Extra large mortar and pestle india

My fiancé and I planned to have a large wedding in July at a venue in the country. I guess that was too out of the way for most people because only 14 people rsvp-ed that they were coming. We had already set aside money for our wedding and since there was no longer going to be a lot of people coming we decided to splurge.
So, we asked everyone who rsvp-ed that they were coming if they could take a few extra days off for a longer trip to Hawaii all expenses paid by us. Everyone said yes, so we started booking tickets and suites at this nice resort. We also planned some fun things to do while we're there. Everyone is very excited for the trip.
Now my sister, who rsvp-ed that she and her family weren't coming, is upset that I didn't reinvite her when we changed plans. She thinks that since it's basically a different trip they should have been told. Originally she said she couldn't come to our wedding because that time of the year is very difficult for her and her husband because the summer is the busiest time for their business. They have a landscaping business. Also she said traveling that far with all her kids would be difficult because of the long car ride. It would have been around a 3 hour drive from where she lives. So it doesn't make any sense to me for her to say she can go on a longer trip even farther away. The plane trip is almost 9 hours long. Also she says it's unfair because our brother and his family gets to go while hers doesn't. That's making her kids feel left out because their cousins are going and my sister says it's like playing favorites.
My sister and her family would be five more people so even if we wanted to reinvite them they would cause us to go way over budget. The only other option would be to drastically downgrade the trip we already promised everyone. it just seems totally unfair to everyone else, but my sister also thinks I'm being unfair and says we pulled a "reverse bait and switch".

>**What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.**

• Ultrawide gaming on a Dell S3422DWG and would love to get framerates that utilize what the monitor is capable of. I'm not current on AAA games, but am interested in diablo 4. i do play D2R and factorio (plus boomer games like doom, quake, and CS, but that hardly counts).
• Work/productivity
• Basic 2-channel audio recording through an Audient id22
• Dipping my toes into AI. I 'd like to run some GPT models locally. Image generation, too.

>**What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?**
$2,500, but would calibrate up or down (+/- $500?) depending on how well a system met my needs. I'd rather build for functionality than to hit a price point.
>**When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.**
No rush, just browsing for now. id like to know the ideas behind your suggestions, and inform myself on whats out there.
>**What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc\)**
Everything but peripherals: CPU, cooler, fans, motherboard, RAM, GPU, thermal paste, SSD boot drive, OS, and probably a case.
>**Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?**
I live in Utah but visit Pennsylvania close to a microcenter. I would consider buying things in PA if it'd be easy to fly back with. sans case.
>**If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.**
I have three monitors:

• Dell S3422DWG (34" ultrawide - primary gaming monitor)
• Dell UltraSharp U3415W (34" ultrawide)
• Dell UltraSharp U2412M (24" 16:10 monitor)

I have a Cooler Master CM690 II from a 2011 build, but I'm sure there are better options now.
​
>**Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?**
Not interested in overclocking.
>**Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)**

• I'd like a quality SSD boot drive. Not sure what size makes sense these days.
• From what I've read, anything AI-related pushes me toward CUDA. Not really excited about paying nVidia premiums, but I'm open to suggestions.
• Oh, and RAM: 32GB minimum, and I'd consider 64GB for the fun of it. I work with a lot of browsers and open tabs. I constantly run out of 16GB.

>**Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?**

• Case-wise: this will live on the floor, so mid- or full-tower is fine with me.
• I am not interested in RGB or any color coordination.
• I don't care about side panel windows and would do without them if it improves thermals, dust, or noise.
• Component-wise: Not interested in cheaping out on components. I'd like to build this to keep for a while.

>**Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?**
Probably! I have Win10 on my 2011 build and wouldn't want to use win11 unless absolutely necessary.
>**Extra info or particulars:**
​
First build in over 10 years and I want to get back into things. Reeling from sticker shock right now.
I'm torn between going affordable (Intel Core i5-13600KF / RX 6800XT combos?) but lacking an upgrade path, vs. investing in a platform with growth potential.
Is there enough of an economic advantage to matter?

Once upon a time, it was commonplace for online games to have subscription fees. The earliest popular graphical online games, including Ultima Online and EverQuest, all had recurring service fees, as did many games that came after, such as Final Fantasy XI and World of Warcraft.
That model has largely given way to the "freemium" model where the publishers give the game itself away for free, but much of the game's content is locked behind the choice of either extended play times "grinding" for materials, or the option of skipping that grind with a real-money payment.
However, some games have both, and that usually includes the longest-lived and most-successful ones. Sega's ten-year-on Phantasy Star Online 2 is free-to-play, but has extensive cash purchases and also has a "premium" subscription available. In Final Fantasy XIV and the venerable World of Warcraft, the subscription fee is still required despite the presence of a cash shop.
carmeet
Grand Theft Auto Online has a lot of similarities to what we usually think of as qualities of "MMO" games. While it isn't "massively multiplayer" on a local scale—sessions normally include a maximum of 32 players—there are tens of thousands of players online at any given moment. It has named player characters with persistent progress and all of the other things we think of from MMO games: equipment, appearance customization, player housing, difficult multiplayer "raid" events, and so on.
With that context in mind, it probably shouldn't be a surprise that Rockstar is launching a subscription service for GTA Online. It's called GTA+, and it costs $6 a month. Ponying up for the premium subscription earns you a cool $500,000 in the in-game GTA$ currency every month and extra GTA$ on "Shark Cards," as well as exclusive benefits. Here's the list of benefits for the first month: The Principe Deveste Eight — along with a complimentary Hao’s Special Works upgrade for it before it is made available to purchase by the general public — plus the HSW Orange Trip and HSW CMYK Glitch Liveries. The Auto Shop located in La Mesa, introduces an assortment of gameplay updates from Los Santos Tuners. Current Auto Shop owners can relocate to La Mesa at no additional cost. Waived LS Car Meet Membership fees. Current LS Car Meet members with GTA+ will be reimbursed GTA$50,000 during this event period. Yacht owners can upgrade to the Aquarius Super Yacht at no additional cost. The Gussét Frog Tee and Broker Prolaps Basketball Top and Shorts automatically added to your wardrobe. The Conveyor Livery for the Mammoth Avenger, HVY APC, and TM-02 Khanjali. A selection of free paints and emblems for the Auto Shop. 3X GTA$ and RP on Hao’s Special Works Race Series. 2X Car Meet Rep on the Street Race Series. It would be easy to criticize Rockstar for this move because the company has already taken $60 of your money for the game. That's to say nothing of the grind-heavy nature of GTA Online that practically forces players to purchase Shark Cards for in-game currency if they want to make progress at any kind of reasonable rate. There's also the fact that the company is charging money for what is honestly an extremely minor update on the current-generation consoles.
In the interest of fairness, though, we'll note that many players who bought GTA V (including GTA Online) purchased it nearly a decade ago. Just like other major online games, GTA Online has seen years of additional content and improvements through continual updates, and that stuff does cost money to create.
deveste eight The Principe Deveste Eight, one of the rewards for subscribing this month.
If you own GTA V, you don't actually have to pay Rockstar anything to play it for the rest of eternity, so giving players an option to spend a little every month to support continued development is fair. However, the list of benefits, at least for the first month, is pretty weak.
There's another caveat, too: this program is only available to players on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles. We've asked Rockstar if GTA+ will be coming to the PC version, and will update this post if we get a response.

it started off with small things going missing/moved around.
first it was a tub of butter and a bottle of olive oil, which i still haven’t seen and it’s been 3 years.
then food started going missing
one time. i did laundry, and my clothes went missing for like a week and then randomly appeared.
today, my sister found a man’s shirt underneath her bed. it’s an extra large, black shirt from banana republic, but she wears up and down that it’s not her boyfriends, and it’s way too big for him anyway. it’s not any of ours either, but we don’t know how the hell it could’ve ended up here. it doesn’t smell like cologne or anything, but it smells..gross lmao
a few nights ago, i was home alone and i felt weird. i don’t have anxiety, but i genuinely felt so scared to be alone, and then my dog stood in the hallway and started growling at my bedroom door
but to be fair, my dog is old and barks at the toilet, so that could be nothing
there’s been a lot more shit, but this is all i can think of right now
i know it’s not my parents fucking with us, because their stuff gets moved too and they get upset and blame my sister and i
i sure fucking hope that there’s not a grown man living in the walls of our home, but unless one of us is sleep walking and moving shit around, i don’t know what to do
would cameras help? i don’t know much about them, but could i set up my phone to record the house?

Once upon a time, it was commonplace for online games to have subscription fees. The earliest popular graphical online games, including Ultima Online and EverQuest, all had recurring service fees, as did many games that came after, such as Final Fantasy XI and World of Warcraft.
That model has largely given way to the "freemium" model where the publishers give the game itself away for free, but much of the game's content is locked behind the choice of either extended play times "grinding" for materials, or the option of skipping that grind with a real-money payment.
However, some games have both, and that usually includes the longest-lived and most-successful ones. Sega's ten-year-on Phantasy Star Online 2 is free-to-play, but has extensive cash purchases and also has a "premium" subscription available. In Final Fantasy XIV and the venerable World of Warcraft, the subscription fee is still required despite the presence of a cash shop.
carmeet
Grand Theft Auto Online has a lot of similarities to what we usually think of as qualities of "MMO" games. While it isn't "massively multiplayer" on a local scale—sessions normally include a maximum of 32 players—there are tens of thousands of players online at any given moment. It has named player characters with persistent progress and all of the other things we think of from MMO games: equipment, appearance customization, player housing, difficult multiplayer "raid" events, and so on.
With that context in mind, it probably shouldn't be a surprise that Rockstar is launching a subscription service for GTA Online. It's called GTA+, and it costs $6 a month. Ponying up for the premium subscription earns you a cool $500,000 in the in-game GTA$ currency every month and extra GTA$ on "Shark Cards," as well as exclusive benefits. Here's the list of benefits for the first month: The Principe Deveste Eight — along with a complimentary Hao’s Special Works upgrade for it before it is made available to purchase by the general public — plus the HSW Orange Trip and HSW CMYK Glitch Liveries. The Auto Shop located in La Mesa, introduces an assortment of gameplay updates from Los Santos Tuners. Current Auto Shop owners can relocate to La Mesa at no additional cost. Waived LS Car Meet Membership fees. Current LS Car Meet members with GTA+ will be reimbursed GTA$50,000 during this event period. Yacht owners can upgrade to the Aquarius Super Yacht at no additional cost. The Gussét Frog Tee and Broker Prolaps Basketball Top and Shorts automatically added to your wardrobe. The Conveyor Livery for the Mammoth Avenger, HVY APC, and TM-02 Khanjali. A selection of free paints and emblems for the Auto Shop. 3X GTA$ and RP on Hao’s Special Works Race Series. 2X Car Meet Rep on the Street Race Series. It would be easy to criticize Rockstar for this move because the company has already taken $60 of your money for the game. That's to say nothing of the grind-heavy nature of GTA Online that practically forces players to purchase Shark Cards for in-game currency if they want to make progress at any kind of reasonable rate. There's also the fact that the company is charging money for what is honestly an extremely minor update on the current-generation consoles.
In the interest of fairness, though, we'll note that many players who bought GTA V (including GTA Online) purchased it nearly a decade ago. Just like other major online games, GTA Online has seen years of additional content and improvements through continual updates, and that stuff does cost money to create.
deveste eight The Principe Deveste Eight, one of the rewards for subscribing this month.
If you own GTA V, you don't actually have to pay Rockstar anything to play it for the rest of eternity, so giving players an option to spend a little every month to support continued development is fair. However, the list of benefits, at least for the first month, is pretty weak.
There's another caveat, too: this program is only available to players on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles. We've asked Rockstar if GTA+ will be coming to the PC version, and will update this post if we get a response.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1149460/view/6754877058970063046
Icarus Week Sixty Nine Update 7 new Stone Statues to build
7 new Stone Statues and a couple of new Wood and Bronze Statues feature this week along with Galileo’s progress.
Week Sixty-Nine’s update brings seven new Stone Statues and a couple of new small Wooden and Bronze Statues to the decorations crafting options, perfect for decorating and personalizing your Open World and Outpost bases.
We also give an update on Galileo, with progress made on the Bestiary and Achievements as we move into the latter phases of their development.
Jump in and have a read.
Stone Statues Set
We’ve added seven large Stone Statues to the crafting menu in-game, along with a couple of new smaller Wooden and Bronze Statues which can be crafted at the Rustic Bench.
These statues are a part of our larger decorations and furnishing work, as we look to add more character and personality options for your bases.
We’re always open to suggestions for different decorations or furnishings that players might like to see in-game to decorate their abodes. Leave us a feature upvote ticket with what you would like to see added.
Galileo Update
Bestiary and Achievements have made massive strides this week in our upcoming ‘Galileo’ update.
The Achievement List has been finalized, and we’ve now started on the hooks and events that are required in-game to trigger these achievements to be granted in Steam. Following this, we’ll look to test these achievements out and make any adjustments or tweaks needed for balancing or accuracy.
Bestiary Rewards have also been finalized for each creature, and we’re now adding the final Bestiary concept into the game and hooking it up to the data tables to accurately record your kills and rewards. This will also now move into the testing and balancing phase.
Changelog v1.2.45.109278
New Content

• Adding Stone and Wood Statues for Various Creatures
• Adding a new Talent for the stone statues
• Adding Stone and Wood Recipes for the new Creature Statues
• Fix new Statue recipes pointing to wrong outputs
• Removed 'Decoration' from naming scheme for Statues as its unnecessary and has already caused duplicates
• Add icons for Statues
• Standardized naming scheme for Alpha Sandworm Statue
• Fixed SnowLeopard Statue BP pointing to wrong mesh
• Adding Descriptions and Lore for Stone Statues
• Added destructible mesh assets to stone statues

Fixed

• Fix an issue where the cosmetic visiual 'frost effect' would stay on screen if the modifier expires when the player is seated or dead
• Prevent the cold/heat modifiers from being recreated/reapplied everytime the temperature changes
• Prevent the cold/heat modifiers from being recreated/reapplied everytime the temperature change
• Create drop bag for cart items when full cart is unequipped from mount
• Fixed rain and snow coming through building pieces when highlighting with repair hammer
• IRONCLAD: Fixed snap points not being set up correctly after spawning
• Fixed bug where mounts weren't correctly using the desired movement/behaviour after player dismounted, should no longer need to un-toggle and re-toggle to re-apply desired behaviours. Significantly improved jelly legs issue that could occur if the game hitched while riding a mount

Future Content

• Added SM's for all fishing lures
• Polish in swap biome, around megatree manual cave, foliage, resources and decals, Purple Quad, DLC
• Adding correct PM to succulent trees and double checking harvest sound is correct
• Rendered Out New 2D Map For Prometheus, DLC
• Adjustments to transport pod levels and spacializing
• Adding Fishing Lure Meshes & Recipes
• PRO Missions: Various dialogue fixes, specifically additional audio lines played in 3-6 when selecting or landing on a mission
• added fish11 static meshes
• LC_MAC_02A - added static mesh with convex hull collision
• Added Static Meshs, materials, and textures for Fish09 with 4 texture variants
• Adding Fish Names to Fishing Stats
• Copied Fish01 into a new folder called Fish00 as a backup
• Adding Kumera, Rhubarb, Avocado & Strawberries to dynamic mission rewards, dev locked out for now
• Added BPs and voxel caches for LC,GL,SW,TU cave blockers (BP_VR_CaveWall_xx_01)
• Added Skeletal mesh, anim BP, control rig, and BP for Fish09
• Updated Skeletal mesh of Fish08 with root and origin at centre of fish
• Updates and improvements to transprort pod. Changed reward transport pod to play the correct flare sound and added cave EQ to events
• Rough Bestiary UI Update
• Adding metalic whistle to transport pod
• Added Skeletal Mesh, BP, AnimBP, and CtrlRig for Fish11 to the project
• PRO_Story_5: Update creature stats and AI. Add activation failsafes
• PRO_Story_2: Added dialogue delay
• Fixed Floating Impassable Over the Top of template cave and Moved some cliffs poking through caves on Blue and Green Quad, Prometheus
• Blended brakable resources with terrain in lava biome, polished around megatree manual cave, foliage, resources and decals, Purple Quad, DLC
• Making transport pod whistle down effect more seamless with the metal groan for better realism
• Adding in Bestiary UI shell and resizing widgets to fit
• Visual changes to bestiary fish page
• Added voxel blockers to BPs for LC,GL,SW,TU cave entrances (BP_CaveEntrance_xx_SML_0x)
• Adding in Bestiary UI shell and resizing widgets to fit
• Added Iridecent MF to MA_Cha
• added fish12 textures, materials and static meshes
• Updating Fish and Beast Page Sizes to Fit in the new bestiary size
• PRO_Story_5: Updating Mo Data Device
• LC Rocks - new textures and material tweaks for dolerite MF, adjusted texture scale for macros and cliffs
• Added Fishing lure icons into D_itemable
• Remove individual audio emitters from geothermal terrace actors. Ambient audio emitters will be added to represent groups of terraces
• Add bestiary tracking (feature locked to Galileo outside dev builds)
• Fix lava river RVT issues by reinitializing dynamic material instance in Lava Flow point actors at runtime
• PRO_Story_5: Configure final step area and detection method. Reduce power requirements
• Updated all existing fish to the same rig setup and updated anim BPs, control rigs and blueprints
• Adding unique transport pod ascend audio and distancing
• Adding Alterations and Stats to fishing Lures
• Adjusting speed in which the transport pods ascend so the audio doesn't sound as frantic - and so it also looks smoother. Renaming incorrect labelling of Blueprint
• Adding the Item Setup for Fish09
• Adding the Lure Icons to the Lure pack talents
• Adding a minimum scale value for fish
• PRO_Story_5: Removed extra collider, added health cap and quest step tracking
• Added text for fishing lures
• replaced a Macro mesh with variant (for better collision), added extra flow points to some lava rivers for more variation(WiP) - Purple Quad, Prometheus
• Added art assets for Fish16 and created animBP and ControlRig
• Fixed General Issues in template caves on Blue and Green Quad, Prometheus
• Adding unique transport pod land audio
• Replace SM Cave Entrances with BP Cave Entrances version in all Pro Cave Prefabs
• More visual changes to bestiary and fish page
• Edited all underwater rocks material and LOD in desert biome with updated texture, Green and Blue Quad, Oly
• Adding small adjustment to transport pod sonic boom
• Changed Bestiary button hover visuals on side bar
• Added skeletal mesh, anim BP, and control rig for Fish12
• Replaced main grass type in GL biome in order to disable terrain blending
• Adding damage and impulse to BP_Transport_Pod_Base.uasset on take off event
• Adding crafted sound to exotic cleaning device data table
• Adding Prometheus Mission 0
• Fixing Prometheus Mission 3 Recipe Collect Step
• Adjusting Prometheus Mission Talent Layout
• Dropship no longer gives Prometheus mission 1, now the t2 communicator does
• Added ITM_Rhubarb, including an in-hand version, as well as added alll HRB_Rhubarb textures to their proper texture LOD groups
• Adding the anchorerd behaviour to the bat dog
• Fixing up Dialogue Ordering in Prometheus Mission 1
• Added mesh, textures, materials and Voxel BP for Ice Cave blocker
• Setup Medium Tree rewards for a number of mid sized tree resource nodes
• Adding unique crafted sound for the exotic processor
• Adding Fish 11 & 16 Meshes
• Added new button material for bestiary.
• Changed thickness of button border animation and added animated pattern background to bestiary
• Updated rock dog vomit audio with better tonal characteristics for in game
• PRO_Story_5: Fix quest step and dialogue, add speed to animal. - Allowed configuration on animal swarm focus
• Quick pass of bestiary tags
• Quick setup of remanining bestiary creatures
• Lots of in actual map / mission transport pod spacializer adjustments and eq fine tuning
• Added SM_Wall_Win_DBL_Wood_R, Added T_Wall_Win_DBL_Wood_R_AO, Added M_Wall_Win_DBL_Wood_R_Kit_A & M_Wall_Win_DBL_Wood_R_Kit_B
• Fixed General Issues in template caves on Blue and Green Quad, Prometheus
• Added Needler spike item and ranged attack.
• Added first pass Needler behaviour set
• Add some cheat functions to bestiary tracking (internal only)
• Add bestiary fishing tracking (feature locked to Galileo outside dev builds)
• Added cliffs on all macros' base in Grasslands and Tundra, Green Quad, DLC
• tweaks to material for GL_AspenLeaves decal
• More micro adjustments to eq balance and distancing of transport pods. Sitting about right now. May separate hydraulic layer to only be audible close up
• Adding spolights to BP_Transport_Pod_Base.uasset, adding material for faux lightsource
• Fixing light position on Pod_Base Child actor BP_Exotic_Transport_Pod.uasset
• More fine tuning to transport pod. Better distance eqing for the start up ascend etc. Also adjusted start position of audio on flares
• Adding unique transport pod alarm audio event and BP implementation
• Collision and LOD pass for all existing fish assets. Updated texture groups on all fish textures. Updated the name of the static mesh for fish 4,5, and 6 from SK to SM
• Adding camera shake to BP_Transport_Pod_Base.uasset ascend event
• PRO_Story_2 and 3: Fixed starting dialogue.
• PRO_Story_5: Optimized end step, fixed creature detection
• Fixing timeline on BP_Transport_Pod_Base.uasset
• PRO_Story_5: Minor tweaks, audio dialogue priority fixes
• Updated importance of creature death audio
• Added fallen leaves decal under aspen trees (WIP) - Green Quad, Prometheus
• Adding unique transport pod alarm start and simulating speaker for long alarm
• Added cliffs Around Inner Macro Cliffs in the Blue Quad, Prometheus
• Added Hammer_Obsidian, Axe_Obsidian and Knife_Obsidian
• Added cliffs on all macros' base in Grasslands and Tundra, Green and Yellow Quad, DLC
• Added Kumara, Avocado, Rhubarb and Strawberry recipes for future patches
• Adding needler shoot spike audio, spike fly event and spike impact event
• Added fallen leaves decal under aspen trees - Green Quad, Prometheus
• Adding trail effect to BP_Transport_Pod_Base.uasset on descend
• Adjustments to transprort pod distancing and TP alarm distancing
• Added title, changed button borders in Bestiary
• Adjustments and addition to the lava river audio based on visual updates
• Added cliffs on macros base in Swamp & Volcanic, Green & Purple Quad, DLC
• Added cliffs Around Inner Macro Cliffs and Voxels in the Blue Quad, Prometheus
• Potentially fixed issue with prebuilt structures not loading correctly in non-editor play sessions
• Adding Carved Wood Decoration Set of Items, setup of Items, Meshes, Recipes and feature locked out
• Add a very basic popup for bestiary tracking in XP bar- Killed Group N of M (Galileo feature locked)
• Delay Lichen billboard switch
• Increase FlattenFadeInstance so billboard transition is less abrupt
• Edited all underwater rocks material and LOD in desert biome with updated texture, Red and Yellow Quad, Styx
• Added most of the creature images to bestiary data table
• Adding dialogue to transport pod ascend
• Adjusting and adding to lava river, and also adjusted rockdog vomit audio volume and spacial
• Updated the naming of the Fish05 and Fish06 control rigs to have the correct fish number
• Update weight and stacks for new recipes.
• Update Salt meshable to use salt mesh rather than wood mesh
• Update waterfall generation to allow for lava waterfalls, and slight refactor of waterfall BPs for sanity
• Lava waterfall audio implementation - SFX still to come
• Small reduction in volume to transport pod descend based on proximity
• Improving dialogue on transport pod ascend
• Tweaked Needler retreat behaviours.
• Needler now aborts persuit if enough damage is taken.
• Added LookAt Control Rig for NeedleCroc.
• Added support for blending out creature LookAt alpha using anim curves.
• Reduced Needler turn speed during combat
• Added aditional fishing mechanics, UI has been replaced by a projection widget, added ability to switch between lures that effect the stats of your fish, removed the ability to instantly reel in the fish to catch it (now resets the game and destroys the fish)
• Updating to new Creature Bestiary Page Layout
• Updating Bestiary UI and Modifying Data Structure, splitting widgets out into seperate ones to reduce complexity
• Needlers now take into account target velocity and distance when firing their projectiles
• Added cliffs on macros base in Swamp & Volcanic, Purple Quad, DLC
• Adding Lava waterfall bottom / splash audio event and BP imp
• Added cliffs on macros base in Swamp Biome, Blue Quad, DLC
• Made Needler projectile spread more horizontal and less vertical, increased projectile count per ranged attack, increased projectile inaccuracy
• Add bestiary progress tracking with weighted scores for kill, kill boss, killed by, skin, skin with trophy knife (feature locked to Galileo outside dev builds)
• Improved Needler physics asset

Hi everyone, I’m late to the party this year! Every year as June approaches, I update my guides (What You Should Wear to Bonnaroo and How to Camp at Bonnaroo) with your comments from the previous year's posts and it has slowly grown!! I decided to compile both versions into one giant guide, and present to you: How to Bonnaroo, a Guide Vol. 4
\**NOTE - I have only ever done GA Camping, but there are still tips for all kinds of campers. I also realized after finally returning to The Farm last year, that there are likely holes of information that need to be updated with all the changes… Help me fill those in and leave your best pro tips to be written next year!! HAPPY ROO!!*
What you should wear to Bonnaroo: First of all, and most importantly, you should wear whatever you want to wear. People wear a variety of clothing at Bonnaroo… from rave gear, to full-on outfits, to t-shirts, to jerseys, to costumes, to toplessness. There is no right or wrong! The best recommendation is to DRESS FOR YOUR ROO. The days are long, and the weather is hot (and sometimes cold at night), there are 15+ hours of music daily and activities spread amongst miles of Farm. If you are planning to run all over and catch as many sets as possible, dress for comfort. Bring your cute outfit or two that you really want to wear for a photo, or to your favorite artist’s set, but then plan to change. Preparation really is key, but us Reddit Roovians got you, so let’s get into it!!!
PREPARE FOR ALL CONDITIONS. Pack sunscreen for the love of god, bring a hydration pack, and decide whether you want a rain jacket, poncho, or are cool with getting wet so be it. Bring a pair of sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and a long sleeve t-shirt. It can get shockingly cold at night and it’s nice to have options. At some point you’ll want to be cozy!!! Keep some warm clothes inside of your tent, then you won’t have to dig through your car trying to find them when you wake up in the middle of the night shivering.
PACKING. If you’ve planned an outfit, pack them separately to keep things quick/organized (like a gallon ziploc or Walmart sack). Overpack some practical clothes and keep them in a laundry basket. Maybe you don’t feel like wearing that planned outfit one day, maybe you get wet (rain, water slide, surprise champagne shower), maybe you get dirty and want to put on fresh clothing. Sunrise sets play until almost 5am, think about how many hours you’ll be wearing the same clothes! Bring 2-3 outfits per day, and if you can, purchase a locker! They’re a great place to store that extra outfit, sweatshirt, pair of shoes, etc. Remember, your campsite could be a 2+ mile round trip side adventure!
FOOT PROTECTION. In 2019 I walked 65 miles, and in 2022 I walked 54 miles, so you need to plan your footwear appropriately… and better yet, go above and beyond!!! Wear in your shoes and make sure they have good soles. Consider packing multiple types of shoes if you have space so you can change them. On god my favorite shoes to wear at Roo are Crocs, otherwise hiking boots or tennis shoes. A pair of flip-flops for mornings at camp are also key! Shoe inserts are another option you can look into. Pack band-aids, moleskin, cleaning/treating supplies, and thick socks (2 pairs per day). Be a pro, don’t wait to protect your feet until the damage is already done, I legit allocate 15mins of my morning to doctoring them. Med Tents will also give you band-aids and cleaning supplies!! PRO TIP: pack a designated feet soaking bowl and bring some epsom salt and/or do a ice water soak with that cooler water you’re about to dump! You can also freeze a canned good/water bottle and roll that under your foot #treatyofeet
EAR PROTECTION. Please wear it, please!!! There are so many brands now that make quality earplugs in a range of affordability. They do not drown out sound, I actually think they make it better. I use Eargasms.
PREPARE FOR CHAFING. Ladies, wear some biker shorts or fishnets. Gentlemen, pack that gold bond. Other recommendations: Body Glide and Boundreaux’s Butt Paste (a diaper rash cream that you can “slather on the inside of your thighs and walk in cool comfort”).
MASKS. Back in the day, the experts knew to wear a mask (or bandana) walking around Bonnaroo. There is seriously so much dust being kicked around, you’ll have a sore throat by day 3 and black boogers every night. The Other Stage was a dust storm by Sunday… bring something to cover your mouth, or be cool with swallowing mouthfuls of dirt.
LONG HAIR. I was unprepared to deal with my hair at my first Bonnaroo. It was knotted and thrown up in a bun by Saturday and Sunday. Pack some detangler, don’t forget a brush, maybe bring a small one for your backpack, and force yourself to deal with it before it gets worse. Don’t be afraid to ask someone to braid your hair around camp, someone would be delighted to do it for you! Keep a hair tie on your wrist at all times and extras in your fanny pack… one time a girl took a bobby pin out of her own hair for me haha! Fellas, if you have long hair, bring a sweatband.
Listen, don’t get me wrong… everyone at Bonnaroo looks ~cute as hell~ but the tenured attendees aren’t treating it like a fashion show, especially if they’re camping. Bring your favorite clothing… pack whatever brings you comfort. Your favorite t-shirt or Hawaiian shirt, anything with a trippy pattern, biker shorts and a bralette, and you’ll be good to go I promise! If you’re interested in purchasing Rave attire… check for local shops on Etsy and/or TikTok, shop at thrift stores for unique finds or look on Amazon! There are bigger brands like iHeartRaves and Dolls Kill, too.
While we’re at it, let’s knockout Showers & Bathrooms...
SHOWERING. You have a couple of options here:

1. TIER 1 - Pay for a shower. Showers are available at most PLAZA locations and are in private stalls. They cost $10 during peak hours and $5 during “happy hour” (unless they change the pricing). For those that have been keeping up, I finally paid for my first (and second) shower at Bonnaroo y’all… and I have to say, both were totally worth it. I stomped my hungover ass over there with a caddy of supplies and floated my way back to camp wrapped in a towel with a hair turban thrown on, and it was glorious.
2. TIER 2 - Buy a portable shower to set-up at camp. Here are basic, medium, pro examples of portable showers. This will require fetching water, or if you have space, bring gallons of water with you. They are cheap and if you keep them on the roof of your car, they will keep warm throughout the day for showers. You can also use these to brush your teeth and wash your hands without wasting your drinking water!
3. Tier 3 - Take an Italian shower… body wipes, face wipes, vagina wipes (yes), deodorant, dry shampoo, etc. It gets the job done, isn’t time consuming, and no one can tell the difference between today’s and yesterday’s dirt.

A WORD ABOUT NUDITY. Just be considerate about it, lol. Swimsuits are an option if you’re worried, which are honestly comfortable to hang out in at camp when it’s hot AF, but it’s easier said than done to wiggle into a leotard behind a tapestry flowing with the wind.
GOING TO THE BATHROOM. I can’t have fun until I know I can safely take a shit, ok? It is what it is.
Last year there were porta potties that had metal doors and flushed near the campgrounds. They were still hot, but nicer than regular porta potties. However, they always had longer lines in the morning because they’re in more populous locations. If you can muster up the regular ole porta potty, I didn’t think they were too bad last year, but that could’ve been a low attendance thing. PRO TIP - bring your own roll of toilet paper and wet wipes, and don’t be afraid to yell out for TP if you need it… been there, done that!
In 2019 there were wristbands you could buy to access a regularly cleaned, better-than-a-normal-porta-potty porta potty, with a sink and air conditioning but I didn’t notice them in 2022? If you do see them, snag a wristband at the beginning of the weekend to squeeze every penny! This was a great place to wash your face and take care of other hygiene-related items, but they did have 3 stalls so aren’t entirely private.
In Centeroo, you’re looking at the same options here, but the key is to get familiar with all the bathrooms as your preferences and priorities will ebb and flow in this regard. Are you peeing for the second time during a set because you chugged a water or are you needing to take a minute and contemplate life? You don’t want to be frantic when the spicy pie hits… but you also don’t need to worry about letting everyone in line know that you’re going to shit your pants if you don’t get on a toilet ASAP, because everyone will gladly let you go… again, been there, done that (and you can also sneak in through the back if needed). For the love of god, please make sure the bathrooms in the back are taken. You can politely check if there are feet in a stall, most of the time 25% of stalls are unused and we’re standing there for no reason.
Last year the Where in the Woods bathrooms were DISGUSTING, as in I could smell them from 20 feet away, and I ended up walking to the closet camp bathrooms. Something to keep in mind but hopefully we see some improvement.
FINALLY, a pro tip for my ladies… I highly suggest purchasing some funnels, they changed my life. Just trust me on this one! There are one-time use and reusable options, and I use these: Pee Buddy. Fuck walking to the bathroom everytime you need to pee at camp once you’ve broken the seal, and tbh, once you get comfortable, fuck sitting on a porta potty at all when avoidable. These knees ain't made for squatting no more.
How to camp at Bonnaroo: If you’re worried about camping, don’t be, it’s a big part of the Bonnaroo experience and fun! You can do it!!!
GET YOUR MIND RIGHT. In 2019 I waited in the Hellsboro line for 16 hrs and got a less-than-desirable-camping-location, and I was not happy about it. BUT it turned out to be quiet, close to the bathrooms (but not too close), and we somehow managed to get an end-of-row spot. In 2022 I waited in NO car line, had a close location, and great neighbors… but it was a 120-degree sweltering heatwave, and legit still in the 90’s going to sleep for two days. We hunkered down under the canopy, wore swimsuits, played games and got through it. Your neighbors will take care of you, and you’ll take care of them… maybe you won’t interact at all. You’ll land where you’re meant to be, go into it with that mindset. Perhaps you’re camped by a “DJ” who blasts music all night, but once the weekend is said and done, it’ll all be a part of your beautiful memories and your “that one time, at Bonaroo'' stories, so embrace the adversities and go with the flow.
GET TO KNOW THE AREA AROUND YOUR CAMPGROUND. Is there a plaza close by? What amenities are offered there? Where are the closest bathrooms? Is there food nearby? Being familiar with your camp surroundings early on will set you up for success. It is especially important to know your pod number and to define some landmarks that can help find your campsite/row (unique flag, tapestry, etc.)
SAFETY MEASUREMENTS. Introduce yourself to your neighbors. Always keep your valuables locked in your car when you aren’t at camp, and bring an extra set of keys with you! If you are participating in “ACTIVITIES,” be weary of your surroundings and use good judgment.
BARE MINIMUM NEEDS

1. Canopy. You NEED shade, and heavy duty stakes to hold it down… we don’t want that bitch floating away, AND IT WILL. Use a rubber mallet to get those stakes deep in the ground. There has been debate on whether mallets are allowed, but I’ve never had an issue getting mine in?
2. Canopy Walls. This provides extra shade and privacy when needed. A lot of people use sheets or tapestries. You can also use shower curtains (the rings allow you to open/close them as you please).
3. Sleeping Arrangements. I always use a tent (don’t forget your tent roof, poles, and stakes!), with an air mattress, fitted sheet, pillow, and blankets. HOWEVER, lots of people are quick to share that a cot or hammock are much breezier options as it does tend to get stuffy in your tent once the sun comes up. If you choose to go the cot/hammock route, make sure you bring warm clothes or a blanket in case it gets cold at night. If you are balling on a budget, I’ve known people to take their hammocks to The Grove and sleep. I’m a late night raver, so I expect to get 5 solid hours of sleep each night, and then usually take a power nap somewhere shady inside of Centeroo!

The weekend will be long, but if you have these items, you can survive! The OZARK brand from Walmart is durable and affordable if you need any of them. Consider practicing your set-up if you aren’t already comfortable setting up a canopy and tent… if you need help, ask your neighbors!
OTHER ESSENTIAL ITEMS

1. Tarps (to keep dirt away or to keep your stuff dry)
2. Flashlights (your campsite will be really dark at night)
3. A portable fan with extra batteries (I have THIS one)
4. Beach chairs, or something else to sit on, and a table.
5. Squishy ear plugs that are comfortable to sleep in!
6. A power inverter (only turn your car on when needed and be mindful of carbon monoxide poisoning!)
7. A Bluetooth speaker to play some relaxing tunes at a low volume (because we’re respectable people) in your tent to help drown out noise and bust it out during the day for entertainment while you get ready!

COOLERS & COOKING/FOOD.
Unless camping is a larger part of your experience, stick to the basics when it comes to cooking. Breakfast and late-night snacks are the most practical to cook, and cooking at the beginning of the weekend to save money. You most likely won’t want to return to camp for lunch and there’s so many yummy vendors to try out!!!
Make sure everything you bring is high in protein or has nutritional value. Consider your perishables or plan to eat them early in the weekend. Handle as much preparation as possible beforehand… chop everything, season everything, mix everything. Pre-crack your eggs into a bottle so you don’t have to worry about them breaking! Protect your food with sealable containers, or vacuum seal it, so cooler water doesn’t ruin your food.
I have THIS portable stove top that uses butane, and pack a cast iron, nonstick skillet, and utensils to get the job done.
Things that are pre-made, like Uncrustables (PB&J) and Spaghetti O’s (only needs to be warmed) will save you time, and snacks like Cliff Bars or Beef Jerky are filling. If possible, use pre-cooked meals like packaged grilled chicken or salami to throw in a wrap or sandwich, you can pre-shred some rotisserie chicken too! Bags of frozen veggies are easy to heat up or bring bags or raw veggies and individual hummus packets for a fresh snack. Peanut butter is easy to put on anything. Collect sauce packets from restaurants – they are easier to bring than entire bottles, plus glass isn’t allowed inside!
Don’t forget to clean-up with… dish towels, Clorox wipes, extra water, etc. and beware of ants!!! Take out your trash daily.
Let’s talk about coolers… do some preliminary work so you don’t waste what you bring, and consider using multiple coolers if you have space. Perhaps a large/small cooler, or a food cooler and a drink cooler, as your drink cooler is likely to be opened more and it’s more critical to keep your food cold. Pre-chill your cooler the night before you leave with a bag of ice, and then add new ice with your food/drinks (which should all be cool/cold/frozen beforehand, too). A lot of people recommend using dry ice, but be sure you know how to handle it.
A word about alcohol: you can’t carry alcohol into Centeroo, but at camp each individual may bring in 2 cases of beer, 1.75 liter of hard liquor, and 2 boxes of wine. No kegs are allowed and no glass whatsoever. Also, the Craft Beer Exchange is really fun if that’s your thing!!!
BRING PLENTY OF HYDRATION. Liquid IVs are great and Pedialyte is a fan favorite, although I can’t stand the thickness of it, haha.
CONCLUSION. If you made it this far, thanks for reading, and if you’re feeling intimated, just remember… This post is 4-years of experience, written in my comedic style with other commenter’s pro tips weaved into my personal stories. No matter how much you plan, something unexpected you’re unprepared for will happen, and you’ll deal with it. Don’t be fooled, we’re all out there just trying to survive and having the best time of our lives!!!

Before I start, here is some background information about the character:
Name: Mist
Age: Around 6 or 7, the Rainwings don't keep track of that very well.
Tribe: Seawings/Rainwings
Abilities: glowing scales, rainwing camouflage, capable of breathing out a venom-laced mist cloud that she is not harmed by, seawing gills, etc.
This character was originally created as a drawing on paper that I may post when I finish the story. I'm very proud of this OC and that is why Mist gets her own backstory. (By the way, This takes place at roughly the same time as the first arc, although it probably won't interact with that plotline too much.)
PROLOGUE:
The water in the cove rippled slightly as a large Seawing swam silently to the shore. She emerged cautiously, bleeding from multiple small cuts and scrapes. "I managed to rescue our egg," she whispered into the night. "Good," said a voice from atop a nearby boulder, and a few seconds later, a green rainwing faded into view. "Now, how do we make sure it stays safe this time?" "I don't know," replied the Seawing, "but if I don't return soon, the guards will realize I'm gone and send someone after me." "I'm sorry," she continued, "but you will have to raise them by yourself, at least for now. Maybe take the egg back to the rainforest with you?"
She was right, the thought reluctantly. The other Rainwings probably wouldn't notice an extra egg in the hatchery anyways, and if they did they wouldn't care. There were rumors of a blue, glowing shape seen exiting the hatchery a few months ago, but none of the Rainwings cared enough to investigate it. "Okay," he said at last, "but you need to come find us as soon as you can. It will be impossible to find time to meet you here if I have to care for a dragonet as well, especially a hybrid. It will attract attention and curiosity, which will extend to me as well." The conversation was interrupted by a distant voice. "Commander Tempest?" it called faintly, "Are you out there?"
"I need to go! Now!" whispered the seawing, handing the Rainwing the indigo egg that contained their future dragonet. "I will try to return when I have a break from my duties as a general," she promised, then paused and added, "I love you, stay safe. For your sake and mine." Then she turned around, swam out to sea, and was never seen on the continent again.
​
Part 1:
Mist always knew she was different from the other Rainwing dragonets in the village. While they practiced venom shooting, she would sit in the shadows and watch silently. Honestly, she was a bit jealous of them. What good were these fangs if they couldn't even spray venom, one of the best Rainwing abilities?
She often felt like she wasn't much of a Rainwing at all. She never really liked sun time, finding the shade much more cool and refreshing. Despite this, she was able to camouflage quite well, as long as she didn't get excited or upset. She didn't even have a normal Rainwing name like her father, Lime.
Mist was a powerfully built Rainwing, with indigo scales, blue-green wings, and webbing down her back and between her talons. She also had glowing scales scattered across her body. The other rainwings would often stare at her, even though they had seen her hundreds of times before. They seemed to be endlessly curious about anything that looked even remotely different from them! Why couldn't they just leave her-
Her thoughts were interrupted by her friend Mango bumping her wing to get her attention. "Hey Mist, we need to go, remember? We can't be late for our fruit gathering lesson!" Mist sighed, mildly frustrated. Fruit gathering lessons with Mangrove had been rather dreary since Orchid had vanished. "Another boring lesson for another boring day," she thought as she and Mango began gliding through the trees to where they knew Mangrove would be waiting. Little did she know, everything was about to change.

Dear Uncle Ben,
I live in a high and dry environment. I try to mist appropriately after spawning to bulk but the mycelium bruises quite easily and the substrate gets super dry. Typically I can get a large amount of side pins but i cant for the life of me keep the cake moist and not bruise the mycelium.
Ive had some luck just leaving the grain in the 5 gallon bucket of extra field capacity coir and leaving it alone but my shoeboxes really struggle.
What do?
Sincerely, Dryguy

I realize I'm asking an almost semantically question here. But it just bothers me when I've heard people say that the Americas aren't really one big landmass because of the Panama canal or if they are its only because of man made bridges. I've heard the same argument for the suez canal with Africa and Eurasia. But by this logic shouldn't most major landmasses be carved up because large rivers and their tributaries technically make them islands? Both of these lines of reasoning bother me. I think we should either base this off whether the body of water carves through the landmass at the nearest sea level or we just don't count bodies of water that aren't wide enough. The former reason is more logical than the latter. If rivers or canals carve through land but they follow the natural altitude of the surrounding land then its still the same landmass just with some extra water at the surface. For the latter reason I just think is two large landmasses are so close they're only separated by a few dozen meters of water then they might as well be the same landmass. I know that may not a sound argument that's just how I feel lol.

Tldr at the bottom.
Dear Riot Games Champion Balance Team, and more specifically u/PhreakRiot,
As you know, the recent and numerous changes to Azir have been received somewhat contentiously by the community of Azir mains, while being received fairly well by the League of Legends community overall. I would like to take this time to explain, from the perspective of an Azir main, why these changes are found to be contentious, and ideally, provide some ideas for alternate solutions. Instead of diving into the issues immediately, I would like to establish some (rather extensive) basic information on this champion, specifically within the context of this game. To begin, let’s discuss the reasons behind why someone might choose to dedicate multiple hundreds of hours into this champion.
A player may initially be inspired to play Azir for any number of reasons: watching Worlds; seeing a montage compilation; simple interest in the champion’s thematics. In order to stay invested, however, multiple factors must align, the most important of which I believe to be (but are not necessarily limited to): 1. Thematics.

1. Playstyle.
   
2. Prestige.
   

Let’s discuss these, in that order. Please keep in mind that having only one of these things done right is almost never enough to keep players playing that one champion for years on end.
Thematics
In many dev posts, it has been discussed that the most important factor for choosing a main is finding a champion who resonates with the player and to whom the player feels connected.
In Azir’s particular case, Shurima is obviously the region of Runeterra most akin to Ancient Egypt. Shurima is, in fact, the region that appeals the most to anyone interested in any Classical or Ancient myths, since it not only contains references to Egyptian deities such as Anubis, Sobek, and Ra (or Horus, or both, depending on how old the myths are), but also Greek ones such as Medusa, and Celtic ones such as The Morrigan. In particular, in Runeterran lore, Azir appeals specifically to players who enjoy commanding an army, being an emperor, and anyone with a sufficient appreciation for a tragic backstory. Obviously, you know all this, and your choice in thematics was excellent.
Playstyle
Some people enjoy taking damage for the team and enabling team fights. Some wish to be the sole reason someone stays alive against all odds, even if they don’t get credit for it. Yet others wish to hide in the shadows and dispatch their enemies with blinding speed and ferocity.
In explanations of Azir’s playstyle, I have seen a great many oversimplifications. Among these are statements such as ‘he’s a magic-damage ADC’, ‘his main playstyle can be simplified to the un-interactive W->Q->AA combo’, or ‘he’s a battlemage’. None of these are correct. To begin with, there is the issue of the class to which he belongs. He is not a battlemage, nor a marksman, nor a poke mage. He belongs to an archaic class of champions called Zoners that is no longer recognized by Riot’s in-client explanations. This class has since been renamed as ‘Specialists’, but has been expanded to include other non-standard champions, such as Elise, a diveassassin hybrid. As many people have correctly pointed out, when Azir sets down a soldier, he designates a no-go zone for the opposing team, and can make entire swaths of a battlefield impassable to enemies. But unlike a battlemage, being anywhere within an Azir’s range is not terrifying. Azir only has pressure where his soldiers are, and they cannot occupy his entire range at once. Azir differs from other zoners like Heimerdinger in that his zone of control on a single button-press is smaller, but with a longer range, and is movable. This makes him harder to play, since unlike other zoners, Azir can’t just be safe inside his zone, or put it between him and the enemy and expect to be safe; that is, a large portion of his power budget is allocated to his zone of control being movable--and the complexity of his kit comes from knowing when, how, why, and even if that zone should be moved, for a myriad of different situations. Another point in how Azir differs from other zoners is that instead of being relegated to only zoning, Azir can, and does, poke, engage, and deal constant damage. In fact, a very significant portion of the appeal of this champion’s playstyle is the diversity of options his abilities give you.
Prestige
Everyone can obtain enjoyment from their champion choices--whether that be from the self-satisfaction of feeling at one with their character, getting out of impossible situations alive, or completely outplaying their opponents. In the case of prestige, this traditionally comes from having a high rank, having high mastery points, or having high Eternals. In the specific case of Azir, there are two extra things that add to this prestige: Being an emperor of the (previously) most powerful nation in Runeterra and being one of the single most powerful (previously) humans to have lived; and from a non-lore perspective, being one of, if not the single-most, complex and hardest-to-master champions in the entirety of League of Legends, and therefore sharing a love of your champion with some of the most famous professional players in the game.
With all of this out of the way, let’s finally get around to discussing what’s wrong with the recent changes to Azir’s kit. There were three main goals, with an overarching primary objective. The objective was to significantly reduce his presence in professional play (and hopefully make him more accessible to the average player); while the goals were to make his passive feel useful, to reduce Q spam, and to keep him as a high-dps champion as compensation. How, then, do these changes relate to the above three points on why people one-trick certain champions? In the case of thematics, it doesn’t relate at all, since the thematics haven’t been touched. But it severely affects the other two.
The first and most obvious problem is that forcing a W-max playstyle simply does not work the intended way. Yes, in theory, maxing W first with the new bonus damage gives the same amount of damage per second, even without the attack speed. However, Azir was not, (and is not!) supposed to be an ADC that does magic damage. Azir’s W designates an area on the ground where his AA’s receive bonus damage; but in contrast to a Sivir W, that pressure only exists within a limited space, instead of anywhere within the champion’s AA range. What this means is that despite buffing W damage, the enemy can simply walk away, even while inside Azir’s theoretical threat bubble, because another charge of W isn’t up for at least 4 seconds, and Azir can’t drop a soldier anywhere he can AA anyway--in order for a soldier to be at max AA range, you have to use Q--which then means you can’t move your zone of control after. Since W lost the attack speed, this means that you can AA an opponent (hopefully) twice before they move out of the way; whereas previously, with 5 points in W, you could get 3 AA’s off. An ADC would simply get a buff to their AAs anywhere within their range, which basically means that this causes Azir to be a worse version of an ADC. This is plainly and simply explained by one fact: Azir is not an ADC, he is a zoner.
In order to reduce Q spam, it has its damage lowered, its cooldown nerfed, its range reduced, and its effective cooldown lowered on top of that. The reason that this is such a huge problem is that despite the dev team wanting players to choose to max W, Azir is not an ADC, he is a zoner. Similarly, Azir is not a poke mage, he is a zoner. Azir has as much range as he does because he cannot effectively pressure everywhere inside his range at the same time, unlike an ADC, and since he is very squishy and immobile (yes, immobile--having just one single 20-second-cooldown interruptible and body-blockable dash does not make him mobile), he cannot hope to survive a close-quarters engagement with any tank, fighter, or slayer. Because of being a zoner, and having a significant portion of his power budget allocated to being able to move that zone, his W and his Q are fundamentally linked to each other. Orianna (an AOE burst mage who is as close to a zoner [due to being a puppet master] as you can get) has a low cooldown on her Q (her zone-moving ability) because no one would go near her ball if she couldn’t move it. In fact, she even maxes Q first to move it more frequently. Heimerdinger stores charges of his turrets because his only method of zoning is with those turrets--if he didn’t have extra charges to enable him to effectively change the shape and size of his zone, he would have no pressure the second he had to move. As mentioned, to fully use Azir’s range for zone control, you must use Q. But unlike Heimerdinger, Azir’s soldiers have very small radii: so by increasing the cooldown of Q, the total area that Azir can control (and can threaten to control) is reduced exponentially, additionally because the slow on Q (and on Rylai’s, should you choose to buy it) helps keep enemies in his zone for longer, and fewer Q’s mean fewer slows. Furthermore, by making Q cost so much, it becomes almost worthless to move the soldiers around: a higher cost means you can’t use it as often (lest you run out of mana), and therefore directly reduces your options--which makes his decision tree for a fight much simpler: just drop another soldier and hope the enemy stands there. That means that nerfing the Q in this manner not only detracts from playstyle, but also hurts the prestige that one feels from mastering the complex decision tree of Azir’s options within a fight.
Why do the options matter, anyway? As mentioned, Azir is extremely versatile. He can poke, engage, zone, and dps. He can do it all! And that’s one of the main attractive points about playing him. But unlike other champions, he can’t do it all at the same time. Yone can gap-close like an assassin, chain cc you for 3 seconds like a tank, and win in an extended fight like a skirmisher, all at the same time. Viego can quite literally do anything, while having a resetting gap-close to continue his own variety of pressure even after discarding a soul. But Azir’s true skill lies in knowing which option to pick, because you can only do one. If you use your Q for poke, you must play safe because your escape is extremely limited; if you play for dps, you must hold your Q to chase the opponent; and if you engage, it must be perfect, because none of your soldiers will be in the right spot to poke or dps afterward, even with a low Q cooldown. So not only does making W max be the optimal path reduce his decision tree within a fight, it also reduces his options for how to approach a fight in the first place, thus lowering his complexity and versatility, and reducing the will to play him. And again, unlike newer champions, despite being able to do everything, Azir still has to commit to one plan, and therein lies the difficulty (and prestige) of choosing the right one. There’s also the lack of attack speed on his W: Azir’s zone control takes time to reach maximum capacity. His damage is back-loaded because of this, and having the extra attack speed after waiting for so long rewards the player for having committed to a single play, and for having survived for 10 seconds with that plan against bursty assassins and tanks who can cc you for that long. So again, the reason these changes feel so horrible to seasoned Azir mains are because Azir is neither an ADC, nor a poke mage, he is a versatile zoner. And to limit his options like this makes him neither versatile, nor a zoner.
To summarise, turning Azir into a (very ineffective) ADC reduces not only his versatility, complexity, and effectiveness, but fundamentally alters his playstyle into that of an entirely different class. This hurts the players who chose him because 2 of their core reasons for playing him, the playstyle (a zoner jack-of-all trades, master of one at a time), and the prestige (being an emperor who demonstrates his will on the battlefield by zone control, and more importantly, being one of, if not the single most difficult champions in the whole game) are drastically reduced.
How, then, can Azir be fixed? I see two main ways.
Firstly, change his numbers to be like Orianna. His Q is vital to his functionality, because it allows him to use his range and to properly shift his zone control like he’s meant to. If the poke is that much of a problem, reduce the damage on it. But the mana cost needs to stay low and the cooldown needs to be low before hitting level 13, else you risk hurting his core capabilities. He isn’t a poke mage, so he doesn’t need to one-shot the enemy from max range. But he does have to be able to use that range without losing a third of his mana bar to do it.
Secondly (and this is the one I would choose), is simply revert him. Balance his numbers based on professional play. Azir mains already know that their champion is weak in solo queue because of pro play. The wish to master him and do what the pros do is what drives us to play this champion so avidly in the first place--going back to the playstyle and prestige factors again. It’s worth noting that seeing Azir in pro play isn’t actually boring--he’s a very flashy champion with worlds of skill expression. What’s boring is watching certain opponents farm and scale while barely enabling their jungler’s ganks. As you will have noticed by the most recent Worlds, everyone loves seeing Azirs pitted against Sylases and Akalis.
Thank you for taking the time to read this monster of a letter. I hope there were nuances in there that only an Azir main could provide. I further hope you have found this insightful, and that you can take this information into careful consideration to help you clarify a path forward on this favourite champion of mine.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Falcon
​
Tldr: Turning Azir into a (very ineffective) ADC reduces not only his versatility, complexity, and effectiveness, but fundamentally alters his playstyle and reduces player enjoyment. To fix this, change his numbers to be like Orianna, or revert him and balance him based on pro play.

It's kind of insane to see all this play out in the last year.

Take a look at these 2 offerings from Netflix and how much online discourse has grown in just a span of 4 years.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Remember this made for Netflix movie? Released literally 2 days after Crazy Rich Asians made its premiere, it elicited quite the response from Asian American audiences.
One of the biggest topic of note was the protagonist's love interests consisting of 4 white males of the 5 "loves" and zero Asian male representation.
It really started with this article (dated August 18, 2018) from Indiewire and authocreator Jenny Han's quote:

“I understand the frustration and I share that frustration of wanting to see more Asian-American men in media,” she said. “For this, all I can say is this is the story that I wrote.”

You can argue and make the case (back then) that Han had a reasonable answer for the lack of Asian male rep in her film. She's also stated this in the same article:

“More means more representation, more viewpoints, more stories, and I want to see that. I think also, as I continue on and get more clout, I’m committed to that as well. So I do understand the animus behind [the criticism], and I do want to see that happen for people. I think it’s important to just keep pushing for more and to get the doors to open wider.”

Sounds pretty ok I guess?
Well, some Asian women in journalism decided this criticism was invalid and just a simple result of typical "angry, bitter Asian men".
First came this piece from Seventeen magazine (dated August 24, 2018) titled: Lana Condor Gets Real About The Racist Backlash Against "To All the Boys I've Loved Before"

"You are being racist unknowingly and continuing to put us in a box that we don’t need to be in. It’s really unfair. People should be able to love who they want to love. It’s offensive to me — you’re continuing to promote tribalism. So I can’t be with who I want to be with? These are probably the same people who have an issue with the LGBT community. It’s the same thing — you telling me who I can love is unfair," she said.

Then came this bizarre rant (dated September 9, 2018) titled "Peter Kavinsky Is White And I’m Glad"

It’s starting to feel like people are literally CANCELING OUT HALF OF WHO LARA JEAN IS, and I’m NOT OKAY WITH IT. My whole life I’ve struggled with never fitting in to one group or another, not being Asian enough for the Asians, being too Asian for the whites, and it’s total bullshit. Lara Jean and I are BOTH ASIAN AND WHITE. Being white does not cancel out being Asian, and being Asian does not cancel out being white. Does not cancel out the half of Lara Jean who is the exact same race as Peter Kavinsky.

Here's another one courtesy of BitchMedia (their own magazine title, dated September 11, 2018) titled "To All the Double Standards We’ve Seen Before" where writer Laura Sirikul frames the criticism of exclusion of Asian males in media a "double standard". She took note of the recent pairings of East Asian and South Asian men in media, but neglected to bring up the pairing of white male/asian female couplings that FAR exceeded any number of amxf pairings in the media. She also failed to examine the most recent trend of Asian women writers, directors, producers, creators, etc having a say in writing mainly love interests who are straight while males.

The very idea that every film featuring an Asian woman should include an Asian love interest reinforces the misguided notion that Asian women “belong” solely to Asian men.

Here's another think-piece courtesy of The Daily Cal (dated September 21, 2018), where the author almost has a grasp at the situation, then takes a hard right into familiar talking points.

Once “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” asserts the desirability of white men at the expense of Asian men, as other articles have also noted, it becomes impossible to ignore another phenomenon in the movie’s utopic world: There are no Asian men love interests. With the exception of queer, Black Lucas, all of Lara Jean’s five crushes are white. In fringe online forums with a barely tamped down “incel” bent, a growing number of Asian-American men spew their disgust and bitterness for WMAF (white male/Asian female) relationships. Asian women in these relationships are “white worshipping,” “self hating” and have “internalized racism against Asian men.” “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” is exactly the kind of movie they resent most.

Now... that's just a taste of what 2018 was like. That was also the same summer when a notable Asian American woman author wrote a piece in the Cut magazine about "mrazns". So yeah, back then you could write an entire article with basic premise of "Asian males are bad, here's 22 reasons why" and you'd get a front page stamp by any editor in town.
Now let's take a look at the latter half of 2022.
Partner Track
“Partner Track” falls short in its attempt at representation – El Estoque (September 22, 2022)

“To All the Boys I’ve Ever Loved Before” and “Partner Track” have strikingly similar plot threads: both Lara Jean and Ingrid Yun primarily pursue white male love interests. Even in the original book “Crazy Rich Asians,” Rachel Chu’s friend mentions that Rachel has never dated an Asian man before Nick. The trend of East Asian women ending up with white partners has occurred since the first instances of Asian representation in media — dating back to Chinese American actress Anna May Wong’s depiction of the sexually exotic Asian women in the silent film era. This issue is rooted in the fact that whiteness has always been implicitly perceived as superior in Western media — putting Asian women with white love interests plays into white superiority by portraying that only white men are deemed desirable, thus reinforcing racism against Asians.

Why aren't there more Asian couples depicted in mass media? – AsAmNews (September 23, 2022)

Users on social media have critiqued Partner Track for continuing the trope of pairing an Asian female lead with a White male love interest. According to Associate Professor and Chair of Sociology at San Diego State University Minjeong Kim, interracial relationships have been a significant part of Asian American history, owing to the migration patterns of Asian men and women. Anti-immigration laws that limited Asian women from migrating caused many Chinese immigrants to engage in relationships with women outside their race. Then later, Asian women were able to migrate as “war brides” and “mail-order brides.”
“Gina Marchetii’s 1994 book, Yellow Peril, looks at movies that came out in the early and mid-20th century, and even then, all you could see were Asian women with White men, and the underlying message that was delivered was how Asian characters are unassimilable. They are ‘too foreign’ to be incorporated into American society unless they are paired with White characters,” Kim said to AsAmNews. “This idea of ‘forever foreigners’ associated with Asian Americans was reinforced by these images.”
The frequency of the Asian woman and white male pairing, says Professor of Anthropology and Asian American Studies at Northwestern University Shalini Shankar, is also a reflection of male patriarchal power dynamics.
“My feeling [on this pairing] is really a mental vestige of either colonialism or imperialism because that is such a familiar trope from either U.S. conquests in East Asia … or Britsh colonialism in India and the Middle East. There is a longstanding occupation of White men in these countries interacting rightly or improperly with Asian women,” Shankar said to AsAmNews. “That sort of pairing is longstanding: you never see the opposite depicted. We’ve all been socialized to think this is normal. This is the way that the world has been taken over in terms of male patriarchal power dynamics and we haven’t transcended those patterns yet.”

Why Aren't There More Asian Couples On Screen? - Representasian Project (October 4, 2022)

“As Hollywood reckons with a lack of representation on screen and behind the scenes, having an Asian woman deciding between two white men [in ‘Partner Track’] left me wondering why there are so few Asian love stories on my TV.”
I understand that may seem small considering all the other challenges facing our protagonist. But as Hollywood reckons with a lack of representation on screen and behind the scenes, having an Asian woman deciding between two white men left me wondering why there are so few Asian love stories on my TV.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against dating outside one’s race. But at a time when the Asian community continues to grapple with racism and violence largely fuelled by the pandemic, having a love story between two Asian characters is something that should be celebrated and seen. What’s reflected on screen plays a role in normalizing our existence as Asian people as multifaceted beings. I can’t help but think Partner Track could have delivered much more.
Given their success, it’s clear there’s tons of appetite for Asian-led stories. But with the exception of Crazy Rich Asians, I can’t help but notice the common trope of pairing Asian women with white love interests. And oftentimes, it’s at the expense of men of colour.
In both To All the Boys and The Summer I Turned Pretty, protagonists Lara Jean Covey and Isabel (Belly) Conklin are portrayed as biracial Asian American women who are grappling with their romantic prospects. Spoiler alert: both end up with white love interests in the end. But throughout the series, we see them considering their futures with men of colour.
Ultimately, we discover these boys don’t stand a chance against the male leads — who happen to be white men— and get their hearts broken. They’re soon forgotten about and become an afterthought in the series.

Interracial casting in Hollywood isn’t as progressive as we think it is - The Georgetown Voice (October 24, 2022)

The big and small screens are no stranger to white-man/Asian-woman couples, from Lane Kim and Dave Rygalski in Gilmore Girls to Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky in To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018). Such tropes, however, hold problematic implications for the overall perception of Asian identity.
Asian men, on the other hand, have been portrayed by the media as romantically undesirable and awkward, often used as the funny sidekick or the butt of the joke due to a lack of social awareness or nerdy and unkempt appearance. Some advances have been made in reimagining this stereotype— with the casting of Simu Liu in Shang-Chi, for example— but the old overarching depiction still sticks. Conversely, white male characters are written to be the charismatic and conventionally beautiful “knights in shining armor” that come in at the climax to save the girl. Today, these stereotypes might be less obviously relayed in film and television, but there is no denying their underlying presence and historical significance.

Chinese Students Association hosts actor Arden Cho as fall speaker - Daily Northwestern (November 8, 2022)

Near the end of the event, Han and Huang opened the dialogue up to the crowd for a Q&A session. One audience member asked about the criticism Cho faced for the alleged “white man and Asian woman” romantic trope in “Partner Track.” Cho, tearing up, said she hasn’t felt fully supported by the Asian American community due to the backlash.
She said retirement may be on the table, both because of this controversy and Netflix’s recent announcement that “Partner Track” would not return for a second season.
“As Asian American actors and actresses, we have all this pressure to represent our entire community with every single project,” Cho said. “But please remember that we’re just storytellers and artists. If we do represent our community, then great, but I don’t think it always has to be everyone’s story because it can’t be.”

Are Wasians Truly Asian Representation? — GenZHER (December 26, 2022)

Arden is fully Korean. The two male leads in the drama series are white. There is a male character that Arden interacts with who is Asian, but he is not a lead. A lot of viewers were also hoping that Arden’s characters got with Z (the Asian male character), but that was not the case. Obviously this decision is not Arden’s fault. Yes, there can be healthy relationships between white males and Asian women,but the white male and Asian woman dynamic possesses many underlying issues. It is tiring to see that kind of relationship within the media, especially with its dark history.
American soldiers use to hold camp towns where they would use East Asian women as sex toys. “As wars ended, many American troops came home with their wartime perceptions of Asian women as submissive and sexually available.” (Lang & Cachero). There is even a term to describe someone who has a fetish for East Asian women: yellow fever.

... Can you sense the palpable, differing tones in just 4 years?
And not just Asian women journalists or writers. Even non-Asian women are sensing what has been the obvious tropes.
The Partner Track: A Fun Quick Binge With a Cliche Story

The story starts strong, with Ingrid kicking ass at work and standing toe to toe with her pretentious white colleagues in a male-dominated legal profession, so she has to be as slick and clever as her male counterparts. Ingrid does this well…better, and you’re rooting for her the entire time.
Unfortunately, the story starts to go in a cliche route when Ingrid runs into a person with whom she had a one-night stand. From there, the story continues with unsaid feelings and Ingrid making her situation even more complicated with a love triangle between two wealthy white men. Yes, I said it, but unfortunately, this is where the story loses me. I liked the attempt of having a “diverse” cast, the power of friendship between Tyler (Bradley Gibson) and Rachel (Alexandra Turshen) and a woman of colour kicking ass at her job. I didn’t love that Ingrid’s only two love interests were white. Or the fact that there was a lack of addressing the racism that occurred in this series.

Motion To Dismiss 'Partner Track,' Your Honor

Ruth Etiesit Samuel: Upon seeing the trailer for this series, I’ll admit I was upset. Since the “Teen Wolf” era, I hadn’t watched Arden Cho in a regular series role in ages. When the series was announced on Deadline, I was expecting a more serious, “HTGAWM” approach — not another story about a woman of color stuck between two random, medium ugly white men. Marina, you’ve read the book “The Partner Track,” which the series was adapted and it’s supposedly heralded in law schools, per the book’s description on Amazon. What are your thoughts?

Partner Track review from Common Sense Media writer Monique Jones

To top it off, Ingrid appears to date only White men, with another friend (Alexandra Turshen) even making a joke that she has dated more Asian men than Ingrid. The statement, plus the optics, takes a ton of wind out of Partner Track's message. Of course, you don't need to date within your race to be considered down with your race, but it's strange when the main character seemingly wants to live in a fantasy of the White gaze and engage in racial politics only when it's relevant to her success.

Nextshark, the Pan-Asian website, posted the trailer on Instagram. Do yourself a favor and scroll by earliest first and take note of just how many Asian American women, yes, women have lampooned the premise. The days of just falling in line and being happy with what we're given are absolutely over.
To end this piece, here's an interview conducted by Abbey White for show-runner Georgia Lee in an edition of the Hollywood Reporter. In it, Ms. White explicitly asks her directly about the trope.

Abbey White: Rom-coms sort of feel primed for discussion about race and gender because those things are baked into societal discussion around desirability and visibility — onscreen and off. This leads to the question of Ingrid’s love interests. She’s with Nick and Murphy, two white men, but there’s also Z, an Asian man, who really feels like an option for her, but isn’t framed as one in the same way. Did you want audiences to feel like he was a love interest for Ingrid or is that just a byproduct of viewers reading into something?
Georgie Lee: Oh, yeah, I mean, it’s so funny. When I read some of the stuff online, where they ask, “Were they thinking about…” And it’s like, of course, we were thinking about that! (Laughs.) And honestly, I was concerned with being way too obvious about it. We didn’t want to be too intentional because we want to explore more in future seasons, so you can’t use up all your story. But we were so hyper-conscious. We’re absolutely aware. I know what the poster looks like. It’s an Asian American woman with two white dudes. Of course, we’re so deeply aware of that and, in fact, that is part of the message which is why we couldn’t say anything pre-launch because we didn’t want to give anything away. You don’t want to give away Murphy’s twist. The message, the theme, the emotional journey of Ingrid is that she starts out in a place where she’s not aware. So she has to learn stuff while she is living in this white patriarchal power structure. Part of her is very unconscious to it and so part of her subconsciously believes — and it’s what we’ve been conditioned by all the media and everything in our entire lives to feel — is that if she somehow is part of that white power structure, she’ll be safe. She’ll feel safe. She doesn’t consciously realize that it also is a product of the environment she’s in because the white man is in charge at the law firm.

This is the poster plastered on billboards in Hollywood and Times Square that Georgia Lee was talking about here. Whether you buy the answer as authentic or an attempt at damage control considering the backlash from Asian American audiences... guess that's up to the individual.
How quickly the narrative can change once time passes. I have high hopes for this current group of Gen Z Asian women can turn the tide against the willful ignorance of the previous generations in our community.

I have a small laundry area that has its own sink, with a large open space next to that sink against the wall (well over 24” wide and deep). This area is only six or so extra feet from the kitchen but the way my kitchen is laid out, i can’t have a dishwasher any closer.

1. Are there quality-of-life issues I’ll run into having a dishwasher away from the main kitchen sink? I assume if I need to rinse my dishes at all, I could do so in that laundry area sink without an issue.
   
2. Is installing a dishwasher without a countertop dumb? Again, the area it can fit in is completely open with a window behind it. I was thinking at worst, the dishwasher itself would act as a countertop for that area… but suppose something could be built on-top. Is that even necessary? Never had this so don’t know how it works.
   

Years from now, we’ll likely remodel the kitchen (famous last words) but I don’t want to wait to get what we see as a necessary appliance.
Any thoughts there?

I grew up by the sea and I ate a lot of sea animals.
At the end of 2011, when I learned that I was pregnant, the whole family was very happy. However, at 9 weeks of pregnancy, I had a pre-eclampsia miscarriage and lay in bed for a month afraid to move; at 16 weeks, I couldn't sleep at night, the doctor found out that I had mitral valve prolapse, premature beats and further found out that I had gestational diabetes; at 23 weeks, it was found that the fetus had a small cerebellum and abnormal morphology. Because both the magnetic resonance imaging and the Down syndrome prenatal screening were normal, I did not choose to have an abortion. At 34 weeks, the fetal heartbeat was abnormal; on the 6th day of 34 weeks, amniotic fluid suddenly leaked in the middle of the night and the ambulance took me to the hospital emergency room. The next day, my son was born, only 5 pounds, crying like a cat.
He could not hold his head up when he was 5 months old, whereas a normal baby can hold his head up at 3 months. He could not roll over and did not recognize people. His gaze was dull and empty, and he was basically unresponsive to external stimuli, just like a blockhead. When he was just over 1 year old, he was diagnosed with chromosome 5 deletion, commonly known as Cri Du Chat Syndrome. Because my son was born prematurely, he was in poor health and had frequent colds and flu, diarrhea and constipation. We couple spent our days in tears.
One day, I wrote down the extremely painful experience from my heart and posted it on the internet. To my surprise, I received many responses. Many kind-hearted Buddhists comforted me and encouraged me to recite Buddha’s scriptures for my son and rescue fish for my son. At that time, I was already conscious that my child's illness could not be cured by science, the compassionate Bodhisattva is the only hope of my son. Two Buddhists left Master Jun Hong Lu's blog address under my post. Since the moment I opened Master Lu’s blog, my destiny has changed forever.
I couldn't wait to start reciting the scriptures. A week after reciting the Great Compassion Mantra, my heart rate had almost returned to normal and my insomnia had miraculously recovered. Then I began to recite the sutra for my son. For me and my son, my mother also joined me to recite scriptures for my son.
Following Master Lu's instructions, with the help of many Buddhist practitioners, we liberated a whole boatload of fish into a reservoir. The Buddhist practitioners all smelled a very strong scent of sandalwood. My mother actually saw with her own eyes that Guan Yin Bodhisattva stepped on auspicious clouds and rose up from behind the mountain with a very solemn golden light on her face. After performing the fish liberation, my son's appetite suddenly increased a lot.
My son's motor ability was very poor. She still could not sit at 15 months, while a normal child can sit well at 7 months. One day, he suddenly had a high fever, and the recurring attacks were very serious. After several days, his condition did not improve at all. We had no choice but to ask our fellow Buddhist practitioners to perform a big liberation of fish for him. That night, my mother fell asleep devoutly chanting the holy name of Guan Yin Bodhisattva. In a daze, she heard someone say twice that Guan Yin Bodhisattva had come. In her sleep, my mother also saw Master Lu come to our home and Guan Yin Bodhisattva followed. This was the dream in the early morning. As a result, my son’s fever actually went down quickly. What was even more amazing was that the next day he suddenly could sit.
My son's intelligence is very poor, only one-fifth of that of a normal child. Normal children can usually recognize their mothers at 4-5 months, but my baby didn't recognize anyone until he was 1.5 years old. But the amazing thing is that since I started reciting scriptures for him at 9 months old, he could already worship Bodhisattva when he was 1 year old. When I asked him where the Bodhisattva was, he would put his little hands up and make a bow, and he would open the lotus flower with his little hands. When he went outside and saw a statue of the Bodhisattva, he would worship on his own initiative. A child who was so young and with severe intellectual disable can already worship the Buddha when he doesn't recognize his mother. The power of Buddha is incredible!
When he was more than 2 years old, I had been reciting scriptures for him for a year and a half, and released fish a total of about 60 times. He could fully understand adult conversations and could express his thoughts with a few single words. Although he could not stand or walk yet, he could crawl.
I followed the teachings of Master Lu and did not dare to slack off for a moment. I made good use of the Four Dharma Gems to help him. From the time he could talk to the time he could walk to the time he could study, I was very pleased with his progress! During this period, I called Master Lu's Totem program 5 times (Please refer to the appendix for the contents of the call). Master Lu found that my son's condition was due to two great spirits, one of which was an old man, occupying his body.
On the November 11, 2014, I called Master Lu’s zongshu20141111. Master Lu enlightened that the two spirits had been transcended away. This matched perfectly with the child's grandmother's dream! Moreover, my mother said that the child had received many visits from Guan Yin Bodhisattva to heal him in her dream. By this time, I had recited 2,500 Little Houses for his creditors and released 60,000 fish. The progress of his behavioral skills was tremendous! Master Lu enlightened over the phone, continue to recite scriptures well, and the child will be able to go to elementary school in the future.
In 2015, when he was more than 3 years old, the child could not speak yet, but he could already recognize hundreds of Chinese characters and could understand a few simple English words. He was able to identify colors, shapes, numbers, etc. When he was almost 4 years old, the child finally opened his mouth and called me “mom”, and I almost shed tears at that moment.
One day in late August 2016 (4 years old), while riding the bus, my mother was drowsy. Guan Yin Bodhisattva encouraged her in her thoughts: “So-and-so, you must persevere, believe (me) firmly, be firm, and tell your daughter that she must cultivate (mind and behavior) well and actively propagate Dharma, and then everything will be fine. The baby will be a valuable asset, and he will walk and talk in 2 months.” My mother was moved to tears on the spot.
Two months later, he really started to speak gradually. Suddenly, one day he could say a dozen words in one sentence. For example, when he saw his father occupying his favorite seat on the floating window, he would say, "Daddy, get out of the way, mommy will lay the foam pad here, baby wants to see the car (in the street)". This is really an unprecedented first time ever!
His illness is ultimately the consequence of his own karma from his previous life and the retribution from my eating live sea animals. The most efficient strategy to eradicate the disease is to let him learn to recite the scriptures himself, repent of his own karma, and pay his own karmic debts to his creditors. I started to teach him to recite the simplest Qi Fo Mie Zui Zhen Yan. To my surprise, after only less than a month of teaching, he would actually follow me in reciting. One day when I went to the Guan Yin Temple to worship Buddha, my son recited the Qi Fo Mie Zui Zhen Yan twice in front of Guan Yin Bodhisattva by following me. My joy could not be described in words.
My son could not roll over until he was more than 1 year old; he could not sit still until he was 2 years old; he could not crawl on his belly until he was more than 2 years old; he could not crawl at four points at 3 years old, and he crawled at four points jumping like a frog; and he learned the standard four-point crawl until he was more than 4 years old. Such a motor ability, even among children of his age with the same disease is considered very poor. At the end of August 2016, when the weather was hot, the neighbor's children were jumping and playing in the playground, while we could only tease him at home to practice crawling by all means. The pain in my heart is indescribable. Fortunately, encouragement from Guan Yin Bodhisattva was received by my mother, i.e., the child would walk in a little over 2 months gave us confidence but both my mother and I didn't believe it, wondering if it was just my mother's own illusion.
A week later, the child could crawl in the standard four-point crawl at a rapid pace. At that time, my mom dreamed again that the great Buddha put an anklet on his foot. A month later, the child could suddenly walk a distance of 1-2 meters. Although he was very timid, still walking unsteadily, and could not stand alone, it was already a remarkable progress for him. Gradually, I was able to take him downstairs for a few laps every night. Later, I could take him for an hour or two to walk. What could make a mother happier than that?
In the seventh year of studying Buddhism, my son could do simple math problems with our education and guidance.
In the eighth year of studying Buddhism, my son finally set foot in school after I had recited nearly 8,000 Little Houses for his creditors. I feel with the help of Bodhisattvas, we can overcome all kinds of circumstances. Although my son is still far from a normal child, I believe that as long as I study Buddhism hard and the school teachers teach him carefully, he will get better and better! Although it is a special education school, I am still very happy.
Now, my child is able to communicate with us fluently and freely (although outsiders may not hear him clearly), do simple math problems like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, read and write independently, and put on his own shoes and pants by himself. I am really grateful.
The chromosome deletion caused the child's face to look different from normal children: small head, flat back of the head, wide eye spacing, and sudden cross-eye from time to time. It was impossible not to draw the attention of ordinary people to such a face.
I posted the story of my child's growth on the Internet, which drew a lot of attention. Almost every day, I received warm greetings and countless encouragement and blessings from Buddhists from all over the world. Perhaps it is because I often present his case to propagate Buddhism, the child has a lot of good karma. It is really incredible that such an encephalic child with a unique face has not made me feel any discrimination over the years. Wherever he went, there were kind grandparents, friendly aunts and uncles, and loving brothers and sisters. I am grateful that studying Buddhism has allowed my son to live in a sea of love and bathe in a world of compassion.
I will definitely follow Master Lu's steps and be one of the hands and eyes of Guan Yin Bodhisattva.
In 2015, I overcame all kinds of external difficulties and made a vow to become a lifelong vegetarian. With time of practising Buddhism, I am more and more respectful for the incomparable Dharma, disgust the cycles of rebirth, and a yearn for a pure land. Later on, I naturally made a vow to transcend the cycle of rebirth for good and attain enlightenment in one lifetime to repay the kindness of the Buddha. I also made a vow to use my son's example to transform more sentient beings to believe in Buddhism and practise Dharma, to be free from suffering and gain happiness in order to repay the kindness of the Buddha!
Appendix
Excerpts from the wonderful program: Dharma Door creates the miracle of life for the child with chromosomal deletion (compiled by 2OR Australia Oriental Radio) 2015.1.6
Editor's note from the Secretariat of the Oriental Radio The son of a fellow practitioner suffers from a rare global disease, chromosome deletion, and his condition is extremely severe. The child is now significantly improved - from the initial medically incurable and facing the fate of death, to the remarkable progress and the dream of being able to go to school normally in the future, the miracle just happened step by step. The listener (practitioner) was very grateful to Guan Yin Bodhisattva and Master Lu, and wished to share her experience with everyone to inspire people to join the practice of Buddhism, study Buddhism and cultivate minds diligently, and create more miracles with 'faith, commitment and action'.
1. Confidence will lead to efficacy
On May 31, 2013, in the program of wenda130531, the fellow practitioner called Master Lu for the first time. Since her child’s illness had not been confirmed at that time, she thought it was cerebral palsy. Although she had recited >300 Little Houses for his creditors and released fish worth of 10,000 Chinese yuan, the child did not improve significantly. Master Lu sternly pointed out that her confidence was insufficient and her vow power was not strong enough. Master Lu also reminded her that the scriptures were recited too quickly resulting in the quality of the Little Houses not being guaranteed. Master Lu interpreted her dream that as long as she persisted in reciting scriptures well, her child would get better in the future.
Female Listener: My son has cerebral palsy. I have recited > 300 Little Houses for his creditors in two months, and also released fish for him worth of 10,000 Chinese yuan. Is it because the quality of the recited Little Houses not very good? My son seems to be the same, no improvement.
Master Lu: Firstly, > 300 Little Houses simply can not make any change. Generally, a problem like this requires > 800 Little Houses, and 300 Little Houses are far from adequate. Secondly, did you ask others to recite it or you recited it by yourself?
Female Listener: I recited it by myself, 6-7 sheets, sometimes 7-8 sheets a day. I am very excited to come into contact with your teachings!
Master Lu: But reciting 7-8 sheets a day must not be in good quality. Reciting it too fast.
Female Listener: Oh. Because my family was very anxious, seeing a lot of fortune tellers and psychics, and the child was very good by then. Very weird, I dreamed of you, and you told me in the dream that the child will be very good. I also dreamed that Guan Yin Bodhisattva came to my Buddha altar, and also said the child will be very good. Very curious and I do not know why this is the case.
Master Lu: Not weird at all. You continue practicing Buddhism like this, with time the child will recover health. This is the dream of foretelling you to see the future.
Female Listener: Oh, really?! Great!
Master Lu: If you don't even believe in this now, how can you pray for an efficacious outcome? If a person does not even have faith, how can you have the will power?
Female Listener: Master, I really appreciate you. I suffered heart disease before, very uncomfortable. After I recited your scriptures I completely recovered from heart disease within a week!
Master Lu: You should appreciate Guan Yin Bodhisattva!
Female Listener: Yes. I am really very highly touched, and my father is now more supportive. If I need to sell my house to release fish for my child, I wonder what the effect will be. I want to release tens of thousands of fish for him at once, and want to release fish for him every month, because I am extremely grateful to Guan Yin Bodhisattva.
Master Lu: It is not necessary to sell your house, and this is not recommended. If you don't have much money, you can release less fish, and that is OK. It depends on your initial resolve. Of course, if you release a large number of fish the effect will be obvious. That’s true.
Female Listener: My master, could you please sense if there is a problem with the quality of my scripture recitation? Is it too fast? I've been reciting from morning to night without resting, because I'm rushing 7-8 sheets of Little Houses a day.
Master Lu: Too fast, the quality is problematic. In fact, the most you should recite is 5-6 sheets a day.
Female Listener: Could I recite 3 times of Eighty-eight Buddhas Great Repentance for him everyday? The child is now < 1 year old.
Master Lu: Yes, no problem.
Female Listener: My Master, as long as I continue to recite, the child will definitely be recovered, right?
Master Lu: You do not need to ask me. People like you are not reciting well and do not have confidence, do not bother to ask me. You see none of the parents of recovered children even ask, just recite scriptures at home. Afterwards, their children are miraculously well. Then, they will know that it is the blessing of the Bodhisattva. How can you practice well if you don't have the willpower yourself? For example, you ask the doctor: "Doctor, can you treat my illness?"
Female Listener: Oh, sorry Master! Because I don't know if it's a spiritual illness, I'm a little worried whether cerebral palsy is karma disease?
Master Lu: It is one hundred percent a karma disease!
Female Listener: Very well. I'm sure I'll have the confidence to help him to recover. No matter if it is 1000 or 2000 sheets I'll recite for him.
Master Lu: Yes, this is the correct attitude! Won’t you feel inflicted when a sick son stays around you? If you don't recite scriptures for him, who will recite for him? (You) just pay the debt (you owe him)! Even if your mouth is blistered you still must persist. Practice well! Have faith! Without faith, nothing can be done.
Female Listener: I have faith. I had dreamed of you before. You said in my dream that the child will be very good. The Bodhisattva also appeared in the image with a thousand hands and eyes on the Buddha's altar in my home, very bright, shining golden light, as if She was also saying that the child will be very good.
Master Lu: So this child will definitely be well later.
2. Master Lu uncovered that the listener's son had a problem with his brain nerves
On July 9, 2013, in the program zongshu20130709, the female listener called Master Lu. From her son’s totem, Master Lu found that he had a problem with his brain nerves, and had a large spirit in his body that needed 700 Little Houses to ascend, and she had to continue releasing 7000 fish. At that time, the fellow practitioner had already recited > 500 Little Houses for his creditors and released > 10,000 fish for the child, and the child already showed significant improvement of health. The child's grandmother saw the Bodhisattva manifested during the fish release. The listener was very grateful to Guan Yin Bodhisattva, and was also convinced by Master Lu's miraculous power, so her faith was multiplied.
Female Listener: Master, I would like to know the physical condition of my son, born in 2012 with the zodiac of dragon.
Master Lu: The child's brain thinks differently, exhibits bias.
Female Listener: Yes, yes, yes!
Master Lu: Second, the brain nerve of the child is problematic, startled easily, and sometimes stubborn, does not listen to adults, and he is playful.
Female Listener: Yes, yes, yes! I have now recited > 500 Little Houses and released > 10,000 fish for him. My little child is much better. How many more Little Houses are needed? Are there any spirits occupying his body?
Master Lu: More Little Houses you need reciting. There is a spirit in his body, a big man, quite old. At least 700 or more Little Houses you need to recite for him.
Female Listener: Yes, fine, that is no problem. How many more fish will be released?
Master Lu: Take your time to release fish for him, and currently release 7000 fishes.
Female Listener: I have already released > 10,000 fishes for him, that is another 7,000?
Master Lu: Yes. Don't rush. Let me tell you the truth, no matter the Little Houses paying his creditors or releasing fish for him, you can not be too hasty, understand? Because it is a step-by-step process.
Female Listener: All right. Master. If I insist on reciting scriptures like this, the child will be normal, right?
Master Lu: What do you think?
Female Listener: Yes. I feel my son has made a lot of progress now.
Master Lu: If you have no confidence, you should stop reciting scriptures. You see the doctor can not treat him, so you have this only choice. Could the doctor treat him?
Female Listener: Yes, yes, yes. Doctor cannot treat his illness. I am now very determined.
Master Lu: No matter how much money you spent, it is useless for treating the karmic illness. Have you spent less money at the doctor?
Female Listener: Yes, yes, yes. I did not take him to see the doctor. I have been dedicated to reciting the Little Houses. When the number of Little Houses reaches 500 sheets ......
Master Lu: Who told you not to see a doctor? It is because when you found the doctor could not treat it, you started to recite Little Houses.
Female Listener: Yes!
Master Lu: This concept must be clear. Master Lu always tells people to see the doctor first. If the doctor can not cure the disease, and you have no solution anymore, then recite the scriptures, understand?
Female Listener: Well. Master, when my mother went to release 10,000 fish yesterday, she saw the Guan Yin Bodhisattva, so moved!
Master Lu: You see? So long as you are sincere, prayers will be answered.
Female Listener: Yes, very, very touched!
Master Lu: People really have to give! Do you think your mother is still lying at her age? If you see Bodhisattva, you do see Bodhisattva. Many people don't take it seriously when I tell them. Because he can not see Bodhisattva, whereas I can. In fact, people who can see Bodhisattva are very excited. If you can't see Bodhisattva, it means you don't practice well!
3. Rare chromosomal disease, miraculously recovered through practising Dharma door
On December 11, 2013, the fellow practitioner called through a reserved telephone. Her child was diagnosed with a chromosomal disorder. She and her family were in great pain. Master Lu compassionately enlightened that due to her insistence on reciting Little Houses for the child (> 1,200 Little Houses had been recited at that time) and releasing fish for the child, 40% of the child's karma had been eliminated, so he was able to survive. Otherwise he would have passed away. The fellow practitioner needs to recite 1,300 more Little Houses and release 30,000 fish for the child. The child who was going to die of illness was able to survive. This is already a qualitative change, miracles are being created ...... (Note: this paragraph is not recorded publicly because it is an appointment call)
4. The boy who suffers from chromosomal deficiency disease is due to his family killing karma, and the large spirit needs the approval from the Dharma Conference to leave
On May 22, 2014, in the zongshu20140222 program, the female listener once again called Master Lu. At that time she has recited > 2,000 Little Houses for the child, and the child’s condition improved a lot. Master Lu discovered that the family had a killing karma that caused the child to suffer retribution, and the listener replied that the child's grandparents did have a killing karma. Master Lu pointed out that because the child had already passed a karmic calamity with 700 - 800 Little Houses, his karmic creditors did not receive enough number of Little Houses. Additionally, this large spirit needed the approval from Dharma Conference before leaving.
Female Listener: Master, I can't believe I got it through, great! Thank you, Guan Yin Bodhisattva! My son’s zodiac is a dragon, born in 2012. He has a chromosomal defect and his intelligence is compromised. I called you three times before, and you said he needed 4,100 Little Houses. I have recited 2,000 Little Houses for his creditors and released 30,000 fish for him. Could you please check if there is any improvement, Master?
Master Lu: You know best if there is any improvement or not.
Female Listener: Significantly improved!
Master Lu: Although his condition has improved a lot, however, because his father accumulated heavy karma in the past: cheating, and fishing......
Female Listener: His father didn't fish.
Master Lu: If he didn't fish, ask him if he has such type of kill karma. I saw a lot of fish on the boy. Did he eat live fish? Did he eat many live fish?
Female Listener: We live by the sea, and did eat live fish a lot.
Master Lu: Not only the problem of fishing, but the problem of casting net to catch fish, alas!
Female Listener: He does not seem to have done that because he just graduated not long ago. It should be my son’s grandparents.
Master Lu: Then it is his grandparents' karma. Remember, kill karma affects 3 generations!
Female Listener: Yes, yes, yes, Master, you are so right! I just learned yesterday that the grandparents did have kill karma before.
Master Lu: The killing karma is very heavy.
Female Listener: Yes, yes. Master, the spirits have not gone yet, right?
Master Lu: No.
Female Listener: How many Little Houses does it need?
Master Lu: You have many to recite. You will need to recite 2000 Little Houses to pay his creditors if you want your child to completely heal.
Female Listener: OK. I have recited 2,000 Little Houses, and I will continue to recite.
Master Lu: The most important is to recite it by yourself. While, borrowing a few Little Houses from others is OK.
Female Listener: Yes. They were all recited by me and my mother, and now it is almost 2100 sheets.
Master Lu: Yes, yes, very good!
Female Listener: Large spirit like this, does it need an approval?
Master Lu: Actually it needs, but your Master can't do this for him, because then I have to bear very heavy karma. Now the only way is that when the Master holds a Dharma Conference, after these sick children attend, the Master can bless them. Since Master is relying on Guan Yin Bodhisattva to bless them and I will not bear much karma for them, do you understand? Hence, why is it important to hold a Dharma Conference? That’s it. Why do many people who have been sick for decades were healed after attending Dharma Conference, although they did not even see Master? Do you know how many Dharma protectors and how many Bodhisattvas attend to a Dharma Conference? This is also to give Bodhisattvas an opportunity to come back to earth to do merits and virtues due to their vows.
Female Listener: I understand. I will definitely finish reciting these 2,000 sheets first, and I will definitely recite them with quality and quantity guaranteed. Thank you so much, Master. Not long ago my mother dreamed that my son died in a car accident, then I urgently burned 69 Little Houses with the help of the fellow practitioners, and then released an extra 8,000 fish for him.
Master Lu: The calamity, you must help him to pass. So I tell you, 700-800 out of the 2000 Little Houses you recited were used for passing the calamity. You actually paid his creditors only a little over 1000 sheets because some of it you recited are not in good quality.
Female Listener: Yes. Then has this calamity been passed or not?
Master Lu: Should have been passed.
Female Listener: Great, thank you, Master!
5. The child with rare chromosomal disease getting better; Grandma dreaming of approval from the underworld; Grandma dreaming of Bodhisattva opening his brain to cure his disease
On November 11, 2014, the female listener called Master Lu again in the zongshu20141111 program. Master Lu enlightened that 2 spirits had obtained the approvals and left the body of the child. This matches perfectly with the dream of the child's grandmother! Also, the child had received several visits from Guan Yin Bodhisattva to heal him in grandmother’s dream. At this time point the female listener has recited 2500 Little Houses for his creditors and released 60,000 fish for him. The child is making great progress! Master enlightened, continues to recite the scriptures well, and the child has the opportunity to go to elementary school in the future.
Female Listener: Master, I really got through. I'm so happy. Thank you Guan Yin Bodhisattva! I want to ask about my son, a 2012 dragon, who suffers a very rare chromosomal disorder. I have recited > 2,500 Little Houses for his creditors and released > 60,000 fish for him. Not long ago my mother dreamed of an old Granny takes two large spirits away. Master, please take a look.
Master Lu: Two spirits were gone, but he is still occupied by another spirit.
Female Listener: Great! How many Little Houses do I need to recite for the one that's lingered?
Master Lu: 56 sheets.
Female Listener: Thank you! Master, not long ago my mother dreamed that he could go to elementary school, and then he was given a cake and a note. I would like to ask, is it the approval from the Underworld?
Master Lu: Yes!
Female Listener: Yes? That's great! Does that mean my child has the hope to go to elementary school in the future?
Master Lu: I tell you, if you want your child to go to school, at least 2,000 to 4,000 Little Houses are needed. You take your time.
Female Listener: Okay, that is certainly no problem. Is that the Underworld approval? Great! Master, not long ago my mother kept dreaming that Guan Yin Bodhisattva was helping him with his brain disease, opening his head and helping him heal the brain nerves inside, and then a golden light. All this should be true, right?
Master Lu: True, Guan Yin Bodhisattva treated him! It means that you have done some merits and virtues, and possess a little bit of blessings.
Female Listener: Thank you, Master. My mom also dreamed of Guan Yin Bodhisattva curing his leg, and treating his stomach the day before yesterday. My mom said the power from the magnetic field was so strong that she couldn't even get her hand close.
Master Lu: That's right. So I'm telling you, to be able to ask Guan Yin Bodhisattva to come to treat him, that means you set off a potent initial resolve. Quite good!
Female Listener: Thank you, Master. I'm so grateful! My son's condition has improved greatly, but his constipation is very serious, often relieves himself once every 7 days. Master, please take a look.
Master Lu: Continue to recite scriptures, take foot baths, not a big deal.
Female Listener: Should we specifically recite two times of Eighty-eight Buddhas Great Repentance for his constipation?
Master Lu: No. Focus on removing karma first. A spirit staying in his brain will affect his whole body. When the brain nerves are getting better and better, every part of the body will recover. Don’t you understand? Don’t be greedy. To give more.
6. Constant effort brings success - The child with rare chromosomal disease created a miracle of life
A male listener called Master Lu’s Wenda (Q&A) program on May 22, 2020 (Wenda20200522 09:06). He presented the treatment course of the child with rare chromosomal disease to Master Lu and a wide audience.
Male listener: Master, I will read a sharing presentation first: "I am grateful to Guan Yin Bodhisattva, all the Bodhisattvas and Dharma Protectors, and the Great benefactor Master Lu. I often hear fellow listeners asked our benefactor why the illnesses are not healed after reciting scriptures, and there is no lack of complaints in their tones. Master Lu said 'the water has not boiled yet'. Today, I will share my own difficult and long 'boiling water' experience in the hope that I can encourage more people to believe, persevere and be firm in practising Buddhism.
My son had a chromosomal defect, a rare disease in the world. Initially, he could not raise his head, could not turn over, and had no eye contact. While in desperation, I encountered our Dharma Door, and I was overjoyed. Every time when I burned Little Houses for his creditors I imagined that the child would walk and talk right away. However, after I repaid his creditors > 300 Little Houses, the child did not show a bit of improvement. While hesitant, Guan Yin Bodhisattva blessed me and I got through Master Lu’s program call. I asked the Master why the child did not make any improvement after 300 Little Houses were repaid. A roar from my benefactor woke me up from my dream, and I realized that practising Buddhism is not a deal, not a rush for quick success and instant benefit, but a kind of persistence, a kind of repentance from the inner heart, like water dripping through the stone.
Finally, in the third year of my practising Buddhism, the child learned to belly crawl.
In the fourth year, the child learned to crawl at four points.
In the fifth year, the child learned to walk and to call his mom.
In the sixth year, the child learned to climb stairs, to kick a ball and to express himself.
In the seventh year, which is recently, the child learned to string beads, did arithmetic, and has finally rectified his bad habits of chewing his hands and clothes.
I, the disciple of Buddha, is really immensely grateful. Back then, the benefactor once said that the child was going to pass away in a few months, but now he has actually prolonged his life for seven years, and is creating medical miracles step by step. Looking back on my practising Buddhism, although my water has not boiled until now and my child is still far from full recovery, I think if I had only persisted to the third year, if I had only recited 4,000 Little Houses, there would never have been such a blowout progress in his suddenly walking and talking later.
My son had a bad habit of chewing his hands, clothes, books, dirty things, and anything he saw, and biting us many times to the point of bleeding. During that time I had doubts and complaints about why this problem was never corrected. Until I have practiced Buddhism for almost seven years and recited about 7,000 Little Houses did he get rid of this habit.
There is a WeChat group of parents whose children have the same illness as my son. We had sent out a dozen sets of Dharma gems to them, but none persisted practising, and now many children still can't speak. There are also many people around me, especially those with chronic illnesses such as encephalopathy, who felt that Dharma therapy is not as effective as what they thought. They were very diligent in the first year, then started to slack off in the second year, and gave up completely in the third year. It is really a great pity!
Therefore, stop asking our benefactor why the scripture recitation is not yet efficacious and why the spirits do not leave. You firstly should look at how much karma your children have, and ask yourself how much effort you have made, how many Little Houses you have recited, how many years you have practiced, how many Buddhism in Plain Terms you have read, how many programs of Master Lu you have listened to, and how many people you have transformed. We should be grateful that spirits give us the opportunity to allow us to pay off our debts, that the suffering has refined our will, and that there are still such Dharma gems that we can rely on to change our destiny.
If there were any inappropriate or irrational statements in my presentation, I seek forgiveness from the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and Dharma protectors. I, the disciple of Buddha, bear my own karma."
Master Lu replied: Very good. Tell her to put it in her Wechat Moments. Presentation like this can enlighten many people. You know, the biggest problem of humans is that they can't hold on. Many people get divorced because they can't persevere, for example. One of the soft landing points of being unable to persevere is that they can't understand each other. If people can't understand each other, they can't persevere. If you understand Bodhisattva, will you slacken? Will you stop reciting the scriptures? If you have faith that Bodhisattva will save you, will you give up?
Statement by Translator Frank

1. Story was translated from Chinese into English by meaning, not word by word. If there is anything that is not rational or in line with the true meaning of the Chinese version, I’d like to seek forgiveness from the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, Dharma protectors and Master Jun Hong Lu.
   
2. Author was interviewed by Frank during the translation for the detailed information.
   

First
Previous
“Get these unloaded and ready for inspection,” Kambor yelled as he climbed out of the hauler.
Central had seen fit to send fifty of their own officers to fill out Carter’s expedition into the Works, and they shipped enough equipment to supply them for the long haul.
“Get that armor down to maintenance, make sure the systems are fully powered! Etrak, put that one down and help the guys with the other hauler. Ammo first, food later!”
“Think we’ve got enough?” Carter asked, watching the officers move crate after crate.
“There’s no telling how long we’ll be down there. I’m actually concerned that we might run short. Tell me again why you want to go in on foot?”
“Because they already have enough of an advantage without us condensing our numbers into a couple big targets. At least on foot, we can quickly react to an ambush. We’re probably going to be ambushed, by the way.”
“Right,” Kambor said, skeptically. “And the creatures we’ll be ambushed by are invisible to us, almost invisible to you, and durable enough to withstand a spray of bullets. Anything else we should know about?”
“We’ll get to that in the final briefing. I’ve been making calls the last few days while you were in transit. Got some good intel that should help us. For now,” Carter said as he pulled a container from the back of the truck, “let’s get these unloaded and out of our way.”
==== 
“Ladies and gentlemen, and technicians,” Carter called, his voice amplified slightly to project to the people in the back of the crowd. The technicians in question waved a tendril each in acknowledgement. “We are stepping into unknown territory today. I’m not going to lie; we’re at a disadvantage. Our targets know the layout of the Works, are in possession of illegal bodily augmentations, and are believed to be responsible for the creature my team killed last cycle.
“I know you’ve all been briefed already, but I’m going to go over things again, because there’s some new information.”
The uninjured technician signaled Carter, informing him that the room was secure, and he could feel a hum passing through the soles of his shoes.
“Excellent,” he continued. “As of now, this room is the most secure location on the Ring. Physical connections have been cut, wireless connections are being jammed, the walls ceiling and floor are being vibrated with destructive interference. Nothing that we say or do in here will make it to anyone out there. So if you have any stupid questions, nows the time.”
While the chuckling died away, Carter projected the screen of his data pad onto the wall.
“This is the creature we killed,” he announced, blowing the image up for them to see. Several people recoiled in shock. “Recent information indicates that it’s a genetic amalgamation of six distinct species. Of note, it has the durable skin of a Trenga, a set of chitinous spines from an inactive trait of the Sarog, and the ability to camouflage like a Jhunan child. It can remain almost completely invisible while moving, something witnessed in exactly one member of the species, who also happens to have escaped from the same lab complex as the creature.
“What your briefing likely didn’t cover,” he continued, flipping to a set of diagrams, “was that the creature has several points that have tougher armor than normal. Sub-dermal chitin plates have taken the durability of the skin, already bullet resistant, and pushed it to unnatural limits. Specifically, the shoulders, the spine, and the skull have been reinforced. From the front, it forms a wall of armor that is comparable to half an inch of hardened steel. That’s more than enough to shrug off light arms fire. Aim for the flanks, the chest, and the rear, or if it gets too close, shove your gun down its throat and dump the magazine.”
He waited for the information to sink in, before one of the officers raised his hand.
“How many of these should we expect to see,” he asked.
“Anywhere between zero and all of them,” Carter said. “We don’t know how many were made, how long they take to grow, or how well they take orders. We know this one was somewhat intelligent, and displayed patience in picking its battles. It has claws that can scar the walkways between buildings, and the muscle power to back it up. Keep your distance if you can, because we don’t know what it’ll do to our armor.
“As for the personnel,” he said as he flipped to the next slide, “we expect most to have some level of augmentation. As such, we are unable to guarantee any level of containment, or that our stunners will work on them. The Security Council has requested and received authorization for a kill order. If it’s alive and not a test subject, kill it. If it’s hostile, kill it. Compliant test subjects are to be locked down until we clear the lab complex. We can’t afford to have these people running free.
“This image here,” he pointed, “shows the implants of a captured assassin linked to their organization. We still don’t know what they did, but one of them was responsible for the complete incineration of the inmate. We also believe the primary target is in possession of implants more advanced than anything we’ve seen before, which allowed him to walk out of here completely uncontested. This is not in the official orders, but I’m adding it anyway; if you think you’ve killed him, make sure he’s dead. We don’t need to lose him just because he looked dead at the time. I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but no corpse, no kill.”
“We’ll be using a mixed set of gear,” Kambor said as he took Carter’s place. He held up a sleek looking rifle. “This is a heavy plasma repeater. Most of you will have seen this in old training films, and probably wondered why you would need it. This is why. This repeater fires compressed packets of plasma, much like our stunners. Unlike our stunners, the plasma this produces is hot enough to melt organic matter, and quite a lot of inorganic matter too.”
He handed the repeater to Carter. It was lightweight, even for the low gravity of the Ring, and in his hands, the weapon was a bit on the smaller side, drawing immediate comparisons to a toy. The indicator lights on the gas cartridge did nothing to dispel that perception.
“Be sure to check your targets,” Kambor said as Carter inspected the gun. “Our armor can take a few hits from that, but it’ll lose its integrity pretty quickly. Now, I know you can carry more than most of us, and you have a knack for getting separated from your team, so you’ll have a few extra pieces of equipment.”
He lifted a small handheld device from the crate at his feet. “This,” he said, gesturing to what Carter could only call a ray gun, “is our new sonic surveillance tool. The dish on the front emits ultrasonic waves and displays the echoes as a visible image. I had originally designed this with the help of our engineers in Central to help map out unregistered modifications to a building, but during testing, we discovered that it can actually detect all kinds of hidden things. Doors, panels, people around corners, and possibly even these creatures we may be fighting. Every group will have one of these. Use them to map the area as we progress, so we can get a clearer picture of what exactly we’re dealing with.
“This last tool,” Kambor called out as he hefted a large tube from the crate, “is not what it looks like, Carter.”
“So it’s not a rocket launcher? Because that’s exactly what it looks like.”
“No, it’s not.” Kambor took the tube by the handles and slammed the end down onto the floor at his feet. The tube unrolled into a sturdy looking barrier, tall enough for Carter to crouch behind, and wide enough to cover a small group of people.
“This is something we discovered in our storage facilities. It’s a deployable cover system that can shrug off almost anything you can throw at it. We’re still analyzing the material properties, but in terms of defense, it’s stronger than your armor. We’d rather not lose any, but the Council approved deployment for this mission.
“In addition to your kinetic rifles, which you should all be comfortable with from your hostile wildlife training, each group of four will have two repeaters, one sonic mapping tool, and one deployable barrier. Carter, you’ll have one of each. You’ll receive your squad assignments when we load up.”
==== 
“Carter!” Kambor yelled, making himself heard over the noise of sixty armored officers loading into transports. “You’re with us! And the Council wanted me to pass along a message.”
He tabbed over to a file on his data pad. “No unnecessary risks,” he said. “You’re only going because we don’t have a better choice to lead. If you get yourself killed, we will use the technology in that lab to revive you so we can kill you ourselves.” Kambor looked up from the screen. “I’m not entirely sure they’re joking, and I’ll be in line to kick your ass if they’re not.”
“They’ve been watching too many human movies,” Carter said, climbing into the first transport.
“Can you blame them? It’s the first truly novel entertainment to reach the ring in hundreds of cycles. It’s not every day that a whole new world of culture just shows up like that.”
Kambor pulled his helmet down onto his head and let the seals clamp into place. Carter watched as he adjusted the fit to better accommodate the bone plates inherent to a male Jhunan.
“It was just one country, Kambor. We lost a lot when we left Earth, believe me.”
“Maybe, but I still recognize that museum piece at your waist. Wasn’t that a couple hundred cycles outdated when you left?”
Carter patted the revolver in its holster. “It’s analog. Can’t know what kind of tech they’ll use against us, but even they can’t do much to stop physics and chemistry. Besides, it’s traditional.”
==== 
The transports touched down a hundred span from the tunnel entrance, and the officers from Central marched out.
I’ve seen military parades less regimented, Carter thought as he waited for the initial sonic pings to resolve on his map.
A notification appeared in the corner of his display, and he popped the gauntlet casing open to read the message.
Carter,
I know you are probably just about to enter the Works, but I thought this was important. Senerak just called to let me know that Zaylie had a nightmare, and from the sounds of it, it was a particularly bad one. She said that Zaylie remembers a little more about her time there, and that her mother may still be in the facilities. She was unable to get any more details. Be careful down there.
Captain Hserian Talsin
“Always a complication…”
——
Next
Another week, and another chapter. On an unrelated note, tick season is in full swing, and it’s a bad one. I’m lucky I have a tool to remove them, because I’ve pulled at least twenty off of the dogs in the last few days.
Finally, there are a couple transitions in this one. If they didn’t show up correctly, let me know. Still trying to find a way to make those work for everyone.

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.

Gaming. Right now i've mostly been playing Valheim or Valorant at 1920x1080 res and in Valheim my frames drop and its get real bad in forests and in bad weather, and in big fights in valorant it does the same.

What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?

$1500

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

April 2023

What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

ToweOS

Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?

US. no microcenter

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

not reusing. build from scratch.

Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?

No.

Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)

SSD NMVe

What type of network connectivity do you need? (Wired and/or WiFi) If WiFi is needed and you would like to find the fastest match for your wireless router, please list any specifics.

Wired/Wifi

Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

Full Tower, windom is ok, black

Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?

Win 10 preferably

Extra info or particulars: couple of build examples here, are these good for upgrading as well? 1k ryzen5 build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/dKDfQ6 1.5k ryzen7 build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pJxPZw

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[PREVIOUS]
Yo yo yo. What's goodie y'all. After a bunch of procrastination and school. I finally finished this damned fic. This one's a little bit longer than the first one, I think, so tell me what you you think. This is part 2 to a two parter, so this little saga of thuggers is over. I might use this character in future works. I don't know, I'm not a writer. Enjoy!
CW: Thug Energy (Obviously) and talks of getting head while getting a trim
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After witnessing the 5 dark skinned humans walk into the shop, I was terrified. I began to tremble as fear and instincts clouded my brain. I just thought I was going to get a trim. Was that all this was? A ruse just so a couple of humans could get their daily feed? Were humans really the bloodthirsty predators we originally believed them to be? Was I going to be secretly kidnapped and used as a slave just as those who were taken by the Arxur? So many questions raced through head as the men came closer, and closer. Hoping to possibly save myself by alerting anyone outside of the shop, I yelled out.
“I DON’T WANNA DIE! PLEASE DON’T EAT ME! HEELLLLPPP!”
After yelling, all of the humans stopped in their tracks, including Brandon. They all looked at me, shocked and surprised. Why did they stop? Why not kill me quickly so I don’t alert anyone else?
“What? Man, the hell you talkin bout? Eat?”
Brandon had what I assumed was a confused look on his face. He and the humans kept looking back and forth to each other, probably deciding what to do with me as I’d just figured out their scheme.
“You predators want to lure Venlil in here so you can eat us or use us as slaves!”
The humans looked back at each other once again before they all broke out in what I assumed was a fit of laughter. Were they laughing at me or what I said?
“Ha ha ha! My nigga, don’t-, ha ha, don’t tell me you really believe all that stupid shit they be sayin about humans on the web cause-”
Brandon had to stop talking, supposedly to catch his breath. Why are they still laughing? What I said wasn’t funny at all! I was completely serious!
“Because we don’t eat people. I don’t know where you got the whole idea that this is some…”elaborate scheme” to kidnap Venlil but, I’m just here to cut hair or… fur in yo case. Plus, you got the special trim.”
I looked at him with fear and confusion written all over my face.
“You did read what the special trim was on the website, right?”
Despite my fear, I could tell Brandon wasn’t lying. Realizing how wrong I was and the still laughing humans to my right , my ears drooped and I curled my tail around myself as blood rushed to my ears out of embarrassment, resulting in a shade of bright orange.’
“N-no. When you told me that there was a special trim, I didn’t know what it meant. I just assumed it was a better version of the regular trim. I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding.”
Brandon sighed and shook his head as he looked at the other humans, likely trying to figure out what to do.
“Alright then, y’all can go home. Lil Venlil here just wanted the regular trim instead. I’ma still pay y’all for the time spent here, so don’t worry about that.”
The other humans all turned away towards the door with saddened looks on their faces and slowly walked out. Even though they were gone, my body still trembled from the shock earlier.
“Again I’m so sorry for not knowing what was going on, if there’s any way I can make it up or if I need to pay extra I’ll do it”
“Nah, you don’t need to do all that. Since this is your first time here and you’re my first Venlil client, this trim’s free. I just beg that you don’t go around saying that I’m kidnapping or eating Venlil because if people hear that, I’m kicked off this planet and I’m probably going to be arrested for who knows how long.
I nodded my head profusely in a human-like manner hoping to convey how sorry I was. I almost got this man arrested because I didn’t read what I was getting on his website! I’m so stupid. I STILL don’t know what the special trim even is. Deciding I wanted to know what this “special trim” was, I asked Brandon.
“Hey, what even was the special trim?”
“Well it’s the same as the regular trim, a trim wherever you want to your length of choice. The difference is that with the special trim you’d have some guys suck your dick while you get trimmed. It’s kinda become my whole schtick.”
I looked at Brandon with disgust. Why in the stars would you even do that with your mouth? And he talked about it so casually… Do humans do that regularly on Earth? What. The. Speh. Realizing my mouth was open from the mixture of shock, surprise, and disgust, I quickly closed it.
“From the look on your face, I can tell that’s not what you wanted at all. Let's just get this trim over with. I’m tryna go home and I’m tired as h-... a person who is tired.”
Not acknowledging the fact that he was probably going to say something predatory I spoke up
“Can I get a full body trim? As you can see, my fur looks horrible”.
“Sure, though I’ma need you to stand up instead of sitting on a chair for that one.”
Complying with his request, I stood up from the chair with a tinge of excitement. I wonder what I'll look like after this. Hopefully he doesn’t end up turning me into some furless creature like him. Upon standing, I could hear the once familiar sound of an electric razor being turned on.
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Throughout the past quarter of a claw, Brandon trimmed and shaved me with surprising delicacy. I could feel my matted and tangled fur separate from my body in turn resulting in the feeling of finally being able to feel air flow through me as my old fur was replaced with new, fresh black fur dotted gray. The feeling was invigorating, causing my tail to sway back and forth with happiness. Noticing this, Brandon did what humans called a “smile” and chuckled. Even though Brandon was presenting his teeth to me, I was too happy with my current situation to be scared and ignored my instincts with ease.
“Aaaaand there we go. Looks like that’s the last spot. Take a look in the mirror and tell me how you feel.”
Upon looking in the mirror I could only gasp at how I looked. “I-I-I look… AMAZING!” I could help but bleat in happiness as I looked upon the good looking Venlil that was me. “ I feel so fresh and shiny. I feel like I can walk into the governor’s office without a care in the world. Thank you so much Brandon!” I ran up to Brandon and hugged him as tight as I could with him soon reciprocating with a hug of his own.
“No problem. Just make sure that if someone asks you where you got ya trim, just point them here.”
“Thanks my nigga. I most definitely will!” Upon saying this, Brandon’s face suddenly went cold before switching to a toothless smile with a shake of his head.
“You have yourself a good day man. I think I’ve had enough for today.”
As I walked out of the shop, I could only imagine other people's reactions as they walked by and saw just how GOOD I looked. As I made my way home, I didn’t have to imagine. The multiple stoppings from different Venlil asking where I got my fur trimmed proved how good I looked. I even had a couple of Venlil ask for photos which included a freakishly large Venlil paired with a human in a blue suit. The kind of people you run into these days huh? A bit weird as to how people somehow forgot I caused a city wide outage. I’m not complaining. As I entered my apartment, I immediately filled my tub with hot water. Upon entering my tub I could feel the steamy water pass through my fur as I soaked and rested in it. I can’t believe it took me this long to get a trim. I should have done this paws ago. After getting out of the tub and drying off, I collapsed in my bed to get some much needed rest, dreaming about what the next paw had in store.
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I plan on writing a fic that's sorta inspired by u/SavingsSyllabub7788's Death of a monster where a human and a Krakotl just talk about their lives to next to cliff in a forest with an amazing view so tell me what you think of that idea, and maybe gimme some suggestions.
Of course, Love yourself and love each other.