(Part 30 of a series) The Retail Punishment in Clovis
Part 29 covered a lot of ground. This installment picks up with a few new points.
Also, I will try and outline the trouble that Clovis officers could find themselves in; ‘Nightmare on Flatiron Parkway’ coming to theaters near you!
(A) Equity Committee in place, any objections?!
It is now well established that the Equity Committee is an essential party to these proceedings. Only the OEC is capable of representing equity interests which are demonstrably being opposed by both the debtors and creditors.
Since the OEC opposition, Clovis has made numerous concessions and modifications. This clearly shows the need for adversarial proceedings against the debtor which have yielded results.
(B) Negative Ruca sale price
The debtors have made a crippling mistake by allowing Rubraca to be sold for negative dollars! This is something they cannot recover from, and puts the specter of fraud over the entire BK filing. Since they claim to have closed the sale they no longer have an avenue of somehow ‘adjusting’ the sale to take it into a Positive Ruca sale price.
There is an interesting angle here that ESTABLISHES fraud. Let me explain how.
The key question is about the timing of the decision to include Ruca inventory as part of the sale.

1. After the auction: In this case, the bidder had put in a bid with no intent of getting inventory for free. So the company should charge for inventory considering that creditors are waiting for recovery. The company did not do so. It, of its own accord, chose to GIVE AWAY inventory for free. No, you cannot do so, when there are classes awaiting recovery. CLEAR FRAUD.
2. Before the auction: If the company was planning to include inventory of $100 mn in the sale, then there should have been a corresponding bid minimum. Since that was not done, we are in a laughable scenario that the company is holding out a hundred dollar bill and singing like a carnival barker ‘Sixty, sixty, do I hear a sixty five, seventy, sold for seventy’. Really?? CLEAR FRAUD.

Sorry Clovis, your fraud has unraveled, and company officers will be paying a penalty and some going to jail.
(C) ODAC debacle
FDA had clearly given Clovis two options, EITHER wait for OS data OR go in front of the ODAC. The OS data option was completely infeasible since data would take two years to mature and Clovis did not have that kind of financial runway. So really, ODAC was the ONLY option.
An ODAC presentation would have been something to look forward to considering the stellar PFS data. The whole reason that Athena results were delayed two times was because PFS was so strong it was preventing the requisite event related data. Considering that other front-line drugs were approved on the basis of PFS, it is a given that there would have been strong physician enthusiasm for Ruca.
In the above context, not going for ODAC is completely indefensible, and Pat and other officers can be NAILED on this point alone. Note that Gillian was one of the founders and she appears to have had a difference leading her to exit prior to BK. She needs to be deposed and held squarely responsible for this, unless she turns approver and throws Pat under the bus.
(D) Forensic analysis of expenses since Apr 2022
In my opinion the BK plan started getting crystalized after the fourth and final rejection of the share count increase proposal. Pat then had two goals: run down cash as much as feasible, and prevent regulatory successes that would value the assets higher.
First, we now know that Alix partners was engaged in the July timeframe to explore multiple options. How is it then that in September they entered a sourcing agreement with Isotopia? If cash conservation was the goal, how can one explain the money, time and effort spent on agreements like Isotopia? Was it that Novartis talks were in progress and Clovis was trying to preferentially spend money on FAP?
Second, why were strong headcount reductions not put in effect? This is such a simple and obvious measure to reduce the cash burn and I want to see the written documents where the cost benefit of this was explored and this option discarded. Instead, we had new requisitions being posted!
The interesting point is that Clovis is now publishing monthly results. We see that despite a headcount reduction of a fifth, revenue has not had a corresponding fall! This is the inelastic demand that I have previously written about. We now have DOCUMENTED PROOF that early headcount reductions would have prevented a spiral towards insolvency.
I believe that a forensic analysis of the accelerated spend since July, and comparing it to the prior quarter spending will yield interesting results!
(E) Excuse me, but your goose is cooked
The company officers need to realize that the game is up. They can flutter and flap all they want but their goose is cooked. The biggest mistake they made was to underestimate the equity opposition, and now they are in a predicament that they cannot extricate themselves from. I have a poor opinion of the lack of strategic vision of the debtors counsel, what was that name again, Twinkly, Far, and Galloping?!
Pat thought of us as sheep, that he would come to us saying ‘Your money is all mine’! Well, that’s when we sheep turn feral, grow fangs, and get in the mood to leave bite marks that are life altering!
I had previously written that four company officers deserve punishment, but now have changed my view to ALL officers. Why should board members get a pass, being responsible for oversight? We need to go after the whole bunch, with the possible exception of one or two approvers who are willing to sing like a canary.
(F) Equity is in a position of strength
We shareholders need to understand that our motivations are above board and can be presented in court. The entities opposing us are stronger than us but they have a corrupt agenda that they cannot state publicly on the record.
Can company officers admit in court that their hatred for retail investors made them act opposite to their fiduciary duties? No they cannot.
Can BP like AstraZeneca or Pfizer dare to stand up in court and state they wanted to neuter the competition in the PARP space? No they cannot, because the DOJ antitrust division is listening and they will be dragged over the coals.
Can the creditors open up that they actually have large short positions so their actual interest is share cancellation more than the full recovery that they claim to want? No they cannot.
These parties entered into this corrupt undertaking thinking that will pull levers behind the scenes and get away with the heist of the century. Well, sunlight is the best disinfectant. Now that the SEC and DOJ are fully involved, these behind the scene players will see the writing on the wall and gently melt into the hedges. The only party that will be left to take the full heat of our rage are the Clovis officers.
Considering the widespread fraud by Clovis officers, it is the Official Equity Committee that will be in the driver's seat going forward with the parallel and supporting effort from the DOJ and SEC. The OEC needs to closely guard the whistleblowers until the right opportunity. I’m looking forward to the DOJ Antitrust division becoming a party to the proceedings. We cannot have Biden’s moonshot cancer initiative on one hand, and on the other, a key oncology asset that promises to displace the SOC for Prostate (a cancer known for poor prognosis) to be rendered impotent (pun intended) in the hands of an insignificant overseas company.
(G) Two options for Clovis officers
Clovis officers need to realize that they cannot avoid the consequences of entering into bankruptcy fraud and the intent to eliminate equity. There is no getting around it. They need to figure out a way to minimize the punishment that is coming their way.

1. Agree to a liquidation in Ch. 7

If Clovis requests the judge to turn it into a Ch. 7, and let the full company be put up for sale under court supervision, they may still be avoid the worst. There is a pent up investor anger that needs to be satisfied. If investors get a healthy share price, say $12, it would immediately reduce the severity of the remaining punishment. Heck, if the share price is good enough, they may even get the third party release that they so desperately want.
In this case, there is no financial impact to the officers. All that they are doing is allowing some BP to come in and give the proper valuation for the company assets.

1. Dig in for a cage fight

If better sense does not prevail, the full investor anger will work its course out.
The first course of EC should be to prove BK fraud in front of Hon. Judge Stickles. Some people here automatically think the judge is on Clovis’ side. That may be incorrect. It is not lost on the judge that Equity Committee approvals are exceedingly rare. On top of that, the DOJ and SEC are fully engaged. Makes her wonder about the fire when there is so much smoke.
In the unlikely scenario that we do not prevail with fraud charges at this first level, there is the three member BAP bench to appeal to. The benefit of those proceedings will be that OEC will be represented from the get-go, and will be able to inform the bench about the seriousness of this case containing antitrust issues.
In parallel, a class-action can be started. There is a rich $50 mn. corpus that is available. I can imagine law firms falling over each other to get to a $20 mn payout to fully prosecute these crooks, including criminal charges. When there is a jury trial with everyday people like us who have lost our investments, that is when the full punishment will be given out.
If the fraud is proven within two years of the BK (more than enough time), the Ruca assets can also be clawed back and correctly sold in the market, making for even more recovery.
Make no mistake, if the company officers make it harder for us to corner them, our punishment will also be that much harder when we do corner them. By the time we are done with them, they will feel like a chew-toy in a cage of Rottweilers.
I’m hoping that better sense will prevail, and the company officers will ‘choose wisely’. But I have a feeling they won’t. Bring it!!
SPPAAAAAARTTAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
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Poster: Jacaranda Bloom
Reddit user ID (bookmark or follow): Timely_Huckleberry97

Can someone talk me out of buying an Amazon Special travel backpack? These puppies generally come in at well under £100 including packing cubes. Pretty much the same features, maybe they don’t claim to be made from the finest and most indestructible materials available.
The established and more boutique offerings are going to cost me close to £300 before cubes etc.
I’ve heard the arguments about R&D costs but I just can’t justify paying that much more for a product that, to my eye, has only unusually small branding to differentiate it from a bargain-tastic backpack. Besides many of them use kickstarter etc to get their babies to the market.
This is isn’t a troll post, just need someone to convince me why I need to spend north of £300 instead of £80!

Dear brother and sister, I hope you can spare some time to read my story and offer advice. I assure you it won't take more than 10 minutes.
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I am a 28 year old man currently living in Jordan.
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In 2012, I completed the tenth grade but made a regrettable decision to leave school. Being a teenager, I wasn't making the best choices. I started working in various places like stores, restaurants, and factories. When I returned home, I would play online games on my computer with other players. This continued until the end of 2014.
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In February 2015, due to my addiction to online games, I became curious about game programming. I started exploring the field, including game and website programming. In 2017, I focused on learning Android application programming, which I continue to do till this day. I stopped playing games three years ago. I worked on a freelance platform for Arabic clients, developing Android applications and fixing customer app issues. I completed work for 47 clients, with 95% positive reviews, thanks to God.
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In 2019, problems entered my life when I fell ill with perfectionism. You may ask what perfectionism is. You can find information about it on YouTube in Arabic and English.
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Let me continue my story. In 2019, I fell ill with perfectionism. Whenever I tried to start a new programming project, I couldn't finish it because I wasn't satisfied with the code. I would delete the entire project and start again, hoping to write better code. But every time I failed, even though the code worked correctly, I felt it should be rewritten to appear cleaner than before.
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In 2021, I closed my account on the freelance platform because I realized my perfectionism was causing significant problems. I knew I would receive negative reviews if I continued working in that state.
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In 2022, I found an advertisement from a company seeking a programmer to develop an application. At first, I hesitated due to my perfectionism, fearing failure. However, I eventually contacted them and received the project. The deadline was two months.
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While working on the application, I procrastinated as usual, searching for perfect ways to write the code. Unfortunately, I couldn't deliver the project on time, which caused problems with the company owner. I was threatened, and I had to rewrite the code without focusing on perfection, but rather on making it functional. I finally delivered the project after three months instead of two.
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In 2023, I took a wrong path and had three illicit relationships with women who were paid for their services. The first relationship was in January 2023, the second during Ramadan, which was a grave mistake, and the third was a week ago.
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I used up all the money I earned throughout the years on these women, and now I have no money left. I only have two Jordanian dinars in my pocket. I have no more money and I'm financially ruined.
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Recently, I have been experiencing symptoms such as fever, nighttime hallucinations, muscle pain, and a sore throat. I am concerned that these could be potential indicators of a medical condition, including AIDS, which is causing me distress. Regrettably, I am unable to afford the cost of a medical test or even cover transportation expenses, which may amount to approximately 15 Jordanian dinars.
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No one in my family or relatives knows about my problems. They only see me as a failure, even the closest ones. I suffer from severe depression, and I fear things may worsen. Maybe this is divine retribution?
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I've been praying regularly since I was young, but without sincerity. Three days ago, I tried to humble myself in prayer and repent to God, but I feel like a hypocrite instead of being genuinely sincere. It feels as if my heart has died due to the many sins I've committed. I've tried desperately to repent sincerely, but to no avail.
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I had hoped to work in my field and build a family with my future beloved wife in the Gulf or America. However, I'm now filled with despair. I'm at a loss for what to do, especially with the nightmare of AIDS haunting me.
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My advice to you, my brother and sister, is to never follow the path of the devil. It only brings momentary pleasure followed by a lifetime of regret.
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I kindly request the admin not to delete this post, as it would be the greatest favor they could do for me.
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I kindly request that you provide respectful comment to ensure that this discussion is conducted in an elegant manner, without resorting to personal attacks or treating me as if I were a criminal. Thank you for your understanding.

My friends, I like Urgot...
No, friends, I love Urgot!
I love his passive.
I love his abilities.
I love his stats.
I love his mechanical precision, his calculated movements, and his unstoppable presence on the battlefield.
Urgot in toplane, in jungle, in the midlane, as adc, as support, I love every role that can be on the Summoner Rift.
I love blasting the enemy to smithereens with my shotgun knees through the minion wave.
My heart leaps with joy whenever I buffer an enemy cc with Disdain and cut them to pieces with Purge. There is nothing like suddenly turning around and killing the enemy jungler when I have less than 10% of my health. The feeling that comes when a Riven runs and dash away with low hp, only to be pulled back with my Fear Beyond Death, is such an exquisite feeling! Like when my team does a final push in midlane! It moves me deep into my heart to see someone unused to the matchup say "Broken Champ!" over and over in the chat after they died three times in lane.
The sight of the enemy team losing its mind because botlane refuses to surrender is an irresistible pleasure. And there's nothing more amusing than the sight of the enemy jungler dying once again when he was simply trying to farm in peace!
When the enemy team try a desperate gank to get my shutdown with nothing but their first item only to die and see their Nexus smashed to pieces by me and my team, I'm in ecstasy.
I love it when I get killed by the enemy ADC. It's so sad when our towers and inhibitors that were supposed to be defended at all costs crumble, the dragon killed and soul claimed.
I love to be squashed under the heel of another toplaner, the humiliation of being skill diffed as I get killed once again, my plates falling to the onslaught.
Gentlemen... All I ask is for a build, a build so grand as to make the Summoner Rift itself tremble. Gentlemen, I ask you as fellow brother in arms what is it that you really want? Do you wish for further build as I do? Do you wish for a merciless, bloody build? A build whose fury is built with Black Cleavers and Steraks and Redemption?! Do you ask for our build to sweep in like a tempest, leaving the enemy laner with less than100 gold when killed?!
Very well then. A build you shall have.
But, after 6 seasons, for us, a simple "ordinary" build will no longer sufficient.
We need a MASSIVE build! A build beyond any other that man's history has ever known!
We are but a single ranged champion... The remnant of our core build numbers less than two items. However, I believe that each of our old items are worth a thousand of their sickly new Mythics! We represent a force that could easily defeat a full build champion!
It is time for them to rework the ones who sent us screaming into oblivion, and who now lie sleeping. Let us drag them out of lane by the hairs, and remind them of what we are! We will remind them of what it feels like to live in fear. We will remind them of the sound of our Echoing Flames against their hp bars!
We will remind them that there is more to the game than botlane and Jungle.
Our champion will decimate them wherever they try to hide.
Yes, my friends! Soon, their Nexus's charred rubbles will illuminate the Rift!
Redemption brought us back just like Urpog said it would. Back to our favorite role. To our beloved toplane!
Attention, all players of our glorious Urgot, this is a message from a random Urgot main!
Friends... let's bring them hell.
---
Inspired by the speech from the Major in Hellsing, mostly improvised in VC (until the "very well" part). Since I lost lane last game I had to make a complete version and post it here.

I was hoping I could get some realistic estimates of the cost of mechanical work on my vehicle. I'm located on the mid-north coast of NSW.
I own a 2013 Toyota Rav4 (150k km). I booked it into a new mechanic today (much closer to where I live, hoping to find a long-term mechanic who offered sound advice and fair prices). I asked for the front pads to be replaced and to call me if any additional work was required.
I ended up heading down to the shop at the close of business as I hadn't heard anything (minutes before they closed, they were seemingly busy). They were just finishing up work on the vehicle and ended up replacing both pads and rotors (saying one of the calliper slides had seized). No call.
I was charged:

• $225 Labour
• $85 Front Brake Pads (1)
• $280 Front Brake Rotors (2)
• $20 Consumables

They also advised me that the noise my car was making when the clutch pedal was pressed in was a sign that the clutch bearing likely needed replacing in the near future (saying it was hard to say when it could fail). They said that due to the labour hours required (8?) that I may as well replace the clutch (pad?) at the same time, and estimated it to cost around $2500 total.
I'm not familiar with the parts they used today, but assumed they were cheap, and feel like I was charged a little heavily for the work. I also feel like $2500 is a significant over-quote to replace the clutch and bearing.
Could I please get some opinions?

Hey, Before we get too deep into it I want to be clear this is not discussing any like...active plans to move to Alaska currently or things of that nature. What this is is me checking both for myself and my girlfriend in a "what if" scenario be both favor for our future together. I am looking for serious responses, but nothing urgent.
Backround: Me and my Girlfriend have gotten quite close in the near 2 years we've known one another, and obviously in that time the idea of where we would go if we moved in together has come up here and there. One place near the top of both of our lists is Alaska. We're both already pretty introverted and isolationist. Personally I think the fresh air and rolling nature would do wonders for both our health problems (myself having a lot of mental health issues such as anxiety, autism, and so on. Herself having physical issues with her lungs for example) and shes repeatedly expressed a love for its beauty. (For the record, she generally dislikes the cold. So knowing that and still favoring alaska above all others is a testament to her favor to the state)
However obviously their are pros and cons to everywhere you go. And your own situation affects that. For instance, Im fully medically disabled, fully collect disability insurance. I currently can't drive and honestly am somewhat scared too. A tendency to be overwhelmed mixing with with rows of 2 ton speed machines is just asking for disaster. As such, I was wondering a few things.
1:Are their any specific jobs or programs you can enter that can give you work at your own pace. Like say, get you in contact with a fishing boat who needs a one time crew member. Or something else that can generate an income without putting too much pressure. Like can you sell things you hunt/fish for a suitable income? (factoring in social security)
Everyone knows the basics of Alaska when it comes to climate. Cold, wet, high costs for groceries. But are their any aspects that should be focused on? Like How does the climate change from the north to south of the state? what are the pros and cons for each section (Can other than north to south, like costal vs inland)
The internet is important to both of us currently. Especially myself as the music works as a great way to help channel my anxiety brain, though my girlfriend also enjoys it for things such as artwork crafting. Is there anything we should consider on that front?
More for my girlfriend for this question. What kind of crops and plants can you grow? my girlfriend is an avid botanist, which she does for fun but can also be used to help grow food for us. Though of course, I'd want to know what she can expect. Also on that front, she raises rabbits for breeding and eating. Is that also a thing you can do up in Alaska?
And final one for now, how do you expect Alaska to be in 10-20-30+ years? As I said before this is not an immediate move, so time is going to have an impact on us all. You can get news from any station about climate change or whatever, but you are the people who actually live in Alaska and experience its highs and lows. So, what do you think it will be like in the years to come?
Thats it for my questions, though of course if you have ANYTHING you want to say outside of my questions, feel free to add to it! Im looking for anything and everything I can use to potentially plan my far future.
Either way, thanks for reading and I hope you have a good day ^^

This is not a motivational post for freelancer who are going to start or are willing to start soon. Please ignore the motivation aspect and i believe everyone has different sklls and can do wonders in their journeys.
I started a BV lately, Everything was ready and i got the bad news 4 days before i was supposed to start that my client has issues with Budget and they are unable to onboard me. I considered to take back my employment with my current employer and decided to start may be 6-8 months after with freelance. so for next 1 year my newly created BV will have no income and i will not pay myself anything from it.
What are good and cost friendly options for my BV ?
Should i keep it running?
- This will mean i will have to pay the accounting charges every month
- but I am not sure how much of social security contribution will i hve to pay knowing that i will be employed at another company and will pay myself nothing and my BV will have no income. Do you have any idea?
Should i close it off?
- I have no lease/no asset/no finance/no loan from the company and initial contibution was of 3000 Euro. Do you know what i will be liable for in case i declare it bankrupt?
- How much will it actually cost me to close it off?

I want to know the best way to adjust the brightness or world lighting a little.
Im using: - Wabbajack with FUS RO DAH - DLAA - ReShade Low Cost The Sharper Eye
Everything else as per the mod pack un touched. There seems to be a few ini files like the Sharper Eye that mention brightness but I dont know which one I should touch.
I LOVE how dark it is but I just want to see if I enjoy it with just a slight notch up as even daytime in house are just so damn dark. Going though thieves guide tunnels is literarily pitch black in parts that have fairly close light sources
Im using a quest pro with local dimming if that has some baring on how I should do this. Its set to full brightness

1. Gary Gensler and SEC-themed meme coins surged in value after the regulator’s lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase. Good Gensler (GENSLR) rose by 260%, Fuck Gary Gensler (FKGARY) grew by over 530%, and the SEC token was launched on June 5 and rose by 15,530% in 24 hours.
   
2. The NFT market could exceed $211 billion by 2030, and the non-fungible token technology will change the perception of value and ownership in both the digital and physical worlds. These are the conclusions reached by Grand View analysts.
   
3. Louis Vuitton is releasing a collection of its iconic Treasure Tank chests as non-fungible tokens. Vogue Business writes about it. Each NFT costs about €39,000, with several hundred copies available in total, which can be purchased on a closed platform as part of the Via program.
   

Hello,
I am thinking of buying a website that has paid subscribers. The business provides two types of services: Service A and B. I plan on focusing on Service A and discontinuing Service B. This may cause requests for refunds from existing subscribers who have already made their yearly payment ($250 per year).
The subscription payments are made via PayPal. Paid members are on a monthly or yearly payment plan. And there are a few members paid for “lifetime” for both Service A and B by a promotion ran by the current owner..
I am concerned whether there may be any potential liability on my part after I close on the transaction. The current owner is willing to take on the liability from Service B. But my question is how can I (the new owner) be protected from any liability for discontinuing Service B?
Is it okay to transfer the business PayPal account from the current owner to me by updating the profile of the account on PayPal? Or is it better to replace the current PayPal plugin to my own PayPal account/plugin?
This is my first time to purchase an online business. The seller and I plan to use escrow.com for this transaction.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

This subreddit will be going private for 48 hours on June 12-13, joining many other large and small subreddits, to protest Reddit's API changes that would cost apps like Apollo (which I use for most of my moderating) millions of dollars a year to keep operating.
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More information here
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It sucks that it comes to having to close a useful forum for financial and banking help for a bit, but I think the larger cause is much more important. Please feel free to discuss in the comments as I am open to hearing your opinions.

Let me start by saying I’m not going to sugarcoat myself here. I want real feedback, because I’m not sure how to proceed.
7 months ago, my girlfriend (23f) found out that I (27m) had cheated on her. We’ve been together for 3 years. And on top of that, I had been struggling with a porn addiction that had begun to ruin my life. I was in a terrible place, and chose to stoke my addiction, and reach beyond our relationship.
Before finding out, we had been living together for about a month in my house. We had chosen to rent out her house and live together in mine. And had been discussing the idea of getting married.
The day she found out was one of the worst days of either of our lives. She found messages between me, and a girl I’ve known for quite some time on and off. We slept together in the summer of 2022, about 6 months before this point. And had been in contact on a monthly basis since then.
Miraculously, my girlfriend and I stayed together. But on the day she found these messages, she chose to promptly move out. I told her I wanted her to stay. But I absolutely understand she needed space, and to feel safe.
Flash forward to now. My girlfriend chose to rent an apartment for the last 7 months, due to her house being occupied by tenants, while we patched up our relationship. I chose to start seeing a therapist specialized in sex addictions, and have been steadily on the road to recovery. The process has been tough, but I’ve been sober for quite a few months now, despite the added stress of being laid off. This of course took a toll on our relationship, but we’ve managed to endure and work on things. My girlfriend also chose to see a therapist specializing in betrayal trauma, and has been recovering herself.
So here we are today. Our relationship is by no means perfect. But I love her, and I want to get through this.
Tonight, we had bit of a blow out. It wasn’t an argument, no voices were raised, but tears were shed. In fact very few words were even said. Just that she felt “done with this whole thing.” She decided to leave and spend the night at her place instead of together.
About an hour later, I received a shared note titled “Monthly Costs.” But no messages. Then shortly later a Venmo request. She’s calculated the extra cost to her over the last 7 months of living in an apartment and attending therapy. This number totals close to $5000 in added expenses she feels I’m responsible for.
My friends have given me advice, saying that I’m not responsible for paying for this. That she chose to move out, sign a lease, attend therapy, etc.
But I feel like a piece of shit to be honest with you. I’ve made leaps and bounds in therapy, but still feel absolutely ashamed of myself for the pain I’ve caused. And those feelings have me struggling with what’s right and what’s wrong.
So what would you do? Pay the money, and possibly save the relationship? Or stand your ground, and let things play out?
TLDR:
Cheated on my girlfriend of 3 years near the end of 2022, and hid a porn addiction from her. She moved out, though I told her I’d like her to stay or come back whenever she was ready, and has been living in an apartment for the last 7 months. I’ve been sober for for quite some time, attended therapy, and am in a much better place now. I love her very much, and have been trying to better our relationship. However now she would like me to pay for the accumulated expenses the last 7 months have cost her, including housing and therapy (about $5000). I feel incredibly ashamed for the things I’ve done. But I’m unsure if I should be financially responsible for these things.
Edit: For added context, this is unfortunately not the first time we’ve been “done” in the last 7 months, and statements like she made have been said. I fully expected ups and downs after what happened, and we’ve indeed been close to ending the relationship before now. However we have always made up the next day or so, usually with a fair amount of effort and convincing on my part. But the addition of putting a dollar amount on her pain and suffering has me in a moral predicament this time.

Unique challenges and potential complications in emergency hernia surgery include the following:

1. Hemodynamic instability: Close monitoring of blood pressure, heart rate, and fluid balance is necessary to manage the instability caused by factors like hypovolemia and preexisting cardiovascular disease.
2. Respiratory complications: Preoperative assessment, lung function optimization, and vigilant postoperative monitoring are crucial to mitigate the risk of respiratory issues like atelectasis and pneumonia.
3. Infection: Awareness of systemic sepsis and wound infections is important, and preventive measures like antibiotic prophylaxis and aseptic techniques should be followed.
4. Postoperative pain control: Balancing pain management and potential side effects such as respiratory depression is vital through individualized plans and considering medical history and drug interactions.
5. Surgical complications: Anesthesiologists should be prepared to manage complications arising from the hernia repair procedure, including wound issues, infection, and recurrence, by providing support and coordinating with the surgical team.
6. Cardiovascular events: Close monitoring of blood pressure, ECG, and oxygenation is crucial due to the potential risk of cardiac complications during the procedure.
7. Pulmonary complications: Diligent monitoring and early intervention are needed to address complications like atelectasis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
8. Thromboembolic events: Measures like pharmacological prophylaxis and early mobilization should be considered to minimize the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE).
9. Metabolic and electrolyte imbalances: Monitoring and prompt correction of imbalances in electrolytes like potassium, sodium, and magnesium are necessary to maintain patient well-being.
10. Allergic reactions: Vigilance for allergic reactions to anesthetic drugs is essential, particularly in patients with known allergies or hypersensitivity history.
11. Delayed recovery and prolonged ICU stay: Active involvement in postoperative care and collaboration with the team are crucial to optimize recovery and minimize ICU stay duration.

To reduce your possibility of developing complications and increase the chances of a successful treatment, you can undergo hernia surgery in Mumbai as it has some of the best doctors available for your treatment.

Hello!
Here is my feedback to the developers of MTGA which I would like for them to read and probably do something with it. This post is solely devoted to the non-core part of the game, which I consider to be a premium part of it: cosmetics. Let me start with the most recent events.

1. Pre-orders

Now with the LotR preorders out we can compare them with what we had before. For 2 sets, starting from ONE, we had a split preorder which was known before that as Play bundle which was targeting those who don't want to buy packs (mostly those, who builds their collection through the drafts). I will still consider both play + pass bundle as one bundle since that's how I buy and it makes the comparison easier.
Both ONE and MOM play bundles were of the same value:

• Sealed token
• 2 draft tokens
• 5 Play-In Points
• 2 different mythic card art sleeves
• 2 different mythic cards + their styles
• Unique pet
• Mastery Pass

And compare it to the LotR preorder:

• Sealed token
• 2 draft tokens
• 5 Play-In Points
• Mythic card art sleeves
• Mythic card + style
• Mastery Pass

So if we pre-order LotR we lose a mythic card, its parallax style and a pet. If you take the pet's value from the store we are missing out on (1200 + 3000 + price_of_the_mythic_card) ~= 4200 gems or 20$. So we buy essentially the same product which we bought previously but now we are getting 20$ less content from a bundle which costs 40$. So get basically half of what you usually get. Not cool.
Yes, the pre-order can still be considered good in terms of gems-to-$ but it doesn't matter to me, because I felt like we had a contract which terms won't be worse as we proceed. Yes we didn't signed anything but since the things have been the same for some years I used to some particular treatment and wouldn't mind the terms to improve. But when the terms deteriorated it left me confused to say the least. That's why I choose not to buy any of the pre-orders this time (first time since IKO!): you violated the contract so I have to abstain from buying it, even if I want to—I just can't condone such a behavior. And given that my main game formats are Historic + Alchemy + Limited I'm the target audience for this set and pre-order, what an irony.
So whoever is in charge of this change just lost a customer who has been buying the product for 3 years (apart from me not playing during VOW-SNC). And even if the next set is done better than this one, like the old ones, the damage is still done, you lost some of the goodwill. From now on the pre-orders are no longer must buy for me. Nice!ly done.

2. Daily deals

Since the DD has been introduced we had the following unwritten contract:

• 40-50% off the most recent cards (mostly 50% with occasional 40%).
• 50-75% off the older cards.
• Occasional, but not rare, 80-95% off some card. Cards usually playable.
• All rare duals/triome land parallax styles within ~2 weeks of the set release. All at once for 50% off.

Personal story of how I dealt with these deals. I bought all the lands. Bought all the 60%+ outside of the cards I deemed unplayable. Bought most of the 50% if I could imagine playing some of these cards later. Many of the cards I ended up never using but that was ok. Also I was unwilling to spend more than 3000 gems per day, just a personal quirk. I spent a lot on DD styles. Anyway, it was always fun to check the DD every day and read what other people think about the cards offered: what is playable, how good they are etc.
Of course, there was a room for improvement for the DDs: more thematic sales, like tribals, deck that won something, most played cards in this month etc. (like a few days ago was the best deal in months, featuring Creativity card styles; both discount and card selection were great). Instead, some 7-8 months ago you broke this contract and filled the DD with uplayable cards, which sometimes are not playable even in the corresponding draft format, accompanied by the bad discounts.
Now we have 20%-40% for the new and old cards alike. Most of the time the card selection is boring even for bigger discount. There is nothing to read about the deals because it is mostly gloom and despair. In ONE you didn't even sell all the rare dual land styles which never happened before! I don't know what numbers are telling you but as far as I'm concerned you almost killed the thing that needed an improvement and it is sad. Why almost? Because I still have hope.
Now personal story of how my dealing changed. I do not buy anymore styles which I won't play today or tomorrow. They became expensive and I don't want to buy them. Only what is necessary I buy. And it doesn't matter anymore if it is 50% today because I know that everything else will be expensive tomorrow so I'd rather keep my money for what I really need. For example, recently the MOM Kogla card was offered for 50% and while before it was a snap buy (because I see myself playing it in some unknown-yet deck), now I just abstained because right now I don't have or see the deck I want to put it in. With this change I mostly stopped using gems to buy styles because the rare occasions I buy them, I can use gold which keeps growing for having nothing else to spend it on. Since the DD has been introduced I almost never had gold on my account until 6-8 months ago. Now I almost always have it. Oops.

3. Card styles

And finally I want to point out the most egregious part of the negligence toward the premium content and us, buyers. Implementation of the so called depth art card styles, or parallax styles as we, MTGA people, call it. Here are the problems with them that I know of.

3.1 Styles exist/existed but not applied to the cards.

There are many cards which were lacking styles before these styles were added through the spellbooks or conjuring of the corresponding digital-only cards (aka Alchemy). Most of them were also applied to the older cards but not all of them. Cards like Colossus Hammer, Blood Artist and Youthful Valkyrie all have styles implemented but you can't buy/apply these styles to the existing standalone cards. That should be fixed.
NOTE: this and later lists are not comprehensive and are here to illustrate the problem, not to build an exhaustive list of all the problems. I'd appreciate (and hope the devs would too) if you improve these lists by commenting with the cards these lists are lacking.

3.2 Styles for the tokens.

While you seem to have some kind of diligence as far as main cards are concerned you seem to casually ignore tokens which these cards are producing. The most egregious example is the release of MOM where no card generates a parallax token. Not a single one. The main theme with incubators and none of them are implemented properly. Guys, that's really really bad. You seem to not understand that for us, buyers, the token is as important as the main card. And I'm not just talking about cards like Sunfall or Ral's Reinforcement where it should be obvious. I'm talking about consistency: I want my part of the board to look consistent, which means all the permanents on my side should not have borders.
If I have cards that I can't make lose borders then the consistency dies and I stop caring about other cards, essentially making me not wanting to buy anything at all! One more time: tokens are as important as the main card, they all should be parallaxed. And if some card, having parallax style, produces non-parallax token then it should be considered a bug which has to be fixed. We don't know if the card worked before or not and we shouldn't bother to know that: no style, report, get it fixed. As simple as that; for everyone.
Speaking of which the following list presents you with the cards (category of cards, really) which used to produce the styled tokens but not anymore (and for some this "anymore" is how long, year, more than a year?): Wedding Announcement (staple card in virtually any white deck in Standard!), Verdant Command (squirrels), DnD treasures (Prosperous Innkeeper and many other playable cards), Legion's Landing. Is this list exhaustive? I don't think so but these I came up with anyway. What should we do with the styles we bought months ago? Should we ask for refund en mass? Thinking...
And there is another list of playable cards which to my knowledge never produced styled tokens: Saprolings (Slimefoot and Squee is now a playable card, sapros should be styled), Devils from “Ob Nixilis, The Adversary”, Rhino for Titan Of Industry, Cats & Dogs from Jinnie Fay, Angels from Resplendent Angel (staple in the angels).
So 2 lists, the first one is full of bugs the second is full of job-not-done. I know that, because I'm curious and have been playing this game for long. Average user doesn't and shouldn't know that. So for the avg user both lists should be the same: bugs. And bugs should be fixed. Since these bugs are in the premium content they should be fixed ASAP. The only thing that outclasses it is the core gameplay. And for these bugs there should be a separate category on a normal bug tracker where people can get some feedback, not this seemingly abandoned self-hosted User Voice where you post to oblivion.

3.3. Non-existent styles for the staple cards.

Now let's go to the territory of missed opportunities. The following list contains the list of cards which are staple in meta decks but never had the styles for them added:
Munitions Expert, Reckless Charge, Shoreline Scout's conjured Land, Regal Force from Freyalise, Sterling Grove, Parhellion II, Damping Sphere, Elvish Clancaller.
And here is another list with not staples but solid cards which saw and still see play in probably not tier 1 but solid competitor decks: Dwynen's Elite, Spawn Of Mayhem, Legion's Lieutenant, Champion of Dusk, Vicious Conquistador, Herald's Horn, Shaper's Sanctuary, Archon of Emeria.
And finally to some interesting example which we had with SIS (bonus-sheet subset to Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered, or SIR). We have styles for Falkenrath Noble, Kruin Outlaw and Barter in Blood but don't have styles for Snapcaster Mage, Avacyn's Pilgrim (and/or Young Wolf), Griselbrand. 3 whatever cards have styles while 3 playables with 2 of them iconic (?) do not. Who planned the implementation of these styles? Good game.
So this section is about missing opportunities. Why? Because you fail to present me with the options to buy. I want to buy styles in general but I snap buy the styles for the staple cards I can play every day and in multiple decks. We have tons of cards, mostly from the time when there were no paralax styles, still not implemented. But with SIR & SIS we had a newly introduced to Arena set which has most of the cards unstyled. Not cool.
I get it, you have only so much you can do with the resources you have. I really do and if you can't for some reason style every card from the past let's implement the priority queue where we, the users, will vote for what should be implemented next. You create a list of all the not-implemented card styles and we vote. You implement the top-voted style and remove it from the poll. That way we will see progress, have influence on what should be done next and you will see what styles people are not interested in and can be safely ignored. Implemented styles should be put into the patch notes so we know when to come back and vote again.
So that's how I see the final solution:

1. All new-to-Magic sets should be fully styled. It is your face, it is what new and casual users will meet with first. You can't tolerate half-baked premium content there.
2. New-to-Arena (but not to Magic, like SIR) should be fully styled if possible. If not then the priority should be deduced from the MTGO data (or other data you think is better) of the most playable cards in the formats Arena has some access to (Explorer ~ Pioneer, Modern ~ Historic, Historic Brawl ~ Commander) and implemented accordingly. The rest should be added to the vox populi list of delayed implementation.

3.4 A few words about other styles.

Sagas is another thing that is a bit controversial and inconsistent. Most of them are not parallaxed and, in my opinion, the saga permanent itself should not be parallaxed. It doesn't need this treatment they are good as is. But some of them still should have parallax styles. Why? Because some of them produce tokens or transform. You had Tymaret Calls the Dead parallax style implemented which reflects on the saga but not tokens. Instead it should produce parallax tokens and the saga itself can be unstyled (anyone have other opinion on that?). The same goes to other token generating sagas like History of Benalia and others. But the more important ones are the NEO sagas which transform into creatures. While, again, the saga permanent doesn't need to be parallaxed the resulting creature should.
So when you implemented everything mentioned in this post I will finally being able to have my side of the board fully styled in one consistent style. For which I paid real money because there is no way for a f2p player to style their decks fully and consistently. As far as I'm concerned it is a win-win for both parties. Because the other way to have your side of the board consistent is to not have styles at all. And that is lose-lose for me and you.
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The last topic I'd like to touch is parallax lands. IIRC the last parallaxed non-full art basic lands were implemented in Eldraine and then you stopped (snow lands in KHM were also gorgeous). The only full-art lands which got parallax styles were Nyx lands from THB. It is the other thing that you are missing out: probably not every set has beautiful basics but LotR has some, why not implement the parallax lands there? Same goes to some full art lands. I get it that you need a square to have the land looks cool but some of them can be cut to squares and still look good, so maybe experiment some? Lands are sellers, aren't they?
Personally, I stopped buying lands after THB because they have borders. I really like my THB lands but don't mind to buy some others to have some diversity across the decks. Oh, and give the people who wasn't lucky playing during THB an opportunity to buy these parallaxed lands. Take their money they are throwing at you!
Anyway my long feedback post is finally over, not that I don't have anything more to say, I just think it is enough for now. I hope u/WotC_Jay and other people responsible for making decisions for this game will read it in words and spirit. If I was harsh in some words, I don't really meant it that way. I wish this game all the best and hence this post. But only you can make it happen, so...
Your Go

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You may have seen some entertainment outlets last week hailing Jeanne du Barry's apparent financial success.

Johnny Depp's 'Jeanne du Barry' enjoys decade-best start for a Cannes opener at French box office
The Hollywood Reporter

Eric Marti, from industry analysts Comscore France, believes the film could reach 850,000 admissions by the end of its theatrical run.
French distributor Le Pacte is even more bullish:

Le Pacte’s boss Jean Labadie, a veteran French producer-distributor who was one of the film’s first backers along with the sales banner Goodfellas (formerly Wild Bunch International), is even more enthusiastic than Marti, saying that “Jeanne du Barry” could garner up to one million admissions in French theaters.
Variety

However, despite that 'record-breaking' opening, the numbers aren't quite adding up for Maïwenn's expensive period drama.
After opening at the Cannes film festival on May 16th, Jeanne du Barry scored 401,481 admissions in its first week — 345,298 in theaters — which is indeed the best start for a Cannes-opener at the French box office since 2013's The Great Gatsby. Depp's PR has, predictably, been celebrating this as a triumphant return to box office success for the 59-year-old, signalling to any onlooking Hollywood producers that he's still a draw for discerning punters. But these numbers start to look less impressive when you scratch the surface.
The film's second week admissions declined by 55% to 156,279, and a further 52% in its third week to 75,653, for a current cumulative total of 631,477 admissions. It has grossed an estimated $4.8m so far, according to Box Office Mojo. Assuming that rate of decline stays consistent across its theatrical run, admissions will plateau at around 700,000 for a total estimated gross of $5.3m, well short of that lofty prediction of one million admissions from Le Pacte. If Comscore's prediction of 850k comes true, that would result in a $6.4m gross, so let's call that the upper estimate.
So how would that stack up against Maïwenn's career so far? Her most successful film, Polisse (2011), achieved 2.4m admissions, grossed $19.8m ($20.3m worldwide) and won the Jury Prize at Cannes 2011. Her most recent film ADN (2021) grossed $2.1m, despite being affected by reduced admissions due to Covid. Jeanne du Barry is tracking closely with Mon Roi (2015), which attracted 745,483 admissions and grossed $5m ($8m WW). In short, JdB is performing close to average for a Maïwenn film, so while Depp's inclusion doesn't appear to have significantly harmed its performance (as expected, he was never cancelled), it certainly hasn't elevated it beyond expectations.
But will it be profitable? The film's production budget was reported by Deadline to be $22.4m, making it one of the most expensive French films of 2022 and one of only three French films with a budget of over €10m. That figure doesn't even include things like marketing and distribution costs, so the film's break-even point will be several million higher. You don't have to be a mathematician to work out that there's going to be a pretty sizeable shortfall there.
PS if you're interested in a detailed breakdown of JdB's numbers, check out film producer (and Amber supporter) Paulo Boccato's threads (#1 and #2), in which he explains that while the film's opening week looks good on the surface, the finer detail shows that it's underperforming relative to its high production budget and wide release.
Now, it must be said that the French release isn't the end of the story: Netflix have acquired streaming rights (in France only) starting 15 months after its theatrical release, and there have been attempts to find an American distributor, although that has proved difficult so far due to Depp's poor reputation in the US film industry. But even if it does end up being shown across the Atlantic, it's difficult to see how the $20m (minimum) gap to profitability is going to be bridged.
So, it's well on course to becoming a flop at the French box office, a US deal might not happen and Netflix probably won't make up the shortfall, which all begs the question: why was this film ever greenlit with a budget so high and a star whose reputation makes it difficult to find distribution in the US? Beware the Depp spin on this one.

So, I'm feeling an itch to try and do another crossover, this time with Frostpunk of all things. Thus, I am gonna try it. However I must state some thing. In this universe, as the date Frostpunk is set in. Or at least, The scenario "A new home" is happening in. Is somewhere during 1886 to 87. And the invention of the Nukes are during 1933. So for all intents and purposes, The Federation never stumbled upon humanity. At least, in a way they stumble upon them so much earlier than they should. This way, the feds never had a reason to exterminate the species in the first place. They didn't know they existed.
In terms of things regarding the Laws of New London. In this story, both Order and Faith are mixed together. The laws leading to Faith Keepers and The Temple are signed as well as the laws leading to Patrols and Foremen. As for Adaptation laws. Child Labor, Extended Shift, Soup, Extra rations for the Ill, Prosthetics, Ceremonial funerals, Public house. Nearly everything is researched.

For the purpose of the City, they haven't crossed the Line yet. But as any who played the game knows. The other side of the Line is so tempting. So very, very tempting.

Memory Transcript: Felix Hawthorn - Captain, leader of the last City
Date: [standardized human time]: Day 47
I can no longer see the lights out there. The Little fires and candles that lit up the city. The houses are all but covered in ice. The automatons are barely managing to work through the frigid winds. I turn to check the thermometer, even in my office. Built at the base of the Generator. The winds could reach me through the cracks in the walls. I blinked the ice out of my eyes as my vision locks with the thermometer. "Negative... 150 degrees..." I croaked out. Speaking aloud as I slowly turned to face the cloak on the wall.
To my bewilderment, and amazement. It was still turning away. Even when frost threatened to break it. Just a few more hours... just a few more...
I weakly lifted my arm, If I survive. It'll need amputating. I couldn't even feel the burning cold that was coating its' senses yesterday.
No guardsmen, Faith Keeper, or anyone has came to alert me to anything new... The infirmaries were the only buildings with enough warmth for people to at the very least. Feel chilly... Heh... "Should probably go to one..." I shiver at I felt Jack Frost threaten to tear my insides apart, speaking my thoughts won't help much... thinking things out will keep me focused...
I can't go to a Infirmary. We have no space for a new one to be built, nor do we have enough space for everyone... Thus, here I sit. In my chair. Watching the frost grow on my windows... I pray to myself, that whoever plunged us in this Frozen Hell. Would have mercy on the children and the elderly
As the glass in my window gets overgrown in ice and snow, I slowly close my eyes. And lay back. If this is the end of the human race as we know it... I rather sleep through it than see the results. I already wrote down notes so whomever finds me, will know what to do.
Sleep takes me, the frost won't win that battle at least. In the realms of Dreams. I'm sitting under the warm sun, my daughter and son playing in the grass not too far from me. My wife and I play a game, pointing out the different shapes the clouds made in the sky...
​
There is a pirate ship... a bird... that's a whale... "No, silly. That's a dolphin!" she'd laugh, I would respond with a chortle and a "Well, when you're right, you're right."
Such warmth... It's not even that warm in actuality, it is as average a day as any other... but I feel so... warm.
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Memory Transcript: Jannim, Junior Venlil explorer
Date: [standardized human time]: Day 47
I shivered as the ship struggles to handle the temperature of this planet. Of course, sometimes a explorer will never come back. Be it through running into Predators, a error in the systems. Or just bad luck. But I never thought it would happen to me.
I boot up the terminal, thankful it still worked at least. "Explorer Log 21. Jannim. Horkle, our exterminator. Succumbed to the wounds he sustained during the crash. Day 7 after the crash, our pilot, Thalk and captain Fonn still haven't came in from checking on the damages the ship sustained when the storm hit us. Should've left when we noticed it but no... we just had to be heroes to a race we don't even know how to find." I panted as I glanced to the ships' walls. Thanks to the ship I'm alive, but how long will the power last? If Fonn and Thalk were still alive out there... I took a deep breath and continue the log "The captain and pilot left the ship sometime yesterday, to check on external damages and on the engines.-" A growl from the predator-like winds stole my attention away.
You survived a Arxur raid, and this is how you go out? Fearing for your life because of alien nature?
Yes, I was...
​
I take a bite out of my emergency rations, the blandness of it was much better than the chill in the air. "-I-if anyone finds this, leave this planet. Don't go looking for the natives, LEAVE. Before the scans broke down, it appears the planet is gonna undergo various storms similar to the one I am in. Leave at once and mark the planet down as a Deathtrap." I managed to keep myself from stuttering as I continued the message "The planet itself seems predatory, if this is anything to go by. I believe the natives of this planet will have succumbed to the frost during this storm. If not this one, then the next one. Or the one after that. However long it takes. Nothing should be able to survive such harsh winds in this temperature."
I stop myself, taking a few deep breaths, then another bite of my ration. "... If you're stationed near Venlil Prime. Please, find Pallhen. He's my father... tell him... I love him, and that I'm with Mother now." I choke past a tear as I looked to the systems. "Looks like the lights are about to fail, if the controls are anything to go by. Even if the pilot and captain return. We won't be able to even launch... Final log of Junior Explorer Jannim. Protector watch over us." I sighed before ending the Log. Left in silence, I listened to the predatory-storm beat on the ship. And watch Horkles' corpse lay on the medical table of our ship.
Silently counting the emergency rations, and what regular rations we have left. I would last around a week. Perhaps longer if I space my meals out... I think I'll just keep my meals as is, having to do with spacing meals out will just raise my hopes... Can't really have that if this storm lasts much longer.
I resumed eating my ration as I try to guess what the natives were like before this planet became a great, big, Temperature Predator. ------------------------------------------------ Memory Transcript: Felix Hawthorn - Captain, leader of the last City
Date: [standardized human time]: Day 48
"Captain!" A harsh voice awakens me, I use my one good arm to push the Faith Keepers' hands off me. He was apparently shaking me awake. "I'm up, I'm up!" I cried out as I sighed. I could see the relief worm its way onto Brother Collins' face. "Captain. We made it" he exclaimed as a mix of relief and pure joy radiates from his face to his voice. I grumbled in tired bewilderment as I turned to look at the thermometer.
"The storm has passed!" Collin cheered as I mentally froze at the sight on the Thermometer on the wall. -20 degrees Celsius... "Brother Collin! don't just stand there!" I cried out as I stand up with as much my renewed vigor would allow me. Causing the Faith-keeper to freeze in place. "Get out there, and tell the Guards to check the people, check them yourself it you have to. I need information on how our population handled this storm before we move forward!" I shout my orders at Collin, before grabbing my scarf off my neck. The ice still hasn't thawed off my scarf but... I fashion it into a sling for my arm "I'll be here after I have my arm amputated. Can't die now after all we went through." I allow a slight snicker escape my lips as I walk out the doors of my office and marched to the nearest infirmary. I could hear Collin run out of the office shortly after me and went off to find the guards, check families. Maybe both.
To my relief, the infirmary I first arrived at had a place open for me. Due to overcrowding, I was given a seat on the floor. And now... here I wait, listening to the doctors and nurses comfort and calm the ill and wounded. A few shot nasty glares at me... I'd like to see them try and prepare the city for a storm like that. I think I did pretty well... ---A few hours later.--- "So... we're at 307 able bodies, a hundred dead. Five missing. And finally, 246 amputees" I stated to the Head guardsmen, Matthew Williams. And there beside him stood high Priest Jenkins Anderson. "Moral will go up of course, everyone who survived the storm will feel nothing but joy for a while. But now we have to deal with reverting the city to what it was before the storm." I point to Matthew with my newly attached arm, the claw couldn't point fingers but it works when I need to grab something. I shift to point at Anderson as this was for them both to do. "Spread word that we are sending hunters back out and are putting the hothouses back up. I want scouts looking through the wilderness for anything they can find out there. We're not out of the storm yet" I declared as I brought my prosthetic back down. "Take stock of what rations we currently have, and spread them out as much as you can to the population. Send word to the Factory to start churning out Prosthetics... And when you have the scouts ready, inform me." Mister Williams saluted me before leaving the office, while Anderson stays there, watching me... "Did... the two come back?" I asked him, the silent shake of his head told me everything... "We don't have the bodies... find out the name of that father and his daughter, then make a pair of graves for them." Anderson nods and with a respectful bow, stepped out the door.
Finally left to my thoughts, I sat back in my chair. Staring at my desk. So many lives lost... I did what I could, but should I have done better? I could have done better... they are all dead because of me, how many of them were parents?... how many children?
I sat in silence as I start a prayer to the dead. Praying they forgive me for failing them. Praying again that they pass on to a place better than where we are. And finally, Praying that someone up there actually is listening...
Once my prayers were done, I looked to the reports brother Collin had placed on my desk during my time in the Infirmary. Apparently something had crashed during the start of the great storm. There was something flying out there... Going by the calculations the engineers did under Collins' request. The crash is relatively close by... a three day travel on foot, two via riding one of the automatons through the days and night.
I stand from my desk and walk out the door, Paying some mind to a picture of my wife on my way out. I had to be one of the scouts. For this at the very least... if there is some hope there is a survivor out there, if the father and his daughter is there... I have to be certain... we have enough automatons and able bodies to use the coal mines and coal thumpers. And after the storm, I do not believe we required the other laws. I'll leave the high priest in charge until my return. Matthews is a good man but... Anderson is the more compassionate of the two. He'll keep up the moral while I'm away.
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This wasn't a lot, but hey. Hope you liked the introduction. If anyone has any questions regarding New London in the story, please feel free to ask. If anyone has anything to just say, feel free to share your thoughts.