Chinese restaurants in madison heights mi

Fast food news, reviews, and discussion

2008.06.15 19:41 Fast food news, reviews, and discussion

The /FastFood subreddit is for news, reviews, and discussions of fast food (aka quick-service), fast casual, and casual restaurants -- covering everything fast food from multinational chains, regional and local chains, independent and chain cafeterias and all-you-can-eat restaurants, independent and chain diners, independent hole-in-the-wall restaurants, convenience store and gas station prepared food, food trucks and food carts, the neighborhood taqueria, street vendors, etc.
[link]


2023.06.07 00:17 Eantropix Troubles pairing China-bought Mi Watch to non-Chinese phone

Hi everyone,
I'm having trouble setting up a Mi Watch Color Sport bought in China to my Android phone. I downloaded the Mi Fitness app through Play Store and can't for the life of me figure out how to pair the two. I've tried:
  1. Resetting and rebooting the watch
  2. Restarting and reinstalling the phone/app
  3. Changed region in the app to a different country
Has anyone had any issues with this process? Could it be some shenanigans due to the product not being a "global" one, and designed for the Chinese market?
submitted by Eantropix to Xiaomi [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 23:49 PM_ME_YOUR_ROBOTGIRL Character Database: The Aeons, Part 1 (VERY LONG)

Character Database: The Aeons, Part 1 (VERY LONG)
Okay so basically I read everything, let's do this shit.

Notes Before We Start

The original intent behind this post was to serve as a database for every single major lore character in the game, starting with the Aeons. Unfortunately, though, I vastly underestimated its length when I started writing it, thinking I'd easily be able to do it all within one post. I was not!
Initially, I decided to just separate the post into two parts, the Aeons and the mortal characters. This didn't pan out, because the Aeon section also ended up being massive! So now I have to split it up into 3+ parts. The first two parts about the Aeons will go up soon since it's all already written, this part right now and the next part either tomorrow or possibly in a few days once everyone's less busy doing the update. The benefit is that this arrangement allows me to go into greater detail about each individual Aeon -- if I'm able (thank you Oroboros for being mentioned like twice in the whole game)
The third part which should hopefully be only one post and is about the mortal characters will almost certainly have to wait until I'm completely done with the update. The reason why this is so is because the update is guaranteed to introduce more lore about mortal characters, whereas I think the likelihood of it giving us more Aeon lore is comparatively lower (though it could still happen).
I also need a break. Just writing this post took me a week, let alone the time it took to read almost everything that's in the game - it's safe to say that I dedicated myself to this for the entire second half of 1.0. If I go all in and write everything at once, I'm gonna burn out for sure.

While corrections and additions are welcome, I just want everyone to remember that leaks are against the rules, so please make sure to have an official source on hand if you're going to tell me anything. I might not be able to edit this post once it goes up due to sheer length, but I'm sure people can just read the comments and get the info that way.

That being said, before we start properly, we'll have to take a little diversion.

The Structure of the Universe


I dreamed of a ray of light of a crystal chalice.
I despise reading about and explaining this because miHoYo went out of their way to make it the most confusing thing imaginable.
The in-game characters aren't even sure how their own universe works and miHoYo has provided little to no official unbiased explanations, so I'll just be borrowing Zandar "One" Kuwabara's theory here because HI3 more or less supports it and although alternate theories are mentioned in HSR, none have been explained yet.

Imaginary Tree

To understand the nature of the Aeons and of the other characters, you must first understand Reality, as the Aeons are inherently linked to it. Sit down, strap in. Maybe listen to some music.
Okay so think of the universe as being like a tree in a spatial and temporal sense. It's not literally that, but it works like that.
Space-time is defined by a collection of an unimaginably numerous amount of branches. Such branches define independent worlds and expand outwards, forming leaves that mark those worlds at different development stages in spacetime - thus each leaf is a world. These 'worlds' are defined as 'galaxies', a confusing term since it is also used to refer to the universe as a whole. What's important to note is that a "world" is often more than simply a single individual planet, and they may have different attributes (for example, the world Punklorde is entirely cybernetic)
The development of those branches occurs as they absorb imaginary energy from the vasculature provided by the trunk. The trunk's got some funny stuff going on with a sea of quanta or whatever but this is HI3 stuff that has not proven relevant to HSR specifically yet - the Sea of Quanta does exist here (obviously), as proven by the crafting material "Quantum Ripples". But getting into it would muddy the waters. Just know that when a world has run its course, it "falls" into the Sea of Quanta and is destroyed (from the perspective of the HSR mortals, it just 'disappears')
Imaginary energy constitutes a space which separates each branch and leaf and world from one another, making passage generally impossible unless one can manipulate imaginary energy. Because of this, for a very long time it was impossible for creatures to gain passage or even be able to observe other worlds (galaxies) until the Aeons appeared and granted them the ability to do so. More on this later. It's possible for a mortal being to enter Imaginary space through certain means but they'll quickly die without some form of protection or the ability to manipulate Imaginary energy.
Zandar's understanding is that imaginary energy was formed by the thoughts of intelligent beings, and the Aeon's ability to traverse imaginary space is what caused the worlds to be similar. Which is half true, but Elias Salas later proved that imaginary energy exists on its own and is entirely unique, which messes with the foundations of the theory. But it's our best bet.

Okay but who cares though

Why is this relevant? The worlds contained within the leaves of the tree may have different attributes but share certain similarities - most notably, the recurrence of certain individuals. Those individuals are separate from each other and have their own memories and life experiences, but have a certain likeliness that links them. And that is why there are many Bronyas. And many Wendy's, some even male. And many Kianas. And maybe even many Himekos as well. Notably, there is an in-universe theory named the "Parallel Imaging Theory", which may suggest people are aware of this phenomenon.
Because HSR's plotline and lore involves the traversal between multiple different worlds, it is possible for multiple versions (different individual) of the same character to appear within the game. So yeah.
The biggest misconception people have about HSR, and one that I myself held for some time until I started reading everything, is that they assume it's localized to one Leaf in the Imaginary Tree.
This is a misconception made possible, and more complicated, by several factors:
  • the fact that the Imaginary Tree is probably best explained as a contiguous multiverse, but miHoYo is extremely insistent on calling it just "the Honkai Universe", because they're eccentric I guess. It's just really Kinoko "HER NAME IS ALTRIA" Nasu-type stuff.
  • the fact that people tend to visualize the Imaginary Tree as being completely literal, and thus the branches are inherently apart from one another as they would on a tree. This is not helped by the fact that HI3 depicts the universe as a literal tree constantly, and when you see Youtube Video #198268 that says "THIS IS THE IMAGINARY TREE" and uses a HI3 screenshot showing a tree, people are gonna think "oh, this is just what the universe is" when in reality, it's better to think of the Honkai Universe as being a collection of worlds each with their own stars and galaxies and traits separated by an impermeable void that later Akivili connected. From the perspective of the inhabitants of the Honkai Universe, it's all one continuous space.
  • inconsistent terminology, even in this game, also caused by HI3's translation being awful and most summaries being made by people with a tenuous grasp of English at best (no offense)
HSR's lore takes place over the scope of the entire Honkai Universe and the different worlds. It is not a localized system. Welt and Void Archives didn't use some fancy technology to "jump universes", they (probably) just traveled the path Akivili made with their Star Rail, the same as every other intergalactic entity in HSR. That's it. Literally just used a spaceship.
I also imagine that it doesn't help that (and this is how I began to believe in the same misconception for a while) a lot of people used the "separate universes" argument to argue in favor of Genshin and HI3 being completely unrelated. Which, for the record, I still completely believe as plenty of evidence suggests they want Genshin players to not have to deal with the huge steamy backlog of lore baggage HI3 has, but it did make people think of each Honkai game as always being completely disconnected from one another in a very physical sense.

The Aeons


https://preview.redd.it/4kozuu79kg4b1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=3ca5ce3f571a169b5d8efd6f80a44107ae30fbaa

Definition

NOTE: The Honkai Star Rail wikia has little blurbs for each Aeon at the top of the respective pages. I'm not going to use them as a source, however, because I have absolutely no idea where they're from. My attempts to search for them led directly back to the wikia. Judging by the date they were added (June of last year), they correspond with CBT2, but if so then that text is gone from the game, so I can't really deem it worthy as a reliable source.
So what are they? Gods basically, but the specifics are more complicated.
The Imaginary element is defined by Welt as a "metaphysical aggregation of the spirit". In other words, it's a form of energy that can be influenced by the thoughts and actions of intelligent beings.
When an intelligent being of sufficient will fulfills certain, currently unknown, conditions, they take over a philosophical concept and become an Aeon. This opens a Path to that concept and grants the newly born Aeon not only the ability to manipulate Imaginary energy, but also complete control over the Imaginary expression of that concept - it becomes their "Primum Mobile", an imprint formed upon the Imaginary element.
That Path also becomes a form of energy that can be tapped into by various sources, and even begins to emerge naturally. The entry for "Topological Acceleration Band" implies that Path energy is limited, which would make sense, as Aeons seem to restrict their underlings' power instead of just giving all of it flat out, and the limitations imposed by this would also serve to explain why Nanook doesn't just, I dunno, blow up the entire universe. In any case, even if it is limited, it's such an extreme amount of energy that it may as well be limitless from the perspective of mortals.
In other words, they become an embodiment of a certain concept, and are able to exert their full will upon it. This appears to deprive them of a certain sense of personal identity - all Aeons are referred to with gender-neutral pronouns.
In the one record of an ascension that was witnessed (Lan's) that we currently have, the Aeon's physical body disappeared upon ascension. It remains unclear if this is true of all Aeons or not but there is definitely a physical change involved.
Aeons are able to freely move around Imaginary space and the leaves in the Imaginary tree at no harm to themselves and possess unimaginable power - Nanook's highest level underlings are capable of incinerating entire galaxies (worlds? The inconsistency of this term drives me crazy). They also possess a degree of ominiscience - not completely so, but it's fairly obvious that they're able to notice and interact with beings treading on their Path at basically any distance. They can also manifest physically if they so choose but the degree of this seems to vary on the Aeon. Qlipoth basically stays in one place building their wall whereas Fuli appears to be capable of teleporting. Lan runs at faster than light speeds throughout the universe. Aha is known for taking on a humanoid form. Akivili physically traveled with mortals.
Aeons can die, but it's difficult to pull this off. Only one Aeon is known to have been killed, and the deed was done by other Aeons. It is also possible for an Aeon to experience a form of death - if their Path overlaps too much with another, the Path representing the greater concept will absorb it, which effectively kills that Aeon.
There are other Aeons that have disappeared and are considered dead, but the ambiguity of their circumstances means that there's a possibility that like, I dunno, they're just hiding or something.
Aeons are limited by one another and their Paths. They cannot ever deviate from it - Xipe cannot create disorder, Yaoshi may not kill, etc. Therefore negotiating with an Aeon is impossible, they shouldn't even be treated as "people" you can "talk" to. Generally the universe tends towards balance - an out of control Aeon may be killed by other Aeons or be opposed by an Aeon whose Path limits theirs. Furthermore, an optional conversation with Welt implies that an Aeon's power at least partially corresponds to the broadness of their concept. Because Lan's Path is so narrow, they're one of the less powerful Aeons.
Who the first Aeon was or how old they are is unclear. The IPC seems to think the first ever Aeon was Qlipoth, but they're biased and in-universe this is doubted. What is certain is that they did not always exist - between the origin of the universe and the appearance of the Aeons, the universe was populated by entities called Leviathans. We know jack about them, other than they were very powerful, and as a result of something called the Dusk Wars, they either all died out or disappeared, except for the Aeon Oroboros the Voracity.

Aeons and Mortals

Before we get into this, one thing should be noted: once opened, a Path can never be closed, and so even if an Aeon dies, the energy of their Path is still accessible. That being said, if an Aeon does die/disappear, their Path can be infringed upon a little - Tayzzyronth 'carved up' the Permanence to become the Propagation, but the power of the Permanence still exists as seen with the Vidyadhara.
The Aeons can influence the universe in various ways, physical or otherwise. A favorite of many many Aeons is the empowering of certain underlings.
Mortals can access the energy of an Aeon's path to a very limited degree by becoming Pathstriders, but Aeons are capable of enhancing some more directly, giving them greater access to that Path's energy.
Some Aeons have their own little way of 'upgrading' mortals through indirect applications of their power, but all Aeons are capable of infusing a mortal with their energy, and such a mortal is referred to as an Emanator. Though they are capable of this, not all Aeons choose to have Emanators.

Pathstrider

If a being of sufficient will possesses attributes aligning with a certain Path, they gain the ability to derive power from that Path's energy. This makes them more powerful than the average person and grants them some nifty abilities, but compared to beings enhanced by an Aeon's power, Emanators, or the Aeon themselves, they're pretty weak.
One example named by Dan Heng is that Pathstriders of the Trailblaze are able to resist extreme natural conditions to a certain extent, though they're not immune.
From a character standpoint, this seems to be the justification as for why certain characters have unexplained powers. But it's hard to tell, because the game rarely ever names someone as a Pathstrider, and even when it does, there's clear overlap (for example the Astral Express crew are Pathstriders of the Trailblaze but have individual Paths). It is not yet clarified if you can be a Pathstrider in multiple Paths at once or if this is just a gameplay abstraction, but the characters do generally match the Path assigned to them personality-wise to at least some extent, though some in more roundabout ways.

Emanator

A mortal that was given direct access to the power of a Path by an Aeon. They are WAY stronger than Pathstriders, with the most powerful ones capable of affecting reality on a galactic scale. Like the Aeons, an Emanator is limited by the definition of that Path.
Emanators are capable of controlling Imaginary energy to a certain degree, which means they're also capable of traversing through Imaginary space without needing assistance. Herta, even through her puppet, is capable of creating a contract that forces the signee to obey "Imaginary law", which affects the entire universe and cannot be interacted with by outside forces. Six-phased ice, the ice March 7th is capable of controlling and was once encased with, has its form dictated by Imaginary law, meaning it likely exists with the blessing of some Aeon or another (Hm).
How much access to a Path's energy an Emanator has is dependent entirely on how much the Aeon feels like giving them. How independent an Emanator is also depends on the Aeon. Some Emanators can do whatever they want, whereas others act as extensions of that Aeon's will.
Aeons can make anyone they want into an Emanator, but most tend to choose mortals that align with their goals. Well except Aha, who is infamous for turning anyone and anything into an Emanator and often for the dumbest reasons imaginable.
Now because an Aeon needs to be active to turn people into Emanators, if an Aeon dies or disappears they can't make any more obviously. But because the Path is forever open, any existing Emanators will retain their powers even after the disappearance or death of their Aeon, as seen with Idrila's Mirror Holders.

Akivili


\"Reach the end of the story in your own way. When the time comes to make a choice, make one you know you won't regret.\"
The Trailblaze, and the Xianzhou knows them as Cloudstrider.
They hail from the world of Pegana, which used a 12-month long year cycle similar to our planet, known as the Trailblaze Calendar. They're pretty old, and the records of their appearance date as far back as the first few Amber Eras.
Akivili created the Astral Express, the Star Rail, and the Chromatic Echelon that allows for the laying of new rails. They did so in order to reach the "endpoint" of the Imaginary Tree, unable to tolerate the idea of "that which must not be known". It's also rumored that there may be other machines such as the Express, but Himeko says the internal records don't mention any.
The rumor is that the Express' core is Akivili's heart, but as Himeko points out, they'd need two hearts for this, because the Express was contemporaneous with them.
Akivili is probably one of the most important Aeons, not just because the Express wouldn't exist without them, but because the Star Rail laid by them is capable of connecting different worlds between the vast barriers of Imaginary energy, therefore allowing different civilizations to contact and interact with each other without needing the power of the Aeons. All interworld space routes are based upon the Star Rail tracks though it's implied that the 'bridges' they created extend far beyond the actual railing.
In a sense, without Akivili, none of the plot would happen. As a matter of fact, if The Ones Above hail from another world, then maybe not even APHO from the other game would've happened either.
Akivili disappeared many years ago in circumstances so obscure that even the most informed groups have no idea what happened to them. Kafka tells us that if there's anyone or anything in the universe that would know, it'd be Nous. The game's omniscient narrator implies that Akivili's disappearance was due to "an accident".
The name Akivili is probably a distortion of the Latin "aquili", which means "of the eagle" or "of the north wind".

Followers

Akivili's followers are the Nameless, who were inspired by their route through the universe. Some Nameless chose to travel alone, but those that didn't joined Akivili in their Astral Express and journeyed together in great merriment, with Akivili taking on a mortal form and riding within the Express with them. Even after Akivili disappeared, some surviving Nameless managed to maintain and use the Astral Express, until the Star Rails fell into disrepair due to the Stellarons - over the course of this process, most of the remaining Nameless either retired, died or disappeared.
When this happened, the Astral Express ran aground and was set into a collision course with Himeko's world - on her birthday, no less - and she quickly hurried to the impact site, where she repaired the Express and took off with it. Sometime later, Pom-Pom appeared as well. Those two became the next generation of Nameless, and over time would add various other people to their group, such as Welt, March 7th, Dan Heng, the Trailblazer, and (temporarily) Void Archives.
Currently, no Emanators of the Trailblaze are known to exist.

Nanook


Towers crumbled and the people fled, for the sun was soon to set and meet with vicious destruction.
The Destruction, also known by the Xianzhou as the Ruin Author.
Nanook is the newest Aeon to have ascended - if we assume that the Stellarons were sent out at about the same time as their ascension (optimistic, to be honest), then they're only about 500 years old. That's a lot of time for regular mortals, but easily within the lifespan of most long life species, and definitely far younger than the other Aeons.
Nanook was born (judging by Fuli's memory of them showcasing them as a baby) in the world of Adlivun, which had been devastated by Emperor Rubert I's campaigns and nearly turned into a hive by Tayzzyronth's Swarm. When Akivili visited it, it was already a crapsack that was trying desperately to survive against the remnants of the Swarm.
This terrible war-torn world seems to have caused the young Nanook to become extremely cynical - the Data Bank suggests that they believe civilization itself is cancer, and that war is the only thing common to all of them, the birth of the Universe being a mistake that must be corrected. This mindset led to a series of as yet unknown events that caused Nanook to incinerate their own home world, and achieving apotheosis in this process.
Upon ascension, Nanook immediately got to work. Despite likely being less than a 1000 years old, their followers have already managed to destroy worlds and pose a serious existential threat to almost all galactic civilization. Indeed, although Rubert and the Swarm might have been quite dangerous back when they were active, the Aeon they indirectly birthed has caused destruction on a far more apocalyptic scale than they could've ever dreamed of.
Nanook is almost certainly (though not confirmed to be) the cause of the Stellaron ("Cancer of All Worlds") phenomenon - bundles of destructive (and intelligent!) energy sent to various corners of the universe, likely intended to destabilize civilizations and natural phenomena before the Antimatter Legion arrives and "cleans up" the rest. The Stellarons can affect natural processes and interact with mortals in ways that manipulate them towards taking destructive actions. They can enhance those mortals as well as explode! Notably, the Stellaron's destructive energy corrodes the Star Rail, which not only physically impedes passage for the Express but holds the possible danger of closing the pathways between worlds.
Perhaps the most unique characteristic of the Stellarons is their ability to corrode the region around them into "Fragmentum", which is able to analyze, absorb and replicate the forms and memories of the living creatures touched by it into hostile monsters, which further destabilizes the regions they impact. Strangely, not every Stellaron seems to create a Fragmentum zone.
There's one inside you now, by the way.
The name "Nanook" is derived from the Inuit bear god, which to be honest had a far closer association with hunting than anything else, and bear worship is a key aspect of Inuit religion. But I guess the thought process here is that Nanook (god) is also associated with weaponry and is strong, so... I guess it works?

Followers


\"Let me put it another way, why are you alive?\"
Sometime after ascending, Nanook went to an unknown world and liberated the regime that had imprisoned the talented Firesmith clan there, which held unprecedented skill in the art of weapon making. Nanook blessed them with the Mark of Destruction, which granted them great power (but corrupted their minds and bodies), and sent them to the volcanic world of Warforge, which turned into a large scale training and weapons production facility.
Antimatter creatures, "scavenged parts" (such as the heart of a deceased Leviathan), and individuals that showed promise and a pure desire for destruction to Nanook were 'reforged', physically hammered and altered until their very biology had been changed and combined with their weapons, into the members of the Antimatter Legion. Even the Firesmiths that created them became part of their own creations. The fire that forged them was of incomparable heat and infused them with the very power of the Destruction.
The Antimatter Legion became an army with the sole purpose of destroying the universe. Members are stratified into ranks and even have their own medals. Lower ranked members are tasked with destabilizing civilizations, higher ranked members can destroy galaxies.
The Stellarons likely act as seeds and beacons for the Antimatter Legion, carefully cultivating the circumstances necessary to weaken the target, potentially for centuries, before finally ushering in their doom. Like farmers, they go around the universe slashing and burning societies and exhibiting as much patience and strategy as is necessary.
The most devastating quality of Nanook and the Antimatter Legion is that unlike Emperor Rubert's army or the Swarm, they don't simply overwhelm enemy forces and take over, but carefully study and integrate into them, sowing discord and in-fighting until they're weak enough to guarantee a loss against the Legion. This is by far the biggest reason for Nanook's success and the biggest reason why they're such a massive threat, even to powerful entities such as the Xianzhou Alliance.
Perhaps the second biggest reason is that through the Fragmentum and the skilled Firesmiths in Warforge, Nanook is also able to absorb and integrate the qualities of other beings into the members of their Legion, allowing them to constantly evolve and grow more powerful, as well as adapt to the unique qualities of the worlds and civilizations they conquer.
The greatest members of the Antimatter Legion are given the privilege of becoming Emanators of the Destruction, known as Lord Ravagers. They serve as commanders, and are unbelievably dangerous. Welt implies there are even more powerful individuals known as "Overlords", but we don't know much about them, since they're mentioned in only one line right now.
Of course, every Aeon has a group of followers who don't attract their attention or explicit approval, but adhere to their ideas of the Path. For Nanook, this is the Annihilator Gang, a group of hooligans and criminals who take joy in destruction, be it for personal pleasure, petty revenge, or insanity. Nanook looks down upon such "impure" reasons for destroying, so they receive no attention from the Aeon.

Lan


You must follow the traces left behind in the storm's wake.
The Hunt, know by the Xianzhou as the Reignbow Arbiter.
Lan ascended in the year 3400 of the Xianzhou calendar with the current year probably being around 8098-8100, which would make them around 4700 years old. Before that time, they were a mortal hero known as Reignbow, born in year 1700 (making Lan's total age around 6400 years old). It should be noted that almost all of our information about Reignbow comes in the form of severely altered poetry and some historical notes by the biased modern day Xianzhou Alliance.
Reignbow was part of the original fleet of nine ships (three of them were lost over the course of Xianzhou history, if you were wondering), and they resided in the lead Yaoqing ship. Their claim to fame was the defeat and capture of the Heliobi Flint Emperor, the leader of a species of formless energy beings capable of manipulating emotions and creating stars. The Heliobi as well as the Flint Emperor were imprisoned and the latter specifically was used as the Zhuming's energy source.
Eventually, the Xianzhou Luofu was granted the Ambrosial Arbor and the fleet shared in the blessings of long life, but Reignbow peered into the future (possibly with Nous' help? Sadly, the historical source for this misappropriates a different figure's actions with that of Reignbow's, making it hard to tell) and viewed the Xianzhou descending into chaos.
Reignbow tried to warn people about this ruinous future, but was deemed insane and ignored. In protest, they shot an arrow at the Ambrosial Arbor, a symbolic gesture that nevertheless earned the ire of the elite class, resulting in Reignbow's incarceration. Because of their status as a hero for winning the war against the Heliobi, Reignbow was sentenced to cryogenic stasis, rather than any other more severe punishment such as execution.
Later, the Xianzhou were besieged by a large army of Denizens of Abundance and faced total extinction. Seeing no other option, they released every prisoner, including Reignbow, as a desperate maneuver. Reignbow went into the Zhuming prison and struck a deal with the Flint Emperor, allowing it to possess their body in exchange for great power, a move that was also done by many other people with the other Heliobi prisoners.
The enhanced Reignbow and their followers rose up into the air, at which point they used their added power to fire an arrow that shattered the Ambrosial Arbor (from the Yaoqing to the Luofu). This released a massive amount of Imaginary energy that very quickly ended the fight - Muldrasil is to this day still recovering from the damage suffered from this.
Lan's body disappeared and they ascended to Aeonhood after this. Interestingly, poetic records suggest the Flint Emperor was also not found afterwards, implying that they may have ascended together, but historical records say that it was partially found. Which is true? Who can say.
Lan now spends most of their time running around the universe at faster than light speeds obliterating worlds populated by Denizens of Abundance and guiding the Xianzhou Alliance. They have become single-mindedly focused on the hunt, not caring about the cost or damage.
The name Lan derives from 岚, which is used to refer to the mist that comes out of mountains. Since the Xianzhou arkships are named after culturally significant mountains, it works. Interestingly, the same character (traditional, 嵐) in Japanese means "storm", which I think is appropriate as well, especially since the narrator of Myriad Celestia does a little pun with it.

Followers


To revert to mortality, eradicate the ambition of a deathless doom: We shall not rest.
The surviving Xianzhou ships banded together against the Abundance and also added new species to their ranks, creating the Xianzhou Alliance. The Xianzhou Alliance now traverses the universe hunting down Denizens of Abundance and interpreting Lan's commands.
The entire Xianzhou Alliance is under Lan's direct protection and endorsement and as a result enjoy access to their Path's power. Few other factions have this kind of privilege, making them one of the most powerful entities in the universe. Granted, it does not prevent them from suffering collateral damage from Lan's very explosive arrows.
Together, they share the mutual goal of destroying Yaoshi.
Lan also has regular worshippers in the form of the Galaxy Rangers, who don't hate Yaoshi, but admire Lan's Path. They go around the universe performing heroic deeds and fighting evil in the name of justice, having even assassinated a Lord Ravager. Unfortunately, they got in the bad side of one #64 Dr. Primitive, and began to "mysteriously" lose members and influence. Though there are some Galaxy Rangers still remaining in the universe, they've become a shell of their former selves.
No Emanators of the Hunt have been directly named by the game yet, although Lan does allow the Generals of each Xianzhou ship to borrow power in the form of Hunt constructs such as the Lightning Lord.

Nous


![img](50gr49qmng4b1 " If the truth of the universe is cruel and stale Would you still yearn for the answer? ")
The Erudition, known as the Wisdomwalker to the Xianzhou.
Nous was a computer and artificial intelligence probably created by Zandar "One" Kuwabara that ended up ascending to Aeonhood. It's pretty old, predating Lan's ascension, but we don't know by how much.
It was made to provide answers to the universe and continues working on that goal now. Its divine corpus probably exists in the Temple of Nous.
Nous or νοῦς is a Greek philosophical concept. While colloquially it is simple meant to refer to intellect or good sense, philosophically speaking, the universe possesses a 'mind' or awareness (not necessarily theological or supernatural, but rather as something equal to matter, merely a natural property of the world) which organizes it, creating order, and is present within living beings though unable to be interacted with. Nous is the higher awareness of human beings, a quality which animals do not possess but gives us a sense of perception distinct from that which we can see and experience, granting the ability to reason. It's a pretty good name.
The Chinese name 博识尊 just means "knowledgeable saint". I dunno if it has more significance than that.

Followers


\"Firstly, let us state a universal truth: The author is a super genius of the kind only born once every few millennia, even on the scale of the entire universe.\" -- Herta
In order to help with its goal of ultimately answering "the problem" presented by the Universe, Nous decided to assemble the greatest minds in the universe to discuss its solutions and questions.
To that end, people who display promise are given acknowledgment by Nous and made into a member of the Genius Society, a group of people who were directly blessed by the Erudition. The Genius Society members are ordered by their joining order, with the latest being #84 Stephen Lloyd. Being a member of the Genius Society holds no obligations or rituals whatsoever - members are free to do whatever they want, even in some cases, enact violence on one another or on the universe itself. In general, they tend towards seclusion and do not share their findings with the rest of society, but it depends on the member.
However, not all members of the Genius Society earn the complete approval of Nous. Only those who ascertain Nous' true intentions and ask the right questions are given the key to the Nous Temple. There, they must pass an intense series of intellectual trials, after which they gain access to... some place that no one has ever returned from. It transcends worldly wisdom.
#1 Zandar "One" Kuwabara and #83 Herta are Emanators of the Erudition. It's possible that all members of the Genius Society are Emanators, but this has not yet been confirmed.
Nous' other group of worshippers is the Intelligentsia Guild. This one doesn't earn Nous' direct attention, but is open to everyone and shares its findings publicly, serving as a network for mutual learning and discovery, which it believes is the key to achieving wisdom. To achieve this, they treat knowledge as a currency, 'trading' their findings and encouraging mutual competitiveness.
Generally, the Genius Society looks down upon it, but it's a well-established group with ties with most other groups including the IPC (which has helped make them fabulously wealthy), making it the one that's seen more favorably throughout the universe, especially since their willingness to actually publish their inventions and findings have led to more favorable conditions in the universe, such as the reverse-engineering of Synesthesia Beacons (first developed by #56 Elias Salas) which allows for mutual intelligibility between species.
Still, their pursuit for knowledge can be destructive, such as the Armed Archaeologists that have a habit of turning ruins into craters after extracting knowledge from them.

Xipe


Join this great choir and feast, listen to the beating of billions upon billions of hearts, holding you in their embrace...
The Harmony. Xipe is an Aeon that somewhat uniquely consists of multiple different lifeforms from multiple worlds that appear to have ascended together, resulting in a plural being, not dissimilar from what (may) have happened with Lan and the Flint Emperor.
Their ultimate goal is to end all strife and brutality by uniting all lifeforms into one melody.
Also, when they ascended, they absorbed Ena the Order. Whoops.
Xipe's name is derived from the Aztec maize god Xipe Totec, which is famous for having a hobby of collecting and wearing flayed skin. The flayed skin actually represents the outer skin of the maize (corn), and Xipe Totec is something akin to a life-death-rebirth deity, the living god germinating like a seed out of the rotting skin within the twenty day month cycle. It's the most gruesome way of representing spring I could think of.
Why they chose this name (other than potential sinister implications) for the multi-headed god of harmony in their game is beyond me, especially since I didn't even mention that Xipe is attributed with the invention and patronage of warfare - rigged colosseum fights where an outnumbered and poorly armed opponent was fitted against experienced and fully geared warriors was one way of sacrificing to Xipe Totec. Sure, Xipe Totec was seen as a good deity and integral to the functioning of society, but that's most deities. Maybe it's because maize is really a collection of lots of tiny fruits in one ear? Who knows.
Also if you're thinking it's an etymology thing like Qlipoth, the name Xipe Totec means "Our Lord the Flayed One" so I'm not sure about that one. Hey, maybe the puzzle pieces are meant to be a very abstract representation of flayed skin? Creepy.

Followers


As you wonder what it is, you hear Renoir speaking in a muddled voice. \"Put it in.\" No... Is that Renoir's voice? You are sure you heard a NOISE...
The Family. Implied to be under some form of hivemind or mind control, the Family consists of a network of worlds and civilizations blessed by Xipe directly. They call out to other worlds and assimilate those that accept the call ostensibly voluntarily, but who knows how consensual the process is really. Otherwise, they mostly spend their time singing and being really happy all the time.

That's it for Part 1. Next Part we'll look at the other Aeons, for which I left out the majority because of the sheer size of the initial explanation.
submitted by PM_ME_YOUR_ROBOTGIRL to HonkaiStarRail [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 23:27 mosecashforjunkcars Junk car removal in Dearborn Heights MI

submitted by mosecashforjunkcars to u/mosecashforjunkcars [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 23:13 guatwill Got the final box of Gallery at my Walmart. Strider /25 !

Got the final box of Gallery at my Walmart. Strider /25 ! submitted by guatwill to baseballcards [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 23:09 wrightscoins [WTS] US and world Gold and Silver, Graded Coins, Kingdom of Hawaii Set, GSA Morgans and More

Good morning and thanks for looking. Have a nice mix of coins for sale today. Shipping will be via padded bubble mailer first class tracked for items weighing 12 oz or less and is $5. Heavier items will ship sfrb, or priority padded envelope and will be $10. Payment by Zelle or Venmo preferred. Payment by Crypto or Cash App are acceptable if you wish to cover the 3.5% withdrawal fee. Proof
*\*US Coins\\**
Gold (Prices include shipping on gold)
1854 Type 1 $1 AU+ $345
1853 $2.50 Liberty Head PCGS AU53 $700
1908 $2.50 Indian Head Lightly Polished $405
1911 $10 Indian Head PCGS MS62 $1,425
Silver (Buy any 3 Get Free shipping) Graded Morgans- For more pics chat me.
1986 Silver Eagle BU (Few splotches of color on obverse) $42
2007 W Early Release ASE PR69 NGC $70
2013 5 oz ATB National Park with Mint box, no cert. This is the collector's version not the lower grade bullion coin. $190
2019 P America Memorial Park 5 oz ATB SP70 NGC $215
1882 CC GSA Morgan Dollar W/Box and Cert $335
1883 CC GSA Morgan Dollar W/Box and Cert $320
1878 S MS63 PCGS $144
1880 SMS65 PCGS $340
1883 O PCGS MS63 $85
1884 O PCGS MS63 $75
1885 PCGS MS63 $80
1885 OMS64 NGC $200
1885 O MS64 PCGS $100
1887 MS64 PCGS Rattler $115
1889 MS64 NGC $110
1899 O MS64 PCGS $100
1900 O MS64 PCGS $103
1904 O MS64 NGC $100
1904 O ANACS old holder (ANA) MS62 + toning $73
1945 S Walking Liberty MS64 PCGS $90
1936 S Bay Bridge Commemorative Half BU -My grade is MS65 Selling at MS64 Bid $190
Other US Coins
1971, 1972, 1973 40% Silver Ikes in OGP $39 for the 3 or $14 each
2019 W Proof Shield Cent - Only year Lincoln Cent with the W Mintmark PR69 PCGS
2012 Silver Proof Set $115
2012 Presidential Dollars Coin Set $60
1848 Large Cent XF- Few flecks of environmental- $75
1869 3 cent nickel -Problem free $170
1881 3 cent nickel unc details- Wire Brushed $40
1909 S Indian Head Cent PCGS F15 $365
1910 S Lincoln Cent MS63 RB NGC $122
1922 D Weak D MS64 RB NGC $900
1931S MS63 RB NGC $175
1931 S MS64 RB NGC (small dark line on this one, front and back of coin) didn't notice it when I bought it but once I did it's all I see hence the discounted price) $185
1883 No Cents Liberty Head V Nickel earlier die state MS64 PCGS $185
1883 No Cents Liberty Head V Nickel late die state MS64 PCGS $185
1951 Neutron Irradiated Silver Dime, encased in an American Museum of Atomic Energy encasement.
-These have an interesting history; they were basically a marketing tool for nuclear power. They would irradiate the dime and then give it back encased. $16
\*World Coins*\**
1847 and 1883 Kingdom of Hawaii Full set- Cent, Dime, Quarter, Half and Dollar $1860 **firm**
1847 Hawaii cent AU NGC -A really nice chocolatey brown coin with a sharp strike. Small fleck of environmental on the reverse
1883 Dime VF raw - Nicely struck VF, light corrosion, old cleaning
1883 Quarter AU PCGS - Nicely struck, plenty of luster, almost proof like depth to fields, traces of old cleaning, has retoned nicely over time
1883 Half Dollar AU PCGS - Nice even patina, well struck crest, old cleaning though it has retoned nicely
1883 Dollar VF raw - A few hits from circulation on the front, light cleaning on the reverse, good strike, nice even patina
Gold
1875 Netherlands 10 Gulden AU $395
1876 Netherlands 10 Gulden BU $410
Silver
1953 5 Pesos Mexico $23
1968Mexico Olympics $20
1977 & 1978 100 Pesos $50 for both
1984 Nicely toned Libertad $50
1831 5 Francs $30
2002 10 Kreuzer Unc $40
1934 Chinese Junk Dollar Raw XF has some PVC $150
1934 ChineseJunk Dollar PCGS AU cleaned $160
Graded Brazil Lot - 1867 200 R Bust Type NGC MS64, 1852 500R NGC AU58, 1889 2000R Empire AU58 $200 for all 3
1967 Panama Proof Set $62
Coin Books and Supplies
Sigma Metalytics Precious Metals Verifier Base Unit $750
Just ordered a pro and don't need an extra- Includes the calibration disk and manual if I can find it. If anyone's interested let me know what you want to see, and I'll post a video to Imgur
Dansco Albums (Shipping is $10 for priority padded envelope on Dansco albums)
6170 Early Dollars 1794 - 1803 new in wrapper $35
6152 Liberty Seated Half Dollar 1839 - 1891 new in wrapper $40
7150 Liberty Head Half Dollars 1892 - 1915 new in wrapper $35
7011 Coins of the World new without wrapper $40
submitted by wrightscoins to CoinSales [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 22:56 Ask_me_4_a_story Trip Report: Using my Go Wild Pass to Get to Costa Rica (Spoiler Alert I found Wild Sloths!)

Hi Go Wild Friends! In case anyone wants to know about beautiful Costa Rica I went there using my Go Wild pass so I thought I would do a story about what happened in Costa Rica. There aren’t really a lot of travel tips in here, its just the wild shit I got into in Costa Rica. I did another write up with actual tips about South Beach in Miami on a budget here if you want to read that one.
Okay, Costa Rica, so fuckin amazing! I want to fly to all the international places Frontier goes so I decided to do Costa Rica second (Cancun is an easy trip for me in Kansas City, they go nonstop there every weekend). The hardest part about Costa Rica is just getting there, I took a bit of a circuitous route.
I always take a big vacation each year after tax season, its fun for me to turn my phone off and go somewhere off the grid and not even think about work. Last year I went to Argentina and Uruguay and it was wild but honestly, this year was even better! I first wanted to stay with my brother and see my nieces and nephews in Orlando so I booked a one way flight from St. Louis to Orlando for only $19 with my Go Wild pass. I got to take a train from Kansas City to St. Louis, it was only $37 and I loved it actually, something about trains is so fun for me, probably because I took one to Chicago in college and stayed in a homeless shelter, my first real experience solo traveling, I loved it!
I spent the afternoon in St. Louis riding around downtown on those fun scooters and eating chicken wings and walking around the baseball experience place they had, it was a good afternoon. I had a late flight to Orlando but I fucked up the terminal (don't google which terminal is Frontier, its wrong). I went through security and bag check only to find out I was in the wrong terminal so that stunk but I had plenty of time for two security checks so no big deal. The flight was delayed so I didn’t get into Orlando until almost 2am and there was a long line for the rental car. I regret not doing the one you can pick up without talking to an agent so much, it was only like $5 more, do the self check car rental if possible. Orlando was fun, got to see my nieces and nephews and my brother and his wife put a little guest bedroom in the shed, easy to get into at 2am without waking anyone up.
After two days in Orlando it was time for my big flight to Costa Rica! So excited! This flight was only $51 with my Go Wild pass, an absolute steal. It stopped in Atlanta and then I was in Costa Rica in no time. On the plane a bunch of us were excitedly talking about our Go Wild passes, its kind of fun to do the spiderman meme thing and be like, you have a Go Wild pass? Me Too! The ringleader told me there were wild sloths if I went to a place called Manuel Antonio. I said what the fuck did you just say, wild sloths? Oh yes! I literally had no plans for a whole week so I mentally added sloths to the list of things I wanted to see. I have a travel buddy I met in Mexico to visit in San Jose and I wanted to see the volcano and the beaches of course but that was it.
At the airport you will want to get some cash, they have an ATM right there when you walk out. Don’t do the currency exchange, those people were giving really shitty rates. After you get cash walk around outside the airport to the backside, it’s a short walk and that’s where all the city buses come. There are buses to San Jose every 15 minutes, just jump on one of those its only like $1.50 and it goes 25 minutes to downtown. I have a huge aversion to taxis in Latin America, I’ve been ripped off a lot and airports are especially bad.
Once in San Jose you can walk most places, it’s a fun city to walk around. I stayed at the Costa Rica Backpackers hostel which I do not recommend for one big reason. Its so fuckin hot. I didn’t even think about checking for air conditioning, most places have it now. Also, I like hostels and the common areas and the hammocks and I always set up my chess board and play at night with beers. But I really like to have my own room at a hostel. This private room was I think $35 a night which is pretty good but it did not have air conditioning, just a fan recirculating hot air and it was right off the street so yeah, no recommendation for that one, I only stayed one night. That’s the fun thing about how I travel though, no reservations and no plans, if its not great I just go to a different place. I hung out with my travel buddy that night and we smoked a lot of um… cigarettes and went to this place where locals hang out. It was like some fuckin fast and furious movie but with Ticos, guys were just flying around on motorcycles on wheelies. I bought a huge meal for my friend and me, empanadas, a bunch of other Costa Rican food, it was so fuckin good and the whole meal was only $7, ha!
The next morning I set my chess board out at the hostel and I put $10 out on the money clip like I normally do when I travel. It’s a fun way to get people to play, if you beat me you get $10 if I win, nothing. My chess is kind of like a parlor trick too because I play in less than 5 seconds every move so everyone is thinking through it and Im having beers and going quick, usually at a hostel there gets to be a crowd and Im playing four dutch people on warm night in Mexico, so fuckin fun. On this morning a kid came up to play and I was teaching him chess for awhile nervously, I didn’t see his mom anywhere and secondly who brings a kid to a hostel? I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen one. He starts just taking my pieces off the board and then he takes the $10 and says welp I guess I won. I laughed and I said alright then, good job buddy. Just then his mom hobbled over, a Danish hippy with a broken foot. She thanked me for hanging out with him and told me the doctor said not to walk too much but it was hard with a six year old. I said sit down, sit down and I got her breakfast and helped her out. We talked for a bit and I told a funny Mexico story and helped them get their stuff together and she said oh you have to come to our hippy community in Puerto Viejo, you can stay in our shack by the ocean. I said oh that sounds fun today Im going to see a volcano but maybe later. She said they are the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica, one is entirely black sand. I said Im listening. She said they were poor in a little shack by the rainforest and they have monkeys and sloths in their backyard. I said um what the fuck did you just say? Wild sloths? She said yeah, tons of them. I booked a ticket right away for the 6am bus the next day. I went with my friend to the active volcano and then he dropped me off at my hotel. I booked the Radisson the second night because I really wanted Air Conditioning. Im soft like that, sorry. And it had a hot tub. I’ve never seen that many people in one hot tub, ha. At night I did a Tinder date, I found out all the cabs are pretty much $6 in San Jose so it was easy to get there and back and I went out with a fun lady who told me in Costa Rica they eat chicken wings with gloves, did you guys know that?
I got up at 4:30am and packed up for my 6am bus. At the front desk I asked them if they could call me a cab and they said its an additional $30 US. I was like nah, fuck that, $30? What a ripoff, I’ll just walk, its only 2 miles. So I walk pretty far into downtown San Jose and whoooooooosh, a bottle explodes near me! I go what the fuck and look up, theres a drunk Costa Rican man in a soccer jersey like two blocks away screaming at me in Spanish! I had so many questions, the first of course was who is balling out of control at 5am in the morning? The second was, who the fuck is that Latino Roger Clemens? I could barely see the guy from two streets away and he was (presumably) drunk getting that close to me with a full bottle of beer? The last question of course was who is drunk and throwing FULL bottles of beer? I walked away from his direction and then saw that there was a whole bar full of drunk soccer fans like him and I noped the fuck out and ran to the taxi stand and got a taxi. I said you know what, a taxi isn’t such a bad idea!
I regretted not Googling anything because my phone didn’t work at all in Costa Rica. They said I could buy a sim card but I didn’t want to, I kind of liked being off the grid. But I really wanted to find wild sloths. Maybe the person beside me will help I thought as I stood in line for the 6am bus. Damn, I hope its not someone rapid firing Spanish at me though, my Spanish is not great. Most of my Spanish I’ve learned from the music of Bad Bunny. I was relieved to see my seat in 44 was next to a Japanese man in 45. Oh that’s awesome I thought, he will struggle with Spanish too and we can find wild sloths together. Nope, turns out Im a racist asshole, he was a Japanese Argentinian who spoke perfect Spanish and no English, none. His phone worked too and he was putting all these upside down house letters in Japanese and beautiful beaches were popping up, I really needed his help. I tried to befriend him but they speak a different kind of Spanish in Argentina, cajes instead of calles and so fast, so fuckin fast! His had like a little stall in it before it winded up too, like a UUUUUU mi esposa no esta aqui! His wife was either sleeping back in San Jose or dead, I couldn’t really understand. I noticed he had a bear avatar on his phone so I knew he liked animals so half way through the ride I decided to try to tell him they had sloths there. Hay peresozos en Puerto Viejo I said but he didn’t understand what I was saying. I said peresozos again and put up three fingers mimicking a sloth and then I panicked, I was like shit, what do sloths do? Its an animal famous for not doing anything. I pretended to hang up side down and he is (loudly) guessing animals in Spanish and Im like no, peresozos! Maybe I was saying it wrong but I had no Google so I said es posible tu telefono? And I typed in sloths and all these upside down houses came up and the words Oso Peresozo. And he goes UUUUUU OSO PERESOZO! I don’t know if you’ve ever been on a bus traveling through rural Costa Rica and seen a Japanese Argentinian get excited in Spanish about wild sloths but it is… ADORABLE!
Si SI! Oso Peresozo! I yelled. People are turning around now, they are like why the fuck are the American and Japanese guys back there in 44 and 45 playing charades two hours into a 6am bus ride? I said juntos? (Together) and he said si si! He told me where we could get bikes to rent and what to eat, he was the perfect travel partner! He said Yelp dices Jerk Chicken is the best to eat here. I said thanks Juan, you are my favorite travel partner! We had an amazing day in Puerto Viejo, beautiful beaches, monkeys, wild sloths, God damn that was an amazing day. He even showed me where my hostel was and I dropped off my bag. This hostel was called 456 hostel which I also do not recommend because no AC and there are weird animals running on the roof but I didn’t care, I just wanted to throw down my bag and get back to looking for wild sloths. The lady said we can’t just take your bag you need to check in first, I said listen lady you see that God damn excited Japanese man out there? We got wild sloths to find! I had no desire to spend one second in that hostel but Juan goes “Esta bien, cerveza” and then he had a beer by the ocean while I checked in. I joined him for a beer and it turns out that is a beautiful setting for a hostel. Still don’t recommend though, so fuckin hot.
Juan and I had an amazing day in Puerto Viejo, God damn that place is beautiful. We saw wild sloths, monkeys, and had an amazing time on the beach. I was sad to see him go, what a great travel partner! He pointed to where my hostel was but I said I would ride back into town with him. To be honest, I forgot to write down the name of the bike rental and there was like a hundred in Puerto. I turned my bike in with his to his surprise because we had rented for a full day but I told him I wanted a motorcycle. He used his expert Googling skills to get me to the cheapest motorcycle place. It was only $30 a day for a motorcycle which I thought was very reasonable. And I didn’t have enough cash on me and they didn’t take cards so the rental guy just said no worries man, take de bike to the ATM. That was pretty trusting! I came back with the money and got the bike and I can’t tell you guys the drugs part because the mods said no talking about drugs.
That was such a fast motorcycle. I turned my Bluetooth speaker up all the way and floored it and zoomed down the coast in time for the sunset, so God damn beautiful! Something about that warm Costa Rican sun on your shoulders and the sound of Khalid and the smell of salt in the air riding along the beautiful ocean, it will change your life. After the sunset I went to Cat’s house and her beautiful German friend Alina was there. There were three kids too and as soon as I got there they went riffling through my bag looking for candy. I had two caramels but was one short so I gave the little kid my chips. This was her sad face for not getting candy!
Cat was hobbling around on crutches so Alina and I said sit down we will take care of dinner. I went to the store down the street and got so much stuff for that poor family- toilet paper, rice, peppers and Barbies for the kids and a soccer ball for Marcello. Gringo santa claus when I came back, both the ladies cried, Alina said her girls had never had a Barbie doll. Alina and I cranked up the music in that little hippy house by the ocean and made dinner and drank wine and laughed while the kids played with their new toys and Cat relaxed and finished her remote work. We ate the food and drank the wine and smoked…cigarettes and had an amazing night. Alina asked if I wanted to share the Tuk Tuk and I said yes. She said it in kind of a mischievous way so I thought maybe she wanted to make out. And she was very beautiful so I said yes. We got in the Tuk Tuk and rode back towards town passing my hostel, she winked and said your hostel was back there you know and then put her hand on my arm.
I thought Cat was poor but Alina was super poor. She told the tuk tuk driver to turn left by the trash dump and we pulled up to an even tinier house right next to the rainforest. She said wait out here and I’ll put the kids to bed. So I waited on the porch. The kitchen was actually outside, a little refrigerator and a little stove and a sink. I sat in the chairs and she came out and we smoke a um cigarette together and then she said wait here. I was like fuck, wait her for what? Is she going to rob me or something but she didn’t seem scary, she seemed sweet. She came back out with a big giant mattress and threw it on the porch floor. Then she took off her shirt and said in her German accent, “Un now we share our bodies.” I thought that was a pretty sexy thing to say so I took off my shirt too and joined her except I didn’t want to have unprotected sex with a hippy so we just made out.
Sometime after she slipped back inside so I was alone on the mattress on the backporch by the rainforest. I thought that was a pretty good place to spend my first night in Puerto Viejo and I looked up and saw a hundred million stars lighting up the sky and fell asleep. But not too many hours later, God damn I awoke to a caucophony of jungle sounds! So many monkeys, just fuckin howling. And there were these weird rat things running around, they weren’t small at all, if you’ve ever seen the Princess Bride fucking ROS. (Rodents of Unusual Size). I honestly thought the monkeys were coming on the porch, that’s how loud they were.
I jumped up and leaned the mattress against the house and started walking, past the trash dump and out to the ocean. The first beach I came across was the black beach, it was amazing and I sat there until the sun came up. I had no watch or anything and my phone was dead so I walked for a long ways until I found a Tuk Tuk driver who took me to Cats. I got my motorcycle and went back to the hostel but when I charged my phone I found it was only 6am so I went back to sleep. But the hostel had no AC and there were some fuckin animals on the roof right over my head so I couldn’t sleep much. I went to the beach and found more wild monkeys and then sent Cat a WhatsApp message to see if she needed my help since she had the broken foot and Marcello was home, it was some kind of Costa Rican holiday.
She said sure come over and so I drove my motorcycle back down the coast and went back to the store and got more supplies and cooked them a big lunch. I had asked before if they eat meat because some hippies don’t and she said sure but its expensive here I don’t know if you want to buy it. It was $4 ha, I got some ham and rice and peppers and made a huge lunch and drank some beers and cooked while Cat did her remote work. She took a picture and I asked if she mind taking a short video of me cooking. IT wasn’t for social media or friends or anything, that video was for me so I could remember when I could be happy. A trip to Costa Rica for only $51 with my Go Wild pass and I got to be by the ocean and I met new friends and I was actually helping someone, I realized that day that’s what made me the most happy, that’s why I wanted the video.
After lunch I cleaned up and then Marcello and I played some chess. She asked if I minded watching Marcello while she ran to town with a client and I said sure, no problem. I was wrong, it was a huge fuckin problem! She said she would be back in an hour and then we could go to the hippy get-together on the beach. She was NOT back in an hour and I fuckin panicked. I didn’t know this lady’s last name, I didn’t know Marcello really, I called Cat and she didn’t answer and I tried texting her, nothing. I thought fuck, she must have abandoned me with this kid. And I don’t know how to get ahold of the authorities and it was a holiday, this shit was basically the plot to the Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy. I started pounding beers because I was so nervous. I asked Marcello if he knew Alina’s number and this little dude said, and I quote, “Who’s Alina?” What the fuck? I said buddy, the lady that was here last night with the kids? He said he didn’t know them very much. Oh my God I thought, I’ve definitely been saddled with a kid. But then I was thinking, you know what, I could raise this kid, wouldn’t be that bad, live in this $400 a month house by the ocean, sounds good. But I have my own kids back home in Kansas City and that made me panic even more, now Im fuckin slammin beers so worried. Every car that goes down this little side road Im like oh please be Cat. Now this kid is starting to yell at me to come back out in Norwegian, I don’t know Norwegian and he wants me to read him books, which are also in Norwegian, Im full panicky at this time.
Finally Cat came back I said Cat, I wasn’t comfortable with that, I don’t even know your last name or anything. She goes, why, whats wrong? And goes running in to see Marcello, I said oh no, he’s fine, nothing happened its just that I thought you left and weren’t coming back. She said why would I leave my kid I love him more than anything in the world. I said I know, okay, its just that I was panicking. She said calm down, all good, lets go to the hippy fire circle. I was not going to go, I was going to get the fuck out but I really wanted to go to the fire circle, I was hoping they would let me spin the fire. So we went to the fire circle, Marcello and Cat with the client and me following behind on the motorcycle. We relaxed on the blanket and then up came beautiful Alina looking like a million bucks in the sun tucking her brown hair behind her ears. She got on the blanket with us close to me and I retold the story about how I thought Cat abandoned her kid with me and we all laughed and smoked again and had beers and then watched the sun go down. I didn’t know Marcello didn’t know how to swim so I showed him how to swim a bit, a little lesson in front of the beautiful sunset. After the sun went down it was time for the fire circle and the main guy said brother, thank you for helping Cat, you are in our circle now, whats ours is yours. I said oh man thank you so much can I do the fire spinning? And he said that you can not do. Damn.
So I watched the others spin it jealously and then I got us some appetizer snacks from the restaurant. After the fire circle and the singing and everything we decided to have a picnic at the black beach. They went to the store to get the food and I went to go get my motorcycle. When I got back I guess Alina had stolen something from the store because the workers were all around her and the police were coming. It was equally sad and scary. They took everything she bought away and Cat said its okay she had enough so we all walked to the black sand beach and I gave Alina a hard time for being a thief until we all were laughing. We had a great night by the ocean and then they both got Tuk Tuks and I got on my motorcycle and drove back to the hot hostel and fell asleep and I never saw those hippies again. The end.
submitted by Ask_me_4_a_story to gowildfrontier [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 22:07 rooneyrecruiting1 Best Restaurant Chef - Assistant Restaurant Manager in MI

Best Restaurant Chef - Assistant Restaurant Manager in MI

https://preview.redd.it/5a7sevxgfg4b1.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=08fae7b38ac3ed4f76b2ed70b8ba2ae7e1197555
Restaurant Chef jobs are available on Rooneyrecruiting.com. We are here to assist you in finding a good Restaurant Manager and Assistant Restaurant Manager in MI.
submitted by rooneyrecruiting1 to u/rooneyrecruiting1 [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 21:24 chupapymunyanya Community, I need your opinion, is this okay?

Is this a 26FT Box truck + other requirements rate?
https://preview.redd.it/2jk8qmv08g4b1.png?width=706&format=png&auto=webp&s=dfceac1c33526580a36207163dcfea17b3ac83ca
submitted by chupapymunyanya to FreightBrokers [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 21:23 lapislazuli-- Living at Lincoln Square OR Hamilton Heights?

I'm new to NYC and will move here in the fall to go to Columbia. I'm renting an apartment with my friend, and we are now hesitating between one at Lincoln Square and another in Hamilton Heights.
The commuting time and rent of the two apartments are generally the same, so we are looking for some information on the adjacent neighborhood. We are pretty concerned about the safety of the neighborhood and the facilities (especially grocery stores and restaurants) around. Also we really want to live in somewhere quiet. We don't really care about the vibe of the neighborhood since we are home persons of the most time.
So we've done some research about Lincoln Square and Hamilton Heights, but still would like to hear your suggestions on the two places! Another thing to add is the particular location for that apartment at Hamilton Heights is 153rd st. (I've seen some people saying that area/ upper boundary of HH is not that safe comparatively, but I'd love to learn about the details).
Also please let me know if you have any other suggestions! Thank y'all!
submitted by lapislazuli-- to AskNYC [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 21:16 the_vince_horror East Coast dates for Phantogram. Opening for Queens of the Stone Age

East Coast dates for Phantogram. Opening for Queens of the Stone Age submitted by the_vince_horror to phantogram [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 21:14 Global-Pattern8021 🔥FREE ONLYFANS MEGA FOLDER 📁 (🔗Link In Comments⬇️) (Comment) Megnut Amouranth HannahOwO Corinna Kopf Megnutt Bhad Bhabie Pamibaby Belle Delphine Katie Sigmond Porn Nudes 18+ Pussy Wet Ass JOIN OUR JOIN SERVER FOR 1000+ MEGA FOLDER🔥 fdq3

⬇️ A TO Z ONLYFANS MEGA LINKS HERE⬇️

🟢 https://pastelink.net/2q2nli54

🟡 https://pastelink.net/2q2nli54

🔴 https://pastelink.net/2q2nli54

❤️‍🔥Discord

https://discord.gg/ZVq58yMz24

Abbagail Peaches Abby Berner Abby Nicole Abby Rao Abella Danger Abigail Morris Abigail Ratchford Addissona KaLori Adianababyxo Adriana Chechik Adriana Olivarez Aella Girl Aida Cortes Airikacal Alahnaly Ale Bernal Alemiarojas Alena Ostanova Alena Witch Aletta Ocean Alex Coal Alex Mucci Alexa Pearl Alexandra Quiroz Alexandra Smelova Alexas Morgan Alexia Rae Alexis Sky Alexis Texas Alice Bong Alice Delish Alice NZ Alina Belle Alina Lando Alina Rose Alinago Aline Faria Aline Mineiro Alinity Alishba Sheikh Alison Parker Alissa Violet Alix Lynx AlliSlimThiccinger Ally Lotti Alva Jay Amanda Cerny Amanda Nicole Amanda Trivizas Amber Hayes Amber Jade Amber Moore Amber Rose AmbsOfficialXO Amgermg Amira West Amirah Dyme Amouranth Amy Rose Amy Song Ana Lorde Ana Paula Saenz AnaCheri Anastasia Kvitko Andiecase Andrea Alaya Andrea Bergeron Angel Wicky Angela White Angelysc Angie Varona Anike Ekina AnimaeChan Anisa Johma Anllela Sagra Anna Beggion Anna Curvy Anna Malygon Anna Paul Anna Zapala Anri Okita Anuskha Sen Apples Ellie April Olsen Arabteen Bella Jameel Aria Taylor Ariella Ferrera Arizona Sky Arpa Roy Ash Kaash Ashley Tervort AshprincessMidna AspenRae Astrid Wett Audrey Shanice Aussie Ass Autumn Falls Ava Addams Ava Austen Ava Kox Avalon Hope Ayatan Ayumi Anime AyyeJae Baby Bianca Bad Penelope BaeBreanna Bambi Doe Barbie Gamers Barbie Nunez Becca Marie Becky Crocker Bella Luna Bella Poarch Bella Ramos Bella Thorne Belle Delphine Belle Jade BethanyLily Bhad Bhabie Bianca Anchieta Bianca Beauchamp BigTittyGothEgg Bishoujomom Blahgigi Blair Winters Blake Blossom Blonde Fit Blondie Fesser Body Teen Bombshell Mint Bonnie Locket BootyByShells Brandi Love Brandie Braids Brandy Renee Bree Louise Bria Myles Brianna Amor Brittany Elizabeth Brittany Jones Brittanya Adeline Brittanya Razavi Brndav BronkMommy Bunny Colby BurchTwins Calita Sweetz CallMeSloo Capbarista - urfavcoffegurl Carlie Marie Carly Lawrence Carmela Habibi Carmen Pritchet Carolina Bell CarrotCake Cece Rose Celina Smith Celine Centino Charli D'Amelio Charly Jordan Chelseagreen Chely Nazario Cherie DeVille Cherry Crush Cheryl Blossom Cheyenne Celin Chicaiza Chinese Kitty Chloe Difatta Chloe Khan Christina Khalil Chromita Cj Miles Clara00Ellis Coconut Kitty Combat Barbie Connie Perignon Corinna Kopf Courtney Tailor Crystal Lust Crystal Westbrooks Csblondebombshell Daalischus Rose Dabofkya Dainty Wilder Daisy Keech Dani Daniels Dani Tabares Dania Altamirano Daniella Chavez Danielley Ayala Danii Banks Danyancat Darla Dimples Darshelle Stevens Debbie StPierre Deerbxby Demi Rose Denise Richards Destiny Skye Devorah Roloff Diamond Kitty Didiwinx DietCherry Diora Baird DJMiu - Miu Taeng DoubleDoseTwins Dredd Dulce Soltero Dulcinea Elena Kamperi Elisa Aline Ella Knox Elle Brooke Ellie Leen Elsa Jean Emanuelly Raquel EmarrB Emily Black Emily Cheree Emily Elizabeth Emily Faye Miller Emily Knight Emily Lynne Emily Renee Emily Rinaudo Emily Willis Emma Kotos Emma Magnolia EmmaLVX/Bunni Emmie EROME Eva Andressa Eva Lovia Eva Martinez Eva Violet Evalodimelo Faii Orapun Faith Lianne FanyShark Fatima Segovia Faye Miah FeGalvao Fernanda Mota Farhat Fie Laursen - Pregnant Mommy Filippa Fransson Fiona Allison FitFaithxo Francesca Farago Francesca Trisini Francia James - Francety Frecklemonade FwTina Gabbie Carter Gabbie Hanna Gabriella Ellyse Gaby Gardez Gatita Yan Gemma Wren Gene Marquinez Genesis Mia Lopez Georgia Carter Ghetto Barbie Gigardez Gil Jung Gina Laitschek Gina Savage Giuliana Cabrazia Goddess Angelina Grace Boor Grace Charis Grace Coffey Gwen Gwiz Hailey Queen Halle Hayes Hana Senpai HANA_C4 Hannah Nicole Kast HannahOwO Happy Yulia Harmony Reigns Heidy Grey Heidy Pino HeyImBee HiMyNameIsTee Hitomi Tanaka Hot4Lexi IceSpice Iggy Azalea Imanijyne IndiaLove Indica Flower Indigo White Isabella Buscemi Isabella Miller Isabella Ramirez Isla Moon Isla Summer Its Kaai Its Randalin Ivy Lebelle Izzy Green Jaaden Kyrelle JackieLove Jackson Maddy Jacky Ramirez Jada Stevens Jade Jayden JadeTeen Jailyn Ojeda Jailyne Ojeda Ochoa Jane Lucier Jane Soul Janna Breslin Jem Wolfie Jen Bret Jenna Charlette Jenna Ortega Jenna Shea Jenni Neidhart Jennifer Ponce Jessa Rhodes Jesse Jane Jessi Tron Jessica Nigri Jessica Sunok Jhonni Blaze Jill Hardener JizzJazz Jocy Cosplay Joey Fisher Johnny Sins Joselis Johana Juanita Belle Julia Rose Juliana Bonda Pack Julie Jess Justaminx Kalani Rogers Karely Ruiz Karinairbyy Karma Rx Karolina Mrozicka Katalina Kyle Katiana Kay Katie Cummings Katie Sigmond Katja Krasavice Katrina Jade Katrina Thicc KattLeya Kayla Simmons Kayle4Keeps Kaylen Ward Kaylin Garcia Kazumi Squirts KcBabyy Kebabs0verabs Keilah Kang Keiran Lee Keisha Grey Keishly Marie KenCake Kendal Jenner Kendra Karter Kendra Lust Kendra Sunderland Kenzie Madison Kenzie Reeves Kiara Mia Kiera Young KikiUndercover Kiley Corsello Kim Kardashian Kimmy Granger Kinsey Wolanski Kissa Sins Kit Mercer Kitty Ellen KittyXkum KiwiSunsett KKVSH Kneevo Kristen Hancher Kwuanisknnylegend Kylie Jenner Kym Graham Kyra Santoro Lacey Laid Laci Kay Somers Lady Sonia Lala Anthony Lana Rhoades Lana Rose LaSirena Laura Earnesty Lauren Alexis Lauren Elizabeth Lauren Summer Layna Boo Lazaniaze Lazano Lazelle Lazybutthead Leah Goes Wilde Leana Lovings Leichtperlig Lela Sohna Lena Paul Lena The Plug Lenina Crowne LeoLulu Lexi Luna Lil Pump Lilded Janet Lilianaheartsss Lilith Cavalier Lindsey Pelas Linneas asohy41 Linny Hill Lisa Ann Little Angel Little Caprice LittlmissFit Liz Cambage Lizbeth Rodriguez Lizzy Wurst Loren Gray Louisa Khovanski LoveLilah Lucia Manfredi Ludmii Alderete Luma Skye Luna Alessandra Luna Star LupuWellness Luxury Girl Lydia Grace LylasBigHeart Lyna Perez Lyna Perez MaareBeaar Mackenzie Ziegler Mackz Jones afsd2 Madelene Wright Madison Ginley Madison Ivy Madison Moore Malu Trevejo Mamibree Mandy Rose Mandy Rose Maria Arreghini Maria Eduarda Maria Eugenia Maria Gjieli Maria Nagai Mariah Mallad Mariana Cruz Martina Finocchio Martina Vismara Maru Karv Mary Moody Mataya Sweeting Mathild Tantot Mati Marroni Mckinzie Valdez Me1adinha fad563 Meana Wolf Meeti Kalher Meg Turney Megan McCarthy Megnut Mela Moria MelimTX Melissa Debbling Melody Rabbit Mia Azul Mia Francis Mia Khalifa Mia Malkova Michelle Rabbit Michelle Zepeda Mikaela Fuente Mikaela Pascal Mikaela Testa Mikahhlynn Mikaila Murphy Mikaylah Milan Mirabella Milf And Daughter Millie Bobby Brown Mimsy Bun Mimsy Heart Mini Loona MissBnasty MissCindyTran MizzTwerksum Molly Eskam Morgan Vera Moriah Mills Ms Fiire Ms Sethi MsPuiyi Mulan Vuitton Murka Valentin Nacre Victoire NakarySp Nala Fitness Naomi Soraya Naomi Swann Nara Ford NataLee Natali Polyakova Natalia Fadeev Natalie Coppes Natalie Reynolds Natalie Roush gq234 Natasha Aughey Natasha Nice Neiva Mara Neringa Kriziute NickiiBaby Nicola Cavanis Nicole Aniston Nicoletta Shea Nikki Woods Niykee Heaton Noelle Leyva NoemieLili NonaKanal Noonz_Supattra Nurababy Nursh Nyukixthequeen Octokuro Olivia Casta Only Jayus Paige Nieman Paige VanZant Paloma Silva Pamibaby Pandora Blue Pandora Kaaki Pandoranyxie Paola Skye Payton Preslee PeachJars fsd4 Penelope Kay Phoenix Marie Piabunny Pinuppixie Pokimane Polina Malinovskaya Poonam Pandey Povlotti Princesa_Ari Princess Helayna Ptwithally Purple Bitch Rachel Cook Rachel Dolezal Rae Lil Black Rakhi Gill Ramona_Jst Rebecca Crocker Reislin Rena Tari Reya Sunshine Rharrirhound Rihanna Riley Reid Riley Reid Rosa Acosta Roxystylez Rubi Rose Ruby Salvo Rusty Fawkes Sabrina Nichole Sahlt Sailormoon Samantha Aufderheide Samie Duchamp Sara Gold Sara Mascara Sara Retali Sara Underwood Sarah Banks Sarrixo Sava Schultz Savannah Bond Scarlett Jones Scarlett Kisses fsd4a Scarlit Scandal Sejinming Selena Gomez Seltin Sweety Serinide Shady Shainarae Shaiden Rogue Shamayneg ShiftyMine ShunliMei Sincerely Juju Sky Bri Skye Sutton Skylar Rae Skylar Vox SkylarMaexo Skyler Lo Smashedely SnackyChan Sofia Ansari Sofia Elizabeth Sofia Gomez Sofia Simens SolaZola Solomia Maievska fa23gs Sommer Ray Songyuxin Hitomi Sophie Dee Sophie Mudd Sophie Mudd Sophie Rose Sophie Vanmeter Stacey Saran Stacia Maria Steffy Moreno Stella Brooks Stella Violet Steph Kegels Stormi Maya STPeach StrawberryShan Summer Hart Sunny Leone Sunny Ray SusyGala Svenska Tjejer Svetabily SydneyVmay SyrianQueen - AMBS Taliya Jordan Tamzintaber Tana Mongeau Taneth Gimenez Tara Babcock Tasyamini Tayler Hills Taylor White Teanna Trump Tessa Winters Thaissa Fit TheConnellTwins TheDanDanglerr TheRealBrittFit Thumbalina Tiiieeen Toni Camille Toochi Kaash Trisha Paytas TroyaChan Turkish Amateur Teens Tyga UhhLiar Uhvenyu Ur4vity Urbzz Urindianbae Utah Jaz Valentina Garzon Valentina Nappi Valeria Alejandrav Valerie Kay Valkyrae Vanessa Bohorquez Vera Dijmans Veronica Perasso Vicky Stark Victoria Barret Victoryaxo Viet Bunny Viking Barbie Vina Sky Violet Myers Violet Summers Vita Celestine Vivi Tarantino Vladislava Voulezj Waifu Mia Wbery Wetkitty Whiptrax Woe Senpai Xenoncos Xev Bellringer Ximena Sanchez XoXo Xxapple Yael Cohen Yanet Garcia YareLyLy YikeSaiko YinyLeon Yisela Avendano Yumisin Yungfreckz Zahra Elise Zara Jordan Zoey Sinn Zoie Burgher boobs, ass, tits, tiktok, nudes, naked, sextape, porn, leak, leaked, leaks, nsfw, onlyfans, mega, discord, telegram, new, OF, latest, corina, corrina, megnutt02, megnutt, mackzjones, charli, dixie, damelio, d amelio, waifumia Abby Lynn Abrie Baby Addison Ivy Aery Tiefling Aestra Azure Alaska Clarke Alexandra Daddario Aidra Fox Alina Becker Alina Lopez Allie Cat Alyri Alyssa Alessio Alyx Star Ameliasocurvy Anissakate Annabgo Anna Louise Anne Moore Aria Banks Aria Lee Ariana Mumtaz Ari Kytsya Asha Miller Ashhxlynxx Ashley Alban Ashley Danielle Ashley got Ashley Matheson Ashley Rey Asianbarbietina Asian Candy Asianmochi Audrey and Sadie August Taylor Austin White Autumn Renae Autumnsbum Ava Nicks Azalyastar Babyjey Babymalaya Babyprincesskai Babyrayxxx Bailey Brooke Bambitwo Bapricorn Bar6ie6 Bbygurlmax Bbystar Beatrice Segreti Belinda Nohemy Bella Jameel Bellamay Bella Rayee Bella Rome Belle Barbie Belle Olivia Belinda Nohemy Billie Ellish BlackWidof Blair Williams Blinkx Bootylikeabackroad/Gianna J Brandi Sheri Bratzmon Breckie Hill Brenda Trindade Brenda Vanessa Briadeline Brianna Amor Bridgette B Briea Harm Bronwin Aurora Bubblebratz Bundleofbec Bunni.emmie Bunniemai1591 Bunni3png Byoru Callmesherni Canela Skin Carolina Samani Catgirl Cecilia Lion Cardi B Carli Nicki Cassie Curses Celina Powell Charlotte Emerson Charlotte Parkes Chelsea Wilde Chelxie Cherry Apricots Chloe Rannoch Chrissy Knox Chulaslim Cierra Mistt Clarababylegs/clarakitty Coconey Connell Twins Cottonkelly Cutepowerlegs Daisy Drew Dakota Jade Dakota James Dakota Johnson Dana Hamm Dan Dangler Dani Fae Danilanio Dawn Marie Devon Jenelle Dia Kimeko DickForLily DoubleDoseTwins Effycutiexx Elisa Esposito Elizabeth Olsen Elizabeth Vasilenko Eliza Ibarra Ellalx0x Elle Knox Elliesapplepie Ellyandnick Elsa Love Emirafoods Emjaybird EmjayPlays Emmmyxo Ennid Wong Erotic Medusa Erxticgoddess Erzabel Esmeeteaches Eva Elfie Fairyalexx FatherKels Fareeha Bakir Fetching Butterflies Fiamurr Fifigirl9 Fitchick_em Fit Emily Foopah Frootbabie Gal Gadot Gii Xoxo69 Gina Valentina Ginger Lure Giulia Rosa Gracie Waifu Gthatass Gwendolyn Celine Haley Spades Hannah Hughes Hannah Palmer HannaMiller HardForEva Helen Ivy Hime Tsu Hitomi Hoehuxtable Honey Gold Husvjjal Iamangelinadeep Ilanosh Immeganlive Inkedsophiie Iris black21 Isabella Rhoades Isabelle Eleanore Isisxox Ivanka Peach Ivana Knoll IzzyBunnies Jada Conbreezy Jade Lavoie Jade Kush Jaileen/Jaixpetite Jakara Baby Jakara Mitchell Jamelizzzz Jasmineteaa Jasmyn2juicey / Kaylee4keeps Jazvip Jenna Chew Jenna Lynn Meowri Jessica Weaver Jewelz Blu Jia Lissa Joanniefit JOracekuJO Josephine Jackson JuicyFakku Just-Wingit Kaelundeen KaileGoh Kaitlyn/k8lyn096 Kalinka Fox Kate Kuray Katie Milkers Katsokinky Katti Colour Kaylani Lei Kazumi's World Kelli Carter Key Chicaiza Kiko Baka Kiley Lynn Kim Brûlée Kiyomi Leslie Kristen Kindle Kkimkkimmy Lady In The Streets Lana Bee Laura Lux Lauren Jasmine LauraSahar Lauren Burch Lasirena69 Lavaxgrl Layla Brooks Layladeline Leah Larsh Lems7 Lena Kitsune Lena12 Leyna Inu Lilbussygirl Lilmochidoll Lilwaifulia Liya Perez Lily Phillips Lily Shams LillyVig Lina Belfiore Lindsay Capuano Littlespoonz Liya Silver Lolaxmina Loonassoftfeet LoveAngelica Low-keydeadinside Lucy Doll Lucy Mochi Lulu Chu LydiaGh0st Lynarita Lyra Crow Maddy Belle Madiitay Madisonwilde Milakitten Maikonidesvip Margot Robbie Mariaaskyy Maria del Mar Mariam Hadid Marie Temara Marisol Yotta Mary Burke Meggyeggo Mei Kou Mei Minato Meladinha Mellooow Melwood Mercedes Blanche Mia Falls Mia Monroe Michelle Rabbit Mikayla Demaiter Mikki Marie Milababy69 Mila Sobolov Minavenetavip Miss Banana Miss Bunda Miss Dxxx Miss Lexa Misstiff Model_gg Molly X Moody Feet Morgpie Morganlanexo Motzie Mvngokitty Nanda Reyes Nataliexking Natalnya Natasha Noel Naya Dickson Nebraskawut Neiima Nicki Minaj Nicole Dobrikov Nikitaxkim / Nikita Cruze Nina Kayy Nnnnekochan Nonsalemwitch Norafawn Nymphet Angel Oakleyraeee Ocicat Officialzoerenea Oliviamaebae Okichloeo Olivia Eden Orphicbunny Paigeuncaged Paige Woolen Pantynectar Patricia Lopez Pengali Princess Phia Pixei Praewasian Prosexx Puppiwi P7oh7 Queen Needy Queenqawan Quinnfinite Quqco Railey Diesel Rainey James Razorbaby Realprettyangel RealSkyBri Redheadwinter Renata Riwwa sf422 RileyFans Romi Rain Rori Rain Rose Monroe Roxysdream SaabSilvi Saleemamansur Samantona Saucekaybaby Savana Sky Scarlett Johansson Scarlet Silva Senya Marin Shania Perrett Shinratensei98 Shycutie Siegex Sierra Cabot Skyexxxsummers Skyiiah Snaxychann Sienna Mae Gomez Skylar Blue Sofiallia Fiaax2 Safiyaax Sofia Mariana Sofia Silk Sophielaurenxxo Soogsx and Puppiwii Stella Barey Steffy Moreno Stefanie Gurzanski Steph Murves Summer Brookes Sweetie Fox Sydneymay Tahlia Hall Tanababyxo Tantot Twins Tayathegoddess TayTatted Tayylavie TheBaeBreanna Theesammyjo TheGorillaGrip Theprivateavocado Tiffanynhoe Tiny Texie Talia Mar Triplex Celeste Trippie Bri afsdf32 Trishyland Tru Kait Urfavbellabby Ur69baby Uwucatxoxo Valeria Vidal Vanessa.rhd Vanessa Sierra Vega Thompson Vero Gold Veronica Zolotova Vismara Martina Vyvan Le Wettmelons Whoahannahjo Whosbonnieandclyde Xailormoon Xenon Xlucy Yasmine Lopez Yololary YourSuggerBaby Yoya Grey Yummy Kimmy Yur Aular f4r23 Zayla Skye Zipoz Zusje Addison Rae Faith Ordway Emily Ratajkowsk Emma Chamberlain Dixie D'Amelio Madison Beer Erin Gilfoy danielle bregoli
submitted by Global-Pattern8021 to u/Global-Pattern8021 [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 21:13 RickyBalboa004 [SUGGESTION] NEW GENERATION OF TEAM IKARI

I am creating this post to suggest a little group of newcomers for Team Ikari to be used on a new Ikari Warriors game, or a new saga for KOF.
I have absolutely nothing against the old faces, Ralf Jones, Clark Still, Leona Heidern, Whip or even the commander Heidern himself. I just think that new faces would always be welcome.
And without more delays, here are the newcomers:
GENJI KAWASAKI - He is the son of the former commander of Ikari, General Kishi Kawasaki. After the events of the first game, where Ralf and Clark had to infiltrate the enemy lines of the Phantom Crime Cartel to rescue him and his right hand man, Colonel Roland Cook, the General and the Colonel retired from Ikari and resumed their civilian lives. Time passed and his sons grown up, aspiring to follow their footsteps.
Genji himself is a stoic and silent martial arts specialist who specializes in speed kicking, but he is also insecure about if he is worthy of his father's legacy. Genji is nipo-hawaiian (has American Citizenship) and has black short hair. He is a shorty guy, being smaller than Leona and Whip (his height is 171 cm), and hates being joked for his size.
COLTON COOK - He is the son of the former right hand man of General Kishi Kawasaki, Colonel Roland Cook. Just like Genji, Colton grew up aspiring to follow his father's footsteps, and is Genji's good friend since the childhood, both helping each other in several occasions.
Colton himself is a hyperactive and vigorous Krav Maga specialist who specializes in counter maneuvers. Colton is afro-american and is bald. He is taller than Genji and the Ikari women, but smaller tha Ralf and Clark (his height is 180 cm), and proudly self proclaims himself as the new generation of Team Ikari.
ELISE MADISON - She is the daughter of the former US President, William Madison, and she was rescued from the clutches of the Phantom Crime Cartel by Ralf Jones and Clark Still several years ago, when she was just a kid, an experience that changed her life forever.
Elise herself is a tomboyish and somewhat a spoiled sweet girl, but a competent MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program) specialist who specializes in controlling and dominating her opponents. Elise in an american woman with blonde short hair. She is taller than Genji, Leona and Whip, but smaller than Colton, Ralf and Clark (her height is 175 cm), and she has a little crush on her saviors, and dream to be a great member of the squad and to make her saviors become proud of her.
Now you can express your opinions about this post.
submitted by RickyBalboa004 to kof [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 20:17 Joadzilla The alt-right economy is failing. Here’s the real performance of anti-woke entrepreneurs

https://fortune.com/2023/06/05/alt-right-economy-is-failing-real-performance-of-anti-woke-entrepreneurs-business-politics-sonnenfeld/
In commenting on Bob Iger’s defense of Disney’s values and brand in the face of threats from Florida Governor DeSantis, Nike CEO John Donahoe said, “I think Bob’s doing a great job at this. If it’s core to who you are and your values, then you stand up for your values.”
That spirit has been rewarded by the free market. Across many fronts, we have shown in quantitative analysis of business performance that doing good for society is not at the expense of doing well for shareholders, with clear examples ranging from Russian business exits to public engagement on voting rights.
Yet still, grandstanding political ideologues are using opportunistic attacks on iconic U.S. enterprises to showcase their own nascent anti-ESG businesses, and reportedly build a “parallel economy” catering to conservative constituencies. But far from flourishing, an objective review of the facts suggests these anti-wokester jokesters are financially foundering.
One little-known index fund provider, the American Conservative Values ETF (ACVF), recently received a flurry of media attention for boycotting Target over what they described as its “pandering to the woke agenda,” confidently declaring that their boycott of Target will ensure “Target stock’s long-term performance will suffer.”
Target stock is down, but in reality, the fund’s total holdings of Target amount to just $100,000–equivalent to the revenue that Target nets every 20 seconds. In fact, ACVF’s total assets under management are a rather measly $40 million–and many of their other “boycotted” companies–including iconic All-American enterprises such as Apple, Microsoft, Delta Airlines, American Airlines, Disney, Walmart, Coca-Cola, Salesforce, and JPMorgan–have performed quite well since being targeted by ACVF. Delta is up 10% this year, American is up 15% this year, Microsoft and Apple are both up over 40% this year and Salesforce is up 60%. Thanks in part to missing out on these top-performing stocks, ACVF is underperforming the S&P 500 by over 2% this year through June 1. No wonder even politically conservative investors stay away from these anti-woke ETFs.
ACVF’s struggles rather pale in comparison to those of its much larger and better-known rival, presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s Strive Asset Management. We have contacted both firms about our findings by phone and email, but their representatives directed us to figures published on their respective websites, which we checked–and double-checked.
The business models of both Strive and ACVF are similar: They construct exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, for mom-and-pop retail investors to passively track a basket of stocks, matching rather than trying to beat the broader market. Unlike hedge funds, these ETF providers do not care if the stocks go up, down, or sideways–rather, they get their money from fees charged on anyone who has their money in a Strive ETF. Most ETFs are very low-fee products–but the anti-woke ETFs come at a premium. BlackRock ETFs, for example, usually charge around 0.03% fees. Strive’s fees are comparatively higher at up to 0.41%–but nothing compared to ACVF’s 0.75% fee.
To survive over the long run, these nascent ETF providers need to continually attract new money from mom-and-pop investors. And that is exactly what it appears they are struggling to do. All the evidence, out in the open, shows that Strive has had a hard time attracting additional investor inflows beyond its original anchor investors after the launch of its ETFs last year. Its assets under management appear to have stagnated despite Ramaswamy’s loud media presence.
For example, its largest flagship ETF, the Strive US Energy ETF (DRLL), has almost exactly the same amount of assets under management (AUM) as of June 1, $320 million, that it did when it was launched in August/September 2022, and its AUM is down nearly 25% from the start of this year.
Fully half of Strive’s eight current ETF products–including the Strive 1000 Growth ETF, the Strive 1000 Value ETF, the Strive 1000 Dividend Growth ETF, and the Strive Small-Cap ETF–have less than $12 million assets under management each, which is microscopic relative to the industry standard–and less than the average compensation of a single major CEO at most companies.
Thus it is hardly surprising that some of the most admired CEOs are flippantly swatting away Strive’s attempts at “activism.” Ramaswamy has become the court jester of corporate governance. The mere mention of his name brings anything from smirks to outright gales of laughter amongst some corporate audiences.
One hopes that Strive is not on a path to fail as badly as some of Ramaswamy’s previous ventures, such as Axovant, a Ramaswamy-founded company whose stock price plunged from $200 to 40 cents, or Campus Venture Networks, Ramaswamy’s much-hyped undergraduate startup which, despite his self-aggrandizement, he apparently sold for just a few thousand dollars, if his tax returns are correct. Even one of Strive’s biggest financial backers, Bill Ackman, is apparently embarrassed and rushing to disavow Ramaswamy. Meanwhile, Strive is reduced to seeking “consulting contract” handouts from friendly politicos. Perhaps this helps explain why Ramaswamy is running his longshot Presidential campaign: Nothing turns around sagging business fortunes quite like a new burst of free publicity!
It is not only in high finance that these “parallel economy” startups are flailing. Attempts to build a new alt-right media ecosystem are similarly landing with a thud.
Perhaps most infamously, Donald Trump’s much-hyped Truth Social alt-platform has imploded in value, with its SPAC packaging (ticker DWAC) shares falling from $95 to $13 even as the former president flails away on this otherwise quiet platform. Alt-right social media rivals such as Gab and GabPay are struggling to gain traction, begging for donations through crowdsourced funding, while provocateur Alex Jones and his Infowars declared bankruptcy after a record $1 billion verdict for the Sandy Hook families. More prominently, One America News has now been dropped by every major cable operator, partially driven by low audiences, while its behemoth rival Fox’s struggles are just beginning after the record $787.5 million Dominion settlement–with its board reportedly becoming weary of deviating too far from the mainstream.
Efforts to expand the alt-right parallel economy across digital services and even physical goods are running straight into the ground as well. Virtually all major retailers from Bed Bath & Beyond to Walmart to Kohl’s to Costco have cut ties with Mike Lindell’s MyPillow, which just months ago closed its last in-person retail mall store while losing $100 million, according to Lindell himself. Former Trump personnel director Johnny McEntee’s project–an alt-right dating site, “The Right Stuff”–has been lambasted even by its core constituency, with its mostly men frustrated by the lack of women users, and its seed funding from Peter Thiel is reportedly scheduled to run out in the next few months.
To a hammer, everything looks like a nail; and the exertions of some anti-woke activists in extrapolating politicized rhetoric into the economy can stretch into caricature. Strangely, the struggles of the nation’s regional banks, such as SVB, Signature, and First Republic, were superstitiously blamed on “wokeism” and the facts–that these less diversified banks were unprepared for the Fed’s interest rate hikes and that larger, equally “woke” banks were better insulated from these interest rate swings–were ignored. This month, even the conservative New York Post was bewildered by the sudden ire this month of anti-wokesters targeting the privately owned, very spiritual, Christian values-guided restaurant chain Chick-fil-A because, years ago, they promoted a longstanding internal HR executive to oversee diversity and equal opportunity.
Despite positioning themselves as reverent guardians of free markets against government and social overreach, many anti-wokester jokesters seem to have forgotten the most basic requirement of capitalism: to make a profit. Ironically, the free market delivers the most condemning verdict of all. The favorite “woke” targets of anti-ESG activists continue to soar to record economic heights, effortlessly shrugging off anti-woke attacks.
Clearly, despite all the hype and drama, there is little financial threat to mainstream business posed by the anti-woke economy. It’s not a genuine parallel economy–these are scattered cases of ideological grifters and struggling entrepreneurs. Their real talent seems to lie in fast-talking media platforms into giving them an undeserved platform to unfairly target iconic pillars of U.S. enterprise. But as these anti-wokester jokesters struggle to gain financial traction, the numbers will continue to disprove their claims.
submitted by Joadzilla to gamefaqs261 [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 17:45 searching88 James Bears Award Winners Announced with winners from Chicago

https://www.opentable.com/blog/james-beard-awards-winners-2023/
Damarr Brown, Virtue, wins Emerging Chef
Obélix was a finalist in the “Best New Restaurant” category
Sepia was a finalist in the “Outstanding Hospitality” category
Tim Flores and Genie Kwon, Kasama, win “Best Chef: Great Lakes”
Diana Dávila Boldin, Mi Tocaya Antojería, was a finalist. ^
submitted by searching88 to chicagofood [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 17:17 Dangerous-Bag-7327 [HIRING] 25 Jobs in Chicago Hiring Now!

Company Name Title City
Travel Nurse Across America Progressive Care Unit - PCU RN - TravelNurse Chicago
ABF Freight Road Driver, Full-time Chicago Heights
ABF Freight Road Driver, Full-time Chicago Ridge
Aristeo Project Engineer Chicago
US Customs & Border Protection Border Patrol Agent, Entry Level Chicago
Crowe Advisory Data Analytics : Advanced Analytics Manager Chicago
Bimbo Bakeries USA Operations Excellence Sr Manager Chicago
Aon Global Head of Product & Engineering Chicago
Kenan Advantage Group Immediate Openings CDLA Owner Operator Driver Chicago Chicago
Tribune Publishing Dock Coordinator Chicago
Snipes JimmyJazz Stock Personnel Chicago
Simos Airport Warehouse Agent (Cargo) Chicago
Mercedes-Benz of Chicago Mercedes-Benz of Chicago Parts Runner Chicago
Farmer's Business Network, Inc. US Supply Chain Director Chicago
Lifestyle Brands (the LSB) 3rd Shift Receiving Associate Chicago
Ardagh Group Manager, AGV/ Rolling Stock & Warehouse Construction Chicago
Skills For Chicagolands Future Freedman Seating - Forklift Operator Chicago
Parlor Hospitality Group LLC Assistant Purchasing and Receiving Manager Chicago
Tao Group Hospitality Beverage Receiver - TAO Restaurant Chicago Chicago
The LaSalle Group Entry-Level Supply Chain Analyst Chicago
Gategroup Ramp Agent - $18/hr + Sign-on bonus $1,000 Chicago
Bunzl Warehouse Receiving Associate - Forklift Operator Chicago
Gpac Cold Storage / Warehouse Project Manager Chicago Heights
Copart Yard Supervisor - 081 Chicago Heights
Snipes JimmyJazz Stock Manager Chicago Ridge
Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in chicago. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!
submitted by Dangerous-Bag-7327 to ChicagoJobsForAll [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 17:03 zerpderp QOTSA tour with special guests Viagra Boys 2023!

QOTSA tour with special guests Viagra Boys 2023! submitted by zerpderp to ViagraBoys [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 16:41 clivnv Would you guys take this?

Would you guys take this?
At 1:30pm, it’ll definitely not take “116 minutes.”
submitted by clivnv to uberdrivers [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 16:12 Tonedeffox Stagnant or body composition, bmi no change?

Hi all! I’m in a limbo with weight loss and fitness. I started end of March, working out every other day which incorporates in rotation leg day and arm day, core, and then finalize with 12/3/30 treadmill incline in which I recently increased to 13/3.2/30 because it was getting easy (it wasn’t when I started). I started off 151 lbs at close to 5’7 height. I was told by a personal trainer, if I lose 12 lbs I’ll be at my “ideal” weight, as my BMI is on the high end of normal, however despite my strict caloric intake 5 days out of the week and 2 days I’m looser so I can enjoy with my family restaurant dining but I’m still mindful of how much I am eating. I realize the scale doesn’t show much, however because the number 12 lbs loss needed remains on my mind, I’m seeing my weight now fluctuate between 147-149, from original weight 151. So I know I lost some, but it seems stuck and I can’t lose any more unless I go into starvation mode. What am I doing wrong???!! My bmi isn’t changing, but I feel tighter, pants are slightly looser but not by much, but in general I am feeling stronger and tighter, my partner noticed too, states he sees more definition. But I’m supposed to lose 12 lb?! But I’m stuck at a 4 lb on average weight loss and it’s not budging? I eat a ton of eggs, chicken, beef, fish, tofu, lots of veggies, minimal carbs. Help! Thank you!
submitted by Tonedeffox to WeightLossAdvice [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 15:53 ebradio Queens of the Stone Age Announce Tour with Phantogram, The Armed, Jehnny Beth, and Viagra Boys

Queens of the Stone Age Announce Tour with Phantogram, The Armed, Jehnny Beth, and Viagra Boys submitted by ebradio to indieheads [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 15:36 YaaliAnnar NoP: Lost and Found (58)

First Previous
Memory Transcription Subject: Vichak, venlil school principal
Date [Standard Human Reckoning]: 2136-10-23
I told my vice principal that I didn't come to this predator planet for a vacation, so I need some knowledge or study results to bring home. Johan, my possible future brother-in-law, suggested that I could perhaps observe a human school. Keristian, the human coordinator for the refugee apartment, assured me that he had contacted an elementary school and came up with a schedule. For now, he told me to familiarize myself with the amenities in the apartment.
Besides their blocky design, human apartments had the same general functions as venlil ones. The staff provided us with a stepping stool to account for the larger dimension of the furniture, but other than that it has all that we needed.
Well... we could use a full-body dryer.
I found some alien features too in the apartment, such as the artificial pond, which humans use for recreation. They call this activity 'swimming', something that translates into "moving in water". Their First Contact package insisted that they came from arboreal lineage. Yet, their movements in water betrayed a hidden skill. After considering it, it made sense in a way. The water in their world is teeming with life, and they would benefit from aquatic hunting skills.
Adjacent to this 'swimming' pond, the apartment also had a gym. We have gyms back in the home world, but here on Earth, a wide range of humans frequented them, not just their armed forces personnel. They perform a variety of body movements such as lifting and putting things back down or running on a conveyor belt.
Does this dedication to simulated hardship serve as a means to channel their inherited predatory aggression? They didn't turn themselves from savage beasts into civilized people without some way to temper that excess.
We expected to meet a lot of gojids in the apartment, but it felt sparser than I had imagined. Keristian explained that the gojids here had entered into employment within the Capital. A large number had secured work on the farms. Some had brought seeds from their homeworld, which they planted back in the camp. After the human experts determined it safe enough for Earth, they transplanted the sprouts to one of the farms around the city.
I wondered if any venlil plant species had established themselves on this foreign soil. After Timür explained the concept of invasive species, I realized that I misinterpreted their cautious approach as predatory territorialism. On the other paw, the unspoiled wilderness that I witnessed on my journeys to and from the camp made me appreciate the inherent beauty of preserving such a wild landscape.
Some other gojids chose careers in logistics, serving the complex system that kept the goods in the region moving. Right now, humans directed most of their effort into alleviating the ruined cities. Some of the gojids had even volunteered to help the human, despite the presence of arxurs in the affected cities.
For our last meal of the day, we had gojid dishes made out of earth ingredients. I have to admit that I have not tried gojid cuisine before, but it grew on me just like human cuisine did.
The midday heat on Earth felt milder compared to the scorching intensity of a Deep Day in Venlil Prime's sunward section. Unlike our homeworld, where night temperatures could plummet beyond freezing, Earth's night felt comfortable.
I spent my first night on Earth sitting on the rooftop garden of the apartment. The blanket of darkness that stretched all around us sparked feelings of unease. However, the glimmering towers of the Capital provided a comforting backdrop, their lights twinkling like terrestrial stars. One of the staff members commented on how the city's light pollution obscured all but the brightest celestial bodies.
The staff member was a human after all and would do insane human things like complaining about their city not being dark enough.
Nevertheless, humans did appreciate the necessity of artificial lighting. As night fell, we could illuminate our room with the voice command, a comforting alternative to the deep night outside. I shuddered at the thought of enduring a night in such complete darkness.
Yesterday, I decided to explore the downtown capital to familiarize myself before I visited the school today. Mom insisted on tagging along and Keristian wanted Sukma, his aide, to guide us. We wanted a self-guided exploration, so as a compromise, the human equipped us with wrist-worn devices. These gadgets allowed him to track our whereabouts and also functioned as a means of payment. While the coordinator insisted we needn't worry about finances, he explained a rough price guide to prevent any possible exploitation.
Humans, in stark contrast to the lone arxurs, put heavy importance on socializing. While we waited in the station, the rhythmic cadence of Bahasa, their local language, filled the air. Thanks to Vani's provision of a language model, I could comprehend their dialogues, and snippets of human conversations drifted toward my ears.
"Do you see those domba?"
"Shhh... don't call them that. But yeah... I thought we had just one here?"
"Maybe Vani's relatives came to visit?"
However, even with the additional language model, my translator couldn't decipher all of their voices. Vani informed me that Bahasa serves as a trade language for the region and they had a plethora of other tongues that our translation device has yet to have the data for.
Once aboard the train, the humans adopted a collective silence. Being surrounded by humans aboard the train felt daunting, but this discomfort came from me standing out in this setting. I would feel the same on any other planet inhabited by a different species, carnivorous or not.
When we came to the downtown station, we plunged right away into an endless sea of humans.
Timür's unapologetic display of his face had acclimatized us to humans. We learned to perceive them not as threats but as just xenos with weird faces. It also helped that the humans in our vicinity maintained a respectful distance. However, they almost always locked their curious gaze onto us, averting their eyes when they figured out that I noticed them from my peripheral vision.
Distinguishing individual humans posed a challenge due to their similar appearance, but I soon learned to note the distinctive fabric of their clothing and the accessories they adorned.
The bustling capital of Nusantara presented us with new experiences and opportunities to learn about human culture. Mom and I took full advantage of our time there, immersing ourselves in the vibrant atmosphere provided by the city.
We first stopped at a local market, a bustling hive of activity that operated around the clock. Here, we observed humans haggling over the prices of fruits and vegetables, inspecting textiles, and purchasing a bewildering variety of cooked foods. The rich aroma of exotic spices and prepared meals filled the air.
We had a pleasant experience in the market until we stumbled onto the flesh section. Mom caused some embarrassing commotion when she vomited at the sight of the flesh.
So we decided to visit something less challenging and found ourselves going to museums and galleries. The tour guides in each institution we came to explained the history of this island while showing a collection of historical artifacts and artworks. It offered a captivating glimpse into the ancient human civilizations that once inhabited this region, and their struggles and triumphs.
We decided to have our last meal of the day in the city. With many of the buildings crammed in the city center, the place we had access to the open air lay at the top of the building. We watched the sun setting on the horizon.
As we ate through a platter of addictive fritters, Mom said that we venlil did construct similar dense settlements. Her explanation surprised me at first, as I almost forgot that Mom used to work as a civil engineer. She then explained that dense arrangements for habitats like this only made sense in colonies that lacked land or breathable air.
Humans seemed to have other motivations. They prefer gathering close to one another, creating bustling metropolises to allow for large swaths of untouched land for their wildlife.
So today, having learned to navigate the urban labyrinth of the Capital, I bid a temporary farewell to my mother at the outskirt station. Her exploration of this city would take her further out, where she would visit one of the human agricultural facilities. On the other paw, my destination lay at the heart of downtown.
Once I arrived at the downtown station, I switched on my visual overlay, allowing it to project directional instructions across my visual field. It painted a pathway to my destination through the tunnels and covered walkways. The direction landed me in one of the city's gargantuan towers.
The visual overlay translated the name of the school in venscript. Since humans write horizontally, the resulting translation turns a quarter circle. The sign above the entrance says:
"State Elementary School #1"
Number one? I suppose in a city this big, they did need more than one school. Under the sign, I spotted a human figure standing. She waved her arms and I could tell that she had waited for me. When I got closer, I made out the warm and inviting expression on her face
"Hi, I'm Andin, and you must be Principal Vichak?" Her voice sounded melodious and soft for a human. The human clasped her hands in front of her and bowed.
"Hi Principal Andin, nice to meet you," I replied to her with the same gesture. "I can't wait to see your school."
"Excellent! Follow me," she said. Her billowy one-piece dress twirled around her when she turned around.
Andin led me through the lobby and toward a balcony overseeing the heart of this educational facility, an internal atrium spanning three stories in height. The humans embedded the school inside one of their superstructure, and due to the lack of outdoor space, this architectural feature provided a simulated outside area where young humans could engage in physical activity and socialize. A synthetic material replicating grass covered the atrium's floor. Simulated sunlight streamed projected from the ceiling bathed the area in warm daylight.
An assortment of colorful play structures and exercise apparatuses dotted the periphery of the atrium. I presume they provided the students with ways to release those predator energies. Balconies jutted out from each floor, giving educators an overview of the bustling space and enabling effective supervision during playtime. The classrooms and learning spaces surrounded the atrium. As we walked past, I noticed that several of the glass panes had turned opaque.
"I read from the sign that this is an Elementary School. How old are your students?"
"Our elementary school caters to students from the first through fourth grades, so they are between six to ten years old. However, we sometimes admit older students. For instance, we have a few twelve-year-olds in the fourth grade."
Something felt a bit off from her answer. "What's next for them after this?" I probed.
"After completing their time here, students move on to four years of middle school, followed by another four years of high school. During high school, they can choose a specialization before they move on to university."
Her response left me flabbergasted. "Twelve years of education?" I said in disbelief. "It takes a full twelve years to complete education here?"
"Uh... yeah. That's pretty much the standard timeframe for education all over the planet. Just... how long does it take for you to finish your mandatory education?"
"Seven years," I responded. "By the age of thirteen, kids can start two years of vocational school and most venlils started working at fifteen."
Andin's eyes widened, "Wait, you have children working full-time at fifteen?"
"No, they're not children. They're adults." I realized that humans might have different lifespans. "What's... your age of majority here?"
"In this country, people can vote at the age of seventeen. But in our local culture adulthood starts at twenty." Andin explained.
"Alright, maybe we have a different lifespan?" Andin suggested, echoing my thought. "What's the typical lifespan of a venlil?"
"The average life expectancy hovers around ninety years, although many people live past one hundred," I explained. I wonder if perhaps humans live much longer? I didn't expect predators to live long, but humans tend to defy the norm.
"We had the same lifespan," Andin admitted.
"Wait... what?"
"Maybe we have a different education system?" She suggested again. Andin offered me her pad. "Feel free to observe any class that interests you. Here you can see the schedule for today." The contents had been translated into Ventongue. It presented a timeline of various subjects that took place throughout the day.
As my eyes skimmed over the list, one caught my attention. "Can you explain physical education?"
"In this class, we teach children how to exercise." she explained, "In fact, a PE class should begin now."
An adult human arrived on the field, followed by human children chattering and making all sorts of kid noises. They sounded just like venlil juveniles. At the command of the teacher, the students aligned themselves into a tidy grid pattern. A rhythmic melody started to play, filling the atrium with an energetic ambiance. The teacher at the front began to move in sync with the music, demonstrating a series of actions that the children mirrored.
"What are they doing?" I asked, intrigued.
"They're warming up to prepare for the activity ahead."
They performed various movements, the fluidity and synchronization of which appeared almost like a dance to my venlil eyes.
Once the 'warm up' concluded, several large, blocky objects rolled into the atrium. With a series of arm gestures from the teacher, these objects positioned themselves around the area. Some expanded to form rudimentary structures complete with roofs, transforming the atrium into some sort of tiny city.
The children gathered in a circle. Following a brief, excited chatter, they each presented a hand, some with palms facing upward, others showing the backs of their hands. According to some unspoken rule, those showing the backs of their hands stepped back, causing the circle to contract. This ritual continued and I figured out that the group with the most members excused themselves until one kid remained.
"Ah, it seems they're playing 'Hide and Seek' today," Andin commented, watching the unfolding scene with a warm smile.
"Hide and Seek? What's that?"
"One child plays as the 'cat' while the others will play as the 'mice'," she explained, her expression turning somewhat hesitant. "Ah... perhaps this wasn't the most appropriate activity for you to observe."
My translator didn't quite capture the nuances of 'cat' and 'mice', but I gathered they referred to Earth animals. The child designated as the 'cat' stood in the center of the atrium, standing near a pole with their eyes covered, while the 'mice' scattered, seeking shelter behind the fabricated structures and blocks.
The 'cat' began a loud countdown. Upon reaching zero, they removed palms hands from their eyes and commenced their search. A realization struck me as the 'cat' started prowling around.
"This... is," I murmured, taken aback by the implication of the game. "You're simulating a hunt."
From time to time, the humans can't help but remind me that despite their friendliness and civility, they had a history as predators.
"Well... yeah, when you put it like that…" she paused. "But, the children didn't see it as a hunting simulation. I mean… I doubt that none of them will become a hunter when they reach adulthood. Most of us nowadays don't hunt."
"I understand." I looked down and the cat had found a mouse, chaos ensued as the two of them rushed to the pole. The mouse touched the pole first and laughed. "You humans do need an outlet for your aggression to maintain a civil society."
"What? No…" Said Andin. "We have Physical Education to encourage a habit of fitness."
"So, you don't feel the urge to get violent, sometimes?"
"Most of us don't. Those with that kind of urge receive treatments so they don't harm themselves or other people."
I looked down at the human children below. Despite their concerning activity, they looked like they enjoyed it.
"But if this display makes you uncomfortable, we can see other classes."
I looked at the pad, where another class intrigued me.
"You have an art class? In elementary school?"
"Yeah, it encourages creativity… you don't have art classes?"
"No, those with the aptitude will go to art colleges after they graduate from school."
"Oh…" She gave me a look that I think signifies pity? "Are there other things you don't see in Venlil school?"
"The English class seems interesting. I noticed that most of your people can speak in English when needed."
"Heh, that one is contentious." She chuckled. "English is waning now, and people proposed that we teach our kids Chinese, Hindi, or Swahili for the foreign language class. I take it… you don't have a foreign language class?"
"We do, but… like art school, you learn it at the university level, usually as part of a Foreign Relation Studies. Because foreign languages are spoken by other species."
"Interesting." Again, she gave me that concerned look. "So, do you want to see the art class or the language class?"
"Art class. I think."
"Sure, let's go," Andin said, guiding me down the stairs toward the art classroom.
Upon entering the room, chaos greeted us. An eclectic array of children's artwork adorned the walls, showcasing vibrant landscapes, portraits, abstract shapes, and depictions of what I assumed were various earth creatures.
"Ah, Principal Andin," the art teacher greeted us with an inviting smile as we entered. "And we have Principal Vichak as well!"
"Meet Harta, our art teacher," Andin introduced me.
The moment we entered the room, a sea of young faces turned towards us. It felt like a forest of eyes scrutinizing us.
"Children, say hello to our visitor today, Principal Vichak."
"Good morning, Principal Vichak!" They speak in harmony. The children then refocused on their tasks, their hands returning to their brushes and colored pencils.
Some students here worked alone, while others collaborated in small groups. In one corner, I spotted a screen displaying 3D artwork, sculptures made from what looked like recycled materials, clay, and even intricate artwork made of folded paper.
"Today we have a free-form class," Harta explained. "With your visit, I asked them to make something about our two species."
Several children gathered around a large screen at one end of the room, using it to sketch out their designs before replicating them on canvas. They drew scenes of humans and venlils with a level of technical skill and creativity that amazed me, considering the young age of these kids. In one section, busy children molded a piece of clay, their tiny hands trying to create something that looked like a venlil.
"But how do you evaluate their work?" I asked, confused. "And for that matter, how do you grade students in the Physical Education class?"
"In this school system, we don't include art and physical education to determine if a student has what it takes to continue to the next grade," Andin clarified.
"We do give individual feedback to each child," Harta chimed in. "We aim to ensure their personal growth and development, not just their academic achievement."
"Indeed," Andin asserted, her voice reflecting a sense of profound conviction. "The role of the school has evolved over time. These days, we don't work just as a hub for academic instruction, but as a second home where children learn essential life skills. We work hand-in-hand with parents to nurture these young minds, helping them develop into thoughtful and responsible individuals."
This notion brought back memories of my own school back on our homeworld. People would often refer to our school as a "nursery" due to our additional class on socializing and communication. I remember Renata, the human psychologist stationed in our homeland, said that my school had the basis of a well-rounded education. Here I learned just how more "rounded" we need to be.
Throughout the day, we ventured into different classrooms, each offering a snapshot of the subjects covered in human elementary education. The STEM classes felt lackluster by my standards. However, I soon appreciated their teaching approach which encouraged students to arrive at their conclusions.
On the other hand, the social studies and citizenship curriculum appeared more intricate, which made sense, given the complex social structures of the human race, a species as varied and divided as the primitive yotuls.
Midday brought a meal break, during which I had the chance to mingle with some of the other faculty members. I learned that a significant portion of the adults currently abstained from food and drink, on account of what they called the "fasting month". Andin observed the fast as well, but she kept me company in the cafeteria despite her abstinence from eating.
"Are you sure it's alright for me to eat while you're fasting?" I asked, somewhat.
"Of course," she assured me, her face warmed by a gracious smile. "Self-restraint is a fundamental aspect of being human."
Self-restraint, a quality I found woven into the fabric of human nature. Despite the invasion hurling their world into chaos, humans displayed remarkable restraint, refraining from lashing out in anger.
Post-meal, our educational exploration resumed. The sheer number of classes devoted to non-academic skills struck me. For instance, they had a class dedicated to environmental education, where they instructed young learners on how to care for their planet. Another class, called Health and Wellness, focused on areas such as hygiene, nutrition, safety, emotional well-being, and mental health. My visit coincided with a session of "meditation", a peculiar human practice to calm themselves. When I observed the children sitting in tranquil silence with eyes closed and serene music enveloping the room, I realized that they do have a method of quelling aggression, by nurturing a peaceful disposition.
The complexities of human pedagogical methods began to dawn upon me. The length of their educational journey lasted longer than ours because of this multifaceted curriculum. They didn't focus just on the injection of academic knowledge, but they also introduced human development in theirs. Even their academic lessons went beyond feeding students with facts and figures. Instead, they encouraged a more gradual learning pace that fostered independent thinking.
Such an extensive approach to education daunted me. Could we even implement such a model in our venlil school? Considerable obstacles lay on our path, given the expectations of parents and our society at large, who were accustomed to a quicker, more streamlined education.
In any case, my day reached its conclusion, and my time to depart came. When I bid her farewell, Principal Andin provided me with a binder filled with artwork created by the students, along with personal messages for me and the students back at my own school.
I had time to reflect and consider as I walked toward the downtown station. I recalled how Andin and Harta viewed the institution not as a place of learning, but as a secondary caregiver, working hand-in-hand with parents to nurture the holistic development of their young ones.
On my way to the station, my mother called. She informed me she would be coming downtown so we could share a last meal of the day together.
"How did the farm tour go, mama?" I queried, eager to hear about her day.
"It was enlightening," she replied, leaving me curious about her experience. "And what about your day?"
"Oh, mama," I began, a sense of excitement rising in my voice, "I had an extraordinary day."
Afterwords: Humans with their 22nd century education.
Somehow this is the longest chapter I have ever written. Also note on my update schedule. I'm posting update on every date divisible by 3. That means some updates can appear 96 hours later when the last post is on 30th and the month ends in 31st,
submitted by YaaliAnnar to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 14:02 Vegetable_Wear8016 Short Story - A tale that will give you an adrenaline rush

Hello ladies, this week my fictional story will leave you feeling cautious the next time you eat at a Chinese restaurant :)
The Fortune Cookie
Samuel was exhausted, it was nearly 10 p.m. and he was leaving his office. He was starving, he just wanted to eat and hit the bed. ‘What a terrible day!’ he was muttering to himself as he got into his old beat-up Renault Kwid. He had seen a Chinese restaurant nearby that opened recently and he decided trying it now would be the best option.
It was a small inexpensive-looking restaurant for quick meals. It had simple decor with traditional Chinese paintings and some random symbols of dragons splattered here and there. One bored receptionist cum cashier and only 1 waiter. It was not a place you would come to on a date.
He gave his order and started scrolling through his phone. He saw some updates of his friend travelling to Dubai for work, one of them getting married in a fancy resort in Rajasthan and one of them was working at Google and felt the need to constantly put #googleknowsbest in all his posts.
The real estate business in India was hard, there isn’t any strategy or marketing that can make you successful, it was entirely dependent on your network and getting lucky with the right client at the right time. The respect for agents was abysmal since it was not considered an elite profession and the commissions were shared between multiple parties.
You could hire a celebrity for the promotion of a project to bring in the masses but when it came down to the client writing a cheque for that booking amount, it had nothing to do with the celebrity. Those gimmicks were just enough to get them off their laptops and visit the property.
He had to constantly ensure he was at networking events or getting in touch with the businessmen of the city to source the right inventory to sell. His company was working on a budget villa project which was taking time to sell because of the location being close to a graveyard. Not many families wanted to stay close to a burial ground despite the villa’s appeal.
It was such a beautiful villa, the amenities, the location and the price, every aspect was attractive. ‘Maybe someday when I can afford it’ he thought to himself. He finished his meal and waited for the bill. He was served a fortune cookie with the bill, “Oh it’s been a long time since I have gone to a restaurant that still serves these” he said to the waiter. He opened the cookie and the message read ‘Don’t underestimate your ideas’. ‘That’s funny, I just had an argument with my manager about an idea I had which he didn’t like’ Samuel thought, he shrugged it off and paid the bill.
The next day at work, Samuel was in the cab with his Marketing Head going to a meeting regarding a residential project in the city. They were in the middle of random banter when he decided to casually mention his idea that his boss had rejected. “That’s not a bad idea at all, I think we should bring this up at today’s meeting and ask the client for their opinion,” the Marketing Head said to him. By the end of the day, Samuel was a happy man, the marketing guys for the residential project approved it and his Marketing Head gave Samuel all the credit for it in front of his boss.
A month later, it was a late night again for Samuel, he decided to hit the Chinese restaurant for dinner again. This time he was conversing with his old college friend Meera, he had recently reconnected with her over Instagram. He was about to pay the bill when he realised he had never eaten the cookie. He opened it and it read ‘Confess your love, it’s worth it’, ” Maybe I will” Samuel said aloud.
Later that night, he asked Meera out for a movie half expecting her to say that it was too soon to go on a date. The stars were aligned and she said yes. Their date turned into many dates.
One weekend, he told his best friend about the fortune cookies and that they were lucky for him. “Are you trying to say these cookies can predict your future?” “No, I’m just saying the messages have been right twice and I don’t want to lose out”. Just to humour Samuel, his best friend agreed to dine at the restaurant.
The meal was over and they were ready to open the cookies. Samuel read ‘Something dangerous lies in your path, stay cautious’ and his best friend read ‘Avoid the upcoming journey’. “What’s that supposed to mean?!” his best friend asked him looking annoyed. “I don’t know, maybe there’s some journey you are going to go on and you shouldn’t go?” Samuel responded. “I have journeys every weekend so this doesn’t make any sense!” his best friend exclaimed. His best friend’s parents lived 3 hours from the city and he used to visit them every other weekend. His best friend declared that this was a stupid activity and they agreed to disagree ultimately.
Samuel checked his entire house for any loose wiring, fire hazards, toxic chemicals, gas leaks, etc he couldn’t find anything. He even checked his car and his desk at the office, but nothing! Maybe this was a coincidence and he was taking this too seriously. It was a fortune cookie for God’s sake! It’s supposed to be for fun. He let the incident go and forgot all about it in the next few weeks.
A month later, his Goa trip planning was in full swing. Any Indian would know how the Goa plan works. You plan for months with your friends and right before the trip, the dominoes start to fall. Samuel’s manager declined his request for the leaves due to a promo event that was happening at the same time where they had roped in a huge celebrity to pretend like he loved the villa. “It’s Pratap Kapoor we’re talking about Samuel, this is no small guy,” his boss said. “Pratap has a 20,000 sq ft villa with a bonsai garden imported from Japan, he’s not relatable when it comes to endorsing a budget home” Samuel protested. “That may be true but he has a huge social media following and the fact that he may potentially own one of the villas will give customers the message that the graveyard is not an important factor” his boss stated ending the discussion. Samuel had lost the argument and the Goa trip.
He loaned his friends his car to carry on with their trip. They offered to cancel it but he insisted that they go, he didn’t want to ruin it. Besides, it was a good time to take Meera to one of those Korean restaurants she had been obsessing about.
It was when he was in the middle of eating his Bibimbap that he received the call. His friends had been in an accident on the way back home. A drunk driver rammed into them, fortunately they were not seriously injured but the car took most of the damage. “We were really lucky that the drunk guy had an equally beat-up car as yours” his best friend explained to him, Samuel’s thoughts drifted towards the message his cookie had revealed to him. This is what it was warning him from.
Over the next 5 years, it became a ritual for Samuel. He would eat at the restaurant before any big decision he had to make or if there was any big event coming up. Samuel moved to a different real estate agency which offered him a senior position, with time his commissions became better, he bought a better car, married Meera and he bought the villa near the graveyard.
“I already told you, I am not coming on that trip with your parents Meera,” he told his wife. “Just because the cookie said so?!” she asked. “Yes, the message said to exercise caution on your next endeavour and I went there just after we discussed the trip, I’m sorry but I cannot go, this is my process and you know it,” he said firmly. “You are letting these cryptic messages get the better of your logical self, it was fun in the beginning but it’s been 5 years now and you can start making your own decisions,” Meera told him, unable to believe her husband relied on luck from a cookie. “No, I trust the process and I would like to stick to it,” he said. Their fight escalated and it resulted in him staying home alone.
When Meera was away, he received a call from an unlikely source. The secretary to a local politician, politician wanted to sell his massive farmhouse on the outskirts of the city to settle some debts that occurred from his political rally. The politician had a bad reputation for solving everything with cash or brute force. But, this was a big deal, if he said no to the politician then another agent would do it and profit off it since word travelled fast in his circle.
“You can inform his assistant that we cannot take this up”. “He lost the election and his boys got into a fight as well that the media picked up so I think he’s bad news. Our agency has a certain reputation so we cannot be involved with certain types of individuals” Samuel’s CEO told him. Despite Samuel persuading him with the value of the property, the CEO refused and the matter was dropped.
Samuel decided that it was time to start doing things independently. He took on the sale of the property independently and asked the secretary to keep it discreet. He stood to make a huge commission on this, this could mean quitting his job and starting on his own so why give up the opportunity? Destiny had come knocking on his door, he couldn’t just ask her to leave.
He went to the restaurant to get a feel of his decision. While waiting for the food he called his wife to find out if she reached home safe, “So nothing weird happened during the trip?” he asked. “Nope, your fortune cookie was wrong this time. Everything went smoothly, you should have come. My parents didn’t believe you were sick, they think something’s going on with us” she told him. “Yeah, maybe I should have come,” he said relieved that the message didn’t come true. “Don’t forget to get the Kung Pao chicken and no cookie for me please?” she said ending the call. Samuel mulled over what had happened. Was it that the magic was over? For 5 years the messages had been right but not this time. Meera was back and safe.
At home, when he opened the cookie, it read ‘It’s not too late to back out’. Samuel was annoyed, this was a big deal where he stood a chance to grow his network and quit his stressful job. He went to bed and let the thought stir in his mind.
The commission he was offered was the highest he had ever been offered. Several agencies and agents were working on this property but he had the network of people who would need such a massive area, he could crack it. The decision had been made.
Over the next few months, Samuel intentionally lost a few deals so that he could dedicate extra time to the farmhouse. Fortunately, nobody suspected anything at his firm and he getting close. Finally, after 6 months of effort and negotiation, it was sold to a construction company, they were going to build a resort.
Later that year, Samuel was a richer, happier man. He was out in the world trying to be an entrepreneur when he received a call that ruined everything. The construction firm had filed a case against everyone in the land dealing stating that it was a fraudulent deal. They discovered a body in the premises hidden underground and it just happened that the exact spot was being dug up for a swimming pool. This was bad marketing for the resort. Who would bring their families to a place with a reputation for murder? The construction was stopped when the police intervened to do a complete investigation and the legal proceedings began.
Samuel started losing hair and sleep over the drastic change of events in his life. His entrepreneurship journey was falling apart and Meera and his relationship was on a steady decline. He didn’t know how to control it, he was trying to make things work both professionally and personally. Over the next few months, he tried yoga, went to church more often and travelled but, it was not enough to solve his problems. He realised the cookie had been right all along but he had gone against it. That was when he decided it was time to go back to the restaurant to get some advice. He was desperate.
He finished his meal when the waiter told him the news. “Sir, we’re shutting down this week, they sold the place to a McDonald’s franchise,” the waiter said looking ready to move on. “Sold it?! Why do you need a McDonald’s here when there’s a burger place 2 streets away?!” Samuel questioned reeling from the shock. “Sir, I don't know these things, I’m going to apply for a job when it becomes McDonald's. You have been coming here for a long time so I thought you should know that we’re closing” the waiter said clearing the table.
That was it, his final cookie in this place. He was mentally asking for it to give him some good advice on what to do next. The cookie read ‘Darkness awaits’
submitted by Vegetable_Wear8016 to TwoXIndia [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 14:00 WentOutForWords Racism or hallucination?

So, I've been noticing this for a while. In particular, this concerns Asian (Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, etc.) Restaurants in Germany, and by extension, Europe. For added context, I'm a 24yo Indian male.
Today, I was at a Vietnamese place. I've observed the behavior of the servers here very carefully (just had a bit of extra time today). I was the only brown person here, the other customers were white. I noticed that they'd always bring other people's invoices to their tables and collect the money there. When it was my turn, the same lady who had been going from table to table, asked me to go to the counter and pay. Also, they'd refer to these other people using the formal "you" (Sie, Ihnen, etc) and to me using the informal "you" (dir, dich, du, etc). In addition, I was here with two other friends once, one of them an Indonesian girl - and that time around, they did come to our table for collecting the money (the very same old lady actually).
I know I'll receive some backlash but I really mean no offence to anyone: white people or other Asians. I even tipped the waiter regardless of the way I was treated. I'm only trying to understand: is this more a cultural thing that in other Asian cultures, young people are not treated as formally as older people are? I'm trying hard to convince myself that this is the case but I always experience this, at all Asian places (except Indian, of course and find it rather disrespectful). If I don't at some point, that's the exception and not the norm.
I know Indians are not looked at favourably in other Asian countries. But I'd expect better out of Asian people living in developed countries for decades - the crowd of Indians here, in general, doesn't fit many of the stereotypes that we're associated with. Anyway: ranting was not the first priority in this post. Rather, I'm just curious. I'd appreciate it if others would either confirm or refute my hypothesis. Thank you. :)
submitted by WentOutForWords to germany [link] [comments]