run run run.
Date: December 2, 2136
.~*~.
I'm tired. I'm so unbearably tired. I don't remember the fall or when my legs quit working, but I'm still denied the sweet release of sleep by the fires radiating from my muscles. It's sick and twisted, but I don't think I can move any more. I'm stuck here face down in the soil, unable or unwilling to do anything but wonder if a harvesting drone will roll over me and turn me into mist on the crops I'm lost in. My mouth itches. Some loose soil in my nose makes me hack, but there's nothing I can do but wheeze and pant. There's not a drop of moisture left in me. I'm all shriveled up. Everything's a haze.
I should've stopped for water. There was time. A few ponds that didn't look filmed over with vile algae blooms. The last town had a fountain on the outskirts. There were a few distant outbuildings that could've had a sink or a hose. Really, a few mouthfuls would've been enough to keep me from cramping up. Now I feel like I'm all dried out, like a stick of fruit jerky.
I should've taken a break. I've not been able to run in so long. I knew it was getting bad, but I ignored it. I'm paying for it now. I pushed way too far. Run until I black out. Wake up. Repeat. For days and days, or however long I've been free. I don't know. Every time I wake I can't tell if minutes have passed or days. I would push myself back to my feet and run. Because distance is all that matters. I made the right call avoiding the roads. The cameras. The soles of my feet are battered and wail in pain, but for every step I took was a minute longer I got to feel the sun kiss my scales and the gentle caress of the wind upon my neck. The cool soil seeping into my burning side. Fresh air in my lungs. Faint mist on my back.
I should've calmed down. I'm wasting what little time I have left stuck here in misery. I missed my chance to escape. My saviors were predators, but it would've been a better fate. And they're everywhere. Monsters and Predators alike. The whole planet is getting what it deserves. I made my choice, but now I'm squandering it. At least the soil is nice. Even as broken as I feel, it is only temporary. I know this is heaven. I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Even if my tongue is dried and bleeding.
I.
Just.
Need.
To.
Get.
Up.
no no no no no. Hurts. Hurts hurts hurts.
UP.
My body rebels. I settle on crawling. Dragging my tainted digits through the soil and forcing myself through the mud.
Puddle. Puddle Puddle Puddle.
I'm glad to be alive. I'm glad for this puddle. It's my whole world. I crawl to it as quickly as my body allows and beyond, but I'm too dehydrated to cry at the lancing pain in my joints. I slip and tumble into it face first, a cold shock making me freeze up. I don't even try to drink at first, my eyes closed as I lay partially submerged in this brackish water. It makes me feel slightly better as the cold gently eases my neck muscles, and I feel the rest of my body cramping up again.
Imagine drowning in a claw of water. I'm suddenly terrified that it's possible. I throw an arm out and dig it deep into the mud, clawing silt as I awkwardly pull myself in sideways. I roll, splashing the rest of the way in and feeling my poorly treated scales weep as the cold bleeds into them. I lay my head sideways and drink, gagging at the taste but unable to stop myself. I still can't cry, but my face is still trying to produce tears anyways.
In delirium, I notice the corner of a structure well above me. It's a pole, made of metal and towering well above me. Morning dew drips off of it and into my eye not currently submerged, and I blink it away.
Thank you pole. You're a life saver.
I don't plan on moving for a while, so I don't. The dew drips onto my snout several times, and my body rejoices at the cool water I've partially submerged myself in. The silt in my mouth is a necessary and tolerable evil from my desperate dive, and I angle my snout so that I can catch the fresh dew dripping from above instead. It tastes far better than the puddle, and for the first time in ever, I feel a smile creeping on my face.
.*~*.
I blink lazily, one eyelid operating a few seconds behind the other. I feel better. This blackout felt more natural, less forced. Like a gentle wave over my mind than the harsh crack of a baton. My mouth is still full of silt that I spit out, and a moment later I realize I can spit again. The bitter taste of blood in my mouth is faint now, and the joy of having a wet palate can't be described.
ow.
It hurts to move. I try again, but my flesh feels like it's been filled with concrete. My muscles are too tight on my bones. Stiffly, I try again, making little progress, but still progress. I edge out a claw at a time, barely getting my neck out of the pool before collapsing, the chilly waters leaving me shivering.
Where am I?
A very good question, I ask myself. I don't know. That's the cost of running without direction for so long. I think I'm in a field, judging by the crops looking over me and encompassing my wide vision of the vibrant sky overhead.
Yeah... that's it. I'm in a field. Brilliant observation skills.
I try again, but nothing new comes up. For the first time since I fled, I think about what I'm going to do. I'm free. I'm free. What am I going to do now that I'm free? How long do I have? I know the answer to that already. I have a long time. Everybody that knew me is dead and gone. I just need to be careful and not ruin this chance. I should try and find a town. Cities are too big, too many problems could come up. Too many exterminators. I could start over off the beaten path. Somewhere I can hide in plain sight.
This is Sillis. Being me shouldn't be an issue. I... I can get a labor job somewhere. Change my name. What can I do?
...
What can I do?
What is my name?
"Oh dear." I whispered quietly to myself, brows furrowing. Odd. How odd. I can move on from that. Makes starting a new life easier. Something that isn't four walls and a paper thin mattress. Something outside. I just... need to get... out of this darn puddle. No, still not happening. Ouch.
I splash my paw into the puddle in frustration, using about the full range of motion I seem capable of in a mild fit. I want to stay on the move, but the consequences of my poor decision making have come back to bite me right on the rear. At least I have some time to think.
I could try the lumber industry. That's usually away from people. I think I can figure out how to knock down trees, or at least fix up the machines that can. Maybe I can join a farm around here once I'm cleaned up. There's always something to do on a farm. Like counting shipments, or unloading shipments, or loading them. Maybe I can fix things around the property. Golly, I hope I know how to fix the automated machinery. That would really be nice.
Ooh! I could try and be a tram service maintenance operator. Wait, no no no. That requires background checks, I think. Darn it. Uuuh, road utility services? No, that'll take me into cities one way or another. There's a ton of work with drainage systems and water run off here. I could get good money for that since it's risky. Pollutants, constant thundering streams of water. I think I can go with that. There would be a lot of rural investigations that I could apply for. If not, I'm certain the underground construction projects would bear fruit. I'll miss the sun but nobody would bother me too much... no, still too many people. Drainage systems it is!
A faint whistle catches my ear and I freeze, tilting my head as something green flies just overhead. It clips several stalks and leaves as it passes, but seems unbothered as the severed branches fall to the ground and leaves gently cascade after. I follow its path with an eye and it vanishes between some tall plants, leaving me alone just as quickly as-
Nope, the same thing floats by again, darting between crops once more directly above me. It's odd, I can't hear wing beats or buzzing, or see anything keeping it airborne as it passed, and I wait with baited breath to see if it shows itself again. I don't know what I feel, but it isn't terror. It's... something. Curiosity? This time I hear a chirrup, but it's close. I don't see it float by, and painfully I crane my neck and look at the other side of the puddle.
It's an insectoid of some kind, strangely wide and flat. It looks pretty similar to the leaves on the many trees that I've seen since I got out, with uneven, tapered sides. It has a few pairs of legs, and it scuttles to the puddle and dips the front of its body towards the surface. It really does look like a large leaf, but my observation is cut short when the bug abruptly stops moving within barely a claw of the water, a pair of forward facing compound eyes snug against the stem near the tip of its body. It chirps again, and I see narrow maw under the front of this creature, a slim set of fangs briefly glinting in the sun before its mandibles hide them.
"Oh dear." I manage to whisper.
With remarkable dexterity it hops across the body of water and splashes down on top of me, and several legs grip my ribs and arms. My tail flicks under the water's surface, but I don't move as the thing's maw looms over my snout. A smaller set of feelers touch my scales and let it guide where it can't see, and it pecks at my nostril once. I smell ozone and feel a different fire burn in my core, and relax.
This isn't ideal. It really isn't. But it's still better that what once was. You won't hurt me for too long. You're better than they ever were.
Trading my cell for this... it's not that scary. Somehow, despite this predator straddling me and chewing on my snout, I'm not scared of it. I have alarms shrieking in my ears and ozone burning my nostrils and wrists. Bubbly poison twisting my insides and making me gag. I'm terrified of that, but that's long gone. That broken visage cuts deep, but it leaves me feeling empty. I'm alone with this thing pecking at my skull, occasionally chirping or hissing softly as it chews over my scales.
It's little mandibles flutter over my cheek and squish it, the fangs behind it pricking at my scales but never really puncturing. It's odd, almost exploratory. I hear a faint plip as some dew from the pole overhead drips onto the creature, and it leans back slightly to presumably look up. It lowers back down on me, and I wince as it gets a little rougher. It halts for a moment, mandibles still dancing over my scales, before I feel a set of legs slip past my arms and latch onto my back.
I grit my teeth, expecting it to finally lunge down and bite into my flesh as the rest of it's body tenses, but with a start it lifts me up with strength I didn't think it had. My back scrapes along the mud as it lifts me and drags me partially out of the muck. It lowers me down just as quickly as it started, leaving a bit of my upper body out of the water and in the warm air. I blink as it lowers its body down onto my own, legs tightening its grip on me as it presses itself against me. It chirrups again and resumes nibbling on my neck, and my mind absently puzzles over this change of events.
It's roosting on me. Is it my body heat? I feel cold, but maybe it's colder. I wish I knew what you were. I'm glad you're not really biting me. It tickles, stop!
I couldn't help but squeak out a laugh, despite the very present danger I was in. The bug tensed for a moment but didn't sink its fangs into my neck, and after a moment it resumed licking at me. Slowly, it's legs tightened on my body and it pressed itself against me further, and it hissed softly. I closed my eyes when it's maw pressed against me, but once again no bite split me open and drained my lifeblood. It's mandibles tickled my scales some more as the creature flattened out, the ridges of its body laying in the mud as it settled down. I was all but buried under the thing that was almost as big as me, and my tail swished lightly in the water.
Once again, I find myself stuck. I wasn't going anywhere anyways, but now I'm very stuck. Hopefully it doesn't get peckish. This thing could definitely eat me if it wanted to. It's funny that I'm supposed to fear it. All those training exercises failed. Every test and experiment. Maybe it enforced the wrong behavior. I think I might've been respectfully afraid of this creature once, but that part of me is all burned up. If it existed at all.
.~*~.
I've missed the novelty of clouds. Sillis has an overabundance of them, but so far I've been lucky that none of the ones passing overhead were angry. It's almost odd that no rain has come, but I'm glad. I faintly remember that the rains could become acidic if there's too long a pause between storms. Too much smoke or warp residue building up in the atmosphere.
So far I've counted two absolutely towering thunderheads and small storm systems roll by in all their stunning glory, and dozens of smaller offsets in their wake. Hundreds of individual clouds dot the skies, not quite blanketing it yet. It's pleasant, even within the grasp of a large, sleeping predator that's fully enveloped me. I can feel it's diaphragm shifting ever so slightly on my chest, and it twitches occasionally.
I don't mind. For now, things are peaceful. I'm enjoying that. At least, until something crunched a few rows over.
That sounds a lot bigger than this predator.
The creature shifts slightly but doesn't wake as whatever else is out there stalks through the crops. It has to be a predator, from how quiet it moves. Every little rustle and faint step happen far from each other, and my mind immediately jumps to an ambush hunter. Carefully, I move my head to catch a glimpse of the thing, trying not to disturb the slumbering creature that is currently resting it's mouth on my neck. My scales fade into a dirty black that matches the soil, and I squint to hide my eyes from whatever is out there.
There's movement on my left, something tall shifting between the crops a few rows down. I hear a rumbling noise- a deep based growl, and the back of my skull itches.
"...D-1?"
No no no no no. I don't want to go back. I want to be free.
I know what the thing is. It's a new predator. A sapient one. The same ones that freed me. The same ones that wanted to herd me onto a ship. I can't do this. Sapient predators are cruel, far crueler than the average ones. A normal predator wasn't personal about the kill. It could be reasoned with. Where did that come from? A sapient predator was ruthless for entertainment.
I owe them my life.
They'll just take it.
There's a rustle from a different direction, and a behemoth steps out of the crops far closer to me than I would prefer. It is armored like the many I've seen before, but I realize instead of a firearm it wields a bulky tool of some kind tightly in its paws. It dawns on me that it's colors are different, green and blue instead of solid blue, and there's a colorful flag of some kind pressed on the garments of its arm.
"Copy." It rumbled quietly.
"Crikey, you spooked me there!" the other predator whispered, changing course. Thankfully the closest one broke off to meet it, and they stopped one row over. It was best I stay still. Their hearing was better than they let on. "Okay, did you get it done?"
I can't see them clearly, but some non verbal communication must have occurred because the one predator continues speaking.
"Good. Look, trouble is coming. A fellow seppo noticed the ordinance went missing. He's suspicious. There'll be heat soon. Have you made any progress with the other front?" A pause. "Same. I've dealt with several of his goons, but none knew anything good."
"I'll have him tonight."
"...D-1?"
"An exterminator account and reversed polarity on some switches works wonders."
"...you seppos are terrifying."
"We're a world power for a reason."
"...yeah. Do you have the drive? Nice. You keep this up and we'll have everything we need from this planet before Christmas. We're going to make things right." There's an odd grunt, and one of them starts rumbling quietly in what translates as amusement. "Involved in peace. What do they really think this accomplishes?"
"Don't care. We find our whales and move on."
"Come on, we can have some more fun if we're careful! Don't act like that doesn't entertain you after that bomber plot of yours!"
"S-4," there's an undertone in that growl that makes my scales shrink, "remember the prize."
"...God, you're a hard ass. Fine. I'm certain you're carrying that giant wrench for peaceful reasons and not to crack open any skulls out here. I'll check the smuggling routes. Rig up something to keep these bugs under our thumb. You keep being you. I need to move before they notice I'm gone."
Faint footsteps leading away, and I sighed. While brief, just being around them made my scales crawl-
The crops right beside me parted, and the other predator stepped out. It's covered foot splashed into the puddle, and stirred the predator enveloping me. Much to my horror the thing chirruped and hissed, releasing me and spinning around. The apex predator looked down at the smaller thing and regarded it.
:)
The drawing on the mask was comical, and not at all what I was expecting. Most humans didn't wear masks, so blinding terror didn't sweep me away. I almost laughed at the absurdity of concealing one's face, only to make a lazy drawing of a face overtop of it.
The smaller predator didn't find it nearly as confusing or entertaining as I did, and hissed. The apex didn't falter, but surprisingly held its ground despite being threatened by a lesser predator.
Most predators would make a threat back and assert itself. Or lash out. What is this one up too? It's not acting submissive so it isn't backing down. But it isn't retaliating either. Does it need to? It's using it's own size as a deterrent.
My thoughts are interrupted when my toothy cover abruptly spins and flees, gaining air under its body and become airborne. It slashes through a row of crops and is gone, just like how it arrived. The apex still hasn't moved. It takes a few steps forward, nearing me. I can't tell if it's looking at me or not so I close my eyes tight, hoping that my eyes hadn't given me away. There's a thump right beside me and I flinch. I can feel it's presence. It has stopped walking.
It knows. Somehow it sees me. It knows it knows it knows.
Something warm grazes my neck and I flinch again, despite myself. I can't do it. I don't want to die with my eyes closed. I want to see the sun and the clouds and the crops, not this faux darkness.
I open my eyes and it's right there, crouched over me. I can't bother with wasting my energy by screaming. It saw through my camouflage and had a paw to my neck. I wished it to be merciful and just strike me down with the wrench it brought, but it doesn't. Instead it plunges its paw into the water, under my rump. It rips me out of the water and I gasp as its other paw slips down under my shoulders and lifts, but my mind catches up a moment later when it pressed me against it's chest instead of its mouth, forsaking my exposed stomach. It's grip loosens slightly and it adjusts, an arm under my shoulder blades and legs. I can feel the muscles rippling in it's grip, and how easily it could fold me over backwards and squish me. I've seen it first hand.
But it's so gently. So unbelievably gentle. I don't remember the last time I was touched like this. Something in a dark recess of my mind wavered, and I realized I'd curled my tail around the creature's arm without meaning to. It holds me a little closer, nowhere near enough to hurt, and my scales start to change to match the colors it wears. It's not looking at me, the mask is angled too far up. We're moving at a blinding pace suddenly, the rows of crops blurring in my vision. It doesn't stop. This apex runs like a machine, each breath consistent and calculated to a rhythm I notice. Its breathing labors but it keeps going, warm jets of air spitting out the bottom of its mask and onto my soggy, damp form.
It's so warm. I didn't realize the chill of the water until now but I'm shivering. My body takes over for my confused mind and curls into the predator's grasp, trying to get as much warmth from the human's rough garments as I can. I don't know what's come over me. I don't know where it's taking me. I don't care. I can't escape it, and if this thing kills me it was at least kind enough to be gentle.
The skies are so beautiful. I try and focus on them but all I can really see is the predator's mask. I can see the bottom of it's jaw, the taught muscles there. I dread what its face looks like in this moment under that mask. Its digits tighten on my shoulder and side in response to me curling into it, and absently I wonder how this predator is the same as the ones from days ago with their thundering bellows and ruthless firepower.
The apex thunders out of the field and I'm assaulted by new sights. There's a few dozen of them roving around a clearing by several vehicles.
I also spot an Exterminator's van, and my claws unsheathe. The predator winces and I realize I've nailed him with them, but he doesn't throw me down or bark at me. He sprints by the van without stopping, but I see several Tilfish locked inside and doomed to a terrible fate worse than being eaten.
"Ambulance!?" It barks sharply, out of breath. It skids to a stop beside one of the transports, clutching me firmly.
"Just left with the patient. Where the hell did this one come from?" An unmasked predator growled, eyes beady and looking over me. Mine made an odd jerking motion and continued.
"Get Doc."
"I will. What hospital are we calling?" The thought of a clinical space makes me flinch. White walls. White floors. Cold tiles. Needles. Beeping. Humming. Frying.
"None. Operational security."
The other predator screwed its face up and departed, and abruptly mine was sitting down on the back of one of the trucks. Gently I was plopped down on its lap, and I watched transfixed as it peeled its armor off, then its outer garment. There's an image of a veiled human on the back with its eyes closed, head craned down. Its hands are clasped together in thought, and the meaning of it goes over my head.
The predator is a lot smaller than I thought it was. It gently lifts me and set me in the garment, before it starts wiping me down with it. I'm too sore to fight it, and the cloth is exceptionally warm from the creature's body heat. It pulls me closer and holds me in a way that makes my chest hurt, and it looks out at an approaching predator. It rumbles softly.
"You're going to be okay."
My body relaxes despite my mind's warnings. I'm wrapped up in this garment it wore. I can't escape it. But it's warm. The material soaks up the water on my skin, and wipes away the grime and muck I've accumulated over the days. Slowly, my scales begin to shift again, bleeding back to my normal tan coloration.
"Did something finally bite you Sunshine? I haven't seen you run like that in- oh-kay." The approaching predator flinched when it got close and tensed up.
It wants to eat me. This one- Sunshine- it won't let it without a fight. Are they going to eat me? Sunshine won't. Right?
"I thought there was only one victim." The predator rumbled after a moment, creeping closer. I shrank into the material and took on it's color, only for a warm paw to settle on my arm.
"You're fine." Sunshine whispered. It looked up at the approaching predator and jerked its head awkwardly. "There is. Look at it. Do you see it too?"
Gently, it lifted my arm. I was too stiff to pull it back, not that I could've against its powerful grip. I was completely exposed to this other predator.
"Relax. Please." Sunshine whispered once more. The growl was soft, and I looked up at the mask above me. The grip on my arm was careful, I realized. I could pull away right now. Slowly, my scales lightened. The other predator leaned in closer and I flashed white and yellow briefly, but Sunshine propped me up a bit and started gently poking at sore parts of my body. My ribs. My neck. "Here. And... and here."
The other predator's eyes seemed to get bigger. Something deeper changed in its face. "Holy shit." It made to move forward and I reeled back, pressing myself further into Sunshine. The predator immediately froze and slunk back.
"He can help." Sunshine rumbled softly.
Oh dear. Oh dear.
It touched me. It's diminutive nails didn't rend into my scales as it touched my ribs, prodding them softly. Sunshine adjusted how it sat so that the other predator could have better access to me, and I couldn't help but focus on the skies again as it assessed what part of me it wanted.
Sunshine won't let it eat me.
I don't know where the thought came from, but it was firm. I believed it entirely. Even though Sunshine was a sapient predator, it wouldn't let it happen. Maybe it claimed me as its own already. I... I had doubts I would be eaten. The thoughts were there, but Sunshine had a perfect chance already. Unless it wanted to flaunt its catch first, which the Arxur did- but it was gentle. Sunshine was better than an Arxur.
"Malnourished, deep sores. Ulcers. There's bruising up and down the rib cage. Jesus- sorry."
"They're old. Persistent. Its feet."
"What about..." The predator got quiet. I felt my scales shift in worry as it gingerly lifted one of my legs. It remained quiet, but its face stretched further. "What happened?"
It was looking at me. Asking me. I shrank further into the fabric, but there was nowhere to go. The silence was unbearable, and I started trembling.
The silence continued.
"A runaway." Sunshine rumbled after forever. I didn't understand what that meant. My translator didn't pick it up quite right. Run-away? Like fleeing? Was that what these predators called their prey? No... no that didn't seem right. It was possible, but...
"Could have been kidnapped." Another word I didn't understand, but my translator worked on the other predator. Stealing a person by force? Using fear outside of the law? How did predators have such a word? "We need to get it to the hospital. Figure out what happened and how it ended up in this field."
NO NO NO NO NO
Sunshine's arms draped over me before I could escape, my attempt no better than a drunk Mazic trying to fit through a Venlil sized door. I couldn't stop the whine in my throat, but its soft digits down my back froze me. A subtle noise filtered out behind the mask, and it settled me back down in its garment. It picked up an edge lined with little metal teeth and draped it over me, blocking my sight from the other predator. I felt safe, suddenly. Sunshine's firm grip on my body didn't feel threatening. It felt like a promise, as it carefully pulled me against it's bulk. I was warm, despite my terror.
"Zuda will handle it. No hospitals. This stays with us."
"Sunshine," the other predator protested, "we need to figure out what happened!"
"Think, Doc." Sunshine growled, and this was no doubt a warning. I felt relief that the difference between the two growls was so obvious.
"What?"
"Think. Use your head."
There was a period of silence. "You don't... that can't be right." I didn't understand what conclusion it made.
"The injuries are uniform. Too clean to be anything else."
They can't know. How can they know?
"We need confirmation!"
"We already have it." Sunshine stated, and slowly the fabric was lifted off of my head. I blinked, and noticed that the other predator had changed a different shade.
That's odd. Are you predators like me?
That's terrifying. I'm not a threat. I'm me.
"It reacted to the van and mention of a hospital, Doc. Nobody outside the UN hears of this. Operational security."
It... does Sunshine know? How do they know?
"What the fuck is this planet, Sunshine?" The other predator lamented.
Sunshine didn't respond. He looked around at the surrounding encampment, and I realized it was shrinking. They were leaving. A few other predators were subtly watching as they worked, but I doubted they could hear the conversation with how quiet it was. I realize there's a few Venlil in their ranks, unbothered by their presence and even wearing garments similar to the predators around them.
A digit tapped the end of my snout and I flinched, looking up at Sunshine. It's paw retracted as the other predator withdrew a medical kit with a paw print on it and began to unclasp it. "You're safe. We're... we're going to help."
You know. You know what I am. And you're helping me anyway. Why are you helping me? I'm weak. I'm dangerous. But not to you. You're an apex. Is that why? Does your species stick together, unlike the Arxur? Do you uplift those around you, no matter if they're prey or dangerous? The Venlil are not afraid of you. You must not eat them. What do you eat? It has to be meat. But, it must be something that they can handle. Does what makes me dangerous fall away under your hierarchy? I hope it does. It doesn't seem real. I guess to you, what makes me a threat is meaningless.
I believe Sunshine. I really do. When the other predator comes forward with a healing gel, I surrender.
I am safe.

I heard that there was an issue/update bug that occurred which basically broke all of the pipes on all ships in the game and that they need to be replaced. Can anyone speak to this bug that I've heard mentioned on the SB discord.
​
Additionally, I decided that I would just print a new ship to remove having to essentially rewire my old ones and I went into the blueprint mode and all of my engines lit up like red Christmas lights (some, maybe 15 out of a a hundred or so T3 box thrusters. Is this also intentional? They aren't the best designed by any means but they're not haphazardly bolted on. Maybe they nerfed placement and T3 stability requirements? Idk, what can you guys tell me?

My neighbor, let call her Karen, is an absolute nightmare. I’ve lived in my neighborhood for 12 years, she’s been here for 3. I purchased a sizable piece of land in the neighborhood for my organic farm (not public) and shortly after, she emailed my business to put in her two cents about what I should and shouldn’t do to my property. I began by asking her how she got my personal information, and she said it was public record after I purchased the property. I let her know that I thought it was a little strange and I was uncomfortable that she essentially hunted me down until she found my work email to bother me about this. But then I politely let her know my plans for Regenerative and organic farming and she didn’t like it. She wanted it to stay completely as it was minus a mindful home build. I told her I heard her concerns but that isn’t what will happen. After this, she found me on Facebook, in a Facebook group, and on Nextdoor, continuing communication. I tried to ignore her, however, she showed up at my door one day and began asking me about my current property, the orchard I was planting, and whether or not all of the plants were native. Clearly, they were not, we live in an area where not many fruit trees are native. then she wanted to know my watering system and commented that they had better be on a drip line. I walked past her and towards the end of my driveway so that she would follow me and talk and then I turned, told her to have a nice day, walked back to my house and went inside. About 10 minutes later I got a text from her, I asked who it was she let me know, and at this point, I was not aware how she would’ve gotten my phone number. I blocked her number and tried to continue to ignore it, but she emailed me again. At this point, I was firm and said that I had heard her opinion several times over several months and let her know plans, which I was not obligated to do. She wanted me to hold a meeting with her and one other neighbor that was “upset” about what I was trying to do, and I refused to do so, as I am not obligated with the zoning that I have on my land. I knew that it would be more of the same, and I was not interested in putting myself in a position of her trying to bully me into doing what she wants. So in the email I informed her that she needed to stop with the harassment and that what I do with my land was my business. I had heard her concerns, and to rest, assured that I would be mindful when developing my land. She did not take kindly to that and responded that she understood, but that if I was nicer to my neighbors, I would have less trouble. The very next day I received a phone call from the environmental control zoning department in my city stating that there has been complaints that I had too many farm animals on my smaller property. She had taken the time to look up my home address zoning, then go on my farm website and count the number of dairy goats that I have and determined that it was too many for my zoning and filed a complaint. Over the last several months, this has turned into her calling, almost on a weekly basis to complain about anything from a sign on my fence, to my Christmas lights, to information on my website about future development that she considers advertising. She went door-to-door to try and get other neighbors on her side, most of which came and let me know what she was doing, and most of which told her that they don’t care what I do with the property it’s my business. Most of my other neighbors are excited at the prospect of having organic food grown in their neighborhood available to them, especially with rising food costs and concerns. The zoning officer that has come out on multiple occasions, and that I am working with informed me that the neighbor was “out for blood” and demanding that I be given a citation, even though the zoning department refuses to do so because I am fully cooperative. It’s just never ending at this point, she’s forced development to speed up exponentially, which is causing financial strain and emotional strain on me, and she’s wasting a lot of time and resources from the city, which is very frustrating. I intended to develop my property slowly over two years so that I could make sure everything was properly in place, from rainwater harvesting to native plant preservation and beyond. I am only one person and I’m developing over 10 acres and this is a huge job to try and squeeze into such a short amount of time at this point because of her actions. I’ve considered trying to get a harassment injunction or something like that, I don’t really know if there’s anything I can legally do, but I’m at my wits end with this woman. She has nothing better to do and it’s very frustrating.

im recently 19 and since i was around 12 and 1/2 to 13 I've been more or less a shut in going on multiple year long streaks of not going outside im not a 100% every day rotter but i didnt go to over 90% of secondary school the overwhelming majority spent playing games, shows ect but my point being my situation is clearly troubled and only around last Christmas have i began going outside albeit irregularly so was wondering can mental illness manifest from being alone? Can a normal person live life in such a way because i remember feeling odd but never some outcast like not understanding peoples emotions or why they're crying the ones i remember at the time didnt feel weird at the time but in retrospect are slightly odd in my year 6 final day thing there was some performance and everyone was crying so heavily when this song was playing like the culmination of all the years spent and i felt a small tinge of emotion but it wasnt enough and me and my aunts family went to see the movie home with the purple alien and at the end everyone in the cinema was crying and i felt a bit sad but the welling im my chest sometimes just vanishes and all my emotion ceases to exist i know this is an unhinged rant but this seems like the perfect place to write down things. My family situation is basically shit and recently its been way worse recently but my mom might die and im completelydependent on her im not sure if im mentally ill or have just been unlucky im not sure if im depressed, im never happy but not overwhelming sad i think i was anxious when i was 13, 14 but the fear of the outside is mostly gone but i still feel light nervousness sometimes ive never really seen a doctor my mom is trying to say im autistic but im not sure (i dont really have much reference) most my Teenage years were spent alone i just feel odd theres alot of illness in both sides of my family but realistically thinking my life is kind of fucked recently my mom gets shit faced and leaves me here alone for like 5 to 7 days at a time with little food she was here yesterday for 20 minutes bet shes really bipolar and switches in an instant but its not neglect because im an adult i still feel like a child but i know im not im only writing this through boredom i guess trying to break the monotony of my days and to seek advice i do have testicle damage also thats the main thing i dislike a permanent flaw on my organic self i think im someone genetically ill with a strange upbringing and also warped physical development i went to the doctors and i dont even look people in the eye i have these perceived issues but i dont share them just sit there saying yes or uh uhh. Is there anyway to help my self sorry for rambling but its nice

Hello.
I will remain anonymous in this discussion but I wanted to let you all know what this message is for. It's for the sheer amount of incompetence I've experienced for my first ever rental. I live in IN and they own our apartment complex. We moved in about 7 months ago, last October.
The "tour" they give is a joke. You have to pay them to even get a chance to go into the property and then you never talk to anyone in person. Not to mention the apartment was filthy.
We decided to go ahead and take the place because the rental property said that it was ready to be inhabited now and that it was all taken care of etc.
Move-in day: we get there with all our stuff and guess what it is filthy just like before. Dirty carpet from the 80s, never cleaned behind appliances, black mold in the vents, ac panel didn't even work, all the outlets weren't functioning properly, filthy bathrooms and everything, not to mention roaches that have shown up. Never seen them before in my entire life. Also on top of this the doors weren't sealed correctly in the winter and I wasn't about to wait for their lazy good for nothing team to help with that. Fixed it myself and ofc they didn't reimburse me for the stuff I FIXED.
But of course they make you sign the rental agreement before moving in. ( My biggest mistake of my life ) but they willing and KNEW it was filthy but still said it was a habitable environment. It took us 4 months to get all of this fixed btw and we still have had issue after issue with this complex and they don't give a crap unless you mention anything about money. Then they care.
It's now closing in on half a year of living here and the only plus I would give is the home is quiet. The refrigerator is missing a light that doesn't work at all, we haven't been able to wash our clothes in a month now too, and we still have a bug issue. Oh I forgot to mention that the stove was put in incorrectly and Bec of that we had a gas leak for god knows how long too.
The kicker? Was on Christmas Eve a pipe burst and our living room flooded and we had to deal with that OURSELVES. You know the reimbursement I got for 2 days of shop vaccing our carpet? (After 2 weeks of arguing about it) $90 👏👏👏 amazing. After that, that was it. I want out so bad it's incredible how bad they are at doing anything right.
Overall NEVER EVER EVER EVER rent from these people. They will not respond to you for days and you will have to constantly email them over and over to get any response and most of the time the responses will be "we haven't heard any update, still waiting on that I'll get back when I hear something" and they never do. It's always you contacting them like a puppy trying to get food.
Everyone there is incredibly stupid, incompetent, and doesn't give a crap about you only your money.
So after all this, what do you think I should do? Break my lease and don't look back or live there till the lease ends and then dip asap. At this point I don't care either way.
TLDR: Property Management of Louisville should be avoided at all cost unless you like paying for an apartment with bug, health, and appliance issues. As well as a team that doesn't care at all unless it involves you paying your rent on time.

Hi friends,
I have a few hermit crabs that I'm no longer able to care for. I've been on the adoption website and it doesn't look like there is anyone in my area who could adopt them (Western NC, US). I saw that there is a FB group for my area, but I don't have FB. I was wondering if someone could make a courtesy post? I'm willing to offer them all together as well as their 55 gallon tank, heat pads, lamps (for lighting, not heat) and the stand the tank is on. The tank has lexan lids on both side, and I also will include their soaking pools and air pump. I will also give my bag of Instant Ocean and dried mealworms. I'm not asking any money as I just want them to go to a good home.
Please don't judge as I'm trying to do what's best for them. I know my local pet store would take them, but I don't think they'd have a good life there. I'm really hoping to rehome them as soon as possible.
Thanks so much!

The Previous Version
While I was writing the regular State of VTuber World post, I wrote a massive tangent detailing Hololive's history, and decided it would be much better done as a separate post.
I was actually going to overwrite the previous version, but the previous version is too... old, so I thought I would just write a new one. Hopefully I'll update this in September, which would be the end of the current period, and then probably put out Ver. 3 a long time after, if that ever happens.
The history of Hololive are split into 9-ish month chunks.

Part 1 - Pre-History {17-09-07 - 18-06-01}

When Tokino Sora first went on NicoNico in the auspicious day of September 7, 2017, there were famously 13 viewers unaccounted for in her debut stream. VTuber as a modern concept started ten months ago with the advent of Kizuna Ai on December 1, and at that point VTubers as a concept was seriously considered a dead end. The Ai's initial hype train died down and newcomers such as Siro did not gain the success that people were hoping for. Many suspect this VTuber fad was going to be consigned into the dustbin of history much like disco and leg warmers.
So, Sora did not start with the most fortuitous occasions. But the luck for VTuber and Sora turned around as Kaguya Luna became the new hit star and ushered in a kind of Cambrian Explosion of VTuber at the time. One of the bigger innovations was that Luna frequently mentioned other VTubers, she coined the term Oyabun for Kizuna Ai, and therefore there was a genuine sense of community building around this newfangled tech. Hololive App went online of December 21, 2017.
Sora was one of the bigger beneficiaries as she was redirected by Siro after her Christmas stream failed to work. Sora started to gain subscribers at a pretty good clip at that point. Sora is sometimes mentioned as one of the secondary heavenly kings along with Fuji Aoi, her close friend to this day.
Cover debuted their second talent, Roboco-san, on March 4, 2018. Roboco was the demo model for the Hololive app, similar to the beginnings of Nijisanji with 1st Gen's model also being a demo. Nijisanji was and is and will be a foil to Hololive. They both started as an app but quickly pivoted to the entertainment industry. Nijisanji's 1st Gen was a revolution - and singlehandedly shifted the meta in a way that will never be done before. And Nijisanji were pumping out great talents every month or so, flooding the market, which further threatened the other companies.
Nijisanji prompted fierce response from the competitor. AppLand, the company responsible for Siro, decided to debut 9 new talents that will operate on a strict weekly schedule, and this approach worked very well. Cover had to respond in turn, and so they quickly debuted 6 new talents, first being Yozora Mel who debuted on May 13, 2018.

Part 2 - Early Classical Era {18-06-01 - 19-04-01}

Note this version will not be delving too deeply into the individual members, as they are nicely detailed in Version One. If you want to know what the talents in the agency are all about, then check the previous version which is the top link. This version mostly expands and clarifies things.
First Gen of Hololive - Aki Rosenthal, Natsuiro Matsuri, Shirakami Fubuki - debuted on June 1, 2018 with Akai Haato debuting a week later because she had some tech issues. There was one other person but we do not talk about this person, she basically bribed her way into debut, and after that incident Yozora Mel was folded into this 1st Gen. A recent observation - there is a hidden theme in early VTuber groups, for example Re:AcT was originally called Kageyaki Stars and their talents all had a Zodiac theme, Leona being the Leo, of course, and Kyo being... a virgin? Not sure, actually. This Gen also has a theme, reference much later in the title for their song Plasmagic Seasons, which is of course the Seasons - Akai Haato as Spring, Natsuiro Matsuri as Summer, Aki Rosenthal as Fall, and Shirakami Fubuki as Winter. That extra person really did not fit, especially with the above theme.
Second Gen of Hololive quickly followed, the debut was more spaced out this time. Minato Aqua went first on August 8, 2018, followed by Murasaki Shion on August 17, 2018, Nakiri Ayame was next on September 3, 2018, followed by Yuzuki Choco on September 4, 2018, and Oozora Subaru rounding out the crew debuting on September 14, 2018. Around the same time, on August 1, 2018, another Cover Project launched called Sakura Miko project, which was a return of Kizuna Ai style content.
This odd collection signifies the attitudes of this time, no one really knew what they were doing. There were not many collabs, in fact Hololive members tended to collab with Nijisanji members more than their own members, and many kind of considered Hololive to be kind of a sister group to Nijisanji. Again, the contents were kind of halfway between video and streams, there weren't really long streams, those that did famously Kanae and Korone, were seen as odd outliers. There were a lot of odd and interesting VTuber-industry projects - a fun thing is to watch PL's of future talents interacting with their future workmates, which is obscenely entertaining in some respects.
Sakura Miko project immediately crashed and burned and Miko joined Hololive proper on December 25, 2018. On November 15, AZKi debuted as a part of a collaboration with Cover and upd8, another agency that was progenitor of Kizuna Ai. upd8 ran things differently, it was a 'talent' agency and not a creative one, which meant upd8 did not hold onto any assets of livers. upd8 had a hodgepodge of creators, including one half of 774 inc., which meant AZKi, Inaba Haneru, Patra Suou and Kizuna Ai were technically part of the same agency at this point in November 2018. Oh Shibuya Hal and Utai Meika was also part of this group. Yep, upd8 was a mess, had potential though.
On December 12, 2018, Ookami Mio joined Hololive as part of a new project called Hololive GAMERS, and unlike their other projects GAMERS actually grew a few months later.

Part 3 - Late Classical Era {19-04-01 - 19-12-27}

Okayu and Korone were announced on April Fools 2019 and subsequently Nekomata Okayu debuted April 6, 2019 and Inugami Korone on April 13, 2019. Korone's stream was so scuffed that it became the anti-basis for future debut streams. But the GAMERS basically set the tone of Hololive as a company. GAMERS were basically scouted as Fubuki's friends, and therefore GAMERS were the first generations that felt like a group of friends. Most, if not all, relationships between people grew from this seed.
They still regularly collabed with Nijisanji at that point. One can go through what is now seemingly bizarre combos - Higuchi Kaede and Roboco, Nakiri Ayame and Inui Toko, and so on... although few still persist to this day, Kamioka Family and its extension NASS and Oozora Family being the two...
But this was the time that Hololive kind of found the identity that we were kind of familiar with. This was also the time that idolization was slowly making its way through the company. The well-remember first Hololive Summer (which was, and still is, a Comiket associated project) was the first time Shiny Smily Story was introduced with the full song being released on September 17, 2019, which led to Hololive 1stFes or Nonstop Story on January 28, 2020.
Hololive extended the relationship with upd8 regarding AZKi to be Innoaka Music and they eventually snagged an indie VTuber named Hoshimachi Suisei, who has been active since March 22, 2018, during the height of the First Boom, announcing this new venture on May 19, 2019. Hoshimachi Suisei was frustrated with the arrangement and joined Hololive proper on December 1, 2019. The inclusion date is more mutely celebrated but their growth more closely tracks with the counterparts who debuting around their inclusion - so in some sense, we should think of Miko as an honorary member of GAMERS and Suisei as a honorary member of HoloForce, which considering her early relationship with Kanata and Coco, might as well be true from a different perspective.
Another push regarding this idolization was the opening of a male branch called Holostars. First talents started appearing in June, with Hanasaki Miyabi on June 8, 2019, Kagami Kira on June 9, 2019, Kanade Izuru on June 22, 2019.
Hololive also started to look beyond Japan, which was largely locked by the immense success of Nijisanji, and Hololive looked towards China. Around late winter and early spring of 2019, Hololive member started to stream quite a bit in BiliBili and started to take in a lot of Chinese sponsors, culminating in the Azur Lane event, which was one of the seeds for their future in North America - indeed many of the early English clippers were Chinese...
It was at this point that Hololive went looking for its third Gen, which had a fantasy theme - Usada Pekora debuted on July 17, 2019, Uruha Rushia on July 18, 2019, Shiranui Flare on August 7, 2019, Shirogane Noel on August 8, 2019, and Houshou Marine on August 11, 2019.
Many consider this group to be the miracle group, but they were kind of isolated for the first few months, many of their streams consisting of group Minecraft sessions. It was a friendship forged from pressure, not a loose one like GAMERS, and it gave a different feeling than the rest. Even today, there is an odd break between 3rd Gen and the gens higher up, except for a couple important exceptions like Aqua-Marine, or Marine in general. Subaru-Noel came out much later, and before that it was actually Rushia-Subaru.
Azur Lane event was on November 26, 2019. During this time, Hololive also opened their ill-fated Chinese branch with Yogiri debuting on September 28, 2019, Civia on November 2, 2019, and Spade Echo on January 30, 2020.
There was kind of an add-on group with Takushiji Suzaku debuting on September 7, 2019, and Arurandeisu on September 8, 2019. Suzaku apparently was really fed up with how Holostars worked so he left early on March 6, 2020. Second Gen followed with Rikkaroid debuting on October 20, 2019, and Astel Leda debuting on December 7, 2019, Kishido Temma on December 14, 2019, and Yukoku Roberu on December 24, 2019. Note this division feels wildly off, with the intra-gen gap being larger than the inter-gen gap. Perhaps this is one of the reasons the first three gens are usually grouped into one super group.
This nicely segues to our next section...

Part 3 - Early Golden Era {19-12-27 - 20-09-12}

HoloForce, as they are rarely called, were truly a force. Amane Kanata debuted on December 27, 2019, Kiryu Coco followed on December 28, 2019, Tsunomaki Watame on December 29, 2019, and after new years, Tokoyami Towa on January 3, 2020 and Himemori Luna on January 4, 2020. Kiryu Coco was an instant hit, growing at a rate seldom seen before.
Spearheaded by this new leader, Hololive slowly gain prominence right as the pandemic hit and the Second Boom occurred as Western anime fans looked to VTuber as a replacement for all the delayed anime releases. Hololive was well positioned to take on this second boom, as there were more clips from Hololive... even though Nijisanji pursued a Chinese audiences like Hololive, the Nijisanji clippers were usually Japanese students and therefore preferred longer clips, while Hololive clippers were people bred from things like TikTok and they truly clipped like a fame-chasing clipper would, short condensation of the streamer's character. A very easy and addicting introduction.
There was also the fact that Cover knew their western outreach and also saw the success of people like Hana Macchia, and they decided to slowly branch out to Western audiences, starting with Indonesia, which was also a safe second options since the days of AKB48.
Area15 debuted April 10, 2020 for Ayunda Risu, April 11, 2020 for Moona Hoshinova, and April 12, 2020 for Airani Iofifteen. While their growth was paltry compared to their JP counterparts, they were on the higher side compared to their ID peers, so Cover saw the green light to go ahead and continue developing an western EN branch.
Also Hololive China debuted their 2nd Gen with Doris debuting on April 3, 2020, Rosalyn debuting on April 5, 2020, and Artia debuting on April 11, 2020. Holostar 3rd Gen also debut around this time with Tsukishita Kaoru debuting on April 29, 2020, Kageyama Shien on April 30, 2020, and Aragami Oga on May 1, 2020.
Those three groups tended to stick together, which HoloID had a close relationship with Holostars which would turn out to be fruitful much later in the process.
Hololive started to gain its rapid growth, and as with all rapid growth, there were some growing pains, a large numbers of archives had to be taken down due to increase in copyright notices and Hololive increasingly became isolated from the VTuber world as a whole.
Also, pretty much the rest of HoloForce was struggling. Towa's low voice and her boyfriend fracas, happening since the idol concept has been firmly placed and heavily sold to western audiences, meant Towa lost pretty much all momentum. Watame had her infamous kuso internet which she famously did not apologize for, therefore forever becoming blameless. Luna was a controversial choice as she was a former Nijisanji Liver and kind of known as a vagabond, jumping from agency to agency, but thankfully she found her home in Hololive.
Kanata, even though her hearing was going, managed to stand with a budding relationship with Coco and furthered her relationship with Suisei, who she knew from way before.
Except for Coco, this was a quiet time. Many of the talents were on rest, like Mel or Akirose, which is one of the main reasons they are so far behind, and there was less outside appearance as the company simply tried to wade through their newfound fame.
HoloFive eventually appeared - Yukihana Lamy on August 12, 2020, Momosuzu Nene on August 13, 2020, Shishiro Botan on August 14, 2020, Mano Aloe on August 15, 2020, and Omaru Polka on August 16, 2020. Mano Aloe were swept in a huge scandal and prompt graduated at the end of the month. Considering HoloFive had a long gestation period, even this short stint was a shock to many. Truth be told, Aloe was not in a great mental state, she later attempted suicide falling down several stories, only to be saved by a tree.
There are still people who like to imagine a world with Aloe, but I wonder of a world where the person behind Aloe was swapped with someone from HoloX. Aloe would have been fine by late 2021, and many of the talents from HoloX would have been more than adequate in August of 2020. I think the best switch would be with Chloe.
Even though technically in the next era, Haato-Coco Taiwan Incident would be the final of the three major controversies that rocked Cover as they restructured. Taiwan Incident basically killed off all chances of development in China, along with a separate fiasco that led to the closure of HoloCN with all six members quietly disappearing by the end of 2020.
With all these controversies, Hololive could have gone down in flames, but there was a saving grace or really multiple saving grace that effectively created a shift and an opportunity.

Part 4 - Late Golden Era {20-09-12 - 21-07-01}

HoloMyth arrived on September 12, 2020 for Mori Calliope, Takanashi Kiara and September 13, 2020 for Ninomae Ina'ins, Gawr Gura and Amelia Watson. They were another of the 'perfect' groups, a heaven-sent in the time of multiple disasters.
The minecraft server, largely dormant since the beginning of 2020, reopened with the introduction of Gen 5 and continued when Area15 were introduced, with Moona Hoshinova pretty much alighting the Company Rivalry Arc which became the basis for the modern dynamic of Hololive as we know today. The fame of Area15 skyrocketed, the combo of Risu's first NNN and her KING cover didn't detract from that fame at all either...
And their newfound dominance in ID was sealed with the debut of HoloRo - Kureiji Ollie on December 4, 2020, Anya Melfissa on December 5, 2020, and Pavolia Reine on December 6, 2020. Once again, they were heavily focused on outreach with Ollie being the breakout star which sapped any remaining momentum NijiID had, leading to their long and terminal decline for the next three years at least.
Those early months of 2021, defined by the time between Hololive 2nd Fes, Beyond the Stage, and Bloom, Hololive's first original concert, was in my humble opinion, the greatest time in Hololive. The development of the Company Rivalry Arc with the first extended interaction of MiComet, one of the most enduring duos in Hololive much to the chagrin of Nousagis and Heimins. The 2021 Mario Kart Tournament, which brought Towa into prominence and showcased that Hololive can pull off a tournament, one of the major strengths of Nijisanji and the Bouquet album's relative success, especially with the opening song Blue Clapper was instrumental in Hololive becoming a reliable music producer, which left Innonaka without an identity leading to AZKi eventually joining Hololive proper in April 1, 2022.
Another development was the introduction of Hololive Alternative, which was marked by two PVs, first of which debuted on May 5, 2021 with a teaser right after Bloom.
Days after Bloom however were colored by one event, which marks the finality in this era. There hasn't a large graduation - Holostars lost two members Tsukishita Kaoru on July 28, 2020 and Kagami Kira on November 30, 2020... but it was a quiet one, most might only recognize those graduations because of the downed spirit of HoloID at the time. But the graduation to come was the big one - probably the biggest one until Kizuna Ai's hiatus and many would argue even still then, as the age of Kiryu Coco came to close.
The announcement was on June 9, but in hindsight the signs were there since the beginnings of the Hololive Summer Festival, which also marks the start of the end of the Company Arc. The later half of this era felt like a barrel racing towards that final moment. Most watched stream in VTuber stream, probably unlikely to be broken for a long time.
Coco was instrumental in steering the talent's directions, especially in turbulent times such as the year and half in which Coco existed on our screens. Without that sail, Cover and their talents had to go on their own and face whatever demons it may raise...

Part 5 - The Transition Era {21-07-01 - 22-03-20}

Hololive was chugging around after the graduation with 3D Live happening almost every other day during August... and also quite a lot of debuts from the EN side.
IRyS debuted on July 8, 2021. She was supposed to be part of a JP/EN collab VSinger group that were probably going to debut in Spring if there were enough applicants, but they were only able to fish one, and she came down (three times) to grace our screens and a month later on August 22, 2021, HoloCouncil made their debut - Tsukumo Sana, Ceres Fauna, Ouro Kronii, Nanashi Mumei, and Hakos Baelz. Less perfect than HoloMyth but still good, and very helpful as there was a Minecraft merger happening. As I explained above, Hololive had a hard time integrating their new members. For the longest time, I had a hard time differentiating 5th Gen because they would just hang out together and rarely with senpais, but the merger and the eagerness of HoloMyth to get fresh blood led one of the smoothest integrations.
This continued with HoloX - La+ Darknesss on November 26, 2021, Takane Lui on November 27, 2021, Hakui Koyori on November 28, 2021, Sakamata Chloe on November 29, 2021, and Kazama Iroha on November 30, 2021. My impression of them was shock, as with many, not only were given only a few hours notice, but it happened right after the infamous 3rd Gen Live. The relative failure of that live and the death of her beloved cat started a decline for one Uruha Rushia, whose aberrant behavior will eventually blow up three weeks before 3rdFes.
Rushia's termination also felt like a barrelling moment in hindsight, but I did not end this era on February 24, 2022, but on the 2nd Day of 3rd Fes, because I want to end on a high note and the 3D debuts of Area 15 and HoloMyth more than enough made up for the sudden loss and confusion of Uruha Rushia. While Rushia left on quite a sour note, Rushia still gets fondly remembered, especially by talents like Pekora and Fubuki... it's interesting.
I should also mention taht 3rd Fes, Link Your Wish, was first to be accompanied by an Expo, which was first done by Nijisanji back in early 2020, right before the pandemic.

Part 6 - Early Modern Era {22-03-20 - 22-12-31}

End of 3rd Fes led to two debuts - first HoloH3roes with Vestia Zeta on March 27, 2022, Kaela Kovalskia on March 28, 2022, and Kobo Kanaeru on March 29, 2022, followed by Holostar's UPROAR with Yatogami Fuma and Utsugi Uyu debuting on March 29, 2022 and Hizaki Gamma and Minase Rio debuting on March 30, 2022.
The focus for these groups was a change, HoloID now looking inwards back towards Indonesia, marking the rise of homegrown groups like AKA Virtual, and Holostar's idolfication including the de-aging of Aruran. This was followed by a quiet but long integration of Hololive and Holostar, an informal but still significant, which culminates in the year-end concert.
There were quite a lot of concerts in this era, 2nd PV which was on June 11, 2022, the return of Hololive Summer along with the regular spate of summer celebration concerts, there was a kind of fatigue and there was no new debut in sight, at least for a while...
Tempus HQ was quite a turning point - Regisa Altare and Magni Dezmond debuted on July 22, 2022 and Axel Syrios and Noir Vesper debuted on July 23, 2022. Not only did it accelerated the interaction between Hololive and Holostars, but also the EN branches of Hololive and Nijisanji as well, which was a long time coming, considering it was over a year since NijiEN debuted.
Along with Tsukumo Sana's graduation on July 31, 2022, things kind of took a back seat in the fall season as the long preparation for 4th Fes was underway. There was a lull that was unfamiliar since the beginning of 2020 - a nice bookend to the EN boom, which was rapidly fading at this point. In hindsight, it was an appreciative one, or so I think at least.
There was one incredibly bright light and that was Kobo Kanaeru, who along with Hyakumantenbara Salome, was the biggest beneficiary of the Third General Boom, caused the end of COVID restrictions for most of the world. The third Boom was less significant than the first two, but it saw the surge of strong local ID and KR groups along with renewed interest in Japan, which benefitted both Hololive and Nijisanji.
Kobo's obstinately Indonesian nature gave me worry as for integration but I wasn't to be worried because Kobo has quite a sharp wit behind her genuinely childish behavior. Kobo will be remembered for her various connections reaching across all branches, pretty much.

Part 7 - Late Modern Era {22-12-31 - 23-09-??}

The year-end concert served as a teaser for Our Bright Parade, which happened on March 18 and March 19, 2023. There was also an extension for Hololive Tempus, with its VG division - Gavis Bettel and Machina X Flayon debuting on January 7, 2023 and Banzoin Hakka and Josuiji Shinri debuting January 8, 2023. It was an understandable yet odd debut and I think VG was one of the most 'Nijisanji' groups in Hololive I have ever seen.
This was good grounds for Kobo. After Our Bright Parade, there was both a lull and an uptick. There was a lot happening - a new studio and an amusement park takeover - but a strange lack of debuts from any branches. One of the longest lack of such, I believe ever.
This might change soon, however, and that's where all our story has to end. I will fill in the rest of the story at the end of this period. And hopefully, I can come back to fill in the next era.