Holiday party photo backdrop

I have always experienced this feeling, more so as I have gotten older and I want to know why- whenever it is the lead up to something exciting (a party/a day out/ a holiday/any event) I start to feel a bit deflated, like I don’t really want to go. I always do go and have the best time (I already know I will) but I can never shake the feeling that I don’t really want to go anymore/ have lost interest in the event/ something bad is going to happen.
I’m relating this to my current situation - I’m going to work on board cruise ships in a few weeks time and I currently feel like I don’t want to go. I know I’m going to go and have the most amazing time, but I hate this feeling of something bad is going to happen or feeling like I don’t want to go through with it.
Any advice / insight would be great.

TLDR: My husband wanted to swing, and I kissed a girl. Now I think we are getting a divorce
After reading many of these stories, Iam going to assuming if I’m asking the question the writing is on the wall, but here we are. I have been with my husband since we were 18, and 21, living together since roughly 6 months after dating. We got married this last summer. We have no kids, and two dogs. It’s been 5 years . My husband has always been a gruff man, but things just seemed to get worse after the pandemic. We are both front line workers. My husband has always had a wandering eye. Since we got together he has had a collection of photos of girls. He’s taken photos of them in public (this was in high school), and currently has screen shots of girls in bikinis from the social media (ie instagram, girls he went to high school with) The winter before we got married my husband began to bring up the idea of swinging, and a threesome etc. I told him no many many times. I have dated women and men before, but I am strictly a monogamist. I love my husband and sharing him, or swapping would simply break me. He has told me since I moved in that his dream was always a tall skinny blonde, and I a petite curvy brunette always was taken a back. I always assumed this was his way to eat his cake and have it too. In the past year, we have been fighting insanely often. He ran away twice in the week before our wedding threatening suicide. He’s broken things, tried to shoot me with a pellet gun (he missed and hit the paper towels), and just been mean. In turn I have smacked him, and been mean as well. Before the most recently incident ( see below), he would constantly call me a bitch, smack the air in front of my face, and say the n word and other racial slurs to piss me off. There are two times he’s put a gun to my head while I was asleep. The first time I was asleep on the couch and my brother thought it would be funny (he has austism) and my husband (my fiancé woke me up with an unloaded gun to my head). The next time was after a fight. He has a thick cardboard cut out that looks like his real Glock in the dark. He placed it to my head and woke me up. Anytime we would get into a fight he would run into the other bedroom, which is fine. Aside from the time he downloaded POF, and the time he broke my things. Many of these fights were simply because he wanted to be itched to bed and I fell asleep before he did. Many other fights were due to me deleting the screenshots he’s taken while he was sleeping, or calling him gross for the swinging ideas. These fights became more frequent after he downloaded an app, and found out there was a club near us. On the app, he would send my photos or photos of us to other people in exchange for the photos . I told him no, but I couldn’t stop him. He would then give them my Snapchat and put me in groups with them. I would ignore them or tell them I had to work . We would then fight and repeat. They often ended in me being called a fat bitch and him asking for divorce. A few times he drafted the papers. He would ask to go to the Club to “shoot pool”, but has always been disgusted by bars and normal clubs.
Fast forward to this weekend. One of my friends had broken off her engagement, and needed time. My husband had a party with his coworkers at a version of Dave and busters and I decided to bring her. Everything was fine. After this, we decided to get some beer and play cards against humanity. I generally do not drink as i am on Prozac, but I wanted to let looose and I was in my own home. I don’t remember much that happened but my friend told me I made out with her 3 times in one night, with my husband watching and egging us on. I am imagining I started to sober up roughly an hour and half later. I remember being on my husbands lap with my top off, and my friend on the couch next to us making out with another man. I get dressed and feel embarrassed. Shortly after everyone leaves and my husband is upset she didn’t sleep with us. The following Friday, I had made plans with my friends to go out after work to a club. My husband was supposed to go with us, but decided to stay home. While at the club, my friend begins to play with my hair. She rubs my back. I text my husband that she is touching me, and his only response is go for it. Time passes and I realize my husband hadn’t touched me like that in so long. Outside of sex, he wasn’t cuddling me , he wasn’t wooing me, etc. it was all about him. She kissed me, and I let her. She asked to go back to her place but I said I can’t I love my husband. We then leave the club, and get back to my place. We walk in and my husband is there in his boxers and a shirt . He asks me, while she is in the bathroom if she’s coming to bed with us, and I say no. After she leaves i explain the kissing and he became upset. Called me a slut, and a whore and a cheater. He was so upset. I think it was becaus she didn’t like him. He yells and asks for a divorce. Over the course of the next several days he calls me names, and demands a divorce. I begin to plan my leave. I had it all set up, until Wednesday. My husband can be mellow dramatic . I was sure if I left without a plan and all my things he would break them all. Wednesday, while plotting he picked up my phone and began to read my text. He found out I planned to take the dog and he was. Very upset. He said it was better to shoot her, and said let’s d it now. He then sat down and we talked without talking. I eventually walked away and went to the shower to cry. As I got out, he was there crying and begging me not to leave. He’s sorry . He agreed to counseling. I didn’t leave like was planning to. He’s been better, but I’m just waiting the other shoe to drop. Last night he said we don’t have time or money for counseling. I have rerouted my paychecks to my own account. Next time he is home I will tell him. Even if we stay together, he has started his own business, and always has our joint account in the negative. He has a thing for big flashy things and cars.
A few things of note 1. He’s not a bad guy. He works so much and so hard. When I met him I was a waitress , and he took me in. I don’t think I would have been able to finish college without him 2. I am 80% sure he has bipolar, but will not get help . 3. I have worked 36 hours while going to school full time. He says this not not full time. He believes I am lazy and allergic to work 4. Until our most recent pow wow, I did not have his phone password for deleting his screen shots 5. I am not a great wife. I don’t cook very well, and I will pinch and hit if he’s repeating something I don’t like or if he is being extra mean. 6. Worst of all, I told my friends who asked that he was cheating on me rather than explain the swinger stuff . 7. He is the only man I’ve ever been with.
I guess I have a few questions 1. Should I leave ? 2. Did I cheat on him?

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Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Release in the US
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters on September 23, 2023. Tickets to see the film at your local movie theater are available online here. The film is being released in a wide release so you can watch it in person.
How to Watch Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania for Free?release on a platform that offers a free trial. Our readers to always pay for the content they wish to consume online and refrain from using illegal means.
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There are currently no platforms that have the rights to Watch Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Movie Online.MAPPA has decided to air the movie only in theaters because it has been a huge success.The studio , on the other hand, does not wish to divert revenue Streaming the movie would only slash the profits, not increase them.
As a result, no streaming services are authorized to offer Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Movie for free. The film would, however, very definitely be acquired by services like Funimation , Netflix, and Crunchyroll. As a last consideration, which of these outlets will likely distribute the film worldwide?
Is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on Netflix?
The streaming giant has a massive catalog of television shows and movies, but it does not include 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.' We recommend our readers watch other dark fantasy films like 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.'
Is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on Crunchyroll?
Crunchyroll, along with Funimation, has acquired the rights to the film and will be responsible for its distribution in North America.Therefore, we recommend our readers to look for the movie on the streamer in the coming months. subscribers can also watch dark fantasy shows like 'Jujutsu Kaisen.'
Is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on Hulu?
No, 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' is unavailable on Hulu. People who have a subscription to the platform can enjoy 'Afro Samurai Resurrection' or 'Ninja Scroll.'
Is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime's current catalog does not include 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.' However, the film may eventually release on the platform as video-on-demand in the coming months.fantasy movies on Amazon Prime's official website. Viewers who are looking for something similar can watch the original show 'Dororo.'
When Will Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Be on Disney+?
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the latest installment in the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania franchise, is coming to Disney+ on July 8th! This new movie promises to be just as exciting as the previous ones, with plenty of action and adventure to keep viewers entertained. you're looking forward to watching it, you may be wondering when it will be available for your Disney+ subscription. Here's an answer to that question!
Is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on Funimation?
Crunchyroll, its official website may include the movie in its catalog in the near future. Meanwhile, people who wish to watch something similar can stream 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train.'
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What is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania About?
It features an ensemble cast that includes Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, and Chris Pine. In the film, a young wife living in a 2250s company town begins to believe there is a sinister secret being kept from her by the man who runs it.
What is the story of Don't worry darling?
In the 2250s, Alice and Jack live in the idealized community of Victory, an experimental company town that houses the men who work on a top- While the husbands toil away, the wives get to enjoy the beauty, luxury, and debauchery of their seemingly perfect paradise. However, when cracks in her idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something sinister lurking below the surface, Alice can't help but question exactly what she's doing in Victory.
In ancient Kahndaq, Teth Adam bestowed the almighty powers of the gods. After using these powers for vengeance, he was imprisoned, becoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Nearly 5,000 years have passed, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has gone from man to myth to legend. Now free, his unique form of justice, born out of rage, is challenged by modern-day heroes who form the Justice Society: Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone.
Production companies : Warner Bros. Pictures.
At San Diego Comic-Con in July, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had other people raising eyebrows when he said that his long-awaited superhero debut in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania would be the beginning of “a new era” for the DC Extended Universe naturally followed: What did he mean? And what would that kind of reset mean for the remainder of DCEU's roster, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the rest of the Justice League, Suicide Squad, Shazam and so
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania neared theaters, though, Johnson clarified that statement in a recent sit-down with Yahoo Entertainment (watch above).
“I feel like this is our opportunity now to expand the DC Universe and what we have in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which I think is really cool just as a fan, is we introduce five new superheroes to the world,” Johnson tells us. Aldis Hodge's Hawkman, Noah Centineo's Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell's Cyclone and Pierce Brosnan's Doctor Fate, who together comprise the Justice Society.) “One anti-hero.” (That would be DJ's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.)
“And what an opportunity. The Justice Society pre-dated the Justice League. So opportunity, expand out the universe, in my mind… all these characters interact. That's why you see in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, we acknowledge everyone: Batman , Superman , Wonder Woman, Flash, we acknowledge everybody.There's also some Easter eggs in there, too.So that's what I meant by the resetting. Maybe resetting' wasn't a good term.only
one can claim to be the most powerful superhero .And Johnson, when gently pressed, says it's his indestructible, 5,000-year-old Kahndaqi warrior also known as Teth-Adam, that is the most powerful superhero in any universe, DC, Marvel or otherwise
"By the way, it's not hyperbole because we made the movie."And we made him this powerful.
There's nothing so wrong with “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” that it should be avoided, but nothing—besides the appealing presence of Dwayne Johnson—that makes it worth rushing out to see. spectacles that have more or less taken over studio filmmaking, but it accumulates the genre's—and the business's—bad habits into a single two- hour-plus package, and only hints at the format's occasional pleasures. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” feels like a place-filler for a movie that's remaining to be made, but, in its bare and shrugged-off sufficiency, it does one positive thing that, if nothing else, at least accounts for its success: for all the churning action and elaborately jerry-rigged plot, there's little to distract from the movie's pedestal-like display of Johnson, its real-life superhero.
It's no less numbing to find material meant for children retconned for adults—and, in the process, for most of the naïve delight to be leached out, and for any serious concerns to be shoehorned in and then waved away with dazzle and noise. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” offers a moral realm that draws no lines, a personal one of simplistic stakes, a political one that suggests any interpretation, an audiovisual one that rehashes long-familiar tropes and repackages overused devices for a commercial experiment that might as well wear its import as its title. When I was in Paris in 1983, Jerry Lewis—yes, they really did love him there—had a new movie in theaters. You're Crazy, Jerry."Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania " could be retitled 'You're a Superhero, Dwayne'—it's the marketing team's PowerPoint presentation extended to feature length.
In addition to being Johnson's DC Universe debut, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is also notable for marking the return of Henry Cavill's Superman. The cameo is likely to set up future showdowns between the two characters, but Hodge was completely unaware of it until he saw the film.
“They kept that all the way under wraps, and I didn't know until maybe a day or two before the premiere,” he recently said Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) FULLMOVIE ONLINE
Is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Available On Hulu?Viewers are saying that they want to view the new TV show Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
Is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Streaming on Disney Plus?
Unfortunately, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is not currently available to stream on Disney Plus and it's not expected that the film will release on Disney Plus until late December at the absolute earliest.
While Disney eventually releases its various studios' films on Disney Plus for subscribers to watch via its streaming platform, most major releases don't arrive on Disney Plus until at least 45-60 days after the film's theatrical release.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has finally ended the box office blues. It will be a close call, but based on the estimates, the year's biggest opener remains Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with its 187millionstart.Nonetheless,WakandaForever′s 180 million opening is a huge one, being the biggest ever for the month of November (beating the 158millionofTheHungerGames:CatchingFire),thesecondbiggestoftheyear,andthe13thbiggestofalltime(thoughitcouldgoupordownafewslotsoncetheactualscomeout).Itledanoverallweekendboxofficeof 208 million, which is the fourth biggest of the year and the biggest by a long shot of the past four months, with no other weekend since July 8 -10 even going above $133 million.
This isn't the 202millionopeningthatwesawfromBlackPantherinFebruary2018,norshouldweexpecttheamazinglegsthatwereabletogetthatfilmtoanastonishing 700 million. With that said, expect it to perform strong throughout the holiday season, likely repeating the five-weekend number-one streak that the first film had, and it shouldn't have any trouble becoming the second highest grossing film of the year so far, beating the $411 million cume of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The audience response is strong, with the A CinemaScore falling below the first film's A+ but bouncing back from the B+'s earned by Doctor Strange 2 and Thor: Love and Thunder, which ranked among the worst for the MCU. improvement over the recent franchise installations,with the aforementioned films coming in at 74% and 64% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes, both at the lower end for Marvel films, while Wakanda Forever's 84% ​​​is closer to franchise norms, though not meeting the high bar set by the first Black Panther's 96%.
The sequel opened to 150millioninternationally,whichDisneyreportsis4 330 million. Can it become the year's third film to make it past 1billionworldwidedespiteChinaandRussia,whichmadeuparound 124 million of the first film's 682millioninternationalboxoffice,beingoutofplay?Itmaybetough,butit′snotimpossible.Leggingoutpast 500 million is plausible on the domestic front (that would be a multiplier of at least 2.7), and another 500millionabroadwouldbeadropofaround 58 million from the original after excluding the two MIA markets. It'd be another story if audiences didn't love the film,but the positive reception suggests that Wakanda Forever will outperform the legs on this year's earlier MCU titles (Multiverse of Madness and Love and Thunder had multipliers of 2.2 and 2.3 respectively).
As for the rest of the box office, there's little to get excited about, with nothing else grossing above 10millionasHollywoodshiedawayfromreleasinganythingsignificantnotjustthisweekendbutalsoovertheprevioustwoweekends.WhenBlackPantheropenedin2018,therewasnocounterprogrammingthatopenedthesameweekend,butPeterRabbitandFiftyShadesFreedwereintheirsecondweekendsandtooksecondandthirdwith 17.5 million and 17.3millionrespectively.Thatweekendhadanoverallcumeof 287 million compared to 208millionthisweekendTakeawaythe 22 million gap between the two Black Panther films and there's still a $57 million gap between the two weekends. The difference may not feel that large when a mega blockbuster is propping up the grosses,but the contrast is harsher when the mid-level films are the entire box office as we saw in recent months.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which is the biggest grosser of the rough post-summer, pre-Wakanda Forever season, came in second with just 8.6million.Despitetheblockbustercompetitionthatarrivedinitsfourthweekend,thenumbersdidn′ttotallycollapse,dropping53 151 million. Worldwide it is at 352million,whichisn′tagreatcumeasthegrossesstarttowinddownconsideringits 200 million budget. Still, it's the biggest of any film since Thor: Love and Thunder, though Wakanda Forever will overtake it any day now.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania came in third place in its fourth weekend, down 29% with 6.1million,emergingasoneoftheseason′smostdurablegrossersandoneoftheyear′sfewbrightspotswhenitcomestofilmsforadults.Thedomesticcumeis 56.5 million Fourth place went to Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, which had a negligible drop of 5% for a 3.2millionsixthweekendand 40.8 million cume., in fact )
, which isn't surprising considering it's the only family film on the market, and it's close to grossing four times its 11.4millionopening.Still,the 72.6 million worldwide cume is soft given the $50 million budget , though a number of international markets have yet to open.
Finishing up the top five is Smile, which had its biggest weekend drop yet, falling 42% for a 2.3millionseventhweekend.Ofcourse,that′snoreasontofrownforthehorrorfilm,whichhasadomesticcumeof 103 million and global cume of 210millionfromabudgetofjust 20 million.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has raised over ₹900 crore gross at the global box office, Yash Raj Films has shared in a press note. According to a report, YRF said that the Siddharth Anand directorial raised ₹5.90 crore nett in India on its third Friday. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, a Yash Raj Films (YRF) project, released in theatres on January 25. (Also Read Ronnie Screwvala says Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will never beat Dangal box office collection)
The action thriller follows Shah Rukh Khan who comes out of exile to stop the terrorist group Outfit X from launching an attack on India. The film also features Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Dimple Kapadia, and Ashutosh Rana among others.
"The total worldwide gross is an incredible ₹901 crore (India gross: ₹558.40 crore, overseas: ₹342.60 crore)" the studio said as quoted by news agency ANI. YRF also said that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has become the highest-grossing Hindi film worldwide in the history of Hindi cinema.
It also shared the numbers on its Instagram page on Saturday. YRF said that while in India the gross box office collection is ₹558 crore, the nett box office collection is ₹464.80 crore. It added that overseas the gross box office collection is ₹343 crore. YRF captioned the post, "Can't get enough of all the love for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania."
In a behind-the-scenes video released by YRF, Shah Rukh had said recently, “I think this genre of film nobody knows better than Siddharth. I am working with him for the first time. He knows this kind of cinema very well. I just love the world that Siddharth makes. It's an action film that is close to my heart. I think it is made with a lot of goodness by a lot of good people."
"I think it's cinematic, which is the call of the day. It's a film you want to watch on a big screen. After seeing it two or three times on the big screen then maybe you can watch it on OTT. But before that watch it on the big screen. I think it's fun, happy, good looking. I think technically quite forward, lovely locations, lovely songs, beautiful people. I think the action is really nice," he had added.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the fourth movie in YRF's ambitious spy universe, following Salman Khan's Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), and War (2019), featuring Hrithik Rosh
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Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/IYCiEjf
Images: https://imgur.com/a/oWTQ3Vz
Price: $500 and willing to ship
LIGHTLY USED Fujifilm X-E2 and 7Artisans 25mm f1.8
The camera is lightly used with some scuffs on the bottom plate from being set down and a small scratch on the LCD. I placed a screen protector on it after noticing the scratch to prevent further wear. The EVF works perfectly; I would highly recommend this for those who wear glasses because it has a diopter dial and great eye relief.
The 7artisans lens is in great condition with just some finger print smudges on the lens
There is also some QOL accessories included such as a shutter release button and a thumb grip. Two extra third party batteries are included. An extra screen protector is included in case you’d like to redo it.
All of the original packaging is included with the original battery, charger, and documentation. The Fuji body has the latest firmware.
*XF 18-55 not included. I was too lazy to take new photos without it. If you'd like to purchase the complete kit: https://www.reddit.com/photomarket/comments/11xz8ut/s_usatx_fujifilm_xe2_with_lenses_and_accessories/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Grand Theft Auto is no stranger to add-on content, but the latest in a long line of leaks suggests Rockstar might be taking a bit of a different approach for the long-awaited sequel — splitting up parts of the game to repackage as DLC.
The rumor comes from established Rockstar leaker Tez2, who says Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently targeting a release in holiday 2024 “which has been pushed back multiple times.” Tez2 adds the game may be pushed back again, into to 2025.
Furthermore, Tez2 claims Rockstar is considering breaking up the game’s content into post-launch DLC, to ensure the game can meet a release date. If GTA 6 launches in 2024, it will be a whopping 11 years since the last release in the franchise.
This wouldn’t be an unprecedented move from Rockstar, considering the approach the studio has taken with GTA Online, incrementally releasing massive updates and new story content. Notably, however, GTA 5 didn’t feature any additional story content, just updates to the Online portion of the game.
GTA Online GTA Online has managed to stay relevant for a decade with consistent updates, and it makes sense Rockstar would pivot to that same approach to single-player content.ROCKSTAR Taking this approach would let Rockstar more easily hit whatever internal timeline is established for GTA 6, and provide a road map of content to make post-launch more appealing to players. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time this kind of rumor has been brought up by Tez2, as last August the leaker reported GTA 6 would “expand over time,” adding on new cities after launch.
The easiest approach would be to create content that ties into both the single-player and multiplayer aspects of GTA 6, and creating new cities in-game could do just that. New locations could be fully playable in the online portion, while also adding on hand-crafted stories and missions. This would allow Rockstar to continue the overwhelming success of GTA Online, while story content could help attract new players or those that might not care to engage with multiplayer.
This tactic of splitting up elements of the game as DLC is something Nintendo has been using for years, to great success. Mario Strikers: Battle League, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario Kart 8, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Nintendo Switch Sports, have all seen scheduled add-ons for new content, even years after their initial release. At this point, it’s not clear how much of a live-service element there will be for GTA 6, but this Nintendo-like approach would allow Rockstar to retain players who are primarily interested in single-player experiences.
GTA 5 Although GTA 5 never received single-player DLC, Rockstar’s director of design said in a 2017 interview the studio would “love to do more single-player add-ons for games in the future.”ROCKSTAR Nintendo stands apart from other developers, though, in that typically these updates are free or bundled with a Switch Online subscription. It’s a smart move, as games like Mario Strikers, which would typically have a very short shelf life, suddenly provide players with more of a reason to stick with it for the long haul. It also allows Nintendo to continue to sell its older, first-party titles with minimal discounts.
There’s no video game property in existence bigger than Grand Theft Auto, and a report in 2020 estimated GTA Online made a staggering $600 million in 2019. Even in 2023, it continues to hold an enviable place in the sales charts month after month. The popularity of GTA Online has only continued to increase over the years, and that mainstream success is exactly what’s poised to make GTA 6 such a massive success.
Breaking up content into DLC lets Rockstar bring GTA 6 back into the conversation every six months, year, or whatever release timeline suits the studio and the community best. Seeing a big GTA 6 update in a State of Play or other presentation will likely bring thousands of players flocking back to the game, and considering GTA 5 and GTA Online are still alive and kicking a decade later, it’s easy to say Rockstar is hoping for lightning to strike twice with GTA 6.

How to Hack WhatsApp messages and read without Access To someone’s Phone
WhatsApp hack can be easy and technical depending on your approach. If you need an easy way to hack WhatsApp without access, click here messenger easily without access to the phone click here WhatsApp is one of the most popular instant messaging applications we have now. Boasting of over 1 billion users globally, the Facebook-owned messaging platform is every smartphone user’s favorite way of communicating with people in their lives.
What makes the IM app peculiar is the exclusivity that it affords. Enabling users to operate a business account as well as a personal one, WhatsApp allows you to chat with only those you have on your phone contact list. This means you only speak to people you have a personal connection with.
This takes away the social media trend of suggesting friends and colleagues to you and keeps the power of social connection in your hands.
If you are using WhatsApp and looking for a way to read someone’s messages without their phone, then this is the right article for you. Here, we will dive deep into all you need to know to get the information that you need easily and stress-free.
Contact Us On; [email protected] .com
HOW TO HACK SOMEONE’S WHATSAPP USING CHROME
As we mentioned earlier, WhatsApp is one of the most popular social messaging app we have now in the world. Users can easily exchange messages, images, videos, and voice note in seconds. However, WhatsApp like all the other social media platforms have been used for not so good things.
If you want to spy on a friend, spouse, child, or even employee, there is a simple trick you can use to get this done.
How to access WhatsApp messages without access to the phone online
We all know that WhatsApp has made it possible for you to answer your messages on a web platform so you can use popular web browsers like Google Chrome to do that. However, have you imagined that this innovation can be used to get access to your friend, partner, or even child’s messages without them knowing?
Well, we will expose you to doing this. Meanwhile, before we should you how to do this you need to be aware of two things. First is that this method is not the safest means of having secured access to your target’s WhatsApp messages and another is that you will need to have physical access to the target device before anything substantial can be done.
However, if you choose to go this route, then follow these quick-fire steps religiously to get the answers to the questions you have in your mind religiously:
To begin go to web.whatsapp.com using your Chrome browser on your pc.
After that you’ll be taken to a QR code page where you will be given some instructions in order to monitor the target device.
The next step is for you to follow all instructions as provided to you and don’t forget to click the “keep me logged in” at the bottom to ensure you have access every time target comes online.
After doing this, and the target logs in, you will be able to see all their WhatsApp messages, videos, gifs, photos and any media they share with those they chat with.
This method is easy and quick to achieve but it is not entirely effective in the long-term. The first hurdle to overcome is the means of procuring the target device in the first place. If your wife or husband is super-protective of their phone, then you will need to come up with an ingenious means of getting their phone from them.
Another so pleasant truth is that the target may know that someone is going through their messages remotely (that is when you follow the instructions listed above) as messages will be marked read even when they haven’t gone through them. This can give you away.
Another is that fact that proximity is very crucial to this working out which begs the question on its effectiveness. If the user is not within a few meters to you, this may not work for the intended reasons.
Most crucial is the target may easily log you out and you end up in the dark once again. These reasons are why we want to show you a simple but effective means of spying on your partner or child’s social media messages easily without them ever finding out.
HOW TO READ SOMEONE’S WHATSAPP WITH QR CODE REMOTELY
Since we are exploring every available option of reading someone’s WhatsApp messages, another means of doing this is through a QR code. It is very similar to the Google Chrome method given that you will need to physically handle the device.
To get this done, you will have to visit the WhatsApp web platform. Then you will need to pick up the target device and open the WhatsApp app. From there, click on the three dotted lines on the top right-hand corner of the app and select ‘WhatsApp Web’ on the drop-down menu.
From there, you will be taken to a page where you will be asked to link a device. Select it and scan the QR code generated on your PC’s browser with the target phone. This will be automatically linking your PC to the target phone in a matter of seconds. Also important is that you will have to select the ‘keep me logged in’ box to always have access to the target’s WhatsApp account whenever they are near you and online.
However, as we said earlier this process is not too effective as the target can easily log you out from their device if they discover your activities. In the sections below, we will show you the best method of spying on anyone’s WhatsApp activities without them knowing.
HOW TO HACK MY HUSBANDS WHATSAPP MESSAGES
Men are tech-savvy, and it can be difficult to gain access to their phones even if they decide to keep them with you. This is because of third-party security apps or app lockers that they use to secure their phones. In fact, some of them will not show any notification unless they open the app.
This can be a huge problem for you if you suspect that he is cheating on you with someone else. But you cannot out rightly confront him without having the necessary evidence to back your claims.
To beat him at his game, you will need to turn to a superior software application called technically cell phone monitoring solutions or more generally spy apps to get you the answers that you need. Spy apps are able to monitor their messages, calls, browsing history, passwords and many other things remotely without you needing to physically handle their device.
HOW TO HACK MY WIFE’S WHATSAPP MESSAGES
To get started, you need to know some of the best spy apps to hack your wife’s WhatsApp without her knowing. One of the best which allows you to monitor her WhatsApp messages undetected. and other spy apps we will be recommending to you are easy-to-use meaning as long as you can operate a smartphone, you should be able to use them. They are also powerful gathering all the information you are searching for.
Part of spy apps capability is that you can monitor the movement of your wife right from your office. With geo-fencing capability, you will be able to know if she went somewhere that is not part of her normal working or shopping route. Once she enters an area you did not add to her location history, you will be immediately notified.
HOW TO CHECK MY HUSBAND’S WHATSAPP MESSAGES
If you want to know if your husband is promiscuous, you will need to be pretty smart to get this through the finish line. This is because some men do freeze some apps so it won’t appear on their application tray. But there is a way to be always ready for him when he decides to unfreeze them.
With Elitehackdesk, you just need to complete a three-step approach to get started.
WRITE ; [email protected] .com To do this, you have to visit their official website at to get started.
Connect with target phone. Here, it will take you through the set-up process for Elitehackdesk, on the target phone be it Android or iPhone device.
Hence, monitoring commences. Cheers!!!
CAN WE HACK WHATSAPP WITHOUT VICTIM MOBILE?
Hacking has been around for some time with some stone-age techniques like jail-breaking or rooting the device. This will get you the information you need but exposes the target device to two issues; one is that the phone’s battery and performance will be affected rendering the device useless in the long run, another is that it exposes the target device to malicious hacks or viruses.
You are just trying to get information not to destroy the phone. The best means of hacking WhatsApp without victim mobile is to use spy apps. Spy apps will get you the information without you ever needing to jail-break or root the target device.
In fact, this can be done without you even physically handling the device.
HOW TO USE SOMEONES WHATSAPP ON YOUR MOBILE
Is it possible to use someone else’s WhatsApp in your phone?
First thing of note is that WhatsApp is a private social media app unlike Facebook where you can log in any account into any device provided you know the username and password. To go this route with WhatsApp will prove futile as the person using the WhatsApp will be notified. Another problem is that WhatsApp does not use a login screen like other social media applications like Facebook and Twitter. When trying to login WhatsApp for the first time, a verification code is sent to the registered number, and without using this code, it will be impossible for you to have access to their WhatsApp on your mobile.
However, there is a way around this. Using a spy app will help you do this without stress.
HOW TO READ SOMEONE’S WHATSAPP MESSAGES WITHOUT ACCESS TO PHONE
Do you want to read someone’s WhatsApp messages without their phone? Then you are in luck. The best way to do this is through spy apps. This will keep your access to the target device 100% invisible as the target users will never know that you are being fed data from their device.
However, this only applies to certain operating systems. This works primarily if the target device is an iOS device like iPhone or iPad. Android devices will require you to complete a one-time installation of the spy software before you can spy on their WhatsApp activities.
CAN SOMEONE SEE MY WHATSAPP FROM ANOTHER PHONE?
Yes, it is possible. Someone can see your WhatsApp messages from another phone by either using a spy app or by using Chrome.
HOW TO READ OTHER PEOPLES WHATSAPP MESSAGES ON IPHONE
iPhones are known for their top-notch security as even federal agents always find it hard to gain access to a criminal’s iPhone account. However, you can still read another’s WhatsApp messages without having their phone.
To do this, you will need to only know their Apple ID and password. Once this information is in your hands, you can head to Flexispy and complete the following steps:
Create a free account on their official website.
Choose a subscription that meets your needs (they are super-affordable)
Fill in your device details (remember to select ‘iOS’ when asked for device to be monitored)
Fill in the user’s Apple ID credentials and click on ‘verify’ to gain access.
After five minutes (it may be lesser in some cases), you will be able to read their WhatsApp messages remotely.
HOW TO SPY ON WHATSAPP MESSAGES ON ANDROID FOR FREE
There are a multitude of spy apps that promise to let you spy on a target device for free. We recommend that you do not use their service. This is because majority of them are malicious malwares that want to steal your information.
However, paid spy apps may offer you a free trial to check out how the app works. You can use this window to spy on the target you want to by just downloading the software into their device. Once this is done, it will be running in the background and gathering the needed data.
To continue using the service, you will need to pay for it. We recommend you stick to a paid spy app as these companies have a reputation to preserve.
HOW CAN I MONITOR SOMEONE’S WHATSAPP MESSAGES?
Do you want to monitor someone’s WhatsApp? You can do this with easily. You can also monitor other social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, Viber, Telegram, and others through this.
HOW TO KNOW IF SOMEONE IS READING MY WHATSAPP MESSAGES REMOTELY
The best way to know if someone has read your messages behind your back is to keep your read receipt on. This will automatically notify you if someone has gone through your WhatsApp messages by ticking the blue icon.
Once, you do not remember reading that message, contact WhatsApp support to report the issue.
HOW TO HACK MY GIRLFRIEND’S WHATSAPP ACCOUNT
Do you want to hack your girlfriend’s WhatsApp? You can easily do this by using instant hacker. This will let you know who she is talking to and what they discuss about.
HOW TO HACK MY FIANCEE’S WHATSAPP WITHOUT TOUCHING IT
Are you having second thoughts about the person you want to settle down with? To know what their social media life is all about, you can just hack their WhatsApp and other social media platforms with. This will give you a bird’s eye view of what kind of friends they keep and the conversations they have.
HOW TO HACK MY BOYFRIEND’S WHATSAPP MESSAGES
Do you feel that your boyfriend is seeing someone else behind your back? use [email protected] .com

So we know how often men try to pick up on our female brethren, (sisterethen?) and we also get a pretty good insight into how little any of these guys attempts works. Between the bar being too loud that trying to carry on a conversation with the bartender leaves a lot of room for miscommunication, missing jokes, all the hallmarks of horrible first impressions and guys just being dumb as fuck, picking up a bartender is a truly commendable event.
Well typical of me, the unique snowflake that i am, i started catching the hots for this newish bartender at the local dive i like to hit after work on their industry nights, Sundays. 50% off everything. Love it.
Anyways long story short, i came up with the idea to use the cocktail napkins and the plethora of pens already out on the bar to start a game of hangman.
I pick out a word, usually bar or bartender related (at this point we have introduced each other, they know i tend bar as well, etc etc) and then i face the napkin their way and put the pen down for them to use.
I feel like it does a couple things. It takes the pressure off feeling stuck to one place, not wanting to be rude by leaving a conversation. It gives them the option to completely ignore the game and blame it on being busy. No feelings hurt, message received. I should add, during this time, I'm not juts sitting there watching them and waiting for them to play, i interact with those around me, I'd someone i know comes in, I'll talk to them. In fact, I've missed or taken longer on my turns on accident by having someone i know walk in.
Anyways. More times than not, in fact, every time I've started this game, and I've tried it both with bartenders i was romantically attracted to and those i just wanted to gauge their interest. My results:
Everytime, the bartender participated.
Sometimes they would ask "what is this?" And want a quick recap of the rules before diving right in.
Words I've used are usually names of liquors, or holidays that are job related to start off with. Then depending on how many rounds we go, i have gone on to rare exotic animals and shit lol.
As for girls i was attracted to vs girls i was just doin it for science, the one example I am proud of is of a bartender i had originally come on way to hard and asked for her number on the first night of us talking.
I got the typical "I'm talking to someone right now." After a few more weeks of coming in, one week where i met a date there and the date arriving essentially ended the game for us, and another night where i met someone there at the bar and went home with her for a one night stand, she actually preemptively ended a game early because she noticed she was about to get busy and used the empty spots to write her phone number down in. This was only this last Monday so i think I'll probably text her today or so and go from there.
The other girl. Not bad looking by any means but probably not used to getting a lot of attention from the guys at the bar. She was much more into the game, for lack of better terms. Quick to respond when it was her turn. Turned up the flirty banter that is usually dropped on industry night since they know we're both bartenders. That goes for both parties actually, almost all of the formalities go out the window, which is why i thought this was a perfect time to do this.
Tl;DR: If you want a more passive way of interacting with a bartender who is probably hit on by more men and in more ways than you can imagine, all in one night, try playing hangman with her.
Grab a cocktail napkin and a pen. Pick out a word that relates to something you two have in common or have talked about. Make the slashes for the letters and maybe put the title "hangman," the less you have to explain in the loud bar, the better.
Try out in the real world and report back.

I'm in a group chat with some longtime friends, after a harsh breakup in 2020, I returned to God and changed myself back into a born again christian.
It is 2023 now, and my faith is growing more and more, I'm also learning about the gospel, and some common questions unsaved people have about the Bible and religion.
The friends in this group chat are very worldly, and they post NSFW photos in a separate chat relating to adult topics and p0rnography. I even stopped watching p0rn for over a year, and they know, but they STILL don't ask why.
Most of these friends are aware I'm a Christian, and I've even had some small talk about my faith in the past, but I'm unsuccessful in getting them to understand the seriousness of sin.
I understand it's my place to plant seeds and water them, while God and the holy spirit does their job to convict them. However, so far, none of these friends have come to ME about God or the gospel. My struggle is trying to evangelize them, without pushing them away, or making them feel judged.
I can be sort of blunt, but how can I be blunt when I'm speaking truth? Maybe I should listen to what their opinion is about God, so that maybe they ask me more questions.
One of them used to go to church a long time ago and even knows about Jesus and how he hung out with ungodly people and tax collectors. There was a party once and someone asked me a random question about why am I Christian all of a sudden, I spoke why, and another friend shouted "man we have to go to church". And the one friend who's an ex christian said " yell can go talk about in in the other room, not out here"
Which really set me off, but I held back. It's situations like these where I struggle the most.
Tldr: I'm having trouble speaking to my ungodly friends about God without pushing them away? Some of these friends know I'm a Christian, but don't bother asking me questions. We are in a group chat, should I bring up god in the chat? Or personally message these friends... and how should I go about it?

So I am in the midst of a hot debate about the meaning of the 1971 David Bowie masterpiece "Quicksand", which has several historical references that suggest the narrator might be Hitler and the lyrics an artistic rendering of Hitler disappearing down some esoteric/occult wormhole before suicide.
The second line "I'm living in a silent film portraying Himmler's sacred realm of dream reality" stands out as very strange if it is just Bowie himself as narrator.
Obviously the origins of the Nazi party from the occult Thule Society are well known by historians. But many Bowie fans are of the notion that the song is just Bowie dabbling in random esoteric references and reading too much.
The crux of the debate about whether the narrator is Hitler himself comes down to the first line of the second verse "I'm the twisted name in Garbo's eyes, living proof of Churchill's lies, I'm destiny." The question is whether "Garbo" is Greta Garbo, Agent Garbo/Juan Pujol Garcia, and/or possibly a bit of wordplay on the name Goebbels?
The case for it being Greta is Bowie's pose on the cover of Hunky Dory mimicking an iconic photo of her, and her own involvement with Theosophy and the occult. But it doesn't make that much sense lyrically in the context of the following Churchill reference.
But the thing I am reaching out here is if anyone knows specifically when Operation Fortitude and the knowledge of the existence of a double agent name Garbo became public knowledge. It was all supposedly classified til the 1970s. I have Googled and come up short on proof it was known publicly in early 1971 when the song was written, however it was reportedly revealed in 1971 in the face of some objections from British intelligence (Garcia was still alive and it hadn't crossed the 30 year threshold for declassification yet).
Someone I am debating with about the song said the first published mention of Agent Garbo they could find was The Counterfeit Spy by Sefton Delmer published on October 20th, 1971. "Quicksand" was recorded in June 1971 so it would not have been public knowledge yet if that was really the first known reference, unless Bowie had some connection with the author potentially. The album was released in December, right as the story may have come into public attention so a lot of people probably assumed it was Agent Garbo and not Greta.
The Wikipedia for the song assumes the Garbo is referencing Pujol Garcia, and not Greta, but if it wasn't public knowledge yet when written then this would be wrong. It wouldn't mean that the narrator of the song isn't Hitler per se, but "I'm the twisted name on Garbo's eyes, living proof of Churchill's lies" would most likely be Bowie using Greta Garbo's name for its similarities to Goebbels.

Faetooth posted saying “A little late to the party, but thank you so much for coming out last weekend to get nice & sweaty with us! We have some more exciting announcements that we can't wait to share for this June! Photos by @mylesdouglasmedia”
see original instagram post here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqQyIRpvY0l/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

To say that one waits a lifetime for his soulmate to come around is a paradox. People eventually get sick of waiting, take a chance on someone, and by the art of commitment become soulmates, which takes a lifetime to perfect.
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Let's take a chance on one another and discover what we can build together. Life is short and the possibilities are endless, so why not take a leap of faith and see where it leads us? We may face challenges and uncertainties along the way, but with an open mind and a willing heart, we can create something truly special.
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Hi I'm A...... , my name means unique in English (can you guess it?)
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I am studying Engineering Advanced Technology as applying the knowledge of physics into real world has been a big inspiration for me to take the major. I was torn for a while between pure physics and engineering and in the end, I chose engineering.
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How about you? In what ways do you express what your inside universe is like?
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I love reading poetry and literature whenever I have spare time. I am an avid book reader and also like a healthy dose of philosophy and psychology. My favorite author is Paulo Coelho and favorite read 'The Alchemist'. Which is your favourite book and why? How did it change you?
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How does your perfect date look like? Mine - I'd love to take you on a vintage picnic date. Just me and you on my blanket, listening to The Paper Kites, Sleeping at Last, Hozier. Some lights and food. We'd be laughing and feeling like teenagers again.
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I'll take you to my favourite places too, so grab your backpack and meet me at the bus stop. We'll catch bus that goes to the swiss alps. We'll pick yellow wild flowers and berries. Sneak out from the hut at midnight with a few blankets to keep us cozy while we watch the starry sky, with nothing but fireflies and dandelions around us. Where is your favourite place?
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To summarise - I'm 23 years old straight male, 6ft tall (183cm) dark hair, brownish eyes and tanned skin. We can exchange photos if you send one, I promise I will send you one back
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▪︎I am an empathetic person and I can put myself in your shoes and understand your troubles and suffering and console you the best I can and I'm looking for someone who can reciprocate that as well.
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▪︎I have lived in several countries before , you could say I'm quite an adventurous person, I like exploring different cultures, cuisines and cities.
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▪︎I'm passionate about linguistics and can speak *English, Italian & Urdu* fluently, I can also understand basic *German & Spanish* (Hoping to learn both of these one day)
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▪︎I love memes and I'd love to hear all your jokes. I love puns and cheesy pick up/flirty lines. I'm not as extroverted as I may seem, if I had to choose between a party and staying in my room doing my thing, I'd choose my room.
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▪︎I enjoy video games and physical sports in my free time, I'm more of an outgoing introvert.
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▪︎My taste in music is all over the place, it depends on what kind of mood I'm in but I like melancholic music and sometimes it spirals me into loop of sadness. But I also like pop, jazz, country and instrumental music.
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What I'm looking for?
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- Someone who's funny and we can share memes and laugh. Sarcasm, flirty chats and puns will be appreciated
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- Someone who would genuinely enjoy spending time with me. Would be interested in getting to know me and be open so I can get to know you too
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- Be present, initiative and thoughtful
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- You would like to meet up at some point in real life, and we'll have that cozy first airport hug
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- Someone I can send and from whom I can receive cute good morning / good night texts
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- Someone who would enjoy receiving details from my day /pics, videos, voices messages/ and would include me in his day by sending me selfies/pics/videos etc.
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- You would be interested in having at least one date night a week / watching a movie or playing games together on a video call
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- You'll believe in me, be there for me and fight to be with me
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What I'm not looking for?
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- Someone putting minimal to no effort
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- Someone who'd ditch me and cancel our date to play League of Legends all day
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- Someone still not over their ex from 10 years ago / Emotionally unavailable
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- Liars and cheaters
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- Someone who would see me less than their friends. ​
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If you're wondering what are some of my bad sides:
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- Books and theatre have set really high expectations of romance for me? I
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- I can eat sweet potato fries for the rest of my life, if you order french fries I'd probably eat yours, too
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- I'm a night owl and sometimes I am going to bed around 3am and waking up at noon.
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- I'm an emotional and very romantic person, if you're more on the cold side it won't work out
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What am I offering?
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- To be your best friend. I'll always be there for you.
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- A lot of physical affection, I will love hugging you, kissing you, playing with your hair while I lay on your chest
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- Compliments. You're probably hot af, and really gorgeous. I'll make sure you never forget it or doubt yourself
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- Love you harder on the days you can't love yourself
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- I'll be there for you when it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year. Clap,clap,clap.
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- I'll read you bed time stories
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- I'll be honest and always do my best to work things out, I'm pretty straight forward and you won't need to read my mind
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- I'll believe in you
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- I'll never give up on you
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So let's build each other up, be the best version of ourselves, let go of the past and live in the present, let's travel and be happy.

My bestfriend for 5 years betrayed me...
I gonna sound like a bitch for this but my BEST FRIEND OF ALMOST 5 YEARS BETRAYED ME. I called her today to chat. Mind you im ALWAYS the one to start a conversation. When i called she was in a car with some of our school friends. So i chatted a bit and cut the call. Soon i saw her post picture near to a mall thats quite close to my house.. She was at a birthday. I havent seen her for 2 years as we live an hour away. I begged her to come to my birthday but she said it was too far. Im not mad that she didnt invite me as it wasnt her party. Im mad that she didnt call from months, she could have came over or at least came to my birthday when. My brirthdays in the summer so she had holidays.. I feel the frindships fading but she still calls me her "sister" but dosent talk to me for more that 30mins. I am homeschooled so shes my only friend. At this point the friendships dead. I dont have much in life at this point i dont even see the point

Driving in Costa Rica is scary for many newcomers. It is the 4th worst place in the world to drive. So fears aside, what are some tips to understand the life of a driver there? It is a long post, but I guarantee you that it will be entertaining as not only there are tips but also anecdotes.
Costa Rica was a place with farms in 19th century and roads were built around these farms to make horses and carts and from there it evolved to a city, which means that going around the block in many areas takes a long time. Farms were built so you see lots of streets getting into the farm that are dead ends.
Why infrastructure is in such poor condition
In 1948 a dynasty of politicians, 2 parties composed by the elite started to alternate themselves in power. So money started to go to their pockets instead of becoming infrastructure. So they build roads and then they fix pipes and break it. Or they intentionally plan to build some sections poorly so pot holes appear and there is company revenue in road maintenance reparis. There are many ongloing corruption cases where the elites are using all their power to evade justice in very unethical ways or use media to distract attention from the most important cases. So the final result is decades of poor urban planning, and good roads where you suddenly have a pot hole that will break your car, or unfinished works that could endanger you, or just roads without maintenance for years which had to be fixed by local population.
There is a curious anecdote from more than 20 years ago. The factory of jelly products, El Angel was formed by South American expats who did care about making a difference in the community. The road to Sarapiqui was in poor condition, so they offered municipality to pay half the price of a road. They needed that road to bring products out to the city. The project cranked up and the company started to pour a few milimeters of asphalt instead of the 6 cm thick layer it should have. The El Angel engineer noticed that and demanded to meet the correct specs. The company tried to dismiss him, but then he said that if that was the case, only the municipality would pay half the price, since their donation would not take place. So they were literally FORCED to build meeting minimal engineering specs.
This is why Costa Rica infrastructure does not look like South Korea. It has been decades of a corrupt oligopoly having control of infrastricture projects. And the toxic corrupt environment has not been fixed in this environment. If you want a stressful life, go to work there at MOPT. Politics is still corrupt no matter which party rules.
End result, infrastructure is like driving in the videogame Motorstorm apocalypse with utility poles in the street, Sinkholes in the street and surprises here and there, and other surprises. Did I mention it is the 4th worst place in the world to drive.
With a vehicle fleet growing 7% per year and streets not growing, it became cluttered and traffic jams are terrible. So do not drive if you do not need to. Or enjoy the life of spending hours in a traffic jam. This is especially true if you need to go to the airport to go back home.
Try to train yourself using Motorstorm Apocalypse for Playstation. It is a great game to deal with infrastructure susprises like the ones you will find in Costa Rica.
A decadent justice system
Since the 1980s the trend of setting criminal offenders free after the arrest made crime to go unpunished. Kids started to learn that stealing has no consequence and dishonesty started to htrive, so if you leave your stiuff unattended in a mall in the city, it is likely that you get your stuff stolen, not by criminals, but ordinary people. It is not that all people are dishonest but enough people are.
In march 2023 US government issued a crime alert for Costa Rica

EEUU emite alerta de seguridad por aumento de crimen en Costa Rica

Criminals are sexist and xenophobic, and I am not using political definitions. They literally target women because they think women are weak, and they target foreigners because they think foreigners are rich. They do not feel that stealing is bad and they believe in using the force and they are entitled and vengeful.
Human rights NGOs here defend the rights of criminals, but not the rights of tourists and honest locals.
Close your windows, do not leave objects inside your car when you are not in it. And learn about where crime is more present. For example, Quepos and Manuel Antonio are known for having surf and tourists, but not too many people will tell you it got filled with crime there too.
Motorcycles everywhere and other demons
In a cluttered city where traffic jams turned streets into parking lots, people started to buy motorcycles and developed the habit of invading opposite lanes or use lines between lanes as a mototcycle lane.
So you will see bikers passing you in the left and in the right, and if you switch lanes, not only you must watch for other cars, but look motorcycles coming behind. They will get upset if you "invade their lane" as they feel entitled and they may start a fist fight or damage your vehicle if they get upset. Many of these bikers do not have license, and the police parking lots are fuilled with motorcycles for this reason, and many of them come from slums or poor neighborhoods where issues are solved with fist fights.
With cars it depends on where you drive. For example, Desamaparados canton has a culture of such fist fighting and bullying your way in the street. So if you drive in a place with such subculture, you may expect drivers to have that subculture. And these people do not stay always inside the canton, so you may find them elsewhere, just a matter of luck.
If you see people doing bad maneuvers that should even look like going against the law, stay calm and stay away, let them pass. You do not want to have a bad day or spend your day in a fight with some uncivilized trash people.
What makes them trash? The subculture of crime polluted people. Also a cluttered street and long hours of jams stress people. So more than just evil, what you have is a lack of mental health in the street, to a point where people may get violent in the cities.
So you need full awareness as if you were in a combat zone. Look front sides and rear and always know where all vehicles are around you. If they get in your way or they do dangerous things that would earn them a Darwin award, stay away from them and let them pass, because you do not want to deal with a crash or insurance paperwork, because that is not what you came to do.
Driving is a necessary annoyance to go to point B from point A. So, survive and once you are at point B, enjoy your trip.
If you planned to ride a motorcycle, do not. Life is not safe there if you ride one. Many drivers are aggressive and will not respect you.
Drivers do terrible driving, but most believe they are better drivers than everyone else. You even notice how bad they are when they drive a small car and they have problems to park in a spot designed for a big car.
Driving in slippery roads
When it starts to rain, even if it is a light rain, water will go under oil drops, so street becomes as slippery as it would with a heavy rain, even if it looks dry. So drive half the speed you would drive normally. This would save your life.
Unless you need to drive in rough terrain with a 4x4, rent a sedan because lower cars are more stable. It is easier to tip over a big car than a sedan. It happens in 2 ways. During collisions, big cars tend to tip over, and in case of evading maneuvers, big cars tip over more easily to the sides. Remember, it is Costa Rica, full of curves, not a flat desert in USA.
Check the tires because you will need to have the best grip.
If you drive above 40kph, your only option is to hit the brakes if needed. Evading may get you killed, especially in these streets.
Increasing your chances of survival
There are 3 things that cause 70% of deaths in Costa Rican streets:

• Not obeying traffic signs. Not obeting traffic lights or a stop sign cause lots of crashes. So obey traffic signs yourself and use the claxon to warn others as you get close to an intersection and do not drive too fast.
• Invading opposite lane. Head on collisions are one of the main causes of death. Going off road will usually be better than a head on collision. When I learned to drive I learned the priorities to evade. Cliffs, pedestrians, other vehicles, and pot holes at last. Memorize this hierarchy and you will be able to save yourself from a lot of trouble. I use to drive behind a truck that drives at the speed I want to drive, so any invading vehicle would crash against the truck and not me.
• Speeding. Crashing at 40hoh is like falling from a second floor, you get hurt but you may survive. Crashing at 60kph is like falling from 6 floors, you can only use breaks and keep driving in the same direction because streets are narrow to evade anything. Crashing at 90kph is like falling from 13th floor, not survivable. Crashing at 120kph is like falling from 22 floors.

There are some miracle cases like the case of a motorcycle driver near the airport who saw a traffick light going yellow and he accelerated. But red reached him and a car came out, so he crashed at 120kph and he spent years learning to walk.
If you do not engage in any of these 3 behaviors and you protect yourself against those who do, then you increase your survival chances.
Health insurance
There is a government institution called CCSS that provides public healthcare. For foreigners who plan to stay longer, getting a "seguro voluntario" (voluntary insurance) is a good option. basically you declare yourself as a freelancer with an estimated income, which is used to calculate the monthly fee.
May be for things like a surgery or chronic or rare disease it may take forever, but for most common health problems it is a great option. What common problems? You got diarrhea because you ate a bad food, you had an accident at home and got hurt, etc.
It will save lots of money. You do not need to worry about bills and most common medicines are covered.
The only catch is that seguro voluntario is voluntary to join, but to get out you need to prove them that you got hired by a company in Costa Rica, which will pay your insurance from that point on. Still, even if you need to pay it forever, it is always a great option to have a very affordable healthcare service. This monthly fee is the only price to use the service, so you do not care about money when you are sick.
This is especially useful if you send your kid to take college in Costa Rica using public school system that is free. No debt. Just tell your kid to not consume substances because I mentioned that criminals are xenophobic, so your kid will need to stay away from these troublemakers that will try to take advantage of foreigners. And CCSS healthcare is a great way to protect your kid. So free college and cheap healthcare will save your kid from debt and health problems. Check how to make college in Costa Rica valid in your country.
I hope you stay healthy, but if you have issues, CCSS insurance is a nice option for non complex health issues. If you plan to live in Costa Rica, I really advise to get health from CCSS at least as a backup plan, and if you want to use private medicine, that is up to you.
Epilogue
I have tried to be honest about Costa Rica. I could have sugar coated itand appeal to the trope of Costa Rica Pura Vida and Essential Costa Rica, but I preferred to tell you how things are. Most of people in all nations are usually good people, but there are situations that may not be that nice.
I feel that between the deterioration of making a living conditions, traffic jams, protection towards criminals, and lack of mental health, Costa Rica is getting less pura vida for locals. And that impacts tourists too.
Still Costa Rica is not the worst place in the world. It has supervised banks where balances are monitored more transparently than in other developed countries, so regulators know exactly what happen with banks and are able to tackle financial crisis more effectively. Everything is close, so you do not have to drive miles to buy something. And food is fresh. It is not like going to a big country and eat a sandwich with vegetables that remained one week in a fridge after a long trip in a truck. So it also is harder to have empty shelves, and if they eventually, buying elsewhere is easy as distances are not too long.
Living in "condominio" (groups of apartment buildings or houses with or without parking and other amenities and a fence around) is better as they have security guard. Houses do not.
Having a car is a must unless there is a good bus service near you to connect you to places of interest. That is very rare to find. So a car is needed. It is better to buy a "seminuevo" car from car agency (new cars are not worth it) and save money to avoid debt. Used cars are a hassle in Costa Rica as they try to sell you garbage, and via internet you may get scammed in Costa Rica. And finding a reliable mechanic is like finding a honest politician. So consider finging a reliable mechanic as part of the car purchase.
Obviously you will need a parking lot, so consider that when renting a place. Learn with locals which are places where criminals live (almost everyone knows that), and find a place away from these places.
And make sure you have the best tires with the best grip. In Costa Rican street grip of good tires is one of the best cost effective tools to protect yourself from an accident.
The best way to live is to be a contrarian. Instead of going where everyone goes, do the opposite, like taking a trip during low season. That way a hotel and swimming pool and restaurant will be almost just for you. And as you are not with the crowd, you will also not be in the traffic jam with other people. And by doing so you are helping a business to survive as you are a customer that helps them to have some revenue in low season. So plan trips in non holidays.
If you want to get the best prices for groceries, Costa Rica government has an app here. You indicate a location and product and it will tell you which are the best places to buy. That will make your life more affordable now that USD is going down.

To give some context, I am 26, she is 21, and we met 2 years ago at a house party. We were together for almost 2 years until she cheated last month and decided to become celibate immediately after...yeah, seriously.
She is now on holiday in Brazil for 3 weeks, where i should have been with her and I am going through the emotions of separation as we broke up a month ago. I was deeply in love with this girl and still have some feelings, even though she was so heartless and described the cheating in ways I can't ever forget. I have been seriously emotionally scared from this and I am still working on forgiving her.
She said she still has some feelings too, but how can this go anywhere? For real. With the cheating there would be a very small chance of continuation, but with the celibacy, it was the final nail in the coffin as we predicated the relationship on sex and had very good sexual chemistry. Intimacy would have helped me heal from this and my heart still holds on to rekindle the intimacy so I can feel like the man and clear my head a bit (I know this is irrational).
I was 24 and she was 19 when I met her and I should have known better and listened to my gut feeling about the maturity gap but it was the looks...my god, the looks...and the sexual chemistry. Taking my mind away from this would be super beneficial to me moving on. She is an insanely pretty, young Brazilian girl and I fell so much for the exocticness and the looks. I have quite a few photos saved on my phone where she looks absolutely stunning and looking at them still gets me excited and makes me depressed that I might never find someone I find so attractive ever again. I guess I should just feel lucky, right? Lol.
Should I delete these photos? I'm very glad I don't have any of the more private ones saved anymore lmao.

I gonna sound like a bitch for this but my BEST FRIEND OF ALMOST 5 YEARS BETRAYED ME. I called her today to chat. Mind you im ALWAYS the one to start a conversation. When i called she was in a car with some of our school friends. So i chatted a bit and cut the call. Soon i saw her post picture near to a mall thats quite close to my house.. She was at a birthday. I havent seen her for 2 years as we live an hour away. I begged her to come to my birthday but she said it was too far. Im not mad that she didnt invite me as it wasnt her party. Im mad that she didnt call from months, she could have came over or at least came to my birthday when. My brirthdays in the summer so she had holidays.. I feel the frindships fading but she still calls me her "sister" but dosent talk to me for more that 30mins. I am homeschooled so shes my only friend. What do i do?

It seems like every decent conversation I'm having on OKC suddenly stops for no reason and I don't know why. Below are two examples of this frequent occurrence. Note, I used "****" to redact potentially sensitive information:
Example 1:
Me: Hi ****! I see we have traded places. I am now a robot wrangler! How did you wind up working on them before your exodus?
Note: She described herself as a "former robot wrangler".
Her: I worked for a startup called ****! We launched in 2017, were named the best invention of 2017 by **** magazine, and then went under by May of 2018 haha. It was the best job I've ever had. What kind of robots do you wrangle now?
Me: Sorry for a late reply. Work involved a lot of driving and customer site visits last week and now visiting family up in **** in a house that had no internet because of downed power lines and hardly any cell tower service after Friday's storm. I'm sorry to hear that your company was so hyped up only to crash and burn a year later! I hope you were okay after that! The robots I work with now handle liquids and laboratory samples. Mainly robotic arms that move lab plates from one machine to the next. So far, it has been the best job I have ever had. I hope you have a nice Christmas holiday tomorrow! I'll circle back in a couple days to chat more. Are you visiting any family at all?
Her: Oh man, is everyone you're with in Maine ok? I hope you all had a lovely Christmas :) Those robots sound cool! What's your role with the company?
Me: Oh yes. Everyone is fine. Some trees in the woods surrounding us were not so fine. Gusts up to 60 mph. It was a nice relaxing weekend. I gave my parents gifts I know they'll use. My dad got work gloves and my mother epsom salt bath bombs. How was your weekend?
I work as a field service engineer so I travel around the northeast and repair or upgrade lab automation systems. I got much to learn but so far, it's definitely a good fit. I only wish I had my pilot's license and a plane should my trips to New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, be so frequent. If you burned out from tech startups, where did you retire to? :)
Her: Do you like being on the road? Right now just taking some time off to decide if I have another startup in me or if I want to sell out and go corporate!
Me: I don't mind it that much. I'm still young and being able to change up the scenery on someone else's dime is pretty cool. Whether or not you choose to punch a clock or sell out, you will still have a way to indulge your passions, right? How do you become a cozy connoisseur?
Note: On her profile, she describes herself as a "cozy connoisseur".
Her: I'm hoping leaving the startup world will give me more time for other things I love. Startups are pretty all consuming.
It requires a lot of blankets, wine or an edible, snacks, and a big fluffy dog.
Me: Startups offer the "flexible work" environment. Meaning, you must be available 24/7 to do whatever must be necessary to get work done. Is that right? I personally am a fan of blankets, but does the dog need to be worn out outside before it becomes cuddle-able?
Her: Haha he just goes wherever he pleases, which is usually on my lap, even though he weighs 40 pounds.
***Unmatched or Deactivated/Deleted account**\*
Example 2. Even when I get to escalate this conversation to an in-person meetup, she still disappears:
Me: Hi ****! What's your next big adventure?
Her: Hey there ****! Hmm probably travel to Indonesia and go back for my PhD this year!
Me: Indonesia is supposed to have some big economic growth in the foreseeable future and more prominent influence on the world. Any reason for Indonesia in particular? I'm sure you'll pick up Indonesian if you're not already fluent! Is your PhD in chemistry at ****?
I'm giving a shot at learning Mandarin right now. The hardest part, in my opinion, is remembering the characters. Thank goodness for **** (no, I'm not promoting a product! XD). Ever heard of that app?
Her: Yep! At ****. One of my friends lives in Jakarta so I’m going to visit her!
No I haven’t [heard of that app]! Mandarin is hardcore, good luck to you haha
Me: I'm jealous! **** was the college I got rejected from when I applied to colleges in high school. I really wanted to get into their co-op program. I also know of someone I used to work with at **** who was doing something called an "industrial PhD" there too. Do you happen to be doing that as well? Have you been to Indonesia before? What was it like?
Her: No I’m not doing that, but will look into it!
I haven’t, but I’ve been to Thailand which I hear is similar
Me: What was Thailand like? Cheap food?
Her: It was amazing yet cheap food
I went with my friend from Thailand to visit her family for the summer
Me: Cool. How did you meet her?
Her: Her father owns a Thai restaurant I’ve been going to since I was a little girl. But just met her when she moved here from Thailand in 2018
Me: Ha ha. It's a small world, right? Did you go to an Indonesian restaurant or store only to meet a friend who has parents from Indonesia that owned the store? :D
Her: Hahaha no we met online on Bumble BFF
Me: I used that app once. I met a decent guy on there who I've been in touch with. He recently moved down to **** for a new job at a wind turbine company. Did you use any of the photos you used on OKC to show how well-cultured and traveled you are? She probably appreciated that.
Her: Nice!! A couple from China and France. I can’t wait to meet her in person
Me: Oh wow! You've been pen pals with her this whole time? For how long?
Her: Oh gosh 3 years now
Me: I'm sure COVID had something to do with it. It has been three years since it started.
Her: Yeah, I was looking to chat more since it was so isolating during the pandemic
Me: 3 years this pandemic has been running on for... wow. It thought it was only 2. I liked it from the beginning because traffic died down, pollution declined, I had more free time, but the isolation can drag on even the most introverted.
Her: Exactly! At first I was jumping for joy as an introvert. But as the months rolled on I realized how much I missed dating and being with friends
Me: Speaking of date, how would you like to meet up for lunch or dinner sometime?
Her: That would be lovely☺️
Me: Is your Sunday tomorrow open?
Her: I’m meeting up with friends tomorrow. Maybe next weekend?
Me: Yeah. That sounds good. I haven't been to **** in a while, but I remember going to **** which was pretty good. Do you have something more adventurous in mind that deviates from western cuisine?
Her: Do you like Pho??
Me: Never heard of it.
Her: It’s Vietnamese soup with lots of veggies and meat. I’ve been having it since I was a baby haha.
Me: Ahh okay. I'm vegetarian so I wouldn't normally eat that, but I'm sure the Veitnamese restaurants have something I would enjoy. I had Veitnamese food maybe once?
Her: Yeah they have lots of veggie options. I have. Celiac’s disease so no gluten for me
Me: Celiac's disease does not sound fun at all, but sounds like you know what you like. What place serves Pho that you really like?
Her: **** in ****. Been going there since I was a baby haha.
Me: Ahh ****, my old stomping grounds for college. Ha ha. I studied biology there and attempted parkour with a club before the leader dropped out. Do you want to do Saturday or Sunday next week?
I guess your parents indoctrinated a variety of cuisine into your life very young!
*5 days later*
Hey ****. Just following up with you about getting lunch this weekend. Is your Saturday or Sunday open for lunch at ****?
***Unmatched or Deactivated/Deleted account**\*
I'm not sure what is going through these people's heads, but it's very disrespectful towards me!

Hi y'all, I'm working on my timeline for our wedding next month and am feeling a bit iffy about how to incorporate things like entrances/toasts/dances etc. because we are doing food trucks which means people will be dismissed by table to get food like a buffet, but will not immediately return to their tables as quickly as a buffet.
A bit of info about our food trucks, to quell some of the logistical fears I know most people usually have: 1. We have 2 trucks. It is the same company and same limited menu for both trucks. 2. They have quoted me 30 people served per truck every 15 minutes. So, that's 60 people served every 15 minutes. We will have between 175-200 guests which means about 45-50 minutes for service. 3. They're providing bottled water and soda, silverware, clamshells, and napkins. 4. I've seen this truck do lunch and dinner service at a convention of over 60,000 people and know that these quoted times are accurate. The line is always the longest and fastest, after Island Noodles of course. They've done over 800 weddings, have won a ton of awards, and have it pretty well nailed down.
Tentative timeline: 3:30pm - first look @ bar 3 minutes from ceremony location
4pm - bridal party arrives at bar for photos
4:30pm - arrive at ceremony location 5pm - ceremony
5:30pm - ceremony ends, cocktail hour at reception location 3 minutes from ceremony
5:30-6pm - bride & groom remain at ceremony location w/ family for photos. (we will have a snack table during cocktail hour. also only serving beer & wine)
6:15pm - entrance & first dance
6:30pm - dinner
7:45pm - toasts/parent dances
8:15pm - birthday conga line (there are like 10 of us who have birthdays the weekend of our wedding so we're doing something special for everyone)
Open dancing starts
Last call @ 10:45. Have to be cleaned up and out of the venue by midnight.
I'll add a cake cutting in there somewhere. Desserts are part of our centerpieces and will be at each table and can be eaten at any time! Am I missing anything? Allowing enough time? I know by nature folks will be up and moving around rather than being seated which is why we've hired a DJ, mainly for emcee services.
What do you guys think?!

Kolshian Homeworld ‘Aafa’, 8th September 2136
Rushing through the corridors of the governance hall, Cilany desperately attempted to keep hold of her data slate. This would be the story of a lifetime! She had originally come to Aafa to report on the planned attack on Earth, once news broke that the humans had survived. That the conquering beasts had superior weaponry, and had clearly amassed a significant fleet, was enough to upset the Federations’ pre-existing plans. Cilany had bluffed her way onto a diplomatic courier in the hopes of getting a front row seat to the summit of Federation leadership.
The news had come mid-flight that the humans had struck Gojid space, along with claims of several races fighting alongside the predators. There was even mention of some ‘Inter-Species Union’. Last Cilany had heard, the Cradle itself was under attack, this latest update coming just as her ship arrived in the Aafa system. She had immediately found an itinerary for the upcoming meetings, and waited for the discussions to begin.
All of her plans, and those of everyone on Aafa, had been turned upside down by the arrival of a human vessel in the system. Appearing two light-hours from Aafa, it had approached in a manner designed to let the Kolshians know it was there. When challenged by the defence fleet, a transmission had come from the gigantic tree-like vessel, broadcast across all channels. It showed a prey creature with dark grey-blue flesh and a short, crushing beak. Nodules and spines of bone protruded from its skin, and it seemed to be comprised of nothing but muscle. Flanking it were a pink-furred creature with a long snout, and a Mazic-like creature with two trunks. Standing a little to the left of the spined creature was Governor Tarva of the Venlil. This had shocked Cilany, as she had assumed that the leader of a conquered species would have either been executed (likely being eaten alive) or enslaved. Most shocking of all, the three unknown species were taller than the woolly leader. The blue-grey beast had spoken, their voice deep and rumbling with occasional hoots.
“Greetings, people of the Federation. I am Clan Lord Ulcalna Zhor-Latt, ambassador of the Covenant of Zhulrin. We are here as diplomatic representatives of the Inter-Species Union, on a mission of peace. We know that there is a summit taking place on this world, in which you plan to make war upon one of our member states, the Federation of Human Systems. It is our intention to find a peaceful alternative. We have brought with us an ambassador of the humans, who will explain to you exactly how this conflict can be avoided. You may attempt to prevent the discharge of our duties, but we will be heard. This is your one and only chance at peace.”
And that was that. The implicit threat conveyed by the mighty warship had prevented the Kolshian forces from engaging, while the apparent prey creature with long pink fur had continued the declaration. This ‘Ambassador Voronsk of the Rishtaln’ had explained that the assembled representatives of the ‘ISU’ would meet with the Federation Council. One would give a speech explaining who they were, the human ambassador would give an account of what was happening in Gojid space, and then they would return to their ship within half an hour. Cilany had heard that the assembled leaders had argued over whether to allow the human to speak, with many siding with Jerulim of the Krakotl and demanding that they blow the human ship out of the sky.
Then the Zurulian representative had pointed out the unpleasant truth: if the humans and their ‘allies’ were denied access, they would likely just bomb Aafa. If their representatives were killed, they would bomb Aafa. If the ‘diplomats’ were allowed to land and they attacked Federation citizens, it would destroy any attempt by the predators to deceive them. And besides, if they let the human talk, there was the possibility of gaining vital information about their plans.
So now, Cilany was rushing to the council chamber to get first-hand footage and live notes of the first act of predatory diplomacy in Federation history. From what she had picked up on the way, the diplomatic entourage had caused quite the stir when they exited their shuttle, though why was not clear. Panting, Cilany arrived at the door to the chamber. The area around the speakers’ podium was filled with Kolshian soldiers, nervously brandishing their weapons. Seating herself in the public gallery, along with maybe six other journalists brave enough to be in the same room as a predator. Surprisingly enough, there were many more ambassadors in the chamber than she would have thought. Cilany had just turned her pad on when the doors to the main podium opened. Into the room strode a veritable menagerie of new species. And at least four were predators.
The first into the room were two large reptilian bipeds, towering over the assembled guards much as the Arxur would. Their bodies were lined with blades, and their taloned digits clutched at their waists, as if reaching for weapons that were not there. They moved to the sides, taking up positions to the left and right of the speakers’ podium. From the position of their eyes, Cilany could see they were prey. The way they had placed themselves suggested they were guards, but why would the humans use prey as security?
Following behind came the rest of the ‘ISU’ representatives. On the left were the three creatures from the original message, and this time Cilany could see the entirety of their bodies. The Rishtaln moved with a sort of loping grace, and Cilany could almost imagine this pink prey creature sinking those wide spatulate nails into the flesh of an attacking predator. There was just something… menacing about how they moved. The grey creature who had identified themselves as ‘Clan Lord Ulcalna’ was larger in person than she had previously thought, their head easily level with that of an Arxur. The bony spines running along their back rose upon entering the chamber, some sort of threat display? Cilany could not think why a prey creature would feel the need to threaten fellow prey. And those arms… they looked capable of breaking a Mazic in half.
Perhaps the most horrifying was the quadruped with the twin trunks. They were surrounded by three bipedal creatures the size of a Venlil, with rust-red feathers and hooked beaks, their forward eyes betraying their predatory nature. Strangely, the beasts seemed to be holding data slates in their clawed hands. The four-legged prey showed no signs of fear or hesitation, seeming almost to swagger as the ambassadors entered the chamber. And the feathered beasts were not the only shocking sight. To the right of the party, a tall predator with purple-grey fur spotted with black and a short muzzle walked in front of a bright yellow creature that reminded Cilany of a Kolshian, save for its pot-belly and four large tentacles where the Kolshians had only two. Bringing up the rear was a tan biped whose long tail ended in a mass of long spines. If the position of its eyes did not make its diet clear, the two long fangs protruding from its lips did.
These seven species surrounded four central figures. Tarva was immediately recognisable, walking right next to the dark-skinned human. How could she be that close to a predator and not be whimpering in terror? The human ‘ambassador’ was tall, with some sort of form-fitting garment obscuring most of its near-black skin. A cloak with what looked like a stylised star-chart printed on it flowed from its back as its binocular eyes swept over the assembled dignitaries. On its left, a blue-furred quadruped with a long, bladed tail followed, their twin stalk eyes mimicking the humans’ predatory gaze. On their right was the tallest biped Cilany had ever seen, standing at least eight feet tall at the shoulder, with its long, branching antlers reaching even higher. Four yellow eyes, two side-mounted, two front-facing, took in the entire chamber as the green-furred creature marched forward. Four long arms extended from its torso, holding claws more terrible than even those of the Arxur. Cilany could only stare in shock at the advancing party. How could the humans have allies, and how were the prey creatures not terrified?
The ‘diplomatic party’ arranged themselves around the podium, as Clan Lord Ulcalna climbed the steps up to where the microphone stood. The spiked blue-grey biped looked out at the crowd of fearful and confused prey, cleared their throat, and then spoke.
“Greetings, representatives of the Galactic Federation. I am Clan Lord Ulcalna Zhor-Latt, representative of Clan Suraln, and ambassador of the Covenant of Zhulrin to the Inter-Species Union. With me are Ambassador Ansur-Telen-Noran of the Andalite Electorate, Visser 19 of the Yeerk Republican Committee, Emissary Elone of the Nimthyl Command, Ambassador Voronsk of the Rishtalishk Congress, Designate Harri Walln of the Manper Imperium, Speaker Zon-Das-Rop of the United Kelvar Sapients and his aides, councillor Roshanat of the Leeran Shoal, and Captain Williams of the FHS. First contact between our two interstellar coalitions has led to bloodshed, and it is our hope that by explaining who we are and where we come from, we may prevent further death”.
Cilany began taking notes as the Federation ambassadors looked on in trepidation. One new predator species they could understand, but one with the support of several other species was unimaginable. Even if the new prey species were slaves or thralls, it still gave the humans greater resources and numbers than previously thought. And it certainly does not explain the other predators…
“The Inter-Species Union is an intergovernmental organisation consisting of nineteen full members and seven associate members. There are also twenty-three species with whom we have close diplomatic ties, and thirteen species within our combined territory whom we have no formal contact.”
As the ‘Clan Lord’ inserted a data-storage of some kind into the view screen, Cilany considered what the Federation had just learned. There was another multi-species body in the galaxy, smaller but still highly advanced, if the reports from Gojid space were anything to go by. Most worrying of all, it included several predatory species. While the flesh eaters likely dominated their prey members, the sharing of power between them had… concerning implications.
An image appeared on the screen and Cilany’s heart stopped. There were at least twenty different species in the image, which appeared to be some sort of social gathering or reception. At least six were obvious predators, and there were some, such as a long insectoid with four stalk-eyes, which gave Cilany a sinking feeling in her stomach.
“The Union was formed approximately one-hundred and thirty years ago, with five founding members: the Andalites, humans, Yeerks, Hork-Bajir, and Taxxons. My own species joined fifteen years later, the ninth to do so. It was envisioned as a peace-keeping force, as well as a platform for inter-species cooperation. Through the trade of resources and technology, members enjoy security and comfort, with the assistance of other species in the improvement of their infrastructure and completion of large projects. To say nothing of cultural enrichment and the exchange of luxury goods.”
Now that got Cilanys’ attention. The humans were not only members of a multi-species alliance, but were founding members? How had that happened, given the anti-social tendencies of predators? And why had prey creatures allied with them in the first place? Clearly, they were tainted by their proximity to the flesh eaters, especially given the ‘cultural exchange’. The image changed, showing a map of the galaxy. Cilany stared at the two coloured masses filling the majority of the image. One she recognised as Federation space. The other, about one third the size, touched what she could only assume was Venlil space. This group of predators and their thralls control a significant territory. Striking Earth won’t be enough, the Federation will need to actually go to war with a force equal to a third of itself. And if we need to contend with the Arxur as well…
“Through the efforts of Expeditionary Corps, the ISU have explored and colonised a significant volume of the galaxy, especially given the relatively short time it has existed. But there are dangers in this galaxy, and so each and every member is pledged to support and aid their fellows in a time of war or other crisis. This has allowed for a period of peace that has been more or less interrupted for over a century. In addition to keeping the peace, the Union has dedicated itself to spread life through out its territory. It is thus that we come to the pride of the ISU: its Terraforming Initiative.”
The screen changed once again, displaying two images side by side. One was of a rocky, inhospitable planet, the sort that every system had. The other was of a green and brown world spotted with blue, clearly life-supporting. Cilany looked closer. The stars in the background were the same, and the landmasses of the habitable planet matched formations and high points on the barren one. Did this mean…? Blessed divines!
“The exchange of technologies between member states includes technologies for environmental modification and atmospheric synthesis. The same energies that power our ships and weaponry can be turned towards generating magnetospheres, and other requirements for a world to support life. Through the introduction of specific plant and animal species, we can create ecosystems that maintain what technology began. Thus, every system held by the Union contains at least one inhabited planet with a population of ten million or more.”
Gasps filled the chamber. Cilany herself could think well enough to continue her notes. The ISU modified planets to make them habitable. Such a thing was beyond the Federations’ capabilities. They could maintain their worlds, but it required significant investment, used only for homeworlds and major colonies. And if every one of the Union’s systems was habitable… then their population and industry must be much higher than anyone had thought.
“And with that introduction, I bring us all back to the reason we are here: the recent conflict between the Gojid Union and ourselves. I leave it to the human ambassador to give an account of how this happened, and to lead the efforts in finding a peaceful solution.”
With that, Ulcalna turned and strode from the podium as the human walked up to it, along with Governor Tarva. The predator reached down to adjust the microphone, looked up at the shocked Federation ambassadors, and then spoke.
“I am Noah Williams, designated ambassador of the Federation of Humans Systems. And I come in the hopes of preventing an escalation in the hostilities that have arisen in recent weeks.”
The human paused, as if to consider its words, then continued.
“For eons, humanity looked up at the stars with wonder and hope, creating a thousand thousand different stories and mythologies to explain the majesty of the night sky. As we advanced and learned of the nature of the cosmos, we wondered what the worlds orbiting those distant points of light were like. Was there life out there, were there people on those worlds, were there others like us? Much as we had gazed at the horizon in earlier times, and wondered what peoples and new lands were out there, what adventures awaited us. And then we actually met intelligent life”. The human slowly spread their arms wide, encompassing the nine bizarre species that had accompanied them. Cilany typed frantically, taking down every impression and thought that popped into her head. Here it came, the humans’ boasting of how prey were inferior and needed their guiding hand.
“And despite any physical differences, such as diet and appearance, not to mention cultural values, we found friends. Some species were more aggressive than others, some terrifying, heck, the Yeerks tried to enslave us before we even had interstellar travel.” The human gestured at the massive antlered biped. Cilany took note of that, as everyone else stared in shock. So, the four-eyed creature was a predator after all. But if they had tried to enslave humanity pre-spaceflight, how had the humans won? Suddenly, it hit her. Friends. The human had referred to these other species, including the prey, as friends. Not allies, for that was a relationship of convenience, but friends. Including a species that had tried to enslave them. What in the name of sanity is going on?
“Even through all of that, we helped to form a community of star-faring races, all working together to nurture life in this galaxy and work for the mutual benefit of all. Through the exchange of technology and knowledge, all species thrived. The galactic peace was upheld, the common defence assured, and worlds that had been nothing but barren rock were turned into lush gardens. Imagine our shock, when we came to this region of space, and found a full-blown war in progress.” The human looked straight at Chief Nikonus. It occurred to Cilany that Governor Tarva had likely told the humans who the influential members of the council were. But why look at the unofficial leader of the Federation with… distain?
“A war in which a species of carnivorous reptilians was committing genocide against every other species in the area, even going so far as to keep those species as livestock, like something out of a bad novel. And what is more, the local species were unlikely to accept our aid, simply because of our diet.” That stopped Cilany cold. Had the human really just suggested they would have… helped the Federation? Why? What was more, the human seemed to think of their predatory nature as irrelevant to how species interacted. She immediately began typing. Could it be that the humans thought of the Arxur as a bigger threat than the Federation…?
“But, we thought, no matter. We had established calm, cordial relations with the Venlil, and begun introducing technologies and ways of thinking that would enable them to better assimilate into the wider galactic community. We even began repairing the damage they had done to their ecosystems.” Now that was shocking. Had the humans really shared their powerful technology with the Venlil? The way the human had spoken, it was almost as if they expected that Tarva would discard her peoples’ long history with the Federation to join a group of predators and their ‘allies’. And what was that bit about damaged ecosystems?
“Then suddenly, we discovered that there was a species of warlike brutes, known as the Gojid, right on our doorstep. That the local coalition of species had, apparently, taken one look at our pre-Space Age world and decided to commit genocide, in violation of all civilised standards of behaviour. And the way we found this out is particularly telling.” Cilany saw many of the representatives bristle at the blatant hypocrisy of the predator. For her own part, she was confused. The human had decried warfare and genocide as evil. Yet almost two hundred years ago, they had committed such acts. And given how the human referred to the Gojid as ‘warlike brutes’, and doesn’t seem to empathise with our fear, is it possible that they intend to exterminate them?
“During an Arxur attack on one of the Venlil border stations, a human soldier on secondment to the Venlil garrison, along with his Venlil partner, were separated from the rest of the defending force. They were taken aboard a Gojid ship, and subjected to treatment that violates every code of military ethics held sacred in civilised space. And before you start claiming that I have no proof, Andalite mind-transcription tech really is a marvel.”
The human inserted its own device into the screen and a video appeared. It showed a cage of some sort, and there, standing in the foreground, was Sovlin. A four fingered hand was visible to the right-side and Cilany realised something. This was the view through the eyes of a human.
“Please, I keep telling you, my people came to Venlil Prime in peace! We’re helping them, giving them technology to repair their world, improving their defences. Our allies…”
Sovlin lashed out with a clawed paw and there was a cry of pain. The view abruptly moved.
“Predator lies! You monstrous flesh eaters have enslaved the Venlil! They are now your cattle, and if you think that I will permit your species to blight my people, you truly are insane!”
The image shifted again, suggesting the passage of time. The human seemed to be looking at the floor of its cage.
“Please. I need to eat. Surely there’s something, anything, you can feed me…”
A shock baton appeared momentarily on the screen and there was a horrifying scream.
“Disgusting predator. As if I would feed your degenerate appetite. What kind of beast do you take me for?”
The image cut out. The human ambassador stared up at the horrified Federation members.
“We have more than seven days of similar memories. Beatings. Torture. Starvation. An attempt to rape the Venlil Slaneks’ mind with the Gojids’ hateful ideology. That this Captain Sovlin refused to even feed his prisoner demonstrates the utter depravity of the Gojid military. That Prime Minister Piri did not turn him over to us immediately, or even send a message deploring his actions, but instead began mustering her fleet shows that this taint extends to the entire Gojid culture. It also says something about those species they associate with. Can you truly blame us for punishing the kind of behaviour that would have earned Sovlin the death penalty anywhere in ISU space?”
She saw shock sweep the chamber. The human had just hinted that their species followed some sort of ethical code, defying every piece of evidence on their psychology. Where was this code when they were gassing children? And how could Sovlin have fed his prisoner? There was no flesh aboard their ships, other than the crew. Did the humans expect Sovlin to butcher members of his own crew? Her heart stopped. No one had heard from Sovlin since the war began, if the humans captured him…. Be safe, old friend.
Cilany could see the Ambassador Jerulim was on the verge of exploding in rage at the predators’ words. Chief Nikonus clearly saw it to, as he immediately interjected. “Surely, ambassador, you understand our reluctance to tolerate a predator species on our border, especially given the inherently violent nature of such sapients.” The human ambassador fixed Nikonus with their piercing gaze, causing the Kolshian leader to stop.
“We appreciate that the Arxur have been terrorising you for over a century, but that does not excuse attempting to exterminate every species of carnivorous sapients you find, Chief Nikonus. Not to mention the ecocidal campaign the Gojid Union has been waging since before the Arxur were even an issue”. That last part caught Cilany, and everyone else, off guard. Are they talking about exterminators? But that’s a key aspect of any civilisation. Jerulim finally could not contain himself.
“You dare act as if you are sapient? You are predators, festering tumours of death and pain! No predator is capable of higher intelligence, and the idea that they have any place in the universe is obscene!” Clan Lord Ulcalna snorted in a way that reminded Cilany of a roar, silencing the Krakotl. The human, no longer being heckled, turned to the avian, a fearsome look upon their savage features.
“Ambassador, the disproportionate number of herbivorous sapients in this area of space does not change the fact that the Federation has no right to decide who is and is not considered sapient. And I find it disheartening that the Gojids’ perverse anti-predator ideology has tainted more species.” Disproportionate number…? The implications of that statement occurred to Cilany at roughly the same moment as they did the Farsul Ambassador. High Elder Darq stood, and mustering her courage, asked the same question as Cilany. “W-w-what do you mean, disproportionate?”
The look on the humans’ face was almost…amused. “Ambassador, to the best of my knowledge, approximately three-quarters of all know sapient species consume meat in some form. Of those, about one third eat nothing but meat”. The entire chamber went silent with shock. Surely that was not possible, predators could not make the majority of sapient races. Darq could only splutter at that, and Cilany did not blame her. The Farsul responded. “Then why is the universe not filled with rampaging predators, endlessly hunting for prey? Why are there not a hundred warring races fighting over our worlds, as we cower in fear?”
The human looked at Darq with what Cilany could only call derision. “Because, Ambassador, contrary to your interpretation of the facts, predators are not innately warlike. Despite what the amateurs you call ‘scientists’ may think, violence on the scale you witnessed during your ‘observation’ of Earth is not humanity’s natural state. To put it bluntly, that six-year conflict, which we call World War Two, was the single largest war in our history, and the worst thing we have ever done to ourselves.”
The human swept their predatory gaze across the chamber. “By the standards of human scholarship, the volume of data collected and the degree of actual analysis is inadequate. In a conflict that lasted six years, you have data from maybe a month, if that. There was no attempt to consider an alternative viewpoint, no attempt to even discover what the war was about. You criticise us for killing millions of our own kind, and then treat murdering billions of innocent people as some sort of moral right”.
From her vantage point, Cilany could see Nikonus rallying after the humans’ dismissal of Federation culture. “You speak of civilisation and morality, yet your government refers to itself as collection of smaller entities. It is clear that you are not unified as a species, and as recent events show, you have not yet put aside your warmongering ways.” Cilany agreed with the Kolshians’ words. Still, there was something in the humans’ statement about ‘insufficient analysis’. The way they had spoken of this ‘World War Two’, definitely suggested a more complex narrative than Federation scholars had thought.
Below, the human was issuing a rebuttal of Nikonus’ accusations. “My species is united, Chief Nikonus. However, our history has taught us that the more people a government attempts to control, the greater the strain on that government, causing instability. One must also consider the imperialistic sentiments such large states tend to provoke. Thus, every human colony is in effect a separate polity in itself, being effectively autonomous save for three areas of government: the military, major laws, and colonisation efforts. Each colony elects its’ own ruling body, and that group provides a representative to the Conclave, the ruling body of the FHS Government.”
The human pressed a few buttons on the podium and another video appeared. It seemed to show a view of inter-planetary space with several orbital stations. There were cylindrical structures with some form of outer framework of girders, about five of them, dominating the foreground. For some reason, the inner cylinder seemed to be revolving inside the frame. The backdrop was taken up by what looked to be a large ring of some sort, canted at an angle, the inner edge a blurry mix of blue, green and white. Cilany thought that it may have been spinning, but why… A ship appeared, flying away from the camera towards one of the cylinders. Cilany held her breath. If the ship was about the size of a cruiser, as it likely was given the lack of visible viewports, then those cylinders were more than twenty times the size of any Federation station, save for asteroid bases. And that ring… it was much larger that the cylinders…
“Even with our terraforming technology, ambassadors, there is only so much habitable space a solar system can have. Not to mention the fact that our colonists need somewhere to live while the process is carried out. Thus, for every citizen living on a planet, there are at least three who call one of our space-habitats home. What this means ambassadors, is that even our smallest colonies have populations of nine billion or more. The Sol system, for example, has enough space habitats to house eleven times the population of Earth. Given the administrative strain such populations present, you can understand why we… decentralise our government.”
The sheer scale of the industry needed to create such things, Cilany could not believe it. If this was real, then the humans not only had a higher population than even the most pessimistic projections, but they could turn that construction industry to building warships. Which meant… they’d be able to replace losses faster than the Federation every could.
President Cupo of the Mazic signalled that he wished to speak. Quickly taking a photo of the tan quadruped, Cilany considered the positive optics of someone other than the three founding species speaking. Whatever Cupo said, it helped to signal Federation unity. “So, human, your people are still divided into factions. Are your…allies similarly disunified?” Now that, Cilany thought, was a good question. Surely, if a species was not united within itself, its’ bonds with other species would be fragile. This could allow the Federation to fracture the ISU, if they applied the right pressure.
The human shook their head, possibly signalling negation. “Every species is different, ambassador, and thus each member of the ISU maintains a different form of government. The Andalites, for example, appoint a Prince or Governor to oversee each of their colonies, reporting directly to the Electorate.” They gestured to the blue creature with the bladed tail. “The Andalites were spacefaring more than a thousand years ago. It was they who held the Yeerks at bay, and in many ways were our first alien allies. Also, on a ship-to-ship basis, their military is arguably the most powerful in the Union. It’s their environmental tech and hyperstrong meta-materials, above all else, that allow Union orbital habitats to be as large as they are.”
Many were taken aback by this, Cilany included. Elder Darq spoke out, clearly intrigued by this social dynamic. The alliance between humans and Andalites flew in the face of all accepted scientific understanding of how predators and prey interacted. “But why ally with them in the first place? I would think that your urge to control and dominate would lead you to integrate them into your structure, in a subservient role”. Cilany found herself disagreeing with that sentiment. The human had spoken of a community of species, and had suggested that the conquering practices of their past were considered immoral by the current leadership. Could it be, she thought, that the humans have put their baser urges behind them?
The human seemed almost offended by Darqs’ words. “Because, Ambassador Darq, we are not conquerors. And attempting to rule them would be pointless, because they are not the same species of us. Their psychology and biological imperatives are very different. What is necessary for one species could even be harmful for another. We have found that interfering in the development and culture of other species, trying to shape them into something they are not, always leads to instability and bloodshed. Every species has the right to self-determination. Those thirteen species with whom we have no contact are not advanced enough to interact with without causing massive societal disruption. Ultimately, every species must develop its’ own way of doing things. We can supply guidance and technology, but direct intervention in the affairs of another species is wrong.”
It was then that Jerulim let loose yet another of his outbursts. “You decry direct intervention as immoral, but what are you doing to the Gojid?! Are you not occupying their worlds, are you not even now butchering them, and using other prey species to do it?” The Krakotl spread his wings, as if daring the human to contradict him. “All of this is beside the point! All this discussion of human politics and history is meaningless! What matters is that these predators have attacked a member of the Federation, without provocation, and are even now slaughtering the Gojid as they do their own people!”
The human sighed, looking around at the Federation ambassadors, while their fellow diplomats gave the Krakotl what could only be looks of disapproval. Cilany had just finished taking note of Jerulims’ hysterical speech, when the human gave their reply. “We have only acted in defence of ourselves and the preservation of galactic order, and even then, we have used the minimum degree of force necessary. The Gojid plotted to attack us, we simply struck first”. Jerulim was not done. Cilany started wondering exactly how he had become an ambassador in the first place. “If that was the case, you would have simply struck the military bases. But no, you invaded their colonies and their homeworld. You have not risen above the conquering ways of your past”.
Cilany could see that the human was growing more and more agitated. Is it going to attack? “If that is the case, then why have we not eradicated the Gojid? It really would not have been all that difficult, given the forces we can bring to bear”. Jerulim sneered. “I would think that was obvious. You want to take cattle, to feed your aberrant appetites, to gain new tastes of flesh. The other prey species you have met are too strong for you to conquer, so you thought you could take the Gojid as livestock!”
There was a long pause. Then the human looked straight at Jerulim. Now that is a sign of predatory dominance if I ever saw one, Cilany thought. “I see. You are assuming that we are like the Arxur. Well, let me explain something to you, primitive. The eating of fellow sapients is one of the greatest taboos in human culture, going back to before our first cities. Even the token data you collected during the darkest time in our history should show you that. And on that subject, I find the Federations’ condemning humanity over a single pre-space conflict to be hypocritical. All species go through such times before developing interstellar travel. Only those uplifted before such a stage in their development continue such behaviour, as they have not had the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.”
Again, the human had returned to the subject of this World War. Clearly, it had been a complicated situation, with nuances which the humans believed had not been appreciated by the Federation. Still, what could possibly lead them to think all species committed such horrors, or that uplifts are more likely to do so?
“As for ‘new tastes’, Earth is one of the most biologically diverse planets in known space. We have enough variety from her alone, not to mention the foods available through interstellar trade. Those members of the ISU who are herbivores, ‘prey’ as you so crudely put it, do not share your unreasoning fear of predators, and so have no problem with us feeding off animals they do not utilise. So, if we did decide to utterly destroy the Gojid, there would be no need to take prisoners or round up the civilians. We would not even need to deploy troops to the surface. We could simply atomise their cities from orbit, unleash bioweapons, or just, well, blow up the planet”.
Cilany heard the gasps of every ambassador in the chamber. Blow up a planet? The power required for such a thing, an entire glassing fleet didn’t have that much firepower. Nikonus broke the stunned silence. “That joke is not funny, ambassador. To suggest annihilating an entire habitable planet…” The humans’ gaze shifted. “On the contrary, Chief Nikonus, I am not joking. Or lying. The primary weapons of the most powerful warships we have, fired at full power, could crack the crust of the Cradle like glass, and that is if the atmosphere didn’t simply ignite.”
There was a stunned silence at that. Cilany quickly began taking down her thoughts at these unpleasant revelations. The humans have either overcome their base hungers or otherwise have discarded us as cattle for practical reasons. This means they have no need to take captives, save out of some form of rudimentary compassion… Their prey allies lack any instinctual fear of predators, suggesting high aggression: possible similarities in culture allowing humans to overlook their diet… Human weapons not being used at full power, implying that they do indeed exhibit restraint: why do so if the Gojid wanted to exterminate them…? The human looked around the chamber. They seemed exasperated, as if there was something the Federation did not understand.
“What I do not understand, ambassadors, is why you expect the Gojid to receive special treatment. Regardless of what ecological role their pre-sapient ancestors had, all space-faring species must be held to the same standards. And quite frankly, their behaviour illustrates why uplifting species, as the Gojid likely were, is wrong. Giving a culture that is still going through its savage phase advanced technology, before it has had the opportunity to work through its aggression as we did, can only lead to destruction. From our perspective, the situation is fairly simple: The Gojid attempted to exterminate a sentient species. Thus, they must be disciplined. The fact that we were the species they attempted to murder doesn’t really affect matters, other than shortening the debate over what to do about it.”
Cilany saw Nikonus stand once more, the Kolshian clearly agitated. That was understandable, the human had been hurling criticism at the guiding tenants of civilised life for the entire meeting. “What do you mean, it shortened the debate, ambassador? Surely the mere presence of an… aggressive species would demand prompt action.”
Once again, the human appeared exasperated. “What I mean, Chief Nikonus, is that usually there would be an extended period of discussion within the Conclave, and of course the leaders of the wider ISU. Arguments would be put forward for and against military intervention, the chances of establishing peaceful diplomatic relations with the government in question, whether there is a danger of falling into the trap of imperialism. No one wants a war if it can be avoided. But the Gojid’s savagery made everything much simpler. They made their murderous intentions clear, and Captain Sovlin’s actions demonstrated that any diplomats sent to seek a peaceful solution would be tortured to death. Which really only left one option: render the uncivilised brutes incapable of harming anyone. Our allies offered us military aid, thus allowing us to maintain our pre-existing commitments in other sectors of space, and here we are”.
Cilany paused to consider that. The humans would not have attacked the Gojid if they had not felt threatened. For a species as aggressive as them, there was only really one response to the apparent threat: eliminate that threat. Really, it was a sign of their restraint that they had not glassed the Cradle out of hand. That was when she heard it.
“Bullshit!”

So i just got a new part time job, shooting photos at farm that does all kinds of events (yoga classes, art classes, special holiday activities, camps for kids, etc.) During a lot of these, they let baby goats run wild with the customers, people love it.
I'm going be shooting all this, but they want me to run some sort of booth/live photo wall as well, where people can walk out after the classes and see photos of themselves, and potentially purchase digital packages. (think what they have at amusement park rides)
They've asked me to compile a list of gear for them to purchase in order to make this happen. I've never quite done something like this before, any suggestions? I'm assuming I'll need a few monitors, with some sort of carousel system to rotate through the photos, and some hard drives. Other than the basics I'm a bit lost on what I might specifically need. Any help is much appreciated!

So i just got a new part time job, shooting photos at farm that does all kinds of events (yoga classes, art classes, special holiday activities, camps for kids, etc.) During a lot of these, they let baby goats run wild with the customers, people love it.
I'm going be shooting all this, but they want me to run some sort of booth/live photo wall as well, where people can walk out after the classes and see photos of themselves, and potentially purchase digital packages. (think what they have at amusement park rides)
They've asked me to compile a list of gear for them to purchase in order to make this happen. I've never quite done something like this before, any suggestions? I'm assuming I'll need a few monitors, with some sort of carousel system to rotate through the photos, and some hard drives. Other than the basics I'm a bit lost on what I might specifically need. Any help is much appreciated!

Okay, here’s my attempt at a NOP fanfic.
The Nature of Predators is made by u/SpacePaladin15
Just a few tidbits before we get started. I’m not sticking close to the cannon, so don’t be surprised when groups operate differently from their real NOP counterparts. I’m going for a “dark time line” kind of situation. There are going to be war crimes and lots of devil’s advocate nonsense, so this fanfic may rustle your jimmies. The start of this story takes place on Sillis and is only told from a single Arxur supply officer’s POV.
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Memory transcription subject: Varce, Cattleship Δ1242, Sillis
Date [standardized human time]: December 4, 2136
Finally… After mindlessly double checking and triple checking weapons and herbivore feed inventory it was time to get some fresh air. The raid itinerary had originally slated us to landfall 36 hours ago, but then a small human fleet lurched into our FTL disruptor grid. The grid was deployed with the intent to prevent prey ships from escaping, but hey, happy accidents.
I looked around the squad that I would be overseeing during prey extraction. Their faces ranged from agitated to giddy, all hungry. Starvation prior to deployment was standard practice for lower enlisted. It made them extra violent which was perfect for propaganda. Having a full relaxed Arxur on shift wouldn’t be near as terrifying for the pseudo-sapient snack bags.
Of course not all were starved, officers like myself needed to keep a cool head while procuring desperately needed food for the people of Wriss. It is my job, as one of the Dominion’s loyal servants, to ease the suffering of sapient lives throughout the known universe. I should clarify, that while I am somewhat defective, I’m not some delusional prey loving nut-job. I just care about sapients more that the average Arxur, that’s all.
The cargo doors of the craft hissed open as eye burning natural light entered the space. After I recovered from my temporary blindness, I barked out orders to my subordinates and began driving the refrigeration cart out of the ship. Its anti-gravity motors hummed as Arxur marched alongside it. Except for Tarth, lazy ass was perched on the cart’s lid with a ranged rifle shouldered. He says he does it to “be a lookout”, but we both know that’s bullshit. I let him get away with it though, what’s the point of having authority if you don’t use it to let your friend do stupid crap?
We had been dropped off at ground zero of a conventional bombing zone. Ruble from buildings with twisted bit of chitin sticking out covered the ground. Troops passed any worthwhile pieces to the cart for preservation. Eating of scraps was forbidden. It would spoil the squad's appetite prior to any engagements with the tilfish survivors. Thinking about the impending carnage reminded me to activate the 360’ camera fixed atop the cart’s driver compartment. Maybe some of my footage would go into one of the hunting compilations that gets forcibly broadcast onto the media channels the prey’s young watch. I let out a throaty chuckle thinking about the fearful cries one of those forsaken abominations would make.
Tarth looked over to me. “What’s so funny blubber tail? All that prime officer food finally melt your brain.”
“No just thinking about the prospect of one of our hunts being used for entertainment, now get back to work “look-out”.”
“Eh… I’m not too sure any footage is going to be used from this raid. None of the Gojid Cradle footage got used since the brass didn’t want Arxur to be associated with killing sapients.”
“...True. Well I’ll film this anyway, maybe it could be used as b-roll footage for future human engagement training.”
“I’d prefer we didn’t run into any humans boss-man”
I grimaced at the thought, the chatty Arxur had a point. I’ve never killed a sapient before. I had pushed the idea out of my head before, but it all came back to me. The whole reason Chief Hunter Shaza deployed 8000 of her ships to Sillis was to fight the humans, the tilfish were an afterthought in truth. I don’t really get why the humans were so keen on picking a fight with the Dominion. Chief Hunter Isif saved their entire species and in turn they started rattling a saber at Chief Hunter Shaza’s initial raiding group. Do they want to be at war with both the Federation AND the Dominion. Surely they understand that that would be a death sentence for such a small race with no backup colonies. It’s just so frustrating, we finally meet another sapient race and all they want to do is fight. We should be working together to wipe out the genocidal maniacs in the Federation.
“Hey Varce. Varce. Looks like that building over there is ripe for hunting. Just say the word.”
I perked up after being pulled from my dark thoughts. We were no longer surrounded by rubble and were at our first scheduled stop. A eugenics clinic that was likely filled with eggs that would top off the cart I brought along. I glanced at the life detection hardware built into the driver’s panel.
“Listen up. We’re here for the eggs in that building. It has 33 adult tilfish life signs inside. Don’t bother taking any of them alive, just put a hole in their heads and dump them in the cart. Eggs are our priority. EGGS. Don’t get too bite-y. There’s a bomb shelter down the road for that kind of behavior. Now get to it and make the Prophet proud!”
I stood by with Tarth and several auto-turret technicians as the rest of the squad swarmed all sides of the clinic. Per standard procedure, I had the techs set up an auto-turret for any surprise runaways. After a couple of minutes a tilfish on the second floor desperately crawled part way out of a window trying to escape. It fell to the ground after Tarth took out one of its weight bearing feet. The impact ruptured it chitin and it died shortly after. As Tarth began strolling over to retrieve the soon to be refrigerated carcass, several more tilfish landed on top of the now flattened meat pulp. Tarth threw himself to the ground as the auto-turrets made there tell-tell beeping noise. Now Tarth had to carry back three piles of meat pulp.
Tarth sat the meat piles down in front of the cart while laughing. “Prophet help me. My life just flashed before my eyes. That would’ve been such an underwhelming way to go. Thank the prophet I’m a master at dodging.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call collapsing to the ground in terror “masterful”, but yeah sure. At least your not dead. Now lets get this slop cleaned up and preserved.”
“Your just jealous of how awesome I looked. Also, that ankle shot I did was glorious. Admit it.”
Tarth went on stroking his ego for the next half hour as the cart was filled with delicious nutritious eggs and gooey bug parts. The cart’s driver panel indicated that we had gathered about 10,000LBS of food in total. A good haul so far, that would be enough to feed roughly a 140 Arxur for a week. I sent the cart back to the ship with an escort while everyone else headed to the nearby bomb shelter.
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Once we arrived at our next scheduled location, courtesy of garbage prey internet security, I had the auto-turret techs set up a perimeter around the shelter entrance. It’s not likely that someone would pull a fast one on us, but I’ve never been into gambling. While we waited for fresh empty carts to arrive, I went ahead and had the squad look around for any material to block up the bomb shelter’s ventilation ports.
After even more waiting, four refrigeration carts and some shelter cracking materials arrived. The plan for shelter cracking was tried and true. First, we would have a drill bore out a hole through the blast door. That would then rapidly be followed up with a flash bang to scare off anyone smart enough to shoot through the hole. This is then followed by several tear gas canisters and a smoke machine. The smoke would exit any ventilation ports and they would be subsequently sealed. After all that we then pump the place full of nitrous oxide, wait about 20 minutes, and breach the doors.
Often times there will be one or two prey smart enough to wear self-contained breathing apparatuses. For this reason, once the door is opened we send in something similar to what a human would refer to as a “Claymore Roomba”. About 20 seconds after activating the device I heard a loud BANG and sent in the initial breaching party. After the all clear, the carts and myself entered.
Oh no.
Near the entrance to shelter was what was left of four humans. SAPIENTS. I killed sapients. I gave the order. They are my responsibility. I’m effectively a murderer now. I know that it’s “war”, but still. That doesn't un-kill them.
I choked down my horror remembering what would happen if other Arxur saw me like this. I turned to Tarth. “Inspect these four for any useful equipment or identifying information. After that, bring it all to me”
I turned away and kept walking. I couldn’t look at their mutilated faces anymore, shards of clear poly-carbonate lodged in their skulls from the breathing mask they were wearing. Blackened blood peppering their bodies and surroundings. Those were someones kids, friends, lovers, and I took them away. I just destroyed families in one foul swoop.
I cleared my head as i walked into the auditorium filled with drowsy and unconscious tilfish. I ensured the cameras on all of the carts were on and gave the order. What came next was quite the sight.
The little abominations screeched and squealed as my squad tore into them. Ripping the young away from the dazed brood-mothers, tearing the monsters apart like they deserved. Loyal and dedicated soldiers finally filling their stomachs after days of hunger. This is what it’s all about. Bringing smiles to the faces of sapients. At this moment I could finally forget about the atrocity that happened to those four in the previous room. I started to salivate myself a little, I shouldn’t indulge though. This is a reward to the Arxur people, not me.
I cheerily hummed as the weak tilfish were tossed into the refrigeration carts. The cold would slow them down to nothing, but it wouldn’t kill them. Perfectly convenient for filling the cages back on the cattle ships. Watching over the cart’s weight readouts I guesstimated that this would be enough to feed about 680 Arxur for a week. It makes me so proud thinking about all the young wonderful Arxur that will get to enjoy these meals. How they’ll go to sleep with full bellies and grow strong. No deformations from malnutrition. Perfectly formed jaws with clean straight teeth. Unlike mine, jagged, crisscrossed, and malformed. I’ll make sure that they have better lives then me. It’s the least I could do.
These thoughts were short-lived unfortunately. Tarth approached me with a bag crafted from the same materials as the pelts the humans wear. I took it silently and he went off to go get his fill.
I dug through the “backpack” as I would later identify it. The pack contained weapons, ammo, and holopads. Turns out the holopads required biometerics, but Tarth was kind enough to attach the associated severed thumbs to each. I went through and altered the security preferences to myself on all of them and glossed through one’s photo album.
I knew what I was going to see, but I punished myself anyway. The dead human had a mate. Whether or not it was a temporary relationship, I don’t know. They had pictures of themselves standing in front of various earth locations. Monuments, beautiful scenes of nature you’d never see on a federation planet, relaxed on furniture with a furry quadrupedal predator. Things I’ve never seen in person and likely never will. I robbed the human of all of this.
I put away the holopad and steeled myself. If I was going to have a breakdown, it would be in my quarters.
I quietly waited for the final stages of the shelter raid to wrap up and began planning the next step of today’s festivities. The entire squad would escort the refrigeration carts back to the cattle ship and we would then exchange them for one refrigeration cart and two cargo carts. After that we would search a nearby tilfish military base for heavy munitions and any high value ship related equipment and materials.
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There was a bit of a delay at Cattleship Δ1242. The other squads were as successful as mine, so we had to wait for a refrigeration cart to be freed up. I took the opportunity to drop off the human pack in my room and check the current raid situation. Thankfully there weren’t any notable hiccups in the raid from a global perspective. The human FTL clusterfuck only shorted us a few ships and part of the fleet was in process with salvaging them for FTL drives, fuel, FTL disruptors, inertial dampeners, shield generators, and databases containing flight logs and encryption keys.
After the update, I reconvened with my squad and gave them a run down on the status of the raid. Tarth already hopped up onto the refrigeration cart before I even got to it. Lazy ass.
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We were still about a half mile out from our destination when Tarth perked up and swung his rifle around toward a concrete building. I trailed his the direction his rifle was pointing to see a rather peculiar sight. A white human pelt that was tied to a stick by the arms was being waved around. However, who was holding it was hiding behind part of the building.
Before I could say anything Tarth already sent a round through the pelt.
“OH SHIT. Uhh… Hey in human culture white flags are a universal symbol of “I give up. Please don’t shoot me” okay?”
My thoughts shot back to the four mutilated corpses I left back in the bomb shelter. Icy guilt crept down my back and left my tail with pins and needles. I sighed for a moment and waved Tarth to lower his gun.
“Alright human, come out slowly, we won’t shoot you.”
A fleshy claw-less hand poked out from the wall and waited.
I grumbled as the weak predator peaked out. “When I said slowly, I meant some time today. I have a schedule to keep.”
“Sorry. Was just taking it slow. Figured if someone with a hair trigger got any ideas, it’d be better to lose a hand than a life.”
The human was one of the paler variants. It had a smashed in muzzle like the rest of its kind. Not exactly what I’d call an apex predator, but I’d tolerate it. (It… He I think?) He carried two large green storage cylinders on his back and was wearing the standard blue helmet uniform. At his hip was a belt carrying various bobbles and oh that’s a gun.
“If your surrendering, why do you have a gun?”
“It’s for the crazy murder bugs with the flamethrowers. As long as you bunch are on the ball with killing them, you can have it.”
I grunted at Tarth and nodded him over to the human. He drew the sidearm from the humans holster and inspected it. Tarth being Tarth, then proceeded to start jabbing the human with the weapon gleefully. The human looked over to me pleadingly. He clearly wasn’t thrilled with having a gun poking into his gut.
I spoke up. “Tarth do you intend on wasting our time as well? Get over here. Human, you will stay within ten feet of him or me at all times. Don’t try to run off, I don’t need to explain what will happen if you try.”
“Understood”
Well, at least the human seems to be disciplined enough to not have an attitude.
Our procession continued as I introduced our first official human captive to Tarth and myself. The weaker “social predator” was just as chatty as my slightly defective friend to my disappointment. However, once the topic of our destination came up, my mercy started to pay off.
“You guys are going to the base? Yeah. Fuck that. Don’t go there. That place is an absolute shitstorm. Some empathetic dumb-asses started to let tilfish in so we could protect them from the scary Arxur. I naturally raided supply of their MREs and got the fuck out of there. Lo and behold, before I was even out the gate the tilfish started shooting and burning dudes. Never trust a fuckin’ bug.”
Tarth and I both chuckled at the idea of some empathetic prey lovers getting their comeuppance.
“Despite that, we are still going human. I was assigned to raid the base for goods and you already know where everything is. So try not to get shot or burned until after our objective is completed.”
The human looked dejected. “Well fuck… I should’ve stayed behind that wall. Are you absolutely sure you want to go there. All the functional ships evacuated early yesterday during your surprise attack on the planetary defenses.”
Tarth spoke up. ”Wasn’t much of a surprise really. Not even an hour into the assault and a human fleet of a thousand some odd ships popped in behind us.”
“The UN had an entire fleet show up within an hour of you guys arriving?
“Yes. Although it was pretty short lived. They disabled a few of our shields with some kind of bombs, but it really didn’t matter. We outnumbered them 8 to 1 and just threw a wall of plasma at them. Not a whole lot of defensive positions to be had out in space. Most of them tried to run, but we catapulted FTL disruptor buoys at them and burnt them all. I have no idea what their strategy was there.”
“...Cool. Good to know.”
“You should have seen it. Ships full of foolish humans turning into molten slag. Their corpses ejecting into space and bloating up from the vacuum. Some of them holding onto their pet prey. Maybe we’ll gather up the tasty prey carcasses later, the cold of space preserves meat nicely I hear. I swear I could hear the screams even in space. That’s what it’s like when weak predators try to pick fights with the Arxur. They weren’t smart like you, human.”
The human shut up after that. I suspect the thought of so many of his kin dying likely saddened him. To be fair, I would be too if those were my people. I mean, it sucks that so many sapients died, but I didn’t have a hand in it.
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The entrance to the base was finally in sight. Tarth and the human lounged on the top of the refrigeration cart despite the irritated side glances from the others in the squad. I could smell the stench of burnt flesh wafting towards us from somewhere deeper in the base. It served as a good confirmation that the human wasn’t feeding us bad intel.
I was looking over to the human pleased when gray blood splattered out from the back of his helmet. It took me a second to realize we were being shot at. It took another for me to order my squad to take cover behind the sturdy carts. I ordered the auto-turret techs to deploy their toys to protect our flanks and rear.
Tarth, the human’s corpse, and I all crouched together behind the refrigeration cart. I’d never seen a dead body convulse in such a weird way before, desperately pulling off its helmet and cursing… Wait. What? The air suddenly reeked of burnt hair and small wisp of smoke coming from the doffed helmet. Tarth gave the living corpse a weird look and shrugged. Questions later, not dying takes precedence.
Tarth and I ensured the aim assist in our rifles was toggled on and proceeded to dispense suppressive fire from behind the cart. Ideally, we could just point our weapons in our adversaries general direction and the rifle’s computer would do the hard part.
The human started panicking when a metal ball dropped next to us. He kicked the sphere away and started cursing in pain while holding his foot. No surprise there you moronic primate, those black leather foot coverings aren’t going to protect you when you punt a metal ball down the street. Wait... Did that ball just explode? Oh. Yeah. We got briefed on those things come to think of it. Good call monkey-man, your foot didn’t go bruised in vain.
As Tarth and I lowered ourselves back down to reload, we suddenly felt the smaller predator forcibly sandwich himself between us. He tightened himself into a tiny ball while wide eyed. I looked around our perimeter. There weren’t any hostile humans so what was his deal. Tarth’s breathing seized up as well, what the hell was going on?
Beep Beep.
It occurred to me at that moment the auto-turrets haven’t been updated to recognize any humans as friendly. I froze up and slowly looked at our flanks. Both turrets were pointing at us. I’ve never pissed myself before… But I got damn close.
The three of us just stayed there perfectly still for what felt like hours. It gave me enough time to think about many things in my life. All the things I haven’t done yet. I’ve never had the opportunity to sire my own clutch, the closest thing I have to a friend is a psycho that gravitates toward me because I’m the only one that tolerates his non-stop yapping, and how nice is it to finally feel the warmth of another pressed up against me. Holy crap what is wrong with me? Prophet, I’m sorry for being so defective. If you bail me out of this, I’ll do whatever you want, just give me a sign.
And the Prophet answered my prayer indeed. Some foolhardy humans finally went for our flanks and drew the ire of the auto-turrets away from us. As the BRRT of the turrets sounded off Tarth, being the absolute bastard that he is, dived away from us.
This left me and the human exposed to the turrets. My initial thought was to push the human over and dive away, so I pushed him over. As I readied myself to dive, I thought about those four in the shelter. How I robbed them of their lives and families. I just couldn't do that again. I can’t just pretend that it’s not my problem. The human’s eyes showed such sadness from that impending betrayal. So I dived, hoping that I’d be able to hide him from the sensors on the auto-turrets.
Luckily, he was still balled up so it wasn’t terribly difficult to cover him with my body. I never felt so exposed in my life, doing this. I just laid there thinking, waiting, and wondering if my empathy was about to come back to bite me in the ass. This was all so off putting, being this close to another person. I wanted nothing more than to get up and walk away. I could hear his breath and the light tensing of his body. This wasn’t something that really happens with Arxur.
Eventually, the sound of gunfire died down. I heard people milling about, the hiss of medical foam being applied, and the louder hiss of angry Arxur having gunshot wounds treated.
“Uh. Sir?” I heard the confused words of one of the auto-turret techs.
“No no no. Leave him be. Can’t you see our dear leader is in love. Although, that is the UGLIEST woman I’ve ever seen.”
I’ve never wanted to smack that annoying lazy ass more than at this moment.
I cleared my throat. “Solider, would you kindly deactivate the auto-turrets so our guide to the base doesn't get shredded by an angry machine.”
“Oh..? Yes. Right away sir.”
So I laid there, feeling a smug ass staring a hole into the back of my head. I recapped the events of the skirmish and lamented how I did so little. I only burned through one magazine with some sprayN’pray and that was it. Hell, the human saved a lot of our asses with that grenade save.
Speaking of the human. “Hey human? Why aren’t you dead? You just took a bullet to the head.”
“Uh. The helmets we wear are really good. They have this non-Newtonian fluid laced with perovskite crystals. Basically, the helmet is a fluid sack that hardens in response to physical trauma. It then converts kinetic energy into heat and electricity. These helmets can eat a .308 point blank. Only downsides are that they are one and done armors and that they’ll burn the shit out of you if they stay in contact too long.”
I’d never heard of such a thing before, but clearly it worked. I’ve seen prey attempt to use helmets with varying degrees of failure. Problem is, usually the brain gets shook around and they die anyway. I decided that this fluid would be beneficial to the Dominion.
I spoke up to get Tarth’s attention. “Tarth. Order anyone that isn’t busy to strip the human’s of their armor pelts and headgear. Place everything in the cargo cart next to the human’s green storage bags.”
Shortly after I gave out the order, the auto turret tech returned. “Varce sir. The auto-turrets have been deactivated.”
I Immediately popped up to separate myself from the smaller predator. Looking around it seems we had fared well enough against the ambush. Heh. Arxur being ambushed. Crazy times. We only lost 3 soldiers and have a handful of injuries. It could have been a lot worse. Even Tarth has some med foam sticking out of his arm. The Arxur bodies were being loaded into the refrigeration cart. We’d look into harvesting their organs for transplants later.
The human looked over the bodies of his fallen kin. I decided it would be appropriate to talk to him about their deaths. The bodies had been stripped as ordered, although it appears someone got overzealous and stripped one of them of all there pelts. Wow. That is super gross looking. It’s just like, dangling around on the outside. What happens if it gets caught on something? Does it just tear off and regenerate? That’s just downright terrible design.
Getting myself back on topic. I turned to the human and spoke up. “So… Did you know any of these humans?”
“Uh… Yeah. To be honest. They were fucking elitist assholes. Doesn’t mean I wanted them dead though. It’s just well... This is all a fucking mess. They did shoot me in the back of the head though. So it’s kind of hard to not feel schadenfreude about the whole thing… Can I get a new helmet? Mine’s kind of busted right now.”
“Go for it. There should be some next to your stuff in the cargo cart.”
“Thanks. I mean… As in thanks for everything. You saved my ass in a big way. Not a whole lot of people would of done that for me… So thank you... Yeah.”
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The inside of the base had seen better days. Some buildings had been destroyed either by the original raid or the human’s occupation. It also appeared that the exterminator’s fires got out of hand and had spread to the tent city the UN made for their troops. There were quite a few chard human bodies mixed in with the debris. I could certainly understand why the human had no desire to come back.
I got out of the refrigeration cart and announced to my squad. “Apply fire retardant measures. There may be exterminators in this base.”
My fellow Arxur and I pulled out small aerosol canisters and began dousing ourselves in the gelatinous contents. This substance would greatly reduce the flammability of the fuel the exterminators typically use, though the films covering us would oxidize and become useless after about 20 minutes. We needed to make a clean sweep of our travel path and secure the nearby maintenance hangar before then. I placed the spent canister back in my tail pouch and began driving again.
“So you’ve got one of those spray bottles for me, right?” The human looked over to me pleadingly. “Just sayin’. I’d like to not burn to death if at all possible.”
“Are you willing to strip naked and shave yourself?”
“What?”
“This stuff only works if it forms a solid layer on you. It won’t work on fur and pelts.”
“Shit… Can I have my gun back then?”
“No.”
We continued moving for about ten minutes per the human’s instructions. The intersection that would take us to our loot was finally in view. There were large industrial style buildings surrounding us from all sides. This was where minor ship parts like valves would be stored or milled out for ships. Lots of little doors and tight alleyways for the diminutive insectoids to scurry through. As such this was the perfect environment for exterminators to hide. I kept my eyes peeled for even the slightest movement.
My suspicions paid off immediately when I noticed some dumpsters that were conveniently lined up between two buildings. I know a barricade when I see one. I brought our caravan to a stop just out of weapons range of the prey’s fortifications. I checked the driver’s panel for life signs and smiled knowing my caution was justified.
I stood out of the drivers seat, silently motioning towards the dumpsters. Half of the squad formed up around the carts. The other half broke into groups and approached the dumpsters from multiple angles. My group consisted of Tarth, the human, and three other Arxur.
My group and I shouldered our rifles and began unloading into the dumpsters. The foolish prey actually thought they were going to get one over on us. In moments tilfish started scrambling, desperately spraying the flammable contents of their weapons in the air towards us. Most of it fell short with only a few stray droplets touching us. We stood back at a comfortable range as the last few bugs dropped to the ground bleeding out in a pool of their own accelerant. One of the little abominations used the last of its pathetic strength to immolate the remains of it group.
A burst of flame pushed towards us, showering us with embers and half burnt debris. Our groups backed away from the intense heat and rapidly pawed off any unwelcome remains of the explosion. Well, except for the human, his left forearm was very on fire. With a surprising level of calmness, my human pulled a water bottle from his belt and doused the flame away.
He looked over to me and grumbled. “I probably should of stayed at the carts.”
“Probably. How did you even get that much fuel on your arm?”
“I didn’t. These uniforms are made out of acrylic and cotton. Very flammable. The UN thought it would be a good idea to have us peace keep against guys who almost exclusively use fire. I have many words about the UN. None of them are nice.”
“At least you handled being on fire pretty well.”
“I’ve seen about twenty people get caught on fire in the past week. I know the drill. Also, I’m gonna need some medical attention for this by the end of the day.”
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Fantastic, we’ve arrive at the maintenance hangar the human recommended and what do we find? More barricades and a bunch of life signs. Maybe I shouldn’t complain. I might be able to top off all my carts in one go.
I ordered my squad to surround the structure just as I had with the eugenics clinic. Though I had to stop the auto-turret techs before they accidentally lit up my human. I quietly pondered how I was going access the hangar with minimal gunfire. I didn't want to run the risk of accidentally damaging a spare FTL drive or something. I ultimately landed on the idea of just ramming through the door with the cargo cart to draw attention and then have the squad flank the inhabitants.
As one of my troops lined up their cart with the doors a shaky human voice called out. “Wait! We have missile warheads rigged to blow if you try anything!”
My human looked over to me and motioned he was going to the door. I allowed him to do so.
“Hey Lee, is that you?” My human questioned. “How are you holding up?”
“Hall? What the hell are you doing with the space nazi crocs?” (Who the hell is Hall? Oh, okay, that’s my human’s name. I should probably remember that.)
“You know. Trying to not die. Things are all kinds of FUBAR right now.”
“Things get rough and you just bail? All we had to do is hold down the fort and wait for rescue. And what do you do? You immediately defect to them. They literally eat babies. You abandoned humanity.”
“Lee. A UN fleet jumped into system one hour after the Arxur arrived.”
“So they tried to save us and you decide to run off?”
“No no. How long would it take for a fleet going FTL to get here assuming a distress signal was sent out the second the Arxur arrived?”
“… Are you saying that they knew the Arxur were coming and didn’t give us a heads up? But…”
“Look man. You’ve got to make your own decisions, but from where I’m standing you really only have two choices. Either commit suicide by Arxur or walk away from what your doing and survive. The Arxur are going to eventually try to trade us to the UN. I intend on living.”
“But what about the tilfish? Are you seriously fine with them being cattle?”
“If you want to die for some bugs that burnt Clark alive two days ago, then that's your call. See you later… Or not.”
“Wait. Wait!”
My human didn’t respond. He just walked back over to me. After that brief exchange, he looked completely used up. It did help me to better understand his willingness to work with me though. All these humans planet side had effectively been left to die before we even arrived at Sillis. Most of them didn’t even know they were fighting for a government that withheld knowledge that could’ve saved them. They could have evacuated and saved so many sapient lives. So much for 5 humans for every 500 million xenos.
I waited long enough. It was time to crack this egg. As I gave the order to breach, I heard four consecutive gunshots come from the hangar. The cargo cart broke open the door and the side entrances were forced as well. I walked in behind the cargo cart and took stock of the situation. A somewhat tanned human was standing over three tilfish carcasses while brandishing its rifle towards a crowd of prey.
The human was seizing up saying. “Don’t move. I… I… I don’t want to die, okay! I… I’m sorry. It’s just that…”
The human trailed off murmuring nonsense. My human got his attention and led him out of the building. Given the degraded mental state of the disheveled human, that was probably best given what was going to happen next. I gave a quick look around, there was no “rigged warhead”, the “Lee” human had given us an empty threat.
The weak prey didn’t stand a chance as my fellow Arxur snatched them up, forcing them into the refrigeration cart. Shrill cries escaped the grotesque creature’s mouths as they were pressed against the Arxur bodies that were already in the cart. Perhaps more refrigeration carts should’ve been brought. The cart reached what was the “comfortable capacity” and there was still a third of the tilfish to go. So naturally, we just started pushing them in harder. Pops and cracks could be heard as chitin bent and broke from strain. Ear piercing noises echoed throughout the room as the little mindless bugs wailed. With one final push, we managed to load all of the bugs into the cart. The readout said we had collected about 18,200lbs of food. While the cart’s recommended weight limit had been exceeded, the thought of 250 Arxur getting to stave off starvation brought me so much joy.
I walked about the hangar inspecting all of the available loot. While I was disappointed by the lack of any FTL related equipment, there was however, an abundance of components for inertial dampeners and shields. My squad got to work loading up the two cargo carts as I went to check up on the two humans. I found them a short walk away from the hangar sitting together under a shade. The humans looked over to me when I approached them. Lee must have gotten more ill. His face was inflamed and red with looked to be signs of leaked fluid on his pelts. Wonderful. I’m going to have to take both of them to medical since this one is developing some kind of infection.
My human looked between Lee and me for a moment before speaking. “Lee. This is Varce. He is a supply officer on his ship and is currently in charge of retrieving ship parts from this base. Varce. This is Lee. He was in training to become an air force mechanic prior to being transferred to the UN to be cannon fodder.”
Seeing that Lee was hesitant to talk, I took the initiative. “Hello Lee, I’m Varce. We’ll be heading back to our ship here in a minute. I’ll run you guys by our doc and get you some acceptable sleeping quarters. As for food, we have two bags of human meals ready to eat available for you since you guys have certain dietary restrictions. Also, I’m going to need you to forfeit your firearms for now. Armed humans can be somewhat distressing for Arxur. I hope you understand.”
Lee glanced up to me. “Are we going to be traded back to the UN?”
“Yes. While the exact terms haven’t been decided yet. I’d hazard a guess that Chief Hunter Shaza will likely be trading you for artificial meat. We don’t eat people.”
The human scrunched up his face at that and handed over his weapons. The three of us then headed back to the carts so that we could depart. I did have to shoo Tarth off the overburdened refrigeration cart. He then started to try to pester the mentally unwell human. Luckily, my human lured him away before any harm could be inflicted.
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Once we had returned to Cattleship Δ1242, the humans and I fished out the MREs and armor from the cargo cart. We went to my room to deposit the goods and then headed towards doc. I may have made a miscalculation on my path unfortunately. We passed by the caging area that was established for any captured enemy humans. It already housed several residents. Lee began to panic thinking that I was going to be placing him in there.
I stopped him and explained. “No Lee, listen. That’s for humans that try to kill us. I’m going to be re-purposing a supply closet for you two. Okay? ...That sounds worse than it actually is. It’s a nice supply closet. I’ll get you some nesting materials.”
My human started snorting and chuckling uncontrollably. I wasn’t certain if it was me or Lee that caused this.
We paid doc a visit and got my human patched up. The other one’s swelling had reduced back down during the trip back to the ship.
We would be departing soon. The ship had collected everything that it could for the time being, so our next destination would be a cattle farm on an old thafki colony planet. I hoped that things could go smoothly with the temporary integration of two humans. I’m going to need them for the ungodly big pile of ship components I’m about to have to enter into Dominion inventory.
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That’s it for the time being. I’m not certain if I’ll do a follow up on this. This whole fanfic idea ended up happening thanks to Marcel’s magic helmet. I make no claim of being a decent write or proofreader. If you read this, it’s your own fault.