I have a rid o rust 30 gallon siphon system installed. My pump is 1 1/2 HP and the ppm is 3. I currently can only get sprinklerite no rust concentrated though. Does anyone know about how many gallons to add to the tank? Both sites aren't clear on this. Thanks

Has anyone ever come up with a theory about the meaning behind the bloodied up repeating man in the sheriff’s station jail cell in Season 3? Nothing ever click for me, no matter how many times I watch it!

TLDR: are there any actions or events in D&D/Pathfinder that are tied to the end of the combat round, as opposed to the end of the character's turn on the next round? (which equals to 1 round duration)
Being inspired by a certain souls-like, probably as many others before me, I've decided that I'd like to try running something along those lines. Apart from the setting which would obviously include characters dying and respawning again and again, I'd like to test a few houserules aimed at making combat feel more "souls-like". Main idea is introducing the "stance-breaking" mechanic, that would render charactecreature vulnerable for short amount of time, usually a round. Although basic "take damage, roll STFortitude save" would work, I'm thinking about something more sophisticated, like introducing a Stance Pool akin to HP. Once it reaches zero, character suffers the penalties of stance-break. Therefore, having taken some Stance Damage character might risk being stance-broken going on the offensive, or can play it safe by backing off, while allowing the enemy to reset as well.
I'm aware that it might look like "why would you add a second HP bar?" type of thing, but that's why I'd like to test it. So far I feel like this model has the potential to shift the decision-making of the combat, and I'd like to try how it actually works out. My players are open to housreules and really enthusiastic, so no players will have been harmed in the process of testing.
However, there's a problem. In souls-like games recovery of stance happens with simple animation after you get hit. Closest thing I came up with -- replenishing Stance Points every round. This creates the dynamic of "spamming the enemy with attacks before his turn", which works in the normal D&D as well -- you don't want to get hit by boss, obviously. But if Stance Pool is replenished every turn, then character has no ways to affect it besides "don't get hit". I was thinking that Total Defense (3.5e/PF1e action) that grants +4AC by taking your Standard Action might replenish the Stance, but it makes no sense if at the beginning/end of the turn stance is replenished automatically.
As follows from the title/TLDR, I'm thinking that replenishing stance at the end of the combat round is *great*. It adds a curious downside to having the most initiative: yes, you act first, but you can get hit the most until your next action. And this encourages to use "delay turn" actions to spam the boss with attack at the right moment. Basically, my question comes down to this: are there any actions or events that are specifically tied to the end of the combat round? Most of the things with duration run out on *your* turn N rounds later, but that doesn't exactly work for me. I mean, if there are no such actions, that's a hint that maybe I need to alter the system. But if there are -- then why not do the same?
Thanks for reading all the above, I hope it was at least interesting! I'm open to any suggestions, not necessarily limited to the question itself. Maybe someone already had a positive experience running D&D-like-souls-like!
you don't have the right, O you don't have the right!

I tried to make ChatGPT create its version of the 1001 albums, for some reason it stopped at the 47ish line and when I tried in sections it repeated many releases. making a 1001 list would take more time that I thought so here are the 100 top albums according to ChatGPT today (2023/04/01). How do you feel about it, only two Beatles, and no Abbey Road.
1 The Beatles - "Revolver" -1966
2 Bob Dylan - "Highway 61 Revisited" -1965
3 The Beach Boys - "Pet Sounds" -1966
4 The Rolling Stones - "Exile on Main St." -1972
5 Pink Floyd - "The Dark Side of the Moon" -1973
6 The Jimi Hendrix Experience - "Are You Experienced" -1967
7 The Velvet Underground - "The Velvet Underground & Nico" -1967
8 Led Zeppelin - "Led Zeppelin IV" -1971
9 Nirvana - "Nevermind" -1991
10 Radiohead - "OK Computer" -1997
11 Miles Davis - "Kind of Blue" -1959
12 John Coltrane - "A Love Supreme" -1965
13 Charles Mingus - "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady" -1963
14 Aretha Franklin - "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You" -1967
15 James Brown - "Live at the Apollo" -1963
16 Stevie Wonder - "Songs in the Key of Life" -1976
17 Michael Jackson - "Thriller" -1982
18 Prince - "Purple Rain" -1984
19 The Clash - "London Calling" -1979
20 David Bowie - "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" -1972
21 The Smiths - "The Queen is Dead" -1986
22 Joy Division - "Unknown Pleasures" -1979
23 The Cure - "Disintegration" -1989
24 Public Enemy - "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" -1988
25 Wu-Tang Clan - "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)" -1993
26 Dr. Dre - "The Chronic" -1992
27 N.W.A. - "Straight Outta Compton" -1988
28 Black Sabbath - "Paranoid" -1970
29 Deep Purple - "Machine Head" -1972
30 AC/DC - "Back in Black" -1980
31 Metallica - "Master of Puppets" -1986
32 Guns N' Roses - "Appetite for Destruction" -1987
33 Fleetwood Mac - "Rumours" -1977
34 The Eagles - "Hotel California" -1976
35 Bob Marley and the Wailers - "Exodus" -1977
36 Steely Dan - "Aja" -1977
37 Joni Mitchell - "Blue" -1971
38 Carole King - "Tapestry" -1971
39 Neil Young - "Harvest" -1972
40 Van Morrison - "Moondance" -1970
41 The Doors - "The Doors" -1967
42 Jefferson Airplane - "Surrealistic Pillow" -1967
43 The Who - "Who's Next" -1971
44 Queen - "A Night at the Opera" -1975
45 Elton John - "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" -1973
46 Fleetwood Mac - "Tusk" -1979
47 Prince - "Sign o' the Times" -1987
48 The Police - "Synchronicity" -1983
49 U2 - "The Joshua Tree" -1987
50 Radiohead - "Kid A" -2000
51 Arcade Fire - "Funeral" -2004
52 Sufjan Stevens - "Illinois" -2005
53 Kendrick Lamar - "To Pimp a Butterfly" -2015
54 Kanye West - "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" -2010
55 Beyoncé - "Lemonade" -2016
56 Taylor Swift - "1989" -2014
57 Frank Ocean - "Blonde" -2016
58 Outkast - "Aquemini" -1998
59 The Roots - "Things Fall Apart" -1999
60 Beastie Boys - "Paul's Boutique" -1989
61 Run-DMC - "Raising Hell" -1986
62 Blondie - "Parallel Lines" -1978
63 Patti Smith - "Horses" -1975
64 Lou Reed - "Transformer" -1972
65 Iggy Pop - "Lust for Life" -1977
66 Pixies - "Doolittle" -1989
67 Sonic Youth - "Daydream Nation" -1988
68 My Bloody Valentine - "Loveless" -1991
69 The Stone Roses - "The Stone Roses" -1989
70 The Jesus and Mary Chain - "Psychocandy" -1985
71 Oasis - "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" -1995
72 The Verve - "Urban Hymns" -1997
73 Massive Attack - "Blue Lines" -1991
74 Portishead - "Dummy" -1994
75 DJ Shadow - "Endtroducing....." -1996
76 Daft Punk - "Discovery" -2001
77 LCD Soundsystem - "Sound of Silver" -2007
78 Vampire Weekend - "Modern Vampires of the City" -2013
79 Arctic Monkeys - "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" -2006
80 Tame Impala - "Currents" -2015
81 Pink Floyd - "Animals" -1977
82 The Rolling Stones - "Beggars Banquet" -1968
83 The Beatles - "Please Please Me" -1963
84 The Velvet Underground - "White Light/White Heat" -1968
85 David Bowie - "Station to Station" -1976
86 Talking Heads - "Remain in Light" -1980
87 Joy Division - "Unknown Pleasures" -1979
88 The Cure - "Disintegration" -1989
89 Depeche Mode - "Violator" -1990
90 New Order - "Power, Corruption & Lies" -1983
91 The Smiths - "The Queen Is Dead" -1986
92 R.E.M. - "Automatic for the People" -1992
93 Nirvana - "MTV Unplugged in New York" -1994
94 Pearl Jam - "Ten" -1991
95 Soundgarden - "Superunknown" -1994
96 Metallica - "Master of Puppets" -1986
97 Black Sabbath - "Paranoid" -1970
98 AC/DC - "Back in Black" -1980
99 Iron Maiden - "The Number of the Beast" -1982
100 Slayer - "Reign in Blood" -1986

Does anyone what the longest scoreless streak to start a season is? What team and what year, how many innings?

Hi, I'm new. This is the third time I am rewatching GG and I come here with this topic. Does it annoys someone else how Rory doesn't appreciate Paris friendship? I mean, she doesn't even acknowledge it when her new friends ask her about Paris, like is always someone she knows and went school to but I think she never says is her friend. I know Paris isn't the best friend in the world and has some issues, but neither is Rory and I think they developed a special relationship through the seasons, especially when Paris has been for Rory on many occasions. I don't know, is something that's been bothering me, especially now watching season 7, in some episodes Paris is saying nice things about Rory and her friendship, for example when she goes and confronts Olivia for not talking back to Rory.
Hope this is understandable since english is not my first language :D

‘Delay, delay, delay’: How Trump could push his trial into the heart of campaign season

The ink on Donald Trump’s indictment has hardly had time to dry, but already there’s a widespread expectation that the former president will turn to a time-honored Trumpian strategy: delay.
By dragging out the proceedings between the indictment and his trial, Trump could push the trial deep into the 2024 presidential campaign — with Trump expected to be the top contender for the Republican nomination.
Trump has spent decades refining tactics for prolonging his legal fights as his lawyers attempt to out-wait and outlast the patience of his adversaries. Though a criminal indictment presents him with a different set of options — and obstacles — than his many previous bouts in civil court, there is still a substantial menu for him to choose from.
“If they’re doing their job, they’re going to do everything they can to delay, delay, delay, delay,” said Catherine Christian, a 30-year veteran of the Manhattan district attorney’s office who is now a defense attorney. “Every single motion they can think of. That’s what they’re going to file.”
More at the link at the top of this post...
One might think a candidate for POTUS would put the country through their own personal garbage; but we have seen that tRump only thinks of himself and NEVER the country.

– Short note for old readers: I originally wrote without the intent of expanding this universe, but as I saw your responses and edited my story, I realized how ridiculous it would be not to continue a story with such potential. Secondly, if you see something that does not make sense, let me know because I will try and fix it. Anyway, enjoy the reading, I plan on adding more, and no, the gravity was not 9.8 G’s – whoops.
Chapter One
Following first contact, many questions were raised, and plenty of concerns came to rise. Why are there humans on an undocumented planet in a completely different sector of space? What are they doing there, and what is our relation? How will this affect us? For starters, Ceyor is what they call their homeworld, translated to mean dirt, or soil. The planet has nine continents, each having many different biomes and cultures, and also is covered in 59% water with an axis tilt of 18.3°. The planet had no major seasons because of this tilt, typically maintaining a comfortable temperature year round and allowing spontaneous development and agricultural output. This only sparked more questions, because a climate as merciful as theirs should mean they had a head start. Unless, they never began there in the first place.
Regarding other concerns, the Republic of Saint Eden, a large continental superpower on their planet, had their lead researcher, Ryuemnumo – better known as Numo – selected to help us perform biological studies regarding the differences between Earth humans and Ceyor humans. Having been administered the vaccine and showing no negative side effects from it, it was determined that the vaccine was safe to use with both human populations. However, the fact that both our populations were humans in the first place was held with hushed lips, and it was only known among head researchers, officials, and military leaders. Before starting a panic, we had to have something to calm the riots, and so, we began our testing to determine if we truly were the same species.
Comparing the blood cell’s nuclei in Earth humans, which we began referring to as Terrans, and those from Ceyor as the Fanayugi, it was seen that although extremely similar, we were different in some ways. For example, our sweat glands secreted different compositions of salt and fat, and Terrans were more susceptible to cardiovascular diseases than the Fanayugi. That being said, we had slightly longer traditional lifespans than them, but supplementaries and technological advancements had rendered aging negligible to the vast majority of human populations. Some populations still experienced the inconveniences of mortality and were very similar to the Fanayugi in terms of technological advancement and status, but this was not of the same context, as they chose this lifestyle for themselves in isolation. Upon realizing that there were small differences between our species in things such as skin and blood, we requested to scan the brain of one of their researchers for any abnormalities to ours. We found none, but it was worth a shot either way.
The most difficult part of interacting with another human civilization is understanding their cultural background and the context in which they speak. Unfortunately, we did not have hundreds of years to play catch up with the Fanayugi and their traditions, because it would not take a lot to let the cat out the bag. After all, the best kept secrets are the those in which all that know are dead, or only one person remains to know the story, and we have hundreds of researchers, military leaders, and governing factions who know about our secret already. The best way to reduce the damage from such a discovery to the public would be to never interact with each other ever again, but that was not an option either. Too much was unknown, too much had to be known, and I was too damn curious to let this go, as were my coworkers. It was because of these reasons that on August 14th, 2561 of the Second Decamillenium, we announced the discovery of the Fanayugi – and their conditions – to the public domain.
Immediately after the announcement of the Fanayugi, many religions came forth to assert that their god was real. Christians claimed that this was proof of God the Father, as we are made in his image. Buddhists claimed that they were reincarnated beings from our planets, serving out their lives on Ceyor for good karma. Sufi’s, missionaries, and monks all asked to be given the opportunity to spread their scripture to the Fanayugi natives upon their homeworld. Considering the Fanayugi had religions of their own, it held to no real influence over them, but the prospect was interesting in itself. Many of their religions resembled those that originated on Earth, such as the Abrahamic religions, or Buddhism and Daoism. Only one stood out like a sore thumb: Secneretism. Secneretists believed space in itself was god, not the celestial bodies or some divine being, but truly the emptiness between them. This was atypical because of how much their beliefs varied from ours and even other Fanayugi religions. Furthermore, their holy texts were very vague in most parts, as opposed to the specific events in other texts. But only in most parts.
While many scriptures of the Fanayugi ancients texts tend to relay close details as to what is assumed to have happened, Secneretism’s holy book – the Cslykgalo – is akin more so to the structure of a philosophy. This prompted many of our scholars to study their scripture, and to our shock, we found mentions of a planetoid we had documented before. One verse within describes a planet in our databases to such perfection – even mentioning specific landmarks and potential coordinates – to the point that this was no coincidence. Someone had been on this planet – someone had been on the Scum of Red, Escoria de Roja. And whoever that was, came to Ceyor. It was not us, we knew that much, because we had never explored into the sector the Fanayugi inhabit, and no Terran would dare visit the Scum. The rumor spread like wildfire among researchers regarding the search for alien life, until finally, I requested a formal investigation on the subject funded by the Scientific Affairs High Court. A month went by before we gained approval by from them, and our expedition was authorized one medium scout vessel with one full science crew, flight crew, and by sincere request by me, one Secneretist priest to the hellworld, the Scum of Red.
Escoria de Roja is a tragedy among the Terrans, having been a promising garden planet rich in ore. Its original name was Calm, named after the luscious gardens that formed in the ruins of Mexico City following the great nuclear holocaust on Earth. We graciously accepted it as one of our jewels upon the crown of humanity, a great world that brought hope into the soul of man – but we were mistaken. Beneath the valiant waves of Calm was a raging heart of anger, and thus, a second tragedy occurred. On February 11th, 2719 of the First Decamillenium, the core of Calm went berserk, causing mass tidal events and seismic activity. Seven billion were lost, and all the wildlife that once inhabited the planet succumbed to the cold grip of the reaper. All was lost, and so it was renamed The Scum of Red, for taking the lives of billions without reason. Since then, the planet has been treated as a graveyard, a sanctuary for the dead. It was a silent reminder of our welcome in the galaxy – we are visitors – no more, no less.
Arriving at the research station, I departed to the lounge with Gemini to await for our researcher certifications to be approved, and our passports to be signed to join the rest of the crew. After a painstakingly long hour of waiting for our approval and small talk, we were finally permitted to take on the mystery and search the planet. We went up to the front desk, asked for what port our ship was docked at, and made our way deeper into the station.
“They said port W19, right?” I looked dumbly at Gemini, my poor junior researcher who had the misfortune of being assigned to me.
Gemini, being in a particularly good mood, gladly assisted me, “They said it three times, Calcifer.” I knew they said it three times, but not everyone can remember the little things, because sometimes it takes everything to remember the big things. It is also fun to deprive of my colleagues' patience. We continued down the hall to a gantry system which prompted us the choice of which port to take us to, in which I selected port W19 on the touchpad, and the shuttle asked us to take a seat. We took a seat as the gantry accelerated, and launched our shuttle out of the station to dock us on the other side of the station by the ship bays. I turned my head to gaze at the research station outside my window, appreciating the scale of such a thing.
The research station we were assigned to was more so a small outpost than a research station. It had a diameter of four kilometers, and had three large docking bays on the star facing side of the station, which took up most of the space it inhabited. The shuttle made its way around the station before coming up onto an airlock which resembled that of an ancient vault. The large steel doors shuttered open, silently rolling outwards to allow the shuttle to latch onto another gantry system. The airlock then finished its cycle and the shuttle came to a complete stop, opening the doors for us to leave. Gemini and I exited through the shuttle doors, making a left turn down a hallway lined by a glass wall. The large scout vessel – if you could call a half kilometer long starship that – was docked in the bay, which we could see just outside the thick tempered glass. The frame of the vessel was sleek and powerful, exerting its elegant armored ridges toppled with heavy lancing coilguns and heavy assault cannons – in case we found ourselves in trouble, of course. It had a knife-shaped figure, and had atmospheric capabilities to conduct our investigation on the planet. Overall, the ship was very much so capable for her task to the point where it seemed insulting for such a mission.
As I gazed upon the vessel, a voice from behind me snuck up, “Beautiful, isn’t she?” I turned around to see the captain of the vessel, who would help us throughout our voyage. The captain had rich red hair and was a little stubby, but made up for it with strength. I promptly answered his question.
“She is. Has a nice figure, pretty guns, and some really handy equipment onboard from what I have heard. All I don’t know is her name.”
“It says it right there, on the side.” Gemini felt the need to interrupt my conversation, pointing at the clear letters littered about the vessel's starboard side. I shot her a disapproving look, and she met mine with a blank, emotionless stare. Quite frankly, I could not tell which one of us was the senior researcher right now, so I broke my gaze to rekindle talk with the captain.
“Well, what's her name anyway? I want to hear it from you, captain.”
The captain had a proud look on his face, like one would have towards a successful daughter, “This is my baby, Bountiful Hunt of Artemis. A real handful sometimes, but you can not overlook her advantages. And you don’t have to call me captain, Calcifer. I am Ruaridh.” He protruded his arm out for me to shake, which I accepted. The three of us then went back to examining the vessel, carefully savoring its geometry and color. She had a golden stripe from bow to stern with white to accommodate symmetrically upon each side of it. Blue accents hinted on the ends of the vessel highlighted the ship even more, giving a piece of eye candy to appreciate in front of me.
I had a few questions still locked within my mind, however, “Ruaridh, does she have a ship-bound AI by any chance?” I turned my attention to the captain to indicate I was listening for an answer.
He met my gaze and answered, “Yes, she does. His name is Apollo, her brother in mythology, and now her brother in steel. He has his quirks, but I am sure you will come to like him.” It was good that an AI was onboard, because they often could make connections between dots of information in a time frame no human could ever compete with. Really, this mission would be impossible without one, so it is unsurprising that our vessel is equipped with one.
Gemini ushered us back on task, “We should probably head aboard around now. Departure is in two hours, and I want to feel comfortable when I go to bed tonight.” She made eye contact with both of us to ascertain the importance, forcing me and the captain to fold.
I failed to resist poking the bear, “Alright, cranky, let's get going then.” Foul eyes glared daggers into my soul as we made haste to the gangway aboard the exploration craft. Ruaridh went ahead of us and had the scanning device detect a microchip inside his finger for access into the ship, causing the airlock door to fly open, allowing us entry onboard the craft. Gemini and I made our way to our dorms to adjust our sleeping quarters and get ourselves settled for the journey afterward, seeing that we would be here for at least a week. Next, we went into the equipment storage and made sure all necessary equipment was stocked in case any was missed upon inspection. We met much of the flight crew while preparing the craft, and made short greetings with them as we all toiled about the starship. Upon the conclusion that all was set, we made our way back to our dorms to await roll call. Twenty or so minutes passed until we were called into the cafeteria to count heads and announce the mission status. Gemini and I sat down at a table in the back corner and waited patiently for the crew to arrive.
Once everyone had gathered and marked themselves as present for roll call, Ruaridh made his way to the front where everyone could see him in an open spot, and began a speech, “I have been on many voyages in my time, explored many planets, and traveled across the stars. I have seen the dunes of Latuan, the rainforests of Gaia, and the oceans of Poseidon.” He paused to let the moment sink in before continuing, “But none of those are going to prepare you for the dangers we will encounter on this planet. Escoria de Roja,” Poison built up in his voice at the name, “The Scum of Red, is not a garden planet. The heat will not forgive you, the rocks will not forgive you – and god forbid – the angels will not forgive you. Not on this hellscape, because it is against you. And it is because it will not forgive you, that you must respect the landscape and seek not its attention. Volcanoes litter the surface, spewing their toxic fumes into a soupy and hot atmosphere, cooking all who dare enter its vicinity and gaze upon its rocks. The planet is rich in ore, and poor in health, and we are going to search it relentlessly for whatever it is that may reside there. As the captain of the Bountiful Hunt of Artemis, I pledge that we will emerge victorious from the planet – that we will conquer the Scum of Red in the name of human advancement, and to take the first steps to reclaiming what is rightfully ours!.” The echoes of his words reverberated in the ship, and the crew cheered for their captain, burning with an unseen motive. Ruaridh finished, “You are dismissed. Get to your stations and prepare for departure.”
Gemini gave her regards and left with the rest of the crew, making her way to her dormitory, but one oddly dressed human stood away from the rest. He was draped in a red half cape from his neck, and his pants were a puffy white lined with gold. He was bald, stocky, and stood out around the rest of the crew. It was clear that he was the secneretist priest I had asked to accompany us for his familiarity in the teachings, and I was excited to meet him; however, before I could greet him, he approached me.
His stride exuded confidence with each step before he began to talk, “I take it that you are Calcifer.”
I was slightly surprised, but given the circumstances, it really was not that hard to guess from his perspective. I replied in short, “It is nice to meet you, Huhcol Quyraoja.”
“There is no need for such formalities. We are allies.”
I was perturbed by such a denial of status, “Then what should I call you?”
“Just call me Quyraoja. Raoja for short.” The priest was surprisingly mellow.
“You are sure that is alright?” I skeptically continued.
Raoja insisted on this practice, “Yes, it is fine. I do not get offended so easily, so be not concerned with my feelings.” I reluctantly agreed and spurred on another topic.
“I have been wondering, Raoja, do you have any thoughts on visiting the Scum of Red? I understand that it is important to -”
“Do not call it that.” His voice was stern, but not angry.
I apologized and restated the thoughts in my head, “I’m sorry. We have been calling it that ages, I am sure it is insulting to call it that from your perspective. What I wanted to say is that the Scu – the planet – is mentioned multiple times in your scripture, the Cslykgalo. What importance does it retain?”
Raoja though about it for a second and then proceeded to answer my question, “The planet is said to be sacred. Not much is known about the planet except that it supposedly contains a key of some sort, and even then, we do not know what it unlocks. All we know is that it is of great significance, and the key was left for us to find.”
I inquired some more, “Do you have any pointers you can think of to start at?”
“Many landmarks described in the Cslykgalo may hold some significance to finding it. I am unsure of where they are, but you can guide me to them to study.” Raoja folded his arms and waited for my response.
“It seems simple. I look forward to working with you,” I reached my arm out to shake his hand. He stared at it awkwardly for a moment, but then his eyes went wide and he put his own out to meet mine. We shook on it and he rebounded my words.
“I look forward to our travels, Calcifer. I will meet you in the stasis chambers when we are called.” Raoja made his way down the hall to a ladder that took him down a couple levels. I took a walk down to a small observatory across the ship to await our departure. The vessel’s intercoms went on, and Ruaridh announced our imminent leave. A moment later, the vessel began moving, and the stars outside began to shift their position from my eyes as we gradually gained speed. I looked towards our heading and understood for the first time:
This voyage might just change everything.

Black Panther
Volume 3: Beyond the Horizon
Issue #36: To the Moon, featuring the Amazing Spider-Man
Written by u/PresidentWerewolf
Edited by u/FrostFireFive & u/DarkLordJurasus
Previous Issue
​
“You don’t have much time.” Shuri paced the width of the downed Wakandan transport and back again, stopping for a moment to stare out the jagged hole in its flank. Behind her, the hazy bulb of light on the horizon, perhaps Chicago, perhaps a smaller, closer city, drove the twinkling stars away.
“I have to bring you home. That is my duty, but then you show me this,” she said, gesturing to the Vibranium Atlas displayed on the cracked screen. As they looked at it, it began to flicker.
“We need to download that,” Ross said. “Main power is failing.”
T’Challa was already on it. As he tapped buttons in sequence, the Atlas faded and was replaced by a progress bar that swiftly filled from left to right.
“See? And we didn’t even have to ‘sweat it out’ at ninety-nine percent like in your American action movies.”
As he said that, the lights went dead around them, and the computer blinked off.
“American action movies are what prepared me for all of this,” Ross laughed. “I’ve been on the road with Chuck Norris of Wakanda for the last year.”
​
__________________________________________
​
“I am still somewhat weakened, but I am regaining strength quickly,” T’Challa said. “Okoye may not be so lucky, as she is not empowered by the herb.”
Okoye huffed an obscenely annoyed breath. “Losing half my blood brought me down to your level!”
T’Challa laughed. It was a good sound that put the rest of the crew at ease. It put him at ease as well. Even Shuri cracked a half-smile, though it didn’t last long.
“The Council knows that we have tracked you. They may believe that it took some time to catch you, but they won’t believe that you got away for good. They will be expecting us home within twenty-four hours.”
“And yet, we will not be going home, and they will believe that we got away for good,” T’Challa said.
Shuri’s eyebrows went up with interest. “So you have a plan.”
“I had a plan. Once the Atlas was complete, I was going to return to Wakanda and convince the Council to track down any significant stores of Vibranium that existed outside our borders. Now, however…”
“You are preoccupied with the line that extends…” Shuri thought about her words carefully. “Off the map.”
“Hence the new plan,” T’Challa said. “We are going to find it.”
Shuri blinked, taken aback. “Find it?”
T’Challa nodded, his eyes gleaming. “We are going to find it.”
“What…what about,” Shuri was now searching for words. “What about Nakia?”
She hit upon the hardest one first. T’Challa flinched, but replied, “I have done nothing but fail that woman. I can’t imagine she even wants to see me.”
“That’s not true,” Shuri said.
“She shouldn’t want to. It is better to give her space for now.”
“Mm,” Shuri said. She gave a hard glance at Okoye, who kept a calm, defiant face. “All right then. What if it goes to the Moon? The Council won’t give you a shuttle.”
T’Challa shook his head. “It is not on the Moon, or even near it. It reaches far, far past our orbit, our moon, even our solar system. Not even Wakanda has a shuttle that can take me that far.”
“Well then, how are you going to go out there?” Shuri asked.
“Uh, she has a point,” Ross said, while Okoye nodded.
“A friend of mine has such a ship,” T’Challa said simply.
“Who?” Ross asked. “You don’t mean Reed Richards?”
“I do.”
“You think he’s just going to give us his spaceship?”
“Of course not,” T’Challa said. “We are going to steal it.”
Nobody seemed to like that idea very much.
“Are you insane?” Okoye said, berating him. “You know what that man is capable of.”
“I don’t actually know what Richards is capable of,” Ross said, “but that scares me even more.”
Shuri shook her head firmly. “You’ll never get it out of there. Doesn’t he have all of his…technology in orbit anyway?”
“Not all of it,” T’Challa said. “The Badoon ship he used to travel the cosmos…not only has Reed restored it to working order, it is in the hangar at the Baxter Building.”
Ross whistled through his teeth. “Look, T’Challa. I said I’d go through anything with you, right?”
T’Challa nodded. “You have acted with great loyalty and bravery, Agent Ross.”
Ross took a deep breath. “You should know, this isn’t any different. If you say we’re storming the Baxter Building, then that’s what we’re doing.”
Okoye nodded. “We are pledged to even your most suicidal of half-baked schemes.”
Ross almost patted her on the shoulder, and then he thought better of it. He looked at T’Challa. “Just tell us you have a really good plan.”
​
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​
The next morning: New York City
Sun streamed across the vast floor of the Baxter Building’s hangar, a hundred and twenty stories above the streets. The wind whipped up here, the air cold with a bite, but Susan Storm didn’t feel it. Protected by a partial bubble of invisible force, she lounged on a patio chair in shorts and a buttoned shirt, her hair flowing freely and brushing the ground as she leaned back. A half-finished mimosa sat on the ground, just within reach. A biotech journal lay open on her stomach.
“Hey, Sis?” Johnny Storm, her younger brother, called out from the exit to the main building. His voice echoed within the hangar, but it was almost lost to the wind before it reached Sue.
“Hm?” she sat up, shielding her eyes from the sun.
Johnny walked halfway out to her. “Sorry to bother you. Uh, just looking for…”
Sue sighed. “What? Do the kids need something?”
“No, HERBIE has the kids.”
“Well then what is it?”
“Kinda lost a…”
“What, Johnny?”
Johnny laughed weakly and scratched his head. “A brunette.”
Sue sat up. “Another one?”
“Well, they get up in the morning, and they want to leave,” Johnny said defensively, “or they don’t, but HERBIE scares them, and Reed didn’t put exit directions up like he’s supposed to. It’s a fire hazard, Sue. That’s what it is.”
Sue put her magazine down on the ground and stood up. “Okay, where did you last see her?”
Johnny started to turn red.
“Are you twelve? You know, this wouldn’t happen if you would just walk them out.”
“Well! Well…” Johnny’s mouth worked as he searched for words. “I just…um…wait. What’s that?”
Sue turned around, sighing again in annoyance, but she stopped when she saw it, too. There was an extra shadow on the hangar floor, shaped like another aircraft…There was something hovering above the hangar!
“Johnny, hit the alarm.” As she said it, several figures dropped from above on the hangar floor. They landed easily, four of them, silently, their dark profiles making them seem like mere shadows themselves.
One of them stepped forward, halfway out of the light so that his features could be seen.
“T’Challa?” Johnny said.
T’Challa pointed. “Steal it! Steal the ship! Steal it before they catch us!” The rest of his group ran for one of the vehicles in the hangar.
“What the actual hell!” Johnny yelled. He immediately burst into flame, and blasted off after them. The sudden burst of hot air blew hard against Sue, making her hair fly up and causing her to stumble back.
“Gah! Johnny,” she coughed. When she looked up, T’Challa’s team had already flown out over the city, and Johnny had gone after them. But it didn’t make sense. “Why would T’Challa steal the Fantasticar?”
​
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​
The Fantasticar, though seemingly not much more than a platform with seats on it, was as agile as any aircraft. In many ways, it was superior. Inertial dampeners made sharp corners easy and smoothed the bumps out during hard acceleration. As the Fantasticar looped and slid between the skyscrapers of New York, evading the Human Torch, it acted more like a dragonfly than the clunky box it appeared to be.
Shuri looked back at the furious orange flame dogging them. “I am going to give you credit and assume this was part of your plan.”
The Human Torch flung a huge fireball at them, but T’Challa swerved to dodge it easily. It went straight up into the air and exploded in a ball of smoke and light.
Okoye looked like she was having less fun than anyone. Indeed, anyone who really knew her could tell that the rough ride, combined with her recent injuries, was making her sick as a dog. T’Challa shot her a concerned look, but she waved him away.
“I’m sure space travel will be much easier,” she said, wheezing a laugh.
“Speaking of,” Shuri said. “How do you make this thing go into space? It does not look like a spaceship.”
T’Challa opened his mouth to speak, but just then there was a bump that shook the entire Fantasticar. They all looked around to find the source. No one had joined them. Johnny was still cursing them out from behind.
There was suddenly drag in the controls. They were losing speed. T’Challa banked and the ship was sluggish. “Shuri, take the controls,” T’Challa said, as he magnetized his boots and gloves.
Before she even grabbed the stick, T’Challa had already secured his helmet, swung over the side, and latched on to the bottom of the Fantasticar. He hung there with both feet and one hand, the wind and inverted view threatening vertigo, but he shook it off. There were giant spiderwebs all over the bottom of the Fantasticar. He wasn’t alone down there.
“Uh, how are you doing that?” asked Spider-Man. He was standing on the bottom of the vehicle as well, but on the balls of his feet, almost casually, as if they were meeting on the sidewalk. Well, he had tempted fate, and fate had taken the bait. Planning a heist over the New York skyline in the middle of the morning had attracted exactly who he feared it would.
T’Challa growled and freed his other hand.
Spider-Man crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly. “Listen pal, if we can just be honest for a second. I know a heist when I see one.” The Fantasticar swerved hard, and a jet of flame blew through the air beneath them. T’Challa could feel the heat through his suit.
Spider-Man didn’t seem bothered at all. “Hoo boy,” he said, clapping his hands together. “How long before one of those ends up taking out some innocent falafel stand? You know, I know the Human Torch. Well, I mean, I don’t actually know him, but I see him on TV all the time, you know–actually, half the girls in the city know him better than I do. Okay, that kind of sounds like I’m slut-shaming. Him! Not the girls.” Spider-Man put out a hand defensively, explaining himself. “I’m slut-shaming Johnny. I mean, I’m just saying that I thought this was a paparazzi thing, and then I realized that Johnny was the one chasing you, and I thought, geez I hope the girl he’s with is okay. Is she up top? Is she the the muscly-looking…” he did a little body-building pose, “that one?”
“What are you doing down here?” There was a sudden burst of light and heat as the Human Torch joined them. The Fantasticar started to swerve again as Shuri tried to tell where he was.
Spider-Man pointed at Johnny. “Hey! You!” He cleared his throat. “You’re the fantastic guy with…the Torch!”
“The Human TorchI Are you with this guy?”
Spider-Man shook his head. “No way! I think he stole this…uh…flying car.”
“Yeah, he stole the Fantasticar!” Johnny replied.
“Fantasticar! That’s such a cool name.”
“Nah, it’s lame. But he can’t steal it.” The two of them shared a glance.
“Superhero team up?” Spider-Man said.
Johnny nodded with a huge grin. “Superhero team up! Let’s get him–hey, where’d he go?”
As both of the young heroes looked around wildly, T’Challa cut off the rest of the webbing and returned to the top of the Fantasticar. He grabbed the controls from Shuri.
“Hang on!” he yelled, and he yanked the stick. The Fantasticar hit a hard bank that turned into a tight spiral. It was a move that would have been deadly for any conventional aircraft, but Reed Richards’s design was a generation ahead of anything conventional. He spied the Torch spinning away behind them as they dove for the ground, and at the last second, he pulled them back up, shooting for the sky. Four seconds later, they cleared the tops of the skyscrapers and blasted into the open air. T’Challa breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way the Spider was still clinging to the bottom.
“This thing is incredible,” Spider-Man said from behind him. “Well…fantastic? I guess that’s the pun. What kind of EM field is keeping you guys in your seats?”
T’Challa turned without warning and struck with blinding speed, swiping with hard strength for a gouge across Spider-Man’s chest. The hero moved an instant before T’Challa struck, and the swipe missed by a hair’s width.
Spider-Man responded with a quick jab of his own, and T’Challa was almost off balance enough to take it on the chin. He just managed to dodge to the side, and he pivoted away, taking a defensive stance.
Spider-Man took a quick look at his fist. “That usually works. You’re not just some thug, are you?” Shuri and Okoye both stood at that. “Hey! Hey, just kidding,” he said, waving his hands in front of him. “I know you’re King T’Challa.” He leaned in a little. “By the way, do you have diplomatic immunity?”
​
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​
Back in the hangar, Agent Ross watched as Susan Storm stood at the end of the launch platform and looked out over the city. He waited until she finally went back into the main building, and then he emerged from his hiding place and located the Badoon space cruiser. He moved quickly, running to one side to find the controls to unlock the moorings for the ship, disconnect the power, hydraulic, and fuel lines, and figure out how to taxi it to the launch platform.
Most of that was done by small helper bots, and Ross was able to move quickly through all of the computer systems because of T’Challa’s information. A year ago, the Black Panther had performed something of a stress test on Reed Richards’s security. He had broken through and given Reed instructions on how to improve, but not before downloading the bulk of the orbital lab’s files and installing his own backdoor into the system.
T’Challa had shrugged when telling them about it, like that kind of thing was no big deal. “If he really listened to what I told him, he would have found it.”
“Hard to lecture him about it now,” Ross muttered to himself. He tapped at his datapad, and was still a little shocked when it managed to connect with the cruiser’s system. Another tap, and the hatch opened.
“This guy thinks of everything,” Ross said, and he moved to climb into the cruiser.
“Hello, Agent Ross,” said a female voice, directly into his ear.
“Jesus!” Ross yelped as he jumped. He knew exactly who it was. It was her, the Invisible Woman. She was right next to him.
“Language, please. I grew up going to Sunday school, you know.”
“Yes, ma’am. Sorry.” That sounded bad. Might as well have called her mommy. Ross waited for the bump on the head, to wake up in a jail cell.
Sorry, T’Challa, he thought.
“Normally, I would turn an intruder over to the police. If Ben or Johnny didn’t get to them first, that is,” she said with a soft chuckle. She was speaking right into his ear, her breath giving him chills down his neck.
“Okay,” Ross said. “That sounds fair.” He let his free hand drift down near the data pad. Two taps would activate the floodlights. It might give him enough time to take off, or distract her. He could knock her out if he caught her off guard–
HIs entire body froze. He was suddenly wrapped in a forcefield the exact shape of his body.
“Let’s not get jumpy,” Sue said. “Normally, I would hand you over to the police, but you are right, Agent Ross. T’Challa really does think of everything. Take the ship and go.”
The force field vanished. “Really?” Ross said.
Sue kissed Ross on the cheek, just a peck. The chill intensified down his spine. “Just fill up the tank before you bring it back,” she said, and then she was gone.
​
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The intelligence was true. T’Challa had scarcely believed it at first, but this Spider-Man really did have an extra sense. He dodged most of T’Challa’s blows easily, moving only after an attack was committed but with plenty of time to spare. What blows did land felt like he had punched a statue. He was superhumanly fast, and while T’Challa had managed to avoid his blows in return, his strength was clearly far, far beyond that of a normal human. Or a Black Panther, for that matter.
The only advantage T’Challa had was that he was fighting a novice. Spider-Man was clearly a young man, and his fighting experience was shallow. At the same age, T’Challa had nearly conquered the Feast of the Heart. This would essentially be a stalemate until one of them landed a solid blow.
The Human Torch still followed them. Shuri did her best with a small shield to deflect the flame he shot at them while Okoye tried to outfly him, but neither of them were going to succeed forever. The Torch just never ran out of flame, or clever insults, to hurl at them. T’Challa almost chuckled when he called them a “Saturday-Night-Live-mid-February-musical-guest-looking-bunch-of-scrubs.” Very creative for several minutes into a tirade like that.
On the top of the Fantasticar, the inertial dampeners kept them all from flying off, so T’Challa was able to fight with his full agility. He pressed as hard as he could, coming at Spider-Man with jabs and claw-tipped strikes. He did not want to seriously injure the young hero, but he knew he couldn't play defense. Spider-Man, in turn, acted like he was having a laugh.
“It’s a good thing Johnny and I are doing a team up,” he said, and then he called over his shoulder. “Can I call you Johnny?”
“No!”
Spider-Man shrugged. “I mean, without Johnny it would be three on one. Three on two is a lot better. You’re a great fighter. I’ve never fought anyone like you, really. Even though the ol’ Spidey sense is keeping me safe–” he spun to avoid a nasty kick from T’Challa and hopped back, “I have to watch out for you.”
A real fighter would have grabbed that kick and punished him for missing. T’Challa snarled and pushed forward, using a complicated series of blows designed to confuse, well, a person without a Spidey sense, but it worked well enough.
“Hey!” Spider-Man laughed, “can’t even get my webs off. If I get flung off and have to swing back up here, so help me.”
“Does he ever shut up?” Okoye asked over her shoulder.
“Hey! I’m starting to think that you’re not actually Johnny’s girlfriend.”
Okoye rounded to charge at him. “I’m no–”
Webbing hit her in the mouth and stuck her hand to the control panel. “There we go! I got a shot off after all.”
Okoye’s eyes were murderous as she fought against the webbing. Well, it was probably for the best that she was tied up, now.
Manhattan wasn’t exactly an enormous landmass, and the Fantsticar was capable of some impressive speed. Neither Spider-Man nor the Torch seemed to have noticed that they had essentially circled the city three times since the chase began. T’Challa had been waiting, trying to hold on until Agent Ross arrived.
He saw the Badoon ship in the distance, so sleek and oddly angular, as it descended towards them. Fifteen, twenty seconds, and they would be close enough.
Spider-Man noticed the shadow first, and then the Torch. They both backed off their attacks and looked up at the approaching ship.
“Hey wait, you stole that too?” Johnny exclaimed.
“What did they steal?”
“A spaceship! They stole our spaceship!” Spider-Man turned to T’Challa. “I thought you just stole their car.”
“I’m giving back the car,” T’Challa replied. “Sorry for this.”
“Sorry for wh–” Spider-Man began, before T’Challa hit him with the Umsiki wexesha.
T’Challa had been holding it back, knowing that if it worked, it would probably work only once. The two-step attack, the second hidden within a superhuman reaction time of the first, landed. Spider-Man stepped back from the fist, but the darting elbow caught him hard in the shoulder, knocking him aside. To T’Challa, it felt like he smashed his elbow into a brick wall.
He moved with Spider-Man’s momentum, pushing past him, and he grabbed his wrist. He aimed the web shooter and pressed the exact spot where he had seen the teen press to activate it a moment before. A stream of webbing shot out and wrapped out the Human Torch’s middle. His flame went out suddenly, and he started to fall.
“Hey!” Spider-Man exclaimed, and he yanked his hand back, lashing out with the other. T’Challa caught it on his own shoulder, and he was knocked back across the platform of the Fantasticar. Spider-Man advanced quickly, moving to end it, but then he realized what had happened. He glanced over the side of the ship.
“A king playing dirty,” he said. “Well now I’ve seen it all,” and he leaped over the side to save Johnny.
T’Challa struggled to his feet, and he cut Okoye free. Ross was close enough now. Shuri joined him, and T’Challa saw how sweaty she was from the heat of the flames. Soot smudged her skin and clothes.
He brought the Fantasticar down to a low speed and then waited for Okoye and Shuri to hop over onto the cruiser. They were still so high over the city, and both of them were exhausted, but neither showed a hint of fear or hesitation. T’Challa set the controls for the Fantasticar to return home, and then he boarded the spaceship as well. Ross took them up as soon as the hatch was closed. The city, the island, and the continent all receded, until they were well above the clouds, high enough that they could see the neon-blue curve of the Earth.
​
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​
“Okay, so as far as team ups go, that wasn’t the best,” Spider-Man said. He lowered Johnny gently to the ground and started to tear the webbing off of him.
“Stand back,” Johnny said. With a burst of flame, he incinerated all of the webbing covering his body. “And no, it didn’t go well. Next time, let me fight the Black Panther and you can fight the girls.”
“I mean…” Spidey said, shrugging, and then his shoulders drooped. “I can’t believe he actually got me. What was that he hit me with?”
“Dunno,” Johnny said, brushing off web-ash from his clothes. “That guy has like a million tricks. He almost beat up my Skrull girlfrie–I mean, my friend, who is a Skrull, and who is a girl. Sometimes.”
“What’s a Skrull?”
From far down the street, police sirens began to blare. The two young men perked up.
“Sounds like a bank robbery,” Johnny said.
Spider-Man extended a fist. “Uh…team up, take two?”
Johnny bumped the fist quickly. “Race you there. Flame on!”
​
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​
They landed the cruiser near Shuri’s transport. All of the Wakandan soldiers came out to admire the alien ship. The hatch opened, and Shuri stood looking down on them.
“It is hard…to be the Black Panther,” she said to T’Challa. “It is harder being your sister.”
T’Challa squeezed her arm, and then he pulled her in for a hug. “I know. I am a difficult sibling.”
“And son,” she said into his shoulder.
“And king,” he chuckled. He stepped back and handed her a data pad. “The Atlas is loaded onto this. You know something has to be done here on Earth.”
Shuri shook her head. “I don’t even know where to begin. Start small, I guess.”
“You will manage,” T’Challa said. “The three of us will manage as well.”
“I don’t understand,” Shuri said. “I get that this is some kind of adventure, but there has to be more to it. No mere impulse would send you to the stars. You don’t know what’s out there.”
T’Challa hesitated. “There…is more. I won’t say now. I will say that there is a mystery surrounding Vibranium, one that I believe we should have tried to solve generations ago. A monster like Klaw, the attention of Bast, the spirits of the seven Kings…it is more than just a meteor, more than just Wakanda’s luck.”
“I…I trust you, T’Challa, but there is still a Wakanda to protect, a Wakanda to rule.”
“You don’t need me for that,” he said.
“Then, I guess there is nothing more to say,” Shuri said.
T’Challa smiled down at his sister. “There is a lifetime of things left to say. Gather your adventures, and I will gather mine, and we will trade over the fire when I return.”
​
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​
The bridge of the Badoon ship was meant for a crew of about ten, but Reed Richards had rigged it so that three or four could easily handle all of its functions. Ross sat in the captain’s chair as he guided the ship up into orbit. T’Challa sat at a control panel and monitored the engines, atmosphere, and various energy levels. Okoye was monitoring communications.
“Susan Storm showed up,” Ross blurted out. The blue sky in the viewscreen faded to black.
“Really.”
“She did, and instead of stopping me, she just let me take the ship. I thought I was a goner.”
T’Challa laughed. “And you want to know why you are not a goner.”
“I do!”
“It is a simple matter,” T’Challa said. “I am a rogue head of state…or a head of a rogue state, depending who you ask. If I asked for their spaceship, the Fantastic Four might just give it to me, because they are my friends, but the U. S. Government would…”
“Pitch a fit?” Okoye said. “That is how the Americans say it?”
Ross nodded and pointed at her.
“Yes, pitch…a fit. Something like that. So, I have to be seen stealing it.”
“You arranged that ahead of time? How?”
T’Challa shook his head. “I arranged nothing ahead of time.”
“Wait, you didn’t know if Sue was going to flatten me when I tried to take the ship?”
“No, you did not know if she was going to flatten you,” Okoye said.
“I knew she would let you go,” T’Challa added.
“But how?”
“I already told you how. I told you the first time I spoke of this plan. They are my friends.”
“Huh,” Ross said simply. He started setting nav coordinates.
“Being my friend is a very serious matter,” T’Challa said, with a play of a grin on his lips.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Okoye looked back and forth between the two of them. “It is lunch time.”
Ross punched in a destination. “Lunch on the moon?”
T’Challa nodded. Inside, he was excited, bursting with anticipation, craving the adventure to come. Outside, he was as calm as he had been since…had there ever been a time he felt like this?
“Lunch on the moon.”
​
​
End of Volume 3: Beyond the Horizon

I am an adoptee, just recently learning the borders of the "adoptee community" I wish I could get advice from someone with a perspective that is more understanding to why I would have such a serious inner conflict.
I was born in a formerly soviet country, to the US, to my "adoptive" family. I have a strong bond to my adoptive family, they are a priority to me in terms of caring how they may feel. My adoption bothered me as a child, I thought and suffered alone, understanding it's not an simple topic of discussion and it was never a priority in any one else's mind except my own. I immigrated out of the US as an adult and during the process I got all of the adoption paperwork from my parents. I got lucky that someone at a consulate slipped me confidential information of the name of the woman listed as my birthmother. I then had a lawyer who had an office in my birth country, find some information on the side of helping me with legal papers I needed. He gave me photos of my birth mom and siblings but said that "they didn't want contact." I ended up leaving it alone for a few years until I found a group on Facebook, for adoptees from my country, and, for mothers of my country looking for their children. The woman in charge of the group was kind enough to help me connect surprisingly quickly with a cousin.
Now, my cousin told me she was very shocked to hear from me, I am supposed to be dead. Apparently the hospital had told my BM that I was dead. I mentioned the group on face book, it is absolutely filled with endless stories of various children and mother's desperately trying to find the other. After some time I finally got ahold of my BM, and she confirmed that I had "died" and that the officials in the hospital and the government wouldn't show her my body, or give her a death certificate. It is like it didn't happen. My paperwork by chance gave me enough info to find her
I don't know the whole story just yet, we speak different languages and you can only get so much of an impression with messages and google translate. My confliction as of yet is that amongst the finding my birth family, my adoptive mom, but to me just my mom, entered hospice care. My mom has now passed away and I had kept my secret of finding my BM. I tried to speak to my dad about the new contact (he knew I was searching even though we never spoke about it directly) and he made it known that he didn't much care to know and that it didn't interest him. I know he is not keen on knowing, remembering that he shares the title of 'dad' with some stranger. He didn't react when I told him my Bio Father is dead, he said something to the terms of it shouldn't really matter to me.
My bio siblings are nice, it is difficult to start a relationship like siblinghood when you don't have any shared history or culture. Our parents were married, and there was a family in place. It wasn't what you think when you imagine the family giving up a child. I was a stolen and sold baby, and I made those people a lot of money. I want to protect my father from the truth of my history. But I also want to make a connection with my Bio Family before its too late.
How does one deal with such emotional things all alone? Who could even begin to give me advice on how to organize how I feel and think logically about the circumstance.
I feel Guilty, Angry, Frustrated, Grief, Happy, Desperate, and a lot of the time indifferent like it isn't actually about me.
I want to meet my bio mom soon. And I don't know how smart that is since I am emotionally an absolute wreck. I have gone through many other serious things during the time as this has all unfolded, if I listed out the life punches I have received one would have a full seasons worth of drama for a telenovela.
When should I think I am ready to tackle this? Where do I find someone with knowledge about situations like this?
Thank you

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's is by far the most disappointing anime that I ever watched. It's also the reason why I got out of anime in general (the only one I still watch with pleasure is Wolf's Rain). It was very good only in the first two seasons. I swear, I've binge watched season 1 in a week. After the Dark Signers arc it went downhill.
Since season 3 there are no more mature themes, it's just filler and what is the plot anymore? A divorced old man? Three dumb androids that do nothing than just sit all day watching the protagonists? Then, there's the WRGP, with do gooders and characters who only appear a handful of times and then are forgotten.
Many of you know that the third season was originally going to be about Arcadia Movement, Yliaster's rival. It's obvious that Aki was going to be the main focus along with Divine (fuck Z-ONE! Divine forever!). Then, Yliaster was going to stay a cult like season 1 shown. If Bruno/Antinomy existed, he would have been connected with Yliaster in no way (since Antinomy is a Greek word, I suspect he was part if the Arcadia Movement).
I would have surely enjoyed it a lot, but, since reality can be very cruel, this anime started to taint me and I dropped it just before Team Unicorn.
Why did this change? The reasons why the original plans for Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's were changed are unsure, so I won't write them here.
I'm going to repeat it: THIS is what Yu-Gi-Oh! should have been and it's also the reason why I got awy from almost all anime. I'm utterly disgusted by how much do gooders and sugarcoating gets thrown in the watcher's face and by that mentality that thinks everything must be sweetened and that bad things must be rejected and cancelled. Yu-Gi-Oh! has been sweetened and flattened up to make it more palatable to kids. It's a comprehensible marketing choice, but how much did it cost? Yu-Gi-Oh! has been castrated and privated of everything that made it interesting and deep. This is the anime that we deserved to watch, a story about friendship and autodetermination without too many do gooders and with characters that are either gentle or cruel.
What do you think? What's your advice?

To be fair, I played the game before I got into the movies. But here's a thought that has been buzzing in my head for years - how many playable characters are actual contenders from the first five films? From a slightly hazy memory (haven't watched the saga in a while), I counted that fourteen of the nineteen are seen/mentioned. Other than Spider Rico, Apollo, Lang, Drago and Gunn, many briefly mentioned boxers make an appearance. Dipper Brown correctly appears in the Rocky I level. Big Yank Ball is accurately labelled as a Rocky III opponent, and Billy Snow whom Apollo mentions in II is said to be European champ - backed up by blue shorts with white trim. Kofi Langton, Tim Simms (Tommy Gunn's opponents under Rocky) and of course Union Cane are also present, although I'm not sure if the short colours are accurate.

I hope the moderators can see the value in a little humor, mostly at the expense of my Essex County, New Jersey upbringing in the Jewish faith. If you are a Catholic, consider what follows and perhaps, given the season, write "The Twelve Stations of the Indictment" or some such.
If you are the redditor who reported your concern for me the other day when I, expressing my extreme loneliness at having returned from prison to find in the world in such a state and my family succumbing to Q, please know I talked to someone at the VA and you may have saved my life that night. Thank you, kind friend.
This is a little long, but it's fun, especially if you grew up where I did.
Tell your Q you called 1.866.JUDAISM, in order to join the persecution of their savior along with us, and got the following:
Thank you for contacting Judaism. Due to an unusually high interest in our faith, due in part to the upcoming crucifixion of the Messiah of the Q's, our second in two millennia, no one is available to answer your call right now, but we want to thank you for your interest in Judaism, the monotheist's favorite faith and the only one with a people Chosen by G-d. Your questions, comments, and concerns are important to us, please continue to hold. Your call is number (THREE) in queue to be answered.
Please listen closely to the following options as our menu has changed.
For a dial by terrible, whiny, phlegmy sounding name directory, press one.
To report someone acting like a schlemiel, press two.
If you've accidentally taken a drink from a well you or a friend has poisoned, press three.
For the latest recipes for matzoh using the blood of Christian children, press four.
If you really think either you, Madonna, or most people who claim such things have any clue about Kabbalah, press five...and then go to Christian Hell.
If you wish to change tribes, or upgrade to Orthodox Platinum, which comes with a free subscription to our online magazine, "Hypochondriac? Shympochondriac! I'm Telling You, I'm Sick. Look, Right Here. Feel This Inflammation. You Tell Me. Is a Healthy Gland Supposed to Feel Like That? Hypochondriac...And Where Did You Get Your Degree, a Grass Hut in Nairobi Mister Big Shot Doctor?" press six.
If you've received a message telling you to invest in nasal spray manufacturers or if you can't tell when your girlfriend reaches completion, and you believe it was an error or would like to order a nailfile for her to drop, press seven.
If you, like I, took your girlfriend's toches last night and would like her to stop complaining about it because it was, after all, your birthday, please press eight to order some little shiksa because good Jewish girls really shouldn't be doing that sort of thing, for shame, Aaron, for shame...you disappoint me, I'm not angry. Okay? Not angry. Calm down. Breathe. Good. Okay? Look, you're so creative and you bring so much good into the world and I just know, because a mother knows these things, call it a sense, that you are going to do great things one day. Right now? After hearing this? I'm just disappointed. You should know better by now, bubee. Really. You should know better. That's the sort of things those Catholic girls do. Okay? Not your girlfriend. Nicole is from Livingston and her family is very active in Beth Am. You know what they call that town? Livingstein. Girls from a place like that with a family so active in the faith and the community don't do...well that. You know who would do that sort of thing? Meadow Soprano or that little friend of hers, Hunter. Meadow Soprano? She was on The Sopranos. The television show. No, it wasn't about a choir, Mister Weisenheimer. It was a show about mobsters. Like Mister Pinto and those boys of his, who are they fooling? Waste management. Yes, Aaron. He's a mobster. Everybody knows that. Everyone in that business is, oh but don't say anything to them because your sister does ballet with one of their cousins. Anyway, put down your phone for a second, wipe the dust off of that television, you know the thing your father and I still watch and the thing we paid thousands of dollars for so it could collect dust on the wall of your room like some Rembrandt at MOMA and watch it instead of looking for hours on end at little girls undressing and dancing on Tik Tak. Tik Tak. That app you're always looking at. Tik Tok? Are you sure? I've been calling it Tik Tak. No, I watched something about this and like five senators called it Tik Tak. Well, good. They should ban it. But we're off topic. Meadow Soprano was a girl played by Jamie Lynn Ziegler. No. Z-I-E...doesn't that thing have autocorrect? Use it. Okay. Anyway, Jamie was a beautiful girl with a beautiful voice, she actually ended up on Broadway. I saw her once. Divine. No, I didn't take the PATH in. Because it smells, bubee. Like pee. We took a car service, why does it matter how we got there? Ugh. Not angry. Not angry. You just frustrate me sometimes with these questions. Anyway, saw her live. Orchestra seats. So much talent. Anyway, Meadow Soprano, or better yet, that little friend of hers, you could just tell by looking at them, that is the kind of girl you do something like that with. Okay? Not Nicole. Not anyone from JCC, not those girls you meet at camp, have fun, that's why we send you, but I don't need details, I'm your mother, I'm here if you want to talk about it or if you have any questions but, please, for my sake, ask your father or one of his brothers, but not Uncle Andy he couldn't handle that sort of thing right now, don't ask, or even Rabbi Krauss, he's not a priest after all, and, finally, bubee, none of the girls from synagogue. Nicole? She's one of us and we don't do that sort of thing. Ask your father. I know what he does with that so-called secretary of his and it's fine. Okay? He thinks I don't know but I know what with those outfits she's always wearing and all that makeup. She might as well hang a big, neon sign around her neck that says "Open for Business. Parking in Rear." That's right I know all about these things. But that's not why we're talking, now is it? Again. Not angry. Just disappointed. Now, come on, I went to Harold's. No, not that one, the good one in Teaneck. You should see the counters at that other one. Haven't been cleaned since Moses ate manna and quail there, right? Now let me make you something. You'll feel better after you eat, I promise.
If you've caught your death because you went out dressed like that, and in this, press nine.
If you no longer wish to receive emails and text alerts about days when we will crash planes into buildings, please go to www.melgibsonwasrightaboutus_mishpocha.com/zog. That's, www.melgibsonwasrightaboutus all as one word, then an underscore then mishpocha...as in the whole mishpocha will be attending seder except your brother but he sends his blessings and those from that wife of his and the little ones she's been blessed with, oh his oldest just got accepted at Julliard, I know, right, now if she would ever just finally grow out of that emo phase she's been in for what, a decade, but you had your phases too, even if you refuse to admit it now, I remember when your counselor called me from Camp Winola and told me you had bought a shirt with a picture of Che Guevara on it and were sitting around the fire singing the Adomalon in it, plus the fact that you didn't understand the irony of buying a communist t-shirt from a corporation then wasn't so bad because you were young and we all go through phases, it's part of growth, or so says Rabbi Krauss and he's so learned, it was embarrassing back then, yes, but not so embarrassing to me as it is now when you're still preaching that schlock to your friends in the Green Party while billing your clients $300 an hour, which is fair, in that trans-vaginal mesh class action because someone beat you to that goldmine with that contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, oh isn't that horrible, but it's good someone is going to hold them to account, we're so proud of you, anyway he sends his blessings from their place down in Freehold and you know him he never really followed the faith too closely, really puts the "ish" in Jewish, that one...Dot com, then a backslash and then the letters Z-O-G. Click on the unsubscribe button and then enter your email and mobile number. Please allow nine to eleven business days for your request to be processed.
Please continue to hold. Your estimated wait time is far less time than it's been since you called your mother and you know how she worries, you really should be better to her, she who gave you life and carried you in her womb for nine months with that back of hers. And don't forget, Mister three days late, oy, the labor pains she bore for you and now, you can't even take five minutes to call? You do whatever you think is right, okay? That's what you always do anyway.
To leave a message, please complain neurotically or cough for three minutes, you should really get that checked out, you sound terrible, or until you hear the tone.
Once again, we'd like to thank you for your interest in Judaism, our people, our traditions, and the wars we cause. Please continue to hold.

Are you stuck in a weight loss rut on your keto journey? It's a common issue for many people who hit a plateau and struggle to see progress. But don't give up just yet - our team has compiled five tips to help you shake things up and jumpstart your weight loss once again!

1. Track your food intake: Sometimes we may not realize how much we're actually consuming, so keeping track of what you eat can help you identify areas where you can cut back.
2. Mix up your macros: Try changing your macros to see if that makes a difference. For example, you could try increasing your protein intake and reducing your fat intake.
3. Incorporate intermittent fasting: Intermittent fasting can help reset your metabolism and kickstart weight loss. Try fasting for 16 hours a day and eating during an 8-hour window.
4. Add in some exercise: Exercise can help burn calories and boost your metabolism. Even just a 20-minute walk or some light weightlifting can make a difference.
5. Get enough sleep: Lack of sleep can lead to weight gain and hinder weight loss progress. Make sure you're getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night.

Don't let a weight loss plateau discourage you from reaching your goals. Give these tips a try and see how they work for you. Remember, every body is different and it may take some trial and error to find what works best for you. Keep pushing forward, and you'll get there!

Saturday, March 25 - Friday, March 31

Top videos

score	comments	title & link
314	26 comments	[Celine Dion Play of the Game] Here is your Celine Dion Play of the Game -- The Kids Line
189	16 comments	Throwback to one of my favorite Sam Rosen calls 😭
174	23 comments	[Celine Dion Play of the Game] Here is your Celine Dion Play of the Game -- Good win and thank you Igor
94	9 comments	I watch highlights on YouTube with a reduced playback speed and the drunken commentary is the cherry on top
89	5 comments	Rangers Win 3-28-2023

 

Game thread comments

score	comment
66	TheChelicopter said I feel like this team can both be swept in the first round or win the cup. Inconsistency in New York.
64	knobcheez said This is about the 20th time this season people are calling for GG to be fired. Once we win 2 games in a row half this sub will go back planning the Stanley Cup parade. Y'all need to drink a beer o...
41	floydiannyc said If they're not gonna show up, I'm not gonna show up. See you all in the playoffs! Fuck. Who am I kidding? See you fuckers Sunday.
37	juxtaposition21 said Least deserved point of the season and I think they care less than I do
37	Zero-jiggler said Gallant fucking pissed. Honestly the most emotion I’ve seen him show post game in a long time
35	AIC_333 said You guys can shit on gallant all you want. Some things are just basic hockey. Screening the goalie, shooting the puck, etc. I agree it feels like there’s no system in place and I don’t think Gallan...
33	Grouchy-Power-806 said Mika and Vlad were embarrassing on that gwg. I had second hand shame for them.
33	terithegreat said How the last 24 hours have made me feel after booking flights + hotel for the playoffs this week: 🤡
30	chickichuglette said Ryan Lindgren is the heart of this team. Rangers need him.
29	Robtachi said This team desperately needs Lindgren back.

 

Top Remaining Posts

score	comments	title & link
751	279 comments	[4yrs x $4.375 M] x - New York Rangers on Twitter: Chytil Extended 4 years
704	62 comments	In 2009, the Rangers used their 19th pick in the draft to select this goofy-looking kid. 14 years later, Chris Kreider is now a top 5 all-time goal scorer in team history.
603	45 comments	Boys 2 Men line getting it done.
522	16 comments	Kid Line, ASSEMBLE!
478	53 comments	I don't care if they are puttering around with walkers and dentures, this is and will always be known as "The Kid Line"
466	56 comments	[NY Rangers] "My main focus was to stay here and be part of this team. I've said many times: I've been here since I was 18. I'm the player who I am because of them as well. Happy that I'm going to stay here."
452	54 comments	They are coming…they are coming
405	48 comments	The New York Rangers have clinched a playoff berth
389	78 comments	No jersey content today, Mika got spayed so she’s in her recovery suit. She gets her Cinderella pillowcase and the Rangers clinch a playoff spot!
373	29 comments	Sam Rosen liked my jersey

 

I jumped into the puppy party after running SBS through 2022 and started a two cycle wave of Bullmastiff base with a one week deload and max testing on new years eve. I’ve just finished a full cycle of 12 weeks, 3 cycles of base and 1 cycle of heavily modified peak.
​

Lift	Starting TM (11/14/22)	Ending Tm (12/31/22)	% Increase	Ending TM (4/1/23)	% Increase
Squat	250	280	12%	296 (est.)	5.7%
Bench Press	225	225	0.0%	240 (est.)	6.7%
Deadlift	330	330 x 2 (est 340)	3.0%	335 (est.)	-1.5%
OHP	125	130	4%	180	0%
Weight	170	175	2.9%	180	2.8%

BACKGROUND:
35 years old, boring office job. Started lifting back in high school and was a serious swimmer. Didn’t make the college team and transitioned to triathlons for a bit and then transitioned to drinking and being fat. Had some off and on returns to the gym where I’d stay pretty consistent for a year or two then take a few years off loosing access to gym or weights. I did make a lot of life style adjustments when I got married and had kids and dropped from somewhere from 250ish pound down to the 170-185 range I stay in now. Mainly just from not eating junk and hanging out at bars all the time.
When the pandemic hit my brother in law offered to let me take his gym equipment home since he wasn’t using it and I’ve been pretty consistent with a weight set in my gym for the past 3 years.
My main goal is to get solidly in the 1,000 pound club and look good while doing it. I enjoy the naturally progression weightlifting gives and doing it consistently really helps my mental health and helps me balance out my life.
2022 Cycle:
I jumped on this program after finishing up a few cycles of SBS RTF and Hypertrophy combined because I saw all the great write ups on the program and Bromley offered it out for free. I overall really enjoy the program for how it pushes you. I cut the 2022 run early because my son and I thought it would be cool to max out new years eve and really track progress. Since he is somewhat new to weightlifting and has gains like crazy I also thought it would be good to get solid 1 rep maxes for him to use in the program.
2023 cycle:
I followed Bromley’s layout to the extent I could with limited home gym equipment and modified some suggestions as I went along. I also realized at some point I screwed up my spreadsheet and kept the 1% of max increasing between waves so there wasn’t a slight deload every 4th week. I did end up throwing in a 7th week deload because I was just feeling to broken. Here the lifts we did by day.
​

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4
Squat	Bench Press	Deadlift	Overhead Press
Sumo Deadlift	Behind the Neck Press	Incline Bench Press	Dumbbell Fly's
EZ Bar Curl	Hammer Curls	Ab Wheel	Wide Grip Bench
Front Squat	Ab Wheel	Power Clean	Dumbbell Lat Raise
Leg Raises	EZ Bar Triceps Ext.	Hanging Knee Raise	Ab Wheel
Good Morning	Dumbbell Lat Raise	Snatch Deadlift	EZ Bar Triceps Ext
Ab Wheel	Plank	Weighted Pull-ups	Reverse Barbell Curl

At the beginning of the program for the first month we also did two conditioning days that consisted of kettlebell swings and other various exercises with the kettlebell all designed to keep us moving and build working capacity. Except for the main lifts (S/B/D/O) everything was super-setted for time savings. Even with super setting the workouts dragged out and were long. Day 3 quickly became to draining so Snatch Deadlift and weight pull-ups were dropped and randomly added in either on the conditioning days when we were doing them or whenever we had a little extra time. We had some life things get in the way which involved moving someone in our family and painting their house as well as our own major project at our house.
Peak Wave:
I always get antsy when the volume drops too much and since I had nothing to prep for We decided to take an abbreviated peak cycle. This meant for Week 10, 11 and 12 our main sets went 5 sets of 3, 3 sets of 3 and then 1 set of 3, instead of stretching that out over the course of three weeks. As predicted, I started getting a little lazy and less dedicated. I know the peak and the drop in volume is there to help recovery, but it just doesn't get me as excited and jazzed up for the next workout. I’ll probably continue when doing programs just to keep ignoring the peak cycles and just start over again with new TM’s
Conclusion:
I really enjoyed the program and the rep scheme, progressively overloading the main lifts while loading up the accessories via set increases really worked well for me. I found myself most looking forward to Day 1 with the squats and front squats. Those sets of front squats made me question my life choices many times. I am disappointed with my deadlift this week and was hoping to do better, but I think simply I had an off day and it’s a shame it was the final exam. I went 310 lbs. for 5 the week before so only getting 315 for 3 was a bummer.
What’s Next:
I’m taking a week off to run some drills and get my son to get back to squatting to depth. As his weight on squat increased, he started doing more quarter squats as opposed to a full squat. By the time I paid enough attention to notice it was a bit too late to force a change. Not wanting to argue with him about a drastic decrease in weight, we opted to finish the program at the higher weight then he should be at and focus in next week on depth and getting a real 1rm.
After that week break we’re going to run Building the Monolith for 6 weeks and then take a vacation. After vacation I’ll need to decide if I want to focus on hypertrophy or really push for some maxes at the end of the year. My squats have improved the best on Bullmastiff then the other programs I’ve done. I’m happy with the bench progress, but am cautious about what my 1 rep max really would be, I seem to have a mental block at 225. This has been the toughest training I’ve done for deadlift and I think mentally it’s been good to get comfortable preforming multiple reps higher to my max. I did get to the point in December where my deadlift test was all the weight, I own so can only use estimates until I can lock down some more plates locally.

The Cooler Server [TCS]
TCS Wants You!
TCS Website
TCS YouTube
About The Cooler Server
The Cooler Server is a laid-back military simulation community that aims to provide a more enjoyable alternative to traditional Arma milsim units. You won't find ranks, or power-hungry staff members. Instead, we'll show you that you can play tactically without sacrificing your pride with virtual pushups. Just laid back, structured gameplay in a fun and helpful environment.
Roles
Rather than locking you in to a role that you'll grow tired of in a few weeks, we give you the freedom to play whatever you'd like, whenever you'd like! While roles can be limited on an operation to operation basis, we'll try our best to offer a variety of options that keep you entertained and engaged.
Attendance
We understand that time is a commodity that not everyone has, so our policy on attendance is flexible. New members are required to attend at least one op within the first 30 days of joining, however after that we don't have ANY attendance requirements. Can't make it this week? No big deal. Need to take a break from the game? That's fine too! While we might temporarily mark you as inactive on our website, we'll be here whenever you're ready to return.
Missions
While our community's sole purpose is to have fun, we like to implement real tactics and strategy during our operations. We also understand that shooting brainless AI can get tedious and boring, so our missions are hand-made every week by our seasoned mission makers. Our operations last around 2-3 hours and typically have 40-50 players on our Saturday Op Night.
Beginners
New to the game? No problem! We've all been there, and we can understand how intimidating it is to play with a unit for the first time. Our staff is full of veteran Arma players who can explain the ins and outs of almost anything you'd want to learn. We also understand that your first operation might not go smoothly, so we'll be sure to pair you with a fire team full of helpful veterans to get you through the fight!
Requirements

For your first operation with TCS, we ask that you show-up an hour early on either a Wednesday or Friday night, so we can walk you through some of our mods and recommended keybinds. If you can't make it, arrangements can be made with a TCS Staff Member. If this is your first time playing Arma, we are more than happy to teach you the basics of the game.

• 18+
• Working Mic
• Fluent English
• Working copy of Arma 3
• Expansions/DLC:
  • APEX
  • Contact
  • S.O.G. Prairie Fire
  • Global Mobilization
  • Western Sahara
• Willingness to play Arma in 1st person
• Willingness to download our mod pack with Swifty.

Submit an application and join our cult community!
SIGN-UP LINK.

Op times: [ Wednesday Friday Saturday ]

• 06:00PM (1800) Pacific
• 07:00PM (1900) Mountain
• 08:00PM (2000) Central
• 09:00PM (2100) Eastern
• 01:00AM (0100) GMT