Mtg commander life counter

Summer is just around the corner, and so is Compass Network S2! Compass Network is a nation's SMP that opened a little less than a month ago! So if you're looking for a brand new SMP with... -LifeSteal -Nations -Warps -Custom Commands -Chat Ranks And More! Than this is the realm for you! So why not join now and give it a try? Thank you and see you there! 👋

We all know how challenging it can be to keep our spaces clean and organized while juggling work, personal life, and other commitments. But fear not! I'm here to share some tried-and-true time-saving strategies and cleaning tips that will help you strike the right balance and maintain a tidy environment without sacrificing your precious free time.
Let's jump right into it! Here are some practical tips to streamline your cleaning routine:

1. Create a cleaning schedule: Set specific days or times during the week dedicated to cleaning tasks. By establishing a routine, you'll find it easier to stay on top of things and prevent chores from piling up.
2. Prioritize tasks: Identify the most crucial cleaning tasks and tackle them first. Focus on areas that make the biggest impact, such as kitchen surfaces, bathroom fixtures, or high-traffic areas. This way, you can maintain a clean and welcoming space without investing excessive time.
3. Harness the power of multitasking: Look for opportunities to combine cleaning with other activities. For instance, while waiting for dinner to cook, wipe down the kitchen counters or tidy up the living room. By multitasking, you can make efficient use of your time.
4. Optimize your cleaning products: Invest in versatile cleaning products that can handle various surfaces. This will save you both time and money. Additionally, consider using tools like microfiber cloths or disposable wipes for quick and efficient cleaning.
5. Delegate and outsource: If your circumstances allow, delegate cleaning tasks to other household members. Sharing the responsibility will help lighten the load. Alternatively, you can consider hiring professional cleaning services for periodic deep cleanings or specific tasks.
6. Divide and conquer: Instead of overwhelming yourself with a marathon cleaning session, break tasks into smaller, manageable chunks. Focus on one room or area at a time, completing each before moving on. This approach ensures steady progress without feeling overwhelmed.
7. Embrace an organizational mindset: Incorporate tidiness into your daily routine. Make it a habit to put things back in their designated places, declutter regularly, and stay organized as you go. This way, you'll prevent messes from accumulating and make cleaning easier in the long run.
8. Time yourself: Challenge yourself to complete specific cleaning tasks within set time limits. Setting a timer can help maintain focus and prevent tasks from expanding beyond what's necessary.

How do you strike the right balance between work, life, and maintaining a clean space? What's your go-to cleaning hack or time-saving strategy that has made a significant difference in your busy professional life?

So I read up on the lore of Farsight, Shadowsun and commander Puretide and what stood out to me is the ethereals are desperately going to almost any length to preserve the teachings of Puretide. Shadowsun is kept in cryo so the ethereals can milk her tactical prowess down to the nanosecond so that every waking moment of her life is spent in a warzone. If the ethereals are this desperate, why not use the earth caste to genetically engineer the tau to have a longer lifespan? From my perspective the tau seem to be Blitzing through the tech tree, surely the earth caste would be more than capable of doing this.

Title: "Obsidian Roses"
Chapter 1: Shadows of the Ivy
The air crackled with anticipation as Amelia Hawthorne stepped foot onto the hallowed grounds of St. Augustine's Academy, nestled amidst the fog-shrouded cliffs of Ravenhurst. A prodigious scholar, her deep, hazel eyes flickered with curiosity, taking in the towering gothic architecture, ivy-clad walls, and the mysterious whispers that seemed to echo through the corridors.
Amelia's heart quickened as she was welcomed into the secretive world of the Academy, a haven for the brightest minds and those who danced in the shadows. She soon found herself embroiled in the enigmatic lives of her fellow students, each bearing a secret, like dark threads woven into the tapestry of their existence.
Among them, a figure stood out, his presence ethereal yet commanding. His name was Lucien Sinclair, an enigmatic soul with raven-black hair and piercing blue eyes that seemed to hold centuries of secrets. Lucien's reputation preceded him, whispered tales of an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and a brooding, tortured past that had molded him into a master of the arcane arts.
Amelia couldn't help but be drawn to Lucien, like a moth to a flame. They found solace in the hushed corners of the library, their fingers brushing against weathered pages of forbidden tomes. With each encounter, a spark ignited, fueled by their shared love for literature, art, and the pursuit of the esoteric.
Chapter 2: Midnight Revelations
As the nights grew longer and the moon hung low in the starless sky, Amelia delved deeper into Lucien's world. Whispers of secret societies and clandestine rituals swirled around her, painting a picture of a hidden realm where desire mingled with danger.
Together, they embarked on midnight adventures, their steps guided by moonlight and the call of ancient knowledge. In the dimly lit catacombs beneath the academy, they uncovered a hidden chamber adorned with forgotten relics and arcane symbols, breathing life into their thirst for the forbidden.
Their bond grew stronger with each shared secret, their hearts entwined in a dance of intrigue and passion. But the shadows that enveloped Lucien's past refused to release their grip, and Amelia found herself tangled in a web of dark forces that threatened to consume them both.
Chapter 3: A Dance with Destiny
Amelia's heart waged war between love and self-preservation. She yearned to unravel the mysteries that haunted Lucien's soul, to rescue him from the abyss that threatened to devour him. Yet, she feared the darkness that lurked within him, the potential for their love to be their ultimate undoing.
Whispers of an ancient prophecy reached Amelia's ears, hinting at a love forged in shadows, capable of shattering the chains of destiny. In a desperate bid to save Lucien, she embarked on a perilous journey, guided by cryptic riddles and ancient texts, each step bringing her closer to the truth.
As the night of the Blood Moon approached, Amelia faced her greatest challenge yet. A reckoning loomed on the horizon, demanding sacrifices and untangling the threads of their intertwined fates. Amidst the echoes of forgotten incantations and the scent of smoldering roses, Amelia and Lucien would discover if their love was powerful enough to defy the forces that sought to tear them apart.
"Obsidian Roses" is a tale of love entangled in the shadows, where academia and romance collide, and the pursuit of forbidden knowledge unravels destinies. Will Amelia and Lucien find solace in each other's arms, or will the darkness consume them both, leaving nothing but echoes in the corridors of St. Augustine

I asked for penpals from my and other English speaking countries is because...please tolerate my poor English. After stopping reading and writing after graduate school, I find my grammar is regressing and vocabulary to be repetitive.
I am looking for a proper penpal who I can talk to almost daily and share my quirks with. Without any judgement or reservations. I want to grow and blossom into a penpal you would rely on too. I am loyal and attentive.
You will eventually learn that I am not your typical gal, but I am pretty chill and normal. I am also an interesting person with a normal lifestyle.
I am 36 years old and I have two college degrees. I left my job not too long ago to switch careers. I am going back to school this fall to study software engineering.
I enjoy traveling, seeing movies, visiting museums, sampling great restaurants, tasting funky cocktails, playing board/card/video games, cooking new recipes, etc etc...
I am a sucker for folks who are well spoken, have eloquent writing skills and have an excellent command of the English language.
As for accountability, I need to be told what to do in order to get things done. I suck at initiating things for myself. I need someone to guide me and structure my daily life. Let's chat some more to see how you can contribute.
I see that there are several options to choose from for types of correspondences. I am open to all.
Thanks for your time reading my post. Looking forward to making new connections!

Hey ATX women! Sorry dudes, not interested right now. I’m a cute, sane, bisexual, body positive, plus sized fem-bro (feminine masc combo), into comedy shows, wrestling, working out, petting cute animals, hiking, board games, kink community events, coffee dates, playing pool, swimming etc. I am also ENM poly, partnered, but seeking connections solo. I enjoy bodywork and hosting events and workshops of different kinds, can tell you more in person. I’m an introvert who loves social time, I just need my breaks too!
Biggest values: open-mindedness, liberal counter-culture ideology, bodily autonomy, ability to be emotionally vulnerable (closed off folks just don’t go far with me), consent, boundaries, indulging child-like fun/remembering to have lightness in life
I’m open to friendly, kinky, or romantic connections, depending on how we click! Also, don’t let my post history deter you since I’ve mostly sought out men, I’m mostly into women. It just can be difficult to connect with women online. Admittedly, I have mostly used Redditt for kink gratification. But, there’s plenty more aspects to be explored. I’m a pretty multi faceted person, I enjoy being appreciated for that.
As far as if there is kink interest…. I do tend to enjoy being on the sensual dominant side, and like a variety of kinky things, but Dom/sub dynamics aren’t required. Neither is sexuality. Would be fun to meet and have a couple drinks, play some pool or some other game, if we’re feeling it we can decide if we wanna come back to my place… otherwise we can just have a nice time out and meet up again another time. I live central and can host. Please send a message describing yourself and a photo, your pics get mine! Hoping to meet up by 9 latest tonight cuz grandma gets tired. :)

Ok so basically, in hit trading card game (TCG) Magic the Gathering (commonly referred to as MTG), there are multiple formats to play in. One of the most popular ones is standard, which is compiled of the most recent handful of standard legal sets released usually around 2 years ago. A couple of weeks ago they announced that this will change and now standard will keep sets for up to 3 years now which made many people fairly upset since there are a lot of cards that were due to be put out of standard in the near future that were everywhere in the meta. They then announced a week ago that they were going to ban cards in standard again on todays date (may 29th 2023). Consequently, a trio of cards from the set that should’ve been close to rotating out of the format were banned earlier this morning, all of them being 4 of’s (referring to having 4 of one card in a deck, the maximum number legal) in the best deck in the format : Rakdos Midrange (a Red and Black deck comprised of the best cards in the format).
One of such cards is Fable of the Mirror-Breake/Reflection of Kiki-Jiki. It is a double-face enchantment with the subtype saga, as was common and first occurrence in Kamigawa Neon Dynasty, the most ancient set legal in the current standard rotation, that costs 2 and a red and has 3 chapters (when this saga enters the battlefield and after your draw step, put a lore counter on it. When a lore counter is out on this saga, activate the corresponding ability.) Those chapters read as follow : 1. Create a 2/2 red Goblin Shaman creature token with "Whenever this creature attacks, create a treasure token” (a treasure token is an artifact with the subtype treasure that can be tapped and sacrificed for a mana of any color, think of it as a onetime land.) 2. You may discard up to two cards, then draw that many cards. And finally 3. Exile this card and return it to the battlefield face down. The other face of this card is a 2/2 red Enchantment Goblin Shaman Creature that has the ability to, if you were to pay 1 and tap this creature, create a token copy of another non-legendary creature you control, except the copy has haste. Sacrifice it at the end of the next end-step.
This is an ode to a popular card from the original Kamigawa set, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, which had a very similar but way more powerful ability. But back to Fable of the Mirror-Breaker. As we can see, for the low and easy cost of 2 and a red, this card gives you a creature that can produce extra mana, filter your hand all the while helping you put specific cards in your graveyard for game ending interaction, and then give you another creature that can make copies of other creatures you control for them to act without repercussions. For example, you could copy the 2/2 red goblin shaman creature made prior to create treasure token without fear of losing the creature to blockers, since it would be destroyed anyways, or you could make use of the several creatures in the format that have powerful enter the battlefield abilities or abilities that require tapping (which can’t be done if the creature has entered this turn, except if it has haste, which the copy gains).
Also, since the copy is only sacrificed at the beginning of the next end step, if you copy a creature during your opponent’s end-step, the next one occurs on your turn. You will therefore be able to have two copies of a creature you control during a single turn if you wish to. Finally, the final nail in the coffin, this card is a combo writhing itself. If you let your opponent have two Reflections of Kiki-Jiki on the board, since they aren’t legendary, they could use one of them to copy the other, then make a copy of the copy with your second Reflection of Kiki-Jiki to then make as much copies of Reflection of Kiki-Jiki as you have mana available. While this may sound useless since they will all but two be tapped and all the copies will die at the end of turn, you can also do this whole maneuver during your opponent’s end step and start your turn with an army of Reflections of Kiki-Jiki ready to attack or make as much copy of a much more powerful, not legendary, creature you control to completely take over the game. Reminder this is all thanks to only 2 copies of a card with a mana value (previously known as Converter Mana Cost) of 3.
Thank you all for coming to my ted talk.

So I’m new to pioneer but not MTG. I’m primarily a commander player but I like to spend my lunch break at an LGS and I don’t have enough time to get a full commander game in. Also, a group of my friends have been doing RCQs and honestly it sounds like fun.
So, where’s the best place to study the meta?
What’s a solid deck to bring? I’m a fan of the idea of Izzet phoenix but I’ve heard that it’s kinda trash now.
I’ve been browsing this subreddit for a while and still feel very lost.

This guy hit me up on Grindr and was persistent for a long time. I told him several times that I'm not interested (I'm not in the habit of blocking people, I find it douchey), but then he proposed to pay me 1000€ in cash if I come to his hotel room and fuck him. The number was insane, it's like half a month's salary for me. I thought he was shitting me, but he seemed serious enough so I got myself fairly drunk before heading there. Just as promised, exactly 1000€ in cash was on the bedside counter, and I did what I did.
On one hand, that was half a month's money for less than an hour of work, which is probably the most I ever made in my life relative to the time it was made in. On the other hand, I feel so wrong, like I violated myself in some way.
I don't know, bros. Would you have done it in my place?

It's the story of a man who is slowly introduced to the world of an older gentleman with growing dementia who believes he has magical powers....and might indeed have them? I would go further but I would recommend it to anyone who hasnt listened to it.
I like the laid back slice of life flavor to it, learning the life of a butler and how things should be done, the growing comraderie of the crazy old kook and the butler and I like the middleish stakes of protecting the kook from his awful children. I like the subtle nature of the references to a world that the narrator knows nothing about (Magic, high society, being a butler) but is willing to learn. I don't mind if the working relationship is rocky at the start of if it's kind of Driving Miss Daisy where the person in need of help is persnickety and gruff but does seem to genuinely appreciate the help even if they have trouble admitting it. Would prefer it to not be romantic and I don't mind if there are spurts of action or a general overarching storyline as long as the interaction and rapport are a main focus
Doesn't have to be a butler per se, could be an assistant or a second in command, it could be a caretaker. It doesn't have to be taking care of an older person either, The intern is a movie that scratched this itch a little bit but is a movie and not a book. Sorry about such a long, detailed post but I figured it was better than saying "I'm hungry, what should I eat" and shoot down everyone's kind recommendations lol

It was at midnight exactly when everyone who was awake promptly passed out.
It wasn't an instant 'fall to the ground like a corpse' mass unconsciousness. It was just this sudden and intense state of exhaustion that made it impossible to stay awake.
Ours was a mining town, averaging around 70,000 population, and recently being hit by recession that made finding work a pain in the ass. And with the mine running dry, it was all we could do to keep afloat.
I was out for a stroll when the exhaustion hit, I was crossing the street when this oppressively heavy state of exhaustion just hit me. I panicked, of course, thinking that I was having a stroke or something, desperately trying to get to the other side of the crosswalk.
Then darkness.
It was the sunlight that woke me up, I squinted in the hellishly bright light and fumbled around for my sunglasses. Why I kept sunglasses on my person in the dead of night was because I was that kind of asshole who wanted to look cool. My mileage definitely varied on that front, but it was at least an attempt.
Still, when I managed to find them, confused as to why I was on hot asphalt, I put them on, only for them to immediately fall off. I was forced to open my eyes, and that's when I saw my hands.
At first, I thought it was the mother of all sunburns, being so bright red, but when the sound came out of my mouth, I knew something had gone terribly wrong. First and foremost, I was covered in bright red scales, I had these short, sharp claws at the end of my hands, on top of which my feet were utterly fucked up, and I had a tail.
I scrambled for my phone, wondering if it would even register my touch, Thankfully, it did.
You know those memes where someone takes a picture of an animal, and it looks really fucking funny? Guess whose first picture was like that. I turned on the camera, flipped the camera so I could see myself on the screen, and accidentally took a picture as my new snout filled the screen.
I tried to get up, but I realized that my clothes were too big, and that I had gone from a solid 6 feet and dropped to a measly three. Bear in mind, the average height of a person with dwarfism is a solid four, and I know this because I did an entire project on it in ninth grade.
I had no idea what the hell I was, if I was the only person like this, and I was forced to use my XL shirt to cover my otherwise naked body, tearing the shit out of it with my new feet claws, and being faced with the reality that being a three-foot lizard meant I had to crawl through my dog door.
Thankfully, Brutus didn't even seem phased, he just walked up to me, tail wagging, and very much wanting to be pet, which I did, very carefully. I needed something pure and wholesome in the world to keep me from going insane.
That was around six AM.
Now, googling 'Help, I've turned into a three foot lizard' didn't help at all, and I sure as shit didn't want to walk all of the way to my parent's house and potentially freak them out, but I did have my brother.
James is a furry, I'll just say it flat out. Like, an absolute turbo furry. It had taken me time to get used to the idea that he liked furry characters, and I knew a lot of the art he liked dealt with this kind of situation.
I was desperate, and I needed someone on my side. When I called him, it rang and then went to voicemail, and I proceeded to continuously call him, because he will eventually wake up. I got ready to call him again when a notification came up saying he wanted to FaceTime.
I braced myself for his inevitable squeeing when he saw I'd been transformed into a tiny little lizard.
I didn't expect him to be one as well.
Of course, he was the one who was fucking ecstatic, and it took me a lot of attempts to get him to listen to me, which he eventually did.
"Bro." I said, the words slipping out of my mouth weird. I had to carefully enunciate, moving a tongue that was completely alien to me inside of a mouth that didn't work the way I was used to. "What the thuck ith going on?" I asked. "Do you haff any idea what ith going on."
It was painful, really. Of course my brother spoke fluently. It didn't occur to me until he was halfway through his diatribe about TF triggers that I said, "Hey, wait, you're speaking another language." I paused. "I'm speaking another language!"
Like, it all translated into English for me, but we were very much speaking a language that was full of sibilants and yips, yaps, and naks.
"Oh, yeah. That's Yipyak." He said.
"What the fuck is a Yipyak, and if this is some sort of deez nuts joke, I'm going over there and clawing you."
So he explained that we were both Kobolds, creatures from Dungeons and Dragons, and our native language was Draconic, more specifically a pidgin language known as Yipyak.
"Alright, scholar of the Kobolds, what do we do about this situation, because people are going to freak out."
"Brother." He said. "There's no way in hell it's just us."
Part of me knew he was right, but I absolutely did not want to believe it.
Naturally, people gathered around the Town Hall.
The screaming started around eight AM, as people woke up to find themselves turned into Kobolds. Some of them were screaming in joy, others were as horrified as I was, but that wasn't the worst part.
Only half of us were Kobolds.
Mom and Dad picked us up, because they could reach the pedals. They were, of course, very concerned, but they helped us out because they loved us.
Most of the people who arrived who had been turned into Kobolds had to make due with shirts hiked up to their waists and tied off with a belt, the rest just stood around. Naked. There was one weirdo who just made a loincloth and was looking very proud of himself.
Weirdly enough, I actually kind of wanted one.
So, there we were, engaging in what was effectively a cultural exchange between the nerds and furries and the rest of us normal folk. Really, the only explanation as to how and why this happened was. "Fucked if we know, but it has knock-on implications for the rest of the universe."
The Humans- wow, that was a thought I just had, and not one I could just not have- The Humans were of course upset that this had happened and that our entire town was facing a crisis that we didn't know how to deal with.
But the furries had hypotheses.
First, the facts as we knew them. Exactly half of our population had been transformed. The only people who transformed were the D&D nerds and the furries, with the rest being directly related. The transformation only seemed to only effect family members in the same generation, which is why a husband and wife were Kobolds, but their kids weren't. Finally, there was nothing like this happening anywhere else in the world.
Therefore, the hypotheses were thus:
A. Some sort of wild magic surge triggered the transformation. And yes, magic was real because some of us could use it. Me included.
B. The D&D universe actually existed and was bleeding into reality. This excited the D&D players, because it meant they could go on an adventure.
C. There was a Dragon somewhere, maybe in the mine, and it wanted minions. Nobody liked this idea. Well, nobody said they liked it. I felt weirdly okay with it.
D. This was just Some Weird Shit, so let's just move on.
Naturally, someone leaked what happened, the government came, and, well, that's when we discovered that anyone entering the town limits had a roughly 50/50 chance of getting instantly turned into a Kobold. We also determined we could leave, but the way was blockaded because nobody wanted this to spread.
To the government's credit, they didn't take away our civil liberties to dissect us, they just showed up, brought scientists, and started trying to figure out what was going on.
The rest of us just had to adjust.
We couldn't really live in our own houses anymore, I mean, they're not even built for people with Dwarfism, it was even worse for us because we couldn't even reach the counter. So we just did the best we could. Some carpenters got together and started building houses that were proportional to our size. Kitchen appliances weren't going to be of any real help, so we just had to make due with houses that didn't have any electricity, but at least worked well with space heaters.
One of the best things about these houses was that they were quick to make and were easy to navigate. Some of the people built medieval-style housing, which I found myself increasingly attracted to as a place to live. Some of the D&D players were part of something called the Society of Creative Anachronism, and they hand made a lot of clothes that, for whatever reason, my stupid little Kobold brain liked, so here I was in a thatch-roofed house proportional to my size in medieval clothing that I could not fathom why I liked it.
In fact, I'm beginning to hate who I used to be.
The first sign that I was experiencing a dislike of my Human body was when I saw a picture of me and just got angry. Like, I smashed the frame against the floor and tore the thing to shreds before I got a hold of myself.
I catch myself only talking in Yipyak, and being annoyed when I have to switch to English. Not to mention, I've begun practicing magic. I can't explain how it works, I just know it works, it's helped me keep the place clean.
I know how to cast six of these spells, though, two of them exhaust me. The D&D nerds identified them as 'Prestidigitation, Mage Hand, Mending, Firebolt, Detect Magic, and Magic Missile.' Basically, the power do to a lot or really minor effects, the ability to create a magic hand that does whatever I want it to, the ability to fix some things, and the ability to throw fire at something- all at will. As well as the ability to see magic and the ability to throw magic at something that will always hit.
A lot of utility.
So with Detect Magic, I was able to determine that the town was surrounded in a cylindrical magic field, I actually took the time to help mark the border so people wouldn't accidentally become a Kobold. Other things I was able to figure out was that it was a '9th level' spell with Transmutation.
"Oh, that's Mass Polymorph! But that spell only effects ten creatures."
"Well, whatever it is, it's made a hell of a mess of things." I said.
Well, something came out of the mine earlier today, it was a giant fucking rat, and I used Magic Missile to kill it. I was halfway through skinning it when I realized I was skinning it, and that I had never skinned an animal before. I kept at it, and brought it to the warren.
The warren?
Yeah, that word fits.
I have these weird moments of self-awareness where I suddenly remember what life used to be like, and how much I had changed. How much the others changed. Some of them had changed their names , and I realized with a start that I didn't want my name anymore.
But there's another one that's just on the tip of my tongue.
Ruuk.
A Kobold came up to me, wanting some help with something. He said my old name and all I could say in response was, "My name is Ruuk."
He didn't even question it, and immediately started using it. I helped out with what he needed- he'd broken his hoe and needed it fixed, which I obliged.
It struck me, as we hit our first year of this, that I didn't want to go back to being a Human.
​
[Navigation for 'Dragon Rising'- [1] [2]]

(Pt. 1) An additional thanks to u/An_Insufferable_NEWT for letting me borrow one of his characters.
...And now for the conclusion.
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= = =
​
Evelra swore. They had come here to uplift humanity from barbarism, not let the powers that be enable humanity’s worst elements while the selfsame Noble cunts indulged in their own pubescent masturbatory power fantasies. Fuck this. She thought to herself with a growl and flicked her comms channel to all units.
​
“All forces, this is Captain Evelra. The goddess-damned governess’s private militia have opened fire on the civies. Arrest those brother-fucking [bastards] on sight before they can fuck this mess up any further!” She barked over the comms, a bit of local English slipping into her words. She couldn’t call them stiffs; the latter had more class than this.
​
“Capt, we’ve got three APCs in militia markings barreling down the road in front of the Governess’s mansion from the west. ETA 30 seconds. This is about to get messy.” Prex’s voice cut in with a false calm lent by years of experience.
​
Evelra could feel the material of her suit creak as her hands briefly tightened into hardened fists. “All west side Pods converge on Pod 7, support Lieutenant Eleynor. Eastern Pods, evac the civies. And Prex? Keep the late arrivals occupied. Don’t let these fuckers get another shot off.” She growled, her Second giving a brief click of acknowledgement over the comms before switching channels to give orders of her own.
​
Turning back to face Isaiah, Evelra reached a hand down to grab the elder by his medical exoskeleton and hoisted him to his feet. “Looks like the Governess ran out of patience. Get your people out of here, we’ll deal with this.” She explained brusquely, jabbing one finger towards the eastern side of the boulevard. She could apologize for womanhandling him later, right now every second counted.
​
The moment she was sure he had his feet under him, the marine captain let go and tried to move on Eleynor’s position with all due haste. “Out of the way! MOVE!” Evelra shouted as she strode forward, the sea of humans doing their best to get out of her path. Already, people were starting to scramble as panic spread like wildfire. She could hear the cries of terror and confusion all around her; shouted orders from the protest organizers and her own marines were almost inaudible against the din as they tried to control the chaos.
​
As she neared pod 7’s position, a horrifying scene unfolded before her. In the shadow of the buildings, at least a dozen of the protesters were currently on fire. Harsh yellow and orange flames rose from the flailing figures to form hazy gray clouds of smoke that hung heavy in the air. Even more humans were covered in burn marks and charred clothes. One woman just sat there, trembling and numb from shock as she stared her bloody arm; the melted remains of her synthetic shirt peeling away with boiled skin. Amidst the chaos, the other protesters were doing everything from trying to help the wounded and burning to running in panic and terror; the latter creating a solid wave of bodies in front of Evelra as they stumbled over one another to flee the danger.
​
From out of sight, she saw one of the Governess’ militia-kitted thugs go flying; only to watch them get back up and charge in to fight whom Evelra assumed to be Pod 7. Shil’vati might be stronger, but when equally equipped, outnumbered and against human reflexes she knew that fight wasn’t going to end well for her girls if the rest of the western Pods didn’t reach them soon. Then, one of the militiamen stepped forward towards the crowd.
​
As he strode boldly through the mayhem, Evelra could only watch while one of the protesters tried to confront him; the tide of humans preventing the marine captain from intervening. Inaudible words were exchanged, the protester shouting something as they gesticulated wildly. The Governess’ thug merely responded with two swift strikes of his rifle butt, first to the gut, then to the back of the head, the other man dropping like an anchor. In the distance, out of the corner of her eye, she numbly noted that the rest of the governess’ thugs had arrived and were using their APCs as cover between them and the Pods under Prexith’s command.
​
Evelra felt her gut sink as the militiamen shouldered his rifle once more, stepping out of the building’s shadow to take aim at the crowd. “EVERYBODY DOWN!” The marine captain roared as she planted her feet and pulled her sidearm in one smooth, practiced motion. Drawing a bead on the Governess’ thug, the panicked crowd tried to clear out of her way; but there were just too many people. She wasn’t going to make it in time. No, no more. Not-
​
The militiaman’s head disappeared.
​
A split second later, the now infamously familiar thunderous crack and echoing roar of a large bore human chemical ballistic rifle rolled over them as the corpse spasmed on its feet; a shockwave visibly rippling through the suit it was wearing. “SNIPER!” Somebody bellowed. It might have been her, but in that moment she honestly couldn’t tell. As the headless body crumpled to the ground in a fountain of red, the same gun roared out again… and again. In the distance she could see two sudden sprays of red splatter up the sides of the Militia APCs, one right after the other.
​
The echoes of gunfire galvanized the crowd into a further panic, a stampede of human protesters slamming into Evelra in their attempt to get away from the violence. For a moment, the marine captain thought she was going to get dragged under by the wave, but then they rolled past her, leaving her staggering into the clear. With the screaming of the crowd now behind her and her ears still ringing from gunshots it was oddly quiet once more, save for the groans of the wounded.
​
Not letting herself fall into the lull, Evelra kept moving forward only to nearly gag at the smell as she approached the corner of the building. Like a Blue Grail left in the summer sun for a week, the air was heavy with a putrid smoke, reminiscent of the scent of death itself. Quickly sealing her helmet, she took a shuddering breath of fresh air before looking up just in time to see a pair of the Governess’s thugs get bodily tackled into the pavement by Eleynor. The rest of treasonous Militia were either surrendering or trying to run like the Deep-Minder itself was behind them as more Marine Pods came charging around nearby street corners.
​
Watching the last treasonous bastards eat pavement, the marine captain strode up to the Militaman’s corpse and picked up his blood-stained rifle. Quickly turning the weapon over in her hands, Evelra took one look at its settings and nearly threw the gun away in disgust. Medium power, maximum dispersal. Against even the most basic of modern armor, such settings would be practically useless; but would make for a decent, if imprecise, fire starter. Which is exactly what they’d done. Of course, leave it to the humans to figure out how to turn the most basic of weapons into a tool of terror. She thought bitterly, adjusting the beam spread back to something more logical before strapping it’s sling to her harness.
​
Now properly armed for anything else the Deep-Minder might decide to throw at her, Evelra flicked open her wrist-mounted omnipad, the integrated AR display in her helmet seamlessly linking to it. A couple quick taps later and the captain had an outgoing call. As the phone line rang in her ear, she tried not to tap her foot, every second feeling like ten.
​
“911, what’s your emer-”
​
Before the woman on the other end could even finish her sentence, Evelra interrupted her. “This is Captain Evelra of the Imperial Marines, 4032nd company. We have at least a dozen, I repeat, at least a dozen critically injured burn victims at the corner of 3rd and Main. I need emergency Medivac for the critically wounded.” She barked into the mic.
​
There was a momentary pause on the other end accompanied by the sounds of a physical keyboard before shortly being followed by a muffled “Fuck.” Evelra shifted impatiently as one second dragged into the next. “Is something the matter?” The marine growled.
​
“Ahh… No ma’am.” The other woman’s voice was uncertain for a moment before steadying back out. “Just bypassing some red tape. Consider it done. ETA, ten minutes.” She said with a thermocast firmness. Evelra briefly considered hounding the woman for what exactly she meant by ‘red tape’ but decided against it. She sounded confident in her statement and ultimately there was nothing else Evelra could do about it at the moment.
​
“I’m going to hold you to that.” The marine captain growled before hanging up. One down. Looking up, she glanced over the growing crowd of Marines. Already, some of her girls were pulling out medkits and burn patches as they moved to help injured protesters; her AR display highlighting their ranks and names.
​
“Sergeant Quixana!” Evelra barked over the din.
“Ma’am!” The medic shouted back over one shoulder, barely looking up from the burn victim she was currently treating.
​
“We have civilian medivac for the burn victims inbound, ETA ten minutes. You have command over Triage. Anyone in critical condition they can’t airlift out is your responsibility. Clear?” She commanded, watching the Governess’s thugs like a shark as her girls disarmed and secured them. At this point, Evelra honestly didn’t expect them to try anything else; but as always with humans, one never quite knew what they’d do.
​
“Affirmative!” Quixana replied. Taking a moment to ensure the woman she was treating wasn’t in immediate danger, the medic ushered another marine over to help and began shouting orders of her own. Two down. Satisfied that the situation was under control, Evelra keyed into her comms again.
​
“Prex, Sitrep.”
​
A couple moments later, the other woman’s voice came to life in her earpiece. “After the gunshots went off, the little fuckers started stumbling over each other to try and surrender. What in the Deep just happened?” Despite the horror around her, Evelra gave a short, mirthless chuckle. “Seems a certain… somebody decided to more than just ‘play’ at being security. And seeing as I still have my head, they’re not a complete bloodthirsty idiot.”
​
“You certain it’s… them?” Prex asked, a hint of dubiousness in her voice.
​
“Given that there’s one of the Governess’s thugs sans their head while I still have mine? Yeah. About as certain as I can be. Fits what little we know about their M.O.” Evelra shot back.
​
There were several long moments of silence before her subordinate let out a low whistle. “Make that three. I’ve got two more over here. Definitely explains why the little Turoxes were so fucking panicky. What now Cap?”
​
“How many of your Pods do you need to secure your prisoners?” Evelra asked.
​
“Less than half. They’re more terrified of stepping back into the sights of that sniper than anything else, I think.” Prexith snorted, a dry hint of amusement in her voice.
​
“Take as many as you think you can spare from guard duty and go arrest the Governess. Alive. Though preventing her from causing any more damage takes priority. Clear?” Evelra’s voice was firm, the unspoken message clear. Try not to kill the bitch if at all possible, but ice her tits if she’s going to make this a problem.
​
“As a laser lens. Prex out.”
​
When the line clicked dead, the marine captain took a deep breath and tried to center herself. Now came the hard part.
​
Politics.
​
= = =
​
Evelra stopped outside the governess’ office and took a deep breath to steady herself. Within two hours of getting the fiasco under control, one Agent Lohun had arrived… along with three Pods of Death’s Head Commandos. Upon giving him her report, the petite male had thanked her and politely requested that she remain in her quarters until further notice. The marine captain had known better than to try and test those particular boundaries. It was only now, three days later, that she’d been summoned once more.
​
In spite of the not quite lockdown state that was currently in effect, word still traveled. Her orders to arrest the governess had been upheld and the bitch had been transferred out to some Interior facility goddess knows where. A minimal local press release had happened; condemning the governess’ actions and requesting cooperation with the authorities as they investigated the incident. Things were still tense, but the daily gathering of thousands of protesters had dwindled to a hundred or so of the most stubborn.
​
With a little shake to clear her head, Evelra opened the office door and stepped through. Behind the governess’ massive polished wooden desk sat Lohun. The petite male was almost comically out of place; his simple take on the Interior uniform clashing with the room’s ostentatious opulence. Rumor had it that since he was investigating the room’s previous owner, he’d simply co-opted the office rather than bother to set up another workspace elsewhere. Looking up from his omnipad and what she assumed was a proverbial mountain of reports, the Agent gave her a tired nod of acknowledgement.
​
“Good. You’re here. Please, take a seat Captain D’saari.” He said, gesturing to a much simpler chair in front of the desk. Wincing internally at his usage of her long-abandoned family name, Evelra complied and settled into the offered seat in silence as she tried not to look at the silent woman in the corner with the three-eyed skull mask. Lohun gave his omnipad one last glance before setting it down and letting his carefully focused gaze settle onto her.
​
“Six deaths.” He stated simply, letting the fact hang there in the air for a moment. “Only half of which were not the aggressors in this situation. That could have gone much, much worse. A job well done Captain.”
​
Evelra gave an awkward shrug. “Without the… unsolicited fire support it would have been. My girls just did the mop up.”
​
Lohun hummed, double-checking something on his omni-pad. “About that. The audio logs between you and your second indicated a certain familiarity with this assumed insurgent sniper, yet I can’t find any combat reports that you two share featuring any opposition with this kind of firepower. Care to explain what I’m missing here?” He asked calmly, a polite smile on his face; the Commando in the corner shifting her weight slightly.
​
Right. That.
​
A bundle of nerves did somersaults in her gut as she felt her throat go dry. “Ah, yeah. About… one local year ago we had a human male turn up dead. Clear signs of abuse. Autopsy report indicated he had both Nightfel and Viagra in him at the time of death. I had my suspicions, but the ensuing investigation never turned up any evidence.” The marine captain grimaced, scratching at one tusk with her thumbnail. “A few months later, A pod on a routine patrol got ambushed. All three of their heads were blown clean off. Big gun. I think you can guess what we found when we cleared out their belongings.”
​
“Nightfel and Viagra.” Lohun said cooly, his face grim.
​
Evelra nodded. “Yeah. The Governess covered the whole thing up in the name of keeping the peace. Released a statement that the young man’s murderers had been found and executed while redacting my report.”
​
Briefly adding a few notes on his omnipad, the Interior agent gave her a careful look. “Why didn’t you report this breach of protocol to the Interior?”
​
“Because it worked.” Evelra sighed. “Approval ratings ticked up, minor incidents went down. Didn’t hurt that I also publicly doubled down on mandatory etiquette training for my girls. I’ve seen enough of the Empire’s bureaucracy over the years to know better than to stir up the seabed over something like this. Justice was served, even if it was in a less than ideal manner.”
​
“And what about the young man’s family?” Lohun pressed, his gaze tightening.
​
Coughing slightly to clear her throat, Evelra looked away as she felt her cheeks heat up. “Officially, they were given the same story as everyone else. However, I… I may have taken one Shel to visit their home and correct that mistake. They deserved to know.” She finished quietly, leaning forward in her chair to look down at the ground. Anywhere but at the male in front of her.
​
After several agonizingly long moments of silence, the marine captain glanced up to catch sight of Lohun slowly starting to nod. “Good. That’s good. We can work with that.”
​
At his words, Evelra let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. In response, a ghost of a smile pulled at the edges of Lohun’s face. “Yes, you can relax now. You’re here to help me fix this mess, not to have your tits burned off.”
​
Evelra bobbed her head, eager for the change of topic. “Gladly. What can I do?”
​
The ghost of a smile on Lohun’s face broadened slightly, hovering on the edge of a smirk. “Simple. You will be taking over as the Local Governess.” The marine captain felt her jaw go slack as the Interior Agent calmly continued along as if he was discussing something as simple as dinner reservations.
​
“Of course, there’s a plethora of steps to take along the way. In recognition of your service to the citizens of the empire, you will be promoted two ranks to Lieutenant Colonel and discharged with full honors. We’ll then need somebody to fill your current position. One Sergeant… Prexith Van’sar, your current second, should do nicely. With her service record she's certainly earned herself a commission, I think.” He scoffed in amusement, shaking his head at some distant thought. “Deep, her accolades are almost as impressive as her penchant for avoiding promotions. It’s my hope though that continuing to work with you should be enough to dissuade her of that particular tendency.”
​
Lohun finally took a proper pause, as if he was only now taking in her shock. “Is something the matter Captain D’saari?”
​
As Evelra heard him refer to her by her family name again something inside her broke. The sheer absurdity of it all was just too much, and a noise of amusement escaped her mouth. It started as a snort, before growing into a full-on barks of laughter as Evelra shook her head in disbelief. “I- I’m sorry, but you want me, the legally disowned, stiff-sprung cunt to be a local governess? Goddess, you all must be getting desperate if you’re willing to dredge up the cast-off chaff of the noble houses.”
​
Lohun merely quirked an eyebrow at her before briefly consulting his omnipad again. “So that explains the three separate attempts to change your last name… aannd probably why all three of them never went anywhere.” He let out a small humph as a flicker of distaste crossed his face. “An easy enough fix.”
​
“Goddess. You’re serious.” Evelra muttered as she slumped back in her chair, trying to process the implications. “Ok. Why me?” She asked, throwing a hand wide.
​
The Interior agent’s gaze focused in on her as he leaned forward onto the table, steepling his fingers. “Because Captain, over the past three days I have spent an exhaustive amount of time interviewing and interrogating people to get a better handle on what happened and why. Your name came up just as, if not, more frequently than the governess’s; and rarely in a negative light. From both Shil’vati and humans. Deep, even some of the ones that looked like they wanted to spit in my face refused to speak ill of you. Do you understand how goddess-damned rare that is?” Lohun finished, his voice raised and projected, not quite reaching an actual shout.
​
Evelra was sorely tempted to argue. She’d spent most of her adult life trying to get as far away from the nobility and politics as she could, as nothing good in her life had ever come from them. Then her conversation with Isaiah flashed through her mind. Fuck. The marine captain let out a disgusted groan of frustration as she rubbed her face with one hand. “Alright… but how?” She asked, her brain fervently grasping at straws. “I mean no offense, but… isn’t that a little outside your authority as an Interior Agent?..”
​
Once more, a slight grin pulled at the agent’s face. “Ah yes. Perhaps some reintroductions are in order. Independent Investigator Lohun Vey’elquiese of the Empress’s own and an Agent of her Interior. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Evelra?..” He said smoothly, letting the end of his sentence hang as he leaned across the massive table to offer a petite fist.
​
Oh.
​
For one long moment, Evelra’s brain short-circuited. The petite little male sitting across from her answered to only perhaps a dozen people in the entire Empire, and had the authority to make individuals such as system governesses simply disappear. Of course, abuse of said power carried the death penalty, not that one of the Empress’s own handpicked agents were likely to make that kind of mistake. Suddenly, the three pods of Death’s Head Commandos accompanying him made much, much more sense.
​
After a couple seconds of slight panic, her brain caught back up and she processed the question he’d carefully interwoven into his reintroduction. Taking a moment to think, she settled on her answer. With a slight smile of her own, she reached out her hand to tap her knuckles to his.
​
“Van’sar. Evelra Van’sar. And the pleasure is all mine Investigator.”

Credit to u/SpacePaladin15
Memory transcription subject: Salvek, Human-Venlil Exchange Program Candidate
Date [standardized human time]: September 3, 2136
I hate banks. Or, more specifically, I hate the United Banking Service. I've never really used another bank, on account of my mother signing me up for a twenty-five year family plan for a cash bonus that never came (it was twenty-five thousand credits, I can't really blame her) but that just makes me hate this one more.
The fat, lazy Gojid on the other side of the bulletproof glass teller window tapped away at his keyboard in order to process my application for a loan. Above him I saw the UBS logo and motto: "Speed, Security, Success." All a load of vyalpic if you ask me. (I will die of old age before this loan ever comes through)
"Sooooo....." Thank the Herd, he was finally talking. I was worried his fat ass had a heart attack and died with how little moving he did. "Your credit score issss....." Oh Protector, just spit it out already! Now I get why predators have such violent impulses. (What if I can't control mine? What if we're worse than them?)
Brahk my intrusive thoughts. How does Jack control his so well? I resolved to ask him when my loan got processed, assuming neither of us starved to death in the meantime. (Speed, security, and success this dick)
"Seven hundred and ninety." Oh, thank Inatala. (Inatala hates predators, can I still say that with one as my best friend?) Venlil credit scores go from zero, being applied to people who took out million-credit loans and blew all the money on gear to unsuccessfully rob the bank they got the loan from, to one thousand, which went to those who panicked over a two credit overdrawn balance and had a heart attack whenever they were a week away from a loan's due date and it still wasn't paid.
Seven hundred and ninety was above average, since my parents had always taught me to manage my finances well, but only slightly above average since Jack's presence and the constant racism that came with it were more trouble than the government stipend was worth. (I would never send him back home, he's better to me than many Venlil)
I thanked the Gojid with sincerity that I meant none of, and asked "Is my loan approved?"
He told me "Yes, it's been approved at..." Oh Herd, not this again. How do his coworkers interact with him? "5% quarterly interest." That's not even bad. (Five percent might be a robbery, but for UBS banks it's decent) "You'll have six months to pay it off in full... or the interest will double every quarter." (Somebody should disband the United Banking Service)
I agreed to these terms, since they were the best I was going to get, and left without another word. Eight thousand Federation credits had just entered my bank account, making me a very rich man. (Not really, but it was the most I'd ever had)
Jack was sitting on a bench outside the UBS building tapping away on his pad. A more skittish Venlil would have assumed that he was plotting something or bathing in the virtual blood of his prey, but I knew better than to assume the game he was playing was predatory.
Never mind, it was absolutely predatory. An army of huge winged beasts descended on what looked like a walled fortress in the middle of a hellish landscape, and lightning rained down from the skies at Jack's command to pick apart what I assumed were strategic defenses. (He might not actively do predator things, but he is excellent at them)
Within thirty ticks of the timer at the top of the screen, the beasts were above the fortress raining destruction on whatever they pleased. A few soldiers ran out of a building near the center of the base, attacking Jack's army, but they were quickly dealt with. Without the defenses that were destroyed by what I assumed was orbital bombardment, the base was helpless against the conquering predator.
A chill ran down my spine as I saw the defenders being slaughtered. A Venlil general or admiral (there were actually surprisingly many when compared to the rest of our military) could accomplish such results but those types of Venlil were very few and often had mild cases of Predator Disease. (That needs a new name. Maybe Arxur disease? No, too scary)
Seeing an average human, whose only military experience was four years serving on a war boat (They still have a boat military? Herd, those predators love their weapons) complete what many Federation officers would struggle to do terrified me for good reason.
We Venlil had treated Humans like they weren't even sapient, just dirt or pests that we had to tolerate. And the rest of the Federation treated them even worse. What if they decided peace wasn't worth it? What if, in our fear of the Arxur, we unleashed a threat worse than them? (Could Jack spare me from a human cattle farm? I'd have to kill myself if he couldn't)
Venlil Prime would be the first world to fall. We'd all die of our own hubris.
"Hell!" Jack turned his pad down so I couldn't look over his shoulder anymore. "I'm sorry you had to see that." Why did he have to be sorry for everything? The way my species, my Federation, treated him and his kind always angered me.
I told him "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault your hobbies are so... you know." I didn't like using the word "predator". At least, not to describe humans. Jack was cool with me using it as long as it wasn't in a derogatory way, (since they are predators) but it just reminded me of how unjustly he and his kind were treated.
Jack clearly didn't listen when I said not to be sorry because he kept apologizing. "Yeah, but it's not your fault you're so damn skittish either. And it is my fault I played Clash... I mean the game here. I should've known better." Herd, why did he never stand up for himself? The exterminators can't be that bad!
I explained to him "You don't have to apologize, Jack. You never meant to scare anyone." and before he could keep apologizing (I know him too well to think he wouldn't) I changed the subject. "We have money at our disposal now, we can buy something from the Mellow Firefruit on our way to the train station."
Jack agreed, but he was worried about "spacists". (Oh Herd, has he lost it?) I asked "What in the Arbor is a spacist?" In case you don't know, the Arbor is where followers of the Great Protector go when they die. It's a huge forest with plentiful and delicious food, and no predators.
When I finally mustered up my courage and told Jack that the god I worship hates his kind, I was half expecting to die horribly by his unusually short claws or extremely dull fangs. (Are they so peaceful because of their lack of natural weapons, or do they lack natural weapons because they're so peaceful? I should ask Jack that)
Instead, he shrugged it off and told me that, apparently, "Jesus still solos." When I explained the Arbor at his request, he had the brilliant idea to convert to worshiping the Protector and then kill himself in order to appear there and scare the afterlife out of everyone else. He quickly and profusely explained that he would never actually do that, but Inatala would never have accepted him anyway so it didn't matter.
Anyway, back to real life. Jack told me "Oh, spacists? They're just space racists except I mushed the two words together. It's a play on words type thing." The words 'space' and 'racists' do not fit together in Venlilese, and frankly, I was astounded that the translator even gave me the concept. (I bought it second-hand from a Mazic who stepped on it one too many times, but it was incredibly cheap)
I told him "If you told anyone but me that the words 'space' and 'racists' fit together then you would be screened for Predator Disease." and he covered his mouth in the gesture that was universally recognized as a prey-safe predator's laugh.
"God, sometimes I forget you guys have a sense of humor."
Just then, I started walking. I was tired, like any Venlil would be after a long walk, a long wait in line and the anticipation of another long walk, but the thought of the sweet, delicious food at the Mellow Firefruit kept me going. (I have to get Jack some, he's been underrating Venlil cuisine ever since he first tried my subpar cooking)
Jack fell in behind me, then he moved up to be at my side as an equal. Us Venlil didn't care where you were in line, but I guess predators have different priorities. (Is thinking 'predator' as bad as saying it? That's a dilemma I need to deal with later) I asked him "How come your claws and... uh... those pointy front teeth are so small?" (I don't like talking about fangs, sue me)
Jack turned to look at me, jerked his head away a little, then he turned and looked at me again. He responded to my question, realized I was a Venlil, and realized I was Salvek, in that order. I was good at reading people. He told me "First of all, they're called nails and canines. And second of all, we've never needed claws so they never evolved." A predator never needing claws was absurd! When would Jack learn that he didn't have to lie to me?
I interrupted my friend's explanation by telling him "Jack, I'm not going to run away or faint just because you tell me that ancient humans hunted. I get it. Just tell me how you lost your claws."
Jack sighed. He didn't sigh a lot, only when he was driven to the end of his very long rope (Turns out that's a human idiom too! Who knew?) by someone else's, usually my, stupidity. "Salvek, we didn't lose them. We evolved to eat fruit from trees, and by the time we were eating meat we had at least developed the art of throwing rocks at things. There was never any need for them, and they never appeared as a result. Satisfied?"
Developing weapons early on did make sense for humans, given how good they are at combat, so I nodded. It wasn't really a Venlil expression, but those in the exchange program had learned everything they could about their human partners. (I'm saying human instead of predator! Progress!) "Yeah, that makes sense."
Jack continued, explaining about human 'canines'. We just called them fangs. "Canines were originally fangs, yeah," He lowered his voice when he mentioned fangs. "but when we made fire around a million years ago, we didn't need them anymore and so they got smaller. I'm no expert, but that's what I know."
That actually made sense. I knew the Arxur didn't eat cooked meat, since I found uncensored raid footage on an internet rabbit hole when I was fourteen, (I peed myself and had nightmares for weeks but no one has to know) but I always assumed humans shared that trait. Maybe I was just like the rest with how I kept comparing humans and Arxur. (Why am I capitalizing one and not the other? No one knows!)
Maybe I was just like the rest. Maybe one day I would lose control and run from Jack, or freeze up, or worse, call the exterminators, and then it would all be over. I could never live with myself if my damned instincts got him to hate me or got him killed. I've only known him for a few weeks, but when we met we just clicked.
It's still weird to me how the concept of platonic soul mates doesn't exist yet.
"That's it, right?" Jack asked while pointing to a red restaurant a few blocks away. That was it. I was about to eat good.
"Yeah, that's it. Come on, let's go!" I ran to the Mellow Firefruit faster than most humans could, on account of my species being designed for sprints, (or we're just better than them) and Jack tagged along in a brisk walk. He was probably trying not to be mistaken for chasing me and shot dead, or worse, set on fire.
I know most predators don't feel pain, but humans do. Why in the Herd didn't exterminators at least have the decency to kill them humanely?
A couple seconds later, Jack was waiting outside the restaurant and looking at his pad while I waited in line (In case nobody noticed yet, I hate lines) for my meal. Jack's meal too, since nobody wanted their entire customer base to leave the second they began serving humans. At least, that was the official reason. The real reason is that most Venlil are still racist.
After an agonizing minute and a half of waiting, since the Mellow Firefruit was a popular restaurant (for good reason, as Jack was about to discover) I finally got to order my food. "I'll have two yaccay salads, and two red fires please." Jack only asked for a salad, but red fires were excellent drinks and if he said no to one I would drink both. I was being smart with this.
"Okay, that will be 43.8 credits." All right, maybe not so smart.
I asked "44 credits?" in shock as my mind struggled to wrap itself around this sudden increase in price. The last time I got a meal here it was only twenty credits.
The cashier, a large green Krakotl who was a tiny bit taller than me, explained "Inflation. Those damn predators brahked up the economy and now we have this." Putting hate on my friend Jack wasn't something I would normally tolerate, but my father had always said it wasn't wise to anger the people who made your food. I just swiped my card across his card reader and stayed silent, like dad would have wanted.
"If you ask me, Sovlin was right."
Was my father really that wise? He probably didn't know what he was talking about.
"How can you say that? No one deserves what he did to Marcel." I shot back, managing to contain the venom in my voice.
The cashier retorted "No one sapient. But those... things that Tarva's dumb ass let roam our planet don't qualify." with barely-contained hatred. (Thank the Herd Jack doesn't have to hear this)
Before I could respond, however, the manager came with my order and reprimanded his subordinate. "Don't get into politics with customers, and certainly don't spit those lies in my establishment!" Maybe the Great Protector was still looking out for me.
The manager handed me my items and apologized profusely. "My cashier here is still new to Venlil Prime. He hasn't gotten used to the... the new arrivals yet. Herd, even I struggle sometimes, and I'm in the exchange program!"
I thanked him, explaining that it wasn't a big deal but the cashier should still be reprimanded, and brought our food to Jack. He wasn't playing that predatory (it was predatory, but predatory didn't necessarily mean bad) game again, but he was scrolling through his account on UHerd.
UHerd was the Venlil's main addition to the galaxy at large, being a huge social media service that Jack had described as "just like Instagram." when he first heard of it. Bleat was another large website just like it, but it was much less known than UHerd. (Fun fact: the U stands for Internet! Maybe not in English, but in Venlilese it does)
Jack never posted much, but he had me and a few mutual friends from the Program followed and he liked hearing what we were doing. I plopped down next to him and handed him his food. "Here, I got you something."
He picked up the salad nonchalantly, but when I handed him his drink, he inspected it curiously. "What in God's name is this doohickey?" He asked.
I told him "Try it, it's a red fire. It's good." and he did try it.
Jack exclaimed "Holy christ!" and the look in his eyes was comparable to what I saw the first time I agreed to being pet. "This is heavenly!" He guzzled the spicy fluid with hunger that would have terrified me if I hadn't seen him devour meals a dozen times before, (He'll eat me next I have to run I have to run run run run for it [oh, shut up already]) stopping only to praise its taste. "This is like the nectar of the gods!" Then "Shit, this is what I was missing out on? We gotta desegregate the restaurants immediately!"
That got him thinking, and I could almost see the money-making gears turning in his head. "You know, Salvek, what if we opened up a restaurant? You could be the official owner and waiter, I could cook some delectable earth recipes, and as long as no one saw me, we could make bank!"
I didn't like that idea. It sounded a lot like a recipe for disaster. I told him "Nah, it would be too hard for just the two of us. And besides, we already have the clothing business." Selling shirts online is a lot easier and cheaper than owning a restaurant.
Since Jack asked me a question, I figured I could ask one too. "Hey Jack, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
Jack didn't care, and he told me as much, so I continued. "How do you keep yourself in check all the time? How can humans control themselves so well?"
He paused for a bit, causing me to involuntarily panic, (he's looking for weak points, or exterminators, he's going to snap my neck for this) but I quelled these thoughts and there was no visible change in my expression. Finally, the colossal man spoke. "How do you do it?"
"W-what?" I stammered, and he picked up a leaf that was blowing in the wind before cherishing his last sip of the red fire.
He held the leaf up to my mouth. "How can you resist the temptation to just chow down on every plant you see? It must be exhausting." I took a brief nibble of the plant, despite it being completely unappetizing in nature, and he told me "See? Your herbivore instincts made you eat it! How can you keep them in check all the time?"
I wasn't a fool, not by any means. I knew he was mocking me. But the thought of a predator not having any predatory instincts was an entirely unheard of concept, bordering on heresy for some. It would probably have gotten me screened for Predator Disease if I spoke of it aloud, but I still spoke of it aloud. (There were no exterminators, I was fine) "So you're trying to say that you don't have predatory instincts? But what about the drive to hunt?"
Jack sighed again, muttering "So smart, but so damn stupid." in a low tone before he explained to me exactly what I wanted to know. "We have the need to eat meat in the same way you need to eat plants, because if we don't do it we die." That made sense. "But just like you don't have a primal urge to devour all the greenery in sight, we don't have any instincts of our own. Make sense?"
It did, but I was still struggling to wrap my head around it, so I just nodded and finished off my salad. Jack had apparently forgot about his salad, as he hadn't touched it. He opened the plastic carton, looked at its contents weirdly, and took a bite.
"This is mid." He told me, point blank. "Like, I don't mean to offend anyone, but it is mid. I'm not even hungry."
I was mildly offended, but there wasn't much I could change about his honest opinion, so I just told him "I thought it was good." and left it at that.
Jack slid his salad over to me (I love these things like my only son) and offered "You can have it. I don't want it." I would have accepted, but I wasn't hungry. Jack didn't really mind, so he threw his salad out and told me "Then we should get going. We have only [1/8 of a claw], I mean... 1/8 of a claw before our train leaves."
I agreed, getting up and walking to the train station, and Jack followed. I was well rested by then, so the brief walk was easy. Jack... Jack was Jack. He never got tired.
We actually made a pretty good pace to the train station, and within 1/16 of a claw we were on our way back to my home district and my third-floor apartment. I had money to my name, I had a huge predator (Human! Damn, those words get mixed up too much) friend, and he and I were about to make a truckload of credits. Life was good.
Previous Next comes when I say it comes

Log is located here
​
Valve Software - vbsp.exe (Nov 17 2022)
4 threads
Using shader api: shaderapiempty.dll
materialPath: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Half-Life 2\hl2\materials
Loading C:\SAVE\CombineEscape_3.vmf
Could not locate 'GameData' key in c:\program files (x86)\steam\steamapps\common\half-life 2\hl2\gameinfo.txt
fixing up env_cubemap materials on brush sides...
ProcessBlock_Thread: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
ProcessBlock_Thread: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
Processing areas...done (0)
Building Faces...done (0)
FixTjuncs...
PruneNodes...
WriteBSP...
done (0)
writing C:\SAVE\CombineEscape_3.prt...Building visibility clusters...
done (0)
Creating default LDR cubemaps for env_cubemap using skybox materials:
skybox/sky_day01_08*.vmt
! Run buildcubemaps in the engine to get the correct cube maps.
Creating default HDR cubemaps for env_cubemap using skybox materials:
skybox/sky_day01_08*.vmt
! Run buildcubemaps in the engine to get the correct cube maps.
Finding displacement neighbors...
Finding lightmap sample positions...
Displacement Alpha : 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10
Building Physics collision data...
done (0) (44774 bytes)
Placing detail props : 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10
Compacting texture/material tables...
Reduced 146 texinfos to 129
Reduced 16 texdatas to 16 (402 bytes to 402)
Writing C:\SAVE\CombineEscape_3.bsp
0 seconds elapsed
​
** Executing...
** Command: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Half-Life 2\bin\vvis.exe"
** Parameters: -game "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Half-Life 2\hl2" "C:\SAVE\CombineEscape_3"
​
Valve Software - vvis.exe (Nov 17 2022)
4 threads
reading c:\save\CombineEscape_3.bsp
reading c:\save\CombineEscape_3.prt
347 portalclusters
1132 numportals
BasePortalVis: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
PortalFlow: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (15)
Optimized: 590 visible clusters (0.86%)
Total clusters visible: 68438
Average clusters visible: 197
Building PAS...
Average clusters audible: 346
visdatasize:33162 compressed from 33312
writing c:\save\CombineEscape_3.bsp
15 seconds elapsed
​
** Executing...
** Command: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Half-Life 2\bin\vrad.exe"
** Parameters: -game "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Half-Life 2\hl2" "C:\SAVE\CombineEscape_3"
​
Valve Software - vrad.exe SSE (Nov 17 2022)
​
Valve Radiosity Simulator
4 threads
[Reading texlights from 'lights.rad']
[45 texlights parsed from 'lights.rad']
​
Loading c:\save\CombineEscape_3.bsp
Setting up ray-trace acceleration structure... Done (0.08 seconds)
1129 faces
1 degenerate faces
1216781 square feet [175216544.00 square inches]
0 Displacements
0 Square Feet [0.00 Square Inches]
1128 patches before subdivision
22996 patches after subdivision
sun extent from map=0.000000
sun extent from map=0.000000
3 direct lights
BuildFacelights: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (2)
BuildVisLeafs: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (1)
transfers 1794637, max 489
transfer lists: 13.7 megs
GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)

Bounce #1 added RGB(24718, 28197, 20794) 

GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)

Bounce #2 added RGB(7642, 7248, 3276) 

GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)

Bounce #3 added RGB(2773, 2277, 647) 

GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)

Bounce #4 added RGB(1091, 781, 142) 

GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (1)

Bounce #5 added RGB(432, 271, 32) 

GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)

Bounce #6 added RGB(174, 96, 8) 

GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)

Bounce #7 added RGB(70, 34, 2) 

GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)

Bounce #8 added RGB(29, 12, 0) 

GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)

Bounce #9 added RGB(12, 4, 0) 

GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)

Bounce #10 added RGB(5, 2, 0) 

GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)

Bounce #11 added RGB(2, 1, 0) 

GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)

Bounce #12 added RGB(1, 0, 0) 

Build Patch/Sample Hash Table(s).....Done<0.0090 sec>
FinalLightFace: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
FinalLightFace Done
0 of 0 (0% of) surface lights went in leaf ambient cubes.
ThreadComputeLeafAmbient: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (2)
Writing leaf ambient...done
Ready to Finish

Heya! Im still quite new to DND so Im not quite sure how to handle this situation. Im about to start a new campaign (its a mix between three books I really enjoy and I combine the story and give it life with a goal) So most of my players have their characters done and they're quite straightforward and balanced. Now one of my players would like to use a home-brew character. He gave me like 10 options... ALL of them felt like level 7-10 characters at level one. With super broken abilities, some being home-brew as well. Now I have mainly DM´d for my siblings and their friends, we use DND Beyond and the player would like to use a character from content he doesn't have and won't buy (absolutely understandable), so he tries to convince me to use one of his own characters.
Edit: I play with/ for my brothers on discord because I live half way across the country
I have told him to most that they're broken, but he still can only come up with absolutely broken characters and being a full-time student I don't have the time to rewrite the campaign to counter an almost undefeatable character.
How should I handle this situation? Cuz I honestly don't know right now, I thought about telling him to "suck it up" and use one of the basic races but I wanted to keep things interesting with different races and classes (all from DND content, so that I don't have to study for a hobby XD)
Any help is appreciated

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