#cartridges evaluation

[biscuitsngravie]

"time's up."

levi x reader

cw: piv, no prep, blowjob, degradation, orgasm denial, rawwwwww

wc: 2,004

Levi is… irritated. 

Well, that's the closest to describing the mixture of emotions he’s feeling during this “interaction.” 

“Irritated” could best refer to the heat between his legs. The heat that he is praying isn’t visible as he steps behind the desk to sit during the debriefing on the mission. This room is too full of people for you to be such a shameless slut. You wearing that too small top — the one he told you to throw away — and that too small skirt — that he’s sure he threw away — while looking up with… those eyes.

You. 

You. 

Youyouyouyouyo—

“Ah! And that’s how we make the double decoy! Right, Captain Levi?”

To others his face is deceptively neutral, well, as neutral as a resting bitch face can be. But you, Honee, you know better than anyone else. You’re the only one who notices the extra firm grip he has on his teacup, the cool flame that ignites behind his eyes the way he pointedly avoids meeting your gaze. And surely the squirming from the continuous pressing of your thighs has caught his peripheral at least once or twice. 

“Right. That’s it for now. We’ll do a test run in forty-five minutes. Gear up and be ready to leave.” The room empties rather quickly after a quick salute. And of course… you are the last to leave. “Honee.”

You jump out your skin, your back already turned from him, but too far from the door to craft the excuse of not hearing him. Your mouth upturns into a grin that you’re sure would accrue more points towards your impending punishment. So you remain with your back turned to him, answering an all too even voice, “Yes?”

“You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve.” slow and deliberate footsteps stalk behind you, growing louder than the thrumming in your chest and between your legs. He stops just barely short of touching you, lowering his voice so that it sits as not much more than a gentle purr against  your ear. “I expect to see you in the field. Dressed properly.”

He walks around you out the door, presumably to his office to retrieve his gear. It’s only once you hear the click of the door followed by fading footsteps do you finally breathe. You bite your lip and groan, gripping the hem of your skirt to keep from reaching a hand up it instead.

Your feet move faster than your brain,  flying to his study. It was always this with you two: some seemingly innocuous thing catches his attention, to which he finds stress relief and solace in your slutty little pussy. Though this time his distress lies with the very one he comes to for comfort (of sorts), and the very thought of it is proving to be the bane of his existence.

After three quick raps, an enthusiastic “Enter,” allows you in. He’d be disgusted at your perverted mind if you admitted that his look of disdain had you nearly crying down your legs. That, punctuated by a curt “What?” has you biting back a small whimper. 

“I—” you cut yourself off as you evaluate your best course of action. Outright asking for it has proven effective in the past, but the egregiousness of your behaviour has finally hit you . Before speaking again, you begin racking your brain for a suitable game plan. 

Unbeknownst to you, it draws a long pause, to which he prompts, “I don’t have all day.”

His voice makes you flinch as it snaps you back to him out of your cluttered brain. “I’m sorry!” you blurt aloud without much thought. 

“I hate liars,” he grunts as he tightens the fastenings on his gear. His hands move methodically over the latches, ensuring he doesn’t slam someone in the face with a cartridge of spare blades that come loose. “Hurry up before—”

“I just!” you shrug as you look off to the side, your face tingling with a warmth as you feel blood rush to your cheeks. “I just wanted some attention, I don’t know,” is finally pushed through in a low mumble.

Levi closes the gap between you two, grabbing your face in his hands to turn you back towards him. When your eyes drift away, he follows their gaze until you’re forced to succumb to his intense eye contact. “Are you saying I don’t give you enough attention?”

Your eyes nearly bug out. “No! It’s just that—”

“If you wanted more attention you could just say that. But no, you decided to be a fucking brat, instead,” he grits. Your eyes swell up a bit, your wires crossed between a growing fear and an intense need. 

While you decide which emotion to land on, Levi stalks over to his chair back behind his desk. He spreads his legs and points to the floor. Without even a hint of shame, your feet fold over each other to kneel not too far from the bulge in his pants. Your mouth begins to salivate at the sight, but you will them to make contact with grey ones that hold a cool flame behind their irises. 

Levi is nearly impressed with how quickly you take position: your legs folded under you with your hands folded in your lap. It’s easy to see your shameless cleavage from this angle, and part of him passively wonders if you’re overdue for a tit job. He pushes the thought away immediately. No matter how nice his cum looks painting your skin, he needs to focus. 

“Go ahead.”

The simple command has you clawing at his belt buckle. Your fingers make quick work of it all, grateful in the way he lifts his hips for you to pull them down a bit. You don’t even care enough to bring them to his ankles, only down to the knee as you begin to try and free his still hardening dick from his boxers. You use the hole in the front to let it spring upwards towards his abdomen. It’s only a second before you’re wrapping your lips around the head, suckling at the slit as you lap up the precum that’s already begun to drip there. 

Though he’s silent, the twitch in his cock when he feels you moaning in satisfaction is enough for you. You bob your head a bit, holding the base to keep steady as you swirl your tongue around the shaft. Your neglected clit is only soothed with the feeble rubbing of your thighs. You rock back and forth a bit, feeling the wetness coating your thighs grow. 

“Do what you must,” he sighs in faux exasperation, hiding his own arousal in the fingers gripping his chair, “you have my full attention.”

The purr in his voice as he eggs you on goes straight to your core, just like the hand now playing with your clit through your underwear. Unsurprisingly, you’re met with an undeniable wetness, your own arousal having completely drenched the fabric. 

Two deft fingers massage your aching clit as you work on him in earnest. You pull away to breathe and pool your saliva a bit, opening your mouth to watch it coat the length of his dick. As much as Levi hates a mess, you’re his favorite one to clean up. Watchful eyes follow you as you trace the prominent vein on the left side of his cock. His nostrils flare as the only sign of his arousal he allows through. 

Your own body almost feels as if it’s vibrating with need. Levi’s gaze remains uninterrupted, deceivingly bored if it weren’t for the tension in his jaw. You feel naked under his eyes, for he misses nothing. Goosebumps pimple your skin, the vulnerability that rocks you urges you to cover yourself and incites a newfound search for modesty. The way desperate fingers fight against cotton to finger your leaking pussy definitely doesn’t go unnoticed. 

Whether it’s annoyance with the pathetic display before him, or his other head thinking, he waves you off his cock, much to your  disappointment. You bite back a whine, confused on your infraction, yet trying to avoid another. His voice breaches right through your developing spiral. “Sit.”

Perplexed, you tilt your head and adjust your posture. “I am…”

His facial expression doesn’t change. After a few moments you process the command and excitedly climb into his lap. After a few moments of maneuvering yourself around his gear to properly straddle his lap. Arms cradle his neck in glee, but he lets himself all but be pulled into a kiss. “You have fifteen minutes to get yourself off.”

You begin to open your mouth to protest, but the look he gives you kills any argument you could muster. 

Do I make myself clear?

Fifteen minutes. 

How much to spend on prep? On stretching? Is worth it to tease yourself a bit or—

“Fourteen.”

“Levi!” you shriek in a mini panic. A grip on your chin ends your oncoming tantrum. Fix your tone. Your voice gets smaller now, meek. “It’s not fair…” you mumble.

“Now you care about fair?”

“I just—”

“For someone closing in on thirteen minutes, you sure spend a lot of time talking.”

“Levi please,” you start getting worried now. You keep your voice hushed, but maintain your urgency. 

“Please what?”

Bingo. You’ve won.

The poutiest of lips. The truest of doe eyes. The vulnerability found in an unabashedly neediest of voices. “Can you fuck me?”

Levi’s hand is over your mouth in flash. Momentary confusion is interrupted by a burning between your legs, your cry muffled by a thick layer of calluses. Tears prickle your cheeks, your sniffle all but dying in his palm. You clench uncontrollably around him as you register that he’s bottomed out in one swoop.

Running his other hand up and down your back, he lets your mouth go free as he tucks your face into his neck. He saves the comment on the mess you’re making there as he repositions his hands to your hips. He lifts you up and…

“This is what you wanted,” he cooes.

Slam.

“You wanted attention, huh?” he scoffs.

Slam.

“Bullshit.” 

His thrusts speed up, the clanking of his equipment joining the cacophony of sounds the two of you are making; the papping of your asscheeks against his pants; your sniffles twisting into groans; his intermittent grunts as he listens to the wet sounds of your pussy taking him over and over and—

Fuck!

“You’re a fucking riot. Couldn’t survive without it for a week.” he curses to himself when he hears you mewl, every decibel going straight to his dick. “Putting this on. What do you have to say for yourself? Ah?”

He pounds into you from below, his gear rustling erratically as he forces his hips to meet yours. A quick smack to your ass wakes you up beyond your wanton moans. “Ah! I-I…” your mind starts to melt when he comes down to a slow grind, dragging his thick cock along your abused, gummy walls. 

He grabs a fistful of you r hair to pull you back. Puffy and weary-eyed, your lip trembles as you futility try to gather your thoughts. “Don’t cry now. You weren’t crying when you put this shit on.”

“L-Levi, I—”

He stops you with a hand in your face and checks the time. Without much ado, slides you off his lap, not sparing you so much as a glance wen you wince. “Time’s up.”

“Levi!” you shriek, entirely too loud. 

“Volume,” is his only warning as he tucks himself into his pants. He grabs a spare handkerchief to clean where you leaked out and prays it’s not noticeable. 

“What am I supposed to—”

“You were supposed to get yourself off, you understand?” his tone sharp, only surpassed by his gaze. “Not my fault you’re a faulty little cockslut and got distracted.”

He leaves you to yourself, not before smirking when he sees the dripping between your legs. Levi hates messes, but this is one he can get behind. 

an: i tried something new. i'm gonna try again soon. after this is true form s*kuna x reader cause im a monsterfucker first before a fraudkuna hater, so ig ill be putting my whole jordussy into it 😭

taglist: @honeeslust @blkkizzat @arlerts-angel @halobuns

#jordussy #jordussy speaks #levi x reader #levi smut #levi ackerman #aot smut #attack on titan smut #aot x reader #levi x y/n #levi x you

[usafphantom2]

The report on the approximate air support competition between the A-10 and the F-35 appears

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 03/11/2023 - 22:35in Military

A newly emerged report offers some new details about a test that compared the A-10 Warthog attack plane and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter attack fighter, but raises more questions about the ability of the 5ª generation jet to complete the A-10's approximate air support mission.

The confidential report, completed in February 2022 by the Department of Defense's Testing and Evaluation Office, was recently released with heavy writings to the Government Supervision Project, which sued the Pentagon in a federal court after its FOIA request for the report was denied.

The report describes the results of an approximate air support flight between the F-35A and the A-10C, which was determined by Congress in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017 and carried out in 2019.

The test was conducted in “low and medium threat environments” and not in a hostile or high threat environment because the “F-35A, along with the F-35B and F-35C, is being thoroughly evaluated during the IOT&E of the F-35 in high threat scenarios versus modern and dense combat aircraft and surface-to-air missiles, missions for which the A-10C was not designed,” the report said.

No ground troops participated in the flight, which does not “invalidate the conclusions of this report,” DOT&E wrote in the report. "However, a more dynamic and representative environment may be required for operational testing of these missions to evaluate improvements in the performance of these or any other systems under test."

Many details are hidden in the version released for POGO. For example, it says that the A-10 “allowed more attacks than the typical loading of the F-35A,” but does not reveal how many targets each aircraft hit in the test.

The A-10 and F-35 involved in the flyoff flew a combined total of 117 and a half hours of flight in 69 missions. A complete analysis of the sorties and flight hours, as well as when and where these tests took place, in the three sets of missions, is seen above.

The essays make it difficult to discern the context of some of the statements. But there are indications that it took more F-35 missions than A-10 missions to fulfill some missions. For example, this half-sentence ("more A-10C sorties would be necessary to attack the same number of targets") is followed by this text: "The number of sorties needed to complete the same mission objectives in contested environments would depend on air defense suppression plans."

This may result in part of the A-10's ability to carry more ammunition. The attack plane was designed around a huge 30mm GAU-8 cannon that contains 1,350 cartridges of ammunition, while the F-35's 25mm GAU-22 cannon can carry only about 181 cartridges.

Elsewhere, the report noted the ability of the A-10 to fly closer to the targets than the F-35:

"The test team did not record the inclined range of the target with the generated coordinates, so its effect cannot be evaluated directly. Even so, tactics usually caused A-10C pilots to fly closer to the target than F-35A pilots, which could explain some of the differences in measured location errors. The target location error only affects the use of GPS-aided weapons. In any case, the location error is sufficient to indicate the aiming pod of another aircraft [approximate air support].

A table listing various competitive capabilities between the F-35A and A-10C at the time of flyoff. DOD via FOIA/POGO

The report also noted that the most recent weapon did not always manage to fire in a straight line. DOT&E told the Pentagon to “fix the F-35A cannon, improve digital communication, video data linkability and interoperability with 4ª generation aircraft, and develop training programs to further improve the effectiveness of the F-35A in these missions.”

Russ Goemaere, spokesman for the F-35 Joint Program Office, said that the program "improved" the weapon and interoperability of the jet with 4ª generation fighters and said that "they are effective".

In his own analysis, Dan Grazier of POGO wrote: "Despite the heavy essays in the released report, it is clear that the results of these flawed tests disappointed the constituted powers. If the F-35 had been the winner, there would be no doubt that a clear and declarative statement of this fact would have appeared prominently in the initial paragraph of the report."

The U.S. Air Force did not want to comment on the report, nor did it say whether the leaders of the armed forces tried to prevent the release of the report. A spokesman said that close air support is a mission, not a specific platform.

"The future force will inherently be capable of approximate air support, with multifunctional capabilities to ensure survivability in all scenarios. Although successful in permissive environments, the A-10 will not have the ability to survive in a highly disputed future fight,” said service spokeswoman Ann Stefanek.

The U.S. military has made intense use of the A-10 in recent decades, moving it to Iraq for multiple conflicts and to Afghanistan against the Taliban. More recently, the U.S. sent Warthogs to the Middle East to deter aggression and prevent the spread of the Israel-Hamas war.

Air Force officers have sought to retire the A-10, which was introduced in 1977 as a Soviet tanker. But their arguments - that money would be better applied to more modern aircraft, that satellite and laser-guided bombs were sufficient for close air support missions - met strong resistance from legislators whose districts housed A-10 or ground troops they protect. Still, the last few years seem to be ending the service of the plane.

An A-10 Warthog, in the lower left corner, flies along with, at the top, from left to right, an F-16C Viper, an F-35A Joint Strike Fighter and an F-15E Strike Eagle. (photo: USAF)

When asked about the report, one of the prominent members of the House Armed Services Committee said he is ready to say goodbye to the A-10 - if not its capabilities. Congressman, chairman of the tactical subcommittee on air and ground forces of the HASC, says he is confident that the Air Force will be able to find a way to maintain approximate air support capabilities as it advances to the F-35.

Source: Defense One

Tags: A-10 Thunderbolt IIMilitary AviationCAS - Close-Air SupportLockheed Martin F-35A Lightning IIUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has work published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[alex99achapterthree]

Phantom Friday...

The first Air Force PHANTOM wasn't the Phantom... it was the F-110A Spectre.

It's complicated. The Air Force realized the new Navy F4H-1 PHANTOM was better than anything they had or had planned, so they "borrowed" two for evaluation, "bought" 27 F-4Bs from the Navy production and then ordered their own.

That Century-series moniker F-110 Spectre soon went away due to McNamara's plan for re-organizing aircraft designations and also because, well, come on now.

The Air Force PHANTOM had only minor changes... wider wheels with anti-skid brakes, a different bombing system, cartridge-start for the J-75 engines and a control stick in the back because the Air Force considered both crew to be pilots. The backseater couldn't land because he had terrible visibility and couldn't lower the gear, but he could at least help out with the flying and potentially get the aircraft out of trouble if the pilot up front was hit.

The Navy never got the two "borrowed" airframes back, they fudged the serial numbers to make them Air Force aircraft.

---------------------------------------

(oh, and to respond to an unfair attack down in the comments which you may or may not see, I do not steal other people's posts.

Ever.

I may reblog someone's post and add comments but if their post isn't suitable for that I absolutely credit the blog where the image originated if I re-use it.

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

As I pointed out to the commenter, historic photos are widely available and unless someone took the picture themselves they are found in many different places. The one in question, this one, sat in my collection for years and I came across it recently looking for interesting images for Phantom Friday posts. The original source of it is lost back in the dialup days. If we both happened to post it at about the same time, well, sometimes great minds think alike.)

#aircraft #airplane #phantom friday

[pencil-peach]

G Witch Onscreen Text: Episode 15

Greetings and salutations everyone! This is part 16 of my attempt to transcribe and discuss all the onscreen text in G Witch, and along the way we document and discuss various interesting things. We're on episode 15: "Father and Child"

&lt;< Click here to go back to Episode 14 Or click here to go to the Masterpost!

Our first real look at Earth...shall we begin?

One of the first shots we get are various posters outlining health rules and guidelines to follow, most likely pinned up in a doctor's office. Some of the text is covered up, but from left to right, to the best of my ability: (* will denote when I am making my best assumption based on the visible text.)

*General healthcare support evaluation: 10:00 to 17:00 17:00 to 21:00 (15:00 on Sundays)

Water supply: 2 liters per person *Restorations of water supply system underway but supply restrictions are still in place.

Save your food, save the Earth Saving energy for a swift victory

Food ration: 1500 kilo calories daily per person

Infections Infectious disease prevention measures: Wash your hands Get enough sleep Consult a doctor

The struggle of the Earthians in this camp are very clear, considering that 2 liters of water and 1500 calories a day are below the minimum healthy amount for an adult. Infectious disease is also a huge problem in a world without more advanced medicine.

When Naji is talking to the doctor, he hands him a container of cartridges, saying he has refills. We never see what they're for, but their general shape and coloring is similar to the cartridges Elnora swaps in and out of her GUND arm prosthetic when it stops working in the prologue. That's not to say Olcott's arm is also a GUND prosthetic, but that it might similarly need to replenish its energy source. (Considering it emits a dull whine when Olcott uses it sometimes, I wouldn't doubt it needs external power.)

Somewhat more interestingly, we get a glimpse at what the doctor has opened on his monitor through the gap in Olcott's arm. It's incredibly hard to read, and we never see the full picture, but here's what I could manage

EXPLANATION OF SYMPTOMS FOR [???]... [DESCRIPTION] OF PAIN -[...] UPPER BODY

[...??] SYMPTOMS -[...PLING] THROUGH BODY OVER A PERIOD OF TIME

DECREASED MOBILITY SLEEP DISORDERS DECREASED COGNITIVE ABILITIES LONG-TERM TREATMENT PLAN NEUROTHERAPEUTIC INJECTIONS PERMET REMOVAL SURGERY

PATIENTS WITH PREEXISTING VISION IMPAIRMENTS REQUIRE MONITORING OF NEUROLOGICAL FUNCTIONS.

On the monitor, we see a list of symptoms and treatments for what appears to be a long term Permet-induced injury. This is pretty interesting info, as we never really get a look into how Permet based illnesses are actually treated in universe. (Other than Prospera's helmet but we'll talk about that later). I'm really interested in what "Permet Removal Surgery" entails! (Neurotherapeutic Injections are something that exist in real life but it's considered a pseudoscience. I don't think that fact applies to its use in the show, however.)

They don't show up after this initial scene, but Seethia seems to have a baby sibling, or was at least watching over one during this scene. (Don't worry, she didn't bring them with her when the building collapsed, they're fine.)

Episode 15 gives us our first change to the intro. In episode 13 - 14, Eri appears as a vague apparition in this shot, but after the reveal that she is in fact within Aerial, we see her fully rendered.

Speaking of the intro, it probably goes without saying, but this scene in the intro is more likely to be of Eri and Elnora, not Suletta. The door in the background has the same design as the ones on Vanadis, and its general layout resembles that of this corner in the Samaya's room. (The door, and then the shelf immediately to its left, the picture frame and the indented portion of the wall above it.)

It's not perfectly 1-1 but, yknow! (I really have a problem...)

Because Nika and Miorine appear in this episode, they're the only two characters in the show who appear at some point in every single episode of the series. (Other than the prologue, obviously)

In this scene where the Group's security forces are flying out over earth, they're riding these glider things. For some reason, these specific machines are shown off on the official website, so we know its name: TICKBALANG, and we know that they're produced by Peil. I wondered if it was maybe just a tradition of GUNDAM series to have TICKBALANG, like Haro, but no I guess they were just really proud of it. It even has its own gunpla kit...

(Oh, and its name is taken from a werehorse creature from Philippine folklore.)

The two mobile suits we see used in this attack on the DOF are the Zowort Heavy, a Peil suit, and the Heindree Sturm, a Grassley suit. Despite this attack being decided by the board, there's a distinct lack of Jeturk suits.

The plushies the kids place around Sophie's grave are ones from her collection that she left on Earth.

When the Benerit Force pilots are communicating with each other, they use "Zulu" as their codenames. This is a reference to the Zulu line of mobile suits introduced in Gundam Unicorn.

As the building collapses on them, Olcott brings his hands up to protect his head and neck, but Guel rushes forward to try and protect Sedo and Seethia.

TEXT PLANT QUETTA INCIDENT SUSPECT LIST

OLCOTT [Real Name Unknown] Affiliation: Dawn of Fold Place of birth: Unknown Educational Background: Unknown Spouse: Unknown

COMINT REPORT Olcott was involved in the attack on Plant Quetta from the beginning of the plan. He is believed to have planned an attack targeting Spacians, including bombing of MS plants and offices, and assassination of key personnel. During the incident, as pilot of a 'Desultor' MS thought to have been captured from the Jeturk company (acquisition route is under investigation), he led an MS team that attacked the President of the Benerit group. Though the assassination attempt on the President ended in failure, his team killed more than 20 employees, including the CEO of the Jeturk company.

Believed to have been involved in these past incidents:

-Bombing of Benerit Group northern hemisphere Earth headquarters -Mediterranean space shuttle attack -Shooting of Global Security president -Occupation of Pacific Ocean mine

The suspect report we see Kenanji read, that discusses Olcott's participation and past crimes in regards to the Plant Quetta attack. We also learn that Kenanji knew him, his real name is Ridrick Kruger, and he was formerly a member of Dominicus. He always followed his own ideals of justice, but he and his family were attacked by Earthians anyway. After losing them, he discarded his past, but still allies himself with the Earthians anyway, because he still believes they're right.

We also see how much of a stranglehold Spacians and the Group still have on Earth and its resources, seeing the wide range of institutions and locations he's attacked with the DOF.

Olcott's journey throughout the episode is based in his memories of the moment that changed his life, the one he rejects, and how removing himself from it has affected his memory of what really happened. First, he remembers seeing his son cry out for his help, before being engulfed in flame. (Left) Then he remembers struggling to reach out to his unconscious body before it fades out to the view of his mobile suit (RIght)

But after hearing why Guel tried to hard to save Seethia, Olcott remembers what really, truly happened. He tried to reach out and his son didn't look scared, he smiled at him, convinced that his dad was going to save him.

And instead of reacting with indifference or rage as he does in the earlier memories, he clutches his arm, a sign that this isn't a fabricated memory he uses to reject his past, but what really truly happened, and still brings him pain.

I really like this scene with Rajan, and how his relationship with Delling compares to Godoy's with Prospera. Rajan has known Delling for decades, and is staunchly loyal to him. He believes in his and Notrette's ideals for a better world, and will support him in his endeavors no matter what. But with what he tells Miorine at the end here, and his reaction when he finds out that she's taking his place, it's really clear that he thinks Quiet Zero is a terrible idea.

I also like that ultimately he wants what's best for Miorine. In a lot of ways he's consistently more involved in her wellbeing than Delling is.

Oh, I might as well point this out now: The season 1 "Next Episode Title" bumpers use this red patterned backdrop, mimicking the GUND Format lights on Aerial's chest when it activates, but in Season 2, it uses a more elaborate blue pattern instead, reminiscent of REBUILD's lights after it reaches Score 8.

Alright! That's all from me. Unless...

GUEL JUMPSCARE. Without the guiding hand of his father, he's decided to devote himself to protecting the things he has left. He won't run any longer. Not from his sins, or the future. Welcome back, Guel.

Click here to escape to episode 16 >> Click here to go to the Masterpost!

#g witch #gundam the witch from mercury

[devilscreekballad]

Have the first 1078 words of Mrs Meadows' POV in ch7:

---

You wake up feeling as if you had been thrown under a carriage. Which is to say slightly worse than what has become your regular morning ever since Nate's death.

This morning's additional misery, you reckon, stems partially from the past day's stress and irritating nature, and partially from spending the night in the armchair by the window, as you have left the room's beds to Miss Beauchêne and Finley. It's approximately a 30-70 split.

You stretch, slowly and deliberately, evaluating which muscles, joints or ligaments will give you the most struggle. Everything is shaping up to become another long day ahead, and if your instincts do not fool you, said day has just started.

"Are you always up this early?" someone - Miss Beauchêne you recognize after a longer moment than is reasonable- asks.

"Good morning," you respond with a trace of sourness directed rather at the pain between your shoulder blades than at the younger woman. "Yes, I am."

You push the heavy curtains aside to peer out and nod curtly. It's not long past sunrise, the town is in the process of waking up, so your instinctual assessment of the current hour has been correct.

"Granted, under normal circumstances I'd be up and about at a much earlier hour," you add, getting up and pulling hair pins from the now unruly birds nest your hair has become. On the bed Miss Beauchêne comments on the sentiment of getting up that early with a short noise of distaste and disapproval.

"Have you slept well?" you ask, as you sit down in front of the vanity mirror, ignoring that sentiment.

"I guess," Miss Beauchêne responds, sitting up from the reclining position she had been in. "It's hard to sleep after all what has happened."

You just hum in agreement, brushing out your hair. Although you recognize that Miss Beauchêne might be in the best position to understand what is commonly robbing you of a healthy sleep, you see no reason to unnecessarily involve her in your problems.

"You really didn't need to let me have the bed," Miss Beauchêne notes, as she moves to see to her own morning routine.

"Yes, I did. You needed it much more urgently, and I'm used to unorthodox sleeping places."

Miss Beauchêne gives you a quite suspicious and scrutinizing look, a trace of misplaced concern on her face.

"Fall asleep on your desk often?" she ventures, making small talk, you figure.

"More often than I would like," you humor her.

"I don't reckon overworking oneself is a healthy habit." She draws a heavy breath that gives away her next words, before a single syllable has even left her lips "Believe me, I know." "I had no intention to doubt you. But I prefer people staying out of my business."

Again Miss Beauchêne casts you a measured and measuring glance, before turning back to seeing about herself.

So do you.

It isn't until Miss Beauchêne produces a little container from her belongings that your attention is on anything but yourself.

First you only pay little attention to the object. It is reminiscent of a thumb-sized bullet cartridge and its use eludes you, until Miss Beauchêne twists the contraption's bottom, producing what looks to be a stick of beeswax out of the device, bringing it to her lips.

"That is quite an interesting thing to see," you note. Miss Beauchêne looks at you rather surprised.

"I would have thought you would know what lipstick is," she says, and you search her face for evidence of mockery. You find none.

"I do, but I was talking about the device you house it in. It is quite ingenious."

At this Miss Beauchêne's lights up into a delighted beam.

"That is too kind, ma'am. I made it myself."

"Oh?"

"Yes." There is an odd joy to be found in seeing the young woman's eyes sparkle as she breaks into an excited explanation. "I had a look into what a lipstick, or a stick of lip balm as it is in this case, could be put into to make it, well, more of a practical device. I got frustrated with the tins and jars and wax papers, it all proved to be quite impractical, a little unhygienic if one looked at it closer, and I have rather dry lips much to my dismay, so I am often in need of some sort of ointment."

"It does look a little like a bullet cartridge," you point out, and Miss Beauchêne nods.

"That's what it is. Well, originally was. What I took the inspiration from I mean. Frankford Arsenal's .45 Colt cartridges, alongside some modified glass tubes. It was quite a bit of fiddling to get the twisting mechanism to work, and since then I refined it to make it more reliable. The result is what you see here."

You arch your brows in an impressed and inquisitive arc.

"Impressive, I must say, really impressive. Patent pending, I presume."

At this Miss Beauchêne — done with applying lipbalm — closes the devise and purses her lips in dismay.

"Mrs. Meadows, with all due respect, but I believe you can guess how just [i]trying[/i] to file for a proper patent would go for people like us. For someone who happens to be a woman, and not a white one on top of that. If I'd file a patent, it's all too likely that nothing will come of it, until I am old and grey and not in any position to defend my rights, when, poof, a white man will miraculously invent the exact same device."

You roll your eyes. Not in annoyance at Miss Beauchêne, but in annoyance at a world in which these words carry far too much truth for their own good.

"And then he'd get celebrated by the press for making the lifes of those poor, feeble women so much easier with this revolutionary device," you agree, dryly and bitterly. "All while still condemning said women for using lipstick in the first place."

You both exhale tiredly and in unison.

In a strained silence the two of you finish your morning routines, and you duck behind the wooden screen nearby to change into clothes that have not been slept in.

"But, well," Miss Beauchêne picks up the hanging thread of discussion, "I still hope to live long enough to see a change for the better."

"Becoming immortal is quite an ambitious endeavour," you observe, pinning your hair up proper.

#baodc meadows #baodc spoilers

[audio-luddite]

Different? Better?

The adventure with the 1990s high end tube amp goes on.

There is good, and there is bad. Clearing away the bad issue is it will cost money to keep this beastie running. The good is it has the seductive sound of the vacuum to tempt and to tease me. Such a tease.

Last night I played 4 albums. The result was interesting.

The first one was my original copy of "I Robot" Alan Parson's Project. It sounded really good. AP was a recording engineer of great talent and is responsible for Dark Side of the Moon among many others. If you are familiar with that you can appreciate that the mixes are complex and deep and leave much to be untangled. If you are a detail geek as I am it is required listening. Lots of fun.

Next up was a "special" I found in my densely packed hoard of LPs. It is on the Wilson Audiophile label titled Center Stage.

It has an amazing back story and provenance. It was commissioned by Absolute Sound Magazine and the recording engineers, and mastering gurus are a who's who of the high end. Everything custom and tweaked. They even note the tape preservative used. Yes tape and pure analog full on. Should be great right?

I know TAS used it to evaluate equipment and crown the winners of that month's SOTA awards.

I may have mentioned that you can have great music recorded well or poorly. You can have great recordings of good or poor music. Bad recordings of bad music stay in the bin where they belong. Some things are doomed to be test records and this is one of those.

In the full golden ear style of reviewing I will note my equipment. The Phase Linear 8000 series 2 tangential tracking TT with an AT7V cartridge front end. Preamp is the ARC SP-14 with 50 pf load on the phono, and the Amp is the ARC Classic 60. Speakers are my own "invisible speakers" bass reflex in lovely birch plywood cabinets.

The music was movie and Broadway tunes played by horns and woodwinds with percussion. Basically a symphony orchestra without any strings. There was good space and I am a full on fan of how drums are portrayed. They are big deep and with amazing texture. Horns let you show off lots of audiophile type tricks. But the music was BORING. After two cuts I could not help but think if I hear another John Williams tune I will throw up. No FN imagination just quotes of everyone from Brahms to Stravinsky.

This is big loud music, and I was falling asleep droogs. I played both sides and yes the technical production is full on high end, but this goes back in the heap for a long time. Just not fun.

Since I was bored I decided to pull up "Year of the Cat" Mofi which I have talked about before. Wonderful recording of the most boring singer in history. Now this was interesting.

With the Franken-Amp this is broad and front row and deep with really really good clear sound. With the tuber it was almost muffled. Mr Stewart was pushed back a few yards and there was fog or smoke around him. ( not literally just an audible fuzziness thing ) I could still hear it clearly and all the parts were sharp and good. The guitar was very nice and metallic. The treble was really good. This is a Mofi after all. But the perspective of the mix was far different. I was in full on WTF mode. I bet it was mixed in a studio with all Solid State gear.

Very different, but not better.

OK one more then I have to shut it down. Emmylou Harris "Quarter moon...." I just got a Mofi used record from a cool shop a 5 hour drive away. There was some groove noise like dirt, they said they had ultrasonically cleaned it. Under the noise the recording was very nice. Actually a bit of discwasher brushing cleaned it up noticeably. I suppose the mix is simpler and cleaner so the sound was as I recall it before no big changes.

One thing and I will come back to it again. There is a background singer with a really cool tone to her voice. She is there, but not as easy to separate out as I recall. That may be the mix as Mofi does fiddle it's masters, or it may be the tuber. I have the original vanilla disk right in the milk crate there. I will check it.

[ Update: I did check it next day. The original disc was much clearer and the other singer was very easy to distinguish and understand. So did Mofi remix it and mess it up a bit? Interesting that the old copy sounded just as good as the mofi. Old master tape copy perhaps?]

In a related thing I ordered a set of the driver tubes. (EHX Russian). Far cheaper than a full set of 6550s and likely 30 years old. I want to pull the covers for a peak and will throw those in. It is a lot of bother to do so. I need some things to do in there aside from look. I will also check the bias of the output tubes. I will also scope some capacitors on the PC board that can go funny. There are 4 electrolytics there that are not power supply related and are known to be vulnerable. Just to risk my life you know. I gave up motorcycles decades ago.

The Amp does help warm the room and there was frost on the car this morning.

Cheers to all.

#audiophile #tubes vs transistors #high end audio #vinyl #Audio Research

[malamiteltd]

Day 16 – Back and Forth

The morning started out normally for Sketch and Heather – they were relaxing on the couch watching TV after having a modest breakfast. Suddenly they heard a knock at their door, and they both got up to answer it. Opening the door, they found Dr. Raz on the other side, straightening out her lab coat. Compared to her exhausted appearance the previous day, she appeared to be tidier and more alert.

“Hello, Doctor,” said Sketch. “You certainly look more rested than yesterday.”

Dr. Raz nodded as she. “Indeed,” she replied, adjusting her glasses. “It helps when you can sleep in a familiar bed.”

Sketch smiled. “Must’ve been quite a relief. So what brings you here?”

“I wanted to revisit the discussion I wished to have with you two yesterday. As I mentioned, I noticed some odd things about you two and I wanted to find out more about them.” She turned her gaze to the direction of her house. “But considering the…development that occurred, I was hoping you could allow me to study you both to a more elaborate degree.”

Heather was confused. “Wait, what do you mean by that?”

“Basically, since I have my proper lab, I'd like to give you two a full physical examination.”

Heather’s eyes widened. “A what? A physical exam?”

“What would you need this for, exactly?” Sketch asked.

“I figured since we're all stuck in this unstable world, it would be a good idea to keep a reference of everyone's physical and mental status. If one of us becomes unwell, we'll have a point of reference to work off of so we know what should be the normal condition, and possibly find a solution to treat the ailment.”

Sketch thought about this for a moment. “I suppose it makes sense… Have you done this whole full-scale evaluation for anyone else so far?”

Dr. Raz placed her hand on her chest. “So far, just myself and Bits. Granted, the evaluations we went through were conducted through Holly using her built-in technology, but the results were still quite comprehensive.”

As Sketch heard this response, he suddenly noticed Heather looking somewhat apprehensive. “You alright, Heather?”

“I dunno, Sketch. I’m not sure I like the idea of having my whole body inspected.”

Sketch nodded. “I gotcha. Still, there’s logic to her reasoning…and I don’t really think she wants to use her findings against us. At least I don’t sense anything malicious about her.”

Heather looked away for a moment, unsure of the situation. “…Well…If you’re willing to go through with it, I guess I’ll do it too…”

Dr. Raz nodded with a slight smile. “I thank you both. Please follow me to my lab and we’ll get started.”

With that, Dr. Raz led Sketch and Heather towards her home.

“How long will this whole evaluation thing take?” asked Heather.

“It depends on many factors,” replied Dr. Raz, keeping her attention on the forward path. “When I had my evaluation it took about 45 minutes to get my results. With Bits, it took about 15. But this doesn’t include the things I wish to ask you about yourselves, so it could go beyond an hour at least.”

Sketch turned to Heather. “I mean, it’s better than just sitting around all day, right?”

Heather sighed. “I suppose.” As they arrived at Dr. Raz’s front door, Heather had a realization. “And hey, I guess on that note, it’ll give us a chance to get to know you better too, doctor!”

Dr. Raz froze when hearing this, her hand holding the front doorknob. She turned her head slightly to Heather. “…W-we’ll see what happens, Mrs. Britannia.” With that, she opened the door and ushered the two Tokarus inside.

. . . . .

A while later, Broom left his house and headed for Copper’s home. Holding a game cartridge in his hand, he knocked on the front door with a slight look of worry.

Please answer, please answer, please answer… he thought to himself, staring down the front door.

A few seconds later, the door opened. Copper was there, with a neutral, slightly tired expression. “Hey, Broom.”

Broom breathed a small sigh of relief, and smiled. “Hey, Copper! You doing alright?”

Copper shrugged. “…I’m getting by. What brings you here?”

Broom hesitated, then looked at the cartridge in his hand. “W-well…I was looking through that library of games in my house and…came across a weird one. I was having trouble making out what was happening…for multiple reasons…but I figured you might be able to help with that.”

Copper looked a little confused. “What makes you think I’d have any idea? I’m not that well-versed in games.”

Broom held the cartridge out in front of him. “Well, take a look at the art on it.”

Copper took the cartridge and inspected the art printed on the front. He began to look confused. “Are those Teijru?” A moment later, his eyes grew a little wider, as though he recognized what he saw. “…Wait, I think this is swatcha!”

Broom looked puzzled. “What’s swatcha?”

“A Khejian sport,” Copper replied. “Two teams of Teijru use rackets to swat a ball into one of the hoops on their team’s side, while the opposite team tries to intercept it.”

“Ah!” Broom said, lightly waving his finger. “I figured you’d know something about it.”

Copper shrugged. “I know a little. I never played the game myself, but I know most of the rules…though I remember the typical winning conditions differed between Crimson City and Indigo Town…”

“That’s still more than I know, at least. And it certainly didn’t help that the in-game text is in Khejian writing, so I could use your help translating. Care to try it out?”

Copper looked to Broom and nodded. “I suppose so.” He then stepped to the side of his door to free the passageway. “Come on in.”

Broom was confused at this gesture, trying to figure out the reason. “What? Oh, you were going to use the handheld to play it? The thing’s not really made for two players…”

Copper shook his head. “No. I…actually wanted to show you something.”

Broom became curious. He stepped into the house, and when he approached the main room, he was stunned by what he saw.

A large flat-screen television was mounted on the wall. In addition, a wire extended from the bottom that connected to a game console that looked identical to Broom’s. A pair of controllers were sitting on top, seemingly untouched.

“Whoa!” Broom marveled at this new sight. “Where…where did this come from?

Copper scratched his head. “I dunno. I woke up this morning and just found it here…the console, too.”

Broom thought about this. “You don’t suppose that Stern guy did this, do you?”

“I don’t know who else could. I mean, I didn’t see a screen this size in any of the other houses, and I think your house was the only one with a console.”

“Huh…” Broom placed his hand to his sides, trying to process the situation. “What would’ve made Stern do this? You suppose he was feeling sorry for you?”

“I…doubt it somehow,” Copper replied, looking to the floor. “He doesn’t seem like the caring type.”

Broom noticed this reaction. “Well, in any case it’s a neat surprise!” he said with enthusiasm. “I’m curious to see how this game will look on such a big screen. You ready to play?”

Copper rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncertain. “I guess so. I’m not sure I’ll do well with a sports game.”

“I haven’t played that many myself, so I think we might be on even ground. But I could use help navigating some of the menus.”

Copper nodded. “Sure.” With that, they set up the cartridge, each grabbed a controller, and turned on the console. When the game loaded up, Copper was surprised to see the aged pixel aesthetics of the game. “Huh…it looks so old. I heard swatcha was established about a decade ago…”

“It does look like one of the games from Earth back in the 20th century,” Broom replied. “It kinda makes me wonder who made it, and when…”

The two looked through the game’s menus, with Copper translating the options. Before long, they found themselves attempting to play the swatcha game…

. . . . .

Meanwhile, in Dr. Raz’s sub-lab, the doctor and Holly were noting the last few pieces of information for the evaluations of the Tokarus, who were both fully undressed in their own respective exam rooms. Sketch was laying back casually on Exam Table 1, while Heather was seated on Exam Table 2, grabbing her shoulders nervously.

“Alright,” Dr. Raz said as she loaded her findings into her computer, “that should do for the physical evaluation. I appreciate your cooperation, you two.”

Sketch nodded as he got himself dressed. “It’s no big deal.” He turned to his wife. “That wasn’t so bad, was it, Heather?

Heather gave Sketch a slightly pained expression as she finished dressing. “I…I’d rather I didn’t have to spend time naked in a science lab, but…I’ll admit it wasn’t the worst experience.”

Sketch exited the exam room and rejoined Dr. Raz. “I gotta say, doctor, your lab feels particularly homey.”

“No surprise there,” she replied. “The design I made was intended to function as both my lab and my home. That way I wouldn’t be too far from my work even during downtime…you never know what could come up on short notice.”

“Like how you met me?”

The others turned to find Bits entering the lab, running to Dr. Raz’s side.

Dr. Raz sighed. “That’s one example, yes.”

Holly looked at the computer to check the progress of the processor. “The results of the evaluation should become available in an estimated 90 minutes’ time.”

“Thank you, Holly,” Dr. Raz replied, nodding. “Now then, with the exam out of the way, I think now is the time to ask you two some questions about yourselves.” She motioned the Tokarus to join her at a round table in the center of the lab, and they all got seated. She then motioned Bits to grab a chair and sit at the table as well.

Heather looked a bit confused. “Does Bits have to sit in on this too?”

Dr. Raz cleared her throat. “I suppose I should explain. Like you two, Bits is a Creation, a being artificially made through magic and alchemy. But it seems there’s a lot about him that I can’t manage to figure out, and unfortunately he’s no help on that front either. His memory seems…scrambled. No recollection of his past before meeting me, and it seems even his short-term memory isn’t reliable. It’s hard to tell what he actually can remember, at this point. So as much of a long shot as it is, I’m hoping something we discuss might spark a memory in him.”

Heather scratched her head. “If you think so, doctor.”

“So I suppose we can start from the Creation angle then.” Dr. Raz pulled her notepad out of her coat pocket and flipped to a particular page. “Do you know the purpose of your creation?”

Sketch and Heather looked at each other. “We weren't given a purpose.”

Dr. Raz made a funny look. “Pardon? From my understanding, a creator typically makes their Creation with a clear purpose in mind.”

“I suppose that’s usually true,” Sketch replied. “but there’s two problems in our case.”

“First of all,” Heather continued, “we weren’t straight-up created. We were technically birthed by our parents.”

Dr. Raz’s eyes widened. “Wait, Creations can give birth?”

Sketch nodded. “If the creator makes it possible. The way it works with us…it’s not quite like natural childbirth.”

“It’s a little weird to describe,” Heather added. “But when we were born…well…it pulled a general aether from our respective parents’ beings, and from their foreheads that aether was formed into us as babies.”

As Dr. Raz made notes of this, Bits looked at Sketch and Heather in shock. “Babies come from your foreheads?!” he yelled.

Sketch shrugged. “Yeah, in terms of our lineage…and not meaning to be a joke, it’s a real headache for the parents. But yeah, the way things go for us: the men give birth to boys and the women give birth to girls.”

Bits thought about this. “I always thought the whole baby thing needed two people–”

“L-let’s step away from that topic for now,” Dr. Raz interjected, quickly covering Bits’s mouth. “So you two have a Creation lineage?”

Sketch nodded. “It goes back as far as our grandparents.”

Heather nodded as well. “His granddad and my grandma were the ones originally created.”

“By the same creator?” asked the doctor, jotting down more notes.

“So we’re told.”

“...Hmm.” Dr. Raz had to stop and think about this. “If they have the same creator, wouldn't that make them siblings?”

Sketch and Heather looked at each other; they weren’t quite sure how to process this at first. Then Sketch shook his head. “I'm not sure Creations really follow bloodlines like that.”

Dr. Raz shrugged. “I suppose not. It just seems strange when compared to most others… Anyways, if it started with your respective grandparents, do you know if they were given a purpose?”

“That’s the other problem,” Sketch replied. “According to what we've heard, the Creation process of our grandfolks never really finished, so the purpose was never officially given.”

Dr. Raz was a little confused, tapping her nose with her pencil eraser while thinking about this. “I wouldn't have thought a Creation could function without getting set up first.”

Heather looked displeased. “We're not computers, doctor.”

Dr. Raz looked to Heather and paused. “Hmm, maybe the Creation process is different in your universe. In any case, you’re saying you and your family have been living without a designated purpose.”

“I want to think that’s how most people go through life,” Sketch replied.

Dr. Raz sighed. “I suppose you’re not wrong, Mr. Tucker. “

Heather leaned forward. “But Sketch and I eventually chose our purpose – protecting our world from the threat of Dark Energy.”

Bits looked curious. “Dark Energy?”

“A weird hazy entity,” she replied, “almost like a ghost.”

Bits leaned towards Heather after that reply. “Does it possess people like ghosts?”

“It does, and it causes those people to do terrible things. In our world it caused quite a lot of death and destruction, and for a good while we thought it couldn’t really be stopped.”

“Luckily,” Sketch added, “we found its weakness: Pure Energy. As soon as we learned how to summon it ourselves, we made sure never to forget, so that we could step in and fight it back.”

Bits looked amazed. “You guys almost sound like superheroes!”

Sketch casually shrugged. “I mean…I feel like it isn’t too different from what the Legends in our world typically do. It’s just that we were doing something that would be considered even more dangerous, which involved traveling to other universes just to hunt the last traces of Dark Energy down.”

“It was during that whole procedure that Sketch and I stumbled into this universe,” said Heather.

“Legends?” Bits asked.

“Powerful beings dedicated to protecting the regular Utopians from danger.”

Bits looked at the Tokarus excitedly. “So does that mean you guys are Legends too?”

Sketch and Heather looked to each other with uncertainty.

“…It’s complicated,” Sketch replied.

Dr. Raz raised her pencil. “Let me ask another question… As Creations, what are your capabilities?”

“They seem to be based around mind power,” said Sketch. “We channel energy through it and it formulates a type of energy that we can manipulate in different ways.”

Bits leaned forward in his chair even more. “You guys can summon energy through your minds?!”

Dr. Raz looked to Bits for a moment, then turned her attention back to Sketch and Heather. “I’ve honestly wondered if that’s how Bits manages to summon his own power. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you more about yours …”

. . . . .

After having fumbled with the controls and figured out the rules during their first round, Copper and Broom began a new match, now more prepared for a proper competition. As they played, Broom looked over to Copper, who seemed focused on the action. But when Copper looked over to Broom, he quickly turned his focus back to the game. This happened two more times, and Copper began to grow concerned. The next time Broom looked over to Copper, he was already looking back. Copper paused the game.

“…What?” he asked in confusion.

Broom was a bit startled. “Oh! Er, nothing… Still not sure I got the whole “possession of the ball” thing down yet.”

“You have to swat the ball after two kips,” Copper replied. “If you don’t, it’s a foul.”

Broom nodded. “Gotcha.”

They resumed their match, and their performance was dead even. But it didn't take long before Broom resumed darting his eyes towards Copper again, and looking away when it was noticed. Copper began to grow frustrated. When he sensed Broom’s gaze again, he suddenly paused the game and looked back at Broom with a peeved expression. Broom was caught off-guard by this.

“…Is something wrong?” Broom asked sheepishly.

“You keep looking over to me like something’s about to happen,” Copper said in a slightly aggravated tone. “What’s going on? Is there something I don’t know about?”

Broom struggled to come up with an answer at first. But eventually he just sighed and put down his controller. “…Alright,” he finally said, now with a somber expression. “The real reason I’m here is…I wanted to make sure you were okay. After Stern made himself known you seemed particularly down. I know what he said must’ve hurt quite a bit and…well…I was afraid you were gonna hurt yourself…or worse. I don’t want to see that happen to you.”

Copper’s frustrated look suddenly changed to one of concern. He hesitated to reply at first. “Why are you so worried about me?” he asked defensively. “Is it because of the stuff you saw when you performed Clarity on me?”

Broom looked down at the controller. “That’s only part of it.”

“What do you mean?”

Broom closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “Well…I’d have to tell you about some folks I remembered seeing when I was younger, back on Keshly’m…two Syr’l by the names of Rag and Mop.”

Copper looked at Broom in suspicion. “You’re making this up.”

Broom shook his head. “I’m not kidding, those were their names. Anyway, these two I always saw with each other. They were very close friends, with very different personalities. Rag…she was the peppy and outgoing type, and Mop was the quiet and reclusive type. I didn't know them well enough to know how they even met, let alone become friends…but they usually looked happy in each other's company.”

“Kinda sounds more like they were a romantic couple,” Copper replied.

Broom stopped to think about this. “Hm, maybe…” He then shook his head. “A-anyway, one day when I passed them by, things seemed off. Mop was sitting at a picnic table, looking kinda tired and sad. Rag was next to him, trying to get him to tag along with her other friends to go somewhere. But he just wasn’t interested…he didn’t seem to be in the mood. Pretty soon she started getting frustrated with him, and began saying a lot of mean stuff…even calling him names. But Mop said nothing in response…he just kinda turned away, looking sadder than before. And the next thing I knew Rag kinda brushed him off in a huff and left with her friends, just leaving him behind.” Broom looked down at his controller again. “He…wasn’t looking so good after that.”

Copper put down his controller as he thought about this scenario.

“The next day I spotted Rag sitting at that picnic table, sobbing. She was surrounded by all her friends, who were trying to make her feel better…well, all her friends except Mop. I built enough nerve to ask someone nearby what had happened.” Broom turned to Copper with a sad look on his face. “Turned out…Mop died the night before.”

Copper raises his eyebrows as he heard this. He paused a moment to figure out the situation... 

“…Suicide?”

Broom rubbed his forehead. “That was the rumor, anyway. I mean, I knew he was in a bad state the previous day but it was still surprising to hear he died so suddenly.” He looked to the floor. “I…didn't stick around for very long after that, but…I definitely still recall Rag saying, over and over again, ‘Why did I do it?...’

Copper wasn’t sure how to react. “What happened to Rag after that?”

“In honesty, I don’t think I ever saw her after that either… I didn’t hear rumors about her, though.”

“Hmm…” Copper closed his hands together as he thought about this memory.

“Now, at the time I didn’t really have any close friends,” Broom said. “Just a few acquaintances…so I couldn’t really relate to what had happened. But the situation kinda stuck in the back of my mind for a while.”

“It sounds like the type that would,” Copper replied.

Broom nodded. “And…as the years went on, I did find some other Syr’l that I could actually make friends with thanks to some shared interests.” He looked directly at Copper. “And then I met you…when we were abducted. After you saved me and Husker I thought you were pretty cool, even though you didn’t really say much. And when we performed Clarity back then, I got to understand some of what you’ve been through, and I wanted to be supportive. I still do, of course. “

Copper just nodded.

“I know you usually prefer to keep to yourself, and I usually try not to be too much of a bother to you. But I guess…the more I think about you, the more I recall Rag and Mop. And I’ve started to realize…” Broom began to tremble a little. “...there could be a day when something like that could happen with you. Remembering how Rag acted when Mop was gone, it looked like it really hurt her. And, well…I’m scared to experience that kind of pain myself.”

Copper started to notice Broom’s emotional change. He was struggling to think of something to say. All he managed was:

“…I see.”

“I know you’re probably gonna say something like, ‘We have other friends here, you’ll be fine.’” Broom said this with his hands making dismissive gestures. “But I mean…Rag had other friends too, and nothing they were doing really helped her feel any better. And I mean, out of everyone here…you’re the one I seem to connect with the most.”

His voice started to shake. 

“W-we both come from the same universe, and…we’ve had some shared experiences. And I’m able to do stuff with you that I don’t think the others here could…or at least…it wouldn’t feel the same. They don’t share the same kinds of interests that we do, and…I feel like I wouldn’t be able to interact with them as well as I do with you. You’re the only one I feel like I can talk to…”

Broom had tears in his eyes. He struggled to speak…

“I don't want you to die, Copper…”

Copper was speechless. He struggled to think of something to say or do as Broom began to wipe his tears. But he couldn’t…the words failed him. He felt terrible, and it caused Copper to tear up as well. They were both quiet for a full minute.

“I-I’m sorry,” Broom finally said, taking a deep breath. “I…kinda lost myself for a moment…”

Copper was afraid to speak for a moment, before he noticed Broom’s expression. The same one he felt himself…one of presumed worthlessness. 

“It’s…it's fine,” he replied, waving his hand gently. “I’m sorry I’ve made this difficult for you.”

Broom grabbed Copper’s hand. “No, don’t…don’t blame yourself for this. Please.” 

Copper sighed. “If it makes you feel better…I don't really plan to die anytime soon. I'm trying to keep myself going…one way or another.”

Broom looked to Copper and lightly nodded, smiling a little. “That's good…Don't be afraid to ask for help. There are a lot of nice folks here.”

Copper nodded. “I know…”

The two then looked at their paused game for a minute. They were about to reach for their controllers, but they stopped short. They stared at the game, then the controllers, then each other.

“…I…I don’t think I can keep playing,” Broom finally said.

Copper nodded. “Maybe…maybe we’ll be up for it next time. Maybe we can just watch something on the TV.”

Broom nodded. Copper turned off the console and changed the channel. What they saw next left them stunned for a moment.

“Huh…” Copper said in disbelief. “...Swatcha.”

Broom laughed a little. “It’s an actual game. I’m surprised this is being televised…I thought Kheji didn’t have TV yet.”

Copper scratched his head a bit. “I’m guessing this is either from a different time or a different Kheji. Maybe both.”

“Well…” Broom leaned back on the couch to get comfortable. “...maybe this’ll be the way I learn this sport. Definitely looks interesting when it’s with real Teijru, at least. Still can’t read the text on-screen…”

Copper looked to Broom with a slight smile. “I’ll help.”

. . . . .

Dr. Raz looked back at her notes. “…So let me see. There’s the ‘Buster,’ ‘Beam,’ ‘Saber,’ ‘Striker,’ ‘Kinesis,’ and ‘Bond.’” She looked to Sketch and Heather. “Is that all of them?”

“All the basic ones so far, anyway,” replied Sketch.

The doctor raised an eyebrow. “Do you really have to say ‘Tokaru’ before you do any of these?”

“Well, technically we don’t have to say anything to perform the moves. But something about doing it kinda helps pump ourselves up, and it puts more energy into the move as a result.”

Dr. Raz thought about this and nodded. “That’s an acceptable explanation, I suppose.”

Bits got up onto the table and approached the Tokarus in excited desperation. Stars were in his eyes. “Can’t you at least show us one of those moves? Pleeeaase?”

Dr. Raz sighed. “Bits, I already told you this isn’t a good place to do that. They showed their ‘Third Eyes’ and summoned some of that so-called mind power, and that will have to be enough for now.”

Bits turned to her with a sad look on his face. “But Razzyyyyy….!”

“No, Bits!” she said with extra force. “I’m not gonna risk this lab getting blown up so soon after getting it back. I can deduce how the moves work based on their explanations for now. If I want to see them in use, we’d have to go outside. But today’s not the day.”

“Awww….” Looking defeated, Bits got off the table and slowly walked back to his chair.

“To be frank, Mr. Tucker,” Dr. Raz then said, “I was expecting more abilities in line with extrasensory perception when you mentioned ‘mind power.’”

Sketch shrugged. “Well, we do have a little bit of that. We can pick up vibes from folks that tell us their overall moods, I think I already mentioned earlier we could use telepathy on each other…and I myself seem to have a mild sense of foresight when I focus hard enough.”

“In fairness, we’re still learning stuff about ourselves,” added Heather. “I don’t think we’ve realized everything we can do.”

“I suppose that’s another connection you have with Bits,” the doctor said. “But at least you seem to be able to retain the knowledge of these skills you’re learning.”

“Considering what we’ve had to do up until now, we kinda need to,” said Sketch. “So…what else do you need to know?”

“Hmm…” Dr. Raz looked at her notepad for a moment. Then she put it in her pocket. “I suppose that’s everything, at least for now. I deeply thank both of you for helping with this.”

“It’s no problem,” Sketch said with a smile.

“Since that’s done,” Heather said, “we were hoping to ask you some questions of our own.”

Dr. Raz’s ears perked up. “Yes, well… I’m afraid there’s no time for that now.”

Heather was stunned. “W-what? But you said you’d–”

“I said we’ll see what happens,” the doctor interrupted. “The exams have finished processing, and between those and our discussions I have a lot to sort through. It’s going to take most of the rest of the day to get it logged and I need to be able to focus. Holly, if you could escort them to the exit, please?”

Heather scrambled to get a word in. “B-but–”

Holly approached her and Sketch. “I’m afraid it’s time for you two to go for now.”

Sketch sighed in disappointment. “C’mon, Heather, let’s just go.”

With that, they all took the elevator back to the house floor and left through the front entrance.

“Thank you for your time, Sketch and Heather,” said Holly. “Hopefully we can count on your cooperation in the future.”

“After how she brushed us off after her interrogation?!” Heather was mad. “We literally exposed everything about ourselves, and yet she can’t seem to find the time to tell us a little bit about herself!”

Holly nodded in understanding. “I’m sorry, Heather. I’ll admit that Dr. Raz is not a very sociable individual, but please don’t hold it against her. She’s had some rough experiences in her past.”

Sketch raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

“Well, she’s–” 

But Holly was abruptly halted as her eyes flashed and a chime sounded. She recognized this as a request for assistance by Dr. Raz.

“Oh…It appears I’m needed. Apologies, but I must go for now. Take care of yourselves.”  With that, Holly went back into the house, leaving the two Tokaru outside.

Sketch crossed his arms. “Hmm, how conveniently timed, too.”

Heather clenched her fists. “This isn’t fair, Sketch! Why weren’t we allowed to ask anything?”

“Seems she really doesn’t like talking about herself,” he said casually.

Heather threw her arms up in disbelief. “It’s not like we’re planning to use the answers against her or something! Is she seriously that paranoid?! 

“Certainly looks that way. But hey, don’t lose your cool, Heather…” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get another chance to talk to her soon.”

Heather raised an eyebrow. “And what makes you so sure?”

Sketch made a confident grin.

“Foresight.”

#malamite #the blocks #sketch tucker #heather britannia #copper #broom #dr. raz #bits #holly #tokaru #teijru #syr'l #you're asking for it doctor #don't cry broom

[supertrainstationh]

Here it is!

The VOD of my “Super Mario Land” vs “Sonic the Hedgehog” (Game Gear) face off!

This was a stream I was waiting to put on for years, now easily possible in real time with original cartridges thanks to the Analogue Pocket system.

I compared not only the games themselves, but examined print and television advertisement, and magazine coverage for both titles.

Both games have a special place in my gaming history, but which one came out on top in my evaluation?

Check out the VOD to find out!

The only spoiler I’ll give is that the stream went fantastic and I’m glad I waited till I had the right equipment and resources to attempt it.

Also, shoutouts to @acceptable-glitch who was waiting on me to finally post this!

Thanks for all of your support and encouragement, whether you were there live, or waited on the VOD!

[My Twitch] [My VOD Channel] [My FA] [My Ko-fi]

#stsh streams #twitch #vintage gaming #sonic #mario #game box #nintendo

[djburntheoil]

Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who was held for months in Russian prisons on drug charges, was released Thursday in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout, CBS News learned early Thursday from a U.S. official.

Five former U.S. officials told CBS News the agreement had been reached as of last Thursday.

A White House official said the president spoke to Brittney Griner by phone.

The call happened in the Oval Office, where the president was joined by Cherelle Griner, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Per standard procedure for freed U.S. prisoners, Griner was expected to quickly undergo a medical evaluation.

#brittney #russia #wnba #prisoner swap #release #freed #brittney griner #b griner

[dailyretrogames]

Hellraiser is a cancelled 1990 NES video game based on the 1987 film of the same name. The game was developed by Color Dreams, who are infamously known for creating unlicensed video games of poor quality. Nintendo required that all game companies that wanted to release a game on the Nintendo Entertainment System had to pay for the game to be evaluated by Nintendo and given an official license to release a game on their system. Due to either not wanting to pay the fee or to avoid rejection by Nintendo, Color Dreams went around this by bypassing the 10NES lockout chip and released games without a license on the NES, typically in unique baby blue or black cartridges.

One ambitious game being developed by the company was Hellraiser. Dan Lawton, one of the founders of Color Dreams had seen the film and liked it. Convincing his partners and the movie studio, he had acquired the rights to create a video game based on the film, spending around $35,000 to $50,000. The game was developed using an improved version of the Wolfenstein 3D engine. Lawton was aware that the NES couldn’t handle the engine needed to create the game, so he hired an engineer named Ron Risley to create a new type of cartridge.

Special Cartridge 

This cartridge came to be known as the "Super Cartridge". This special cartridge contained a Z80 processor, programmable array logic chips, and an additional four megabytes of RAM. It was also capable of intercepting the NES processor's ROM and RAM accesses so it could manipulate video in real time, as well as allowing pixel-by-pixel manipulation of the screen, some sprite manipulation, and also supported panning and zooming in on hardware such as fully animated backgrounds. Essentially, this meant that the game could switch colors between scans of the TV in real time and increase the effective number of colors on the screen. While the cartridge itself worked fine, the palette switching effect wasn’t working as intended as it didn’t switch between colors fast enough.

Another method to create the game was in the way of an add-on device (sold separately) that would plugged into the expansion port on the bottom of an NES system. The combined cost of the add-on expansion and the Hellraiser cart would have been more expensive than the Super Cartridge itself.

Gameplay 

Gameplay focused around a character that was trapped in the Lemarchand's puzzle box from the film. The player could find ways in the game to manipulate the outside of the puzzle box and solve it to escape.  The Cenobites would interfere in the player’s plans to escape. Changing the configuration of the cube on the outside would have affected level layout on the inside. Once the puzzle was solved, the player and the demons would be free and it was up to the player to solve the puzzle in reverse order to defeat the escaped enemies.

Cancellation 

Due to the high production costs of creating the Super Cartridge, it would have also sold at a high price. Because of the game’s unlicensed nature, another major issue arose when many retailers stopped selling games not licensed by Nintendo. Allegedly, store owners feared that if Nintendo found out that they were selling unlicensed video games on their console, Nintendo would cease doing business with them. Combined with the high cost of the cartridge (supposedly the game cost $2 million to create), and the lack of retailer support, the game would have sold poorly and may have ran Color Dreams out of business.

Hellraiser was worked on for a couple more months before it was quietly cancelled. Advertisements had been printed and featured on magazines such as Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, and Nintendo Power; some of which also refer to Sega Genesis and Atari Lynx versions never mentioned elsewhere. Color Dreams later formed a new label named "Bunch Games" around the same year until finally forming "Wisdom Tree" in 1991; a label focused on creating unlicensed Christian-themed video games. It's said by a former developer that Color Dreams still had the license to use the Wolfenstein 3D engine that was meant to be used with Hellraiser, so they carried the license over to Wisdom Tree, most likely in order to create Super Noah's Ark 3D for the Super Nintendo in 1994. When asked of the possibility of a prototype or the game files, Dan Lawton responded by saying, "The hardware was done, and the artwork was 20% done, there was no programming. It was a 45 degree down angle view, with a maze of stone and walls and pits".

#hellraiser #nes #color dreams #Special Cartridge

[usafphantom2]

Tests show that tanks with explosive reactive shielding are no match for the A-10

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 05/06/22 - 8:38 PM in Military

The A-10C Thunderbolt II of the 422nd and 59th U.S. Air Force Test and Evaluation Squadrons recently proved that modern armored vehicles equipped with explosive reactive armor (ERA) are still vulnerable ?? to the powerful GAU-8 Avenger cannon of the A-10C Thunderbolt.

This first test was carried out at the Nevada Test and Training Range in February this year, the U.S. Air Force said.

Each test mission included two A-10C aircraft using armored piercing incendiary ammunition against two battle tanks equipped with ERA. The pilots varied the attack parameters and direction to evaluate the effects of weapons against armored targets.

Through post-photography analysis of the video, photographic images and visual inspection of the targets, analysts were able to verify the battle damage inflicted on the tanks and determine that the tanks were inoperative.

"A typical A-10 weapon use uses 120 cartridges, which means that an A-10 is able to employ its nine to ten target weapon before depleting its ammunition," said Major Kyle Adkison, commander of division A-10C in the 422nd TES. “Against large forces on the field, the A-10 formations are capable of engaging about 40 armored vehicles with 30 millimeter ammunition. That's a significant amount of firepower."

In addition to the 30 mm gun rounds, the test also collected data on the effectiveness of the AGM-65L Maverick and AGR-20E advanced precision weapons system against armored vehicles.

"This has been a continuous testing effort since the idea originated in 2020," said 1st Lieutenant Christopher Earle, A-10C operations testing analyst at the 59th TES. “Now that it has materialized and proven to be successful, we will work to test other types of anti-armor ammunition in the air force inventory against ERA and collect more data.”

The A-10 is suitable for agile combat employment functions, and this test proves that the A-10 can continue to provide massive rapid firepower with devastating effects on enemy vehicles in a contested environment, the U.S. Air Force said.

Editor's Note: Explosive reactive armor is a type of shield reagent used in armored vehicles that, by means of an explosive, reacts to the impact of a projectile to reduce or stop drilling.

Tags: A-10 Thunderbolt IIMilitary AviationUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air Force

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in a specialized aviation magazine in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation

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[malevolentbooks]

23: Pitch

"Okay, so you know this game that's out there, it's called Final Fantastic Fourteen or something?"

"Fourteen? It has that many sequels and this is the first time you've told me about it?"

"They're not sequels. It's not a movie or book, it's a video game."

"Video game? Aren't they they competition?"

"Yes, but I think this one can be condensed into a movie that will win all those kids over."

"You do? Your pitch is that there is a video game that we can adapt into a movie? Do you even have a script? Do you remember how well the Thumb Reader franchise took off, even with a model playing Luna Crowfeet? It was a disaster!"

"I know, but this one is different. I found a prospect written by one of the kids that plays the game. They call it 'Fanfic' or some such thing, but it has everything that we want these days."

"And it will get their butts into seats in a theatre?"

"Absolutely! It's even off the older material, so everybody will be able to follow it!"

"Okay, show me what you've got. If I like it, it's your baby. If I don't, you'll never work again in this town!"

***

Working Title: The Many Loves of Tataru Taru

Scene: A generic dusty street with fantasy/sci-fi looking buildings.

Script follows:

***

Yda had been absolutely brutal in her evaluation of Papalymo’s lack of courage.  More importantly, she had been correct.  The last galled him more than the first.

Driven as much by shame as anger, he now stood at the door to the Waking Sands. He held a bouquet of expensive flowers as large as he was in one hand, and a box of chocolates in the other.  He was ready, finally ready, to reveal his love for dear Tataru.  

“Nothing can stand in my way this time!” He thought as he felt the blood rush to his…uh…head…and he contemplated the adoring look that would fill her eyes when they were finally able to acknowledge the simmering love the two of them had long held for each other despite her clever attempts to conceal her great ardor by barely addressing him by name and moreover refusing to approve much of his expense paperwork no matter how many copies he sent.

Papalymo noticed that his flowers had begun to sag a bit as his fist tightened and crushed the base of the stems.  He took a deep breath to relax and moved his grip slightly up the bundle, relieved that he had gone with the long-stemmed versions despite them being significantly more expensive.  With no additional flowers these must be protected, though in the event that the chocolates were not acceptable he did have an array of fruits and baked goods outside.

As he reached for the door handle his concentration was suddenly thrown off by the impact of a bullet hitting it.  

The door, not his hand.  

He spun quickly, unable to gesture in any meaningful magical way without dropping the flowers or chocolates, so instead he glared menacingly in the rough direction that he suspected the bullet may have come from.

“Going somewhere?” Wedge growled, as he raised his smoking pistol to point upwards, slowly lowering it onto his shoulder in a move that despite showing every sign of being just custom emote was still pretty cool.

Papalymo narrowed his eyes in a way that clearly communicated threat even to those who are not used to being threatened.  “It is none of your business where I am going, Blimp-boy.” He snarled, reaching for an insult where he had prepared nothing because…Wedge?  Really?

Wedge smiled a relaxed but still somehow forced smile as he realized that his pistol was currently unloaded and tried to wonder if he could get another cartridge into it before Papalymo was able to drop his flowers and chocolate and cast a spell while he at the same time tried not to let this wonder get in the way of making his conversation seem calm and relaxed.

“If it involves the lady Tataru then it is very much my business.” He growled between clenched teeth, doing his best to still make his enunciation clear since they’d both likely been deafened by the recent gunshot.  “Also” he said, unclenching his teeth to give the proper depth of explanation required, “Both the Tiny Bronco and the Enterprise are more semi-rigid airships rather than blimps, so the taxonomy of your insult is largely incorrect.”

Angry yet unwilling to casually dispose of his two courting burdens, Papalymo could only glare at his opponent as he inwardly stewed about having been shown wrong not just to his comedy-relief melee-centric partner, but to a minor character present only for highly expressive emote reactions and as fan service to an entirely different fandom about which he could have no inward understanding despite their huge overlap on the level of societal pursuers.

Wedge, understanding on some level that his status as a minor character put him at some disadvantage began to become gravely concerned that he was about to start a cut scene that would later be featured on the “Tragic Gaming NPC Deaths” YouTube channel felt the need to offer an initial compromise.  “Are…those the long-stemmed irises?” he stammered.

“Yesssss.” Papalymo responded sibilantly, appreciating that somebody had noticed but not quite sure where this particular conversational element had come from and wondering if this part of the conversation was just a side-effect of a hasty and uncorrected translation from the original Japanese-language script.  “I’d better not be in a cutscene.” He muttered to himself.

“Those must have been expensive.” Wedge considered out loud, noting his own lack of gifts of any sort.  “Who can afford long-stemmed irises on a minor NPC’s salary?” He mused inwardly.

“I know, right?” Papalymo answered in an uncharacteristic but expected and accepted fanfic response that would not be further referenced.  He did not address the comment stated inwardly since he did not see it and prided himself on not metagaming.

“I’ll tell you what.”  Wedge stated in a telling way.  “Why don’t you put the flowers and chocolate down on that big pile of fruit and baked goods beside you, and while you’re doing that I’ll reload so we can start even?”

Cognizant of what he had done to the flower stems earlier, and both heartened by and slightly miffed at the mention of his gift-giving excess, Papalymo nodded and the two of them frantically went about their separate activities.  He finished and summoned the elemental forces just as he noted Wedge levelling his now reloaded pistol his direction.

Before either of them could loose the destruction reined in by their fingertips another voice rose over the tense scene.

“Hold thy aim and suspend such puissant tumult as you both endeavor to inflict on one another.  Your duality is not the lone pursuant to the affections of the diminutive ingenue Lady Tataru!” a voice called out in diction as confusing as it was archaic.

Papalymo and Wedge both turned in in bafflement as Urianger stepped around a corner.  He started lowering his hood to aid the shock of recognition before realizing that he never did that as his speech patterns were unmistakable enough and instead fiddled with his ears in a casual way hoping that observers would simply see it as a graphical artifact of a modified emote or clipping error.    “T’were t’wixt between the t’wo of t’you” Urianger started before pausing to get his apostrophes under control, “ere would naught be ascertained less true ruination would be templatively transfixed upon your binary persons.”

Wedge and Papalymo shot each other a confused glance, both pulling out a dictionary to look up several of Urianger’s words.  The action paused briefly as Wedge walked over to show Papalymo one definition that still confounded him and appeared only in Wedge’s dictionary since as a minor NPC he was only able to afford a older, cheaper volume that treated archaic phrasing as if it were still current.  They resumed their adversarial stance after this consultation.

Their momentary truce over, Wedge and Papalymo both looked over to Urianger realizing they had no idea how threatened they should feel since at this point nobody knew what his class or job might be aside from “obscure”.  Their rumination was interrupted by the sudden arrival of a cooling breeze and the slow, echoing steps of yet another suitor’s arrival.

Thancred walked up the sidewalk with a cool Fonzarellian demeanor, pausing to pose in a way that set the other three already present aback.  “She’s mine, man.” he said, addressing the first person singular at nobody in particular, a grammatical variation that would have been concerning in any conversation that did not already involve Urianger.

A brief standoff ensued as all considered their next moves, then a storm of actions all at once.

A vast ball of fire erupted from Papalymo.  Wedge fired his pistol as fast as he could reload, and Thancred hurled an array of cutlery matched only in variety by its volume.  Urianger did…whatever it was he did when not committing heinous acts of language. 

The battle was interrupted by a female voice that cut through the ever-growing sea of testosterone.  “Don’t be so quick to claim her, boys!” Moenbryda cried as she charged around the corner.  “Her gender relationship options are still open at this point!”

“You’re not even in the story yet!” Thancred yelled at her, tossing yet more cutlery her way.

“Maybe not”, she countered laughing, her delightfully asymmetric hair being gently blown by Thancred’s cool breeze.  “But the fans love me and so will she!”  This brought a growl from Thancred who did not at all like anybody else getting milage off of his cool, never mind using it to court a girl he was after.  He responded with the usual rain of cutlery because…yeah…

Suddenly from nearby Lord Commander Amyeric’s voice could be heard laying claim to Tataru’s affections as he and a half-dozen other assorted and unrelated NPCs rounded the corner and joined the fight.  Magic and weapons flew all around.

Meanwhile, inside the Waking Sands, Minfilia dropped a dozen reams of papers on Tataru’s desk, smiling as she butt-wigglingly walked away to wherever she went when not in her office.  Tataru just sighed and watched her go, small emotive hearts circling her head, as she started on the latest set of paperwork that would keep her up for the third consecutive night.

***

"By all that's holy, I don't even know what most of this means! Who are all these people? What is going on?"

"See, that's the beauty of it, sir. We can pay the writer a pittance because she's already completed the work, and all these people will already know the characters, so we don't need to spend any time defining them. We just need to worry about what overpaid actor to hire for each role, and what the final poster looks like."

"Yeah? Great, I'm smelling money already. What do you think of Scarlet Johansson as that one girl's role?"

"Which girl's role, sir?"

"I don't care, pick one!"

"She's perfect for it! Brilliant casting!"

"Good, here's thirty million dollars! Get things moving. I'm seeing golden statues with this one!"

"I'm right with you sir. Just in time for summer blockbuster season, I'm sure!"

#FFxivWrite2022 #FFxivWrite #FFxiv

[vivid-water-supply]

Decoding Water Purification: 5 Key Features to Consider When Choosing an Alkaline Reverse Osmosis System

In pursuing optimal health and well-being, the importance of clean, purified water cannot be overstated. With rising concerns about water quality, many health-conscious individuals are turning to alkaline reverse osmosis (RO) systems as a reliable solution. These systems purify water and enhance its alkalinity, providing many health benefits. However, with many available options, choosing the right alkaline reverse osmosis system can take time and effort. To help navigate this decision, let's explore five essential features to consider when selecting the perfect system for your needs:

Filtration Efficiency

At the core of any reverse osmosis system lies its filtration mechanism, which determines its ability to remove contaminants and impurities from water. When evaluating an alkaline reverse osmosis system, please pay close attention to its filtration efficiency. Look for systems equipped with multiple stages of filtration, including sediment filters, carbon filters, and a high-quality RO membrane. These stages work synergistically to eliminate many contaminants, including chlorine, heavy metals, pesticides, and bacteria, ensuring your water is clean and safe.

Alkaline Enhancement Capability

One of the distinguishing features of alkaline reverse osmosis systems is their ability to raise the pH level of water, making it more alkaline. Alkaline water is believed to offer various health benefits, including improved hydration, better detoxification, and enhanced pH balance in the body. When choosing a system, choose one that offers effective alkaline enhancement capabilities. Look for features such as alkaline remineralization filters or alkaline cartridges that can raise the pH level of the purified water to a desirable range (typically between 8 and 9). Additionally, consider systems that allow for adjustable alkalinity levels, giving you greater control over the final pH of your drinking water.

Water Waste Ratio

While reverse osmosis is highly effective at purifying water, it is also known for its relatively high water-waste ratio. During filtration, a significant amount of water is typically discarded as wastewater, which can be wasteful and environmentally unsustainable. When selecting an alkaline reverse osmosis system, consider the system's water waste ratio and look for options prioritizing water efficiency. Choose systems with advanced technologies such as permeate pumps or water-saving features that minimize wastewater production while maximizing pure water recovery. By opting for a system with a lower water-waste ratio, you can conserve water resources without compromising water quality.

Ease of Installation and Maintenance

Another crucial factor to consider when choosing an alkaline reverse osmosis system is its ease of installation and maintenance. Ideally, you'll want a simple installation system without extensive plumbing or professional assistance. Look for systems with clear installation instructions and user-friendly components, allowing you to set up the system quickly and easily. Additionally, consider the system's maintenance requirements, including filter replacement schedules and cleaning procedures. Opt for systems with quickly replaceable filters and intuitive maintenance processes to ensure hassle-free operation over time. Choosing a system that is easy to install and maintain lets you enjoy clean, alkaline water without the hassle of complicated upkeep.

Additional Features and Customization Options

Beyond the essential features mentioned above, consider any additional features or customization options that may enhance your overall water purification experience. Some alkaline reverse osmosis systems have built-in features such as UV sterilization or remineralization stages, further improving water quality and taste. Others offer customization options such as adjustable water flow rates or built-in remineralization cartridges, allowing you to tailor the system to your preferences. Evaluate these additional features and customization options based on your needs and priorities, ensuring that the chosen system aligns with your lifestyle and water consumption habits.

Choosing the right alkaline reverse osmosis system requires careful consideration of several key features. From filtration efficiency and alkaline enhancement capabilities to water waste ratio, ease of installation, and additional features, each factor determines the system's effectiveness and suitability for your needs. By thoroughly evaluating these features and selecting a system that aligns with your priorities, you can enjoy clean, purified, and alkaline-enhanced water, supporting your health and well-being for years.

[dariusgcastro01]

Explore the unparalleled guide to discovering the perfect pool filter for a sparkling, contaminant-free pool. Dive into details, evaluate options, and make an informed choice. Enjoy pure waters today.  Step into pure bliss of crystal-clear waters, now. Read now to know more.

#pool maintenance