The black domes, they were pocket dimensions, which were completely detached from the material world. Bound to the stream of souls, flowing inside the ephemeral branches of the world tree, they presented a personal hell for each person cast into them. They are a limbo of regrets, the hell of one’s own making, places where the living meets the dead.
There’s only so many ways to elope them. One must either reconcile with the restless souls, or join them, succumbing to their rage and regret that they carried into their afterlife. After all, to even get there, one must possess unparalleled strength and resilience; and only those who had caused deaths and destruction on their path to greatness can even hope to get to this trial.
Freia, Flare, the First princess of Jioral. For some – a good friend, lover, and companion. For others – a nightmare embodied, a vessel of divine powers, a force to be reckoned with. She had many enemies: princes and princesses felled by her authority, treacherous servants and greedy nobles, the knights, who opposed her corruption, slavers and bandits, destroyed on her quest for redemption and restoration of herself… But there were more. Children she had burned, serving her kingdom, women who perished by the tides she conjured, men that had been torn apart by raging tornados of her making, elderly that were buried under the rubble she created…
And how did she oppose them?
“Flagella terram et vescere inimicis meis, o magnum tempestas ignis!” The sorceress chanted, spinning her staff above her head. Then, right before the raging mob reached her, she hid from them behind a vortex of fire. One move and this wave of heat would incinerate everything and everyone in this accursed realm. But…
“TRAITOR!”
“DON’T HIDE FROM US, FLA-A-A-ARE!”
“COME TO US, SISTER!”
“YOU WERE NEVER ONE OF US!”
“USURPER!”
“GIVE ME BACK MY MOM!””
“THE FALSE PRINCESS!”
“SUNNARI (die)!”
“THE DAUGHER OF A WHORE!”
“YOU SHOULD’VE ROT IN THE SLUMS!”
Curses and jealousy, bitterness and hatred. The chorus of tortured souls surrounding the fiery boundary couldn’t be silenced even by the roaring flame. There couldn’t be any redemption.
“I’m sorry for all of you, who unjustly died by my hand!..” And even though there were people deserving their apologies, those who had to perish in favor of Flare’s political ambitions, those she sacrificed to appease her tyrannical father…
“THEN JOIN US, FLARE!”
“PAPA! WHERE ARE YOU?! GIVE HIM BACK!”
“REPENT, BITCH! DISPELL YOUR WITCHCRAFT!!!”
“But I won’t give in to you!” The pink-haired woman exclaimed, absorbing mana into her staff. “Furthermore, there’re those of you I will never regret killing! And there are those, for whom I must live! I MUST GET OUT OF THIS PLACE!!!” Then, she slammed the lower tip of her weapon into the floor made of the absolute darkness. Instead of wailing, being consumed by fear, guilt, self-loathing, and, ultimately, perishing, Freia sundered this entire “world”. One magical strike from her, and cracks of white and gold covered the entire dome. The wall of fire faded, but when the vengeful spirits rushed forward to maul their prey, they crumbled into piles of black salt. “I’m so… so sorry!” The girl lamented, kneeling near the remains of children, whose future she stole. “But I… I must move forward. I must save…”
…
Sparks and crackling, whistle and dazzling – time and time again the surge of lightning breached through the veil of darkness.
“UO-O-O-O-O-O!!!” A guttural scream filled the oppressive silence under the dome. Eve Reese, so childish and bashful, so eager to prove herself, now wore a stone mask of indifference. “Nira-a-a (no-o-o)!!! Yuarmta (I won’t forgive you)!!!” Cornar yelled, held still by at least seven shadows, he had been tortured, killed, bruised, smitten by the raging element of lightning. No longer did the girl see him as a threat; no longer did she cower at the feet of her former husband. Maybe, Eve was condemned to getting back her memories as a means of punishment, something that would make her sympathize with this petty little tyrant…
“Yuarm yau (I don’t need your forgiveness).” The Me-ua kahul spoke, looking at her crackling right arm, trembling with power and guilt combined. Not for forsaking her would-be-spouse, not for becoming Panakea’s pawn…
These souls, these loyal shadows – turned out, she never called upon them… until the very end. Her subjects, her brethren… Eve feared that if she let them out, they would tear her tyrannical husband into little pieces.
“Haa… Haa…” And now, she had to choose. To turn around and let someone else fix her problem, or… “Haa… HAA!!! HAA!!! HAA!!! SUNI (I’ll kill you)!!!”
A Punch to the maw, to the chest, through the ribs, to the heart! He didn’t die! He couldn’t die here! This scumbag of a man, this monster just wouldn’t go away! No matter how much pain she caused him, no matter how many times she slit his throat, broke through his torso, shocked him with spells, cut him with magical light…
And what of Cornar?
“A-A-A-A-A!!! A-A-AGH!!! HA-HA-HA-A!!! NA SHENBATA, SETOAN (you can’t get rid of me, woman)!!!” The son of Hakuo never relented. He relished in his immortality, laughed through the hellish torments Eve inflicted upon him. The skinned lion spotted a weakness in Eve’s heart, and he pressed at it, as if breaking the girl would get him back to the world of the living…
No, he wanted to take Eve to the world of dead.
“Gha-a-a-a… Agh-h-h…” The queen-to-be grabbed her forehead, her rugged breath not only siphoned all the focus out of her, threatening to cast the girl into a pit of despair, it also deteriorated her control over the mana she wielded. Unlike the city of salt, there was enough ambient magic to harvest here, but doing so would require skills, precision, and, most importantly, personal discipline and control over one’s own mind.
“Praibi, orna Iblis (Drain yourself, my Iblis)!” The prince of Batnara shashu tribe provoked, feeling the grip of the shadows losing its strength. A little more, and he’d be free… A little more…
“Hm…” But Eve wouldn’t relent. She once again covered her arm in a coat of magical lightning. She would never surrender; the queen would never let anyone treat her like a slave ever again. Not after Keyaruga’s perseverance taught her a lesson of resilience. Not after his gentleness, however tainted by his wounds, showed her what true love should look like.
She took a swing, prepared to strike…
“…” But then, two winged shadows stopped her hand. Amda and Sana, they were barely recognizable in their spiritual forms… but Eve would never mistake her parents for anyone else. They couldn’t speak, yet they still communicated with their daughter through other means. Emotions, wishes, urges – they never wished such evil to befall their daughter, but what they hated even more – was to see their child descend into the same pit.
“I… I don’t… have to?..” They asked her to stop, to let them relieve her of that burden. “B-but!.. No! You will die!” The girl snarled, grabbing her parents in a hug. She knew what was to come – her mother, father – they wished to sacrifice themselves to drag Cornar back to the afterlife. But that… wouldn’t that mean she’d lose them all over again? Wouldn’t…
“…”
“Yes! You’re dead! So what?! What do I?..” The feeling of pain and powerlessness engulfed the verdant woman. Barely had she found the strength to stand before her fallen tribe, before those who she desired to see the most now left her.
“YOTJAR (finally)!!!” With Eve’s will getting weaker, so did the shadows of her ethereal court. Her tyrannical husband finally broke free, slamming and stomping her shadows, as they fruitlessly tried stopping him. Amda and Sana Reese hugged their child for the last time… and now they stood up to defend their precious daughter. That is… the least they could do.
…
Freia broke inside another dome. From the outside, they looked like bright constellations of stars, formed on the points of a massive, galactic-scaled pentagram. The personal chamber for each of the contenders. One was broken from the inside, collapsing inwards, into a black hole with an orange halo – this was Freia’s dome. There were four more. Two were dimmed, two still shone brightly. The Hero of Magic travelled through this empty space, lit by numerous distant stars. In her current form, things like speed, form, and time – none of them mattered, aside from her destination. And now, she had to choose one of the two luminous chambers.
…
What is true power? Does one determine this abstract concept by the weight one can lift with their muscles? Maybe it was the charisma necessary to lead the masses? Enough money to influence others? Authority earned or inherited?
“Well-well-well…” Whatever the answer truly was, Ellen had none of it right now. No strength to fight, no troops to hide behind, and certainly – those who opposed her now had little if any need of whatever amount of gold she now carried.
“WENCH!”
“TANOUTUR (murderer)!”
“NEZAH (why)?!”
“MERA RIVARO (my life)!..”
“YAU MA (how dare you)!”
“YOU’LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE, BITCH!!!”
Oh, they came for Norn. There were hundreds, if not thousands of them, some she could recall from her Murian and Teuteccain campaigns – the series of expansions past the great wall; others were the court warlords she and John unseated in her ascension; rebellious villagers too came to exact their revenge on the younger princess, after her demons decimated them; and there were the victims of Buranikka’s carnage. This was the mountain of corpses Norn Clatalissa Jioral used to climb onto the very peak of political power…
“Now then, what do you want from me? An apology? Maybe my penance?” Even now, surrounded by countless dead souls, whose entire being now revolved around their grudge, the girl wouldn’t let herself be crushed by their rage. Not mentally, at least.
“DIE!”
“MAN WOR YAKSI (give me your eyes)!”
“SUFFER, YOU MONSTER!”
“I JUST WANTED TO LIVE!!!”
And so, hundreds of voices began howling in unison. So passionate, so eager to share their hardships and aspirations, that Ellen actually started pitying them a little. So many words, so much pain in them.
“Haa… I guess, that something like this was bound to happen someday. Well…” Instead of listening to the rest of the traumatizing nonsense and wailing, the crimson-headed cutie just began… to simply undress. “I don’t have the power to struggle, I can’t break out of here, and all of you came here for me. So go on. Rape me, maul me, kill me, do whatever you want. I’ve already done everything I wanted.” Ellen, now naked and completely defenseless, stretched out on the ethereal black floor, looking into the endless black void above her. The raging souls now came closer and closer, dozens of faces now loomed above her, as their hands reached out to grab the fallen warlady and tear her apart. This… was the end.
Keyaruga, Setsuna, sister… I hope you won’t miss me too much.
And so, she closed her eyes. Time to finally die.
…
…
…
There was no pain, nobody dragged the girl around, not even a single blow fell upon her. Ellen was… safe?
“A-A-A-A!!!”
“UGH-H-H!!!”
“YOLA-A-A-A-A (it hu-u-u-urts)!!!”
Slice and dicing, the ripping of flesh and clattered bones, “death” of a sort, dealt to the undying, torment for the tormented who themselves wished to inflict suffering upon her – someone kept the restless souls away from the princess. Someone precise, fast, and masterful with his tools of mayhem.
“Haa, is that you, Organ?” Ellen asked sullenly. Denied her excruciating retribution once more, she could only cover her tightly shut eyes with her palms.
“How did you know, Your Highness?” Indeed, it was him. As brutal as he was gallant, the deceased demigod was the only one out of these dead souls, who spoke to her, and not wailed at her like some sort of a beast.
“I know only two men, who’d come for me here, and the other isn’t so discreet, you moron.” The young general replied, opening her eyelids. The first thing she saw was the Champion of Jioral, covered in black blood. His prized amber eyes were no more, only black gaping holes were there instead. “Why’re you here? Do you want a piece of me for yourself?” The girl asked, still unwilling to stand up. Honestly, she felt robbed at this moment. This would be such a fitting end for her, but no! “Don’t tell me you’ve just barged in here to… Pff! PROTECT… me.” The second princess spat these words through her painfully clenched teeth.
“First things first, Lady Norn, I suggest you cover your shame and cease this indecency.” The warrior spoke, piercing and slashing the mob with his sword, impaling them with his hidden blade, tossing them back with his kicks. He was far from his prime form, and so, wounds and sores, cuts and lesions were left on him, as he, alone, overpowered dozens of raging men and women, keeping them away from the girl he swore to protect. Indeed… “Forgive me, princess, but I made a vow to your mother, and death is hardly a valid reason to…”
“YAKS… (giv…) A-A-A-A!!!”
“…to renounce my…”
“DOKI-I-I (step away)!!!”
“…loyalty to her!”
Despite everything, no matter the odds, Hawkeye continued to push back the angry spirits. He couldn’t dodge, as every missed blow could land on the lady, he couldn’t step back, as she needed protection more than any time in her life, and, certainly, sustained by this oppressive dimension, he couldn’t die. He couldn’t kill anyone, as they just rose anew from their own black blood, but the man couldn’t retreat.
“He-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh…” The princess chuckled, curling her torso in order to sit up. It hurt her stomach, but the girl persevered nonetheless. “Why am I always surrounded by stupid stubborn men, who just can’t help but dingle their balls before me? Seriously, a dead man, upholding a promise to a dead woman, how much more ridiculous can this get?” The girl scoffed, pulling back her panties, bra, and whatever she left lying around, back on. After all, why even bother now? “Be honest, idiot! What do you want from me?”
“I came here…”
Slash, backflip, tackle, toss – Organ Trist twirled around his commander, pushing back everyone, who came too close to his prized princess.
“…to ask you, Lady Norn!..”
Shoulder slam, side-kick, a flurry of bloodshed embodied in the son of Artemis!
“…to save my…”
Stabbing enemies with that hidden blade, crushing their skulls with the handle of his blade, ripping their eyes out and tossing them away – however useless this double-sided brutality may seem, Hawkeye had purpose, skill, and, most of all, conviction, that allowed him to push the mob away.
“…daughter! Save Marianna!”
After all, what can be stronger, than a father, eager to protect his dear child?
“And you think keeping me alive will help you with that? You, moron, this bloated pigeon trapped me here! I have only one way out – fucking death!” The second princess, now properly clothed again, yelled however loud she could. Unable to comprehend the reasoning behind this idiocy, the girl just stood there, pulling her crimson hair. “Also, you’re severely mistaken! I’m not Norn! Norn’s dead! My name is…”
“…Elly! Elly-y-y!!!” Barely had the princess opened her mouth; before the dome had been breached from the outside. The Hero of Magic emerged above the ground. She levitated, using magical blue flames; she secured her sister by forming a wall around her, a barricade made from powerful ice spears. The sorceress even went so far as to send one into the undead Champion, it was one he easily avoided, though. “Step away from my sister, Organ!!!” The raging magician demanded, pulling her sibling towards her with a gust of mystical wind.
“Ghh! Oh, hey there, Friea!” The fallen warlady spoke, bracing herself against the dizziness her brief flight had caused. Still, this didn’t look good. The last time those two met, Hawkeye severely injured the pink-haired girl, and she just wouldn’t live through it again, unless two gods appeared to help her. This time, though, it was her turn to be a deity-savior.
“Get away! You’ve bested me once, but this time, I can crash this entire realm down onto your head!” The Hero of Magic promised, putting her staff between her sister and her enemy.
“Aw shit, this just gets better and better…” The little genius lamented, nervously shaking her head. Not only was her glorified suicide rudely interrupted, but now this situation threatened to kill her sister as well. Still…
“Elly, Elly… Ellen? Ellen the Adopted?” Despite Freia’s expectations, Organ Trist was more interested in the new name she called Norn, rather than anything else, really. He already had his fair share of battles, after all. “Ho-ho-o! I guess, in the end, you really did become the better version of yourself! And the ‘brother’ in question – is that sir Keyaru?” The blinded man asked with the same smugness he once boasted with in his grandiose life.
“What’s the point of answering you now? Aren’t we just traitors to you?” The heroine replied with every bit of animosity she had in her. “Hold on, Elly, I’ll get you out of here.” Freia stated, charging her staff with the magic that shaped this entire “world”.
“Heh, aren’t you afraid of what that damn poisoned pigeon might do to you for breaking her rules?” The crimson-haired cutie scoffed, witnessing the entire black dome covering with cracks.
“I don’t care about her rules! All I want is to see you safe!” The sorceress spoke with even more defiance toward Caladrius than Norn ever had in her. If needed, she would challenge this feathered nightmare to a duel, anything, just to save her family.
“I see…” Hawkeye uttered, kneeling before the two girls. All that time, rather than monitoring Freia’s moves, his supernatural senses were aimed outside, to make sure no restless souls cross the fence of magic ice. But now… “I see your eyes, Princess Flare, they’re just like hers. I’m sure; you’ll make Lady Reeharoze proud of you yet.” Now, before he once again departs to the other side, there was one last thing to tell them. First praise, then a claim… “Lady Ellen, I beg of you. The life of Marianna now lies in your hands.” …and finally a plea. With all that said, Organ Trist crumbled, his body turned into black salt. And with it, the entire realm began to collapse in itself…
“Hold tight, Elly…”
…
And now, there was only one dark dome left. Arguably, the worst of them all, this particular world was to be the prison for Keyaruga… or his cemetery. No doorways to run into, no windows to jump from. He was alone, trapped with hundreds of those who were slain by his hand. Those poor bastards – the restless souls, their minds were so obsessed with hatred, and their grudge – powered by the sheer immortality of their ethereal blackened bodies. This was hell in its purest form. The question is – a hell for who, exactly?
“YE-E-E-E-E-EAH!!! IT’S HEALING TIME!!!” Keyaruga snarled and began splattering blood all over the place. Everyone who was touched by that substance became horribly mutated – their heads bloated, their muscles strained so much, they crushed their very bones! “WHAT’S WRONG?! KILL ME!!! KILL ME NOW!!!” The man demanded, dancing around his would-be tormentors with his blade, blessing his foes with the exquisite gift of perpetual agony! Saber in his right hand, Georgius on his left, one complementing another.
Despite what the lad asked, nobody could bring him down. His immortal flesh defied any blade, his bones healed in an instant, his mad frenzy alleviated any pain.
He thought he could kill his enemies for the second and final time, give them proper death in the most excruciating manner. He was wrong…
“DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! AGAIN! AND AGAIN! AND ALL OVER AGA-A-A-A-AIN!!!” The hero yelled chopping off heads and severing limbs! He killed so many, he couldn’t even count the slayings! He murdered the same people over and over, each time their agony being more exquisite then the last!
Kill a man once, he won’t even notice, his rage will only rise! Kill him thrice – he’d waver! Five – and the seeds of fear are sown. Ten – and he’s broken completely!
Keyaruga just couldn’t help himself, he hated these scum so much, he just couldn’t contain all his passionate hatred. It was so strong, that the feeling of pure, raw, primordial wrath transcended every possible modification he had put into himself.
“A-A-A-A-A!!! UGH-H-H-H-H!!!” A soldier was weeping, hugging his boot. “S-S-S-S-SPA-A-A-ARE ME-E-E!!!”
“YO-O-OU!!! I remember you!” The healer spoke, raising the cretin by his neck. “My first kill! You watched me being raped, drugged… BEATEN!!!” The man yawped, slicing off his upper face with one nimble slice. “AND YOU NEVER!!! EVER!!! EVER FUCKING HELPED ME!!!” The lad, tainted by black and red blood, slammed the sentry into the ‘floor’…
“A-A-A-A-A!!! PLE-E-E-EASE!!!” …and gleefully sliced off his arms, ignited sparked his left armored hand into a gauntlet of blazing heat!..
“GU-GHH-GUU!!! UA-A-A-A-A-A-A!!!” And finally, cauterized the wounds, just so that the retard wouldn’t die too soon.
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!!!” The crazed avenger yelled, grabbing Leonard, so conveniently nearby, weeping. “YOU SAID, I’VE DONE NOTHING FOR THIS FUCKING KINGDOM?! I’LL SHOW YOU, WHAT I CAN DO NO-O-OW!!!”
And so he did, the madman rested his two fingers on the sadist’s forehead. A second passed, and a purple spark had announced the richest form of suffering.
“Oh… U-u… Uo-o-o-o-o-o… Khh…” Indeed, although it wasn’t as vocal as previous ones, Keyaruga was more than pleased with the result. He knew of a human having specific nerves, specifically for reacting to pain. And he just overloaded them. Toxic spiders, dangerous medusas, venomous snakes and scorpions – all of them could do that with their poisons. Hell, even Keyaruga could brew neurotoxins. But damn, this thing had one ultimate merit compared to all of those – the instant effect, so potent, in fact, that the victim can’t even cry out from the excruciating pain!
“He-e! That’s a neat trick.” The lad mumbled, approaching a maid, lying on the “floor” like an embryo. Flare’s bodyguard shivered and sucked her thumb, completely lost to this twisted world. Just one little touch… “Pam! You’re already dead!” Keyaruga sneered tapping his armored fingers by her temple.
“Uh… Uh… Ugh… W… Wha-?.. A-A-A-A-A-A-AGH-H-H!!!” The woman grabbed her skull, but it was too late. All the blood, bile, and even marrow now came into her brain, bloating it, up until it burst in a fountain of black blood and shining entrails.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!! I FUCKING LOVE IT!!!” The deranged healer laughed so loud, and his presence was so overwhelming now, that nobody even dared to come close to him, let alone attack, unless they wished to become a victim of a new twisted experiment. Oh, their fear, this agonizing panic! They’re giving me a fucking boner! I wanna fuck! I want a woman! Oh, this! This will do nicely!
And so, Keyaruga dropped his saber, unfastened his belt, ripped the dress, slapped that ass which he had found, grabbed it, pushed it in! The woman with a blackened tail was slowly dying of blood loss, but that barely concerned the lad. He grabbed her pelvis and began to move, so fast, so frantic, and so mindless, that no one could see a human in him. No-o, this was a wild beast, slamming his bulging cock into the defenseless female, too tired to react, let alone resist somehow. She wasn’t even tight, just barely warm, but even that was enough. A few minutes of such suffering inflicted on her, and he came, this was a brilliant orgasm, deeply perverted, and twisted to the very core…
Oh, that’s the fucking best! I love it so much!
Keyaruga grabbed her hand, wiped his penis with it, pull back his pants, and…
I don’t remember her. I wonder, who that is.
He pushed the body, rolling it to the back.
“Ha-a-a… Hello again, Kailia…” The mad lad recognized her instantly. An agent, sent to find and assist Eve Reese in her quest, hired by someone named Carol. But that alone wouldn’t be enough to get Keyaruga to brutally rape her. “You’ve killed my Norn, but I spared you. Heh, after Kali left, I tasked you to ward off whoever they sent after my Eve, but… It seems like you’ve failed. Really, really sad.” The healer spoke, resting his left hand on her dying flesh, recovering it in an instant. And just like that… “Oh, fuck!” She nearly stabbed him with a knife. Gods only knew where she got it from… “Sit still.” But then, Keyaruga just pressed his finger on her forehead, and completely shut down her limbs functions. He pitied her… but could do nothing for this miserable leopard woman.
“Haa… Damn, it’s getting boring here.” The hero lamented, picking up his weapon of choice. At this point, he just put it back in its sheath. Only then did he spot a couple of new faces in the crowd of weeping bastards. “You there! You don’t look like you should be here. What’s… wait…”
“STAY AWAY FROM ME, MONSTER!!!” The woman cried, she was weeping into her man’s now tainted shirt.
“Heh! He-heh! No-no-no-o! Oh no-o-o!” Keyaruga frantically shook his head, unable to believe what he just saw. This was the worst. This… “Anna! Kurt! What… What’re you even doing here?! I… I avenged you! You shouldn’t have…” His parents were there, they stood among the thugs, slavers, robbers, bandits, zealots, murderers… But they… they weren’t one of them…
“You killed us, traitor. You raped my wife, after everything she’s done for you. You’re disgusting little shit!” The mighty harvester told him, pointing his war-scythe at the hero. The only thing that held him at bay, though, was his spouse, loudly crying with black tears pouring from her eyes.
“Heh… You… really think I’d…”
“No. But you’ve proven it.” Kurt spoke with the coldest possible rage in his voice. Keyaru’s cruelty couldn’t be doubted, after all. Not after everyone he maimed this day. “I don’t give a fuck, what the hell is wrong with you, but I’ll slice your guilty ass as many times as I need.” The older man spoke, pushing Anna aside. And then, he lunged.
Kurt struck as a true warrior – he was swift, accurate, precise – his war scythe – basically a reforged farming tool, grazed Keyaruga’s torso, cut his leg, he even stabbed his foster son through his chest. But… there was no blood.
“Calm down, you two.” The hero demanded, stoically taking hit after hit, like the heavy glaive-like blade was nothing. While Anna crumbled to her knees, lost in her weeping, Kurt wouldn’t stop attacking. “You can’t kill me, I’m immor-…” Barely did the lad say so; before his foster father grabbed the handle in a wide grip, and just swept his head off with one precise strike.
“NO-O-O-O-O-O-O!!!” Strangely enough, despite all of the delusions his parents had about him, Anna just couldn’t stand seeing her child being killed so brutally. “A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A!!! WHY-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y?!!!” As Keyaru’s head rolled on the ground, the thugs, at least those who weren’t affected by any of hero’s inventive afflictions, started to get rallied again.
“You had it coming, you ungrateful dipshit!” Kurt spat through tightly closed teeth. He couldn’t watch, couldn’t face what he had to do with his adopted prodigy. Even if he was a criminal. Even if…
“I really did…” But the bastards weren’t enjoying the show for too long. Right when the healer seemed to fall, a new body started to grow from his neck-stump, the clothes, the pouches, the weapons – everything turned into ash just to materialize again on the proudly standing conqueror of death itself.
“What devilry is this?” Kurt’s reaction was understandable. A mix of fear, anger, and disgust, was all over his tainted face. In turn…
“KEYARU-U-U-U!!!” Anna just dashed forward to hug her child. No matter, how disgustingly atrocious his resurrection was, without even looking at the beheaded body that now lied nearby, the woman just went ahead and embraced the lad. She… didn’t seem to be in her right mind, even for a dead soul.
“Anna, I… I…” The shivers began taking a hold of him. His hands, his knees – they trembled so much, this simple touch he though he lost forever, this… This was enough to make him cry. “I’m sorry… I’m so, so, so, so-o-o sorry!..”
“DIE, FUCKER!!!”
“THAT YOU HAVE TO SEE ME DOING THIS!!!” Keyaruga yelled, grabbing Leonard by his wrist. Just a little pressure – and he dropped his sword, the weapon faded into nothingness. Then, the man pushed Anna back, punched his foe in the gut, and proudly showed his captive to his family. “Haa… He-heh! He-e-e… This… This is Leonard, Flare’s… right hand…” The hero spoke, this time trying to maintain his sanity, as his parents now cautiously looked at him. “I… I came from the future! I had to rewind time’s flow itself… Because Flare was evil, and he…” Then, the man put his hand onto the barely struggling imbecile, thus transforming him into Keyaru, the motionless child, whose entire mobility, except for breathing, was shut down for the ease of what he was about to do. “I killed Flare! And he took my guilt. Then…” Afterwards, the healer went ahead and summoned raging flames upon his free hand. Kurt and Anna watched motionlessly, as he placed the magic-shrouded palm onto his ‘own’ face, burned it, scourged the blackened flesh with the sorcery he ‘learned’ from Flare… “My trick was revealed, and he headed out to our village, looking just like me. The rest… you know the rest.”
And finally, Keyaruga dropped the motionless doll, unable even to cry out from the excruciating pain the Hero of Healing inflicted upon it. He then faced his parents, still shocked by such a display of merciless brutality, they couldn’t even properly reply, this entire spectacle of bloodshed, mayhem, rape, torture, demonstration of immortality, and now – proofs of metamorphosis – all of that left them utterly silent.
“Kurt, Anna… I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you… But I can’t let you, or any one of these fuckers keep me here! I… I have a family! Freia, Setsuna, Ellen, Eve – I so wanted you to meet them… But you can’t now. You… might not believe me, and I understand that.” The red-eyed lad uttered, as his posture slouched more and more, along with his fading bravery. “This is what it’s like to be a man! I must be strong! I have to be ruthless now, so that nobody would challenge me in the future!” The man added, now turning his back to his foster parents. He stood straight, he stretched his shoulders, took a deep breath, and… “LISTEN HERE, YOU FUCKING MONSTERS!!! WHAT YOU’VE FELT NOW IS BUT A TINY BIT OF WHAT I’LL DO TO YOU, ONCE I’M FUCKING DEAD!!! NOW YOU WILL GO INTO THE DEEPEST PITS OF HELL, AND WHEN YOU’RE THERE, PRAY I DON’T FUCKING DIE ANYTIME SOON!!! BECAUSE WHEN I FINALLY KICK THIS SHITTY BUCKET, I’LL FIND EACH OF YOU, AND WE’LL BE PLAYING FOR THE WHOLE OF ETERNITY!!! BUT WHY WAIT, WHEN WE CAN HAVE SOME FUN NOW, HU-U-U-UH?!!!”
The speech was told, the impact made. His words were so zealous, so passionately intimidating, that the weeping fools now reached a whole new depth of despair.
“GET US OUT OF HERE!!!”
“SAVE ME-E-E-E!!!”
“HE’S THE DEVIL!!! DE-E-EVIL!!!”
“UA-A-A-A-A-A-A!!!”
“KUUNDA (I’m so scared)!!!”
“HE-E-E-E-E-ELP!!!”
And so, this entire crowd, this mob of immortal corpses, just ran away. Everyone, who could still stand on their feet, began fleeing in panic, trampling each other in the process. What they failed to notice, though, is that the dome is endless only for its main victim. Everyone else just came up against the invisible wall.
The Trial of Heart – its goal is twisted, to be certain. To pass it would mean releasing the dead souls from their grudge toward you. A saint would shift it to forgiveness, but the deranged avenger pumped so much fear in those criminals, that their hatred was replaced by the purest and most animalistic terror. Still, with the task done, the souls began to dissipate in a white light. They would finally be free…
“REMEMBER!!! YOU’VE NOT SEEN THE LAST OF ME!!! WE’LL MEET AGAIN, YOU FUCKING SHITBAGS!!!” Unfortunately for them, though, Keyaruga’s long shadow still loomed above them all. And such, even in relief, the crowd continued to cry, to sob, to wail, to…
“Keya… ru…” But not all left because of dread. When the avenger turned around, his foster mother, crumbling into white flakes, stood on her tiptoes to give him a last kiss on the cheek. “You’ve grown… so much…”
And so, she faded. Kurt quickly followed, although it wasn’t forgiveness or benevolence that filled his raging soul. No, it was an impotent acceptance. He saw Keyaruga as a mirror, in which he saw himself, before he deserted the royal guard and found himself in Alban.
“Someday… you’ll follow my path…” And this was what the man spoke at last, dropping his war-scythe to the ethereal ground. With no souls to redeem in the most twisted of ways, the dome of blackness quickly turned insufferably bright.
The Trial of Heart had been passed.

Allowing Anybody!!!
Region: Americas
Age: Any age. If you’re young and mature, then you’d be okay. I’m 17 myself.
TimeZone: PST (Pacific Standard Time), but we will allow anyone else with a different time.
Server Name: Loot++ (You cannot search it in the search bar. You will need to find it if you put players >.)
Current members four people, maybe five.
I do not want to be this formal, but it took down my last post because it wasn’t formal.
MAIN INFORMATION:
So the server is a KOS type of server (Kill On Sight) people will not stop to talk. If you see anyone, your first instinct should be “Is That You? No, Okay.” Shoots
Our base is near Severograd. (Will not share more until we meet.)
Either DM me privately or comment if you want more information.
My Xbox username (LanderNutz) Keep in mind that this isn’t my main account. It’s an alternate account that I mainly use for DayZ.
Also, please have a mic. If you don’t, then that’s okay. We do prefer mics.

There is some violence in this one. Struggle snuggles are briefly mentioned, but nothing descriptive. There is nothing bad enough to warrant a NSFW tag.
The Nature of Predators is made by u/SpacePaladin15
Previous/ First/
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Memory transcription subject: Varce, Cattle Farm Δ12
Date [standardized human time]: January 1, 2137
Delicious, succulent piles of meat laid before me. Fresh yellow blood still dripped from fatty livers. Chitin appendages were begging me to crunch into them. Stacks of scrumptious eggs oozed with slime, undoubtedly laid last night. I could barely contain myself as we all sat down to begin our morning breakfast.
Tarth, being the greedy Arxur that he is, started begging. “So. Your sharing, right? I mean, you do have three days worth of food in front of you.”
I gave him a curt “No” as I began digging into my mountain of food. Al and Kyra snickered at the abrupt rejection. The tender liver broke down into small fragments as my teeth sunk through it. My starved brain exploded with endorphins as the rich, flavorful food slid down my throat. Every drop of tangy blood felt like absolute bliss, seasoned by near crippling hunger. I was so enraptured by the delights before me, I barely even noticed Al watching me with a stupid grin.
I looked him over. “What?”
He broke out snickering. “Sorry. I can’t help it. I don’t quite have a word for it, but it’s nice to watch you enjoy yourself so much.”
Eh. Weird human stuff. I continued to feast on a crunchy appendage when my human callously stole an egg from one of my plates.
I snapped at him. “Hey! Put that back. You’ve got your own eggs.”
He continued to smile like an idiot. “Open your mouth.”
I humored him, albeit somewhat annoyed. Once my mouth was agape, he tossed the egg he was holding onto my tongue. My jaws slammed shut with a pop.
Al excitedly did a little cheer. “Aw. That was awesome.”
Tarth tried to get in on the action. “Do me now.”
Before I could say anything, Al responded. “No. You’re not getting any of Varce’s food.”
Tarth replied with an overly dramatic head turn. “I see how it is.”
--------------------------------
My division sat around the “kitchen” after a long morning of work. All of our equipment had been cleaned and stowed for the time being. Al’s injury brought his productivity to a crawl despite his best efforts. He couldn’t cut, carry, or clean with just one arm so he mostly just acted as moral support. He answered any human questions that were in my inbox, but it had been almost a month since the guide was put out. Barely anyone had any interest in humans at this point.
I sat with my back against the wall while casually scrolling through my news feed. My human was sitting to my left with his head propped against my ribs. He was focused on my screen as I had various images slide by. We were looking for any updates on the situation with the UN armed forces.
Apparently, a few thousand humans were being reported to be under federation custody. A planet with a human shipyard was captured by prey. I’d hazard a guess that not many of those humans are still alive, though I wouldn’t say such a thing with Al around. While he has made it thoroughly clear that he is team Arxur, he still cares for the well being of his own species.
Al let out a slow exaggerated sigh as he slumped further into me. “Hey Varce. Do you think humans are going to survive?”
I considered lying, but decided against it. “Probably not. You did say some ark ships got sent out though. So there’s that.”
“I’m probably going to be the last living human in this part of the galaxy here pretty soon.” He strummed his fingers against my knee. “It’s… A really weird feeling.”
I took one of my hands away from my holopad and ran it through his blonde hair. I looked at his blue eyes for a moment before returning to the holopad.
“For what it’s worth. You’ll always be welcome to stay with me.” A small condolence, but it was what came naturally.
“Thanks”
After about a half-hour, a live broadcast forced itself onto everyone’s holopad, including mine. The image displayed 23 restrained Arxur on their knees with armed guards standing behind them. Chief Hunter Shaza entered the screen and stood at a podium.
She looked over them before speaking. “Today I will pass judgment and punishment onto these Arxur before me. Due to their negligence and incompetence, a total of 508 captive humans have died with an unknown amount of humans dying while being captured. In addition to this, 35 loyal Arxur have died along with an additional 112 being wounded.”
Al and I looked to each other in concern. That was upwards of a quarter of the humans that we had captured in total. What the hell happened?
Shaza continued. “First, you three that were in charge of testing and approval of the tranquilizers used on humans. You falsified data and gave approval to a tranquilizer that has led to deaths in almost every cattlefarm. These tranquilizers were used by human capture parties and resulted in an unknown number of human fatalities that could have been used for trading. Your sentence is death.”
She pulled a ceremonial sword from out of the podium and walked behind the three. She took a swing at the first ones neck and cleanly passed through. However, she over swung and got the tip lodged into the skull of the second one. The second one violently spasmed and screamed as he tried to get away. He fell to the floor when Shaza jammed the blade further into his brain. She extracted the sword and cut down the third with no issue. She walked back to the podium, sat down her sword, and continued with her judgment.
“Vice Admiral and Human Welfare Officer of Cattlefarm Δ9. You disregarded any recommendations about human nutrition and fed them raw herbivore food. Then, when it was discovered that the herbivore food is toxic to humans. You continued to feed them herbivore food and ate the water bug meat that was sent to you. All 225 humans under you care have died due to the toxicity of the herbivore food. Your punishment is death.”
Shaza walked to the two with sword in hand. She carefully swung at each of their necks, being sure to not over-swing again. She walked back to her podium and readied herself to speak again.
Al spoke up while his eyes were locked on the holopad. “She’s nervous. I mean, she was a little nervous before that fuck up. Now she’s even more nervous. I think it’s a safe bet that Prophet Descendant is watching this.”
Shaza scowled this time. “Vice Admiral, Master-at-arms, and Human Welfare officer of Cattlefarm Δ2. You three disregarded all security recommendations and placed all 241 of your humans in a single cage. They crafted weapons known as shanks and killed guards. They then claimed the guard’s firearms and ultimately immolated themselves in the facility. This resulted in the deaths of 35 Arxur, severe injury of 112 Arxur, and the loss of an estimated 800,000 pounds of food and breeding stock. Your punishment is death.”
With sword in hand, she walked behind them. She held the tip of the weapon with her off hand and drove it through. The metal stuck out of the first one’s upper abdomen. His liver was most certainly cut open. She violently yanked out the blade and repeated the process two more times. She left them to bleed out and returned to the podium.
Words could not describe to sheer anger on her face as she addressed the last 15 Arxur. “You disgusting degenerates of Cattlefarm Δ6. A total of 34 human females committed suicide while under your custody. If we find more evidence, I promise more will be executed by my hand. 34 human females are dead because you forcibly mated with them. You destroyed all video evidence, so you knew exactly what you were all doing. Your punishment is death.”
She walked away from the podium without her sword this time. She strolled past the line of corpses and looked over the first Arxur. Shaza turned to the closest guard and took the rifle from their grasp. She placed the muzzle of the weapon into the lower center of the creep’s back. She pulled the trigger with a splatter of blood. She destroy his spine and ruptured his intestines. He wouldn’t be going anywhere while he had his slow death. Shaza repeated this over and over until all 15 of them were crumpled on the ground slowly dying. She returned the rifle to the guard and took her position on the podium.
She stared into the camera. “This fleet functions because I have confidence in those that operate below me. When there are errors, I expect those to be reported to me. The people here lied and hid things from me. Those that reported incidents to me still have their heads and positions because they did not betray my trust. As Chief Hunter, all of you are my responsibility. All I ask is that you do not violate my trust. Now get back to work.”
With that said, the live stream ended. Everyone in the room was dead silent after witnessing the execution. I wasn’t really certain on how to process what I just witnessed. Especially that last group. What would even bring an Arxur to even consider doing something like that with a human? I wouldn't be surprised if they did that kind of stuff with their prey too. Putrid fucking animals.
Al interrupted my train of thought when he started talking. “Those that self reported didn’t lose their positions? That’s a load of shit. She totally tried to boot you. What a fucking liar.”
My holopad began pinging me with an incoming video call from my vice admiral. I accepted it without hesitation and was presented with an image of vice admiral in his stateroom. He raised an eye ridge before speaking.
“Human Welfare Officer Varce and Hall” Al nodded his head in submission. Oh right, he’s more or less cuddling with me right now. Not a great look. “Did you see the live execution just now?
I replied. “Yes vice admiral. It appears you’re suspicions were correct. Though I wish they weren’t.”
“Over 500 captive humans dead. If you’d like, you can pat yourself on the back.”
The hell is he implying? “I’m sorry sir. I don’t think I follow.”
“We just got a view of what would have happened at all of the cattlefarms had it not been for you and Hall. I just felt it appropriate to congratulate you on all of the humans you effectively saved.”
“Huh… That’s one way to look at it sir.”
The vice admiral gave me a grin. “Don’t sell yourself short. If you hadn’t become my Human Welfare Officer, I might have been in that line up. I’ll have you know that I strongly prefer my head attached to my body. Could you imagine the disaster that would have happened if that idiot had been in charge?”
Al forced himself into the conversation. “Speaking of. How’s the brig treating the spoon smuggler?”
Spoon Smuggler? The shithead? Why the hell does Al know about what happened to that moron when I don’t even know?
Vice admiral continued. “The half rations are thinning the troublemaker down. I’ve yet to find an unfortunate ship to pawn him off onto. I am however, considering the possibility of sending him to work on a waste management ship.”
Al started giggling. “Do it. That sounds hilarious.”
I re-entered the conversation. “I second the waste management idea.”
Vice admiral decided to wrap up our conversation. “As much as I’d like to rejoice over the fact that I’m alive. I have much work to do still. So have a good day Officer Varce. You as well Hall.”
With that said, the call cut out leaving me with my human. Over 500 captive humans dead. Their care was in the hands of the Dominion. And well… We failed them. They suffered abuse and mistreatment at the hands of Arxur. They were treated like cattle. Some even worse… I understand why Arxur go through the struggles that we do. We have more people then meat. It’s simple math… But this is just outright wrong. They were given the supplies they needed. It was just the torture and death of sapients for the sake of it. What is wrong with some of these people. Sure, humans aren’t as impressive as an Arxur physically, but that doesn’t mean they’re some mindless prey. Ouch!
I looked down to my human who was pinching the softer scales around my armpit. “What was that for?”
Al smiled at me. “You were spacing out there. I figured I’d drag you back to reality.”
I sighed a little. Might as well not dwell on the human thing. “How did you know what happened to the ‘spoon smuggler’? I thought he just disappeared.”
Al continued to tug at my loose skin. “The guards told me. Unlike you, I make a point of rubbing elbows with the folks around here. I know all of the gossip and rumors.”
A perk of being born a social predator I suppose. I’d tire of the endless chitchat long before any human would. I wrapped my left arm around the goofy human’s neck and brought him into a loose choke hold of sorts. My other hand grabbed at his hair and pulled at it lightly.
I put on the best sarcasm voice that I could. “Are you suggesting that you are better at social interactions than me? I’ll have you know that I am an Arxur, the apex predator of the universe. I’m perfect at everything all the time. To even suggest otherwise would be peak foolishness. I-”
Al started to poke at my muzzle with his good hand. Naturally, I retaliated by “biting” down on his hand to keep it still.
“Eww. You have no idea where that thing has been. Seriously. I only have one functional arm right now, so what do you think I’ve been using that thing for?”
I promptly spit out the filthy appendage. It was nice to see him enjoying himself. With all the death that’s going on right now, I’d imagine that he’s probably really stressed out.
I released his head. “So. How are you holding up?”
“I’m doing as well as I could hope to.” He softly rammed his head into my ribs. “Thanks.”
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It feels like my players multiclass at any opportunity and then argue that “it’s not that good”. I know you have to have the stats for it and that you will have less hp due to round down but I’m racking my brain as to how a rogue 7 is anywhere near as good as a rogue 6/wizard4-5 with invisibility, mage armor and other spells. Can someone please enlighten me?

I feel shame for posting here so often, but I absolutely got no clue about this one :(
Maybe mid/Late 2010s, I played this game on my mom's laptop. As I can remember, It starts when parent-bird hangs laundry on the street, it's child (Baby-Bird) is siting/playing near by its parent. Suddenly, big bird comes and steals Baby-Bird. Now you play for parent-bird, you need to go through different challenges and puzzles to save your child! Maybe, it's not 100% correct, it was a long time ago and I can't remember much details.
I asked my mom, but she couldn't help me. I tried to google it, but also couldn't find anything usefull… but I'm not crazy!!
Here some things, that may help:

• I'm 100% sure that it wasn't something Angry Birds/Rio related.
• You know this online games websites that have a lot of different online games on it? I may be wrong, but I don't think that it was the case. Maybe this game had its own website, or maybe this website had different games on it, but was pretty and clean, without colorful design.
• Maybe this game was by some indie developers? I would not be surprised, if so
• I think This Game had really pretty and calm design… my brain says that this game may have Fran Bow or Over the Garden Wall vibes (Something fogy, with a lot of calm colors… brown, green, blue etc) but I may mistake things m(_ _;m)

I will appreciate any help! I really stuck on this one, maybe I'm in hunt for something non-existent, but I'm hoping that I will find it one day. Sorry for all mistakes/typescripts, and Thank You for help!

I’m 28f. Someone messaged me today from my past, we never slept together but did go on a date ages ago and it was a very sexually charged convo when we did speak, he said he had my number and was clearing out his phone so I insisted I had 0 clue why or how he got it as he kept mentioning a name I don’t remember and the number wasn’t in my phone anymore and at this point I had no recollection of this person. Anyway he reeled off some stuff and I then said oh I remember you, why are you changing your identity when it’s clear I know you’re lying.
Anyway, long story short he asked what I was doing career wise so I answered, then he was asking if I still stayed on at the place I originally planned and I said no times change etc. I gave my own flat. He then said it’s near him Then he said “maybe swing by mine” I said nope thanks I’m happily taken and married (I’m not married but I imagined that would shut him down) anyway later on he said “I saw the old conversations and they were very messy” I said out of respect just delete them I’m not the same person as I was thrn. He then kept insisting I was lying to put on a front or that I was lying to myself. So I laughed and corrected him, saying that I just matured. He kept banging on abouy the conversations and sent me inappropriate screenshots of old things, so I said, I don’t believe I acted in the way you say so can I see these chats. He pulled the worst ones involving sex and I just said delete it all, but it’s funny how I replied at 7 am after a night out and I go to work at that time lol how life changes. He then said”I don’t keep girls numbers if we didn’t have sex so I’ve defo had sex with you” I said “no wouldn’t be me. I wasn’t interested (laugh emoji)” he then insisted we did and said I would call him for it I said “look I don’t know who you’re mjxing me up with but that behaviour is tragic and wouldn’t be me. If it was I was probably off my head”
He kept saying it gets worse with some screenshots that he sent me and I said. I’m not that girl I don’t need to see it. To which he then said, well I’ll leave you to it but it sounds like you still have a thing for me. I ignored it and decided not to play into it.
Then later, he said “oh I saw your Instagram pictures, you’re so p****ing above your weight with him” I got annoyed and then said how rude it was and took a second to educate him. To which he then said “it was a joke, you know you’re very pretty” at this point I said “delete my number, leave me along and let’s not continue this anymore”
He then said “if I were him I wouldn’t be too happy we were chatting but it sounds like you wanna carry on”
I ignored and blocked.
AITA?

My transfer day isn’t for another 9 days. I had a scan on Friday and my lining was measuring 9mm in the middle and 11mm near the end. The nurse told me that because I had only been taking oestrogen for 9 days, I had to wait till at least 12 days before starting progesterone.
I receive the dates and it says I start progesterone on 1st June. That means I’ll have been on oestrogen for 14 days. I know that is normal for some women, but I’ve always responded well to fertility medications in the past. (This is our third FET, we sadly miscarried three times before).
Now I’m getting myself worried that my lining is going to be too thick. Has anyone been in this position before and been okay? Do you think I should contact the clinic or just leave it?
Thanks.

What began a few days ago in vision and in thoughts, has slowly taken form into something I've started to enjoy. Having read all the works in entirety more than I care to keep track, taking the next path forward from full chapters, I enjoy now to just read over passages. Two days ago, I enjoyed my pre work coffee and began to create a passage to a part untold to us. Thus I began; the unrevealed meeting of Ëarendil in the Halls of Mandos, at the doors of Manwë: a comprehensive addition to the story that would be canonically relevant to the Silmarillion. Enjoy.
As Ëarendil, the Half-Elven mariner, sailed ever closer to the undying shores of Aman, the air shimmered with a profound anticipation upon the shipwright. Now the sea lay still, the white hull static, approaching the walls of the Valar the turf was revealed brightly before him. Ceaseless the salt of the seas crashed upon these shores, the devices of Ulmo flowing endless within the current of the tides, in ages long before he last beheld the isle of men. The golden light of the Two Trees, casting its ethereal glow, danced upon the waves that carried his steady vessel. The Valar, dwelling in the realms of the Blessed Lands, awaited his arrival with reverent patience and long thought, focus the fairest mind among the elves could not pretend. As his ship neared the haven of Valinor, the radiant shores glistened like a beacon of hope, beckoning Ëarendil towards the realm of the divine. The Ainur, the mighty and wise, gathered at the shores, their forms aglow with the light of ages. They stood tall and majestic, their eyes filled with wisdom and compassion, as they prepared to receive this mortal who carried the fate of Middle-earth upon his hardened shoulders. Ëarendil, guided by the Silmaril that adorned his brow, approached the shore with a mixture of awe and trepidation. Heavy this mighty wind seemed to bare the weight of countless ages as the shipwright stepped onto the hallowed land. His eyes, a humble determination in them filled, surveyed was the splendor of Valinor, its ethereal beauty overwhelming his mortal senses, moments passed and spent forgetting his carried burden . In the distance, he beheld the figure of Mandos, the Doomsman of the Valar, commanding respect and reverence his presence to any eyes of the Valar. Cloaked in the deep hues of twilight, his eyes held an eternal knowledge, for he had witnessed the ebb and flow of time and fate since the song of creation of Arda. Mandos, with a voice resonating like distant thunder, addressed Ëarendil, speaking of the great task he had undertaken and the hope that his voyage brought to the world. But it was the gaze of Manwë, the Lord of the Valar, that truly penetrated Ëarendil's soul. Manwë, clad in robes of azure, his countenance radiant with compassion, regarded Ëarendil with an understanding born from the depths of the Song of Creation. He saw in the Half-Elven mariner the spirit of endurance, the embodiment of the indomitable flame of hope that refused to be extinguished. "Ëarendil, child of two kindreds," Manwë spoke, his voice carrying the weight of all the heavens, "you have braved the tempests of the skies and the perils of the vast seas. Your courage and sacrifice have brought you to our shores, and the light of your Silmaril illuminates the path of destiny. In you, the fate of Elves and Men intertwines. Tell us of the woes and hopes of Middle-earth." And so, Ëarendil, standing before the assembled Ainur, recounted the tales of his journey, speaking of the darkness that threatened to consume the world and the valiant efforts of those who fought against it. His words echoed with a resonance that touched the hearts of the Valar, stirring within them a renewed determination to aid the Children of Ilúvatar. In that moment, a bond was forged, uniting the mortal and divine in purpose. From the depths of the Halls of Mandos to the heights of Taniquetil, a new chapter in the Song of Creation began to unfold, as Ëarendil became the beacon of hope, entrusted with the fate of Middle-earth. Thus, in the unrevealed meeting of Ëarendil in the Halls of Mandos and at the doors of Manwë, woven were the everlasting themes of men, courage and sacrifice, and the triumph of hope upon the stars.
Im having fun. Serious is the last way it should be taken, though I also don't want to disappoint the man for my best shot. Incredibly difficult to attempt to craft a single sentence in the ways of Tolkien, I have to admit it is quite challenging and fun to do so. Here's where I'm at, and I encourage anyone to add in to help me dial it into something respectable. Once we're past that, I'll spend time with more of the critique on my less than two days after dinner spent sculpting it together. Ultimately, I'm hoping that it's entirety shows the appreciation for the style of Tolkien, so I'd like not to deviate from it, as both a challenge and a promise I kept to myself. What would you see? Or what would be happening in the passage as he approaches the land of the undying? Or the initial gaze of the ainur, assessing this man as he approaches? What else can we add to this canon?

Intro and what I'm looking for

Idek where to start tbh. I wanna make a post that isn't too boring, long / short, or irritating to read as I have a habit of talking about my emotions + feelings and unnecessary venting about my life in several setences when it comes to this sort of thing, that's mostly what I talked about in my last post... I'm hoping I can get at least someone's attention by writing the right and necessary words on this subreddit... So, where to begin?
I guess I'll start with what I'm looking for in terms of dating. A fresh, warm, healthy and positive long-term relationship is what I've been craving for the last 4¼ years, not as in desperate or obsessed with it, more as in yearning for that right person to come along and bring sunshine to my life for the first time in a very long time. I'm sorry if that sounds a little cheesy but it's true. Someone who'll accept me for who I am and not care about what I have / don't have, someone who'll understand and accept my insecurities and flaws, not to mention me doing the same for her too. I wanna have that happy and bright future with that special someone, similar to all the couples I see on Instagram, laughing, joking, teasing each other, flirting, doing fun activities together both indoors and outdoors, purchasing matching items for them to wear and hold dear, holding hands... the list goes on.
Come and stop by so we can get to know each other first and see what happens if you're fascinated in this post enough, and if you think I'll be that sort of person you want in your life.

Personality (100% the truth)

As you might have guessed, I am a hard core introvert. Although I get along well with people irl; I briefly chat to them by saying the usual "hello" or "alright?", I then usually keep to myself from them most times to avoid feeling ignored / unimportant / irrelevant in their eyes. This is because I'm not that great at socialising in public places like the club or in the street, and also due to the fact that I feel extremely shy whilst meeting new people. All I feel, every single day, is irrelevant to everybody I come across on a day to day basis and tbh, I've gotten used to it over the years. However, if others ARE willing to get to know me and want me in their presence, I will perk up and be quite the confident individual once enough time passes :)
Other things you should know about me is that I'm extremely loyal and will never hurt the people I love and hold dear, no matter what. I care too much about the people in my life, including family, and I also will never let them down or disappoint them in any way.
Just a little fun fact about me, my zodiac sign is Cancer ♋️🦀 for those of you who are interested and if that matters to you at all. This is related to what I've just written above in the second paragraph.
[This is me pretty much nearing the end of this seemingly never ending post now]
Now that all the soppy stuff is out of the way, I will now talk about what I like doing on a day to day basis :D:

I'm an indoor type of person. I like:

•Watching TV shows like Doctor Who when new episodes come out, The Simpsons and Hollyoaks 5 days a week, and binging on a ton of movies.
•Listening to music pretty much every single day as I'm a huge HUGE fan of it.
•Gaming on PC games such as GTA, Red Dead, and Minecraft.
•I may stay indoors most of the time, but I DO also enjoy doing outdoor activities like spending my days out in places in the UK like Scarborough, Blackpool, Hornsea and Withernsea.
•I'm also interested in Photography, taking stunning photos both indoors and outdoors to store and save for later. Wildlife, sea life and everything else in between is what I'm most interested in :)
•Playing different sports such as Badminton, Bowling, Cricket, Dodgeball, Tennis and Volleyball on the beach are activities I really enjoy doing, but I haven't played them recently thanks to a lack of others playing them with me.
•Gardening and working with plants is something that really fascinates me, planting and watching plants of all shapes and sizes grow is everything I've wanted to do since my late high school days. Also getting a bit of sunshine on my neck in the summer does me some good lol.
•I occasionally like doing artistic activities like card making, paper crafting, drawing and painting, but only on special occasions.
•I also like to read from time to time.

Physical Appearance

My appearance is quite normal:
•I'm 5'8 in height
•I've got quite the decent body shape
•I have no tattoos but I'm considering getting a few in the future
•I've got a small amount of facial hair (but I've shaved recently so I'm not quite as hairy on the face as I used to be)
•I've got quite a lot of hair on the top of my head but keep it in control most times with hairspray
•I've got an average to slightly above average face imo (pics can be exchanged if you're interested in knowing what I look like)
•I'm healthy with no health conditions or concerns
•I wear normal clothes such as buttoned t-shirts, hoodies / denim jackets, jeans / tracksuit bottoms, and leather jackets in colder weather.

You

I'm not too bothered what kind of women I talk to / get with tbh. Just as long as you:
•Live in the UK, or at least in different countries that are close to the UK like Norway, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, France, or perhaps even The Netherlands, since all have shorter time-zone differences to the ones in the UK, (but you can message me wherever you are on the globe)
•Don't smoke or do drugs
•My age limit is between 18-23, but people that are past that age range can also message me.
•I'm not religious, by any means, but I don't mind dating people who are.
•Come as you are, no sugar coating, be real, be genuine. 🚫No NSFW content please🚫, that's all I ask.

Outro

Welp, this is me finally signing off and seeing what happens. If you've read this far, then I appreciate you for taking the time out of your schedule to read my post all the way through :) I hope you have a nice rest of your day 🙏🏻👋🏻 Come say Hi if you're feeling up to it! 🙂

Hey :) my name is Simon, I'm a 28 years old French guy who lives near Paris. I'm working in the sociomedical field as a psychologist. I'm looking for some foreign friends to practice my English (Les français/francophones sont également bienvenus)
About myself: I have a cat. I'm an open minded person who likes many things especially astronomy, science fiction, psychedelic and experimental music, art, concerts, museums... I'm currently playing TOTK so sorry if I don't reply right away sometimes.
If you decide to write me, please introduce yourself a bit otherwise I'll not answer you
See you!

I want to preface this by saying that this is not a 'Asheville is the worst' post. Instead, it's just a 'Am I alone in feeling this way?' post.
I moved to Asheville right at seven years ago for a job that paid too little and expected too much from me. At first, I really didn't vibe with the area and was desperate to go anywhere else, but after awhile, it really grew on me and became this place that I rooted for in every definition of the word. I became that person who would try to recruit family and friends to move here, just because of how much I believed in it and felt like it had a lot to offer the region and state, especially for those who are unsure of themselves and don't have a place to call home. I've lived in NC my entire life and have lived in most areas across the state, both rural and urban, but I felt deeply connected to Asheville.
Then something changed along the way. I became almost resentful of the city and have been looking for ways to get out sooner rather than later. I'm not really sure where it stems from or what happened in my mind for it to shift from rooting for the home team to not even wanting to watch the game anymore, but it has felt pretty drastic.
I sometimes question if my hope for this region has been dashed by poor representation and even poorer decisions, like approving six-story cookie cutter apartment complexes for every vacant lot and local reps nearly always putting tourists over locals. Then I look around and feel sad that there are so many problems that aren't being fully addressed, like the growing population of unhoused people that have had their belongings destroyed or the cost of living growing so exponentially without any sort of recourse from local officials.
So, to get to my question: does anybody else feel this way? Or, has anybody felt this way and either left or stayed? I'm not here to bash or tear down this beautiful pocket of the state, but I've never felt this way in my life and it's throwing me for a loop that I desperately want to get out of. Appreciate it, y'all.

My partner and I have been together for 3 years. We have a 9 night holiday abroad planned for August and both our birthdays are in September. For our birthdays in previous years we have gone away for a night for both of our birthdays so I'll pick where we go for my birthday and my gf will pick where we go for hers.
This year because of the holiday I said I wouldn't be able to afford to go away for our birthdays so maybe just a day out each instead and my gf agreed. She saw an event in a city that isn't really near us that is happening on her birthday weekend and has asked if we can go to it. I pointed out we wouldn't be able to get there and back in a day and she said no but we could make a night of it and stay over. I mentioned that we have already agreed we're not doing that this year and we're only doing a day out. She said we could do a night away instead of 2 days away sicne it would cost a cimilar amount of money. I disagreed sicne it would mean doing nothing at all for my birthday just so we can do more for my gf which isn't really fair.
She kept going on about how she really wants to go to this event and that I can pick everything else we do when we go away so it'll be for both of us but I said no since I've already picked where I want to go for the day. She called me unreasonable and said it was unfair since the event won't be happening again so she really wants to go. I told her to drop it since I'm not changing my mind. She knows it's out of the budget to go away since we're going on holiday the month before.
She just repeated that I was being unfair since she really doesn't want to miss the event and I should be able to manage going away for 1 night. Does anyone have any advice on how to handle the situation?
tl;dr my gf and I agreed to only do a day out for each of our birthdays this year due to going abroad on holiday the month before. My gf has found an event she wants to go to so is now saying I'm being unfair by saying I can't afford to go away for the night. Does anyone have any advice?

Hi, I'm an incoming phd student looking for a bedroom near campus. I prefer an all girls apartment. My budget is below 900$. I am a neat and quiet person. Please contact me if you're interested!

Title spells it out. I’ve been transitioning for nearly 5 years, and I’m satisfied with most of my features like my face and voice, except for my weight.
Now, while I’m sure I probably have some societally ingrained fatphobia, I actually have nothing against being fat, except for how my body seems to store weight, primarily in my stomach and face and not really anywhere else. This gives me a really mannish looking beer gut, that I absolutely hate, and my muffin top overshadows my very minor hip gains and winds up making me look shapeless. I did actually have a period where I lost weight a while back, and I, weirdly, looked curvier while I was thinner.
I feel like my body looks gross and ugly, and it’s (ironically) compelled me to show it off, hoping that others telling me it’s not will change my feelings on it, but it never works. I know I shouldn’t let my dysphoria dominate my entire self-image, but it’s hard for me not to. It prevents me from ever seeing myself as beautiful, despite being aware of my other good features. This has been going on for so long that I’m kinda just numb to the idea of seeing myself as ugly, and it’s not as devastating as it used to be, though I still wish I could change it.
I’m trying to lose weight again, but it’s a lot harder than last time. I still haven’t given up hope though. I feel like losing weight is the last hurdle I need to climb, and once I have, I’ll finally be pretty and happy with my body.

ON ST. GEORGE’S SPEAR
Ch. 18
First Previous
This takes place in an alternate universe described here.
Credit to u/spacepaladin15 for the original universe :)
Memory Transcript Subject: Com. Tomas Cardóna, Commander of the ENS Cupertino, member of the Dominican Order of Scientists
Date [standardized human time]: August 22, 2178
My promotion ceremony was purely for practical reasons, and everyone knew it. My mission was not to be conducted by anyone with “undue authority” or some other bureaucratic nonsense that always seems to find its way into everything.
However, before the government could get a handle on everything, the whole HHE found out about the Arxur's enslavement, and probable consumption of, the crew and descendants of the ENS St. Jeanne de Chantal. It was decided then, that “Squadron 12” would take upon itself a new, grim, task: Providing a secluded home for humanity to develop in times of peace, or flee to if the war goes south.
The former EES vessels were the premier ships for the job, so the Cupertino was chosen as we have been the most recent one to complete a mission successfully, and thus have the most experienced crew. It doesn’t hurt that the Cupertino has been significantly refitted into more of a light frigate than a science vessel, but I digress.
The Cupertino was to have an escort of around 8 corvettes and 2 frigates. By far the heaviest formation I have ever been in willingly. We received orders to travel to Ross 128, again, to stage our transport to our new home. Before we left Earth orbit, however, a top-secret set of orders was patched to my command desk. We were to make a detour to the Centauri system. Further orders would be given in person there.
So be it. I ordered a detour to Proxima. If they wanted to drag this out unnecessarily, well, two can play that game. Then, as if it was expecting us, an outdated museum piece of a “frigate” left orbit and started to charge toward us.
“ENS Cupertino*, this is the* ENS Philomena with permission to dock. Slow down and prepare for docking procedures.”
The Philomena?! That vessel had its heyday during the 3rd Chinese War! It still uses nuclear thermal rockets for crying out loud. We could stay at 40% power and still outrun them. However, it would be bad form just to leave another friendly craft in the dust.
I went to the docking bay to give the idiot in charge of the Philomena a piece of my mind. There is no way I am letting them tag along on an interstellar mission. That would be stupid on so many levels … No. I’m not even going to think about it.
Before I realized it, I was in the docking bay, impatiently waiting for the Philomena to maneuver around the clamps and towards the docking seal with all the tender grace of a buffering video. Markov was his usual cheery self, which is to say he showed all the emotion of a cliff face. A squad of Marines of the order of St. Sebastian was formed on either side of the seal, to show our new capabilities to the rest of the world, as well as to assure ourselves that we are ready for whatever we might find past known space. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be another genocidal maniac empire.
The door opened to a Captain standing in the doorway. He spoke before I could voice some decidedly not-Christian thoughts about his arrival.
“Are you Commander Cardóna?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. I want to talk to you about a classified topic.”
Not again.
“Very well. Follow me to the ready room. Markov, prepare the flotilla.”
Markov nodded, and the Captain followed me to a secondary room, as the ready room was near the bridge, and the docking bay was not.
As soon as the door closed, he locked the door.
“I’m not going to beat around the bush, Commander. You’re going to be transporting Aliens. The Sheep, Kangas, and Spikies had a few volunteers join us. We thought they might be able to send them to help the fleet around Treshaan with their advanced knowledge of galactic political borders and possibly steer you clear of other hostiles.”
“The who sent volunteers?”
“Oh, you probably know them by their official names. Venlil, Yotul, and Go-jid. Trust me, there’s a reason why the Yotul have been nicknamed ‘Kangas’, and it’s not just because they look vaguely similar.”
“Aren’t those aliens deathly afraid of us? How would we be able to accommodate them? We have already lost part of our habitable area to weapons systems, they would have no choice but to be crammed in with us!” I may have said that with a bit more vigor than I intended, but I wasn’t about to cause a diplomatic incident by having an alien die of fright.
“Where did you hear that?”
“Frankly, sir, I am shocked that you rose to such a rank without learning the power of the rumor mill.”
“Fair point. To address your concerns, the volunteers are all in the process of converting. To assist them, a cohort of priests, deacons, and other clergy will be helping them in their path. They have performed a miracle over the past few months. I don’t know the details, but the aliens showed “positive reactions” only 4 weeks into their rehabilitation.”
“Sir, we only have the spare rooms for 30, counting turning those rooms into bunks.”
“That’s great! As we have 32, including the clergy, on the Philomena awaiting transfer, and I doubt that your priest aboard would protest sharing his room. Fortunately for all involved, you will only be transporting them to Treshaan where they will be distributed among the fleet already stationed there.”
I saluted the Captain and went to the Chapel. There, I got down on my knees and asked, [No one in particular] what I did wrong to warrant this punishment. After a half-hour of rethinking every life choice I made up until this point, I left feeling less despair and more resignation than when I entered.
I always hated being the taxi for my family.
Memory Transcript Subject: Chief Hunter Slasaan, Arxur Dominion Sector Fleet
Date [standardized human time]: June 21, 2178
I rushed the Hunter into a small shuttle that would take me to my command ship, which I inherited from my predecessor, Chief Hinter Shaza. That old hag wouldn't be able to comprehend that there are another sapient species in the galaxy, so I guess it was for the best when she suffered that “accident”.
The Hunter seemed to be in awe of the size of the ship. I couldn’t blame her. The ship was large to such an unreasonable degree that some other Chief Hunters tried to scrap the ship due to its “impracticality” in combat situations. Another theory from the formerly-alive Chief Isif that acted as if prey could put up meaningful resistance.
After letting her tour the ship, I tried to get a sizeable fleet behind me if this new species was not open to negotiations. However, as was to be predicted, the other Chief Hunters and houses were dragging their tails as much as they could. If I didn’t know any better, I would have called them Mazic-Boned, but that would only lead to my death.
After a [week] or two, I had finally gathered my task force that would initiate official contact. I was just about to go crazy being on a ship with this many other people at once. Was this why Shaza was so weird? Did she like to keep company like that? Was she hiding defective Arxur on this ship?
Shaking that train of thought from my head, I walked onto the bridge and took everything in. If anything screamed ‘Most powerful Arxur under the Prophet-Descendant,’ this is it. As the task force started our final leg toward Treshaan, I couldn’t help but feel optimistic about negotiations with this new species.

Helloo!
I'm in the process of making a costume for the Coney Island Mermaid Parade.
I was thinking as going as a seaweed type person/thingy. I have an olive green dress to use as a base. But I want to make seaweed that doesn't involve using trash bags.
Of course I can always reuse the DIY seaweed for another adventure but I'm not trying to add to the oceans plastic issue na' mean?
Plus I'll be near a beach after the parade I wouldn't want a seagull to choke on me. Lol

In the moment I try to find a rather cheap bike with tire clearance for bikepacking, because I am not sure if my Emonda ALR5 is made for the greater burden and if the 28c tires are comfortable enough for my wrists on long rides on significantly bumpier roads. If it is - feel free to write your experience.
Alternative would be a second cheaper bike like the Domane, which is made for this scenario. But actually, I prefer a more racier position, even for longer rides. lower handlebars are less hand pressure for me and I just feel more comfortable - every dude is different. To get nearly the same geometry as my emonda has I would have to buy two sizes smaller. 54 to 49.
What holds me back is obviously: I would need a 120mm stem and there are 5,6cm more seatpost showing. screams longer seatpost, because on the emonda it is already very high. don‘t even know if this would be stable.
What do you think of this?

I had my 4th test couple of days ago, with the same lady who failed me the last time, I felt like she uneccesarry turned my steering wheel just because I had moved in the right lane as I was turning right. I had a panic attack and I was shaking crying just unable to stop, and the lady just left me. She said she has terminated the test and to get my instructor to pick me up. She gave me the street name I'm on and walked away.
I was sat there for nearly an hour till my instructor got me, but I feel genuinely traumatised, even rethinking it I'm shaking and crying.
This has made me not want to do it again, I'm scared of being left on my own, test being terminated it's just.. I wanted to drive so bad, I only have like 1 dangerous and few minor every time but this has made me forget about it all together.
Everyone in my family thinks I'm being silly, but I am genualy so scared and traumatised I don't even want to think about getting in the car.
Think I just wanted to vent and have someone who might understand

Damn! The members there label you a man just because you don't want to join them in hating men. I made a huge mistake of commenting without realizing how toxic it is. But soon, I got repeated replies telling me I am a man, asking mods to ban me because THEY THINK I am a guy.
There is name-calling, abuse, shaming on the simplest things. I refused to hate on men. I took a stand that not all men are creeps and the ridiculous "19 out of 20 men" are creeps philosophy, random comments of "RAPE" on a thread nowhere near to it.. That sub is some real piece of shit.
There is outright bullying by women. On one comment, I supported the stance that women are initiating divorce but no, they are still no convinced. Because they want to hear bad stuff about men. Out of nowhere, there are accusations of being westernized, misogynist and a larper. I had to read my comments repeatedly to notice what was so wrong? Nothing! I had an opinion and it did not involve hating on men.
That is it! It is clear that hating men is a prerequisite to participate in that sub.
As much as I agree that I have personally not known many nice men, but I have met quite a few of them. It does not allow my conscience to label all of them as creeps, bring out random story of rape. It is because men bring out stuff about false cases and feminism in women centric posts and I hate it equally and try to practice what I preach by not doing it to the male gender either.
Wow, I am overwhelmed at the quality and mindset of women on that sub. Toxic af!
I have not had to prove my gender nor state it anywhere till now but this is just frustrating.

I recently got my second-ever "high-end" pen, the Lamy 2000 and have been using it non-stop to get a feel for it. My feelings are mixed, an I thought I'd do a review.

Design

After a week, I now love the design. That wasn't immediate -- it's something that takes a while to appreciate. When capped, it doesn't look special at all (I'd even say clunky). Uncapped even, it looks a little unique but nothing that makes you scream 'wow!' like some of the fancier pens I've seen here. But, there's something deeply connected and deliberate about the design... it feels unified. Like it's not a nib, piston, body, cap etc, but it really is a cohesive and deliberate single object. When you use it for a bit and then switch to almost any other pen (ballpoint or FP) you become aware of all the noticeably separate parts in almost any other design and appreciate the L2K even more.

Writing Experience - feeling the paper (but why?)

Some of this might be different based on the nib size you get (I got extra-fine).
Most of the other fountain pens I own (both low and high end) feel like they make a little puddle of ink underneath them. You feel the paper a little bit, but mostly you're gliding on the ink puddle when you're writing. Sometimes the puddle doesn't form fast enough or isn't thick enough and you get too much of the paper on the nib and people call it 'scratchy' because it's jarring and probably unintentional.
This doesn't feel 'scratchy' in the same way. But it feels a lot more friction-full, like you're deliberately dragging more of the nib on the paper than you ought to. So you feel the paper. You're gliding a bit, but barely compared to even something like the Lamy Safari. It seems to be a very deliberate feeling (alluded to in this great review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jYS0o3RAFw)
I don't like it though. I enjoy gliding around on a puddle. It's fun and effortless. This is more effortful. Also my basic understanding of friction tells me that the more of a puddle is under the nib, the less of the nib is touching the paper and wearing down. I'm definitely in very close contact with the paper here, all the time. It feels like this nib might not last a lifetime because of this, but maybe I'm drastically overestimating the effects. Lots of people say this is their everyday pen and it works fine. Maybe I'll do a follow-up in 60 years and see how it held up :)
Note also that there's a review from Goulet pens where he says how much of another level it is writing with the broad nib on this pen. I suspect that's because the broad nib would create enough of a puddle that you get that standard "glide" the way a Safari or almost any other pen does. Definitely not there on the Extra-Fine though.

Pressure and control, tiring

Because this pen has so little of a 'puddle', it means there's a smaller range of positions and angles you can hold the pen where it'll actually produce a mark on the page (the so-called 'sweet-spot' some people talk about). You can extend this range quite a bit just by pushing down, so if you're person who pushes on your pens a little bit, this isn't an issue. However, I like to barely touch the page, so this is an issue for me.
I also like to hold the pen very loosely. "Hold" isn't even the right word. I like to flail with a pen barely connected to my hand. If you refuse to push down, then the only other way to hit the 'sweet spot' is to have some moderate level of control in your grip so the pen is roughly hitting the page in the same spot every time. This also presents an issue for me.
Now, I'm not just a pure anarchist (for the purposes of this sub anyways). My non-contact flailing exists to let me write without tiring. Modifying either of these parameters (pressure or control) means using more finger muscles (the ones you use with a ballpoint pen that tire your hands out and get them to cramp after about 1-2 pages of writing). It's nowhere near as bad as ballpoint writing, but it's still there, and I can feel hints of it in my hand more with this than with my other (mostly cheaper) pens.

When used as intended - beautiful results

Rather than giving up entirely, I decided I'd trust German engineering a bit and lean into it. What happens if I use it 'as intended'? I'd played around with it enough to get an understanding of what 'as intended' might feel like (speed, pressure, control etc).
The results were amazing! It's the best my handwriting has looked with the least amount of effort. I mentioned effort and exertion above and this might sound like a contradiction but it isn't.
Basically, when I do my flailing, it's fast and fun but barely legible. Some people spend years practicing so the right swift swooshing motions produce beautiful, calligraphic text. I don't have that under my belt so the swooshing produces uncontrolled scribbles. However, as mentioned before, I can produce those scribbles indefinitely.
On the other side of this, exerting maximal control with all my hand, I can produce really nice letters (with whatever kind of pen I have) at the cost of tiring my hand out really fast.
What if a pen were made with a trade-off here? Where it required a non-calligrapher to exert a bit of the control they need to produce good lettering (the kind they're used to in everyday life) but still had enough of the energy-saving glide of a fountain pen?
I think this pen hits that balance beautifully, and I think that's why so many people like it so much and use it as their 'workhorse'.

Weight

A quick note, even when using it as 'intended' I felt like it was a little too light. Like it would be even less effort if the pen was a bit more top-heavy and dragging itself on the paper via gravity. I saw that there's a more expensive all-metal version of this pen, so I think that actually addresses this concern.

'Line too thick' critique

I've seen a lot of reviews that talk about how the line width is 'wrong' with the pen and EF is much thicker than what you'd expect. This is actually why I bought EF when I really wanted an F size. This was the wrong move. It definitely created a line that was thin.
I will note that I saw more variance from paper to paper than I've seen with my other pens. When I used Leuchturm 1917 paper, the line was actually pretty thick. On Kokuyo paper, it was very thin. On generic 70g notebook paper, it was also pretty thin. A majority of my tests had it come out thin, so I'm saying it's thin.
Also, note that even when it came out thicker, it didn't significantly take away from the 'draggy' feeling I got. It also wasn't like 'M' thick or anything, just maybe closer to F.

Final thoughts

Like I said, it's mixed for me. I don't want to drag the nib on the paper (really feels like it's bad in the long-run!), and I enjoy the careless wooshing of an ink puddle. So, this pen isn't a delight for me to use in the same way some of these more 'runny' pens are.
But, if I'm going to write something someone else has to read and make it look as nice as my personal skillset allows, and I want to do it for a sustained amount of time? This would be my go-to. If you made it here, thanks for reading!
Notes: I used several papers of different weight and Pelikan and Lamy inks. These all created their own experiences, but results above were generalized based on all of the above.