i'm hesitating between the ERA 300 and 100.
I'm only looking for a single speaker for my 150 sq ft. living room to listen to music and upgrade a little bit my macbook's loudspeakers when watching some series or films on my projector. I can almost certainly rule out that i will add a soundbasub/surround in the future due to space limitations and the fact that i live in an apartment in an old building with too thin walls and ceilings that wouldn't tallow any strong bass without annoying my neighbors .
The option to have bluetooth available brings me to the choice between the ERA 100 and 300.
Do you guys think the 300 will justify the 200+ dollar difference to the 100 when used as single speaker ?

Sorry no picture :( I remember when I was a kid I had this tiny black tiki head my dad had bought in Hawaii. It was made of some type of shiny black stone that would appear gold when looked at with different lighting and at different angles. The change wasn’t caused by exposure to heat or anything, just viewing angle and lighting. I just randomly thought about it in the shower and now can’t get it out of my head. I’ve been looking for the last hour for something similar but have had no luck.
Now I turn to the geologists of Reddit for help.

Wish List: Teslas below, AA/SS/1S melee, and rare apparel/masks
I still need the following Teslas: GS/50L/15r,,, H/50c/25,,, Jug/50c/25,,, Med/50L/15r,,, Troub/50c/25
Complete Trade List: (Thank you for your time browsing this huge list!!!)
FIXERS: AA/25/15r,,, AA/25/15v,,, AA/50c/15v,,, AA/50vhc/25,,, AA/50L/25,,, AA/AP/25,,, AA/E/Dur,,, Ari/25/15r,,, Ari/E/15r,,, Ari/E/25,,, B/25/15v,,, B/50L/25,,, BAP/25,,, Exe/50c/25,,, Exe/AP/25,,, Exe/E/25,,, F/50c/25,,, GouE/25,,, GS/25/25,,, GS/50c/25,,, GS/E/25,,, H/50c/25,,, Jug/50c/25,,, Jug/AP/25,,, Junk/25/15r,,, Junk/50c/15v,,, Junk/50c/25,,, Junk/50L/25,,, Junk/AP/25,,, Junk/E/15v,,, Med/25/25,,, Med/50c/25,,, Med/AP/25,,, Mu/AP/25,,, MS/50c/25,,, N/AP/25,,, N/E/25,,, Q/25/15r,,, Q/25/15v,,, Q/AP/25,,, Q/E/50,,, St/50c/25,,, St/AP/25,,, St/E/25,,, Su/50c/25,,, Su/AP/25,,, Su/E/25,,, T/AP/25,,, TS/25/15r,,, TS/25/15v,,, TS/50vhc/25,,, TS/AP/25,,, V/AP/25,,, Z/25/25,,, Z/E/25
HANDMADES: AA/E/15v,,, Junk/25/15r,,, MS/E/25,,, Mu/E/25,,, Mu/50c/25,,, Q/50vhc/25
HEAVY WEAPONS: AA/25/90 AGL,,, AA/25/15r Cryolator,,, As/25A/90 Fatman,,, B/E/Gho 50cal,,, B/25A/90 Missile Launcher,,, B/50vhc/90 Missile Launcher,,, B/50L/90 AGL,,, Exe/50c/15r Flamer,,, Exe/25A/90 Gatling Plas,,, Exe/E/25 LMG,,, Q/25/15v LMG,,, Q/25/Dur LMG,,, Q/50L/90 Minigun,,, TS/50vhc/90 Broadsider,,, TS/25/15r Gatling Gun,,, TS/25/15r Gatling Laser,,, TS/25/25 LMG,,, TS/E/25 Minigun,,, V/25/15r 50cal,,, V/25/25 Gatling Gun,,, V/50L/90 Harpoon Gun,,, Z/E/90 LMG
MELEE: AA/SS/1S Death Tambo,,, AA/SS/1S Deathclaw Gauntlet,,, AA/40P/1S Gulper Smacker,,, AA/SS/1S Pole Hook,,, AA/50c/15v Power Fist,,, AA/SS/1S Super Sledge,,, Ari/SS/1S Shovel,,, Ari/SS/1S Sledgehammer,,, As/40P/1S Chainsaw,,, As/40P/1S Drill,,, B/SS/1S Bowie Knife,,, B/40P/1S Deathclaw Gauntlet,,, B/SS/1S Deathclaw Gauntlet,,, B/SS/25 Gulper Smacker,,, B/SS/25 Meat Hook,,, B/SS/1S Power Fist,,, BSS/1S Power Fist,,, Exe/50c/1Sv Power Fist,,, Ext/SS/1S Drill,,, GS/SS/1S Chainsaw,,, I/SS/1S Death Tambo,,, I/SS/1S Golf Club,,, I/SS/1S Power Fist,,, I/SS/1S Super Sledge,,, Jug/SS/1S Power Fist,,, Junk/SS/1S Power Fist,,, Junk/SS/1S Security Baton,,, Mu/SS/1S Deathclaw Gauntlet,,, Mu/SS/1S Power Fist,,, MS/SS/1S Shishkebab,,, Su/SS/1S Power Fist,,, Su/SS/1S Spear,,, Troub/SS/1S Bowie Knife,,, Troub/SS/1S Golf Club,,, V/SS/1S Combat Knife,,, V/SS/1S Deathclaw Gauntlet,,, V/SS/1S Mole Miner Gauntlet,,, V/SS/1S Pole Hook,,, V/SS/1S Sledgehammer,,, Z/SS/1S Fire Axe,,, Z/SS/1S Knuckles,,, Z/SS/1S Pipe Wrench
RAILWAYS: AA/50vhc/25,,, AA/E/15v,,, Ari/25/15r,,, B/50vhc/25,,, B/E/15r,,, B/E/90,,, F/50c/25,,, F/E/25,,, GS/50c/25,,, H/25/25,,, H/50c/25,,, I/25/25,,, I/50c/25,,, Junk/E/25,,, Q/50L/15r,,, Q/50L/90,,, Q/AP/25,,, St/50c/25,,, Su/25/25,,, Su/E/25,,, TS/50L/25,,, TS/50vhc/25,,, TS/50c/15r,,, TS/AP/25,,, TS/E/Dur,,, V/25/25,,, V/50c/25,,, Z/E/90
TESLAS: AA/25/15r,,, AA/50L/15r,,, AA/AP/25,,, B/25/25,,, Exe/25/15r,,, Ext/25/15r,,, F/25/15r,,, I/25/15r,,, Q/AP/25,,, TS/25/15r,,, TS/25/25,,, V/25/250,,, V/25/Dur,,, V/50L/15r,,, Z/25/15r
AA/E/25 Assault Rifle,,, AA/25/25 Assultron Head,,, AA/50c15v Crossbow,,, AA/50L/25 Enclave Plasma Rifle,,, AA/25/25 Gamma Gun,,, AA/E/15r Hunting Rifle,,, B/AP/25 Compound Bow,,, B/25/25 Gauss Rifle,,, Exe/50c/25 Combat Rifle,,, Exe/E/25 Hunting Rifle,,, Exe/E/25 Lever Action,,, F/50c/15v Thirst Zapper,,, Gou25/25 Lever Action,,, Junk/50c/25 Enclave Plasma Rifle,,, Mu/50c/25 Crossbow,,, Q/50c/25 Assaultron Head,,, Q/25/15r Combat Shotgun,,, Q/25/15r Plasma Rifle,,, St/50c/25 Crossbow,,, TS/25/15r Combat Rifle,,, TS/50c/25 Combat Rifle,,, V/50c/25 Bow,,, V/AP/25 Crossbow,,, V/50c/25 Gauss Rifle
ARMOR: Aristocrat's Heavy Robot left leg with 7%LED/Sentinel,,, Assassin's Heavy Raider left leg with AP/Sentinel,,, Assassin's T-45 right leg with AP/Sentinel,,, Auto Stim Raider Power left arm with AP/Sentinel,,, Auto Stim USA right arm with AP/WWR,,, Bolstering FSA chest with 7%LED/WWR,,, Bolstering Sturdy Combat left leg with 7%LED/Sentinel,,, Bolstering Trapper chest with AP/Cavalier,,, Bolstering Trapper right arm with 7%LED/Sentinel,,, Chameleon Raider Power right leg with 7%LED/Sentinel,,, Chameleon Robot chest with 7%LED/WWR,,, Chameleon USA chest with 7%LED/Cavalier,,, Chameleon USA left arm with 7%LED/Sentinel,,, Cloaking Raider Power right leg with 7%LED/WWR,,, Mutant's Excavator left arm with 7%LED/Sentinel,,, Mutant's FSA chest with 7%LED/WWR,,, Nocturnal Excavator right leg with 7%LED/Sentinel,,, Nocturnal USA right leg with AP/Sentinel,,, Overeater's Excavator right leg with luck/cavalier,,, Overeater's Heavy Robot chest with +25 Rad Resist/Sentinel,,, Overeater's T-60 left arm with +25% env resist/WWR,,, Overeater's T-60 left arm slowed hungeWWR,,, Overeater's USA chest with slower hungeSentinel,,, Overeater's USA left leg with Agility/WWR,,, Overeater's USA right arm with Endurance/Sentinel,,, Regenerating Heavy Raider right arm with AP/Sentinel,,, Troubleshooter's Marine left arm with AP/Sentinel,,, Troubleshooter's Sturdy Metal right leg with AP/Sentinel,,, Unyielding Heavy Raider left arm with Luck/Cavalier,,, Unyielding Metal chest with AP/HDT,,, Unyielding Robot right arm with Agility/Sentinel,,, Unyielding Sturdy Leather left leg with 7%LED/Sentinel,,, Unyielding Trapper right arm with 7%LED/HDT,,, Unyielding Wood left arm with AP/Sentinel,,, Vanguard's Excavator right leg with Intelligence/Cavalier,,, Vanguard's Heavy Leather right arm with 7%LED/HDT,,, Vanguard's Heavy Robot right arm with 7%LED/HDT,,, Vanguard's Raider power right arm with 7%LED/FDC,,, Vanguard's Sturdy Robot left arm with AP/Sentinel,,, Vanguard's Sturdy Robot right leg with 7%LED/WWR,,, Vanguard's USA right arm with AP/Cavalier,,, Vanguard's Wood chest with Strength/Sentinel,,, Zealot's FSA left arm with AP/Sentinel,,, Zealot's USA right leg with AP/WWR
PLANS: Assault rifle,,, Barbed walking cane,,, Baseball bat rocket,,, Baseball bat searing puncturing rocket,,, Bear arm,,, Bear arm heavy mod,,, Boxing glove lead lining,,, Camo Backpack,,, Cave cricket tube,,, Civil war era suit,,, Civil war era top hat,,, Confederate hat,,, Deathclaw gauntlet,,, Dense marine armor torso,,, Dense trapper armor torso,,, Fire station bell,,, Flannel shirt & jeans,,, Halloween skull mask,,, Hatchet electro fusion,,, Junkyard fountain,,, Machete sacrificial blade,,, Meat Tenderizer,,, Nuka Girl area rug,,, Pepper shaker,,, Pitchfork Flamer,,, Protective lining Marine underarmor,,, Puncturing pole hook,,, Radioactive barrel,,, Raw cement barricade,,, Scorchbeast queen plushie,,, Scorched tube,,, Sheepsquatch staff,,, Shielded lining casual underarmor,,, Shielded lining Marine underarmor,,, Skeleton costume,,, Skiing outfit,,, Sledgehammer heavy searing sharp rocket,,, Small vault girl statue,,, Snallygaster plushie,,, Spiked walking cane,,, The Fixer,,, T-60 BOS knight paint,,, TV Aquarium,,, Ultracite emergency protocols,,, Undershirt & jeans,,, Vintage water cooler,,, Witch costume,,, WV state bird rug,,, Yao Guai tube,,, Cranberry Bog Healing Salve recipe,,, Fasnacht donut recipe,,, Fasnacht sausage recipe,,, Formula P recipe,,,Stimpak Diffuser recipe,,, Tato salad recipe
APPAREL: Asylum Uniform Pink,,, Clean Spacesuit,,, Emmett Mountain hazmat suit,,, Fasnacht Craxy Guy mask,,, Fasnacht Deathclaw mask,,, Fasnacht Raven mask,,, Grey Fishermans Overalls,,, Hunter's Long Coat,,, Longshoreman Outfit,,, Straight Jacket Clean,,, ,, Winter Jacket and Jeans
CHEMS: Addictol: 145,,, Berry Mentats: 288,,, Buffout: 1366,,, Calmex: 292,, Daddy-O: 965,,, Day Tripper: 510,,, Disease Cure: 385,,, Mentats: 1000,,, Overdrive: 450,,, Psycho: 2527,,, Psychobuff: 1241,,, Psychotats: 1009,,, Super Stimpak: 2500,,, X-cell: 302
FOOD: Canned meat stew: 45,,, Salt: 1394,,, Spices: 841,,, Sugar Bombs(w/rads): 239,,, Pepper: 1375
Enclave plasma aligned flamer modx2,,, Enclave plasma aligned sniper barrel mod

(TW is for me discussing CSA, not detailed but I know that can still be rough sometimes. Also mentions of physical and verbal abuse.)
Hi guys, I hope you're doing okay. I just really needed to rant because this has been annoying me for weeks now. I've talked about it to a friend and family member and while they do support me they just don't totally get it and seem confused so I wanted to vent where people would understand.
So, originally when I escaped my abusive house I had horrible memory loss. Basically nearly 15 years of random flashes. At that time as well, I didn't even remember at all that I had been SAed; nowadays I remember quite a lot more, still pretty bad, but I do remember the SA.
I'm just shaken up recently because I thought I remembered all of the SA events, but turns out I was wrong. My mother was mainly verbally/mentally abusive throughout the years, but for a few years as a toddler she was an alcoholic and had SAed and beaten me consistently. Turns out though she had done things when I was much older and also when she stopped drinking. But I only have flashes. It's enough to get an idea but it's practically haunting me because I can't remember exactly what.
I've had three flashbacks in the shower recently (related to the memory), to the point that I now have to hype myself up to go into the shower because everytime I go, I start to feel nauseous and those flashes come into my head. I just want to remember it so I can get the processing over with and start working on it, if that makes sense? Past times for SA memories, I've had flashes like this, and then at some point it just clicks and I remember. So I'm sick of this, whatever this is. I don't want to know really because it's just another reminder of how she's a monster and that I suffered but at the same time, I will probably remember just like the times before, so I just want to get it over with already. It's dragging out so much longer than before. From the flashes, it's more horrible than the other memories so, maybe that's why it's taking so long. But I hate hate hate this process. It's so tiring. This week has been exhuasting. I've had to cancel so many plans because my body is just tense and I keep dissociating and just lying down doing nothing. I'm not mad at myself for that or anything, I'm just tired. I want to remember already just so that at least this cycle of symptoms can stop.
If you read this thank you, I appreciate it. I really needed to vent. I hope you all have a good week, we all deserve it ♡

​
FADE IN:
EXT. CITY STREETS - DAY
Jacket is walking down the street, looking around cautiously. He's on edge, sensing that something is about to happen.
Suddenly, a car screeches to a halt next to him. Two men jump out and grab him, pulling him into the car.
CUT TO:
INT. ABANDONED WAREHOUSE - DAY
Jacket is tied to a chair, surrounded by a group of men.
LEADER
(smiling)
Welcome, Jacket. I've been waiting for this moment.
JACKET
(grimly)
Who are you?
LEADER
I'm the one who's going to take you down.
A gunfight ensues, with Jacket fighting for his life. He's outnumbered, but he's determined to come out on top.
Finally, the last man falls to the ground. Jacket looks around, panting and exhausted.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE PHONE GUY'S OFFICE - DAY
Jacket bursts into The Phone Guy's office, looking furious.
JACKET
(angrily)
You set me up.
THE PHONE GUY
(calmly)
What are you talking about?
JACKET
(throwing a file on the desk)
This is your new player. You knew they were coming after me.
THE PHONE GUY
(defensive)
I didn't know it was going to go down like that.
JACKET
(frustrated)
I'm done. I can't keep doing this.
THE PHONE GUY
(sighing)
I understand. But there's one more job I need you to do.
JACKET
(shaking his head)
No.
THE PHONE GUY
(pleading)
Please. It's important.
JACKET
(resigned)
Fine. What's the job?
CUT TO:
EXT. ABANDONED FACTORY - NIGHT
Jacket is making his way through the dark and abandoned factory, gun at the ready. He finally reaches a room with a group of men inside.
He takes them out one by one, using all of his skills and expertise.
Finally, he reaches the last man, who turns out to be The Phone Guy.
JACKET
(shocked)
What the hell?
THE PHONE GUY
(sadly)
I'm sorry, Jacket. It was either you or me.
Jacket hesitates for a moment before finally pulling the trigger.
CUT TO:
EXT. CITY STREETS - DAY
Jacket is walking down the street, looking around cautiously. He's on edge, sensing that something is about to happen.
Suddenly, he's shot from behind and falls to the ground.
The camera pans up to show a figure in a suit, watching from a nearby rooftop.
FADE OUT.
{Continue the script"
FADE IN:
The figure in the suit walks away from the rooftop, disappearing into the city.
CUT TO:
EXT. HOSPITAL - DAY
Jacket wakes up in a hospital room, his head bandaged and his body sore. He looks around groggily, trying to remember what happened.
THE DOCTOR
(entering the room)
Ah, you're awake. How are you feeling?
JACKET
(weakly)
What happened?
THE DOCTOR
(sympathetically)
You were shot. But you're going to be okay.
Jacket nods, still trying to piece together the events that led him here.
CUT TO:
INT. THE PHONE GUY'S OFFICE - DAY
Jacket bursts into The Phone Guy's office, looking furious.
JACKET
(angrily)
You set me up again.
THE PHONE GUY
(sighing)
I had to. It was the only way to protect you.
JACKET
(confused)
What are you talking about?
THE PHONE GUY
(explaining)
There's a new group in town. They're ruthless, and they're after you. I had to make it look like you were out of the game.
JACKET
(skeptical)
And how do I know I can trust you?
THE PHONE GUY
(sincerely)
You don't. But I'm your only hope.
CUT TO:
EXT. ABANDONED WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
Jacket is making his way through the dark and abandoned warehouse, gun at the ready. He finally reaches a room with a group of men inside.
He takes them out one by one, using all of his skills and expertise.
Finally, he reaches the last man, who turns out to be the leader of the new group.
LEADER
(smiling)
Impressive. You've got some skills.
JACKET
(grimly)
Who are you?
LEADER
(smirking)
I'm the one who's going to take you down.
Another gunfight ensues, with Jacket fighting for his life. This time, he's more prepared, and he's able to take out the men with ease.
Finally, the leader falls to the ground. Jacket looks around, panting and exhausted.
CUT TO:
EXT. CITY STREETS - DAY
Jacket walks down the street, feeling a sense of relief. He's finally free from the game, and he can start living a normal life.
Suddenly, his phone rings. He hesitates for a moment before answering.
THE PHONE GUY
(urgently)
Jacket, you have to come back. There's a new job.
JACKET
(sighing)
I'm done. I can't keep doing this.
THE PHONE GUY
(pleading)
Please. It's important.
JACKET
(resigned)
Fine. What's the job?
CUT TO:
EXT. ABANDONED BUILDING - NIGHT
Jacket is making his way through the dark and abandoned building, gun at the ready. He finally reaches a room with a group of men inside.
But this time, something's different. These men are well-armed and well-trained. Jacket realizes too late that he's been set up.
The men start firing, and Jacket fights back with everything he's got. But he's outnumbered and outmatched.
Finally, he falls to the ground, his body riddled with bullets.
CUT TO:
EXT. GRAVEYARD - DAY
The camera pans over a row of graves, finally coming to rest on Jacket's headstone.
FADE OUT.

From what I am reading, an ultrawide monitor is a huge advantage in D4 (as well as other games). I was playing beta on a gaming laptop, 17" screen - 240Hz/1ms QHD.
I'm looking at picking up a QHD (maybe two) before launch and am having trouble weighing the cost vs what's good, and don't want to overspend. Heavy preference to an ultra wide 21:9 monitor, not curved. Don't care for or against built in speakers; if no speakers saves cost, it's fine since I have sufficient audio already.
All the options I have considered are either curved (was trying to avoid that), have reviews with a variety of quality assurance issues out of the box, or a mix; some have great reviews, but enough issues to make me think twice.
Is ultrawide good enough to justify the increased price point?
What are some good options which will provide a great gaming experience for the price point?
A couple I have considered (prices CAD):
LG UltraGear 32GN63T - $379.99
Samsung Odyssey G5 34" WQHD 165Hz 1ms GTG Curved VA LED FreeSync Gaming Monitor (LC34G55TWWNXZA) - $699.99
LG UltraWide 34" 1440p WQHD 160Hz 5ms GTG Curved VA LED FreeSync Gaming Monitor (34WP65C-B) - $649.99
Optix MPG341QR 34in 21:9 IPS, 144Hz, 1440P UWQHD, 1ms, G-SYNC, Ultra Wide Gaming Monitor - $699.99
TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B 34in ULTRAWIDE QHD 1440P Curved, , VA, 165Hz, 1ms w/ FreeSync™, Dual DP, Dual HDMI - $629.99
TIA for your time and valued recommendations to maximize my experience hunting down Lilith!

Hi all, although I prefer listening through speakers, there are occasions, late at night, when I'd like to listen through Bluetooth headphones. I can currently listen by running a long cable over to my side of the bed, but it's not terribly practical.
I know there is a loss in quality, but to be honest, with good-quality Bluetooth, it's negligible. I had an Audio Technica LP60X-BT and the sound quality was actually really tight.
Thanks all. Not looking for suggestions of why I should or shouldn't, but rather anyone who might have this in their setup. While I could go with just a Bluetooth transmitter, my amp already has a built-in phono pre-amp, but then I'd have to connect the transmitter through the headphone jack (and would like to avoid that as I'd be connecting, disconnecting, etc. Thanks all.

Hi all, although I prefer listening through speakers, there are occasions, late at night, when I'd like to listen through Bluetooth headphones. I can currently listen by running a long cable over to my side of the bed, but it's not terribly practical.
I know there is a loss in quality, but to be honest, with good-quality Bluetooth, it's negligible. I had an Audio Technica LP60X-BT and the sound quality was actually really tight.
Thanks all. Not looking for suggestions of why I should or shouldn't, but rather anyone who might have this in their setup. While I could go with just a Bluetooth transmitter, my amp already has a built-in phono pre-amp, but then I'd have to connect the transmitter through the headphone jack (and would like to avoid that as I'd be connecting, disconnecting, etc. Thanks all.

Chapter 1:
Jerry Brenson was having a hard time not getting pissed off at the way the car kept jerking around, making it damn near impossible to roll his tightly held cigarette. What a piece of shit it was anyways, it looked like the cross between an impregnated white pill and a scarecrow with all its frayed edges of tobacco poking out like straw.
"Would you stop driving like a goddamn animal!" he bellowed at the driver. Then he resumed his work on unraveling the piece of shit and evening everything out. The tip of Brenson's tongue stuck out of his mouth as he worked at it. Within a few seconds the passenger side front tire plunged into a half-foot pothole and Brenson's jaw clenched shut on that tender red meat sticking out of his face. In an instant it resembled a tiny pink balloon swelling up and getting ready to pop.
"FUCK!" Brenson screamed after a long second of seething white pain, which was now commencing to roll like waves through the bottom of his jaw, and somehow up into his fucking forehead! Before he had time to return from the moments that threw his whole being into a chaos of agony, he knew with dreadful certainty that he had bit off a chunk of his tongue. He would see it there if he opened his eyes and looked down. And with that, an image of a huge bulging red thing on the floor that was flopping around like a decapitated fish came to him. With wide eyes that seemed to burst open like fireworks, both hands flew to his mouth so that Brenson suddenly looked like a little girl getting the best birthday present of her life.
And then, hallelujah, he thinks, praise Jesus, God, the Buddha, anyone and anything that saved his precious tongue. It was still there. Hurt like hell but it was still there. He looked around on the floor in a sudden surge of paranoia (maybe a part of it really was down there) and to his blessed relief the only thing he saw were a pair of work boots stuffed onto his oafishly large feet.
All of this occurred in about 3 seconds, after which Brenson's brow contorted into a fierce angle of rage, and a powerful sense of the injustice and incompetence and of all the damned stupid negligent habits of this buffoon of a partner settled on him. He turned to the driver and smacked Dale Enrsten upside the head.
"Ouch!" Dale wailed in his deep Mississippi drawl. The car swerved to the left when Dale's arm instinctively went up to protect his face. "What the hell was that for?" He asked stupidly.
"For nearly getting my tongue bit off asshole. Now drive."
Dale returned a frown towards Brenson, and tried as he may to appear the least bit intimidating, Dale looked more comical than anything. There was something about his fat head and thin brown hair on a receded hairline that gave the air of an overly large boy preparing for boarding school.
Dale turned back to the road and decided that what would cheer him up would be a couple of chili dogs, add the cheese please, with a bud light and a pack of skittles. There ought to be a gas station in the next mile or so, god knows when the last time they saw one passing through this shit hole was. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a smoke, no two smokes, then handed one over to Brenson.
"My apologies captain. This road's covered in more potholes than your mom's vagina."
Dale cackled out a wheezing laugh and then lit up his smoke. He puffed out a large plume of white smoke that was torn away by the passing air out Dale's open window. He looked out that window, and glanced nervously at all the red stone. Their surfaces were inundated with marbled cracks. Every so often he'd see a pale bush growing between a couple of rocks. They looked more like skeletons than plants. Yes it was true, Dale Ernsted hated the desert. He hated all deserts. They made him feel like a clock was always ticking, and when it went to zero baby, oh my oh my, Dale baby if you’re out here, you gonna be fish food. Well not out here I wont, he retorts back to his own morbid fantasy, more liable to be lizard food, or coyote. Yeah, that's right, Dale thinks there probably are coyotes out here, and if the car broke down, well not a lot to eat out here but a couple of dehydrated dying men. What would be a better treat for a pack of hungry canines?
And following this train of thought Dale wonders what it would be like if Brenson and he really were surrounded by a pack of coyotes, how many would it take, maybe five? Six? Would Dale watch Brenson go first, or would it be Dale who Brenson catches a glimpse of getting his arm torn off from the shoulders down when the wolves begin demanding his own full attention. Look at that, now they turned into wolves. He didn’t think there were wolves out here. His expression changes into a frown of contemplation.
"Are you listening to me?" Dale hears Brenson angrily ask. The wolves go away. He realizes Brenson had asked him something.
"What's that?"
"Find a place to pull over I need to take a leak"
Dale's small eyes dart around at the escarpment and mesas and the fine layer of brown dirt swirling over the two-lane highway.
"No, I think there's a gas station up a bit. Not too much farther now."
Dale doesn't say anything else. He turns the knob on the radio until Bon Jovi is playing We’re Not Gonna Take It, and guns the Camry down the long stretch of desolate waste before them.
The desert sun was lowering in the west, making the car’s long shadow race ahead of them. By the time they see the dusty gas station with a white roof and big red letters painted on a discolored sign reading QuikStop, the sun was almost touching the horizon and Brenson had to pee like a mad horse. One or two stars could be seen faintly wavering in the turbulent purple sky fading into black.
Dale pulled up to a gas pump and he and Brenson got out of the car.
“Well” Brenson stretched out the word just as he was stretching out his back, leaning heavily into it with his arms on his hips, “Give me the money and I’ll get some food and beer. You get the gas”.
Dale reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty.
“Two cheese chili dogs and skittles” he said miserably. Brenson did a quick nod and walked off.
Dale found that he wasn’t doing anything but standing there watching Brenson walk closer to the gas station when the thought popped into his head: you know I think might kill that fuck, yeah I might. And then he turned around as if it was just a cloud passing by.
He was listening to the gulping sounds of gasoline filling up his tank when he saw a white toyota pull up and park on the side of the gas station near the ice chest and propane tanks. There were two people in the car. They looked like Mexicans to Dale. A man and woman. They got out of the car, shut the doors, walked around the corner, and entered the gas station. Dale wasn’t particularly interested in them but then something caught his eye. He thought he saw movement in the backseat of the toyota.
There it was again.
He realized it was a child.
It was a girl with long brown hair tied up in a ponytail. A little Mexican girl. Kids shouldn't be left in a hot car all alone he thinks righteously. But what should he expect from these people? Look at that piece of shit rig. He realized again that he was in a trance, staring angrily at the back of the Toyota.
Dale's eyes surveyed from the Toyota to the gas station entrance. The glare of the sun reflected everything outside so it was impossible to see in through the windows. Then something inside him went on autopilot. He had something to do he realized, and he had to do it fast.
He fastened the nozzle back onto the pump and briskly walked over to the white Toyota. His heart began racing. He peered in at the girl in the backseat. No one else was in there. She was wearing a blue tank top and black shorts. There was a doll, something from a disney cartoon in her hands, Dale insanely thinks, but is barely aware of any of these thoughts as the door of the Toyota slowly opens up and the girl turns her head away from her doll, up towards her mama with a smile, and sees Dale’s huge head lurching in like a troll plucking a princess from a tower.
Her face shrivels into a scream but before she can let out the breath, Dale’s meaty hands are over her mouth, and without any effort he pulls her out of the car and clutches her entire body in a bear hug. There's a heart pounding moment when she sounds like a grunting dog struggling in a trap and he knows her scream will escape from his sweaty armpit. Then there's an instant of pure lucid absurdity where he seemed to see himself from the outside. What would the girl's parents do if they walked around the corner right now? He couldn’t just put her back in there and go about pumping gas again could he? Oh I'm just ole friendly Dale giving your girl here a nice good hug cuz I could hear her cryin' for mommy.
Then he kicks the Toyotas door shut for god knows why and scrambles to his car. He hustles to the trunk, realizes the switch is up front, and skids to his knees at the driver's side door. He’s pressing the girl so hard against his chest he can almost feel her head bouncing off his beating heart.
Then he hears the satisfying click of the trunk unlocking, and with surprising speed he places the girl in the bed of the trunk, takes a bandana out from his back pocket and ties it like a rope around her mouth. The girl’s eyes, shaking with terror, watch grimly as the troll closes out the darkening sky with a metallic clink.
Then Dale jumps into the driver's seat, turns on the engine, and cranks up the radio. Another song by dear old Bon Jovi by god! Dale feel’s exhilarated. He doesn't even know it yet. All he knows is this music sounds better than anything he’s ever heard before, and why wouldn’t you look at that, he’s not even sore with Brenson anymore for slapping him in the face earlier. He can’t wait to have a beer! And there's ole Bren heading back towards the Camry now.
But then Dale realizes with a jolt of panic, the parents! The girl’s parents are going to be out any minute! With the mother of all anxiety attacks Dale’s car speeds towards Brenson as he walks out of the gas station at a magnitude that probably made Brenson think oh fuck I’m going to die by the look on his face, but Dale’s car screeched to a halt just a few feet away.
“What the fuck’s that about” Brenson sneered. The sneer was more one of habit than anything else as Brenson was so surprised that there wasn’t really room for anything else. His arms were full of supplies and he almost dropped them all over the ground.
“Get in now!” Dale yelled. He reached his arm over and threw open the passenger door. Brenson sat down and before he could shut the door, Dale shut it himself by accelerating in a curve out the gas station parking lot, and wouldn’t you know it, he didn’t even use his turning signals when he brought the Camry onto the highway and raced into the black eastern sky.
Chapter 2:
“Jesus man, you think I robbed the place?”. Brenson was unsure what had gotten into him. “Shut up for a minute. Give me a beer”.
Brenson had never seen Dale so serious. The man’s face looked like a machine. His thin lips were pressed so tightly you could barely see them. And he was scowling at the road. His eyes kept bouncing to the rearview mirror. Brenson could see beads of sweat rolling over Dale's pockmarked forehead. And the odometer was reading 95 mph. He sure as hell hoped he wouldn’t suddenly get another dose of Dale’s special potholes. He made sure his tongue was planted firmly on the roof of his mouth and his seat was buckled.
“Uh Dale..are you alright there partner?” Brenson asked.
“You seem like somethin just bit you in the ass.”
Dale guzzled down his bud light, burped and wiped his mouth, then reached for another one. After he cracked it open and took a good long gulp, he bellowed “Wooo! Lordy..oh yeah” He was heaving deep breaths between each word. Then his gaze turned away from the road and locked with Brenson's eyes.
“Pal, when you were over in that gas station there..” he paused and glanced towards the backseat of the car as if someone were sitting back there. He couldn’t keep it hidden from Brenson now could he? They had 100 miles left to drive.
Brenson looked back and then over at Dale again.
“ain't quite sure how to say this", the look on Dale's screwed up face as he thought about what to say next made Brenson think of a large boy again, one that was trying to work out a hard math problem like how much his groceries would cost.
"I may have picked up a passenger,” Dale finally said.
“What?” That came out of left field and Brenson didn't know what it meant.
“I just kind of..took her” he said this last as if Dale himself was surprised at what he was saying.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Brenson was getting a sick feeling. What fuckup did Dale just get him into now? He knew Dale liked cats and sometimes he would take them off the streets or out of people's yards if he liked how they looked. And he knew Dale had about 9 cats stuffed away in his trailer, but Brenson wasn't hearing any meows coming out of the back seat now was he? And Dale's eyes were looking at something far away, unfocused on something so far away like Venus.
And then Brenson noticed a muffled sound like there was a load of groceries rolling to the side in the trunk as Dale took them around a tight bend. For just a moment he was worried that maybe he had put the beer back there and it was gonna get all fizzy, but then he remembered the beer in his hand and the rest on the floor by his feet near that imaginary chunk of meat flapping around down there. He felt the tip of his tongue and took a swig.
"What the fuck did you do" Brenson remembered the two Mexicans that walked into that gas station. He had eyes on them the whole time.
“Dale?” Brenson asked with a looming understanding that sped towards him like a Mack truck. Dale had done something magnanimously fucked up.
“What the fuck did you do!”
“She was boiling back there!” Dale pleaded. He was an eight year old child again, explaining to an angry stepmom why she had found a drowned cat in the bathtub. He didn’t have any choice, it had bit him and that was not okay, that was not okay by any standards of civilized man. What else could he do?
“Dale!”
“I saved her Bren!”
They were both yelling now.
“She was gonna be dead back there! You saw those mexis didn’t you?”
“Pull over!” Brenson demanded.
“No.”
“Pull over now!”
Dale kept on speeding. The odometer read 105. To Brenson it felt like the flimsy car could at any moment flip over a hundred times if the slightest gust of wind brushed against them.
“Pull over right fucking now or I’ll beat the shit out you right here!”
Brenson’s fists were clenched into a barb of hairy knuckles. He was really going to do it Dale observed, and then they’d both be piles of scrap strewn all over the road.
Dale gave a defeated sigh and took his foot off the accelerator. He was going to have to show Bren one way or another. They were already miles past that shit hole station anyways. What the hell. The Camry disengaged from warp speed and soon Brenson could hear the crinkle of gravel under the tires as the Camry pulled off onto the shoulder.
Outside the night was as silent as the land was empty. A brilliant splash of stars painted the canopy of the sky in a way that gave Dale a cosmic sense of his own importance. He shuffled over to the back with Bren, a disappointed look of guilt was likewise splashed across his face, why no mah, I’m not the one that drowned Muffin, but ya know, she wouldn’t stop biting. But Dale remembered the feeling of her slick fur bunched up between his fingers and the way her intricately delicate neck felt like so many scrawny bones. A jolt of disgust seemed to roll through him like a shockwave and he tried to shake off the memory of that limp cat as fast as possible.
Then that cave of darkness opened up and it was nighttime outside, and the girl saw with a cold panic that made her cry that there were two trolls looming over her now. They were both huge and disgusting. The one on the left looked like a giant baby with patches of wiry fur in tufts up and down its neck and chin. Its teeth were yellowed and it was smoking a cigarette. She didn't like how it was eyeing her, like she was some kind of precious crystal that it wanted badly.
The other was just as big, not as fat though, more muscular. He had a mop of scraggly black hair and a full beard covering the mouth. He looked like a biker. And he looked like he was really mad at her. She heard herself crying.
"Mamá" She tried squeaking through the rope. "Donde mi mamá"
And then, no, no please, everything was getting dark again. She howled and squirmed but the lid of the trunk did not care.
Brenson was biting his bottom lip. He was supremely pissed off now. What the fuck was this lunatic thinking! He looked at Dale and was about to begin a royal case of pummeling his fat ass into the ground for getting Bren caught up in this bullshit, lord knows he's had a clean record apart from a mild six months in Kentucky State Penitentiary when he was twenty two years old. And this asshole, this stupid fat asshole made him an accomplice to whatever crazy bullshit was flying around in that fat fucking head of his!
But Bren noticed that far away in the direction they had come were a pair of tiny headlights. They were heading this way.
Instead of beating Dale into a mess worthy of the crime of getting Bren caught up in kidnapping charges, he said "Lets get the fuck out of here". And then jumped back into his seat, slamming the door.
"Come on!" He yelled out when he saw that Dale was still standing on the side of the road like an idiot. Dale hurried up, revved on the engine, and the Camry was back on the highway doing 92 mph. Bren cracked open another beer and drank the whole thing in one go. He didn’t complain about the speed.
Chapter 3:
It was about two in the morning when they pulled up to Bren’s trailer. Bren got out and walked around to Dale’s side. He was mildly drunk. Bren put his hands on his knees and bent down as if he was going to say something to Dale, but in the end he turned around and left without saying anything. He was too pissed off.
“See you in the morning.” Dale called out after him in an annoyingly loud voice, but Bren didn’t turn around. His thin white door shut loudly and Dale pulled away and drove off to his own trailer at the end of the gravel road.
At this point he had a conundrum on his hands. He had to get the girl inside without her making a lot of noise. And then once inside..what? Tie her up? Keep her in his bathroom? It’s not like he had a basement to put her in. And what the fuck was he doing anyways? His hand reached for his forehead. He was thinking. Then he unlocked the trunk and when the dim light in the trunk came on he saw with stabbing horror that the girl was dead.
“NO!” He shouted at her as if it were her fault.
"Oh dear Jesus no!”
He felt like he was about to cry. It was the cat all over again. He really didn’t want to kill it. But then he saw the rhythm of her small diaphragm. She was sleeping. Dale oh dale oh dale, what are you doing?
He wiped the sweat off his brow, then reached in and picked her up. She weighed about as much as a pillow, and when Dale opened the door of his trailer, a cat seemed to catapult itself outside making him trip over his own feet. "Shit! Henry!" He gave an involuntary yell over his shoulder when he saw which one did it. Then, understanding that he totally did not have anything under control, he stopped in his doorway and simply stood there with the little girl cradled in his arms. She felt warm. His girl. Yeah, that sounded right. It was his girl now. His little Mexican girl.
A few more hungry cats came out of the shadows begging for food. He shushed them and kicked his leg around without putting any real effort into it just to make them go away.
He had to secure his girl.
But how was he going to get any sleep tonight? He had to be absolutely sure that she could not get away. Then as he was walking in, thinking about how he would tie her up (he did have some duct tape, rope, maybe some wire ties..oh but he didn't want to hurt her wrists), he felt a sudden uneasiness about Brenson. Did Dale think he'd go to the cops? Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut and the music loud. He should have slowed down when Bren asked and he should have… Wait, just wait one cotton pickin minute Dale, he says to himself. The girl. The girl first, then Bren. Maybe Bren was still awake and he'd pay him a little visit, have a little chat just to make sure they were square, just to see if everything was cool, but only after he was sure the girl could not escape.
But should he actually leave her alone?
"Get moving!" he said to himself. And then walked into the back of the trailer where he kept a tool shed. The girl was still sleeping in his arms. Whatever nightmares she could possibly be having, would she really want to wake up?
He chose duct tape, the principle reason being it was easiest to reach while clutching a small human being. And although she felt like a feather before, the longer Dale held her in that death grip, the heavier she seemed to get.
He laid her gently down on a Layzee Boy and found himself holding his breath and needing air when he was certain she was still sleeping. Dale unfolded the leg rest, and then very delicately began unwinding the duct tape around her legs. This turned out to be a bitch because the duct tape was prone to making offensive scratching sounds as it was unpeeled from its spool.
About an hour later the girl was strapped in the chair in an extended position. Mounds of duct tape secured her arms, legs, torso, hands and feet. He took special care to untie the bandana from her face, knowing that she could suffocate in her sleep if it stayed on there. That special feat gave him a sense of pride for remembering. He already got one point in the game of taking care of her by damn. Though he'd have to figure out how to keep her quiet. Lastly, he strapped down her head using a generous supply of tape.
Now he surveyed his work like a skilled practitioner, his mouth closed, eyes narrowed, and giving short nods of satisfaction. Yes he did do a good job. Both on the tape job, and on the girl. She was adorable. He was imagining what it would be like three years from now, when she had forgotten all about that old shit hole family she had, a fact that Dale would NEVER bring up, and how happy they would look playing in a park, eating hotdogs. He's pushing her on a swing and look at that! At the very end of the pendulum's arc she leaps through the air, legs pointing like arrows in perfect form! She glides through the air and lands on her feet. Both arms reach up into the sky, she beams at Dale saying look what I just did daddy! Then she's running, his little girl is running right at him! She leaps into his arms and oh god how he hugs her, squeezes her, suddenly he notices that her skin is so soft, there's a gleam in her eye, he looks at her mouth
Somebody knocked twice on his front door.
The force of that sound coming from that door made Dale almost scream. The cloudy glaze over his eyes burned away as fast as if Jesus Christ had just now ripped open a hole in the sky and let all of heaven's mighty armies come march on through.
His head jerked up and banged against the corner of a kitchen cabinet that he had been standing near but he barely felt it because panic and paranoia were through the fucking roof ladies and gentlemen. That's right, Dale Ernsted was about to melt into a puddle and seep into the floor.
But he had to do something about the door. He crept slowly, as if the slower he moved the more invisible he would become. At this point he was trying to make himself as flat against the wall as possible so he could peek out the curtains without the intruder noticing. He quickly poked his face into the curtains and looked out the window. There was a man still standing at Dale's door. And the man instantly turned towards Dale and looked him in the eyes.
Dale screamed and put a hand over his mouth.
It was Bren. It was just fucking Bren. He pulled away from the window and noticed he was breathing like he had run a half marathon.
Dale opened the door and there was Bren pissed off as ever before. He didn't ask to come inside but came inside he did, brushing past Dale without saying a word. He stood in Dale's living room, hands on hips, something like concern on his face, and was just standing there gaping at that girl stuck in all that mound of duct tape. He was shaking his head in disbelief. Then Bren turned around and said in whispered tones, "What in fucking Christ is going on here Dale?"
They both walked outside and Dale shut the door.
Inside the trailer the girl remained taped to the Lazee Boy, breathing those deep occasional breaths that are only ever seen in people deep in REM sleep. Then she opened her eyes. If Dale could see those eyes now he would say they looked evil. To Bren, who had a larger vocabulary than Dale, he would say cunning.
In truth she had never been asleep. And although she heard only a little of the conversation between the two ogres that captured her, she knew that Baby Face, as she thought of Dale, believed she was asleep. And for this she thought he must be the dumbest person imaginable. What moron would think anything but a tranquilized rhinoceros was asleep after all that had happened to her.
She played through the sequence of events that led her to this terrible situation. It was an unreal situation. How could this happen to her? But that's not useful, she thinks, it isn't useful to wonder about why, only how and what to do about it.
She took the opportunity while the two trolls were outside to scan as much of the room as possible. Looking for doors, windows, anything that could be used as a weapon. Although she knew she had little chance of using anything but a gun against either of those two guys. They were big and mean looking. But she thought Baby Face probably had a gun, either on him or by his bed, maybe in a closet.
She would have to escape. She knew there was a door in the back, though she couldn't see it, because Baby Face had brought her back there and she could feel the outside air coming in. It seemed to be some kind of extension to the trailer. And when Baby Face had stood on his toes reaching high up to get something off a shelf, she stole a glance and saw that it was some kind of shed that led outside. There were at least two doors. It was going to hurt so bad to take this tape off. She didn't know what to do about that yet. She could barely move any part of her body.
Then she heard one of the men approach the door and the hinge began to squeak open.
Dale poked his head in and stared at her for a good ten seconds. She was still sleeping. Good. Then the door closed.
Her name was Mariana and her eyes were now looking up at the ceiling, lips quivering, trying to hold back the tears from escaping. One did though and it traced a small trail down her cheekbone before it finally fell to the floor. She hoped her cheek would dry before the trolls came back inside.
Chapter 4:
That same morning Bren woke up to a pounding headache that felt like a vein was about to burst from the left side of his head. His bones creaked as he got out of bed and he walked to his refrigerator and pulled out a beer.
He wasn't trying to get drunk, those days were long past him. It was just to get rid of the headache. He had work today. And it was Bren's turn to drive so he was gonna have to waltz over to dumb fuck Dale's house and drag his ass out of bed. Although he wasn't so sure how much stock he put in folk traditions and rules of the game, so to speak, now that his relationship with Dale has been, shall we say, tested.
Although he wasn't as angry as he was just a few hours before while he chewed out Dale for being the stupidest motherfucker he ever laid eyes on, he still felt he should give him an ass pounding after he, Bren, resolved this entire state of affairs. Because it would be Bren, not Dale, who would have to do that. As much as he wished he could abandon Dale and just say fuck it, he was deeply concerned about his own involvement in what transpired the night before, and he was gravely imagining getting fifty years behind bars because of some lunatic he decided to take up a business deal with. Who was the real retard here, Bren thinks in a self deprecating way, who would get into business with someone like Dale?
Never mind all that, he would have to do something about this. He could not allow Dale to go off on his wild fantasies. Bren's chief concern was that Dale would fuck up somehow and land Bren in prison. He was slowly shaking his head back and forth as he sipped his beer, realizing just how deep the sinking sand really went in this case, all the anger he felt the night before came rushing back tenfold as he realized what he would have to do. What he would make Dale do. As punishment.
Meanwhile Baby Face was still sleeping. Mariana heard him snoring. She decided to let herself sleep after he had passed out on the floor near this duct tape prison. She would need her strength and people need to sleep as much as they need to eat was what she convinced herself with to even allow her to try to sleep. It wasn't even a guaranteed deal. Who could sleep during something like this?
But she found that when she closed her eyes and knew that Baby Face was drunk out of his mind, and that meant he would probably be asleep for awhile, then she could sleep. And oh how she drifted down, pulled down just as she was pulled out of that car, with a monster waiting for her at the bottom. A monster that looked like some huge grotesque baby thing that had snot pouring out of its nose like a fire hose held her, its decaying fingernails scraped at her, and it cackled at how amazing she was, licking her back and purring like a cat.
She screamed and then she was back in her car with all her things! Not in a dream, she was actually back in the car and her parents had told her they would pick her up a snickers.
She knew Baby Face was out there. Scrambling up on her elbows she looked for him out the window. He was pumping gas and smoking a cigarette at the same time. What a stupid freak! Yuck! But he was going to come over here. She watched him looking at something over at the entrance, and then his head was turning towards her. She ducked. And then slowly peeked her head up and saw that he was walking over here. He looked like some kind of rodent, like a rat that was sniffing out cheese.
She needed to leave. Mariana grabbed the door handle and shaked at it but it wouldn't open. None of them worked. She was trying to remain calm, kept finding her right hand reaching up and twirling her hair and then stopping herself. She licked her chapped lips. She had an idea.
The door opened and before Baby Face stuffed his stinking head in through the open door, Mariana turned around and asserted herself. She loudly and very clearly said "Dale! Where is your gun?"
The monster stumbled backwards as if shot, and fell slightly to its knee. The way its knees popped back and forth and the way its elbows gesticulated in erratic ways made Mariana think it wasn't even alive. It was some kind of zombie. And when its head rolled back up, and it looked at her, its teeth clacking together like a puppet being pulled up by the strings too quickly, she saw that Baby Face, Rat Baby Face, had long white whiskers and huge front teeth. They were stained with cigarette smoke but they still looked sharp.
It said in a gravelly voice choked with beer and chili, "under my bathroom sink, where I always keep it.", driblets of chili dripped down its white gums, which also held a healthy portion of gooey chewing tobacco. Beer froth dripped out its eyes as it jumped into the car with Mariana and began stroking its long bony fingers through her hair saying all the while in the voice of a corpse "How pretty..how pretty..how pretty". She wanted to puke and get away from it but - then Rat Baby Face opened its mouth and bit into her neck.
Mariana woke up blinking away tears. She swallowed and took in a deep breath through her nose, somewhat rocking back and forth, but otherwise totally immobilized.
That's when she heard Baby Face snoring. That's also when she noticed the bathroom out of the very furthest edge of her peripheral vision.
Mariana knew what she had to do.

My boyfriend is the sweetest man I have ever met, we are very compatible and love each other, other than his hectic schedule because of his business, and from the beginning of the relationship he has made it clear that this is long-term and he intends to date for marriage. Which is also how I feel. I've been in a long distance relationship with said boyfriend for a month now and we finally met a few days after three failed meets. We were supposed to meet the next day at the villa he booked but when I arrived he was not there as we had planned. I get a text two hours later and he says his phone is bugged and he's stuck at a family's place to do some work. He doesn't tell me to wait or go home so I decided to wait. I waited till it was almost getting dark and it started raining. I had my laptop, phone and BT speaker on me and I was really hoping he'd be back to drop me home because stupid me forgot my purse at home and I did not have money on me. That was my mistake, I know, I should have been prepared for the worst case scenario to be able to get myself home. I didn't want to walk home either cause; one, it was raining heavily, two, the neighbourhoods leading to my place have been really dangerous recently (robberies and rapes happening more often now) and three; I had to be home before dark as my parents gave a curfew. I really wanted to call my parents to pick me up but I didn't want to tell them the truth or else they'd be upset with the situation and it would have ruined the impression my boyfriend gave when he dropped me the previous day and met them briefly. I didn't know anyone else I could call until I suddenly remembered that my ex has a car. I hadn't spoken to him in a long time so I decided to unblock him and see if he'd pick up my call. He did and I asked for a favor to drop me home after I explained how I'm stranded. I informed the villa host that my boyfriend will return with the room key because he was supposed to book out that afternoon. My ex arrived ten minutes later and as awkward as it was, he dropped me home immediately and just made small talk asking about my school and work life. I thanked him and then he made it clear that this is the only and last time he'll save me, and for me to never leave my home without any emergency cash on me. My brother was at the door and he asked, "Why is he dropping you home?" So, now my brother knows what time I arrived home and the villa host knows what time I left. Literally just in 15 minutes I was home. I messaged my boyfriend and explained how my day went and if he was trying to ghost me. He gets back to me the next day in the afternoon, telling me he went back home to get his phone fixed because it was cheaper to get it fixed in his city. He gets hurt and upset by the fact I called my ex and I tried to explain the situation and my decision as much as I could. It seems that he doesn't trust me because he assumes I did something behind his back with my ex. I understand I made a stupid decision but I was honestly desperate to get home and I didn't want to burden my family. He had left some things back at the villa, including a gift I made for him. After he says he needs to clear his head, I ask my parents to drive me down to the villa and I just said that he forgot some stuff and asked me to pick them up, parents believed me. I got the things now. I'm really confused and hurt too on how the weekend went. I regret the decision I made and now I feel like I should have just walked home while it was still daylight and good weather. I'm guessing we haven't built a deep sense of trust within the relationship for him to actually realize when I'm bring truthful. I genuinely could never lie to him or sneak around with any of my exes behind his back, because I really do like him a lot, hence why I told him truth straight up. I wrote him the longest letter I've ever written as a gift and I gave him my late-grandma's ring (which she gave me) as a promise ring and I wore one too on the same finger. To give these gifts to my partner had never crossed my mind when I was with my ex (the one that I called to drop me home) until I met my boyfriend. My question is; how can I explain all this to him (again) without making it seem like I'm probably lying to him or gaslighting him. I really don't want to lose him, he's the best person I've ever met.

Hello! Hoping yall can look at my plumbing diagram and see if there are any obvious blunders. The water tank, pump, spray port and gas water heater are already apart of this system and they have worked well for boondocking, lately more and more of our trips have been to places that have hookups and I really like the idea of adding a city water line so I'm not constantly refilling the tank.
I'm pulling out all the 1/2"id vinyl hose and replacing with pex tubing. I have a regulator I'll put before the city water hookup but not sure how much of that is needed if I'm using pex anyway. Right now I'm teeing hot and cold together for the spray port so I don't have to cut a larger faucet box into the camper. If the water mix doesn't work well then I'll cut the box in or just put some ball valves on each line to dial-in the water temp. I've already tested a 1/4 turn spigot with quick connect on the port and that works amazingly well. My biggest concern is the water heater setup. The heater is mounted into a pelican case that is mounted to the outside of the camper. It works really well for what it is but the kids have a hard time adjusting the temp on it, my idea was to plumb pex lines into it and then tie the hot water into a faucet next to it, then they can easily dial-in temps like a regular shower. I'm curious if the water pressure will work in this setup. My pump has adjustable psi up to 125, which is way more than I need. The head on the pump is more than I need and it supports more sinks and outlets than I'm using. Not pictured on the diagram are capped low-point drains for hot and cold water.
​
Edit forgot the link for the pic. https://imgur.com/a/DTLIXh3
Appreciate and assistance!

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📌 https://bit.ly/3TuPMYQ
🚨 Price: $8.99 / Lowest: $9.49
❤️ Coupon: BG23419b
-8- LAOTIE 10x2.5inch Inner Tube for SR10 ES18 Lite ES10P L6 Pro L6 ES10 Electric Scooter
❗️ https://bit.ly/3yPNvOz
👌 Price: $9.49 / Lowest: $12.99
-9- Lenovo SH1 Bluetooth 5.0 Magnetic Neckband Earphones
📌 https://bit.ly/3n0hnot
✌️ Price: $9.49 / Lowest: $10.49
📍 Coupon: BGf4663a
-10- 102pcs 120 Grit Sanding Drum Kit
🌐 https://bit.ly/3Z2An3b
🔹 Price: $9.77 / Lowest: $10.8
⏳ Coupon: BGHTT15
-11- AUGIENB 300ml Portable Blender [EU]
🌀 https://bit.ly/42sfnWn
✌️ Price: $9.99 / Lowest: $12.99
📌 Coupon: BGdf766c
-12- Wave Induction COB LED Headlight
❗️ https://bit.ly/3LANy8e
💥 Price: $9.99 / Lowest: $10.99
-13- 12 Inch Handwriting Board
✌️ https://bit.ly/3lvQ59h
💲 Price: $9.99 / Lowest: $11.99
-14- BAJEAL G8 Wired Mouse 3200 DPI
✅ https://bit.ly/3lATROu
〽️ Price: $9.99 / Lowest: $10.99
-15- 400 Games Retro Handheld Game Console
❇️ https://bit.ly/42qhaLw
📉 Price: $10.39 / Lowest: $10.99
-16- LAOTIE Anti-theft Device For Electric Scooter
🌀 https://bit.ly/3X7mPU8
👌 Price: $10.99 / Lowest: $11.99
-17- LAOTIE 11inch Inner Tube For TI30 ES18P ES18 Electric Scooter
✌️ https://bit.ly/3Jow0JK
〽️ Price: $10.99 / Lowest: $13.99
-18- Handskit 80W 220V Soldering Iron with Tips
❗️ https://bit.ly/40qt0nn
💣 Price: $11.32 / Lowest: $13.5
-19- (Note: RU version!) ZIYOULANG T5 Keyboard Mouse Combo
🌍 https://bit.ly/3JWezSE
🚨 Price: $12.99 / Lowest: $-1
-20- Awei T26 Pro Earphones BT5.3
🌐 https://bit.ly/3JTIzOQ
🥇 Price: $12.99 / Lowest: $13.99
-21- 22.5W 3 Ports FM Bluetooth Transmitter Car Charger
✳️ https://bit.ly/403trUP
👌 Price: $12.99 / Lowest: $13.59
-22- LAOTIE U7 Front Electric Scooter Light
❗️ https://bit.ly/3JoMlhy
⭕️ Price: $13.19 / Lowest: $13.19
💵 Coupon: BGc8e14f
-23- Eachine E017 Mini Drone RTF
🌀 https://bit.ly/3goWlgx
💥 Price: $13.99 / Lowest: $12.99
-24- INFITARY 12V H4 H7 H11 COB LED Car Headlight Bulbs
🌐 https://bit.ly/42pCIrE
📉 Price: $13.99 / Lowest: $14.59
-25- Hi-Spec 34Pcs 6.35mm Shank Screwdriver Sleeve Set
✌️ https://bit.ly/3ySI2q7
💰 Price: $14.36 / Lowest: $15.89
✌️ Coupon: BGHTT15
-26- BlitzWolf BW-S22 Mini PD 35W GaN Wall Charger
📌 https://bit.ly/42sfQYD
💲 Price: $14.99 / Lowest: $15.79
💵 Coupon: BGd183b0
-27- 150mm Stainless Steel LCD Digital Caliper
🌀 https://bit.ly/42qJGg8
💣 Price: $14.99 / Lowest: $13.99
-28- Upgraded Metal Front Bumper for Wltoys 1/12 RC Car
❇️ https://bit.ly/3lvGOhy
〽️ Price: $14.99 / Lowest: $16.99
-29- LED Magnetic Camping Hiking Light Rechargeable 7.5W
🌍 https://bit.ly/3JyVi82
💥 Price: $15.99 / Lowest: $18.99
-30- AirAux AA-UM13 Bluetooth V5.1 Earphones
👉 https://bit.ly/3K2dTcM
🚨 Price: $16.79 / Lowest: $17.49
💵 Coupon: BG9ccd3f
-31- LDNIO 32W 3 Ports QC 3.0 PD Charger
✅ https://bit.ly/3JTgqau
✌️ Price: $16.99 / Lowest: $16.99
-32- FNIRSI SG002 Digital 0-22mA 0-10V Voltage Signal Generator
📌 https://bit.ly/400gE5y
💣 Price: $16.99 / Lowest: $19.99
-33- BlitzWolf AIRAUX AA-UM15 Earphones Bluetooth V5.1 QCC3040
📌 https://bit.ly/3FER4L7
📉 Price: $17.79 / Lowest: $16.99
✌️ Coupon: BGfa9043
-34- BlitzWolf BW-FPE2 Bluetooth Earphones
👌 https://bit.ly/3T9bnWg
✌️ Price: $17.99 / Lowest: $18.99
🔓 Coupon: BG82c15f
-35- BAJEAL K100 Mechanical Keyboard 87 Keys [EU]
✌️ https://bit.ly/3yXHIGo
💥 Price: $18.99 / Lowest: $24.99
-36- AirAux AA-WM2 10W Bluetooth V5.1 Speaker 2000mAh [EU]
🌐 https://bit.ly/3vVGkDs
💰 Price: $18.99 / Lowest: $19.99
🔑 Coupon: BG3f1970
-37- Outdoor Shower Bathroom Shelter [EU]
🔗 https://bit.ly/3ltuONu
🔹 Price: $19.99 / Lowest: $19.99
✂️ Coupon: BGacc1a2
-38- Haylou GT5 TWS Bluetooth 5.0 Earphones
❇️ https://bit.ly/3yQS4rF
〽️ Price: $19.99 / Lowest: $21.99
-39- BAJEAL K200 Mechanical Keyboard 87 Keys [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/3Jz6EZO
⭕️ Price: $19.99 / Lowest: $29.79
-40- 5 Blade Fireplace Fan Heat Powered Stove Fan
✌️ https://bit.ly/3JuYamr
🚨 Price: $21.99 / Lowest: $24.99
👉 Coupon: BG97365e
-41- BlitzWolf BW-KB2 Mechanical Keyboard 87 Keys Wired Gateron
👉 https://bit.ly/3Z6rdT8
👌 Price: $22.50 / Lowest: $22.5
👌 Coupon: BG748ba7
-42- BlitzWolf BW-KB2 Mechanical Keyboard 87 Keys Wired Gateron [EU]
✌️ https://bit.ly/3ll0uVm
✌️ Price: $22.50 / Lowest: $28
🔓 Coupon: BG748ba7
-43- BlitzWolf BW-MK-011 UV Mosquito Killer Lamp 5W 2000mAh
🌀 https://bit.ly/3zvDTtj
🚨 Price: $22.88 / Lowest: $23.88
-44- LL-009 4 Stirling Engine Motor Model
👌 https://bit.ly/3JQzjLp
💥 Price: $22.99 / Lowest: $23.99
-45- Somoreal SM-OLT1 Rotatable 5 Heads 214LED Solar Sensor Wall Light [EU]
✌️ https://bit.ly/3tVG5qc
💥 Price: $23.99 / Lowest: $24.88
-46- Mensela RT-W1 130W Rotary Tool Kit [EU]
✳️ https://bit.ly/3NMVMaP
💲 Price: $23.99 / Lowest: $21.99
❤️ Coupon: BG09ba29
-47- S69 FPV Drone RTF with 2 Batteries
🌐 https://bit.ly/42skDJv
💣 Price: $23.99 / Lowest: $25.99
-48- EXCELLWAY 100A MPPT Solar Controller
🌐 https://bit.ly/3FDwiLN
👌 Price: $24.63 / Lowest: $25.19
👌 Coupon: BGET12
-49- SG PINECONE FOREST 2411 RTR 1/24 RC Car
🛒 https://bit.ly/3G8OZs0
💰 Price: $24.99 / Lowest: $25.99
👌 Coupon: BGe71e99
-50- SG PINECONE FOREST 2410 RTR 1/24 RWD RC Car
❇️ https://bit.ly/3JR2NZA
🔹 Price: $24.99 / Lowest: $25.99
✂️ Coupon: BG696dec
-51- BlitzWolf BW-FYE15 Bluetooth Earphones
🌀 https://bit.ly/3qqR3DI
📉 Price: $24.99 / Lowest: $25.99
-52- Tying Machine Plant Tapetool Tapener [EU]
✅ https://bit.ly/3yPk2En
💲 Price: $25.49 / Lowest: $28.19
🖍 Coupon: BGHTT15
-53- AUTSOME 12V/24V Automobile Car Battery Charger [EU]
🌀 https://bit.ly/3naSeI4
👌 Price: $25.99 / Lowest: $25.99
-54- BlitzMax BT05 Audio Transmitter Receiver BT5.2
🌍 https://bit.ly/3yQSs9B
🥇 Price: $26.29 / Lowest: $27.99
🖍 Coupon: BGe0a35c
-55- UALANS Tooth Scaler Kit Plaque Remover [EU]
👉 https://bit.ly/3VWf9DS
〽️ Price: $26.99 / Lowest: $24.64
📌 Coupon: BGdc006
-56- BlitzWolf BW-HP2 Pro Bluetooth Headphones
✅ https://bit.ly/3RKVCDw
💲 Price: $28.99 / Lowest: $29.99
-57- 4Inch Cordless Electric Chain Saw with 2 Batteries [EU]
✳️ https://bit.ly/3yPfDRR
💰 Price: $31.31 / Lowest: $32.99
⏳ Coupon: BGGTT13
-58- BlitzMax BT06 Audio Transmitter Receiver BT5.2
🌀 https://bit.ly/3JTuSPX
✌️ Price: $33.99 / Lowest: $34.99
🔑 Coupon: BG95e4b8
-59- 6inch Portable Electric Pruning Saw with 2 Batteries [EU]
✌️ https://bit.ly/3q352ON
🚨 Price: $36.57 / Lowest: $37.99
-60- DAREU EK861 Keyboard Bluetooth 5.1 RGB 61 Keys
🛒 https://bit.ly/3LFd1xC
🔹 Price: $37.99 / Lowest: $39.99
✏️ Coupon: BG7efa0c
-61- TOPSHAK TS-ED4 20V 13mm Electric Drill 45Nm [EU]
👌 https://bit.ly/3Nu2KkV
🚨 Price: $37.99 / Lowest: $39.99
-62- COTTONSMITH Smart Heated Jacket [EU]
✅ https://bit.ly/3YWdYV6
🚨 Price: $39.99 / Lowest: $49.99
✌️ Coupon: BG2df9ea
-63- WORX WX240.1 3.6V 250RPM Electric Screwdriver
🔗 https://bit.ly/3FBTTMU
💥 Price: $39.99 / Lowest: $40.99
-64- WPL D12 MINI 1/16 RC Car with 2 Batteries
🛒 https://bit.ly/3lAXgwK
💥 Price: $42.63 / Lowest: $39.99
🔓 Coupon: BG2631b3
-65- 4D 16 Lines Laser Level [EU]
❗️ https://bit.ly/3RCtHoU
💲 Price: $43.99 / Lowest: $43.99
-66- GamaKay LK67 Keyboard Customized Kit 67 Keys Bluetooth 5.0 [EU]
🛒 https://bit.ly/3JupQb5
📉 Price: $44.99 / Lowest: $49.99
-67- 16 Lines 4D Laser Level with 2 Batteries [EU]
✳️ https://bit.ly/3bWFEGs
🔹 Price: $45.99 / Lowest: $52.69
-68- 16 Line Green Light Laser [EU]
📌 https://bit.ly/3n92EYl
🚨 Price: $45.99 / Lowest: $49.99
-69- 858D 700W Soldering Station
❗️ https://bit.ly/3JxaO4l
🔹 Price: $48.69 / Lowest: $52.7
🎯 Coupon: BGHTT15
-70- AirAux AA-DH1 50W Bluetooth V5.1 Speaker [EU]
❗️ https://bit.ly/3ElQIcA
⭕️ Price: $49.99 / Lowest: $53.99
✏️ Coupon: BGAADH1K
-71- Edifier R980T Bookshelf Speaker 24W [EU]
🌍 https://bit.ly/3RZAlWC
👌 Price: $50.19 / Lowest: $52.99
▪️ Coupon: BGEF980T
-72- VIOLEWORKS 2000W 18000RPM Electric Air Blower with 2 Batteries [EU]
❗️ https://bit.ly/3LybhpL
👉 Price: $52.19 / Lowest: $55.19
🖍 Coupon: BGGTT13
-73- TOPSHAK TS-HD1 1500W 6J Electric Rotary Hammer Impact Drill [EU]
📌 https://bit.ly/3FFfZ13
💥 Price: $52.99 / Lowest: $-1
-74- Xiaomi Mijia MJXCQ01DY Wired Vacuum Cleaner [EU]
👉 https://bit.ly/3vClzw7
💲 Price: $53.99 / Lowest: $47.99
🔓 Coupon: BG6d7fb8
-75- 88V Cordless Electric Pruning Shears with 2 Batteries [EU]
✳️ https://bit.ly/3JThkno
〽️ Price: $54.59 / Lowest: $55.99
-76- BLITZWILL BWL-FL-0002 25W 2700K-6500K RGB Floor Lamp 2000lm [EU]
🌀 https://bit.ly/3lvbE9O
⭕️ Price: $57.99 / Lowest: $58.89
💵 Coupon: BG463497
-77- Binecer LM 1.3 Leg Foot Massager 40-55C [EU]
✅ https://bit.ly/3lqdbhz
🔹 Price: $58.79 / Lowest: $58.79
⏳ Coupon: BGdc002
-78- Aluminum Alloy X8 Router Table Insert Plate with Angle Gauge
❗️ https://bit.ly/42t79NS
〽️ Price: $59.49 / Lowest: $59.99
🖍 Coupon: BGWT15
-79- AKKO 3061S Tokyo R2 Mechanical Keyboard 61 Keys
🌍 https://bit.ly/3LGM2S6
💥 Price: $60.99 / Lowest: $69.99
🖍 Coupon: BG1367a1
-80- FNIRSI-1C15 Digital Oscilloscope
🛒 https://bit.ly/3Z3CHqG
🚨 Price: $62.99 / Lowest: $65.2
💎 Coupon: BGM1TOOLS88
-81- Royal Kludge RK100 Mechanical Keyboard 100 Keys
✅ https://bit.ly/3UYg6uV
✌️ Price: $65.99 / Lowest: $67.99
📌 Coupon: BGc7a462
-82- BlitzWolf BW-WA3 100W Bluetooth Speaker [EU]
❗️ https://bit.ly/3lfTk1j
⭕️ Price: $65.99 / Lowest: $65.99
👉 Coupon: BG9040bd
-83- MUSTOOL G1200D Digital Microscope 12MP 7 Inch 1-1200X [EU]
👌 https://bit.ly/3JSVpg6
🔹 Price: $66.99 / Lowest: $68.99
-84- Hantek 6022BE PC-Based USB Digital Oscilloscope 2Channels 20MHz 48MSa/s
✳️ https://bit.ly/40gB5KY
🚨 Price: $72.99 / Lowest: $74.69
🖍 Coupon: BGM1TOOLS88
-85- Anne Pro 2D RGB 60% Mini Mechanical Keyboard 61 Keys
❗️ https://bit.ly/40n7FLn
💥 Price: $73.99 / Lowest: $75.99
▪️ Coupon: BGb0d9c9
-86- Xiaomi DC Frequency Conversion Pedestal Fan 2 15W [EU]
🌐 https://bit.ly/3RFA1Mz
💲 Price: $74.99 / Lowest: $74.99
💎 Coupon: BG08ba29
-87- Mensela PW-W1 Car Pressure Washer 2100W [EU]
✳️ https://bit.ly/3JtzbjG
🥇 Price: $75.99 / Lowest: $-1
-88- XMUND XD-SP2 100W 18V Solar Panel [EU]
🔗 https://bit.ly/3QgEe8A
💲 Price: $76.99 / Lowest: $84.99
🔑 Coupon: BG009111
-89- Eachine Mini F4U EPP 400mm RC Airplane [EU]
🌀 https://bit.ly/42tic9S
💥 Price: $79.81 / Lowest: $77.99
👌 Coupon: BG74d52c
-90- BlitzHome BH-AP2501 Air Purifier H13 HEPA [EU]
📌 https://bit.ly/3LDHKuP
🚨 Price: $79.99 / Lowest: $84.99
🏆 Coupon: BG9b7dec
-91- Xiaomi Wanbo X1 Projector 1280x720P [EU]
🌐 https://bit.ly/3yTtvuk
✌️ Price: $84.99 / Lowest: $87.99
🔑 Coupon: BG819a59
-92- BlitzWolf BW-WA3 Pro 120W Bluetooth Speaker [EU]
🌀 https://bit.ly/3biCZHc
⭕️ Price: $89.99 / Lowest: $79.99
💎 Coupon: BG22d891
-93- HiBREW 19 Bar 4 in 1 Coffee Machine [EU]
🌀 https://bit.ly/3LDiBk6
📉 Price: $89.99 / Lowest: $82.99
🎯 Coupon: BG74621e
-94- EXCELLWAY 200W 12V/18V Solar Panel [EU]
❗️ https://bit.ly/3S8X3er
🔹 Price: $89.99 / Lowest: $99.99
-95- Aluminum Loading Ramps 1500lbs 89.3x11.8x5.9inch [EU]
🌐 https://bit.ly/42CW4Ke
〽️ Price: $91.99 / Lowest: $109.99
✂️ Coupon: BG65eeb6
-96- Ultenic K10 Air Fryer 5L Voice Control [EU]
👌 https://bit.ly/3cyhAdA
💰 Price: $93.99 / Lowest: $91.99
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-97- Proscenic T21 1700W 220V 5.5L Air Fryer [EU]
🌍 https://bit.ly/3bV86Zh
👉 Price: $93.99 / Lowest: $92.99
🔓 Coupon: BG9a339d
-98- Proscenic T22 1500W 220V 5L Air Fryer [EU]
🌀 https://bit.ly/3zpFP6v
💰 Price: $93.99 / Lowest: $90.99
▪️ Coupon: BGc09c2b
-99- HAYEAR 16MP 1080P 60FPS USB C Industry Microscope Camera
🔗 https://bit.ly/42rn5jp
🔹 Price: $95.99 / Lowest: $99.99
-100- BlitzWolf BW-V5 Projector 1080P
👉 https://bit.ly/408cWqE
💥 Price: $99.99 / Lowest: $-1
-101- POCO C40 4/64GB JR510
✳️ https://bit.ly/3yTPzVE
👌 Price: $107.00 / Lowest: $109
👉 Coupon: BG6357a8
-102- BlitzWolf BW-V5 Projector 1080P
❗️ https://bit.ly/3Tswt2r
💲 Price: $109.99 / Lowest: $-1
💵 Coupon: BGBWV5
-103- Ultenic U10 Pro Handheld Vacuum Cleaner [EU]
✅ https://bit.ly/3n7XQ5J
🥇 Price: $125.99 / Lowest: $129.99
-104- Binecer MP1.2 Neck Back Massager With Heat [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/3FpmVQM
✌️ Price: $129.99 / Lowest: $136.15
🖍 Coupon: BGdc005
-105- Xiaomi Buds 4 Earphones BT5.3
❇️ https://bit.ly/3Z35nji
⭕️ Price: $136.99 / Lowest: $122.95
💵 Coupon: BG792800
-106- JETBeam M64 SBT-90 6800lm Flashlight
📌 https://bit.ly/3JupktF
🚨 Price: $145.99 / Lowest: $161.03
🏆 Coupon: F83449
-107- Dreame D9 Robot Vacuum Cleaner [EU]
❗️ https://bit.ly/3PN5OtY
💥 Price: $174.99 / Lowest: $225
👌 Coupon: BGf790a0
-108- Blitzwolf BW-V4 1080P Projector
🌍 https://bit.ly/405nuXw
⭕️ Price: $179.99 / Lowest: $185.99
🔓 Coupon: BGALK539
-109- Eachine Wizard X220S Drone ARF
🌀 https://bit.ly/3lvcqDK
🚨 Price: $199.99 / Lowest: $199.99
-110- (Note: Get allowance coupon: https://bit.ly/3yRhcyt) Xiaomi Mijia STYTJ02HZM 1T Robot Vacuum Cleaner [EU]
🌐 https://bit.ly/3nQEFLD
👉 Price: $199.99 / Lowest: $199.99
✌️ Coupon: BG20d69e
-111- Xiaomi Mijia Air Purifier 4 Pro AC-M15-SC [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/40ktjzL
✌️ Price: $199.99 / Lowest: $210.99
🎯 Coupon: BG6e0e57
-112- Sefzone MD300 26inch 21-Gear Mountain Bike [EU]
📌 https://bit.ly/3WFhOCf
〽️ Price: $199.99 / Lowest: $215.99
🔖 Coupon: BG6be398
-113- Roborock Dyad Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/3Q0MOIl
🚨 Price: $209.99 / Lowest: $225
🔖 Coupon: BG027f01
-114- TRIGKEY Speed S3 Ryzen3 3200U Mini PC 16/500GB
👉 https://bit.ly/3yUR0TU
💥 Price: $219.99 / Lowest: $239.99
💎 Coupon: BG083a35
-115- ThundeaL TD97 Projector 1080p
👉 https://bit.ly/3Z1P8mP
🥇 Price: $219.99 / Lowest: $219.99
👌 Coupon: BGe713b9
-116- ATOMSTACK A5 PRO+ 40W Laser Engraving Machine
✳️ https://bit.ly/42CSUGm
📉 Price: $219.99 / Lowest: $249.99
-117- Xiaomi Sound Pro 40W Bluetooth Speaker
✅ https://bit.ly/3naTKKg
👉 Price: $245.99 / Lowest: $245.99
-118- Kroak K-CR01 40L Car Refrigerator 45W [EU]
📌 https://bit.ly/3AixLF7
〽️ Price: $249.99 / Lowest: $254.99
-119- GEEKCREIT SCULPFUN Upgraded S9 Laser Engraving Machine 30L/min 5W 410x400mm [EU]
🛒 https://bit.ly/3LBFJze
💰 Price: $279.00 / Lowest: $279
-120- NEJE Master 2S Max Laser Engraver A40640 [EU]
❗️ https://bit.ly/3n8y0P7
🥇 Price: $299.00 / Lowest: $349
-121- MECOOL KP2 1080P 1/8GB Projector
❗️ https://bit.ly/3FBrnet
✌️ Price: $299.99 / Lowest: $309.99
🔑 Coupon: BGEMKP22
-122- Dreame Bot L10 Pro Robot Vacuum Cleaner [EU]
🌍 https://bit.ly/3ElT4VF
💰 Price: $319.99 / Lowest: $299.99
🔓 Coupon: BGa063e5
-123- ROIDMI EVE Plus Robot Vacuum Cleaner [EU]
❗️ https://bit.ly/3OZOHVv
🔹 Price: $359.99 / Lowest: $335
✏️ Coupon: BG17bfcf
-124- POCO F4 GT 5G Snap8Gen1 8/128GB
👉 https://bit.ly/3Z40FSG
💣 Price: $409.00 / Lowest: $409
🔑 Coupon: BGa57795
-125- Beelink GT-R R7 3750H 16/512GB Vega 10 Mini PC
🛒 https://bit.ly/3JuKsjy
💲 Price: $409.99 / Lowest: $429.99
🔑 Coupon: BGca8b4c
-126- Minisforum HM50 Ryzen 5 4500U 16/512GB Mini PC
👌 https://bit.ly/3JqmbLw
📉 Price: $429.99 / Lowest: $479.99
🏆 Coupon: BG0bf87e
-127- 7X-45X Trinocular Stereo Microscope 51MP HDMI
🛒 https://bit.ly/40nNJb8
👉 Price: $429.99 / Lowest: $439.99
-128- Roborock S7 Robot Vacuum Cleaner [EU]
✳️ https://bit.ly/3yTxCGQ
📉 Price: $449.99 / Lowest: $395
👌 Coupon: BG7ac915
-129- DYU S2 350W 10Ah 36V Electric Bicycle [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/40naegE
🚨 Price: $469.99 / Lowest: $479.99
-130- Excellway 2200W Gasoline Power Station Generator [EU]
📌 https://bit.ly/3UPnPuy
🚨 Price: $472.99 / Lowest: $469.99
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-131- Niubility B14 15Ah 48V 400W 14Inches Electric Bicycle [EU]
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Products compilation image: https://i.imgur.com/ESwl77P.jpeg or https://i.ibb.co/0jX3H7L/03dddd8beb0e.jpg

1. What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games (ex: resolution, FPS, settings) or programs you will be using.

will be using to play mid-high end gaming

2. What is your maximum PRE-TAX budget before rebates and shipping?

1k-1.5k

3. When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

1 month

4. What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ex: toweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

just the tower

5. If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? How old are they? Brands and models are appreciated.

monitor 1 : AOC G2460 monitor 2 : VG248

6. Will you be overclocking (ex: CPU/GPU/RAM)? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line?

no

7. Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, VR, VirtualLink, tensor cores, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)

pref 1tb ssd

8. Do you have any specific case preferences (ex: mITX/mATX/mid-towefull-tower sizes, styles, colours, window or not, LED lighting, etc.), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

mid-tower, white, window, LED lighting

9. Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? Note: some post-secondary students can get Windows 10 for free.

be able to run windows 11

10. Will you be upgrading this PC in the future (ie: will you swap out better parts later on or will you build an entirely new tower later)? If so, when?

not anytime soon

11. Do you have a brand preference? (ex: AMD/Intel for CPUs, AMD/NVIDIA for video cards, etc)

INTEL NVIDIA

12. What are the specs of your old PC / laptop? Do you want to see if it can be upgraded instead? If so, paste its build from PCPartPicker here.

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/60106334 not sure if anything can be used from this

13. Extra info or particulars:

not sure if its the best time to build but i am in no rush if i can get a deal

This is just the intro, and the 1st chapter of the book I'm working on, I'm going for a adventure/supernatural kind of thing, I haven't asked many people to read what I have so far, so I was hoping I could get some help here, thank you, and enjoy what I think I'm gonna name Lineage of Sin
​
​
Introduction
A human can do many things, some good, some bad, but they cannot comprehend the world that was given to them by god, but the men and women we’ll be talking about are not of this world, nor were they created by god. Well, I can’t say they are just men and women, they are more than that, I suppose you could call them beings of sorts. Powerful beings, so powerful their very own birthplace couldn't contain them, the pits of hell itself.
Chapter 1: Friendly Reunion
A man is walking down the streets of New York City, he was someone you would notice if you walked past him, his outfit was slightly unusual, but he was well-dressed. He wore a big black coat with fur on his sleeves and on his collar, underneath he wore a white dress shirt over a gray vest and a black dress jacket, with black tailored pants with gray dress shoes, Unusual looking rings on each of his finger on his left hand, and a large black briefcase with a white inlay in his right, and long white hair that went past his shoulders. The man was walking to his favorite restaurant, five-star of course, he had a craving for meat. The man hardly had a care in the world, just thinking about whatever he desired, but while lost in thought he managed to notice something that didn’t belong. Something he was hoping to avoid during his stay in New York, he realized he was being followed. The man realized he probably won't be able to make his reservation on time, so he looked through the corner of his eyes to see who or what was following him. A man dressed in formal attire, as if he is a lawyer, or an important company's Ceo, but the man knew better, he knew he wasn’t some average joe you’d see on the street. The man looked around his surroundings, he walked towards an alley he spotted on his right, the strange man continued to chase after him down to the alley, but when he looked down the alley there was no one there. The stalker carefully, yet casually walked down the alley, the stalker was worried he would be discovered, so he wanted to end his business quickly, he walked down to the end of the alley, nothing but overfilled garbage cans. The alleyway was a deadend, so he assumed that he may have climbed out of the alley, but he doubted it since there wasn’t much time for the man to do so, he was starting to to believe that he actually climbed out of the alley, since he was nowhere in sight. He decided to turn back around to continue to search for the man he was tasked with stalking. As soon as he reached the entrance to the alley, he heard the sound of rocks, rocks falling on the ground. He turned around to face the man he was stalking, who was standing in a hole in the ground. “You were hiding underground? What are you, a mole?” The stalker mockingly said. “More demon than mole, really. You smell human, but I sense a strong flow of magic coming off you, are you a mage?” The man questioned the stalker, hoping he could find the reason why someone sent a magic user to follow him. He had few people in mind who would do this, but he knew none of them had a reason to do it, so he will have to question the stalker to answer the questions he needs to know. “I’m a Conjuration Mage, a fairly good one, if I do say so myself, and I’ve been charged with escorting you to my employer.” The man sighed, he scratched the back of his head a couple times, it appeared to be a nervous habit, which is very unbecoming for someone like him. “Well, I guess it can’t be helped, you should know the chances of you making it out alive are pretty low, nothing against you, of course, I just think maybe we can both agree that I’m far stronger than you, that is of course, if you know who I am.” the stalker tsked, he had loosened his tie, so that he may toss it onto the ground. “Do I know who you are? You are one of the seven deadly sins, Mammon, the sin of greed, correct?” The man known as Mammon softly cackled, almost like a maniac, but more subtle, more like the craziness is under control, yet slowly leaking out. “Yes, you know who I am, but I don’t know who you are, you told me you’re a mage, but that isn’t a identity, that is a affiliation, and besides, I can tell just by looking into your eyes, that you take no pride in being a mage, you desire more than that, you want to be stronger, you want to be the strongest mage of all, an archmage.” The stalkers eyes widened, he had never told anyone his one true desire, the last time an archmage was alive was nearly 3,000 years ago, but he had read books upon books on how to become an archmage, but it all pointed nowhere, he has been trying to become an archmage for almost 20 years, but has failed in every attempt, granted that even if you trained your entire life to become a archmage, the chances of you achieving it are incredibly low, it requires true talent to become an archmage, but there just aren’t any genius around anymore. “It appears you aren’t called the sin of greed for nothing, you know exactly what my heart desires, what I have yearned for all my life, and my name is Samuel, Samuel the Golem Tamer.” Mammon whistled, as if he was impressed. “If you specialize in golems, than all that training to become an archmage wasn’t all for nothing, the last time I saw a mage who was actually good at controlling golems was about a thousand years ago, controlling one golem is immensely difficult on its own, but judging the quantity of magic I sense from you,you can control at least three of them at once, but I’m guessing they’re size is smaller than a normal golem.” “It’s like you can read my mind, yes your right, I can summon up to three at a time, but the size of them isn't all that impressive, so that's why I’m just going to make one big one to subdue you, I’m not ignorant enough to underestimate someone like you, a sin I mean.” Samuel had studied more than your usual mage, he knew very well who the seven deadly sins are, Lucifer the proud, Satan the furious, Leviathan the jealous, Beelzebub the voracious, Belphegor the indolent, Asmodeus the lascivious, and finally Mammon the avaricious, that is the demon that stands before this human mage, and he is also one of the five founder demons of hell. At the beginning of creation,god first made heaven, and then the earth, and finally he decided to create hell, but what god did not expect was that he would not be the only creator that day, out of some unknown source hell itself created the five founder demons, Satan, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Mammon, and Belphegor, one of the benefits the founder demons discovered is that when they gained the powers of hell, or dark magic, they gained the power of the five elements, Mammon is the soil of hell, or also known as the earth, meaning he has complete mastery of earth magic, which is how he helped humans discover and mine gold, that is also how he was hiding in the ground, but when god learned that his own creation would follow his example, he was impressed and decided to let them be, later on these demons would consist of the majority of the seven deadly sins, Lucifer and the Leviathan would later be exiled to hell, after Lucifer rebelled against hell, with the Leviathan aiding him, god left the seven of them alone, he believed that they would figure something out on their own, and they all fought to see who would reign over hell, Lucifer ended up being the winner by a small margin, but what should be mentioned is that Mammon and Satan, the sin of greed and wrath, did not participate in this bout, they thought it would be a waste of time, but if the two of them did join that fight, the winner might not have been Lucifer, It may have been one of the two who did not participate for the thrown of hell, but we will never know for sure, but regarding all that, the demon who is standing infront of this human mage, is more far powerful than he realized. Mammon had walked towards Samuel, his left hand in his pocket, his right holding on to his, what appeared to be a briefcase, while he was walking towards him, Samuel had recited an incantation, when he had finished a barrier appeared at the entrance to the alley, leaving no way to escape, Samuel had done this for two reasons, one was to hide themselves from normal humans, on the other side of the barrier is an illusion, showing no one standing in that alley, when regular humans learn that a mage and a demon clashing in a small alley, there tends to be a bit of a panic, the second reason was to shorten the moves Mammon could make, he could not retreat or try to hold a human as a hostage, of course Samuel didn’t know that Mammon wouldn't have done either of them, he wouldn’t want to waste time like that, he decided to let it be and just let him continue with the whole good samaritan thing, letting him think he was helping people. “Mammon, I told you I specialize with summoning golems, which I do, but what I did not tell you that these are the golems of the ancients, a elemental golem, but I took that old magic and added something else to it, the fusion of elements.” Mammon had ceased his advancement, so he decided to jump back a couple steps, with an excited, yet slightly nervous grin on his face. “I summon a golem made of water and lighting, with the earth as its base.” He gripped his wrist with his left hand, he raised it to the sky, then slammed it onto the ground, which formed a magic circle, and what came from it was a golem, made of rocks, infused with the power of water and lighting, a good way to subdue someone, a good shock could knock one out, so long as they aren’t human, if they weren’t they would surely die, but despite being a golem with more than one element, the size of it completely towered over a small building, to the point that it could hardly fit in the alley. “Your golem seems a bit cramped, since I’m nice I’ll help it out.” Mammon placed his hand on the ground, the space between the two buildings that made up the alley had expanded, he had shifted the earth under the buildings to expand the space of the alley. Samuel seemed surprised, it was the first time he’d seen the earth move buildings, so who could blame him? But he did not let that make him drop his guard, he knew who he was fighting, he knows that he could be killed, he commanded the golem to attack Mammon, the golem swung its arms around, splashing water in every direction, Mammon, however, stomped his foot on the ground, causing a pillar of earth to shield him from being splashed. Samuel had forced the golem to turn it up a notch, to where the golem was shooting a condensed ray of water at him, causing the pillar t quickly erode and collapse, while the water beam had managed to hit him, he seemed fine, his clothes were soaked, which appeared to make him lose his temper, he swung his arm over in front of his body, and like magic, his clothes were dried, after he fixed his outfit, the golem had launched an assault of lighting magic in his direction, even though he himself was not drenched in water, the ground was, and with water being a good conductor for electricity, shocked Mammon to a extreme extent, if it wasn’t a demon standing in the middle of that, any other being would have been vaporized. Samuel had canceled his spell, in which made the golem fall apart, leaving nothing but rocks soaked in water, with electrical sparks coming from it, Samuel who seemed tired from using a large quantity of magic, managed to limp himself over to Mammon, who was lying on the ground, completely motionless, Samuel had assumed that he was unconscious, only to discover after he knelt to the ground to confirm it, that Mammon was not unconscious, he was faking it to lure him closer and make drop his guard, and as Samuel tried to back away, Mammon plunged his hand into his stomach, and piercing it clean through, he pulled his arm out which was soaked in blood, when he then cleaned it the same way he dried his clothes after the golem had drenched him. As Samuel was about to collapse to the ground, left to bleed out, and die, Mammon had grabbed him by shoulders, setting him against the wall, where he then sat next to him, hoping he could chat with him slightly longer, before he will ask him who his so-called employer is, Samuel does not have long left in this world, as one would expect after a hole was left in there stomach, for humans at least, Mammon had placed a magic circle on his fatal wound, causing it to slow the bleeding, to keep him around slightly longer, he didn’t want him to die mid-conversation, that would just be rude. “H-how did y-you resist the electrical shock? I didn’t hold back against you, I put just about everything into that.” While gasping for air, he wanted to know what made him fail, what led to him with a hole in his gut, while talking to a demon. “I am one of the seven deadly sins, unlike normal demons, I can’t just possess someone so easily, there are two conditions if one of the sins wants to possess someone, one, they must permit them to possess, like how angels do it, and the second is that they have to be part human, a sin cannot possess someone if they are human, just part human at least.” “So? What is the guy you are possessing?” He asked out of pure curiosity. “His name was Victor, and he is a Homunculus, a human that has been altered with alchemy, and since his whole body has been altered with a fusion of science and magic, this body is magic proof, sure you can place a spell on this body, but you can't harm it with magic.” After he finished explaining himself, he reached into a pocket inside of his coat, he pulled out a box of matches and pulled out what appeared to be a joint. It's better than cigarettes, but it’s a bad habit nonetheless. When Samuel saw him smoking it he chuckled. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a smoker, marijuana no less.” “Are you kidding me? This is by far my favorite of humanity's creations, the only thing I hate about this thing is that I didn’t discover it, I would have killed to take credit for this, but as soon as I smoked this I was head over heels for it.” Samuel and Mammon laughed, almost as if they were long time friends, but Mammon knew the spell he placed on him wouldn't last any longer, so he decided to stop beating around the bush and start being serious. “You said that you would escort me to your employer, but I don’t suppose you know who and where this employer is?” Samuel sighed. “I didn’t get a name, but I did get a location I was supposed to leave you at, and in return he would give me a journal, the journal of Solomon, who was an archmage, and I was sure that I might be able to become one with it, but I’ll never know now.” Mammon had looked at him perplexed, he then thought to himself and then realized who was the mysterious employer. He let go of his briefcase he was holding with his right hand, and rubbed the ring on his middle finger on his left hand, and suddenly a black portal appeared, he reached into it and pulled out a book, the portal closed after his hand was out and he tossed the book over to Samuel. “That is the journal of Solomon, I bet your employer would have just gave you a knock-off, and regrettably it doesn’t tell you how to become an archmage, it’s just filled with him complaining about his responsibilities, don’t get me wrong, he was an archmage, but he was also a manchild, I too thought it would contain some juicy information, but nothing.”Samuel flipped through the pages in the journal, and Mammon was right, nothing but useless garbage, he placed the journal on the ground and looked to Mammon. “Thanks for being honest.” After his final words, thanking the one who killed him, he drew his final breath, while facing the sky, which he had hoped to reach with his own strength, but all things must come to an end. Mammon stood up, turning around to face Samuel once more, he had almost regretted killing him, but what's done is done, he flicked the joint out of his hands and faced the shadows of the alley. “I’m curious to know how you knew where I was, I thought I was being careful, wouldn't you agree, Mephistopheles? From the shadows of the alley, a man emerged from the dark, a man who appeared to be somewhere in his mid 60’s, but his look was more than just intimidating, mid-length gray hair, wore formal attire, similar to the outfit Samuel wore. His facial expression and the glare from his eyes said that you do not want to engage with him. “I would, if you hadn’t killed him, if you didn’t I wouldn't have found you, sin of greed, Mammon.” “Well it’s his own fault, wait a moment, now that I think about it, why was a human mage, out of all the creatures on earth, following me?’’ “He was cheaper, and more ignorant than the other mages I spoke to, so I placed a tracking spell on him, in case he died, and it appears he did, as well as stall for time.’’ Mammon had been annoyed about what he said about Samul, but he stopped caring as his suspicions grew of Mephistopheles, he wanted to know why this dangerous demon had a mage follow him, and try to kidnap him. “Stall, for what, exactly?” The tension between the two of them was thicker than steel, so tense that no one would dare step between them. “Why her, of course.” Mammon had felt a sting on his neck, he knelt to the ground, he pulled what was jabbed into his neck out, two vials with red stains in them, it appeared to be blood, but it had such a draining effect on him. He turned around so that he may see who just stabbed him in the neck, a woman with long scarlet red hair, wearing plain clothes, such as a hoodie with jeans and an old pair of sneakers on. “My, oh my, didn’t know you have such a bland taste of fashion, my little lustful Asmodeus, by the way, the hell is this stuff? It’s giving me a headache.” “Bland? I’ll have you know I'm quite comfortable, maybe you should follow my lead and try to fit in, I would be able to tell it’s you just by your outfit, also that stuff I pumped into you, is the blood of a priest, turns out it’s very harmful to demons, the blood of a priest won't kill you, but it can at least knock out a demon on your level .” First of all, I’m comfortable and stylish as well, hell, second of all, what do you want? I highly doubt the two of you, out of all the demons in hell, would team up just because you missed me, s-something important g-going down? As he was trying to act calm and keep his composure in check, the blood finally hit him, and his vision became blurry, the only thing he could do was listen to Asmodeus. “Yes, something is going down, and we’re gonna need the help from the rest of the sins.”

Welcome to the raspberry_pi Helpdesk and Frequently Asked Questions!

Link to last week's thread
Having a hard time searching for answers to your Raspberry Pi questions? Let the raspberry_pi community members search for answers for you!^† Looking for help getting started with a project? Have a question that you need answered? Was it not answered last week? Did not get a satisfying answer? A question that you've only done basic research for? Maybe something you think everyone but you knows? Ask your question here, operators are standing by!
This helpdesk and idea thread is here so that the front page won't be filled with these same questions day in and day out:

1. Q: What's a Raspberry Pi? What can I do with it? How powerful is it? A: Check out this great overview
2. Q: Does anyone have any ideas for what I can do with my Pi? A: Sure, look right here!^‡
3. Q: My Pi is behaving strangely/crashing/freezing, giving low voltage warnings, ethernet/wifi stops working, USB devices don't behave correctly, what do I do? A:. 99.999% of the time it's either a bad SD card or power problems. Use a USB power meter or measure the 5V on the GPIO pins with a multimeter while the Pi is busy (such as playing h265/x265 video) and/or get a new SD card. If the voltage is less than 5V your power supply and/or cabling is not adequate. When your Pi is doing lots of work it will draw more power. Even if your power supply claims to provide sufficient amperage, it may be mislabeled or the cable you're using to connect the power supply to the Pi may have too much resistance. You can use a USB load tester to test your power supply and cable. Some power supplies require negotiation to use the higher amperage, which the Pi does not do. If you're plugging in USB devices try using a powered USB hub with its own power supply and plug your devices into the hub and plug the hub into the Pi.
4. Q: Due to the chip shortage I'm having a hard time buying a Raspberry Pi, all the stores say sold out. Even after the most recent announcement from Raspberry Pi they are still hard to find. Where's the secret place to buy one without paying more than MSRP? A: https://rpilocator.com/
5. Q: I just did a fresh install with the latest Raspberry Pi OS and the default usepassword of pi/raspberry doesn't work for ssh or logging in, why not? A: The default pi user no longer exists, you need to create your own account
6. Q: The screen is just black or blank or saying no signal, what do I do? A: Follow these steps
7. Q: The only way to troubleshoot my problem is using a multimeter but I don't have one. What can I do? A: Get a basic multimeter, they are not expensive.
8. Q: My Pi won't boot, how do I fix it? A: Step by step guide for boot problems
9. Q: I want to watch Netflix/Hulu/Amazon/Vudu/Disney+ on a Pi but the tutorial I followed didn't work, does someone have a working tutorial? A: Use a Fire Stick/AppleTV/Roku. Pi tutorials used tricks that no longer work or are fake click bait.
10. Q: What model of Raspberry Pi do I need so I can watch YouTube in a browser? A: No model of Raspberry Pi is capable of watching YouTube smoothly through a web browser, you need to use VLC.
11. Q: I want to know how to do a thing, not have a blog/tutorial/video/teachebook explain how to do a thing. Can someone explain to me how to do that thing? A: Uh... What?
12. Q: Is it possible to use a single Raspberry Pi to do multiple things? Can a Raspberry Pi run Pi-hole and something else at the same time? A: YES. Pi-hole uses almost no resources. You can run Pi-hole at the same time on a Pi running Minecraft which is one of the biggest resource hogs. The Pi is capable of multitasking and can run more than one program and service at the same time. (Also known as "workload consolidation" by Intel people.) You're not going to damage your Pi by running too many things at once, so try running all your programs before worrying about needing more processing power or multiple Pis.
13. Q: Why is transferring things over the LAN/internet so slow? A: If you have a Pi 4 with SSD, please check this post on the Pi forums. Otherwise it's a networking problem and/or disk & filesystem problem, please go to HomeNetworking or LinuxQuestions.
14. Q: I only have one outlet and I need to plug in several devices, what do I do? A: They make things called power strips aka multi-tap extensions.
15. Q: The red and green LEDs are on/off/blinking but it doesn't work, can someone help me? A: Start here
16. Q: I'm trying to run x86 software on my Raspberry Pi but it doesn't work, how do I fix it? A: Get an x86 computer. A Raspberry Pi is ARM based, not x86.
17. Q: Should I add a heatsink, fan, or some kind of cooling to my Raspberry Pi? A: If you think you need one then you should add it
18. Q: Can I use this screen that came from ____ ? A: No
19. Q: I run my Pi headless and there's a problem with my Pi and the best way to diagnose it or fix it is to plug in a monitor & keyboard, what do I do? A: Plug in a monitor & keyboard.
20. Q: My Pi seems to be causing interference preventing the WiFi from working A. Using USB 3 cables that are not properly shielded can cause interference and the Pi 4 can also cause interference when HDMI is used at high resolutions.
21. Q: I'm trying to use the built-in composite video output that is available on the Pi 2/3/4 headphone jack, do I need a special cable? A. Make sure your cable is wired correctly and you are using the correct RCA plug. Composite video cables for mp3 players will not work, the common ground goes to the wrong pin. Camcorder cables will often work, but red and yellow will be swapped on the Raspberry Pi.
22. Q: I'm running my Pi with no monitor connected, how can I use VNC? A: First, do you really need a remote GUI? Try using ssh instead. If you're sure you want to access the GUI remotely then ssh in, type vncserver -depth 24 -geometry 1920x1080 and see what port it prints such as :1, :2, etc. Now connect your client to that.
23. Q: I want to do something that has been well documented and there are numerous tutorials showing how to do it on Linux. How can I do it on a Raspberry Pi? A: A Raspberry Pi is a full computer running Linux and doesn't use special stripped down embedded microcontroller versions of standard Linux software. Follow one of the tutorials for doing it on Linux. Also see question #1.
24. Q: I want to do something that has been well documented and there are numerous tutorials showing how to do it with an Arduino. How can I do it on a Raspberry Pi Pico? A: Follow one of the tutorials for doing it on Arduino, a Pico can be used with the Arduino IDE.
25. Q: I'm trying to do something with Bluetooth and it's not working, how do I fix it? A: It's well established that Bluetooth and Linux don't get along, this problem is not unique to the Raspberry Pi.

Before posting your question think about if it's really about the Raspberry Pi or not. If you were using a Raspberry Pi to display recipes, do you really think raspberry_pi is the place to ask for cooking help? There may be better places to ask your question, such as:

• /AskElectronics
• /AskProgramming
• /HomeNetworking
• /LearnPython
• /LinuxQuestions
• /RetroPie
• The Official Raspberry Pi Forums

Asking in a forum more specific to your question will likely get better answers!
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Anxiety kept me up until 6 am last week so I took some anxiety meds the next night my onc prescribed that help me sleep. I slept so deeply with my arm up above my head the whole night that I flared up a minor rotator cuff injury (that I inflicted on myself a year ago also by side sleeping). 10/10 pain. Had to have my boyfriend cut my shirt and sports bra off to shower. Been on steroids to decrease inflammation which has helped some, but damn it hurts.
Honestly chemos been a goddamn cake walk compared to the ovarian cyst I dealt with two months ago, a fall directly onto my elbow, and now this among other random physical injuries. I’m tired of being in pain. It’s one thing after another. I miss working out and feeling strong and I’m scared I won’t be able to get myself back after this is all over.

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Cover
There, beyond the mighty door, another world opened before their eyes. It was a world of cog and wheels, of halogen lights and of steam, where pistons and brass pipes were a part of the architecture just as much as stone or brick, if not more. The floors were uneven plates of rusted, corrugated metal worn down by the centuries and corroded by humidity, and the lights embedded in the walls were faint and strained to keep shining, their light also a hum that filled the spaces with noise. There was a gash in the ceiling, a wide aperture from where a ray of white moonlight shone in an inner garden that was overgrown and overrun by nature, reclaiming that space and other spaces with its green growths. For in fact, moss and lichen spread from there like an advancing tide, following the trail of humidity and feeding off the light and heat of the incandescent lights.
“It doesn’t lead to the surface.” Ishrin observed, looking at the ceiling and through the hole.
“Perhaps there is a hidden passage.” Lisette offered her explanation.
“Or maybe it’s just weird and strange like the rest of this place. Am I the only one?” Melina asked.
“You are not.” Lisette stated.
At times the lights flickered, the power that kept them running surging and then stabilizing again, and their hum was a scream, and the scream was agony of a place that was dying a slow death through the centuries. The door far behind them, ajar one second ago, slammed itself shut and the sound echoed.
“This place gives me the creeps,” Melina said. “It feels like everything is moving, beneath the surface.”
“I do have the same sensation.” Lisette said. “But we need to press on.”
Ishrin cocked his head. “Her bracers are on the line. Come on!”
Melina groaned. “Fine. Still creepy tho.”
Indeed, little sounds, groans and hisses of the pipes, strains of metal and mechanism seemed to come from all around. While what they could see was all perfectly still, the noises betrayed that somewhere below the apparent peaceful façade, things were alive and moving, and perhaps watching them with unknown means. Sir Westys’ and his team were walking cautiously now, their pride long forgotten, squeezed between Melina at the front and Lisette at the rear for more protection. They listened to the stronger adventurers’ conversations with a mixture of irritation – this was the case for Sir Westys – and envy at the much more relaxed attitude that only being a seasoned veteran could ever give them. This wasn’t to say that Ishrin and his team were being careless.
There were many things that could hurt them in the world. In fact, even though his coming to Noctis was relatively smooth, Ishrin learned very quickly on his adventures that the world was much more dangerous than it seemed. The mountain realm, for instance. That completely erased his sense of power he gained when he slew the Sycoraptor in the forest where he also met Lisette. And while encounters like that of Lucius in Obscuria still told the tale of a world where the true powerful people were rare in cities and whatnot, places like this revealed the other side of the coin: that dangers and powers beyond reckoning still dwelled beneath the surface, and one needed only look for them in the right places. Very much like his old world of Eternia. Except that here, he theorized, there was the guild. And what the guild did was maintain order and the apparent status quo in the cities and in the countryside around them, or more in general it kept order where order was needed for business to flourish, while confining danger to be only outside its sphere of protection.
Melina too was suddenly thrust in what seemed like a whole different world than what she was used to live in, where danger was everywhere and even her Tier 15 – that once she thought as being powerful with a power unobtainable by any but the luckiest – was just average.
The rooms were many. Ishrin led the way, at times stopping to check with his teammates, at other times to take in his surroundings. He had made another water compass and was holding it himself, letting it float next to him with a bit of effort using his telekinetic powers.
There was no magic here. The air was not devoid of it, but its presence in the air was no more than the usual suffused glow of ambient magic, and none of the walls or things that cluttered the corridor and rooms had any magic inside of them. This made Ishrin feel blind, in a different way than he did in the mountain realm where he was blinded by too much magic, more like he was in the absolute dark, with only a faint glow that was light, yes, but didn’t reveal anything, not even shapes. Of course, he still had his normal vision, but used as he was to having both senses at the same time, he felt extremely uncomfortable.
Not all was bad. The reactive armor, surrounding him but invisible, was charging and this made him feel like he was finally investing his overflowing mana into something for a later use. Beside him Liù was having a great time exploring the place, touching the little brass chandeliers with small halogen candles, examining the many copper and iron cogs on the floor, fallen from damaged pipes on the ceiling, and sometimes she even snuck into said pipes where they were large enough, only to then have to be cut free when she got stuck.
Everything was covered in grime. The greasy, dark fatty substance used to lubricate mechanisms and that was now mixed with dust, and plant matter. Footsteps echoed wetly.
From the distance, faint at the beginning but ever more present in the consciousness of the seven adventurers, a rhythmic clang of metal against metal reverberated through the corridors. Nobody could pinpoint where it was coming from, beyond the feeling that it was coming from deeper in the underground complex, for the sound traveled through the pipes and the hidden hatches in the walls, the service tunnels and the air vents, coming to them as a cloud of slightly delayed sounds from all directions.
An open space. The ceiling rose immediately after they crossed the threshold of a great gate that stood ajar, as if blasted out of its hinges, until it reached so high up that vapor and cooled down steam began to hide some of its features. Inside the fog were, like little searchlights, points of brightness that spread and diffused through the thick air until an orange hue was ever present up there. Below, the floor was uneven stone, cracked and wet, with moss and small ferns poking out of the cracks. Sometimes metal plates that were bolted to the stone were still visible under the vegetation, reflecting the cyan light that came from the far end of the room. There, three circular openings were faintly visible through the mists, and there was a strong light coming from behind them, and in that light the silhouette of three great machines could be seen. Great automata they were, with circular bodies and long, prehensile arms, and their heads were large squares that were dull and dark.
Until, suddenly, they weren’t. Deep, red and foreboding lights came to life like sinister eyes as a screech of grinding metal and awakening old mechanical pieces pierced the air and deafened the adventurers. Everyone almost jumped to their feet, not even having had enough time to take three steps into the room before they were shaken out of their contemplation by the sudden sound. Not everyone reacted the same. Ishrin took in the room he was in, immediately spotting the three now moving figures who were dragging themselves free from the alcoves they were in. The shadows they projected through the misty air were deep chasms of darkness, and the three circles where they once stood immobile revealed a path beyond, that was unreachable.
Melina and Lisette both panicked. In the commotion they lost sight of Sir Westys and his party, the four boys having seemingly vanished into the fog. There were shapes and shadows moving in the distance, but they were faint, and far, and it was impossible to tell if it was them or just the many reflections of the shiny and wet, greasy metal that played with their senses, with their perception. Their panic didn’t last long however, and they both showed their competence and experience, their focus homing in laser-like on the enemies ahead.
The central automaton was closest. Its size was the smallest of the three, but even then it stood at more than four times as tall as Ishrin, and with only the sound of the metal groaning and the hiss of pneumatics, it raised one of its many limbs of welded plates up in the air and slammed down. Immediately the limb hit a field of invisible telekinetic force and was pushed to the side, but it didn’t happen with the ease that everyone was expecting it to happen. In fact, Ishrin had to kneel on the ground and his knee had dug deep into the rock, cracking it and leaving a deep dent when he, slowly, pushed himself back to his feet. He strained.
“Battle formation!” Ishrin yelled, immediately jumping to the side to dodge another incoming arm. The other two automata were each converging towards one of the two girls, and they were bigger, although slower and with less appendages.
Two grunts of strain and effort told him all that he needed to know. In a matter of milliseconds, the battle was on. Sparks raged from his right side, where Lisette dashed towards the metal construct with her blades unsheathed, and was slashing at it while dancing around its body, climbing on it, dodging the prehensile limbs that uselessly slammed into the ground and broke unseen pipes that began to spew gases in the air. She searched for gaps, weak spots where she could plunge her blades and sever vital parts of the grand machine of animated metal.
On his right, the bright flashes of magical green, tinted with a little hint of white and slight blue he had never seen before, were the sign that Melina too was engaging with her enemy.
This made him relax enough to allow him to focus on his own opponent. Liù was also orbiting him like a small sentry, deploying small faint lasers that mapped the structure of the automaton, until they focused on a particular point at the end of one of its limbs.
Danger :o
Ishrin jumped to the side, slightly diverting the giant arm, and firing a Magic Pebble with his sword at it. The projectile hit the metal and dug into it, melting it and leaving behind a circular hole roughly the size of a fist, red with heat and hissing. But the damage was minimal, for it only hit plate and not vital moving parts. As he dodged, he tried to see what Liù was highlighting for him, and he noticed the multicolored scattering of the light, the hue of a crystal he recognized. He had seen it last in Obscuria, tipping an arrowhead that was capable of penetrating Tier 13 defenses with ease.
“Careful—” he tried to warn his teammates but had to dash again and ended his sentence with a grunt.
From the other side of the room, through the clang of metal, he saw a glimpse of Lisette weaving around a similar crystal, coating a long flexible sword at the end of one of her automaton’s limb. From behind instead came the wild rush of wind of Melina’s magic, and a strained yell.
“Noticed! They have crystal blades!” she yelled when she had a small window of rest, before disappearing again in a flash of verdant energy to dash at her opponent.
Ishrin’s automaton was different than theirs. It shifted, and its limbs reorganized and changed until they morphed into different weapons: hammers, flexible swords, whips. And all these weapons were coated with the same crystal, the same dangerous substance that could hurt him somehow.
Suddenly a bright red light was in front of his eyes. He had gotten distracted, but Liù was ever watchful and had highlighted the vector of impact of the automaton’s flexible sword as it descended upon him with a red hologram, and there were ghostly images of him dodging and reposting to the attack, simulating what he could do to counter it. He grinned, taking a stance and exploding out with the full strength of his Tier 11 power, and he used telekinesis to push himself against the ground and change course mid-air until he landed right where one of the thing’s limbs were attached to its body. Before the automaton could react, he blasted the joint with Pebble after Pebble and then jumped away. With the joint weakened, he pulled at it from afar and yanked it free, and it came loose in a shower of black ooze that sizzled and smoked where it hit the ground.
The recoil sent him sprawling on his back. Even though Liù was there to catch him, he still ended up on the ground, feeling the wet of the stone and the odd warmth of a gas leak on his back. His pupils widened, and his mind raced. A giant crystal-coated hammer was descending upon him. His heart sped up. This was a slip-up. And almost fatal one. He could not get out in time.
The hammer hit, and for a moment there was silence. It was like even the other fights were momentarily suspended, as if both the automata and the girls were watching with their breath stuck in their throat was had happened to Ishrin. There was a small cloud of dust that had risen where the hammer had pulverized the stone, and sent Ishrin’s body several layers of pipes and service tunnels below the surface.
The hammer slowly came loose. The crystal on its surface was cracked.
A blue light. The small holographic body of Liù, surrounding her real indestructible body that was the SPAWN AI cube, flew out and up to the ceiling as if running away from something.
The dust slowly settled around the crater. There was only the sound of hissing vapor and dripping water.
Everything was still.
Lisette and Melina held their breath. Time ticked and ticked. Nothing was coming out of the hole.
The girls could see that Ishrin’s opponent was now turning against them, to team up with the other automata and finally tip the scales of the battle.
A single thought on their mind.
“We will fight until the end. Even if we die.”
Resolve in their eyes, they prepared for their last battle.
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Royal Road is where you can help me the most! Luca DR's Fictions Royal Road
My Stories
Everywhere at the end of Time
My Series
Earth's chosen
Isekai of the Ultimate Ritualist
Immense Space

A poster on this subreddit posted a link to an earlier draft of a the script for Many Saints of Newark. I initially thought it was joke when he posted a subplot of Junior molesting Janice when she was a kid. I had to read it myself.
Well, the script appears to be clearly legitimate. It doesn’t actually say who wrote it on the cover page and I know the final draft is credited to both Chase and Lawrence Konner. I’m assuming this draft was fully written by Chase before Konner came aboard but I’m not entirely sure.
In any event, if you were disappointed by the film (I was as well but don’t think it’s as terrible as most people think), then this draft with this Junior subplot will make the final version look like the script for Chinatown. I don’t know if the genius Chase “lost it” in the intervening years between 2007 and 2019 when I think this script was written but the Junior subplot is so off the rails melodramatic and ridiculous considering we never had any hint of this in the actual series. It also occurs nearly when the script is finished in an awkward tonal change.
So here are highlight (or lowlights) if anyone is interested:
Early on one of Juniors goomars tells Livia that Junior doesn’t like to have sex (shades of Ralphie) and only likes to give oral.
Towards the end of the script, a 16 year old Janice drops acid and goes Dickie’s house to speak to “Aunt Joanne” (Dickie’s wife) but she’s gone and only Dickie is there. She’s extremely upset and Dickie gets her to tell him that dropping acid led to a flashback of when she was 8 and Junior, playing Santa Clause, touched her. Junior then told her if she ever told anyone he would “SLIT HER THROAT” (seriously, this script has to be read to be believed). She also says she told Livia back then but Livia slapped her and told her she was imagining things.
Dickie then goes to see Junior and puts a gun to his head and tells him to admit what he did or he’ll tell Johnny Boy. Junior then admits that not only did he molest Janice but that there were “others” that he molested. Junior said he stopped doing it in his 20’s after seeing a priest. He also says that was why he never got married and is scared of actual intercourse (again, you have to read this yourself to believe it). Dickie says he won’t tell Johnny Boy because he’ll kill Junior and the family will be destroyed. He tells him he must go back to the priests and tells him to stay away from baby Christopher.
Junior does confession with a priest and donates children’s shoes to orphanages to try to make it right. However, he has a dream (and per the script the dream was actually going to be a scene) of Dickie whispering something in Johnny’s ear (obviously Junior’s secret) and then Johnny shoving Junior in front of a subway train. Junior in fear for his life then contacts another gangster to hire the corrupt “cop” to kill Dickie. Dickie is then killed to keep his secret safe. The irony for me is that Junior’s motivation to kill Dickie actually makes a lot more sense than the thin reason in the actual final film.
At some point someone must have talked Chase out of this and they reconned to the rather stupid twist of Junior killing Dickie because he laughed at him about the fall. In any event Chase is a god to me and the Sopranos is the greatest film or television series in history as far as I’m concerned. That’s what makes this early draft so shocking. It’s like a movie of the week. So melodramatic and ridiculous and apparently meant to be shocking. I guess Chase got much older and lost his fastball but I just don’t understand his need to destroy the Junior character. There were no hints of this on the show and if anything Janice seemed to really respect Junior.
Anyway if anyone wants to read, the link from the other subreddit poster:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1odt0KIqdx0U-lXGnifEgv3HdqzH5r-F1/view

This is a collection of short stories that have something to do with current events. Enjoy.
2023-03-20

The Uneven Divide - Part 3

(Part 1 and 2 in first post of Collection)
“I see a city on a disk. Though all the powers of the world would like to watch it fall, it won’t. I look at it floating above it all. Above There’s political turmoil. Beyond the grip of local markets, this city spins around the globe. You make your business everyone’s, and in turn, everyone profits from your presence.”
I see a land so cold,” I continued. “That it smokes as if it’s on fire. Like the Mother Sphere pulls you up, the frost brings your people together. This inseparable unity warms each building by your people’s sheer attraction for the Lands of Over-There. What us foreigners see as a frigid barren disk of ill fortuity, where people live barred up inside out of necessity, it’s instead a fortress from anything cold, which hosts every fervent hearted opportunity.”
The lock beeped. The door crept open. She kicked her feet off. A skinny man with both our ages walked in. He was wearing a three-piece suit. This wasn’t uncommon, as each layer made the heating bill less hard to look at. His name and the chain on his matte black visitor’s badge were contrasted with gold.
They spoke in their language.
He said something like hi, how are you, what are you doing here?
She answered something along the lines of hi, I’m doing great, in a meeting, you?
He went on saying precisely “I’m doing twice well”—which is an interesting expression meaning; I was already doing well, but from the moment you asked about me, I started doing twice as well—then I think he said he was also here for a meeting, and “who is he?”
She told him my name, then his name to me. Whom I will refer to as Gotnaym of Over-There.
He greeted me, I presented myself with a customary nod. Which could’ve been considered curt in our culture.
Then it got too wordy for me to understand. They switched languages as he walked over to extend his hand.
Mid-shake, he said in perfect speech, “She tells me your consultancy in There is no circus. I might have some questions later, my son is investing abroad.”
Then he laughed. I tried my hardest to make my confusion pass off as surprise, all while making sure not to loosen my grip nor lose the tempo of the motion, as I smiled in what I hoped to have looked like an agreeing pose.
“He’s not interested in any clown ventures I hope, Mr. Gotnaym,” I said. “I’d be out of my league if he were.”
“That’s exactly why I’d hire you,” he explained. “Thankfully, we’re a line of miners, Mr. Consultant. Hard-working people, who bring along like-minded experts. There are no full-time artists on these disks, I’m afraid.”
I was ready to let go but he wasn’t as willing.
“It’s always a fine moment to meet someone glad to buy into their family,” I concluded. “But I might not be the right hire for advice on how you ought to spend your own money. I don’t know if she's told you my line of work?”
This made him laugh some more. He was still shaking my hand.
“She has, yes!” He looked at her after placing his free hand on my shoulder side. She was completely motionless. “Funny man,” he said in his mother tongue.
“Don’t let me interrupt you, Mr. Consultant. Please continue while we wait,” he said, finally releasing his grip to grab a seat by the backrest.
“While we wait?” I asked him.
“I just is inform,” she said. “Next meeting is push to soon. Temporary lockdown here. Please continuing, Mr. Consultant. You no leaving now.”
“Emergency?” I read in their eyes the impending dread they covered up with an interest in listening only, so they wouldn’t have to think.
“Gladly,” I said. “I guess I’ll find out soon. Thank you for giving me this time out of your day.” She had some relief mixed in with her emotions. The rest of her micro-expressions were of a combination I’ve never noticed twice. It was too particular to recreate in writing or in a film.
“Mr. Consultant talking how city infrastructure be one with immigration,” she explained. “I asking what he see in city.”
“Where was I?” I asked me.
“You were reporting how the cold brings us people together,” he told me.
Wondering if their door wasn’t soundproofed had flooded my head with blood, which drew along this fresh thought frenzy and the terrible idea that anyone could’ve heard us earlier.
“Right,” I said to start hushing my blushing. “The problem. Your city is nothing more than a cold flatland sprinkled with tall boxes where folks come and freeze to death. That’s what they see from below, down in There. When I booked my ticket, my friends argued about who would get what if I didn’t make it back.”
The suitedman sat down.
“To outsiders, to the frigid ones, these lands get people to ratify off on an early will. I mean—I signed a waiver just for the elevator ride… Too many who travel to your disks don’t come back home. Most get working visas. The deal is: you spend four months a year here, and that pays for six of vacation. The smart ones, like I’m sure your son is, do five years to invest in There’s Venus coin traps. Then they sit back and never visit again. They risk their days for the money. Not for your city, not for the people here. They say they come to live out the rest of their lives at the mines. Then if they’re lucky enough not to get shipped home as a popsicle, they go to their folk waving their phat wads of cash in the hands with the least fingers lost to the frostbite.”
“I asked the locals last night. Why would you sell everything for this? Leave your families, abandon your lifestyles—What pulled you in? They all gave me the same answer. The same one I have. The first time I came here, it only took me two days. Two days to fall in love.”
“You maybe fall in loving after no long enough, Mr. Consultant,” she said.
“Are you telling me you don’t feel the same?”
“I think,” Gotnaym interjected. Then he paused. Sort of like cutting someone off on the freeway only to slow down right after.
“I think what my colleague is trying to express here … is that all of this sounds a bit too poetic.”
He looked at her to see if she’d agree. Which, she did.
“I also think we’re both happy you really are loving the experience here, Mr. Consultant. But it takes more than feelings to move to a place like this. The ones who do immigrate are steadily emigrating in larger numbers. The workforce won’t meet the upcoming demand. We start terraforming the east perimeter straight after the election next quarter. That’s a projected two years to find enough workers, build and house multiple villages. Provided the right candidate wins.”
At that moment, I was glad to have mistakenly not skipped our philosophy professor’s class on The Ethics of Language. I got my dates mixed up and thought it was a mandatory attendance lab. She explained how Over-There’s main export was subject to ethical scrutiny. They extracted such a lucrative resource, that they could afford to import all else. From food to people. Two entirely different things, that they’d fail to source locally in any useful quantity. Therein laid the dilemma. Their dialect had evolved so as to not differentiate between workers or wheat in regard to imports. As for commodities in business, they began treating both as such on paper. Written words have real-world applications. That same export was also what their disk was made of. One giant mother-cluster of concentrated minerals.
“How long is a mine active on these disks?” I asked.
“About a half lifetime depending on the weather. You’re looking at the investment of the century, my Frozen-Nozen. Literally.”
This suddenly explained why I so easily passed off as a consultant. At least, that’s what I was thinking then. They were probably ready to pay everyone and their kids to get as many opinions on this as possible. I can’t believe I used to give mine out for free.
“Frozen-Nozen?” I asked.
“It’s a term for those who aren’t afraid of a bit of outdoor labour,” he said.
“I see. Couldn’t you just advertise that fact in There?” I pitched.
“I don’t get it.” He mimed a billboard with his hands. “Come up to Over-There, and freeze your nose off for a living wage.”
“That’s not what I meant, but really, why not? People are nomadic opportunists. They’ll move and let the frost nip at their nose if you promise them a round fiddy years of job stability. If they become permanent residents.”
“No one plans on spending fiddy years in a work village, Mr. Consultant. They’re built as temporary housing. They share a shower per unit.”
“Isn’t that an issue? People need a good quality of entertainment to stay someplace so dull when they can glance at other options. They’ll want something they can’t get anywhere else. Couple that with the appeal of privacy. Your child population levels are dropping? Intimacy widely increases from zero to one shower per household. I’d start hiring full-time artists to get some inspiration flowing. Let couples make their own entertainment. Get some comfier architecture. They'll make babies. Or get your engineers to make leisure versions of your military rovers. With enough room for two. Watch them hit wild speeds in the east bumpy lands around their camps.”
“How much would that cost?” He asked. To my relief, he then immediately reconsidered. “No, these plans are staying under permafrost. We want to attract workers, not activists.”
I must’ve looked confused.
“Much leaving people, because activist come Over-There and saying mine is kill nature. Much tourism satire is Come visit before disk is all holes,” she quoted.
“If it’s really destroying the ecosystems then I’m afraid there isn’t much—”
“What ecosystem?” He interrupted. “Nothing but people live here, Mr. Consultant. And we only cover 15% of our whole island. Most of us are all in this city. The claims are false.”
“Then why do enough of both your people and mine believe these activists?” I insisted. “Who I’ve never heard of, so they must all be online. Is complaining just something to do? How does that affect where people live?”
“Emotion of being … more purposeful than normal people,” she said. “Important maybe to many action people. But also, wireless community There having very addictivity.”
“Adictivity?” I asked. “I mean—or, what do you mean by addiction?”
She explained how our wireless communications in There were designed to get individuals to react before thinking.
Anyone reading this today won’t understand the complexity of the issue, so I’ll try to translate the way people like your great-great-grandparents used to communicate. I suggest you ask them about it if they’ve opted for resurrection therapy.
We had these sorts of primitive portable screens that were usually carried around in pockets. Pockets were these holes in our clothes that would hold stuff. When we mostly owned material items, we needed a method of having those things at our disposition. And because we only have two biological hands, most would prefer to walk about with lighter objects in all kinds of pouches. From books to babies, bags of fabrics were significant to us.
The most important pouch was the pocket. That’s the place where people put stuff they wanted to hold closest to their person. That’s because not having them nearby caused an immediate sense of emergency. Their money, their analog keys, their smokables (non digital drug consumable), the time of one day divided into 86,400 different times… Most would also keep their touch screens in their pockets.
We’d communicate through a revolutionary medium termed, “social media.” If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s because presently, that’s our only form of expression left. So we just call it talking.
Fun fact: in 1402, both words were banned if put together. For all generations coming after the criminalization of social media, to try and curb the addiction, so we could gain control over the technocratic overlords of the virtual space. Clearly, that didn’t work, but I won’t bore you with the details in this format for much longer.
To quickly finish this history lesson then, we nicknamed those screens “phones.” They were these physical things that you’d feel right on your skin. And you had to push around to type words or record either your organic image or sounds, or disproportionately more often, those of a cat. A real cat. They aren’t a digital invention! Then you’d post those representations in places called “the Internet.” The Internet would be referred to as the world today.
Humans had to mind-travel via their phones to access the world before. And they’d navigate through it by utilizing their biological hands like a bunch of Neanderthals. On Social Media in the Internet realm, other people would have to move their fingers around their screen to come look at what you posted. Can you imagine? It’s like if today, someone had to do something to hear you.
They would then react to what they saw. Kind of how people used to communicate what they thought through their body language. The only difference was that in the Old World, a public would react to a speaker on stage, and everyone went on their way afterwards. No longer under the influential energy of a cheering or booing crowd, they could think about the message. On the Internet, it would stay up, and we could keep reacting to it. Even years after something was said. The public reaction would get louder and louder and it was like it never stopped to calm down and reflect. Excitement is not a friend of thought.
As people posted more and more, they did less and less of anything else. The goal of the communication was only to react. Always as fast as possible. People started doing activities only so they could post. They lost the enjoyment of doing for the sake of doing. Everything became a reason to get a reaction out of others. Everyone became amateur stage performers. Professionals had to be trained in that regard. They had to learn how to handle themselves when their work would become a series of reactions to trigger a chain of reactions. The users of primitive Social Media never stood a chance.
It’s what she explained during our impromptu board meeting that afternoon. It’s what changed the way I saw the world as well. I watched as her theory turned out to be sufficiently accurate, and I caught myself wondering for a moment if she hadn’t had something to do with the unravelling of the events.
If you’re Neanderthal enough to remember the sound of genuine vocal chords, I invite you to imagine how she expressed it all to me in her riveting broken accent. It’s why I wrote it how she said it.
The year is 1282 again. It’s cold, the exit doors are locked down, I have an actual phone in my physical pocket…
She asked me to see mine. A ritual at the time. So I showed her. She didn’t look impressed, so I asked her to show me hers. It was nice. Real nice. So nice in fact, that I started feeling a bit shy and ended up subtly putting mine away as she explained.
“People addicted to making posting. More posting, more liking, more emotion of purposeful existing. But so many content, so much other people also looking for … valid of purposeful life, because now, day no with phone is like food no with taste. Is boring. Why eat? Why do anything? But problem happen when truth is people wanting. Because goal of social media is react, react, react. Chain reaction like nuclear. Have be fast. Social media not receive, think, maybe react if wise. Social media no survive this way, very boring if not in-person meeting for exchange serious ideas. No win Internet point for taking time, finding truth, telling people wrong too. No good feeling also, if thinking, no posting, no outside influence saying yes you living and you be valid person. So no react, no valid existence.”
She paused. We both glanced at one another to confirm what we had already decided. Neither of us were going to interrupt her train of ideas. I was impressed. Not by what she was saying, though. It wasn’t anything we didn’t know. It was more that she could almost speak our language when she carried herself in her flow.
“People define value by number of attention they getting. They getting attention by posting posting posting, reacting reacting reacting, and no thinking thinking then maybe posting after long. Thinking bad for business if business is price of reacting. Business need people pushing button not after long. Social media Model is job of push button. Worker build city, push button too you thinking. But building infrastructure, opportunity, thinking involved more than even writer, Mr. Consultant. Bad thinking kill in building city.”
It took me a second to break character. Then I remembered who I really was. Eventually I realized she had just insulted me. I gave a warm chuckle. This disrupted Gotnaym’s attention. She went on.
“Influencer is job of push button to getting more people pushing button before thinking. Influencer is good if follower push button with no thinking. Even in war business, reacting not always best strategy. Pushing … gun button?”
“Trigger,” he helped.
“Pushing trigger no thinking is not same like pushing trigger because quick thinking. Influencer like is … study with school only to becoming teacher after. But only attaining knowledge in reacting more. Not attaining quick thinking. Not same. This worrying functionary like Mr. Fore Gotnaym, because how control crowd online that only goal is react react react, no thinking? On Internet, better no thinking. More reacting, more people see their reacting first and reacting to it so more people also get reacting, more people only agree for attention, and more message get famous. More message famous, no worry if true, more people believe. More people believe, less people believe when truth happen. Look at phone, Mr. Consultant.”
I took it out of my pocket.
“Make posting,” she said. “I showing you.”
The suitedman visibly refrained himself from stopping me. I was two days behind on checking in with my Internet experiment, so I did what she asked. When I connected to Social Media, my feed was filled with alerts on posts. Something about disinformation and people fighting over the truth of the universe and if it was really the end for us. The media application wasn’t this agitated two days ago. Warnings on misinformation were mostly centred around past events, never regarding upcoming ones from what I had seen before.
“Is this why we’re in a lockdown?” I asked.
“Yes…” she reacted.
“So why does it say that it’s all a fabrication?”
The room fell dead quiet. Her bottom lip quivered and she turned around to burst in muffled sobs. She just broke down. It was surreal. The man stood up to whisper something. She nodded with her head down, so he walked towards me. Then past me and to the windows, making sure I followed him by spinning in my chair. My back ended up facing her.
“Under different circumstances, you wouldn’t be locked down with us, Mr. Tourist,” he said.
Uh-oh, I thought. This culture seemed to have developed a taste for cleverly employing names.
“But there’s no use in locking you up for espionage either, it looks like your people are willing to let you rot anyway.”
“What’s going on?” I asked. She sniffled and told us I could turn around now.
“Don’t worry kid. You’re either the best spy I’ve met and you can die with dignity, or you’re the worst ever, and you’re worth more to us as living propaganda if we make it out of this,” he said, patting my shoulder as he walked by.
“I didn’t get your answer,” I mumbled as I turned around. Then I understood that he was trying to make her laugh.
“Either you’re the best,” he repeated. “Because I haven’t heard even a single high-school rumour about you. Or you’re the worst, because you were really a shit consultant just then.”
She drew in a chopped breath, which she released in a soft chuckle of relief. I thought maybe this was a prank. But then why was she crying?
I asked her what was going on. She nodded at him and he told me he wasn’t joking. They really considered that I was a spy from There. This theory didn’t hold any water in the end. The umbrella company under which the most popular international platforms operated, had somehow been convinced to place a warning on the forecast of a natural disaster headed for the disks. The corporation happened to have all their servers in There’s jurisdiction. All the privately owned media companies followed suit just to try and survive.
Gotnaym explained how anyone with any scientific authority who had attempted to voice their doubts had immediately been shadowbanned. They injected their profiles with a fake number of views and likes, and used bots to make it look like there were people engaging with their content. As far as the whole globe was convinced, as far as the citizens of Over-There were concerned, this admonition had been discredited a month before the announcement of the disaster. The United OV Body sent out an emergency text message, an even more primitive form of communication, confirming the threat to their civilians, but it was in vain. The videos debunking the warning had timestamps dating too far back. And the Internet had already decided that it was all a hoax. Eighteen world leading scientists, all saying it was propaganda. The people in this city didn’t believe they were about to die.
How could I have missed this? Especially if I had checked everything everywhere online before buying my ticket?
Like a kid again, it slipped out.
“Why?”
He rubbed his thumb and two fingers together. Money.
“Environmental warfare is not a crime, Mr. Tourist. And you seem to be collateral damage to them.”
They showed me a video of myself reassuring the world that I was okay, and that no one on this disk believed any of the disinformation propagated by the unhinged astronomers. That Over-There’s authorities were perfectly aware that it was all a hoax. It was dated two hours before I set foot on the disk. On the plus side, I never did get over a hundred million views before. To most of the world, I was a hero, here to bring down the anti-science disinformation machine. They were looking at an AI-generated video of me. They even got my voice right. My family had liked my video. My dad had sent me a message saying he was proud.
I looked up and plunged my eyes in her frightened face. It stripped me forever of any good feelings. In one hour, I felt the lifelong dissatisfaction of a hard drug addict. That day, I lost my faith in reality. To this day, I cannot enjoy anything. Not after what happened. I feel too guilty.
“Shouldn’t technological warfare be a crime, though?” I said.
“You could call a stick with a pointy rock on its end a technological advancement.”
It was becoming trickier to think straight. How can you? When you’re about to take a final blow, and there’s nowhere to run, no strength to block. It was like getting pre-concussed.
“How long until it happens?”
“It might not. We’re waiting on people to show up here and determine if it can be avoided. So try to think of something else in the meantime,” he said.
We said nothing.
“There is one thing neither of you can avoid, though… So you might as well make your peace with it now,” he added.
“What it is?” She asked.
“Mr. Tourist is about to meet your father.” He said. Then he looked at me. “Or is it Mr. Consultant to him?”