The movie was fire and i loved nearly every aspect of it. Arcee finally having an actual role, and a decent one at that. The maximals, the terrorcons, the final fight, the music. Noah was an amazing protagonist that actually contributed to the plot, and the jokes were pretty much all hit. It rises high hopes for the next movie, but one thing confuses me- the whoke G.I.joe thing. I know tf and G.I.Joe had crossover before but this one is something more as it has an imoact on the whole movie series. Is there anything about G.I.Joe i should onow about before the next movies come out? So far all i know it exists and i don't know how important to the next movies it will be

So next year Aug 9th is my EAS. And I realize that I don’t hate the marine corps. I just hate my job/unit. I’m a 3051(supply) and it’s pretty boring and our unit is pretty ass. This is my first unit so it kinda sucks that this is what I experience first hand. I’m in a radio/intelligence unit so we are all pogues lol and it can be strict with leaving work late, so many room inspections from higher ups even unwanted inspections and duty roaming around the bricks because of alcohol issues. My cousin was a grunt and now he’s in fire and rescue mos. He likes it a lot because he gets a lot of time off which is great for me if i enter it and it seems way more interesting than supply. But I have to wait until September to try and get a spot in and idk what the advance score is to get it. I want to stay on the east coast mainly North Carolina or south cause I’m used to it and im close to home and I don’t care for traveling because I don’t wanna live over seas. But idk if I wanna stay in the marines. I haven’t done any schooling and idk what to do for skillbridge. I just need some clear guidance. I talked to my NCOs but most of them are getting out very soon and the rest are honestly shit bags.

Hi. I posted on here a while back about the issues I was having, and I recently had the InterStim procedure. I thought I’d share my results.
For those of you that don’t know, InterStim is essentially a bladder pacemaker that stimulates the nerves that control bladder to brain communication. Obviously it’s a bit more complex than that, but that’s a general idea of how it functions.
I had this surgery on April 24, 2023. I have not had any sort of improvement or success at all, and this disappoints me more than words can express. I am getting up at night every ten minutes to urinate, and even when I do, I still continue to feel that urgency right afterwards. It has become very painful, and I constantly feel as though if I move the wrong way I will pee myself. It is incredibly embarrassing and makes me want to hide away at home all day and not participate in anything my friends or family are doing.
Even when the urgency is not severe, I constantly feel some sort of pain, tension, or pressure in my bladder area. The device comes with seven programs, and not a single one of them has given me even the slightest relief.
I only drink water, and I try not to eat anything acidic or that might easily irritate my bladder. Nothing helps. I tried Gemtesa prior to this surgery, and that did not help at all, either. Today was my six week follow up appointment, and I have to get an x-ray due to a bump beneath my skin that could be a part of the device that migrated to the wrong location. They are also prescribing me desmopressin in an attempt to relax my bladder at night so I can sleep.
If anyone has any ideas of what I should talk to my doctor about or what I should try next, it is greatly appreciated. I feel like I have tried everything and I am genuinely at my breaking point, like I am just ready to give up. I can’t live like this.
I do not want to discourage anyone from having this surgery. It helps a lot of people, it just wasn’t it for me. I say go for it. The worst that can happen is that it doesn’t work, but it’s always worth a try if there is a chance of it helping.

League Information

• Series: VCT
• Organizer: KnightsArena, Riot Games
• Type: Online
• Location: North America
• Teams: 8
• Start Date: 05-31-2023
• End Date: 06-10-2023
• Coverage: Liquipedia VLR THESPIKE rib.gg

Format

• Double Elimination Bracket
  • All matches except Lower Final and Grand Final are Bo3
  • Lower Final and Grand Final are Bo5
• Top 2 teams qualify for Ascension: Americas
• 3rd-8th qualify for Challengers next year

Schedule

• The Guard vs G2 Esports — 4 PM EST / 3 PM CST / 1 PM PST
• Oxygen Esports vs FaZe Clan — 7 PM EST / 6 PM CST / 4 PM PST

Streams: Twitch YouTube

Broadcast Talent

Hosts:

• boq (Mark Wilson)
• Sierra Dawn (Sierra Dawn Hunter)

Casters & Analysts:

• Dryad (Daniela Herrera)
• Tanner Metro (Tanner Metro)
• Upmind (Gustavo Franco Domingues)
• Sully (Ethan Tran)
• IHOLDSHIFT (Alan Donofrio)
• dusT (Dustin Mouret)
• StrongLegs (Roy Ahad)
• EMUHLEET (Emmalee Garrido)
• Starriebun (Katherine So)
• SyykoNT (Donald Muir)

Observers:

• Presy (Preston Calcutt)
• DazedDreams (Tasia McConkie)

Producers:

• FlippyBitsGG (Chris Flippo)
• CallMeShelton (Jacob Shelton)
• FirstKnightOfNi

I'm a new Boglehead. All my investments are tax deferred IRAs.
I've left my 1% AUM advisor who had me in 28 stocks, 9 ETFs and Closed End Funds, and 2 Mutual Funds. Nothing simple about it. Via a Schwab account, I'm moving everything to a 3-fund portfolio (VTI, VXUS, BND). I've sold every stock/fund that had a positive or near positive balance (compared to my initial investment).
The remaining 10 stocks in the old portfolio are down a total of $14,650. Lowest single negative balance $371. Highest single negative balance $3,680.
Remaining ETFs and Closed End Funds are down $1,789. Lowest single negative balance $245. Highest single negative balance $2411.
Remaining Mutual Funds (2 total) down $3,738.
Total negative balance is $20,301. The question I have is do I bite the bullet and sell at the losses, buy into my new 3-fund portfolio, and call it a day? I can see taking a loss on the smaller amounts ($200-300). I'm having a harder time with individual losses of $1000-3000. Do I wait it out in hopes some of these losses are recovered over time? Keeping in mind the money is all in tax deferred. No tax loss harvesting opportunity here. Thanks for your thoughts.

In a few weeks, I will be running a level 20 arc for my group (4-5 sessions). This post is to share my design idea so far and to ask for any fun ideas you might have. If you are in the Coldwater campaign, stop reading here.
In the first half of the arc, the party must enter a Beholder's lair and delve to the bottom to find the portal to the second half of the adventure. I want this particular Beholder to feel extremely creepy and alien, and I'm looking for ideas for things to put in its lair. Everything about it needs to feel "off" and uneasy, building tension before the combat encounter.
The Lair:
Right now, the lair is a tower sticking straight sideways (horizontally) out the face of a sheer cliff, like a spike, hundreds of feet off the ground. It has no doors, but it has windows on what would be the uppermost floor (if the tower was upright). A crystal at the "bottom" floor allows the Beholder to control gravity inside the tower. So, at first, when the party enters, gravity will be pointing toward the floor. But the Beholder can point gravity in any arbitrary direction at any time, tossing the party around (the Beholder doesn't care, because it hovers). This also means that any objects or "furniture" are mounted arbitrarily on the floowalls/ceiling, with no particular preference. The party must traverse several floors, from "top" to "bottom," to reach the portal.
The Beholder:
The Beholder is an extreme xenophobe/isolationist from another world. It will hide from and avoid the party, but it also cannot allow them to escape alive, because they might reveal the tower's location to others. Throughout history, every time the tower is discovered, the Beholder uses a version of Dream of the Blue Veil to teleport the tower to another world. So, this tower has visited every world of the D&D multiverse (Faerun, Barovia, Krynn, Tal'dorei, Spelljammer, etc.). I want to plant Easter eggs from each iconic world as oddities throughout the tower and would love ideas for those, too.
The Beholder is psychically aware of the party's location inside the tower at all times (unless the party uses concealment magic, like Nondetection, etc.), and it can talk to them psychically anytime. It will talk to them periodically, mostly to taunt and complain, but it will not dignify intruders by engaging in conversation. It is such an extremely fearful xenophobe that the party's presence is physically agonizing to it. It is probably an obsessive-compulsive neat-freak, too, so if/when the party starts touching things, the Beholder will be very upset.
The Beholder is too paranoid to ever reveal its true name, but, for unknown reasons, local legends call it "Mulmaster." (The current world is not Faerun.)
Combat:
The Beholder absolutely will not permit the party to leave alive. It will hide and hide and hide, until (paradoxically) the party is on the verge of leaving -- then it will attack viciously. To scale the monster up against a level 20 party, my current plan is to make each eye stalk a separate "monster" (all attached to the same body), each with separate hit points and initiative. The eye stalks cannot move on their turns; instead, the body moves 3x per round via legendary actions. The lair action is a version of the Reverse Gravity spell, but it affects the whole tower, and the Beholder can point it in any direction. The party can deactivate the lair actions by removing/destroying the crystal in the bottom chamber -- this will cause the entire tower to turn "zero-g." (Good luck to me, DM'ing this 3D combat!)
PC attacks can target specific eye stalks, but at +5 AC (or -5 DC). If they do not target a specific eye stalk, then we will roll to hit a random eye stalk. If an eye "dies" then it is removed from initiative, and the Beholder dies only when all of its eyes are reduced to 0 hp. Since the Beholder's anti-magic cone emanates from its center eye, it cannot be separately "killed" and only dies when the last eye stalk dies.
At the beginning of combat, the Beholder will also activate the tower's version of Dream of the Blue Veil, and a countdown will start. When the countdown reaches zero, the whole tower will teleport to a new world, the portal (the party's objective) will close, and there will be no apparent way back to their home world. In its earlier psychic ramblings, the Beholder will explain this, so the party understands the consequences of the counter reaching zero. So, the party must immediately dive through the portal after defeating the Beholder -- they cannot stay/loot/rest. This also means that the portal will close behind the party after they arrive at the second half of the adventure (Layer 66 of the Abyss, the Demonweb Pits), and they must find another way home after completing their quest.
The Beholder and its lair are balanced to only consume about half of the party's daily resources. There is no opportunity for a long rest during the adventure, but there might be short rests (the players are told this, up front, so they can plan accordingly).
Ideas:
I need to "decorate" the floors of this tower with bizarre exploration encounters and traps. This xenophobic, isolationist, obsessive-compulsive, neat-freak Beholder's wild-gravity tower has touched every world of the D&D multiverse. No one who enters is ever allowed to leave. This is basically an alien spaceship shaped like a sideways stone tower -- a sandtrap of esoterica from across space and time. I really want to play up the creepiness and uncanniness of it all, plus some Easter eggs for my players who are familiar with other D&D lore. This is also a level 20 adventure, so anything goes.
I'm thinking... a petrified Kender with a staff-sling. A Harper's pin. A snow-globe of Ravenloft. A Vestige of Divergence (the Wreath of the Prism?).
Then the creepy stuff... a mind flayer's head mounted backwards on a Tiefling body, with the Tiefling's knees broken and its intestines unraveled and hung along the wall, with hundreds of fireflies flickering inside them, like a strand of twinkle lights -- giving off painful psychic vibrations that do 1d4/round on a failed save within 5 feet. A suit of armor, with a skeleton inside, stuck to the ceiling by a panel of sovereign glue. A tesla coil zapping. A closed iron maiden, with a bloodstained spigot. A mirror that reflects your mother. A time loop trap. A sleep trap. A staring contest trap (an eyeball on a spike, and if you make eye contact with it and fail a save, you cannot look away and you cannot blink, until something breaks you away or you go blind). A panel of tiny metal pins that extend to match the contours of your face, but with a mocking or grimacing expression. An ant farm between glass panels. A collection of fingers, with the fingernails removed and replaced by teeth, occasionally twitching. A harmless will'o'wisp. That sort of stuff. Plus some loot.
I'd love to hear anyone's ideas. Thank you, everyone, for reading!
I'm currently listening to Perturbator "Souls at Zero (feat. Astronoid)" ["The Uncanny Valley" - 2016] for mood and inspiration.

This shortage is giving me so much stress. Even the 1.7 is becoming nearly impossible to find. I feel like there should be a class action suit against this company for allowing so many people to start without being able to provide the adequate medication.

Since around mid 2020 ive been on a calorie defecit, i have taken breaks here and there but i have lost around 2.5 stone all together (and grew like 2 inches taller while doing this just due to age)
I have recently gotten back in to tracking my calories as i want to fix my "skinny fat" that i caused from a defecit, too much cardio, and 0 weight training.
The thing is that i seemed to have reached a point where i eat in a defecit and my weight stays the same, can someone explain what could be happening here?
What will happen when i move up to eating my maintenace calories, will i gain weight or stay roughly the same? Im trying to eat more especially protein wise as i wasnt getting nearly enough, my goal is to grow some muscle and reduce belly fat. I am just worried that eating above what is currently keeping me at a steady weight will just increase my belly fat. I am trying to work out as often as i can although i dont always have time and it can often be a 15 min half assed unplanned workout with some dumbells and squats in my bedroom.
I will also update this post in a couple weeks with progress as im sure there are others interested in this/in the same position.

My OB gave me all the orders to get the labs for the genetic tests to make sure the baby is healthy. I'm 11 weeks 3 days, is it too early to go? Should I wait until 12 weeks? I'm extremely impatient and want to make sure everything is ok but also want to most accurate results. Thank you in advance everyone!

My late wife was a committed spiritualist deeply into hoodoo, candle work, and the like. It isn't/wasn't my thing, I'm agnostic to the core, but I did like to listen to her talk about her interests and I really enjoyed how she was respected in her community.
I sold the home we purchased together about a year ago and moved to a different state. My current partner's son still lives in the old town and he often helps his father with contract work for extra cash. It turns out that the people who purchased the house have contracted his father to make several changes to the home over the last few months.
I should backtrack a bit to add that the house is a little bungalow built nearly 100 years ago. One of the reasons we bought it was because so much of the home was still original. The kitchen had built-in cabinetry with glass doors and a flour drawer. The dining room still had built-ins for china and glassware. All of the woodwork and trim throughout the house had the original stain and varnish with a beautiful, beaded patina. It still had a claw foot tub. Et cetera, et cetera. And my late wife absolutely appreciated all of these things about the house.
Well the new owners have made a number of changes, as is their prerogative, even though I think they've greatly diminished the character of the house. They knocked out the wall between the kitchen and dining room, they ripped out half of the kitchen's built-ins, the claw foot tub has been replaced by a shower, the original windows have been replaced with modern vinyl framed monstrosities, put in a fireplace where the giant picture window was, etc. I'm not happy, but it's not my house so whatever.
Back to the main point of the story. My partner's son texted last night asking if I'd ever experienced weird things like lights turning on/off on their own volition or doors slamming even though no windows are open. Which, no, I never had. He said the current owners know he knows me and seem convinced the house is haunted.
So I guess I know what my late wife has been up to the last several months. This is exactly what she'd do.

[First] Prev/ Next
“What?” came her whispered reply.
“Katira, I know way too much about all this for it to be a mere coincidence. Maybe that’s all clairsentience is. A reincarnated soul whose work wasn’t done, and they decided to come around again, only this time, with a little head-start. One of the two lives on in me, and I’d be willing to bet it was your former Master. Her partner died before you met her, and only you would know these things, correct?” Katira nodded her head, and I pressed on. “Okay. I’m also betting that this took place more than a hundred years ago, judging by the amount of earth and growth on this cairn, and due to the nature of societal acceptance of homosexuality. Them keeping their relationship a secret, way out here in the middle of nowhere, would be far easier than the two of them living together in a town. Am I right?” I asked
“Nearly one hundred fifty years, yes. As humans reckon these things, it was around 1875. Not long after your stupid civil war. My Master had lost her mother to typhoid, and her father to the war. She and her best friend decided to attempt to homestead not too far from here, and they eventually fell in love. They were only seventeen at the time, and most of the eligible young men in town had succumbed to the war or to injuries they sustained afterwards. My Master was a hardy, resilient woman. You would have liked her, Stu. She was built like me, and was bullheaded as a mule.” Katira laughed softly, wiping away tears. “Anyway, they built a cabin not terribly far from this spot, and lived for several years together, until the events you described. My Master was beside herself with grief, and nearly ended her time here on several occasions. Until one day, she chanced upon what looked like an old cellar out here in the fields.
“It was there that she found my little body and attempted to bury me. You should have seen her fright when, instead of a pile of bones that fell apart, she had a skeletal kitten bounding around her ankles. We bonded in a similar manner to Joaquin and Shutan. She fell onto the cellar, cut her arm, and the blood dripped onto me. She went on to become an amazing Necromancer in her own right. You two share the same essence type, as well. Huh. I wonder why I never made the connection before,” she concluded softly.
I walked over and wiped the tears from her soft, shimmery face. “Why would you even think to do so? You’ve dealt with all but the most rare of essences, right?” I asked, receiving a nod in turn. “There’s no shame in not recognizing an extremely old pattern. Especially when there’s no real reason to suspect anything. You had already explained away my knowledge, and that should’ve been the end of it.
“Let’s get the last of the reagents and head back. Now that we know where this is, we can come and pay our respects after my Growth. Any time you’re up for it. In the meantime, we say nothing and hint at nothing. My description of their last days could be chalked up to a lucky guess. A very lucky guess, but a guess nonetheless. Unless and until we have some concrete proof, we keep this to ourselves. Not a word even to the guild. Sound good to you?” I asked.
Katira nodded, and I turned and knelt by the old grave. I laid a hand on the topmost stone, and whispered “Not even the stars.” I took a small bouquet of the tiny blue flowers and stood, seeing a weeping dragoness behind me.
“It is you, Bethany. You’re in there, and I know it. I look different, but I’m still the same Katira. I still love you,” she said, tears streaming down her face.
“I’m sorry, what? Bethany? Is that your former Master’s name? What are you talking about?” I asked, concerned.
“What you said when you laid your hand on the grave. Do you recall?”
I nodded, “Yeah. I said ‘Not even the stars’. It just felt right. I dunno why,” I replied.
“That’s what Bethany used to tell her partner, Rose. ‘Not even the stars could shine as brightly as her eyes’, is what she told me. You hold her soul within you. It explains everything to me. Your apparent skill, your oddly specific knowledge, and your way with people. It doesn’t explain your intuition, but that could just be an amalgam of your spirits and your broad intellect. She always lamented her inability to be more creative,” she explained, taking my hand in hers.
“Well. That’s a thing, then. I’m still me, Katira. Even if I have Bethany’s soul, you’re still dealing with Stu. Remember that, please,” I told her.
“Absolutely, Master. This just brings new possibilities to light, is all,” Katira said, sniffling. “My Master, Bethany is gone. I know this. However, knowing that some part of her lives on is a great comfort. That’s all,” she said softly. Katira stepped forward and took my hands in hers. “I know you’re Stu. I know you’re my Master. I can’t forget it. You gave me this form, and I cherish it. Just like I cherish you. You’re going to be my final Master, and I can’t wait to spend an eternity with you,” she said, giving my hands a gentle squeeze.
“Alright, then. As long as we are clear. Are you ready to head back?” I asked gently.
Katira nodded, and we started back off towards the cave. It took us another three hours, but we made it back. The others had been there for a few hours by the time we returned. All three had begun the distillation process by the time we arrived, and had placed their squirrels in the appropriate locations.
“Excellent job, Initiates! I’m glad to see you have taken the initiative to begin your reanimations. Now, it isn’t a guarantee that you will be successful. Be prepared for a messy failure, otherwise. Upon a success, even a minor one, your squirrel will sit up and make vocalizations at you. In the event of a minor success, this is all that will happen. If it is anything more, you can give it a command. It might understand it and act. Just make sure it is a simple one. You can command it to simply die, if you wish. It is up to you. Now, who got here first?” she asked.
“I did, Instructor,” Robert said.
“Excellent. Good job, Initiate Grimes. How long after you got set up did the next one arrive?”
“About an hour, I think and Joaquin was a few minutes after her. That was three hours ago. I think mine is nearly done,” Robert explained.
“Good. While Initiate Merideth gets set up, we will discuss what comes after a successful reanimation,” Katira began.
I turned and began the process of removing the petals from the phlox, depositing them in the pot. I mostly tuned out the discussion they were having, my mind reeling from the events of the day.
If I didn’t hold a reincarnated soul, how else would I be able to do what I do without even thinking about it? How else would I know the stuff I know without having had the instruction? How did I know who was buried beneath that cairn of stones, and how she died? Was it even my soul that was reincarnated? Or, had Bethany’s spirit hung around waiting to impart knowledge upon one lonely Necromancer?
These questions and more rolled around my head, my body moving on autopilot. I was just about to reach into the bag containing the nettles when Katira grabbed my wrist, jerking me from my reverie.
“Initiate!”
“Huh? Wha?”
“Initiate, I’ve been trying to get your attention for a bit. You almost reached into the bag that has the nettles bare-handed. What’s gotten into you?” she asked, her concern evident.
I simply looked into her eyes, my own face a blank mask, and she sighed softly. “Okay. I understand. It’s about what we talked about before, isn’t it?” she asked softly. I nodded slowly. “I take it you’ve never handled nettles, have you?” I shook my head. “Let me show you. In fact, gather around, everyone. Nettles are a painful plant, and you may have to handle them at some point. Let me show you how to deal with them,” Katira announced.
The rest of the group came over and sat while Katira taught us how to handle the irritating plant. Once she demonstrated the process, I tried it once, and even though I’d succeeded, I figured I’d not like to attempt it again. Instead, I took my multitool and pocket knife, clamped onto the stem, and sliced the leaves into the pot. Then, for good measure, I sectioned up the stem and dropped it in, as well. In went the snake skin, water and three drops of my blood. I set the fire, and waited for something to happen.
As luck would have it something did happen. We all heard Robert’s fire go out with a pop, and turned to see the droplet of essence-infused oil spill onto the squirrel. As with our message stones, nothing was spilled, it all just absorbed into the squirrel, and we watched with bated breath.
At first, nothing happened. The squirrel sat motionless on the cold stone slab. After a few moments, however, we all saw the digits on the left forelimb twitch. Collectively, we moved back, as a crazed squirrel was as fearsome as it was small. It took a breath, then a second. Slowly, it sat up, turned its black, unblinking eyes towards Robert and began chittering.
“Try it, Initiate Grimes,” Katira whispered.
Robert cleared his throat and swallowed. “Go outside the cave, and dig a hole big enough for you to lie in beside the first tree you see,” he commanded.
We watched as the squirrel cocked its head to the side and hopped down. It bounded drunkenly out of the cave, and after a short search, began to dig a hole.
“Excellent job, Initiate. Why did you tell it to do that?” Katira asked.
“I felt terrible for it. I think it should be put to rest,” he said quietly.
“So it is digging its own grave? Interesting. Go and tend to it. It may not be able to finish,” Katira replied.
Robert got up and went outside to tend to his squirrel, and the rest of us sat back and chatted for a bit.
“Senpai? What took you so long to find your reagents?” Morita-san asked.
“Well, as our Instructor specified this morning, I require very specific reagents to even have a chance at making this work, and they weren’t easy to find. I had to have phlox, nettles and a shed skin. Phlox were those tiny blue flowers, and they weren’t easy to find. Especially as I had no idea what they looked like until I opened my Grimoire. I knew what nettles looked like, and everyone from around here knows what a shed skin looks like, I think. They just weren’t easy to get. However, after I found the nettles, the other two just kinda happened. The snake skin was tangled around some weeds in a field, and the phlox were growing by an outcropping of stone. We had to go something like five miles from the cave. Speaking of which, I’m gonna need to eat something soon. I just had a small snack around noon or so,” I explained.
“By the time your still finishes, it will be time for dinner, anyway. I’d suggest holding off, if you can,” Katira said.
“I’ll try, but if I start getting the sugar shakes or acting belligerent, I’ll need a small snack again. We really don’t want that,” I said.
Robert came back, looking somber and somewhat sad. “It’s done. I…I told it to die, and it closed its eyes and just stopped moving. It seemed happy,” he said, taking a seat.
“Initiate Grimes, I want you to understand that all you did was reanimate the body of a squirrel. It had no soul, and therefore wasn’t the same creature I killed three days ago. It was more or less a biological machine that used the energy of the reagents you selected and your essence as fuel. It would have eventually stopped moving on its own. You could re energize it with your essence, but that would serve to bond it tighter to you, which is not a situation we want here. You have done well thus far, and I’m proud of you. We all are,” she told the younger man.
“She is right, Master. You have grown in skill, and as a person. Rather quickly, I might add. As such, I would say that your own Growth is no more than a month away. Once we get home, you should alert your job to your upcoming illness,” Yin grumbled.
“I can’t do that, bud. I can’t plan to be sick. Instructor? Do the symptoms all come on at once, or are they in stages?” Robert asked.
“You will most likely get the headaches first. If you can function through them, I would call your job at that point, and tell them that you are sick, and it is unknown as to how long it will last. Hopefully, you will be able to maintain your job after you are done Growing,” Katira replied.
“I can form human arms and hands for the time it takes to send a message on your phone, Master. I could also call for any number of other familiars and Necromancers to help, should you need it,” Yin said reassuringly.
Robert seemed satisfied with this answer, and began to clean his equipment. He had just finished when, with twin pops, we heard both Joaquin and Morita-san’s fires go out. All heads turned to watch the reaction complete.
Both squirrels were doused with the oil/essence mixture, and we watched as it was absorbed into the bodies of the squirrels.
Both squirrels twitched and sat up, turning their heads towards their creators and began chittering.
Morita-san nodded at Joaquin, and he cleared his throat. “Venha aqui, esquilo,” he said.
The squirrel shakily stood and took two steps before collapsing. We all watched in horror as it continued to crawl forward, leaving its back half behind. Joaquin began to panic and scooted back.
“Release it, Initiate Madras!”
“Morra, esquilo! Morra!” the young man cried out. The squirrel shuddered and heaved out its remaining breath, one clawed paw outstretched towards Joaquin. As it did, the rest of its entrails oozed out from its body, coupled with a brown slime.
“I will explain in a moment, Initiate Madras. Initiate Morita-san, it is your turn,” Katira said.
Morita-san swallowed, staring at the halves of the squirrel on the cavern floor. “私に近づいて、リス。” she said, her eyes never leaving the squirrel.
Her squirrel never moved. It sat there, blinking. “Instructor? What do I do? It’s not moving. Just….blinking,” Morita-san said quietly.
“Try rewording what you just said.”
“ここに来て、リス。” Morita-san said. The squirrel bounded over to her, and began to inspect her shoes.
“Excellent job, Morita-san. It seems that your reagents harmonized rather well with both you and your subject. This is why it is acting more like a normal, living creature and not the automaton Initiate Grimes produced. There is nothing wrong with your results, Initiate Grimes. You’ll just need to try a different combination of reagents, is all. Initiate Morita-san happened to chance upon the right triad for her for this experiment.
“The squirrel is yours to do with as you wish, Initiate Morita-san. Congratulations to the three of you. You have successfully reanimated your squirrels,” Katira said happily.
The others smiled and seemed happy. Morita-san looked at her squirrel and cocked her head to the side. “Should I name him?” she asked aloud.
“There is nothing prohibiting that, Initiate.”
“I shall call you Daisuke,” she said to the squirrel. “この死んだリスを片付けて、ダイスケ。” she commanded, and the squirrel bounded over to Joaquin’s partial reanimation, and began to cart the remains outside.
“Now, as for your squirrel, Initiate Madras. It was apparently infected by a parasite which had been eating it from the inside. Some sort of intestinal worm, I would say. When you reanimated it, the parasite was immediately destroyed, and likely aided the decomposition. There is no shame in this, and none of us could have known it was there. It is the risk we take when we choose a creature for reanimation.
“This is why a skeleton was chosen for reanimation more often than not in the past. There was no risk of parasitic infection, little risk of a messy failure, and in the event the energies used ran out, it would simply fall to the ground in a pile, ready to be used again. However, one needs a distinct grasp of anatomy for it, because in the event you put it together wrong, it won’t move correctly,” Katira said.
“So, wait. We could potentially Frankenstein ourselves a servant together?” Robert asked.
“Where do you think Mary Shelley got the idea, Initiate Grimes?” Katira returned with an enigmatic smile.
Robert sat there, his mouth agape.
“Close your mouth, Initiate. You might catch a fly, otherwise.”
We all laughed as Robert closed his mouth with a click. He shook his head and sat beside his cubbyhole in thought. Morita-san and Joaquin were talking animatedly in their respective languages, aided by their familiars.
I sat beside my equipment, watching the oil collect in the reservoir. It looked a little different than the others’ did.
“Instructor?” I asked, waving her over.
“Yes?”
“My essence-infused oil looks different to theirs. Theirs was green, and mine is…well, it’s kind of an orangey-pink. Is something wrong?” I asked with concern.
“Hmm. I’m not sure. I’ve never seen a reanimation essence appear this color. Yin? Shutan? Oiwa? Would you three come here, please?” she called out.
The three familiars approached my station curiously. Katira turned to them, gesturing at my equipment. “Have any of you ever seen this color in a reanimation essence before?” she asked.
“Exactly once,” Shutan said, stroking his bony jaw. “Stu? Yours is a Multiplying essence, correct?” he asked, receiving a nod. “Then, I will reveal nothing, save this: This will be interesting.” He walked away, shaking his head, and I could swear I saw a smirk on his skeletal countenance.
“What? Interesting? I’m not sure I like interesting. Wait a minute! What do you mean, interesting?” I called after him, receiving no inkling of acknowledgement.
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Master List

“What?” came her whispered reply.
“Katira, I know way too much about all this for it to be a mere coincidence. Maybe that’s all clairsentience is. A reincarnated soul whose work wasn’t done, and they decided to come around again, only this time, with a little head-start. One of the two lives on in me, and I’d be willing to bet it was your former Master. Her partner died before you met her, and only you would know these things, correct?” Katira nodded her head, and I pressed on. “Okay. I’m also betting that this took place more than a hundred years ago, judging by the amount of earth and growth on this cairn, and due to the nature of societal acceptance of homosexuality. Them keeping their relationship a secret, way out here in the middle of nowhere, would be far easier than the two of them living together in a town. Am I right?” I asked
“Nearly one hundred fifty years, yes. As humans reckon these things, it was around 1875. Not long after your stupid civil war. My Master had lost her mother to typhoid, and her father to the war. She and her best friend decided to attempt to homestead not too far from here, and they eventually fell in love. They were only seventeen at the time, and most of the eligible young men in town had succumbed to the war or to injuries they sustained afterwards. My Master was a hardy, resilient woman. You would have liked her, Stu. She was built like me, and was bullheaded as a mule.” Katira laughed softly, wiping away tears. “Anyway, they built a cabin not terribly far from this spot, and lived for several years together, until the events you described. My Master was beside herself with grief, and nearly ended her time here on several occasions. Until one day, she chanced upon what looked like an old cellar out here in the fields.
“It was there that she found my little body and attempted to bury me. You should have seen her fright when, instead of a pile of bones that fell apart, she had a skeletal kitten bounding around her ankles. We bonded in a similar manner to Joaquin and Shutan. She fell onto the cellar, cut her arm, and the blood dripped onto me. She went on to become an amazing Necromancer in her own right. You two share the same essence type, as well. Huh. I wonder why I never made the connection before,” she concluded softly.
I walked over and wiped the tears from her soft, shimmery face. “Why would you even think to do so? You’ve dealt with all but the most rare of essences, right?” I asked, receiving a nod in turn. “There’s no shame in not recognizing an extremely old pattern. Especially when there’s no real reason to suspect anything. You had already explained away my knowledge, and that should’ve been the end of it.
“Let’s get the last of the reagents and head back. Now that we know where this is, we can come and pay our respects after my Growth. Any time you’re up for it. In the meantime, we say nothing and hint at nothing. My description of their last days could be chalked up to a lucky guess. A very lucky guess, but a guess nonetheless. Unless and until we have some concrete proof, we keep this to ourselves. Not a word even to the guild. Sound good to you?” I asked.
Katira nodded, and I turned and knelt by the old grave. I laid a hand on the topmost stone, and whispered “Not even the stars.” I took a small bouquet of the tiny blue flowers and stood, seeing a weeping dragoness behind me.
“It is you, Bethany. You’re in there, and I know it. I look different, but I’m still the same Katira. I still love you,” she said, tears streaming down her face.
“I’m sorry, what? Bethany? Is that your former Master’s name? What are you talking about?” I asked, concerned.
“What you said when you laid your hand on the grave. Do you recall?”
I nodded, “Yeah. I said ‘Not even the stars’. It just felt right. I dunno why,” I replied.
“That’s what Bethany used to tell her partner, Rose. ‘Not even the stars could shine as brightly as her eyes’, is what she told me. You hold her soul within you. It explains everything to me. Your apparent skill, your oddly specific knowledge, and your way with people. It doesn’t explain your intuition, but that could just be an amalgam of your spirits and your broad intellect. She always lamented her inability to be more creative,” she explained, taking my hand in hers.
“Well. That’s a thing, then. I’m still me, Katira. Even if I have Bethany’s soul, you’re still dealing with Stu. Remember that, please,” I told her.
“Absolutely, Master. This just brings new possibilities to light, is all,” Katira said, sniffling. “My Master, Bethany is gone. I know this. However, knowing that some part of her lives on is a great comfort. That’s all,” she said softly. Katira stepped forward and took my hands in hers. “I know you’re Stu. I know you’re my Master. I can’t forget it. You gave me this form, and I cherish it. Just like I cherish you. You’re going to be my final Master, and I can’t wait to spend an eternity with you,” she said, giving my hands a gentle squeeze.
“Alright, then. As long as we are clear. Are you ready to head back?” I asked gently.
Katira nodded, and we started back off towards the cave. It took us another three hours, but we made it back. The others had been there for a few hours by the time we returned. All three had begun the distillation process by the time we arrived, and had placed their squirrels in the appropriate locations.
“Excellent job, Initiates! I’m glad to see you have taken the initiative to begin your reanimations. Now, it isn’t a guarantee that you will be successful. Be prepared for a messy failure, otherwise. Upon a success, even a minor one, your squirrel will sit up and make vocalizations at you. In the event of a minor success, this is all that will happen. If it is anything more, you can give it a command. It might understand it and act. Just make sure it is a simple one. You can command it to simply die, if you wish. It is up to you. Now, who got here first?” she asked.
“I did, Instructor,” Robert said.
“Excellent. Good job, Initiate Grimes. How long after you got set up did the next one arrive?”
“About an hour, I think and Joaquin was a few minutes after her. That was three hours ago. I think mine is nearly done,” Robert explained.
“Good. While Initiate Merideth gets set up, we will discuss what comes after a successful reanimation,” Katira began.
I turned and began the process of removing the petals from the phlox, depositing them in the pot. I mostly tuned out the discussion they were having, my mind reeling from the events of the day.
If I didn’t hold a reincarnated soul, how else would I be able to do what I do without even thinking about it? How else would I know the stuff I know without having had the instruction? How did I know who was buried beneath that cairn of stones, and how she died? Was it even my soul that was reincarnated? Or, had Bethany’s spirit hung around waiting to impart knowledge upon one lonely Necromancer?
These questions and more rolled around my head, my body moving on autopilot. I was just about to reach into the bag containing the nettles when Katira grabbed my wrist, jerking me from my reverie.
“Initiate!”
“Huh? Wha?”
“Initiate, I’ve been trying to get your attention for a bit. You almost reached into the bag that has the nettles bare-handed. What’s gotten into you?” she asked, her concern evident.
I simply looked into her eyes, my own face a blank mask, and she sighed softly. “Okay. I understand. It’s about what we talked about before, isn’t it?” she asked softly. I nodded slowly. “I take it you’ve never handled nettles, have you?” I shook my head. “Let me show you. In fact, gather around, everyone. Nettles are a painful plant, and you may have to handle them at some point. Let me show you how to deal with them,” Katira announced.
The rest of the group came over and sat while Katira taught us how to handle the irritating plant. Once she demonstrated the process, I tried it once, and even though I’d succeeded, I figured I’d not like to attempt it again. Instead, I took my multitool and pocket knife, clamped onto the stem, and sliced the leaves into the pot. Then, for good measure, I sectioned up the stem and dropped it in, as well. In went the snake skin, water and three drops of my blood. I set the fire, and waited for something to happen.
As luck would have it something did happen. We all heard Robert’s fire go out with a pop, and turned to see the droplet of essence-infused oil spill onto the squirrel. As with our message stones, nothing was spilled, it all just absorbed into the squirrel, and we watched with bated breath.
At first, nothing happened. The squirrel sat motionless on the cold stone slab. After a few moments, however, we all saw the digits on the left forelimb twitch. Collectively, we moved back, as a crazed squirrel was as fearsome as it was small. It took a breath, then a second. Slowly, it sat up, turned its black, unblinking eyes towards Robert and began chittering.
“Try it, Initiate Grimes,” Katira whispered.
Robert cleared his throat and swallowed. “Go outside the cave, and dig a hole big enough for you to lie in beside the first tree you see,” he commanded.
We watched as the squirrel cocked its head to the side and hopped down. It bounded drunkenly out of the cave, and after a short search, began to dig a hole.
“Excellent job, Initiate. Why did you tell it to do that?” Katira asked.
“I felt terrible for it. I think it should be put to rest,” he said quietly.
“So it is digging its own grave? Interesting. Go and tend to it. It may not be able to finish,” Katira replied.
Robert got up and went outside to tend to his squirrel, and the rest of us sat back and chatted for a bit.
“Senpai? What took you so long to find your reagents?” Morita-san asked.
“Well, as our Instructor specified this morning, I require very specific reagents to even have a chance at making this work, and they weren’t easy to find. I had to have phlox, nettles and a shed skin. Phlox were those tiny blue flowers, and they weren’t easy to find. Especially as I had no idea what they looked like until I opened my Grimoire. I knew what nettles looked like, and everyone from around here knows what a shed skin looks like, I think. They just weren’t easy to get. However, after I found the nettles, the other two just kinda happened. The snake skin was tangled around some weeds in a field, and the phlox were growing by an outcropping of stone. We had to go something like five miles from the cave. Speaking of which, I’m gonna need to eat something soon. I just had a small snack around noon or so,” I explained.
“By the time your still finishes, it will be time for dinner, anyway. I’d suggest holding off, if you can,” Katira said.
“I’ll try, but if I start getting the sugar shakes or acting belligerent, I’ll need a small snack again. We really don’t want that,” I said.
Robert came back, looking somber and somewhat sad. “It’s done. I…I told it to die, and it closed its eyes and just stopped moving. It seemed happy,” he said, taking a seat.
“Initiate Grimes, I want you to understand that all you did was reanimate the body of a squirrel. It had no soul, and therefore wasn’t the same creature I killed three days ago. It was more or less a biological machine that used the energy of the reagents you selected and your essence as fuel. It would have eventually stopped moving on its own. You could re energize it with your essence, but that would serve to bond it tighter to you, which is not a situation we want here. You have done well thus far, and I’m proud of you. We all are,” she told the younger man.
“She is right, Master. You have grown in skill, and as a person. Rather quickly, I might add. As such, I would say that your own Growth is no more than a month away. Once we get home, you should alert your job to your upcoming illness,” Yin grumbled.
“I can’t do that, bud. I can’t plan to be sick. Instructor? Do the symptoms all come on at once, or are they in stages?” Robert asked.
“You will most likely get the headaches first. If you can function through them, I would call your job at that point, and tell them that you are sick, and it is unknown as to how long it will last. Hopefully, you will be able to maintain your job after you are done Growing,” Katira replied.
“I can form human arms and hands for the time it takes to send a message on your phone, Master. I could also call for any number of other familiars and Necromancers to help, should you need it,” Yin said reassuringly.
Robert seemed satisfied with this answer, and began to clean his equipment. He had just finished when, with twin pops, we heard both Joaquin and Morita-san’s fires go out. All heads turned to watch the reaction complete.
Both squirrels were doused with the oil/essence mixture, and we watched as it was absorbed into the bodies of the squirrels.
Both squirrels twitched and sat up, turning their heads towards their creators and began chittering.
Morita-san nodded at Joaquin, and he cleared his throat. “Venha aqui, esquilo,” he said.
The squirrel shakily stood and took two steps before collapsing. We all watched in horror as it continued to crawl forward, leaving its back half behind. Joaquin began to panic and scooted back.
“Release it, Initiate Madras!”
“Morra, esquilo! Morra!” the young man cried out. The squirrel shuddered and heaved out its remaining breath, one clawed paw outstretched towards Joaquin. As it did, the rest of its entrails oozed out from its body, coupled with a brown slime.
“I will explain in a moment, Initiate Madras. Initiate Morita-san, it is your turn,” Katira said.
Morita-san swallowed, staring at the halves of the squirrel on the cavern floor. “私に近づいて、リス。” she said, her eyes never leaving the squirrel.
Her squirrel never moved. It sat there, blinking. “Instructor? What do I do? It’s not moving. Just….blinking,” Morita-san said quietly.
“Try rewording what you just said.”
“ここに来て、リス。” Morita-san said. The squirrel bounded over to her, and began to inspect her shoes.
“Excellent job, Morita-san. It seems that your reagents harmonized rather well with both you and your subject. This is why it is acting more like a normal, living creature and not the automaton Initiate Grimes produced. There is nothing wrong with your results, Initiate Grimes. You’ll just need to try a different combination of reagents, is all. Initiate Morita-san happened to chance upon the right triad for her for this experiment.
“The squirrel is yours to do with as you wish, Initiate Morita-san. Congratulations to the three of you. You have successfully reanimated your squirrels,” Katira said happily.
The others smiled and seemed happy. Morita-san looked at her squirrel and cocked her head to the side. “Should I name him?” she asked aloud.
“There is nothing prohibiting that, Initiate.”
“I shall call you Daisuke,” she said to the squirrel. “この死んだリスを片付けて、ダイスケ。” she commanded, and the squirrel bounded over to Joaquin’s partial reanimation, and began to cart the remains outside.
“Now, as for your squirrel, Initiate Madras. It was apparently infected by a parasite which had been eating it from the inside. Some sort of intestinal worm, I would say. When you reanimated it, the parasite was immediately destroyed, and likely aided the decomposition. There is no shame in this, and none of us could have known it was there. It is the risk we take when we choose a creature for reanimation.
“This is why a skeleton was chosen for reanimation more often than not in the past. There was no risk of parasitic infection, little risk of a messy failure, and in the event the energies used ran out, it would simply fall to the ground in a pile, ready to be used again. However, one needs a distinct grasp of anatomy for it, because in the event you put it together wrong, it won’t move correctly,” Katira said.
“So, wait. We could potentially Frankenstein ourselves a servant together?” Robert asked.
“Where do you think Mary Shelley got the idea, Initiate Grimes?” Katira returned with an enigmatic smile.
Robert sat there, his mouth agape.
“Close your mouth, Initiate. You might catch a fly, otherwise.”
We all laughed as Robert closed his mouth with a click. He shook his head and sat beside his cubbyhole in thought. Morita-san and Joaquin were talking animatedly in their respective languages, aided by their familiars.
I sat beside my equipment, watching the oil collect in the reservoir. It looked a little different than the others’ did.
“Instructor?” I asked, waving her over.
“Yes?”
“My essence-infused oil looks different to theirs. Theirs was green, and mine is…well, it’s kind of an orangey-pink. Is something wrong?” I asked with concern.
“Hmm. I’m not sure. I’ve never seen a reanimation essence appear this color. Yin? Shutan? Oiwa? Would you three come here, please?” she called out.
The three familiars approached my station curiously. Katira turned to them, gesturing at my equipment. “Have any of you ever seen this color in a reanimation essence before?” she asked.
“Exactly once,” Shutan said, stroking his bony jaw. “Stu? Yours is a Multiplying essence, correct?” he asked, receiving a nod. “Then, I will reveal nothing, save this: This will be interesting.” He walked away, shaking his head, and I could swear I saw a smirk on his skeletal countenance.
“What? Interesting? I’m not sure I like interesting. Wait a minute! What do you mean, interesting?” I called after him, receiving no inkling of acknowledgement.

A little about me:
I am 5"9', brown hair, hazel eyes and my build could be described as strong with some softness for aftercare or cuddling. I am looking for that woman, who shares hobbies, interests, and well...kinks with me and I am unsure what I want to get out of it relationship wise, however I do know that eventually I would like to meet the person who talks me to me after at least a friendship and comradery is built. Trust is very important to me, I will share myself but not show my face immediately so I have to build that trust up first. If you feel the same and enjoy sharing yourself the same way I do then I think we will get on swimmingly. I go to the gym 4 days a week as well. If you want to know more, about me, just ask!
Kinks -
Breeding - This I feel is a super common one from my perspective, and I do love it especially the higher the risk of impregnation. Begging to be bred is even better...
Gentle/Pleasure Dom - There isn't really a term that I would use to describe my type of Dominating without cringing but being a pleasure Dom is as close as I can get to how I play with my subs.
Public or high risk of being caught, sex - I just feel that, let me give you an example. You have a nice summer dress on and decided not to wear your panties. You didn't tell me as we sit down on a park bench, slightly hidden but still visible to those who look hard enough. You don't even say anything, sit on my lap and start grinding, making me hard enough to unzip my jeans and reach in to put me inside you to grind further until you take that cum you need inside you. That is the sort of thing I mean.
Edging/Multiple orgasms (both) - This pairs with how I Dom but if we edge together, we explode together
There are others, but these are just to catch the eye of people who have similiar but if you want to know more just ask
Turn offs / Hard limits:
Overly violent and risk of mutilation, permanent physical or mental harm
Scat/Gore/Piss
Humiliation
BBW, unpopular opinion but if you say you are bubbly or BBW you are just trying to be cute about being fat
Just all the horrible stuff really
As stated before this, I am looking for someone who is or wants to meet in real life at some point. I know a lot of the blokes here also want this but I am patient and never push for it. If it happens it happens. Someone who takes care of themselves like I do gym wise, I enjoy going outside and wild camping, climbing (sport or TRAD) and in general I am always looking for an excuse to be outside and exploring to see or find beautiful landscapes. Confidence is key, sharing yourself with me is key, and location is pretty important too so I would prefer if you were at least in the same country as me.
I prefer redditchat to PMs as I just.. will forget if it is a PM so if you want to send me a message please send me a bit about yourself (pictures work wonders) and maybe open with some of your own kinks. I am open to a lot of things as long as it is NOT on my hard limit.

Company: Ava Labs
Location: United Stated 📍
Date Posted: June 07, 2023 📅
Apply & Description 👉 https://jobboardsearch.com/redirect?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=bot&utm_id=jobboarsearch&utm_term=www.crypto-careers.com&rurl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY3J5cHRvLWNhcmVlcnMuY29tL2pvYnMvMjMzNTM4MTgzLWFjY291bnRpbmctbWFuYWdlci1hdC1hdmEtbGFicw==

My boy is nearing 9 months now. He's a Dutch shepherd x gsd mix. He hit adolescence about a month ago and his training has just gone down the drain. He's fine in the house and the garden, but as soon as he's outside he couldn't care less about me. He used to have amazing engagement and want to be with me constantly, now the majority of the time it's like I'm not even there. We've done right back to basics but I honestly feel like I'm going no where with him. He was supposed to do an obedience show to get his bronze in the intermediate class, but I feel like I can't even take him now.
I know when puppies hit adolescence their training can backpedal, it's just hard to process cause one day he can be perfect, then the next he could be the worst behaved. He goes to training class, and his trainer is happy with what I'm doing with him. His main issue is he's been blowing off his recall when he sees another dog, even from a good distance. He's on a long line when over the park until he can prove that he can ignore other dogs, and I'm working on building his focus around other dogs.
I would appreciate it if I could hear that this is normal and that it will pass, because I feel like I'm failing him somehow, even though I've heard this is normal. I'm going to work and work to get him to be where I want him to be eventually. He's just testing my patience at the moment.

Selling near max TH12 for only $40
Selling near max TH12, I’m the original owner, unlocked the 6th builder, King lvl 50, Queen lvl 61, warden lvl 35, 2k+ gems, you will have full access to the account and the gmail itself
Here are some images related to the account: https://imgur.com/a/RB91OgV
Contact me on here in the comments or msg me on discord (Amar#7663)

Hi guys, I'm looking to stay in LA for a couple of weeks in september and was hoping I could get some advice on where to stay. I've heard most of the nicest parts to visit are in the north and northwest parts, so I've been looking for Airbnbs near there.
I'm currently torn between one near Hyde Park and Park Mesa Heights, and another near Mar Vista. The one in Hyde Park seems a lot more comfortable and better equipped, while the one in Mar Vista is more expensive but also seems to have the better location (correct me if I'm wrong).
Do you guys think Hyde Park is too far from most of the usual tourist attractions, or would it do fine? (I'm going to be renting a car btw). Or are there any other areas you think I should look into?
Thanks!!

Company: Mysten Labs
Location: South Korea (Remote) 📍
Salary: 60K - 90K 💰
Date Posted: June 06, 2023 📅
Apply & Description 👉 https://jobboardsearch.com/redirect?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=bot&utm_id=jobboarsearch&utm_term=remoteOK.com&rurl=aHR0cHM6Ly9yZW1vdGVPSy5jb20vcmVtb3RlLWpvYnMvcmVtb3RlLXBhcnRuZXItbWFuYWdlci1zZW91bC1teXN0ZW4tbGFicy0yNjIwNzg=

for me it was night 3 of sister location funtime foxy jump scared me and i screamed and chucked my phone across this fancy restaurant then had to walk infront of my most family to pick up the phone and apologise