Tuesday, May 30 - Monday, June 05

Highlights

score	comments	title & link
4,991	437 comments	[Highlight] Chris Johnson turns three touches into 217 yards and 3 TDs, including a play where the Texans leave him completely uncovered (2009)
4,498	625 comments	[Highlight] Today marks 98 days until the 2023 NFL Season Starts! Let’s remember when Sam Hubbard scored on this 98 yard fumble return for a TD in last season’s AFC Wild Card game against the Ravens. It is the longest fumble recovery for a TD in NFL playoffs history. Bengals win, 24-17.
4,267	449 comments	[Highlight] Jakobi Meyers Laterals To Chandler Jones For A Game Winning Touchdown
3,045	267 comments	[Highlight] After a Falcons TD, Eric Berry gets a Pick 2 off Matt Ryan to put the Chiefs back in the lead (2016)
2,075	285 comments	[Highlight] Rookie QB Troy Aikman, in the process of being giga-fucked by Cardinals LB Anthony Bell, delivers an absolute peach to WR James Dixon for the 75 yard TD.
1,829	107 comments	[Highlight] Deebo Samuel turns a loss into a 51 yard gain
1,589	153 comments	[Highlight] Today marks 96 days until the 2023 NFL Season Starts! Let’s remember the 96 yard and 101 kickoff returns for a TD by Nyheim Hines against the Patriots last season. This was the first game back for the Bills since the injury of Damar Hamlin. Bills win, 35-23.
1,498	116 comments	[Highlight] Dolphins Guard Robert Hunt's amazing effort for the touchdown . But the touchdown was called back for ineligible receiver downfield. Maybe the greatest ineligible receiver play ever ?
1,486	203 comments	[Highlight] Week 6 of 1990, Jerry Rice goes off against the Falcons and CB Charles Dimry, catching 13 passes for 225 yards and an NFL record 5 touchdowns.
1,478	183 comments	[Highlight] Marcus Jones outscores both the Jets and Patriots offenses in one play for a game winning punt return 2022
1,221	286 comments	[Highlight] Calvin Johnson Vs Randy Moss - Top 50 Of Each
1,187	157 comments	[Highlight] Today marks 99 days until the 2023 NFL Season Starts! Let’s remember this 99 yard pick 6 by the rookie Jaylen Watson against the Chargers last year. Chiefs win, 27-24.
973	264 comments	[Highlight] Chiefs Intercept Brady to Seal the 2018 AFC Championship- BUT Dee Ford was Offside. Patriots win 37-31 en route to 6th Super Bowl Championship.
924	77 comments	[Highlight] Today marks 95 days until the 2023 NFL Season Starts! Let’s remember this 95 yard kickoff return for a TD by Cordarrelle Patterson against the Bears back in 2018. Patriots win, 38-31.
858	125 comments	[Highlight] Today marks 94 days until the 2023 NFL Season Starts! Let’s remember when Martavis Bryant burnt the Bengals defense on this 94 yard touchdown back in 2014. Steelers win, 42-21.
813	84 comments	[Highlight] Today marks 97 days until the 2023 NFL Season Starts! Let’s remember this 97 yard kickoff return for a TD by Kene Nwangwu against the Patriots on Thanksgiving last year. Vikings win, 33-26.
643	235 comments	[Highlight] A very injured Justin Herbert throws an absolute dime on 4th down.
594	122 comments	[Highlight] Where’s Ricky Sanders?
548	143 comments	[Highlight] Carl Nassib's strip sack in OT sets up the game winning TD.
548	75 comments	[Highlight] Diontae Johnson makes an insane one-handed grab down the sideline in OT against the Bengals.
516	49 comments	[Highlight] Frustrated Dallas secondary attempts to stop the “Fun Bunch” from celebrating in the end zone
505	56 comments	(Highlight) Jared Allen makes the incredible one-handed sack while being smothered by an Offensive Lineman

 

Other Videos

score	comments	title & link
639	34 comments	[OC] Play by play analysts can never actually take the time to explain what outside zone is while calling a game, so I made this to help folks understand why every single team in the NFL runs it constantly

 

OC

score	comments	title & link
1,870	444 comments	[OC] Analysis of NFL Mascots (2023 Update)

 

Top comments

score	comment
5,500	seafoamstratocaster said Russ didn't want to hear the cuss words from the crowd.
4,890	ineedahaircutbadly said But Matt Damon told me fortune favors the brave
4,557	Twittenhouse said "Aaron Rodgers is the pretty girl that you gotta tell her she’s pretty every day" - Charles Barkley
4,548	grodges1 said > The legislation will retire $377 million in outstanding stadium bonds for Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium by the end of June — wiping out debt scheduled to be paid off in 2046 and saving Minnesota ta...
3,596	HedJoyer said There was a timeline where I didn't have to watch like 6 Broncos primetime games? Take me there
3,384	HelpfulPhotograph185 said Mahomes is clearly a man who lives with a toddler. Those were the moves of a seasoned parent, always ready to stop chaos at a moment’s notice in public.
3,341	ZachTrillson said wake up babe new packers rodgers beef just dropped
3,285	MrSuperfreak said "And he's also a pretty good passer."
3,263	MatchewRolex said Seattle vs. Pats in 2015 That final play was the first domino in allowing Matt Patricia to become head coach of the Lions
2,699	Roger--Smith said Next time, they might consider investing in something a little less volatile, like stadium nacho cheese futures.

 

Awarded Posts

score/comments	awards	title & link
7,612 - 515 comments	1 All-Seeing Upvote	[Misleading] [Front Office Sports] "The Minnesota Vikings have paid off their debt on U.S. Bank Stadium 23 years early — a move that will save Minnesota taxpayers $226 million in interest."
5,518 - 504 comments	1 Evil Cackle	[Leslie] As of today, June 2, 2023, it has been 10,000 days since the Dallas Cowboys last played in an NFC Championship Game.

 

Awarded Comments

awards	score	comment
1 Gold, 1 Take My Energy, 1 Eureka!	476	ThatGuyWithaReason said Gute will forever be the clown who drafted Rodgers replacement just for him to win back to back MVPs i’d want him fired as well. Packers fans siding with Gute to this day is crazy lmao
1 Gold, 1 Kiss	198	PerseusACluster said Hard not to root for Trask after witnessing his sacrifice aboard the Endar Spire
1 Take My Energy, 1 Starry	142	ThadtheYankee159 said One with the Vikings or Bills XIX cause of Marino Finally, XXXVI, to potentially butterfly away the Patriots dynasty.
1 Silver	949	whereegosdare84 said "It's an absolute pleasure to see, he's even taken it upon himself to introduce himself to everyone in the neighborhood and tell them a little about himself so they know where he is at all times."
1 Ally	181	notmoleliza said Come to Beşiktaş

 

Alright, so I have a 2018 Honda HRV EX trim, and to replace my fancy mirror with a camera it’s going to run me $300 for the part alone. I get it, I get it, it’s the camera. Now… what if I’m not incredibly attached to the idea of keeping a passenger mirror with a camera? I just want a mirror that’s not dangling to the side or being held on by duct tape. I can get the passenger mirror for the LX trim for /much/ cheaper, like $240 cheaper. However, “will it fit”, is the million dollar question. I literally do not care about the aesthetics at this point, I’m just poor and would rather not get hit with a ticket for my mirror that waves at everyone as I drive by.

Switching over to a MINI clubman soon and will miss my blind spot camera that I currently have on my Honda civic! 10 years of a convenience might make for a hard habit to break and I really do use it for merging on highways, etc.
Wondering if anyone has installed or had someone install a blind spot camera? I did found something simple and looked great online but it isn’t comparable with MINIs!
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/echomaster-universal-self-adhesive-side-view-mirror-blind-spot-camera-black/6433309.p?skuId=6433309&ref=212&loc=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD-ORIhAs2VL_j88XNj2QvCdVMRRP&gclid=Cj0KCQjwj_ajBhCqARIsAA37s0xUx_jZmDuiRI58E8c1rrNDX65g2cV6Azub6nelrr632jBCh9SrctQaAmdbEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Hello fellow predators!
About a month ago I discovered SpacePaladin15 's story and then this place shortly after. After binge reading through every story I could find I still wasn't satisfied. So I started writing my own!
Shoutouts to rebelhero and Acceptable_Egg5560 for greenlighting some cross references that will come up later.
An extra special thanks goes to eager_question for their help brainstorming some cool plot stuff that will also come up later.
You don't need to have read their stories to understand mine, but you should read their stories. Cause they're cool n'shit.
Anyway...
-====================================-
Memory transcription subject: Kimmich, Head of Exterminator Special Investigations, Starside, Venlil Prime.
Date [standardized human time]: October 17th 2136
It was always windy on Venlil Prime, how…
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….broken and still on the sandstone…
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…already asleep, propped up on…
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…32 kids and prou…
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WARNING, FREQUENT JUMPING IN MEMORY TIMELINE DURING PLAYBACK MAY RESULT IN ERRORS REQUIRING A RESET OF TRANSCRIPTION ARCHIVE…
Resuming Playback Mid Entry
Memory transcription subject: Kimmich, Security Specialist and shuttle pilot for Hazardous Recovery 7
Date [standardized human time]: October 27th 2136 2:40 AM
‘…I did not raise Venmka and Sevkan to be this naive.’ I fumed as I pushed my way through the screen door separating the laundry room from the indoor greenhouse our host kept.
Even light years from home and lit only by bloody orange heatlamps, it was still nice to walk between healthy plants. Spaced throughout the room were rows of boxes bearing tall fruiting plants, racks of hanging vines heavy with clusters of yellow and green beans, and low trays of root vegetables ready for harvest. It reminded me of Tulma…
No, focus.
Of course I was sending reports of our stay here back to the office! This trip was an intelligence goldmine! If even half of the technology our oh so civilized host had invented was implemented into the UN’s military forces there would be no stopping them!
My paw traced the ridge of my right eye socket, a claw tracing the skin of my eyelid. I could feel the functionless silicon spacer that sat where my eye had been shift slightly under the pressure.
Bitterness rose up in my chest. ‘They went through all that trouble to keep him alive, and yet the Federation wouldn't clone me one single replacement eye because ‘medical resources are stretched thin on the front right now.’ Pfft. No one does a full eye replacement on a frontline.‘
‘Andre did offer to design something…’ No. I didn’t want to be indebted to this predator like that. Being forced to stay in his home through the winter was already enough of a strain on my nerves as it was.
I paused by the carbon fibre planters Vemnka and I had built a few days ago and shook some of the stress from my shoulders and tail. I leaned over and peered into the dirt. Two tiny leaf sprouts had begun to climb out of the rich soil, barely visible in the dull orange light. “A full harvest of ‘brussels sprouts’ in six weeks or less!” the seed package said. I angled my ears in irritation and moved towards the foggy windows.
I didn’t really believe he intended to feed us that long. After what had happened on the 17th and all that talk of his savage religious rituals it was only a matter of time before some loud noise or predatory demon vision compelled him to attack us. Erich didn’t...
NO. FOCUS.
I looked over the ridge of condensation that clung to the bay windows and into the dark yard. Small solar lanterns dotted the important features, highlighting the paths and furnishings. The contrast seemed to deepen the darkness between them somehow, and it lent the yard a strange alien fee-
A spot of bright red light reflected off the window, the source was right in the centre of my blindspot.
‘Laser sight!’
Trained reflexes took over, and In single a flash of movement I leapt, spun, drew my gun, and activated my own laser before landing in a shooting stance. The green dot of my laser sight lined up squarely… with Andre’s sternum.
He was sitting in one of the wicker chairs on the other side of the tomato cages, across the room from me and well out of pouncing range. Lit from behind by the pale blue moonlight I could see he had been reclining comfortably, looking at his tablet on the small coffee table in front of him. The glowing red tip of one of those burning sticks he enjoyed was hanging from his left hand, trailing smoke into the air.
‘It wasn’t a laser sight, it flared when he inhaled! He wasn’t even looking at me!’
I felt a surge of relief until I realized that he wasn’t looking at me.. because he was looking at the green dot I still had trained on his chest.
Andre looked up from the dot on his shirt and across the room. His terrifying binocular eyes flicked back and forth across the darkness until they locked with my lone eye and...
Without articulating ears or prehensile tails, humans had evolved an entire system of moving muscles in their faces to express things. It was unnerving to watch his entire appearance swim between snarls of sadness, betrayal, rage, before settling into a stone stillness that scared me more than any baring of teeth ever could.
I had seen it before, back in Starside. It was the look of someone who could see the burning napalm arcing towards them and knew they had nowhere to go. 'Never my job to pull the trigger, but they always trusted where I told them to aim…'
Seconds passed, and neither of us moved. My paws began to shake, the laser dot wobbled on his chest, but his eyes were still locked onto me. ‘Make this as easy as it’s supposed to be dammit! lunge at me! Growl! Bare your teeth! Something!’
“Well?” He said, his clipped tone shattering the silence. “You gonna to take the shot or not, Kemmich?”
“What are you doing out here?” I demanded.
“Smoking. Also, it’s my house.” He said, his voice now flat and expressionless, before bringing the stick in his left hand up to his lips and inhaling.
The burning tip flared again, the unkind colour casting a sinister light over the carbon black mechanical arm he held it in. He pointed it at my gun with his other hand, a mirror image of its twin.
“Shoot me already.” Smoke curled up from his lips and nose as he spoke. “Drill two of those coilgun slugs right right through my centre mass. I’m a nice, stationary target. Just like Tokyo, or Montreal, or Berlin.”
I suppressed a flinch at the mention of those names. Cities reduced to rubble and glass by the Federation’s extermination fleet barely a week ago. All three places Andre had lost people. ‘Why is he goading me like this? Wait, that sounded practiced. Oh speh, he anticipated this!’
Determination steadied my aim, until Andre slammed his empty hand down on the coffee table and bolted upright. The impact knocked his tablet to the floor. He didn’t notice.
“A billion and a half wasn’t quite enough for you people, eh?” He said, venom starting to bubble in his voice.
“The Ven-” I started.
“Not the Venlil! You! And people like you!” He had gone from venom to shouting as he spoke. It was loud enough that Vemnka or Sevkan had to have heard it. Good, they needed to see this. To see what their silly sentiments towards these poor misunderstood meat-eaters actually-
“You killed Erich, didn’t you? With that stupid big iron I let you wear around my house.” My heart started to race, my train of thought totally derailed.
“No! How could you say that!?”
“All I got was a bag of ashes and your word for it, Kim. You and your fucking cronies torched him then scraped what was left into a bag so you had an excuse to come here and finish the job yourself, didn’t you? Had to follow it back to it’s den and burn out the nest to be sure, right?”
I may as well have killed him... And the three of us now too. “No! We told you why we came here…” I trailed off weakly.
Andre had been advancing as we spoke, and it wasn’t until he was barely a metre away that I noticed how bright the laser dot on his chest suddenly was in the surrounding darkness.
“Then why are you still pointing your gun at me?”
Before I could formulate an answer, his arms lashed out. In a blur of motion my gun was slapped from my paw and two black mechanical hands wrapped themselves around my head. I tried to draw a breath and scream for help, but all I tasted was ash…
[PLAYBACK ERROR 686094784 PLAYBACK RESOLUTION LOST DUE TO HIGH SUBJECT STRESS AND RECORD FRAGMENTATION. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESTART FROM THE LAST STABLE POINT IN RELEVANT TRANSCRIPTS? Y/N ]
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-========================================-

I was really excited about owning a 2023 Honda Accord Touring. I placed an order back in January of this wear for the Touring in Canyon River Blue with the HPD package as well. It took some time but I ended up taking delivery of the vehicle in late April.
I was able to enjoy it for a solid three weeks before nightmare struck.
When taking delivery of the vehicle, I noticed some interior scratches along the driver side door interior trim and an odd buzzing/rattling noise coming from both the driver side door and passenger side area. I took it back to the dealership and they looked at it for two days without being able to figure out the cause. They ended up replacing the entire driver side door and discovered that some of the bolts on the underbody weren’t torqued to spec from the factory.
It’s been sitting at a local auto body shop for the last two weeks and they keep extending the repair time. First they told me that it would only be a couple days to repair and now it’s turning into an extended ordeal. They’re claiming that multiple parts need to be replaced including the entire suspension system.
This has been a really unfortunate experience because the car was so nice in so many ways. It felt ultra-premium, quiet, extremely economical, overall very satisfied until these issues started to pop up.
Has anyone else experienced any manufacturer defects with their 11th gens?

y'all prolly don't care but I did it anyway so ¯(ツ)¯
Rank Song
1 Michael Jackson - Ghosts
2 afi - Miseria Cantare - The Beginning
3 a-ha - Take On Me
4 Journey - Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
5 Pearl Jam - Future Days
6 Evanescence - Bring Me To Life
7 Alter Bridge - The Other Side
8 Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
9 Killswitch Engaged - This Fire
10 Motorhead - the game
11 Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
12 Michael Jackson - Earth Song
13 Michael Jackson - Remember the Time
14 Saliva - I Walk Alone
15 Linkin’ Park - Crawling
16 Michael Jackson - Stranger In Moscow
17 Michael Jackson - Man In The Mirror
18 Michael Jackson - Bad
19 Imagine Dragons & JID - Enemy
20 Michael Jackson - Blood On The Dance Floor
21 BANKS - The Devil
22 Eminem - Godzilla ft. Juice WRLD
23 Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
24 Billie Eilish, Khalid - lovely
25 Luniz - I Got 5 On It
26 Dr. Dre - ETA (with Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes & Anderson .Paak)
27 Michael Jackson - They Don’t Care About Us
28 grandson & Jessie Reyez - Rain
29 The Cranberries - Zombie
30 Linkin Park - BURN IT DOWN
31 Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic - Smokin Out The Window
32 Earth, Wind & Fire - September
33 Doja Cat - Woman
34 Linkin Park - Numb
35 Shakespears Sister - Stay
36 Michael Jackson - The Way You Make Me Feel
37 Britney Spears - Toxic
38 Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
39 Michael Jackson - Beat It
40 Michael Jackson - Thriller
41 Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal
42 Bray Wyatt – Shatter
43 Doja Cat - Vegas
44 Linkin Park - In The End
45 Dr. Dre - The Scenic Route (with Rick Ross & Anderson .Paak)
46 Imagine Dragons - Natural
47 Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson - Scream
48 Imagine Dragons - Cutthroat
49 Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise (feat. L.V.)
50 Nirvana - Something In The Way
51 Limp Bizkit - Rollin'
52 Katy Perry - California Gurls ft. Snoop Dogg
53 Doja Cat ft. SZA - Kiss Me More
54 Lady Gaga - Bad Romance
55 Post Malone, Swae Lee - Sunflower )
56 Bring Me The Horizon - Can You Feel My Heart
57 Living Colour - Cult Of Personality (Official Video)
58 Queen - Killer Queen
59 Queen - Another One Bites the Dust
60 BANKS - Skinnydipped
61 Doja Cat - Say So
62 Michael Jackson - In the Closet
63 Rev Theory - Voices
64 Disney - We Don't Talk About Bruno
65 Michael Jackson - Rock With You
66 Britney Spears - Circus
67 Madison Beer - I Have Never Felt More Alive
68 Dua Lipa - Physical
69 Eminem - River ft. Ed Sheeran
70 Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit
71 Imagine Dragons - Bones
72 Britney Spears - Oops!...I Did It Again
73 Lil Nas X - MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)
74 Doja Cat - Get Into It (Yuh)
75 Dua Lipa - New Rules
76 Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)
77 Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
78 Michael Jackson - Jam
79 Eminem - Lose Yourself
80 Queen - I Want to Break Free
81 Childish Gambino - This Is America
82 Joji - Glimpse of Us
83 Linkin Park - Somewhere I Belong
84 Hamilton - The Room Where It Happens
85 Snoop Dogg - Gin And Juice
86 Michael Jackson - Heal The World
87 Louis Armstrong - What A Wonderful World
88 NF - The Search
89 Hamilton - Satisfied
90 Ren - Money Game
91 Queen - We Are The Champions nn
92 Tech N9ne - Face Off (feat. Joey Cool, King Iso & Dwayne Johnson)
93 Jessica Darrow - Surface Pressure
94 Michael Jackson - Money
95 Motionless In White - Demons in Your Dreams
96 Joji - SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK
97 BANKS - Gimme (Official Video)
98 Dua Lipa - Break My Heart (Official Video)
99 Idina Menzel, AURORA - Into the Unknown (From Frozen 2)
100 Warriors (ft. Imagine Dragons) Worlds 2014 - League of Legends
101 Dr. Dre - The Next Episode (Official Music Video) ft. Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Nate Dogg
102 Eminem - Venom
103 Céline Dion - Ashes (from Deadpool 2 Motion Picture Soundtrack)
104 I Want You Back - The Jackson 5
105 Imagine Dragons - Sharks (Official Music Video)
106 Joan Jett & The Blackhearts Bad Reputation - Official Music Video (1983)
107 Guns N' Roses - Welcome To The Jungle
108 FOZZY - Judas (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
109 Waterproof Blonde - Just Close Your Eyes
110 Sam B - Who do you Voodoo, Bitch
111 Skillet - Legendary
112 Billie Eilish - bury a friend
113 Ren - Money Game part 2
114 Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine
115 Kevin Sherwood - Where Are We Going?
116 twenty one pilots - Heathens
117 Eminem - Without Me
118 Heavy - Linkin Park (feat. Kiiara)
119 Lady Gaga - Paparazzi
120 As The World Caves In - Sarah Cothran
121 Dr. Dre - Still D.R.E. ft. Snoop Dogg
122 Obie Trice ft. Eminem & Dr Dre - Shit hits the fan
123 Eminem - Big Weenie
124 Michael Jackson - Black Or White
125 SZA - Kill Bill Feat. Doja Cat
126 Clean Bandit - Symphony (feat. Zara Larsson)
127 Dua Lipa - Levitating Featuring DaBaby
128 Imagine Dragons - Believer
129 Mario Judah - Die Very Rough
130 Dua Lipa - IDGAF
131 Sabrina Carpenter - Thumbs
132 Ed Sheeran - Bad Habits
133 Imagine Dragons - Radioactive
134 Ariana Grande - thank u, next
135 D'LOURDES - How Did You Get So Good?
136 Queen - We Will Rock You
137 Imagine Dragons - Thunder
138 Eminem - White America
139 Olivia Rodrigo - good 4 u
140 Lorde - Royals
141 Billie Eilish - bad guy
142 Wiz Khalifa - See You Again ft. Charlie Puth
143 Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah
144 Michael Jackson - Who Is It
145 Hamilton - We Know
146 Michael Jackson - Speed Demon
147 BAD BUNNY - CHAMBEA
148 K/DA - MORE ft. Madison Beer, (G)I-DLE, Lexie Liu, Jaira Burns, Seraphine
149 Shaman’s Harvest - Broken Dreams
150 Michael Jackson - I Just Can't Stop Loving You
151 Skillet - Hero
152 Michael Jackson - Leave Me Alone
153 Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa & Imagine Dragons w/ Logic & Ty Dolla $ign ft X Ambassadors - Sucker for Pain
154 Ava Max - Sweet but Psycho
155 RISE (ft. The Glitch Mob, Mako, and The Word Alive)
156 Downstait - Kingdom
157 Hamilton - Say No To This
158 Eminem - Survival
159 Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way
160 Alter Bridge - Metalingus
161 Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time
162 Michael Jackson - Dirty Diana
163 Michael Jackson - P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
164 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Main Theme - Lifelight
165 PinkPantheress, Ice Spice - Boy’s a liar Pt. 2
166 Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive
167 Motorhead - line in the sand (Evolution)
168 K/DA - POP/STARS (ft. Madison Beer, (G)I-DLE, Jaira Burns)
169 Dua Lipa - Don't Start Now
170 Sam Smith, Kim Petras - Unholy
171 Imagine Dragons - Bad Liar
172 Ed Sheeran - Beautiful People (feat. Khalid)
173 Imagine Dragons - Birds
174 BANKS - Deadend
175 Mark Crozer and The Rels - Broken Out In Love
176 NWA - Gangsta Gangsta
177 Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer
178 Toto - Africa
179 Michael Jackson - Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
180 Ariana Grande - 7 rings
181 Eric Reprid - Vam
182 Imagine Dragons - Demons
183 Halsey - Without Me
184 Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa - One Kiss
185 Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk ft. Bruno Mars
186 Jim Johnston - Domination
187 K/DA - DRUM GO DUM ft. Aluna, Wolftyla, Bekuh BOOM
188 Lil Candypaint & Bhad Bhabie - 22 (Remix)
189 Dr. Dre - Gospel (with Eminem)
190 Lady Gaga - Applause
191 Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello - Señorita
192 Billie Eilish - when the party's over
193 Phoenix (ft. Cailin Russo and Chrissy Costanza)
194 K/DA - I’LL SHOW YOU ft. TWICE, Bekuh BOOM, Annika Wells
195 Idina Menzel, Evan Rachel Wood - Show Yourself
196 Ash Costello - Brutality
197 The Gentle Men - Obsession
198 Imagine Dragons - Whatever It Takes
199 Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry
200 Ed Sheeran - Perfect
201 BANKS - Beggin For Thread
202 2WEI and Edda Hayes - Warriors
203 Queen - Don't Stop Me Now
204 Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg - Nuthin' But A G Thang
205 Fall Out Boy - Centuries
206 The Greatest Showman Cast - The Greatest Show
207 Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande - Rain On Me
208 Valerie Broussard - Awaken
209 Eminem - Rap God
210 The Weeknd - Blinding Lights
211 PVRIS - Burn It All Down
212 Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) (Part 1)
213 Michael Jackson - Will You Be There
214 K/DA - THE BADDEST ft. (G)I-DLE, Bea Miller, Wolftyla
215 twenty one pilots - Stressed Out
216 Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World
217 K/DA - VILLAIN ft. Madison Beer and Kim Petras
218 Loren Allred - Never Enough
219 Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe
220 One Direction - Drag Me Down
221 Endeverafter - No More Words
222 Eminem - Fall
223 Zendaya, Zac Efron - Rewrite The Stars
224 Lil Nas X - Old Town Road ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
225 Disney - Remember Me
226 Bone Thugs N Harmony - 1st of tha Month
227 Lukas Graham - 7 Years
228 Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody
229 Ed Sheeran - Shape of You
230 Camila Cabello - Havana ft. Young Thug
231 Selena Gomez, Marshmello - Wolves
232 ZAYN - Dusk Till Dawn ft. Sia
233 The Greatest Showman Cast - This Is Me
234 Lewis Capaldi - Someone You Loved
235 Lil Nas X - STAR WALKIN'
236 Dove Cameron - If Only
237 U.S.A. For Africa - We Are the World
238 Dr. Dre - Fallin Up (with Thurz & Cocoa Sarai)
239 Tyler, the Creator - SORRY NOT SORRY
240 Nicki Taylor - Worlds Collide
241 Taylor Swift - Blank Space
242 Maroon 5 - Girls Like You ft. Cardi B
243 The Gentle Men - 2019 Guy
244 The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
245 Eminem ft. Rihanna - The Monster
246 Charlie Puth - Attention
247 Bruno Mars - Grenade
248 Queen - Radio Ga Ga (Official Video)
249 Julia Michaels - What A Time ft. Niall Horan
250 The Greatest Showman Cast - A Million Dreams
251 Rihanna - Umbrella ft. JAY-Z
252 Lady Gaga - Poker Face
253 Clean Bandit - Rockabye feat. Sean Paul & Anne-Marie
254 Eminem - Love The Way You Lie ft. Rihanna
255 Sam Smith - I'm Not The Only One
256 The Chainsmokers - Closer ft. Halsey
257 Eminem - Not Afraid
258 BAD BUNNY - BOOKER T
259 Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do
260 Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper - Shallow
261 David Guetta - Titanium ft. Sia
262 E-40 - Captain Save A Hoe ft. The Click, D-Shot, B-Legit, Suga T
263 Sofia Carson - Love Is The Name
264 Christina Perri - A Thousand Years
265 Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger ft. Christina Aguilera
266 Against The Current - Legends Never Die
267 Eminem - Like Toy Soldiers
268 Abba - Dancing Queen
269 Eminem - My Name Is
270 Shawn Mendes - Stitches
271 Malia J - Smells Like Teen Spirit
272 One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
273 ZAYN, Taylor Swift - I Don’t Wanna Live Forever
274 Lil Nas X - Panini
275 Fergie - Glamorous ft. Ludacris
276 Ke$ha - TiK ToK
277 Sabrina Carpenter - Can't Blame a Girl for Trying
278 Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better
279 Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back
280 Marshmello & Anne-Marie - FRIENDS
281 Pitbull - Timber ft. Ke$ha
282 CORPSE - E-GIRLS ARE RUINING MY LIFE! ft. Savage Ga$p
283 Hudson Mohawke - Cbat

DRAG RACE!
Rachelle Mirage struts the runway wearing a pantsuit in orange and red.
“Hello world!”
“Welcome to Drag Race.”
Rachelle smiles.
“Ms Michaels, how you doing?”
“I’m fabulous baby.” Floss grins. “How YOU doing?”
“Amazing. Let’s kick out Chronologica!” Rachelle cackles.
Floss winks.
“Tanvi Lioness, are you ready to see these comedians shine?”
“It’s time for them to exit the house.” Tanvi smirks.
“For our Challenge, our racers were tasked with competing in the BIG MOTHER improv challenge!”
“And on the runway, they’ll be wearing Red Velvet looks.”
“It’s TIME!”
~
“Category is… Red Velvet!”
Crayola Boxx struts out in a red ball gown, uttering the shape of a cake. She’s got a big, swirly skirt, and she spins around and around, with little bits of ‘frosting’ spurting out of the stage. She’s got a big red updo and a smile on her face.
“Not the spurting.” Floss looks around awkwardly.
“It reminds me of what you used to-” Rachelle stops after looking at Floss’ rageful face.
Aguacate struts out in a full ball gown, with multiple layers of luscious red velvet cake. She twirls down the runway, revealing a big slice has been taken right out of her backside, exposing the real cake, which is completely bare. Aguacate takes a lick of her delicious frosting, and licks her fingers clean!
“Oh… Aguacate did it so much better than Crayola.” Tanvi whispers to Rachelle.
Wearing a surprisingly high-fashion number, Jaslene Bangus walks down the runway. Her hair is dark and slicked back into a high pony. The outfit itself, however, is a two-piece suit made entirely out of red velvet. The collar and front of the suit jacket is made to resemble the red curtains of a theater. As she walks, her face showcases class and poise.
“Thank God it’s not another cake look.” Rachelle says.
Zazu Nova arrives in a Lightning Mcqueen inspired form-fitting red velvet catsuit, hugging the her curves, with black accents in the form of lightning bolts paying homage to Lightning McQueen's design, and red velvet jacket with racing patches adding an edgy and rebellious vibe to the look as she struts with a smile.
“Vroom Vroom.” Floss smiles.
Granny Gorgeous enters the stage in a red velvet cape, a huge one that covers her entire body and makes her frame not so visible. With a long red wig, Granny is serving caftan velvet realness with a smirk.
“Oh, she’s giving Granny.” Tanvi smirks.
Fiore Stravaganza shines in a sleek velvet dress that hugs her body tight. She’s got a massive red headdress, made of the same red velvet material, replacing a wig like Fiore would normally rock. Her face is expressively painted, and Fiore looks like a star.
“Gorgeous.” Rachelle smiles.
Yasmin Raiz oozes sex appeal, strutting the runway in a deep red velvet bodycon dress that hangs low off her shoulders, with a little cream flower pin on her bosom. She wears sheer cream nylon gloves with a small ruffled bow at the wrist, a perfectly coiffed cream-blonde wig, small deep red glasses with flower-shaped frames, and carries a cream fur coat, as if she doesn’t even need the reveal.
“Delicious.” Floss winks.
King Omari Star stuns as he enters the stage in a red velvet kilt, with an asymmetrical shirt that has a matching long, flowy cape along with it. He’s got a massive pair of red platform boots, and as he walks, he gives every inch of royalty with a smirk.
“He loves a cape.” Rachelle chuckles.
~
“Hi Racers.” Rachelle purses her lips. “Nobody is safe.”
“First up… Yasmin.”
Yasmin smiles.
“You really have a soulful vibe, and I enjoy it.” Tanvi nods. “You hit the marks comedically, you enjoyed yourself and I was really quite pleased to see it.”
“Thank you!” Yasmin grins.
“It was a real fun time, and I do think you really were one of the highlights to see. Solid work, girl.” Rachelle smiles, “You have been consistent these past couple of weeks, and you only leave me wanting a little bit more, and I must say that I do think this look is a good switch for you. Keep up the good work.”
Yasmin bows.
“Fiore.”
Fiore smiles.
“You look gorgeous.” Racehelle grins. “Like, wow.”
Fiore flicks back her invisible hair and smirks.
“In this challenge, I did wish I got to see MORE from you in the challenge, though. It feels as if something is keeping you from fully going out like you did in, let’s say, the Snatch Game..”
Fiore nods.
“Just need- more engagement. I feel as if you’re hardening up, going back into that inner shell, when I want you to let us see even more of you. Pretty will only get you so far, Fiore.”
“I can assure you, this is me.” Fiore looks at Rachelle.
“Well…” Rachelle nods.
“Moving on, Jaslene.”
Jaslene looks at the judges.
“YAS! Girl, this look is great.” Floss smiles. “I damn love it.”
“Thank you.” Jaslene nods.
“I feel you have been middle of the road for a few weeks. But this week, I saw the effort baby. But it is not quite enough. I’m going to need you to keep driving- because at this point, I feel as if you’re lagging behind.”
“Noted.” Jaslene says.
“Zazu.”
“Hii…” Zazu says awkwardly.
“I think we know.” Rachelle says.
“Yes.” Zazu responds.
“This wasn’t quite the best performance. Well, you stumbled. I wanted to see you do well, but unfortunately- it wasn’t quite enough, and I’m going to need you to fight for this.”
“I do want to do this.” Zazu purses her lips. “For me, I feel challenged here. But I will always take every single critique and fight for the crown.”
“That is what I need.” Rachelle looks at Zazu. “Keep it going.”
Zazu nods in agreement.
“Omari.”
Omari adjusts his cape.
“You have a royal presence to you.” Tanvi says.
“King Omari Star.” Omari smirks. “Is my full name.”
“I can see it.” Tanvi responds. “I think you had a good balance of funny and real. I enjoyed you this week.”
Omari smiles.
“I wanted you to push yourself out of your comfort zone this week, and you did. And for that I have to commend you” Rachelle responds. “Well done.”
“Thank you.” Omari grins.
Granny.
“Hello.” Granny says.
“I am loving this look.” Rachelle looks at Granny. “It’s giving- a bit generic, but also- I do feel like you’re reinforcing that idea said a few weeks ago- I am seeing a lack of brand.”
“Okay…” Granny smiles, ever the pleaser.
“I want you to get dirty this week, but you did not.” Rachelle says. “And I'm going to need you to further think on what your drag is- what you bring. Because again- at this point, that’s really important.”
“I understand.” Granny smiles.
“Aguacate.”
“¡Hola!” Aguacate winks.
“You’re pure chaos!”
“AHHHHH!” Aguacate screams.
Tanvi giggles.
“That is what I liked.” Tanvi says. “Well and truly, you stole the show.”
“Thank you.” Aguacate smirks.
“I feel like unlike others, you do know who you are. My advice? Keep doing you.”
“I will.” Aguacate adds. “I can tell you that.”
“Finally, Crayola.”
“Hello dear.” Crayola smiles.
“You weren’t funny, baby.” Floss frowns.
“Oh.” Crayola looks surprised.
“As in- you know, I was expecting haha. But I got- oh, nah.” Floss laughs. “Like, damn, there was nothing fun- and I wanted to see you make me laugh!”
Crayola nods.
“For me, it came off- just like you were trying too hard, it wasn’t the smooth sailing we were looking for. And it just wasn't a very clever delivery, or very funny either. It was a shame.” Rachelle adds. “…And this gown doesn’t do you any favors- it looks frumpy.”
“I apologize.” Crayola responds.
“Racers, before we deliberate… I have a question to ask.”
Everyone looks at each other.
“Who should go home tonight and why? Starting with… Crayola.”
“I think this week I disappointed.” Crayola frowns. “And I do really enjoy this, but I am not delivering, and I will be truthful with that. I wasn’t the best, and I’m sorry.” Crayola says.
The others look surprised.
“Okay.”
“Zazu.” Aguacate says. “Ms Boxx at least has two wins. This is what, her… 4th time in the bottom 3?” Aguacate laughs.
Zazu frowns.
“I do agree, Zazu.” Granny sighs. “Sadly, at this point, she is not delivering as consistently as the others.”
“For me, Crayola.” Omari says. “I see a fighter in Zazu. I do not see that in Crayola, as… clearly, neither does she.”
Aguacate giggles.
“I think, Crayola.” Zazu nods. “I’m sorry, but I will not say myself- I can never...”
Rachelle nods.
“For me, Crayola.” Jaslene responds. “At this point, she is not showcasing herself at her best.”
“Now, Zazu is clearly at the bottom.” Fiore purses her lips. “But if I’m being honest, at this point, Jaslene isn’t delivering anything new either, I don’t think.” Fiore nods. “Like you have said she has been, for a lack of a better term… flat-lining these past several episodes.”
Jaslene looks surprised, as well as Rachelle.
Jaslene Bangus: “What the fuck?”
“Let her fight for the bottom.” Fiore shrugs.
Jaslene rolls her eyes.
“I do agree with Zazu.” Yasmin nods. “Unfortunately.”
“Thank you, racers. Whilst we deliberate, you may untuck backstage in the Crystal Lounge, sponsored by Princess Papaya Tropical Drinks.”
~
The racers enter the platinum lounge.
Jaslene stomps in, grabbing a drink before turning to face Fiore.
“What the fuck?” Jaslene says.
Fiore raises an eyebrow. "What's the matter, Jaslene? Did I say something wrong?"
Jaslene clenches her fists, clearly pissed. "You think it's okay to throw me under the bus like that? Saying I should fight for the bottom? What the hell girl? I thought you were my sister?”
Fiore smirks, taking a sip of her drink. “Please, Jaslene. I was just stating m ytruth, what I have been seeing these past few weeks- If you can't handle a little critique, maybe you're not cut out for this competition. I feel as if you haven’t been delivering, and to me, you’re dead weight, right now."
Fiore Stravaganza: “Real talk, I said her name because simply put, at this point, I feel the AE girls have been holding me back. I need my brand focused on me.”
Jaslene's trembles. "You have no right to judge me, Fiore. You act like you're better than all of us, but you're just a mean-spirited queen hiding behind a pretty face."
“Darling, you came up with the name PRETTY GIRLS, I’m not just pretty, I’m gorgeous.” Fiore growls. “I was just being honest.”
“Honest?!” Jaselene rolls her eyes. “You’re acting nasty.”
Fiore's eyes narrow, her composure slipping for a moment. "Watch your words, Jaslene. I may be straightforward, but at least I'm not deluding myself like some queens here. I speak the truth, and if you can't handle it, that's your problem. Now go fix your hair."
Jaslene looks as if she is ready to scream, as Omari raises his hand in between them. “Let’s not.”
“I just..” Jaslene rolls her eyes. “Whatever.” Jaslene walks off.
“Beef.” Aguacate giggles.
“...Can I ask, what is going on Fiore?” Omari asks. “Like, there’s this switch..”
“There’s no switch.” Fiore responds quickly, looking at Omari. “I’ve always been competitive here, and clearly you haven’t been paying attention.”
Omari rolls his eyes. “Alright.”
“How is everyone else?” Granny asks.
“I am disappointed to be in the bottom again, but girl- I love to perform.” Zazu puts in an earphone. “So, I'm going to give my all.”
Zazu Nova: “A stage is where I shine. That- I am not scared of.” Zazu grins.
“For me, it’s-” Crayola sighs.
Crayola pauses, and looks down. "I don't know, guys. I'm just... I'm really struggling right now. I feel like I'm not good enough, like I don't belong here. And seeing myself disappoint week after week, it's really taking a toll on me."
“You won last week, girl.” Fiore adds.
Yasmin puts a hand on Crayola’s shoulder. "Hey, hey, none of that talk, okay? You are talented, Crayola, and you absolutely belong here. We all have our off weeks, but that doesn't define who we are as queens. You have so much more to offer, and I believe in you."
“I just wish you didn’t say your own name.” Omari says.
King Omari Star: “I would never say my own name. I will always fight. And Crayola… it is a strange response.”
Crayola looks up at Yasmin, tearing up. "Thank you, Yasmin. I'm just scared of going home, you know? I don't want to let myself down or let anyone else down."
Yasmin pulls Crayola into a warm hug. "I understand that fear, but remember, this is just a moment in our journey. It doesn't define our worth or our future. We've come so far, and we're all here to support each other. You are loved and valued, Crayola."
Granny smiles. “We're a family here, and we lift each other up. Don't let negative thoughts bring you down. Embrace your uniqueness and shine."
Granny Gorgeous: “I feel the same, though. This is… scary.”
Aguacate chimes in with a grin. "Exactly, mija! We all have our strengths and weaknesses, but together, we make this competition fierce. Keep your head high and remember why you're here."
“Vroom vroom.” Zazu winks.
Jaslene looks in the mirror, combing her hair before sitting next to Omari.
Jaslene Bangus: “Well, I guess that’s over.”
Fiore and Jaslene look at each other for a second.
Jaslene Bangus: “Full steam ahead.”
~
“Welcome back, racers. We’ve made some decisions.”
…
“Fiore, Jaslene, you’re safe.”
The two look at each other before walking separate sides of the stage.
“Omari. Yasmin. Great work. You’re safe.”
The two grin.
“Aguacate, this week you made us CACKLE. Condragulations, you are the winner of this week’s challenge.”
Aguacate jumps for joy. “WOOHOO”
Aguacate: “Another one.” Aguacate winks. “I I think I’m a frontrunner.”
…
…
“Granny, you’re safe.”
Granny bows.
“That means Zazu Nova and Crayola Boxx, I’m sorry my dears, but you are up for elimination.”
“The time has come… for you to lip sync to your life!”
**Conga by Gloria Estefan starts to play**
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ItEmCnP80
“Good luck… and don’t fuck it up!”
Zazu Nova: “I know this is my fourth time, but lip syncing is what I do. I’m never going down without a FIGHT!”
Crayola Boxx: “I’m giving my heart. That’s all I can do.”
~
Next Time!
Racers, it’s time to makeover your loved ones!
“My WIFE!” Omari yells, tearing up.
“Woah.” Aguacate stares awkwardly.
“I’m going to shit on these bitches.” Jaslene smirks.
“Oh, another bodysuit?” Fiore looks at Jaslene.
Fiore Stravaganza: “This is MY moment.”
~
Stats
Voting
Spreadsheet

DRAG RACE!
Rachelle Mirage struts the runway wearing a pantsuit in orange and red.
“Hello world!”
“Welcome to Drag Race.”
Rachelle smiles.
“Ms Michaels, how you doing?”
“I’m fabulous baby.” Floss grins. “How YOU doing?”
“Amazing. Let’s kick out Chronologica!” Rachelle cackles.
Floss winks.
“Tanvi Lioness, are you ready to see these comedians shine?”
“It’s time for them to exit the house.” Tanvi smirks.
“For our Challenge, our racers were tasked with competing in the BIG MOTHER improv challenge!”
“And on the runway, they’ll be wearing Red Velvet looks.”
“It’s TIME!”
~
“Category is… Red Velvet!”
Crayola Boxx struts out in a red ball gown, uttering the shape of a cake. She’s got a big, swirly skirt, and she spins around and around, with little bits of ‘frosting’ spurting out of the stage. She’s got a big red updo and a smile on her face.
“Not the spurting.” Floss looks around awkwardly.
“It reminds me of what you used to-” Rachelle stops after looking at Floss’ rageful face.
Aguacate struts out in a full ball gown, with multiple layers of luscious red velvet cake. She twirls down the runway, revealing a big slice has been taken right out of her backside, exposing the real cake, which is completely bare. Aguacate takes a lick of her delicious frosting, and licks her fingers clean!
“Oh… Aguacate did it so much better than Crayola.” Tanvi whispers to Rachelle.
Wearing a surprisingly high-fashion number, Jaslene Bangus walks down the runway. Her hair is dark and slicked back into a high pony. The outfit itself, however, is a two-piece suit made entirely out of red velvet. The collar and front of the suit jacket is made to resemble the red curtains of a theater. As she walks, her face showcases class and poise.
“Thank God it’s not another cake look.” Rachelle says.
Zazu Nova arrives in a Lightning Mcqueen inspired form-fitting red velvet catsuit, hugging the her curves, with black accents in the form of lightning bolts paying homage to Lightning McQueen's design, and red velvet jacket with racing patches adding an edgy and rebellious vibe to the look as she struts with a smile.
“Vroom Vroom.” Floss smiles.
Granny Gorgeous enters the stage in a red velvet cape, a huge one that covers her entire body and makes her frame not so visible. With a long red wig, Granny is serving caftan velvet realness with a smirk.
“Oh, she’s giving Granny.” Tanvi smirks.
Fiore Stravaganza shines in a sleek velvet dress that hugs her body tight. She’s got a massive red headdress, made of the same red velvet material, replacing a wig like Fiore would normally rock. Her face is expressively painted, and Fiore looks like a star.
“Gorgeous.” Rachelle smiles.
Yasmin Raiz oozes sex appeal, strutting the runway in a deep red velvet bodycon dress that hangs low off her shoulders, with a little cream flower pin on her bosom. She wears sheer cream nylon gloves with a small ruffled bow at the wrist, a perfectly coiffed cream-blonde wig, small deep red glasses with flower-shaped frames, and carries a cream fur coat, as if she doesn’t even need the reveal.
“Delicious.” Floss winks.
King Omari Star stuns as he enters the stage in a red velvet kilt, with an asymmetrical shirt that has a matching long, flowy cape along with it. He’s got a massive pair of red platform boots, and as he walks, he gives every inch of royalty with a smirk.
“He loves a cape.” Rachelle chuckles.
~
“Hi Racers.” Rachelle purses her lips. “Nobody is safe.”
“First up… Yasmin.”
Yasmin smiles.
“You really have a soulful vibe, and I enjoy it.” Tanvi nods. “You hit the marks comedically, you enjoyed yourself and I was really quite pleased to see it.”
“Thank you!” Yasmin grins.
“It was a real fun time, and I do think you really were one of the highlights to see. Solid work, girl.” Rachelle smiles, “You have been consistent these past couple of weeks, and you only leave me wanting a little bit more, and I must say that I do think this look is a good switch for you. Keep up the good work.”
Yasmin bows.
“Fiore.”
Fiore smiles.
“You look gorgeous.” Racehelle grins. “Like, wow.”
Fiore flicks back her invisible hair and smirks.
“In this challenge, I did wish I got to see MORE from you in the challenge, though. It feels as if something is keeping you from fully going out like you did in, let’s say, the Snatch Game..”
Fiore nods.
“Just need- more engagement. I feel as if you’re hardening up, going back into that inner shell, when I want you to let us see even more of you. Pretty will only get you so far, Fiore.”
“I can assure you, this is me.” Fiore looks at Rachelle.
“Well…” Rachelle nods.
“Moving on, Jaslene.”
Jaslene looks at the judges.
“YAS! Girl, this look is great.” Floss smiles. “I damn love it.”
“Thank you.” Jaslene nods.
“I feel you have been middle of the road for a few weeks. But this week, I saw the effort baby. But it is not quite enough. I’m going to need you to keep driving- because at this point, I feel as if you’re lagging behind.”
“Noted.” Jaslene says.
“Zazu.”
“Hii…” Zazu says awkwardly.
“I think we know.” Rachelle says.
“Yes.” Zazu responds.
“This wasn’t quite the best performance. Well, you stumbled. I wanted to see you do well, but unfortunately- it wasn’t quite enough, and I’m going to need you to fight for this.”
“I do want to do this.” Zazu purses her lips. “For me, I feel challenged here. But I will always take every single critique and fight for the crown.”
“That is what I need.” Rachelle looks at Zazu. “Keep it going.”
Zazu nods in agreement.
“Omari.”
Omari adjusts his cape.
“You have a royal presence to you.” Tanvi says.
“King Omari Star.” Omari smirks. “Is my full name.”
“I can see it.” Tanvi responds. “I think you had a good balance of funny and real. I enjoyed you this week.”
Omari smiles.
“I wanted you to push yourself out of your comfort zone this week, and you did. And for that I have to commend you” Rachelle responds. “Well done.”
“Thank you.” Omari grins.
Granny.
“Hello.” Granny says.
“I am loving this look.” Rachelle looks at Granny. “It’s giving- a bit generic, but also- I do feel like you’re reinforcing that idea said a few weeks ago- I am seeing a lack of brand.”
“Okay…” Granny smiles, ever the pleaser.
“I want you to get dirty this week, but you did not.” Rachelle says. “And I'm going to need you to further think on what your drag is- what you bring. Because again- at this point, that’s really important.”
“I understand.” Granny smiles.
“Aguacate.”
“¡Hola!” Aguacate winks.
“You’re pure chaos!”
“AHHHHH!” Aguacate screams.
Tanvi giggles.
“That is what I liked.” Tanvi says. “Well and truly, you stole the show.”
“Thank you.” Aguacate smirks.
“I feel like unlike others, you do know who you are. My advice? Keep doing you.”
“I will.” Aguacate adds. “I can tell you that.”
“Finally, Crayola.”
“Hello dear.” Crayola smiles.
“You weren’t funny, baby.” Floss frowns.
“Oh.” Crayola looks surprised.
“As in- you know, I was expecting haha. But I got- oh, nah.” Floss laughs. “Like, damn, there was nothing fun- and I wanted to see you make me laugh!”
Crayola nods.
“For me, it came off- just like you were trying too hard, it wasn’t the smooth sailing we were looking for. And it just wasn't a very clever delivery, or very funny either. It was a shame.” Rachelle adds. “…And this gown doesn’t do you any favors- it looks frumpy.”
“I apologize.” Crayola responds.
“Racers, before we deliberate… I have a question to ask.”
Everyone looks at each other.
“Who should go home tonight and why? Starting with… Crayola.”
“I think this week I disappointed.” Crayola frowns. “And I do really enjoy this, but I am not delivering, and I will be truthful with that. I wasn’t the best, and I’m sorry.” Crayola says.
The others look surprised.
“Okay.”
“Zazu.” Aguacate says. “Ms Boxx at least has two wins. This is what, her… 4th time in the bottom 3?” Aguacate laughs.
Zazu frowns.
“I do agree, Zazu.” Granny sighs. “Sadly, at this point, she is not delivering as consistently as the others.”
“For me, Crayola.” Omari says. “I see a fighter in Zazu. I do not see that in Crayola, as… clearly, neither does she.”
Aguacate giggles.
“I think, Crayola.” Zazu nods. “I’m sorry, but I will not say myself- I can never...”
Rachelle nods.
“For me, Crayola.” Jaslene responds. “At this point, she is not showcasing herself at her best.”
“Now, Zazu is clearly at the bottom.” Fiore purses her lips. “But if I’m being honest, at this point, Jaslene isn’t delivering anything new either, I don’t think.” Fiore nods. “Like you have said she has been, for a lack of a better term… flat-lining these past several episodes.”
Jaslene looks surprised, as well as Rachelle.
Jaslene Bangus: “What the fuck?”
“Let her fight for the bottom.” Fiore shrugs.
Jaslene rolls her eyes.
“I do agree with Zazu.” Yasmin nods. “Unfortunately.”
“Thank you, racers. Whilst we deliberate, you may untuck backstage in the Crystal Lounge, sponsored by Princess Papaya Tropical Drinks.”
~
The racers enter the platinum lounge.
Jaslene stomps in, grabbing a drink before turning to face Fiore.
“What the fuck?” Jaslene says.
Fiore raises an eyebrow. "What's the matter, Jaslene? Did I say something wrong?"
Jaslene clenches her fists, clearly pissed. "You think it's okay to throw me under the bus like that? Saying I should fight for the bottom? What the hell girl? I thought you were my sister?”
Fiore smirks, taking a sip of her drink. “Please, Jaslene. I was just stating m ytruth, what I have been seeing these past few weeks- If you can't handle a little critique, maybe you're not cut out for this competition. I feel as if you haven’t been delivering, and to me, you’re dead weight, right now."
Fiore Stravaganza: “Real talk, I said her name because simply put, at this point, I feel the AE girls have been holding me back. I need my brand focused on me.”
Jaslene's trembles. "You have no right to judge me, Fiore. You act like you're better than all of us, but you're just a mean-spirited queen hiding behind a pretty face."
“Darling, you came up with the name PRETTY GIRLS, I’m not just pretty, I’m gorgeous.” Fiore growls. “I was just being honest.”
“Honest?!” Jaselene rolls her eyes. “You’re acting nasty.”
Fiore's eyes narrow, her composure slipping for a moment. "Watch your words, Jaslene. I may be straightforward, but at least I'm not deluding myself like some queens here. I speak the truth, and if you can't handle it, that's your problem. Now go fix your hair."
Jaslene looks as if she is ready to scream, as Omari raises his hand in between them. “Let’s not.”
“I just..” Jaslene rolls her eyes. “Whatever.” Jaslene walks off.
“Beef.” Aguacate giggles.
“...Can I ask, what is going on Fiore?” Omari asks. “Like, there’s this switch..”
“There’s no switch.” Fiore responds quickly, looking at Omari. “I’ve always been competitive here, and clearly you haven’t been paying attention.”
Omari rolls his eyes. “Alright.”
“How is everyone else?” Granny asks.
“I am disappointed to be in the bottom again, but girl- I love to perform.” Zazu puts in an earphone. “So, I'm going to give my all.”
Zazu Nova: “A stage is where I shine. That- I am not scared of.” Zazu grins.
“For me, it’s-” Crayola sighs.
Crayola pauses, and looks down. "I don't know, guys. I'm just... I'm really struggling right now. I feel like I'm not good enough, like I don't belong here. And seeing myself disappoint week after week, it's really taking a toll on me."
“You won last week, girl.” Fiore adds.
Yasmin puts a hand on Crayola’s shoulder. "Hey, hey, none of that talk, okay? You are talented, Crayola, and you absolutely belong here. We all have our off weeks, but that doesn't define who we are as queens. You have so much more to offer, and I believe in you."
“I just wish you didn’t say your own name.” Omari says.
King Omari Star: “I would never say my own name. I will always fight. And Crayola… it is a strange response.”
Crayola looks up at Yasmin, tearing up. "Thank you, Yasmin. I'm just scared of going home, you know? I don't want to let myself down or let anyone else down."
Yasmin pulls Crayola into a warm hug. "I understand that fear, but remember, this is just a moment in our journey. It doesn't define our worth or our future. We've come so far, and we're all here to support each other. You are loved and valued, Crayola."
Granny smiles. “We're a family here, and we lift each other up. Don't let negative thoughts bring you down. Embrace your uniqueness and shine."
Granny Gorgeous: “I feel the same, though. This is… scary.”
Aguacate chimes in with a grin. "Exactly, mija! We all have our strengths and weaknesses, but together, we make this competition fierce. Keep your head high and remember why you're here."
“Vroom vroom.” Zazu winks.
Jaslene looks in the mirror, combing her hair before sitting next to Omari.
Jaslene Bangus: “Well, I guess that’s over.”
Fiore and Jaslene look at each other for a second.
Jaslene Bangus: “Full steam ahead.”
~
“Welcome back, racers. We’ve made some decisions.”
…
“Fiore, Jaslene, you’re safe.”
The two look at each other before walking separate sides of the stage.
“Omari. Yasmin. Great work. You’re safe.”
The two grin.
“Aguacate, this week you made us CACKLE. Condragulations, you are the winner of this week’s challenge.”
Aguacate jumps for joy. “WOOHOO”
Aguacate: “Another one.” Aguacate winks. “I I think I’m a frontrunner.”
…
…
“Granny, you’re safe.”
Granny bows.
“That means Zazu Nova and Crayola Boxx, I’m sorry my dears, but you are up for elimination.”
“The time has come… for you to lip sync to your life!”
**Conga by Gloria Estefan starts to play**
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ItEmCnP80
“Good luck… and don’t fuck it up!”
Zazu Nova: “I know this is my fourth time, but lip syncing is what I do. I’m never going down without a FIGHT!”
Crayola Boxx: “I’m giving my heart. That’s all I can do.”
~
Next Time!
Racers, it’s time to makeover your loved ones!
“My WIFE!” Omari yells, tearing up.
“Woah.” Aguacate stares awkwardly.
“I’m going to shit on these bitches.” Jaslene smirks.
“Oh, another bodysuit?” Fiore looks at Jaslene.
Fiore Stravaganza: “This is MY moment.”
~
Stats
Voting
Spreadsheet

Pokémon lore has been a huge hyperfixation for me lately, and a completely random thought crossed my mind recently that I just had to attempt an amateur analysis post on. These may entirely just be the ravings of a madwoman, but I hope that I can still make you think a little anyway.
To put it simply, I am proposing that whether or not real world locations exist in a Pokémon timeline determines if the Kalos War (and subsequently Mega Evolution) occurs in said timeline.
In order to properly back up my claim, we should first review every instance in which a real world location is referenced within the Pokémon canon. Please keep in mind that I am only using the canon portrayed by the games (with one exception). The anime, manga, TCG, and other various sources such as the Detective Pikachu movie follow completely different canons, and will not be considered in this analysis. So please don't spam me with comments with things like "What about that time Ash mentioned Minnesota!?"
Side note: There are also various references to Real World people and companies, such as the presence of Nintendo consoles, real game Freak workers appearing in the games, and even Pokémon species being directly named after and/or inspired by real athletes and actors. However, I will not be considering these.

A list of Real World references in the Pokémon canon (by nation)

Guyana/South America
Arguably the most infamous of the bunch, hence why I placed it first. In Pokémon Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen, the Pokémon Mansion journals on Cinnabar Island describe Mew as having been discovered in Guyana. This reference is removed in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, as well as in the (presumably) game canon compliant anime miniseries Pokémon Origins.
While Guyana specifically is not mentioned, Mew's Pokédex entries in Pokémon Stadium and FireRed refer to it living in South America, the continent in which Guyana is located.
In Pokémon Silver, FireRed, and SoulSilver, Xatu's Pokédex entries mention South Americans as the ones who claim Xatu can see the past and future.
Japan
In the original Japanese versions of Pokémon Stadium and FireRed, Ponyta's Pokédex entry states that it can leap over Tokyo Tower in a single bound.
In the Japanese version of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, Blaine refers to Kyoto.
In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, a Guitarist describes his instrument as being Japanese.
United States of America
In all of his appearances prior to Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, Lt. Surge is described as "The Lightning American." FireRed and LeafGreen expand this a little more in dialogue from the Pokémon Journal, mentioning that he was a pilot in America. In Surge's latest appearances, references to America have been removed.
China/Nepal
Pokédex entries for Arcanine in Pokémon Yellow, Stadium, Gold, FireRed, and HeartGold state that Arcanine is a legend in China. In later games, this reference is instead changed to vaguely mention "the East" instead.
In Pokémon Stadium and FireRed, Parasect's Pokédex entries mention China as well. Like Arcanine, these references are removed in later games, no longer referring to any country or region at all.
In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, Fisherman Bronson of the Battle Tower refers to Chinese legends.
In Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, Delibird's Pokédex entries state that it helped an explorer reach the top of Mount Everest, which is located in both China and Nepal. In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, this is changed to say "the world's highest mountain" instead.
Russia
In Pokémon Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen, Scientist Taylor in Silph Co. mentions an international branch of the company. In the Japanese versions, he describes it as being located in Podkamennaya Tunguska, while in the English version, he describes it as being located in Tiksi. These are both Russian localities.
France
In the English version of Pokémon Stadium, Ponyta's Pokédex entry states that it can leap over the Eiffel Tower in a single bound.
India
In Pokémon FireRed, Pokédex entries for Raichu and Gastly both describe the Pokémon as being capable of knocking out Indian Elephants. This is changed to refer to Copperajah instead in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Australia
In Pokémon FireRed, Ponyta's Pokédex entry states that it can leap over Ayers Rock in a single bound.
Antarctica
In Pokémon Emerald, Regice's Pokédex entry claims its body is made from Antarctic ice.
Kenya While not explicitly confirming the existence of Kenya in the games, a Spearow nicknamed "Kenya" can be obtained through an in-game trade with Webster the guard in Pokémon Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver.
The Pacific Ocean
Poliwrath's Pokédex entries in Pokémon Gold, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, Black, White, Black 2, White 2, and X mention that it can swim the Pacific Ocean. This is actually the only example I've found of a Real World location being mentioned in a game with Mega Evolution in it, thanks to X. However, this reference is removed as early as one game later in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, which vaguely refer to "the ocean" instead.
​
​
So there we have it. As far as I know, these are all the games' direct references to Real World locations. Now... what is one thing they all have in common? Every single one of these references, excluding the mention of the Pacific Ocean in Pokémon X, are featured in games where Mega Evolution doesn't exist! Due to this, I restate my proposal: Whether or not real world locations exist in a Pokémon timeline determines if the Kalos War (and subsequently Mega Evolution) occurs in said timeline.
I believe that in any timeline where Real World countries are canonically present, the Kalos War never happens, the Ultimate Weapon is never fired, and Mega Evolution never comes to be. Why does it work this way? Well, I can't really confirm anything concrete. But I would like to suggest that perhaps, in timelines where Real World locations exist, Kalos does not exist at all, and is replaced with France. In these timelines, France does not have access to the Ultimate Weapon, and therefore never produces Mega Evolution. This can be backed up by the mention of the Eiffel Tower, as we saw earlier.
But yes, this is already disproven right away by X mentioning the Pacific, right? Well, I guess that's true. But honestly? I feel like this only particularly seems to matter in regards to countries. An ocean happening to share a name with one of ours isn't that out of place. Heck, the Kanto region shares a name with the Real World part of Japan that it is inspired by! So, I personally don't believe that the Pacific Ocean changes the outcome of my theory.
Now yes, I fully and completely admit that this is a bit of a crackpot theory. It kind of has the same energy as pointing out how 9/11 never happens in the Muppets universe during the alternate timeline where Kermit is never born. But regardless, I had fun putting this together, and I'd be happy if this made you think about things a little. Thanks for reading!

Hey all, hoping someone might be able to explain something to me. My wife's Subaru got hit and run while parked. No real damage beyond the passenger side mirror being obliterated. The self repair of replacing the mirror didn't look too hard so we decided to save a few hundred bucks and do it ourselves. It actually went swimmingly and was a great thing to learn how to do. But there was one hit h we ran into. The mirror we got was for all trims 2008-2013. Physically matched up well, install went well, everything but the power adjust. The connector in the new mirror is 5 pins wide, the receptacle in the car to plug it in to is six pins wide. Not a show stopper, it's adjusted by hand for now. But now knowing how easy this was, I wouldn't mind doing it again to get full functionality back. Did we get the wrong mirror? Anyone know what those connectors are called?

Timestamp
MY ESEE 6 was stolen :( so now that I'm replacing that, why not shake up the collection again? Side note: Anyone else underwhelmed by blade show this year?
REK 940 - $495 - At least second owner of this Cruwear REK Reblade with COA. Satin grind with mirror stonewashed flats. Quite stunning. Has Flytanium radar scales, LNW blacksmith deep carry clip, and spare black M4 blade. The scales were originally orange (yuck), and I dyed them a dark green. Bit too slim in the hand for me, though, so I'm moving it along. Carried a few times with minimal use. Not sharpened by me. Excellent action and lock up. Ships in Civivi pouch.
BM Crooked River- $265 - Custom shop Crooked River with 20cv blade. Has been carried, used, and stropped. Excellent action and lock up. I love it, but I don't carry it enough to justify keeping it anymore. No box.
Para 3 s45vn - $130 - Carried, used, disassembled. Action and lock up are excellent, and it's in excellent condition. I don't believe it's been sharpened. Currently has a LNW deep carry clip. Comes with box and original clip.
Para 3 maxamet - $170 - Haven't had this for very long. It's a little stiffer than the other para 3, but I have not tried to adjust it. I have carried it a few times and used on some paper. No patina on the blade that I can see. Action and lock up are solid. Overall great condition. No box.
Stretch 2 K390- $120 - First owner. Carried a few times, and used minimally. No patina. Action is still breaking in. Edge is factory and sharp as can be. I have disassembled it. I just can't get down with the scales and I'm not interested in spending time/money finding micarta scales for it. Comes with box.
MT BH CLONE - $35 - Picked up on here some weeks ago. Super fun fidget toy, but I only want to keep things I can carry so off it goes. There's some blade play, but it doesn't fail to deploy. Edge could use some work if you actually want to cut with it. Includes pouch, no box.
I will ship USPS First-class, insured, tomorrow morning or Friday to US. PayPal FF no notes. Let me know if you have any questions!
TRADE INTERESTS:

• Black Cruwear para 3
• Spyderco Caribbean sheepsfoot
• AD20.5 s35vn clip point
• Demko Freereign Magnacut
• ESEE 6 w/ 3D micarta scales

“Greetings once again, my esteemed admiral! I do hope your journey planetside was not too uncomfortable?”
Admiral Singh, Solarian Navy, smiled warmly “Not to worry, my pilots are finally getting the hang of the local weather, we were able to avoid the worst of it.”
The last 14 days had finally given the translation software enough data to allow more or less seamless face to face translations, helped along by collaboration by the humans to explain any intractable words, and now works pretty smoothly with only the occasional mis-step or failure on uncommon words. The Humans referred to these as ˈhɪkʌps, which was a delightful word. While Imperial and human vocal chords did not really allow each race to speak the others language, their hearing ranges did overlap well enough that unaided conversation would possible with each speaking their native tongue (or at least his chief xeno linguist, Mer’es, assured him it was)
As the pair walked down the awning-covered path into the drilling rig’s interior, Himdo, whose mood had been so melancholy just moments before, realised with bemusement that he actually rather liked the demon walking beside him. While their first communications had been frosty and perfunctory, dealing with the logistics of moving the hundreds of thousands of orbital workers planetside without giving the Terrans reason to suspect foul play, they had begun to warm to each other as the translation software lessened the burden of communication.
​
The Admiral was, in turned out, a pretty reasonable man. The human reminded him of many of the Imperial navy officers he’d met out on the Frontier: professional, quick-thinking, willing to bend the letter of the rules to adhere to the spirit. In another lifetime, he’d have been happy to have such a capable man as his subordinate.
“Its good to hear that” Himdo said smoothly. The exterior doors closed, deadening the ever-present sound of rain, and they continued though the halls of the drilling rig, their entourages following behind, to a meeting room. “Please tell me you brought some more of that tiː you served last time?”
The Admiral bared his teeth in a gesture that Himdo’s translator labelled as happiness “But of coruse, my Dear Lord Commander. Since we landed first, I took the liberty of preparing some for you.” The meeting room had two tables, the main one, and a small one off to the side where several cups of various sizes, all full of steaming hot tea, were waiting. Admiral Singh took a small cup, while Himdo took a much larger one, easily the size of the humans head.
Himdo took a sip, and savoured the taste. He’d been offered some of this tea at their first face to face meeting, and had politely declined, citing possible biochemical concerns. His scientists had checked the drink, though, and confirmed it was basically inert, as far as imperial biology was concerned, so he tried some on his next meeting, and discovered it was quite nice tasting. Herbal drinks were uncommon in Imperial culture, as the Imperials were obligate carnivores, but Himdo could see this one becoming popular.
Himdo swallowed and gestured to Dal’ton, who came foreword with a ornate bottle, which he proffered to the admiral as he sat down on a chair (another intresting human custom. Imperial anatomy was much more comfortable standing that sitting, so chairs were relatively uncommon. After the first in person meeting, the humans had brought their own chairs with them).
“As a small gesture of gratitude for introducing me to this delightful beverage, allow me to return the favour.”
Admiral Singh removed the stopper, and gave a deep red liquid inside cursory sniff. It smelled like a neat spirit of some sort.
“This is blood-mead. Fermented honey, from an insect species native to the Homeworld. Don’t worry, the name is for the colour, its contains no actual blood. My biochemists assure me it is safe for you to Drink” Himdo explained. “But I will not be offended if you choose to wait for your own scientists to make that assertion.”
Admiral Singh gave it another sniff, then turned to one his aides and muttered something. A spare tea cup was brought over and Singh poured a small amount of the mead into it. “Unfortunately, Lord Commander, my religion prohibits me form drinking alcohol. However, I graciously accept this gift in the spirit that it was intended. Captain Gregor here. However…” the admiral gestured to the aide, who picked up the cup “Has NO such prohibitions” the Captain, who was tall by human standards, knocked the shot of mead back in a single gulp and put the cup back on the table.
The captain made a face Himdos translator labelled as “thoughtful”, then nodded in affirmation. “Oh, that’s lovely, real nice aftertaste. The lads at the mess will love that. Thank you, Lord Commander” Gregor said and stepped back. Himdo noticed in his accent, a soft burr compared to the clipped, precise tones of the Admiral.
Admiral Singh smiled again, then lent forward. “So” he began, in a tone that indicated the start of business. “Did the latest courier from Ti’an bring any new instructions from your superiors?”
Part of Himdo’s strategy to stall for time had been to claim that, as a lowly lord commander in charge of a backwater sector, he lacked the authority to make any binding decisions without recourse to a distant superior based on Ti’an. This was several shades of half-truth.
While Himdo was the Lord High Commander of the Spinward Domain, he was also the Lord Commander of Parbat Sector, as the previous incumbent had died in a shuttle crash shortly before the discovery of the humans, and Himdo had inherited that title and responsibility until the Court bothered to send him a replacement. As Parbat sector governor, he was, in normal circumstances, much too junior to have any treaty he signed be recognised by the Imperial Court.
The little detail that his “superior” based at Ti’an was, in fact, himself, was beside the point. It let him play for time.
That particular ruse had run its course, though. The reinforcements he’d been holding out for had been diverted to “more pressing” matters than some minor xenos incursion that had taken control of a sector capital. Himdo was privately sure the ships hadn’t been diverted, but rather, one of his rivals had managed to stall their deployment in the hopes he’d have to formally surrender, further shaming himself and paving the way for them to fly over and “fix his mess”. Well, it was time to disappoint them.
“Actually, yes, it did. I have been authorised ‘resolve the situation to our satisfaction, in the manner you best see fit.’ “ Himdo informed the admiral, and the human made a face his translator labelled as “disgust”.
“They hung you out to dry?” Singh asked incredulously. “No directions, no bounds of acceptable trade, nothing? Just an order to ‘do it right or else’?”
“Indeed” himdo said, mildly surprised that the admiral had instantly understood the unspoken part of his instructions. Clearly, human office politics were just as vicious and cut-throat as Imperial politics.
The admiral made a sour face. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way Lord Commander, but is any treaty we sign here going to be actually worth anything? It sounds rather like your superiors are washing their hands of the situation and are going to repudiate any agreement you make.”
Himdo bowed in acknowledgement, for it was a fair question. Trickery was going to get him little, so candor would have to suffice.
“Yes, it will be worth something. Because In addition to being Lord Commander of this sector, I am Lord HIGH Commander of the Spinward Domain. There are less than a hundred servants of the Emperor that rank equal or higher to me, and short of a direct command from one of them, my word is law within my domain.” Himdo explained. “While I cannot guarantee that the Imperial Court will honour it indefinitely, I can say that so long as I hold that office, no imperials you will encounter will breach any treaty we make.”
The Admiral sat back in his chair, his face thoughtful. “How long will you be in office?”
Another fair question, and again one where the truth would strengthen his position.
Himdo made a noncommittal gesture. “Truthfully? That depends entirely on how well I do in these negotiations. It could be a matter of weeks if the Court doesn’t like it, it could be several cycles if they are satisfied.”
Himdo reached into a pouch on his belt, and removed a small viewing device. He placed it on the table. “I propose the following: The Great and Bountiful Empire recognises the Gar’an system, known to you as the Chantry system, as human space. The Empire will maintain a small mission to the system, to facilitate diplomatic and trade relations. I will return the remains of the colonists and any personal items we took. In return, the Solarian Confederacy agrees to withdraw its ships from this system, leave the orbital infrastructure intact, and return any prisoners and remians taken at Gar'an. Going forward, no human ship shall advance further Trailing than a line form Gar’an to the galactic Core. The Empire shall likewise agree to refrain from travelling Spinward of the same line. Additionally, the Empire will extend the status of Honoured Partner State to the Solomani Confederation”
Admiral Singh opened his mouth to say something, but Himdo raised a true-hand to stall him. “Yes, that’s a fancy title for a client state. On it’s own, its only means we recognise that your government is the legitimate government of that area, and your head of state as the sovereign lord of that space. All other details of our relationship are defined in separate treaties, to be negotiated in due coruse.”
Admiral Singh nodded in understanding, but said “your making remarkably few concessions for someone whose has a hostile fleet in orbit.”
Himdo shifted his weight slightly. He felt he’d gained some degree of understanding about the man over these last 14 days, and he was about to gamble heavily on that understanding.
“Yes, you do control orbital space” Himdo acknowledged. “and you could destroy the facilities here. Doing so would likely prevent any serious counter-attack by us for at least 5 cycles. However, your fleet is badly damaged and you have several cripples that will never get home without our help. And while we couldn’t mount an invasion, we could still launch multiple highly destructive raids into your space. How many of your other colonies are you willing to see burn, how many of your citizens, and mine, are we willing to let die before we sit down again for the next talk?“
The Admiral looked off to the side slightly, his eyes unfocused as he considered what the Imperial had pointed out to him.
Honoured ancestors, Himdo thought, Let him see reason. Just this *once*, let everyone walk away from this alive.
The admiral nodded, once, then stood up and took the viewing device. “I will need to consult with my superiors about this” he said, and Himdo noted with interest this almost certainly meant that he had at least one FTL comm system with his fleet “but I’m reasonably certain I can convince them you’ve been suitably chastised to satisfy public opinion. I believe your terms are acceptable”
The admiral walked around the table, and extended his hand to Himdo. Himdo looked down at it for a second until his translator system indicated he should offer his own hand reciprocally.
As he reached out to shake the admirals hand, the exterior window of the conference room suddenly lit up with a blinding light, and a heartbeat later, exploded into a millions shards.
Previous Chapter: introspection
This is part 7 of my ongoing work, the First Rift war. Part one is Post-Mortem.

Amid a galaxy of brutal chaos there are stories to be told, tales of valor and justice, of fear and despair. But amid these stories are the guttering flames of adventures untold, the potential for a universe of entertainment and savage joyous fun. The Oblivion Cycle embodies just this kind of crafted chaos, creating the potential for creative exploits and raucous tales. If you are new to the TOC setting feel free to join the community at TheOblivionCycle to check out some of the background lore or to discuss themes with other readers. I thank you all for your support and continued willingness to read, as always, Please Enjoy!
+ Part 1 + Previous + Next +
_____________________________________
Continued From Part 6
Dr. Abernathy threw up her hands in frustration again as the infuriatingly smug cyborg in front of her gave yet another counter explanation as to his actions.
“I’m just saying, I had the opportunity to test the system, aren't you happy that we found my breaking limit? I mean, what if I need to jump to save myself in the future, now I know how high is too high.” Abel explained, immobile on his charging platform.
Dr. Abernathy shook her large furred head and huffed “No, I am not happy. You destroyed valuable equipment for a stupid reason. And yes I am glad you are okay, but I can’t just slap a new pair of legs on you whenever I feel like it. They need to be precisely calibrated and attuned to your individual nervous system.”
Abel looked a little taken aback “But, that's the point of cybernetics right, that they are replaceable?”
“Replaceable yes, but you are more than simple cybernetics. Your limbs are more like mechanical reproductions of your preexisting limbs. More like mechanical bionics than true cybernetics, truly one of a kind. And so, much more difficult to replace.” She said with a sad headshake.
At the corner of the room another voice interrupted “So, you can fix him though right doctor?”
She turned and saw the slim nerivith man sitting at one of her workstations. It was Abel’s new partner, what was his name? Bittu, she mused idly. He was partially responsible for this disaster. “And you, you should have stopped him from doing something so moronic. Don’t think you are getting out of here without a lecture either.”
Bittu ducked his head and raised a submissive hand before attempting to hide behind her consoles again.
She sighed heavily and turned back to Abel. His legs had been entirely removed and his movements once more inhibited so he wouldn't injure himself further. “I have been doing some testing after this incident with new models. I think I might have found a way to strengthen your leg joints to withstand that kind of pressure.” she held up a hand before he could speak. “Note, I am not authorizing more of your moronic behavior, but I will try to prevent such catastrophic failure of your hardware if such an event were to occur again.”
Abel smiled at her widely. “Why thank you Dr. Abby, I sure do appreciate it.”
She shook her head and looked back at the pink skinned man trying to disappear into the corner of the room. Gesturing towards Officer Xeem she said “You, come over here.”
Bittu stood jerkilly, the pink nerivith’s sinuous tail twitching in consternation. Nevertheless the man did approach and stop a couple meters from where she was working on Abel.
“Yes doctor?” he asked her. His face looked like that of a chastised child in her eyes.
She made a point of saying nothing for another few seconds and smiled inwardly as the man’s long tufted tail betrayed his nerves. Finally she spoke “Abel is a very valuable and expensive asset to this station and indeed this whole city. I want you to assure me you will treat them with the utmost respect.” the man nodded and she added “That also means keeping an eye on him as he is prone to do very illogical things in the name of proving a point.”
Bittu smiled slightly and looked up at her much taller form “Yes ma’am. I have started to notice that.”
Abel spoke up next “Hey, I’m right here next to you guys you know? I can take care of myself.” the cybernetic human said a little petulantly.
She shook her great furred head. “No, you can’t. You have proven that on multiple occasions. That’s the reason we had to stick you with a partner in the first place. If you can't take care of yourself we may have to reassign your partners to someone more suited to keeping you in one piece.” she threatened. Part of her hurt to say such harsh things to the otherwise sweet man, but it needed to be said and she had never been accused of holding back the truth before.
Abel looked a bit taken aback by the comment. “I won't be... But you can’t do that. I have a job to do, I am a part of the system. You can’t just pull me out of it whenever it suits you.”
She stopped him with an upraised hand, her datapad held low to her side as she tried to reassure him “Not me Abel. The ones I work for, you know that I'm just as much a pawn here as you are.” she glanced at the nerivith man still standing a little ways away. “Like we all are.”
Bittu raised a hand and asked “Wait, I’m not a part of this.”
Abel frowned, his head immobile and unable to move. “No, she’s right Bittu. You are a part of this now whether you like it or not. It’s too late, Tegu must have known. Why you Bittu? Why out of everyone in the precinct did you get chosen?” she heard him ask the man.
It was a good point, the two of them seemed to work together well yes, but not enough so to justify special treatment. She found herself staring at Bittu in curiosity.
He looked like he had just been asked what kind of death he would prefer, his face a mix of doubt and confusion. “I.. don’t know? I was a senior officer not on special assignment and in need of a partner.”
Abel said “Well, it doesn't matter. We are partner’s, and I won't abandon my duty Abby.” he said, his casual use of her name sparking a little tingle of delight in her mind. She suppressed it.
Tinkering with the machine she finished up on his repairs and said “Ok, these repairs will hold for general operations, but please, no jumping out of buildings or such nonsense. Once we get my new designs installed you will be better able to fulfill your strange heroic fantasies, but until then take it easy ok Abel?”
Abel smiled at her as she unlocked his body. He stepped down from the recharge station and flexed his legs. He nearly stumbled and she had to catch him to prevent him falling on his face.
“Whoa! These new legs are a little different than the other ones.” He leaned on her lower torso for support and her mind went a little wild with imagined ideas, which she once more quickly suppressed. By the Five what was happening to her. She was acting as if there was any chance of a relationship between them.
Shaking her head slightly to clear it she helped Abel to his feet and used her datapad to check for calibration issues. To her dismay there didn’t seem to be any, she cocked her head and frowned. Her ears twitched as she tried to understand what had caused him to stumble then.
Abel stood and pretended to dust himself off and said ‘Well, uh, I think it's working now. I seem to be doing fine now, must have just been temporary paralysis.”
She frowned again, strange. Bittu piped up “Oh that’s good. We can get back to work now.”
Abel smiled and grabbed his helmet before turning to her and saluting “I thank you again fair lady. I’ll try not to break these ones.”
She found herself smiling, his demeanor always making her feel a little better about the whole situation. At least he didn’t seem to be suffering. She gave him a wave as they exited the door, a little sad that she hadn’t thought of anything witty to say. Nevermind all that, she had a lot of work to get done if she was going to provide the man with improved legs.
**********
Abel was suffering. Internally his mind was shattered by the phantom pain and the lack of true sensation. The terrible effects of the deadly condition known as the hollow trying to break his mind. He looked at the lanky alien walking next to him and latched onto his duty to him. Bittu needed him, he couldn't succumb to the pain when there were people on this world that still needed his help. Help that only he could provide.
Bittu glanced at him and frowned “Hey are you okay Abel? Those new legs of yours sure are neat. I wonder if I could get something similar done.” the man joked.
Abel blurted out “No!” He stopped in his tracks as he uttered the word, Bittu treaded a few more steps before stopping and turning to look at him.
“Hmm? What’s the big deal, I was just messing around Abel. Are you sure you are okay?” the nerivith man said a bit anxiously, his arms raised in a questioning manner.
Abel nodded stiffly and said “I am well enough to get back to work Bittu, I am.” He added as the other man looked ready to disagree.
Bittu shrugged and continued walking, Abel falling in by the smaller man’s side. “Well Mr. Look at me I'm so tough, we are not heading back out on patrol. Now before you ask why, it’s because we have a friend waiting for us in interrogation. Usually I like to get to them quick, hit the iron while it’s hot you know?” The man said rhetorically.
Abel said “But I'm guessing you were waiting for me to get put back together. I apologize again for the inconvenience.” he said a little dejectedly.
Bittu slapped him on the shoulder and then winced as his alloy armour must have hurt the man’s hand. “I, no. It’s perfectly fine buddy. We are just letting the fucker stew a bit, by the time we get there he will be sweating bullets. Nothing good ever comes from a long pre-interrogation wait. It usually means we have a lot of shit on you.”
Abel nodded and said “I guess that makes sense. What do we have on them?”
Bittu dodged a blood splattered Havoc trooper and shook his fist at the power armoured figure who didn’t even seem to notice. “Fuckin prick… Lords I hate those guys. They think they are so superior. Bah, anyways, your question… Right! Well, to be completely honest not very much. We know his name and checked it against his gene profile. His list of known associates is shorter than my love life.” he said with a chuckle.
Abel cocked his head and asked “So, we don't have anything on him but assault and the attempted murder of a police officer?”
Bittu sighed and said “Well, technically we don’t even have that. You knocked him out before he ever fired off a shot, so all we have is a single case of breaking and entering and assault and battery charges. Not enough to burn him, barely even enough to hold him for interrogation.” the man grumbled.
They turned a corner and were suddenly in a different part of the station. The walls were armour plated and lined with heavy metal doors. Cameras were present along every flat stretch of wall and several armed officers patrolled the hall, looking a little bored.
It was one of the interrogation blocks of the Hollow Pass precinct. Abel looked through several of the doors as they passed but saw nothing. The doors were airlocked to minimize chances of prisoner escape and the rooms were adjoining so the prisoners were totally isolated from the outside. That combined with one-way glazmite mirrors and it was futile to try and guess as to their occupants.
Bittu led them past another dozen rooms before stopping at one labeled as interrogation room twenty four, block sixteen. Following the nerivith man inside they entered into a small side chamber that had two doors. One said interrogation and the other was labeled observation.
Bittu motioned for him to take the observation booth and he did so, opening the door and entering the small dark room. Inside were a few chairs and table as well as an entire wall of recording equipment. Abel didn't bother with the equipment, he was as good a recorder as the machines were, maybe better as he could understand inflection and test to see if they were lying via their biometrics.
He sat at one of the folding metal chairs and it creaked ominously. Ignoring the chair’s dire warning he directed his attention to the one way glazmite mirror. Inside a small white room with his hands cuffed to the table was Thaee. The diminutive swanith man looked a little worse for wear. His chin was stained light green with dried blood and his feathers were in need of a preening session, dirty and rumpled as they were.
The man looked up sharply as Bittu walked in, the door closing with a heavy thud behind him. Thaee made a low warbling sound of discomfort as Bittu stood directly across from him. Bittu had been carrying a folder of mostly blank papers that he dropped flat onto the surface of the table with a loud slap causing the shackled avian man to jump.
Bittu then pulled out his chair and sat, taking time to adjust his uniform and hair as if he had all the time in the world. All the while Thaee was getting more and more nervous, his golden eyes flicking to the folder over and over, likely wondering what information it contained.
Now to be fair Bittu had managed to dig up some information on the man while Abel had been getting his repairs done. It wasn't much but if Bittu played the cards right he might just be able to leverage the rest out of the man without him even realizing he was giving them new information.
Bittu sat up straight and then started to stare at the nervous criminal, Thaee getting more and more jittery as the seconds passed by. Finally Bittu reached for the folder and dragged it to him.
Thaee burst out suddenly “I didn’t do anything man, you have no right to hold me here!”
Bittu raised a single eyebrow and said nothing, instead just opening the folder in such a manner that the other man couldn't see its contents. He flipped through a few of the random pages as if he was looking over some complex dossier on the man.
Thaee again said “You have nothing against me, you can’t hold me like this. I want a lawyer.”
Bittu nodded and said “Alright then, we will get you a lawyer. But as you were apprehended at an active crime scene and we have all the evidence we need to put you away it won't do you any good. All it’s going to do is drain your bank account and leave you destitute in prison.” he said with a certain amount of grim confidence.
Thaee looked around and said “Hey, you didn’t read me my rights! What kind of place are you running here?”
Bittu checked his chest and said “Oh shit, what do you know, my bodycam seems to have malfunctioned. And so has our recording equipment? Oh bummer, well, that's just a terrible thing now isn't it… Friend.” the nerivith said menacingly.
The swanith scrunched inwards, trying to make themselves look small and pitiful. It didn't work.
Instead Bittu asked “So, are you listening? Because this is how it is going to be. I tell you a name and you confirm the information I have or it's going to get bad for you. You lie to me and I might have to bring in my associate.” Bittu said, jerking his head towards the two way glazmite Abel was sitting behind.
It was at that exact moment that the chair Abel had chosen decided to give up the ghost and collapsed, dumping him straight on his armoured ass. The thud must have made it into the interrogation room as the swanith man jerked in terror and exclaimed.
“That thing is here? Is it watching?” Thaee tried to pull away but was held fast by their handcuffs.
Bittu frowned slightly but continued on saying “So I will do you this favor. You were read your rights when you were brought into the precinct, I am not required to read them to you again as I was your arresting officer. Between the two of us, I don’t give a fuck about you. I could cut you loose onto the street with a probation if you do the right thing here. And that is to tell me what I want to confirm.” Bittu said, manipulating the man's fears to pry the information they sought out of him.
Thaee nodded and said “But if I talk then I am going to have a target on my back.”
“And what if you were to be thrown in prison with the rumor that you spilled your guts to us huh? How long do you think you would last in that situation? At least I'm giving you even odds of a comfortable existence.” Bittu said with a shrug. “Enough chit-chat. Tell me about Mr. Zaplin. What was the point of the hit?”
Abel had stood and moved closer to the window to get a better view, the remains of his previous seat scattered about behind him.
Thaee paused and then spoke slowly. “I don’t know him. But that wasn't important for the job. I was hired.. to do a job and that's all. We were just supposed to shake the man and get the money. But…” he trailed off.
Bittu picked up, closing the folder and saying “But, he couldn't pay. And so you and the boys roughed him up as a warning. But it looks like your friend Craig was a little too rough. Yeah, I saw the claw marks on the man's face. Pretty brutal by the looks of it.”
The small feathered alien winced, clearly not liking the memory either. “I wasn't responsible for any of that. I was not part of the.. of the roughing.”
Bittu tsked and asked “Do you have any proof of your noninvolvement? He is pressing charges, and they are currently all directed at you. Two counts of first degree assault with a deadly weapon, breaking and entering, a battery charge. Harsh to be sure, a minimum of six years in the vault. An upstanding citizen like yourself, adding the kidnapping and harm to a minor charges on top of that? Oh man, looking more like thirty to life.”
Bittu smiled as the man spouted “It wasn't me though, that was all Craig and Hobbes! They are the sadistic ones that like to hurt people, I’m only there to manage contacts!” the man cried out, his voice filled with terror at the thought of life in maximum security lockup.
Abel smirked, Bittu had the man exactly where he wanted him. He was nearly ready to break.
His partner stood and paced in front of the mirror for a minute before putting his hand to his ear as if he were listening to someone speak. Casting a slight glance at the mirror he said “Well, It looks like you haven't convinced them. You are going to have to be more specific.”
“Specific about what?” The man asked in dread.
Bittu sat back down slowly and opened the dummy folder once again. “Well, to start, why not tell me the whole truth about why you were at the apartment? You were there to rough up Mr. Zaplin sure, but what about his daughter?”
Thaee looked around the room and shook his head “That was entirely Hobbes’ idea, I had nothing to do with that!”
Bittu nodded and said “Yes I know. It was your own opinion that the girl should have been iced. Is that correct?”
The swanith warbled in shock, their beak hanging open and their inner pharyngeal jaws opening and closing soundlessly as they tried to come up with a response. Instead Bittu spoke up, looking at the folder and flipping a few pages before he said “It seems that your exact words were, and I quote. ‘Why did we have to keep this little shit alive again?’ Am I correct in assuming that you meant to cause the infant great bodily harm or even death?”
The prisoner spluttered, the sound strangely muted as their vocal cords struggled with the sound. “I would, never have. No, I wouldn't have done it!” the man cried out. “I was just tired of doing all of his dirty work.”
“Oorin Jr’s dirty work I assume?” Bittu said, causing the small avian man to freeze. “I thought so, that confirms our interior contact’s data.” he lied.
Thaee looked utterly defeated, his head slumped and his expression feathers limp. He grumbled something under his breath that Abel couldn't hear, but Bittu seemed to hear fine as he replied “Yes you likely are. So the way I see it you have only two options. You tell us everything you know and I get you an informant's pardon. Or I dump you in the vault with a target on your back. Which sounds like your best odds? And I warn you, I will not make this offer again.” Bittu leaned back in his chair as he finished talking, his hands folded neatly on the table and the folder closed under them.
Thaee seemed to struggle with immense inner turmoil before he relented. “Alright, I will loose the nids, you gotta protect me though. Oorin is crazy, he has contacts in this department…” Bittu jerked slightly in surprise but the man didn't seem to notice or care as he kept right on talking “..and they feed him a constant stream of alerts. You two weren't supposed to be there, that's the only reason you caught us. The closest officers we knew about wouldn't have made it to the building in time to stop us. Just my dumb luck.” the man chirped in despair.
Bittu cocked his head and said “These police contacts, I assume you have no information on them?”
Thaee sat up straight and said angrily “I said I would tell you everything I knew. I may be a criminal but I'm not a liar.”
Bittu put up his hands apologetically and said “My apologies. I wasn't meaning to impinge your honesty. But I needed to ask. Please continue.”
Thaee’s short white expression feathers fluttered in consternation but he spoke steadily “Well, it started with Oorin contacting Hobbes and asking for us to do some of his dirty work. I wasn't for it, we had always stuck to a few rules before that. No murder, no hurting innocents, but Hobbes wanted more money. And he didn't exactly care how he got it. Craig wasn't for or against it at first, but as the jobs got more violent he started to develop a taste for the violence. That's not what we used to stand for, but who am I to make the decisions. I'm just little Thaee, small and weak, not worthy of giving the great Hobbes advice.” The man spat, fluttering his wings. His graspers were still cuffed and so he sighed.
“But what about Oorin, if we can connect this to him…” Bittu began but Thaee stopped him.
“You know, I have no reason to protect a brutish dancer like you.” The swanith’s casual use of the slur made Bittu bristle slightly, the man's tufted tail lashing in suppressed anger. “But I can tell that you aren’t a dirty cop on Oorin’s payroll. You seem to want to protect people, and I do respect that for what it's worth.” Abel heard the man say quietly.
Abel was tempted to enter the room but he trusted his partner’s judgment. Bittu would call for him if he was needed, as of the moment it seemed that he was doing just fine on his own however.
Thaee added “It has something to do with new shipments of something, that's what I picked up on. But I never figured out what Oorin was so bent on moving.”
Bittu stood and began to pace again, the movement seeming to clear his thoughts. “Why would Oorin go through so much trouble to protect the docks though?” he wondered aloud.
Abel thought about it. Oorin was in charge of transportation, that meant he was likely not the end of the supply chain. He must be moving illegal products and getting it from somewhere else. That was the only thing that made sense to him.
Bittu looked at the man and said “Hold on a minute. I’ll be right back.”
Thaee lifted their shackled wings and said “Where could I possibly go?”
Bittu didn't answer, instead he left the room and after a moment Abel saw him enter into the observation room. Bittu stopped and looked around “Had a disagreement with the furniture huh?”
Abel glanced at the remains of the poor chair he had crushed and answered “Yeah, I should have expected that outcome. I decided that standing isn't so hard with mechanical limbs.”
Bittu walked over to the small plasteel table and leaned on it, his face unreadable. As he opened his mouth to speak Abel’s internal comm’s buzzed and he held up a hand. “Getting a communication.” he frowned as he saw the content of the message. “I’m getting a general warning that Thaee is no longer in our jurisdiction. That can’t be right though.”
Bittu looked around and stood, his hand flying to his sidearm as his stress levels soared. “What! What do you mean?”
Abel frowned again “We have been ordered to cease all interrogations activities and relinquish control of the prisoner to… What the fuck?”
“To who? What are the orders?” Bittu asked seriously.
Abel looked at him and said shakily “We are to hand the prisoner over to Zeirworks security personnel, but, those are the people who made me.” Abel said in distress.
Bittu looked at him with a similar expression of shock. “That’s not good, something is definitely wrong here…” the man said as Abel nodded, looking at their unfortunate prisoner through the one way glazmite mirror.
End of Part 7
==End of Transmission==

I already contacted the car owner. But what advice would you give me about this car as it is?
https://www.njuskalo.hauti/honda-accord-2.0-oglas-40565528
​

• Price: €8,400
• Year of production: 2008
• Mileage: 188,000 km (116 000 miles)
• Engine power: 115 kW
• Engine type: Petrol
• Transmission: Manual
• Additional features: Adjustable driver's seat height, Metallic paint, Fog lights, Rain sensor, Automatic dimming interior mirror, Cooled compartment, Electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), Body-colored exterior mirrors and bumpers, Rear armrests, Electronic brake assist (BAS), Dust filter, Tachometer, External temperature display, 16" aluminum wheels, Radio preparation/6 speakers, Leather steering wheel and gearshift knob, Third rear headrest with 3-point seatbelt, Light sensor, Tinted glass, 6-speed manual transmission, Trip computer, iPod/USB preparation, Chrome door handles, Driver's seat with lumbar support, Front fog lights, Tinted windows, Leather-wrapped steering wheel.

Safety features:

• Electronic stability control (ESP)
• Standardized ISOFIX child seat attachments
• Front seat belt pretensioners
• Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
• Airbags: driver, passenger, side, and curtains

Comfort features:

• Electric front and rear windows
• Adjustable steering column
• Front armrests
• Electrically adjustable, heated, and folding mirrors
• Steering wheel controls for the radio
• Folding rear seats 1/3-2/3
• Progressive power steering (Servotronic)
• Cruise control
• Divisible rear bench
• Electric mirror adjustment
• Rear window power sunshade
• Height-adjustable steering wheel
• Power steering
• Cruise control
• Central armrest
• Steering wheel controls
• Automatic climate control
• Dual-zone climate control (drivepassenger)
• Air conditioning: dual
• Radio + CD player, MP3
• Car radio: radio/CD/mp3

Anti-theft safety:

• Central remote locking
• Engine immobilizer
• Alarm

I never met my birth parents. They both died on a job when I was a baby, and I went into foster care. I didn’t have any interest in knowing anything about them; my adoptive parents are the ones who raised me.
However, everything changed a week ago when a group of men came knocking at my door. They wore what looked like military uniforms, but instead of the usual green, they wore a distinct red color instead. They loaded me, along with my foster parents into an unmarked matching red van. We were rushed to a farmhouse on the opposite side of Washington where the facility was heavily guarded with intimidating men and unfamiliar machines that appeared like they required several men to operate.
Being an IT major, I had no knowledge nor interest in these things. I’m not a runner, fighter or a strategist, so I couldn’t fathom what they wanted from me.
They relentlessly interrogated me for three days, bombarding me with questions and then, when they concluded that I was blissfully unaware, intimidated me with frightening information. Dumbfounded, I soaked in every ounce of knowledge they offered me. The new knowledge I gained made me see my parents in a new terrifying light. I couldn’t help but feel more resentment, adding on to the existing resentment I harboured. My parents not only betrayed themselves, but me as well and part of me feared that I would never be safe again. I couldn’t help but feel manipulated. They were long gone, but their past still controlled my fate.
I was eventually uprooted to a secondary protective facility, one in which I was not permitted to know the location of. For my own safety, they assured me. Once settled, they supplied me with new electronics and destroyed my old ones. They warned me that I was to stay under the radar, completely untraceable. Again, for my own protection. I was confident that given my knowledge of IT, software engineering and cyber security, I would remain unseen and untraceable to anyone who might be hunting me.
Now that I am sure I am safe, I can finally write this message and warn anyone connected to the initial bloodlines involved. It is crucial for my message to reach you.
The story begins with my biological grandfather. He worked for a branch of the government closely related to NASA. Following the moon landing there was a great deal of classified developments that the population was oblivious to. The department my grandfather worked for protecting the world against extra-terrestrial threats or extra-terrestrial terrorism as they described it.
Paranoia gripped them after the moon landing and they took drastic measures to prepare. Five years later, they deciphered the first communications and signals from frequencies previously unknown to them. These signals were so powerful that they destroyed entire systems, disrupted the power grid and took down entire radio stations. This special branch of government discovered they could tap into these signals which revealed that our galaxy has been under constant surveillance. This was ironically discovered by extra-terrestrials working within this branch, tasked to monitor and prevent extra-terrestrial terrorism on a much larger scale.
At this point in their story, the soldiers were reluctant to divulge more. Insisting that they already revealed too much. But I demanded full transparency, refusing to cooperate with their equivocation. It was essential that I know my involvement in these matters. So, they continued, placing a huge box in front of me, overflowing with papers. They swiftly unveiled its contents to me, Stacks of documents and old tapes they tossed onto the table, one after the another.
The documents contained, amongst others, details of weapons the organisation, known as ESA were crafting and testing along with formulas to create immensely powerful weapons. They used advanced calculations to try and manufacture better equipment that could be sent up to space. They were doing this undisclosed, to monitor and learn as much as they could.
The ESA spent millions designing and building a spacecraft to contain their equipment, if the situation ever called for it. It is still a work in progress. All of this is actively happening, the documents and footage stamped up until a week ago.
I opened a document with a list of classified individuals who had this information. Presidents, EU members, a handful of the rich and powerful, who used this information to design and construct underground bunkers, granting that, if anything were to ever happen, they’d be prepared. These aren’t a new concept though, the extremely rich and powerful have been known to publicly sponsor new technological advancements. Well some may think this gave them the upper hand, it eventually proved their foolishness.
The following is what I saw in the most crucial videos:
Video 1: dated 1975 The video opens in an empty cell, appearing to be a reinforced holding chamber. At first, the room is dark, then the spotlights switch on, illuminating the centre of the room. Now in the light, I could clearly make out what looked like a reinforced metal wall with chains protruding from it. The focus shifts to the back of the room where a large door opens and something is dragged in a sheet, concealing its identity, and tied down with thick chains. The video ends.
Video 2: June 1975 I saw about 20 armed men entered the room and start to unwrap the sheet from what they hauled in. After several minutes of unwrapping, the identity of the thing they brought in is revealed.
There seemed to be a glitch in the recording, at different points in the video the screen was covered in static. The sound was muted, and the figure was hard to make out. It appeared that the creature was attempting to change shape, vibrating as if to phase into a different shape. Despite its best attempts, it remained unsuccessful and reverted back to its original form. .
Video 3: the very next day wnd June 1975
The video opens with the creature fully in focus. Within the 18 hours of footage, the creature is constantly seen attempting to change form. It fails every time, but that doesn’t prevent it from trying again. It looks like a blur, occasionally a second head or what appears to be a human hand. It’s apparent the creature has shapeshifting abilities.
The next 200 videos are identical. To the naked eye, it seemed like a loop. But it wasn’t. The creature was, however, relentless in its attempt to free itself or escape.
Video 204: October 1975
This time the alien appeared to be asleep, head limp and no movement. This video had sound, but it was accompanied by a high pitch buzz that made my ears hurt. At the six-hour mark, the faint cry of a baby can be heard before gradually escalating into full-blown screaming.
At first I suspected that one of the scientists had brought their child along, but the agents assured me the crying was coming from the creature. As the video progresses, the cries grow louder and more demanding, eventually accompanied by a deep voice. Close to the end of the video, 22 hours in, multiple voices begin to scream simultaneously, causing everything to shake.
The documents show that, after this incident, the cage was reinforced. The next few videos are static, proving that the creature has the uncanny ability to manipulate video and disrupt frequencies.
Video 340 February 1982
The creature, with its brown discoloration, possessed crocodile like scales and an eagle like head, but it was entirely reptilian in nature. It stood at a whopping 12 feet tall and was covered in an unknown slime like substance.
The chains were substantially thicker than they were years earlier, and the cage has been fortified. It looked like a different room altogether.
The agents explained that the creature got loose and attacked 12 soldiers, absorbing them into itself instead of merely killing or eating them.
The creature was taken to Nevada, close to the desert, where a strong armoured underground structure had been constructed, far from civilization. The facility has been equipped with high level security precautions which allowed sections of the building to be sealed off and rigged to explode, guaranteeing that, if necessary, the building would collapse in on itself, trapping the creature within its cage, underneath the rubble.
The creature mirrored the image I conjured up in my head when I pictured the devil; brown, scaly, a demonic voice. The eyes were its most terrifying feature, shaped like that of a reptilian, but blood red. I counted 4 horns on its head, and it bore a pair of nasty fangs. Its feet bore the resemblance of a dinosaur, but it lacked a tale. Once the creature was no longer phasing in and out, it settled on a more consistent appearance, one that was easier to recognize.
Video 341 February 1982
This video marked the first appearance of my grandfather. He entered, along with four other men in lab coats, carrying a large syringe, approximately the size of my arm. He stuck it into the beast’s heart, causing it to instantly fall into a deep sleep. He proceeded to connect various machines onto the slumbering creature, attaching electrodes to its head and chest which were linked to a sizeable computer or something that resembled a computer. The video cuts off after this, leaving us to guess what occurred next.
Video 343 February 1982 The lights in the room were far brighter than before, and it once again lacked the presence of sound. The reason for this remained unknown.
Within the room stood a table filled with an assortment of equipment that appeared to be severely damaged. The lights flickered at intervals, and the creature began to phase in and out once more. This made it difficult to distinguish its appearance amid the static moments and blurred movements. The scientists observed the creature a safe distance away.
The scientists were relying on a certain frequency they discovered to keep the creature at bay. It seemed to produce positive results for the next few videos.
The videos that followed held a similar pattern. The creature remained silent, wired to machines while people came in and out taking notes or the occasional blood or slime sample. The creature remained composed, not once attempting to shift or escape again.
According to the agents’ records, everything proceeded as planned. My grandfather welcomed his first son, my father in 1975, he subsequently resumed his project until his resignation in 2008 when he was 55. A year later, he had a fatal heart attack, my grandmother following soot. My father was 34.
My father and his younger brother began working for ESA in 2004, when they were 28 and 24. New technological advancements introduced better cameras and electronic equipment for testing purposes. Since the technology became so advanced, their visits to the cage became as infrequent as once a week, or even less often. With new needles, enhanced equipment and upgraded data collection, the project transferred to electronic records ushering changes in the filing system.
While we waited for my transportation, they shared more classified documents. According to the notes, the once wild and violent creature was now unrecognisably tame and responsive, even answering questions. It remained unclear whether they had intentionally provoked it or stumbled upon a means to subdue it.
The circumstances surrounding my birth were strange. My dad impregnated a college classmate, and they made the mutual decision to put me up for adoption since neither of them had the desire to raise a child. My mother was studying biology and my father, a young genius physicist that found it hard to understand basic human interaction as it was. According to my foster parents, I was born in 2000, but the data I was presented proved I was born two years prior. This revelation had a more profound effect on me than anything else I’d seen.
Regardless, I was immediately given up for adoption and my existence was all but forgotten about. My adoptive parents moved to Iowa, and that’s where I lived up until 2018 when I left for Harvard. I always wondered what my birth parents were like. My adoptive parents told me I was a genius and speculated that I inherited my brain from somewhere. It’s an uncanny feeling; the knowledge that every aspect of my life was monitored.
The videos documenting the creature continued for the next 6 years. It became routine, apart from the indistinct chatter from the observing scientists and other government employees. There were no other sounds, incidents or noteworthy occurrences.
The tests revealed that the creature’s biology was predominantly alien, with no genetic material in common with humans. The scientists highlighted the alarming fact that the creature’s DNA was ever changing, resulting in frequent sample collection and analysis.
They concluded that, the creature was still a baby at the time of capture, which made it easier to contain. They did, however, underestimate its shocking growth rate which resulted in the deaths of the 12 soldiers’ years prior. At the time, it was still in its adolescent phase. Further research uncovered that the creature had the unique ability to absorb the genetic material of the men it came into contact with. The more humans it absorbed, the more diverse its gene pool became. A portion of the genes obtained gradually became more similar to those observed in humans. It’s as if the creature dove into an immense pool of genes and, as it absorbed more humans, its genetic makeup gradually began to adopt more human like qualities. Although difficult to comprehend at first, the basic explanation is that with every absorption of genetic information, the creature’s genetic composition seemed to evolve, storing human qualities within its own gene and gradually becoming more human-like That is my understanding of it.
Which brings me to the final video they have. Prepare yourselves.
Video: mov5078436b The creature behaved normally before viewing was disrupted by static. Among the sudden legion of voices, it echoed my father’s name, simultaneously expanding in size which causes the surroundings to convulse. Alarms resounded, piercing the silence as the creature tugged at its chains, cracking the floor ceiling in its attempt to break free. An ear splitting roar escaped its mouth as hordes of armoured soldiers rushed the cage, massive tasers in hand. They zapped the creature at maximum voltage as it continued to roar, lights flickering excessively. The camera feed is interrupted again by bouts of static.
A second group arrived, armed heavily with guns, increasing the crowd to a total of 30. The gunfire was so severe that it affected the video’s audio. One of the chains bound to the roof of the cage had already broken loose by the time the third group of soldiers arrived. This group carried a machine emitting bursts of fire, which had no effect on the creature aside from antagonizing it. It releases a powerful blast from its hand, causing the room to tremble which shattered the bulletproof glass into millions of pieces and sent the men flying across the room. Both of the creature’s hands were now free, and it began to morph.
Finally, a fourth group arrived in heavily armoured suits, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. They wielded lasers and what appeared to be a concentrated lightning gun. I was grateful they hadn’t made use of nuclear weapons which would have wiped everyone out. After every attempt, the creature remained standing. Now it was his turn.
The creature freed itself from the remaining shackles and unleashed a blast with both its hands. All that was left of the solders was a gruesome mess of blood where they stood. The air filled with a haunting scream that echoed throughout the halls. The creature released a menacing growl in the form of words that sent chills down my spine, “Dennis McCarthy”, my father’s name.
Right before the camera blacked out, I could have sworn he was in the brink of morphing into a human form, but the recording was cut short by the thunderous detonation of explosions that sent the building into destruction, burying the truth within its rubble.
The scientists, including my dad, were taken by the ESA (extra-terrestrial security agency) and hidden in a heavily guarded underground haven. They were issued new identities and relocated, which isn’t a new concept for the government.
As far as the drones’ visual feed could capture, the entire operation was terminated, leaving behind the collapsed and buried ruins of a facility that was once fully functional. It was under strict surveillance for any signs of life, but as the years rolled by, complacency set in, compromising their once strict security measures.
My father, uncle and the rest of the scientists assumed new lives and identities. As far as the rest of the world was concerned, they were dead.
In 2010, an unexpected interruption occurred. Reports indicated that the drones simultaneously malfunctioned, and the video feed erupted into static. A team arrived at the site to find it disrupted, all the drones lay in scattered heaps across the landscape.
Before anyone could investigate or react, all communication with the agents safeguarding the scientists was abruptly terminated. One be one, the connections were severed, leaving them permanently unreachable. When they reached my father’s safe house, they were greeted with his spine-chilling absence. He had vanished without so much as a trace that he had ever been there to begin with—no signs of struggle or any shred of evidence left behind. He was lost in an infinite void of mystery. The only indication that something was amiss was the eerie blue glow invading the monitors moments before blackout. The only accurate word for it would be ‘suction’, leading the team to believe that they had been absorbed. It remained a speculation, though plausible enough to send waves of panic up their spines.
As we speak governments around the world have been swept up into the desperate search to locate the alien as well as training an elite group of drone pilots and soldiers in an attempt to confront and defeat the elusive entity. Furthermore, every effort at locating surviving relatives of the missing scientists, including my father, had fallen short. They too had vanished into an infinite cloud of mystery, not one left unscathed to provide answers.
Considering the site’s altered state, the complete destruction of the drones and the fact that the creature they had held captive was constantly evolving, they were profoundly aware of the unravelling truth.
I am the sole living descendent of the scientists that worked for ESA. The creature has made it his mission to eliminate any and all traces of their existence. This is the sole reason I was upended from my life and relocated to a heavily guarded facility, and this is the reason I feel compelled to share their stories.
I couldn’t comprehend why the creature would hunt me since I didn’t share the sins of my father, but I felt paranoid and vigilant regardless. I couldn’t help but feel compelled to look into the disappearances myself, perhaps due to some lingering hopes that the information was wrong. My pursuit for answers turned up nothing, not even social media accounts. It was as if any trace of their existence was utterly obliterated, there was no digital footprint left.
The reason I am now convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that my life is in danger is because I have started catching glimpses of subtle movements in my peripheral, a shadowy figure lurking around the premises, disruptions in the signal of my appliances, even the phone I am using right now.
Call me foolish for even relying on the very technology that might lead to my demise, but I felt compelled to warn anyone else who might be a descendent of the team that worked for ESA: project corrosion.
If you’re aware then heed my words and flee. If you are unaware, observe the news for any sudden or unexplained disappearances, and I regret to inform you but, if you come across the creature then it’s too late.
Stay safe my friends

It’s been a long time coming and I finally have some free time to tackle some more miscellaneous things on my to-do list, so gather round everyone, we’re gonna have a little discussion today that I can link people to the next time this subject invariably comes up again.
This guide is not RSX specific besides a few references to specific parts and can be applied as a general overview of how brakes work. This subject just bothers me particularly so because of how rampant the obsession with BBKs are in the DC5 “scene.” The TL-S Brembo “upgrade” is by far and away the worst offender, and I’m shocked that the need to butcher the knuckle, rotor, caliper bracket, and the caliper itself just to make it fit isn’t enough of a red flag for people.
Whether you’re looking to improve daily stopping performance or chase lap times, hopefully this little guide can give you a better idea of what you should be pursuing.
TL;DR at the end.

So you want to stop harder, huh?

Contrary to popular belief, larger calipers and larger rotors (i.e. big brake kits) do not increase stopping power and thus do not decrease stopping distance. We’re going to be breaking things down (zing) to some very basic levels here, so bear with me.
In physics, all the brakes on a car do is use friction to turn kinetic energy (momentum) into heat. Stopping harder is merely a factor of how quickly it does exactly that. If you’re keen on fuel economy, this is also why braking at all is, by definition, waste (so stop tailgating). It’s also why locking up the tires is terrible for stopping distance and why we have ABS.
If your tires lock up, the car’s braking system is already stopping the car as hard it can—too hard, in fact. It means the friction coefficient between the brake pad and rotor is greater than that of the tire and the road. ABS pumps the brakes rapidly for you so that the rotor and tire can continue to rotate, turning kinetic energy into heat. Otherwise, when the tires are locked, the only thing trying to stop you is your tires, acting as pencil erasers against the ground. It also means your tires are useless to turn the car as they’re just dragging along the road.
If you feel like learning more, Engineering Explained has a great video on why ABS is an absolute good, and why you should shame anyone that deletes ABS thinking it “feels better.” Threshold braking is practically impossible in the real world. ABS means that you’ve exceeded your maximum stopping force available, and is a tool to help keep you as close to it as possible.
The conclusion here is that, surprise! The stock brakes on your car are already stronger than they need to be. The original calipers and rotors will easily lock up the tires if you slam on the brakes; they literally cannot stop you any harder. If you want to increase stopping power, the operative variable here is tires, firstly. Sticker rubber provides greater grip against the ground so that the tire friction is not overwhelmed by the braking force applied by the car.
For anyone not chasing lap times, feel free to skip to the end. The chief takeaway is that the OEM brakes are more than adequate already.

So what pads should I get?

If your tire selection is limited by weather or use case, there are some “OEM+” pads that offer better initial bite and feel. With ABS, you may still see an improvement in stopping distance, but remember that the limiting factor with brakes is almost always tires.

• For regular street use, any parts-store pad will work fine. Look for low noise, low dust. Akebono is the OE-supplier for Honda, and anything from Powerstop, Brembo, or Centric will do you just fine.
  
• For an OEM+ pad with a little more bite and heat resistance, Hawk HPS is my go-to because it's so readily available, but EBC Redstuff is a solid option as well. Both produce relatively low dust and are quiet, for the most part.
  
• If you're choosing an aggressive pad for track use, consider that the most aggressive pads like Hawk DTC-60 or EBC RP need to be brought up to an ideal operating temperature for maximum effectiveness. These pads have a very high metallic composition and they are high wear against rotors, very noisy, and very dusty. They are not designed for street use where brake use is comparatively sparse. Street driving does not generate the temperatures needed for these pads to work properly and as a result can be dangerous.
  
• If you're looking to do autocross or a couple of amateur track days, consider pads similar to Hawk HP+ or EBC Yellowstuff. They will still produce quite a lot of noise and dust, but provide adequate bite when cold to stop the car safely and are far more heat resistant than standard street pads. I personally run HP+ as a track pad but only swap them in for track days. They're not super fun on the street.
  

So you’re saying bigger calipers and rotors are useless? Then why do high end sports cars and race cars have giant brakes?

The primary benefit of a larger caliper with more pistons is to improve brake modulation. The stock caliper on the RSX is a single, large piston. By replacing it with a caliper with four smaller pistons, two on each side, the same amount of hydraulic pressure can be applied more evenly on a larger surface area across both pads. This allows for greater control of applied braking force.
The primary benefit of a larger rotor is heat capacity. A larger rotor is made up of more metal and thus can not only contain more heat, but also dissipate more heat through increased surface area. Excess heat of course, leads to brake fade—undesirable in any context. Rotor size will increase as vehicle weight increases, as there is more kinetic energy in a heavier car than a lighter car traveling at the same speed; there is more heat to saturate.
A larger caliper and larger rotor usually also mean a larger pad size, increasing the amount of braking surface area and therefore friction that the pads can apply to stop the car.

So you lied! Bigger brakes do help you stop harder!

No. Those same high performance cars are still governed by the same laws of physics that your piece of shit Honda Acura is. Now you know the benefits of having a larger caliper and rotor, and know that those cars are still limited by the rubber they roll on.
The larger and caliper also both add to unsprung and rotational weight, both of which affect vehicle dynamics much more than standard sprung weight. Things like acceleration, steering response, lateral grip, handling, and even stopping distance are all affected by unsprung weight.

So if there are other benefits to a larger caliper and rotor, why can’t I put them on my car anyway?

Because your braking performance will suffer. All cars have what’s called a brake proportioning valve after the brake master cylinder. Pretty self-explanatory name. You apply braking force via the pedal and the master cylinder, and the proportioning valve distributes hydraulic pressure to each corner of the car. The problem with big brake mods like this is a little bastard called brake bias.
The proportioning valve in your car is set to a specific ratio, based on a specific vehicle weight, a specific weight distribution, a specific friction coefficient in the front, and a specific friction coefficient in the rear. It is designed to lock up all four tires at the same time. With ABS, it means each corner of the car is stopping as hard as physically possible. Unfortunately, ABS is not smart enough to know which tire is locking up, and always engages per axle if even one tire begins to slip. What happens if you change one of those specific variables?
Yes, your larger calipers and rotors in the front can now apply more friction force than stock. One of two things can happen: 1.) the stock master cylinder and prop valve apply less pressure because of the increase in caliper size and the number of pistons—the rear brakes lock up first, which engages ABS, or 2.) the front brakes do have increased braking force and lock up first, which engages ABS. In either of these scenarios, ABS is working but only for one axle rather than two. You are no longer braking at the threshold of grip, and ABS engaging at one axle means the other cannot apply maximum braking force.
Brake bias is far more sensitive than you might think as well. Even something is little as having a different rotor type (high carbon vs. standard) from front to rear can affect brake bias significantly.
You could address all of these issues with an adjustable proportioning valve, and the larger calipers would work. It's been done before by at least a couple people I've met, but tuning brake bias is something that takes extensive testing and expertise that, quite frankly, you probably don’t have—I certainly don’t. Brake bias is something that takes professional teams and drivers entire test days to dial in. And the end result would be something you already had: a car that brakes as hard as it can. Remember that increasing caliper and rotor size does not change the fact that you’re limited by your tires.

So how can I get the benefits of calipers and rotors without having to mess with brake bias?

Easy. You get a caliper that uses the OEM pad and rotor diameter, and you get a thicker rotor.
A caliper like the OEM DC5 Type R Brembo, Spoon Monoblock, or ENDLESS Mini-6 all use the OEM rotor diameter and OEM Type S pad, meaning nothing is changed regarding friction force. You get all the benefits of a larger caliper with more pistons with none of the drawbacks of affecting brake bias. A lighter caliper will also help reduce unsprung weight.
A thicker brake rotor is ostensibly better than one that’s simply a larger diameter as the main source of cooling for a rotor is venting. Unfortunately there are not many companies out there that I know of making thicker OE-diameter rotors for DC5. They’re out there for S2000 (which uses the same diameter as RSX), but requires that the caliper be spaced out slightly further. Project Mu and AP Racing come to mind.
The Project Mu BBK is actually quite clever. It's a much larger rotor, but because it's a two-piece construction, they can increase the rotor diameter using the rotor hat but keep the pad surface area the same. Project Mu claims that you get all the benefits of a larger brake disc without affecting bias.
There is the 03-08 TSX rotor, which is slightly thicker at 300x28mm vs 300x25mm, but I have never confirmed if the rotor hat offset and bore is the same or fits an RSX.
To be frank though, the OEM rotor thickness is more than adequate for the weight of the car. A high quality blank rotor will easily handle several autocross or track days. Centric makes a cryo-treated high-carbon rotor, which is more durable and less prone to warping at high temperatures.
A slight tangent here regarding rotor selection for performance applications:

• Do not ever buy drilled rotors. At the high temperatures typical of performance driving, each hole is just a stress point that is far more likely to develop cracks. You’re paying extra money for a worse rotor. The holes also do not ventilate much heat, and you’re effectively reducing the heat capacity of the rotor by removing material. Modern pad compounds do not outgas as much as they used to, and the need to ventilate these gasses is by and large no longer a concern.
  
• Slotted rotors were also originally developed to shed gasses created by the pads, as these gasses could build pressure and prevent the pad from making full contact with the rotor. Again, this is very rarely an issue with modern pad compounds and essentially irrelevant. Slotted rotors can help with pad deglazing in the event that you overheat the pad while on track. The slots essentially help scrape any glazed material off the pad so that there is always fresh material available, but the difference in most amateur use cases is marginal.
  
• Two-piece rotors can be excellent long-term investments for performance drivers if you decide it’s within your budget (both the Project Mu and AP Racing rotors I mentioned above are two-piece designs). The rotor hat allows for slightly more cooling while being made of lightweight aluminum. They are less prone to warping because the brake disc can heat more evenly, and you can replace just the brake disc and retain the rotor hat, rather than having to replace the whole thing.
  

That all sounds too expensive. Are there any other things I can do to improve my braking?

Yes, but the following mods do not increase stopping power.
The most critical thing that seems to be overlooked is brake fluid. A good high performance brake fluid is worth its weight in gold on track. Fluid can improve brake feel far more than stainless steel brake lines, and are crucial for avoiding brake fade after long sessions.
When brake fluid overheats, it boils, releasing air into the brake lines. Like any hydraulic system, the brakes rely on there being only fluid in the lines, which doesn’t compress. Air on the other hand, does compress, which is what leads to brakes feeling spongy or going straight into the floor—the pedal is compressing air rather than applying hydraulic force. So, get your hands on some good brake fluid with a higher boiling point.

• Motul RBF660 is easy to recommend because it’s affordable and rather easy to find. It’s DOT4, meaning it’s compatible with any DOT3/DOT4 fluid you find at your local store if you’re ever in a pinch.
  
• If you feel like upgrading to some big-boy fluid, try Project Mu 335 or ENDLESS RF650. The Endless stuff is better, but also more expensive unless you’re buying direct from Japan. It’s the OE-supplied brake fluid for many Porsche, McLaren, and Mercedes AMG cars, and is used by several Porsche CUP, SuperGT, WRC, and even Formula1 teams, if that means anything to you. ATE Super 5.1 is also supposed to be great, but I haven’t tried it.
  

Unfortunately, those fluids are DOT5.1, which means they are not compatible with DOT3 or DOT4 fluid. DOT5.1 is also more likely than DOT3 or DOT4 to absorb water, which all brake fluid does naturally. Solution of water decreases the boiling temperature of the brake fluid (you'll see this on packaging as the "wet" boiling temperature), so for maximum efficacy, you would have to flush the fluid at least once or twice a year, depending on how often you see the track.
Stainless steel brake lines (sometimes called braided lines) can help improve pedal feel. The OEM brake lines at each hub are made of flexible rubber to allow for the wheel to articulate and not rip the brake line open. Rubber however, expands. This means that some hydraulic pressure is lost to the expanding rubber rather than going straight to the calipers. Stainless lines are more rigid and prevent that slight loss of hydraulic pressure, improving pedal feel. They are however, much more expensive than rubber lines, and do not always last as long.
Plenty of companies out there sell stainless lines, but they're more or less all the same. I have Project Mu lines, but there's no particular reason to go with one brand over the other. Goodrich seems to usually be the cheapest and most accessible option for most people.
Lastly, brake ducts are the most effective way to prevent brake fade and heat saturation, significantly more so than rotor choice. The DC5 Type R had small OEM brake ducts from the factory that take the place of optional fog lights. These kits are getting more and more rare now, and it may be more cost-effective to simply make your own out of zip-ties, large hose clamps, and dryer ducting. It’s how professional race teams do it, believe it or not.

TL;DR

Big brake kits are not just dumb, but they'll making your brakes worse if you don’t understand how they work. Get tires then pads if you want to stop harder. Calipers can help with modulation, and rotors help with heat, but neither help you brake harder. Fluid is critical for preventing brake fade, lines help with pedal feel, and ducts are still the best way to keep your brakes cool.
There's always people out there smarter than me, so if there are any corrections or additions to be made, please let me know.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk. You guys owe me like, four billable hours. For those who care, I’ll be updating the suspension post in a similar fashion as well, hopefully soon. Always happy to answer any questions.

Over the weekend, a number of residents reached out to inquire about loud construction noise they heard during the evening hours. Based upon the sounds described and when they were heard, the noise is likely coming from the demolition of the bridge over Georgia 400 on Kimball Bridge Road.
As we reported last week, contractors working for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) have begun demolition of the bridge, a process that is anticipated to take approximately 4 to 6 weeks.
As part of its GA400 Express Lanes Project, GDOT is replacing the current bridge over the highway on Kimball Bridge Road. When completed, the new bridge will allow for the new lanes being constructed on GA400 as part of the express lanes project. For those traveling on Kimball Bridge Road, the new bridge will provide two vehicular travel lanes in each direction, a center median, wide sidewalks on both sides, improved lighting, and decorative elements.
But, first, the existing bridge has to be removed, and there is no way to quietly demolish a bridge.
In order to speed the completion of the bridge replacement project (which is forecast to take 365 days to complete) and the reopening of Kimball Bridge Road, GDOT has authorized its contractor to work at night. Because fewer motorists are traveling GA400 in the evenings, allowing the bridge demolition to take place during the overnight hours also reduces risk to the public.
Those who were in the area back in 2016 may remember that a similar process was followed during the demolition and replacement of the bridge over GA400 on Encore Parkway near North Point Mall. GDOT authorized evening work for that project as well, and residents in the area reported the same type of noise associated with the demolition of that bridge.
For more information about the GA400 Express Lanes Project, please visit GDOT’s project page at https://0001757-gdot.hub.arcgis.com/

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This is PART VI of our Gorou Amamiya / Aqua Hoshino series. Last time we discussed a big chunk of Aqua's influence on the creation of the "15-Year Lie" movie script and what this means in particular for his relation towards his friends and acquaintances. We'll today pick up from there and analyze how exactly Aqua forced Ai's secret to be leaked in the first place. It'll be great!
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But before that I have to address a little mistake I made in my last essay. I wrote:
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"As you recall [...] he told her that he wired her sometime after his love for her ended."

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But instead of "my Love" the original Japanese version actually says “今ガチ” which means LoveNow as pointed out by a fine user in the comment section. Aqua states that he apparently planted the GPS Tracker some time after the Reality TV show ended. So by that it appears she was wired for like over a year. I'm glad this was pointed out to me, but not because it refutes my position but actually makes my picture of Aqua even more coherent.
First of all his statement in itself is not believable. If he planted the tracker after LoveNow he would have at least removed it when he thought his father is dead and kissed Akane in Takachiho. There was no reason anymore to invade her privacy. The fact that he didn't remove it, refutes the idea that he really planted it at that time.
The conclusion is that he simply lied in order to hurt and alienate her. She needs to stop to get involved, he don't want to put her in danger. So to archive this he ultimately says that she was wrong about him the whole time. He basically says he never fall for Taiki's version of their dead father, he always knew his father is still alive and he used Akane nonstop to get closer to him. He didn't even tried to be her boyfriend but it was essentially just an act all the way. That kiss was a lie.
I then wrote:

" Well, we will later see how the helping and selfless ambivalence of Gorou's soul will have a saying in that too."

... and really by my mistake I underrestimated how intentional Aqua chose all his words to archive the most for Akane hurtfull outcome afterall. That lie might not be backed by reality but it truely is the most insulting explanation he could come up with when asked about the tracker. Instead of a "slight" invasion of her privacy it's a complete betrayel. He never was her's, it was a lost cause right from the start. At least that's the image he insinuates. He needs her to stop carrying about him, she needs to "stop playing dangerous games".
So, I stick to my view that he installed the device only after he learned that his father is alive. He understood that she tricked him by not pointing out the obvious flaw in Taiki's story and then decided to wire Akane. But he certainly planned a perfect dialog for his little showdown with her. There is another hidden detail:
When he left he thought that he's glad he doesn't need to put her in danger anymore. Basically what this refers to is that he was pretty obsessive monitoring her movement for a serious amount of time. He basically stalked her nonstop because he needed to be sure that he prevents her into running into real danger. This surely was immense pressure on him. We don't know for how long this was going on but I suspect it took some time, since I don't think that Akane came in touch with Hikaru's white roses just after Aqua installed the Tracker but that there was a timeskip between Aqua's redpill and Akane's red carpet event. Just a little detail I want to point out. The manga gave us panels that wanted to express with an insane level of modesty though. Modesty is really a general theme in Aqua's narration of the story anyway, to say the least...
In the coming chapter we'll see how Aqua will utilize the same ambivalent deceptiveness in his plot to get Ai's secret exposed. After this you'll probably agree with me - if you don't already - that Aqua intentionally tried to hurt but also to protect Akane as much as possible from potential harm by Kamiki but also to prepare her for a life after Aqua's death:
"Don't love me, don't crave for me, but hate me, I do not deserve love anyway. I decided to decent to hell". And this attitude he tries to force on any of his friends. And even on any of us... the fourth wall that judges over him... with a judgement he intentionally planted into our hearts... Is it really a coincidence that Aqua is so hated by the fandom? After all that hard digging we had to do over a course of this 6 part series to unveal his true problems? We'lll get back to that thought later...
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"I can't go back anymore. I have no choice but to take this road" Chapter 98

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Mastermind
Now, the point about Aqua's involvement around Ai's exposure and especially how much he controlled Kana's actions during this process always led to heated debates within the community. I'll argue for almost total involvement but with a completely new perspective in both the premises that we established in the last parts but also evidence I will present today. For this lets get all the premises listed that evoke such a position, then we will look at the evidence.

• Aqua knew about Ai's wish to make her secret(s) public since Age 15 but decided to postpone it until he finds out who his father is
  • Now that he knows Hikaru's name he definitely needs to force the exposure of her secret to activate Gotanda. Keep in mind that Aqua knows that Gotanda made these videos with Ai and probably also about his movie script, but Gotanda doesn't know that Aqua knows, because Gotanda doesn't know the content of Aqua's DVD yet
• Double black starry people are insanely creative in manipulation, they can predict and influence outcomes with almost superhuman precision.
  • The way Ruby explained her plot around the cosplay-affair would - if some theorycrafter on reddit had constructed it- be refuted as a massive stretch. But Aka made schemes of this complexity basically canon. Thus I believe if we can point out good evidence from the source material then the position becomes acceptable. We'll see how the source material I will use as evidence is not randomly picked but all follow a general theme, almost like intended hints by Aka.
  • We also noted in PART V that Aqua's intellect, dead serious conviction and amount of information versus Ruby's little scheme are unquestionable superior. So take the skill Ruby showed and basically potentiate it by 10. This is what we're talking about and its scary!
  • An interesting fact about Ruby's scheme was the attention she invested to make sure nobody really looses anything. So she had a high amount of damage control planned into her plot, some sort of morality although with an somewhat arrogant self-centered attitude. We might find this also in Aqua's plot... In fact we pointed it out already as a theme during Aqua's tracking of Akane's movement for a significant amount of time and the pressuring obligation he had to protect her while using her very dangeriously. That's his morals kicking in.
  • Collateral to that she also knew exactly which people she needs to get involved and set up together to produce the intended outcome. This might be something we witness in Aqua's plot too...

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These are basically the only premises we need: Now that he knows his father's name he is highly motivated to get Ai's secret exposed and he's highly capable in pushing his own envisioned agenda of a future movie in doing so.
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Gamemaster
Kana's thought after the barter. Little she know how true this is.
From C99 until C102 we have basically two sides of the same coin unfolding. The first one is a depiction of Kana's identity crises as an Idol, an Actor and her relationship to Aqua. The intention is to show to us the reader what is going on in her mind but at the same time this also has the function to teach us that Aqua knows this as well and fundamentally designed his plot to exploit exactly these critical moments in Kana's psyche.
C99 starts with Ruby's manager to complain about what happened to his sister, while Ruby proposed to invite her into B-Komachi. I personally don't see this incident to be part of Aqua's plot although it might be possible that he ultimately leaked the infos about the sister. Anyway even if not this scene serves mainly to ultimately give us a quick rundown on the development inside B-Komachi and thus of Kana's position.
Before the video clips they shot in Takachiho went viral Kana was the center girl of B-Komachi. This and the fact that she felt backed by Aqua motivated her to accept the idol job as a surrogat for acting. However the power structure inside the group did a 180 after Ruby's awakening which eventually led to her undisputed overtake and Kana found herself to be Ruby's extra that can't pull any clout.
Ruby's careless proposal to get the manager's sister involved spiked Kana's feeling of inferiority since the sister shares basically her features and would be actually competition for her even on the back rank. So in her mind it's a total alienation from the group that is starting to form. At the same time she realizes again how much she wants to become an actor again.
However it really starts to get interesting when she got the text message from her actress collleague. In that membership-based club scene are a lot of clues that hint to Aqua's involvement. First of all lets talk about that friend of her's Mako Azami.
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I think it's obvious what I'm getting at here, so I won't lose much words on that. There is a high chance that she's acting in bad faith. They are basically in a club where artists hook up with each other. While Kana had to come because Shima is such a big deal, Shima came because he's interested in Kana as an actor but, well, he is also a womanizer so that kind of club is his prefered territory to get closer to somebody he's interested in as an director.
Kana was so desperate that when Azami offered her alocohol she almost took the bait. Her goal was to get Kana drunk and careless. However Shima stopped her in last moment and took her drink. This is also a hint that he is essentially a good guy (... Aqua's plots would never put his friends in real danger...) Azami however wants to provoke a scandal. She allured Kana to a fishy place and wanted her to get hooked up with Shima. In fact I believe Aqua was the one you helped her to come up with that plan.
It's just too random for a colleague that wasn't in touch with her for such a long time ("Hey Arima, long time no see!") to propose her such a high class meeting out of the blue. While Kana is clearly way to desperate to see the dangers, I think Azami and for that matter Aqua are very well aware that Shima's place is under constant observation from Paparazzis. It's a setup. Azami is basically Aqua's plot device just like that attention seeking erotic-cosplay-model was Ruby's plot device. It's these types of disingenuous characters inside the entertainment world. They are easy to make use off.
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There we have them. The magic words to access Kana's heart. There is no doubt that Aqua calculated the importance to get this man near to Kana. He is the only one with the boldness to position himself as that kind of competent "saviour" and a golden ticket back into the acting world. He is the only one Kana would even follow in the middle of the night to his apartment. At least in this particular scene he spoke the magic words to exchange their Line accounts.
C100 is straight forward. Not much I can say. It just follows the motives of each in the progression layed out protagonists. Kana is desperate and alienated in B-Komachi, Shima wants to recruite Kana and wants to know more about her, Aqua was behind Azami's manipulation. Of course that chapter also serves to tell us how big of a deal going out as an idol actually is. While other agencies are very strikt with their artists, Miyako has a different philosophy. That's convenient and for that matter Aqua's premise to even design a plot where Kana can go with Shima to his apartment. If the rules of their agency would've been different, Aqua had to find a completely different way for his plan, hence Kana would never have met Shima so out of the blue. But with that much freedom for Kana to meet Shima and grap food is a no brainer.
However the paparazzi wasn't set up by Aqua, they were just a constant factor he could count on in his calculation. We found out later, that it wasn't about Kana at all but that Shima's place is under constant observation anyway. He's a known womanizer and probably it's not the first time he was seen with an artist entering his apartment in the middle of the night. Aqua knows that though, so he was indeed the perfect candidate for his plan.
In C102 we learn that Love coverage isn't that big of a deal like it used to be a decade ago. And this is really interesting because this puts the whole plot into the perspective of damage control. If the Kana-Affair actually isn't a big deal, then for Aqua to archive a barter later is not a challenge, And we'll look now step by step into Aqua's damage control methodology. This makes it more believable that he is actually involved.
Her conversation with Shima in his apartment in C101 again serves the purpose of that two-coin-dualism. On the one side we learn about her conviction to get back into acting as she almost sleeps with him but it also teaches us about her feelings for Aqua, so that we as the reader learn what Aqua knew already the whole time: Kana loves him. And additonally the scene also serves his strive for damage control. He knew that Shima is a guy who would back off and wouldn't get offended or try to extort her. That "But I didn't do naughty things with you" and his cool response is something Aqua anticipated from that guy right from the start, same as he anticipated that Kana wouldn't do something with him. There was no reason to fear that Shima might try to harm Kana. At the same time Aqua would'e never let a desperate girl go into the apartment of a pig.
To elaborate this lets talk about the worst case scenario of Aqua's plan: Kana's story simply gets published. What exactly is her stake in that? Well in the end it doesnt matter at all. She already is alienated from B-Komachi, proven by the fact that even after the story never went public she still decided to leave. And on the contrary: She realized that she wants to go back into acting, was connected to a director who actually values her with the uttermost respect ("I'm a movie director. My job is to make something that feels much better than sex") who is her golden ticket to become a movie star (literally her dream).
For that matter I believe that Aqua was also behind the leaks of the manager's sister. A replacement for Kana was essential to help Kana to dissociate from any professional obligations she felt towards B-Komachi. She can leave with a clean conscience. And for that matter the dissociating was as mentioned important to let her really go full in on Shima. Aqua's plot is perfect in the sense that even if it fails it's in the long run "perfect" for Kana and not bad for B-Komachi for that matter. But there is also a guilty feeling in Aqua himself. He knows that she only became an Idol because he asked her to be one. He has to fix this. We'll see later how.
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https://preview.redd.it/qfnkv4k0a74b1.jpg?width=1488&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb4423109950e4c4c43f2a45b0788c242e411ab2
Well, the conclusion of Aqua's chat with Mem-Cho at the end of C102 basically gave his involvement away. That "Right? ..." is rhetorical, the monologue and this order of panals tell us it was planned to get back in touch with her the moment he alienated Akane. And CHAPTER 108 is so clear on that it's not even a debate anymore:
https://preview.redd.it/yf42dg52b74b1.jpg?width=1438&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=afe2af5a5ee3765cd2f42fe45c5d9c686d1518c0
But lets rewind back. We still have to talk about his meeting with the journalist to propose a banter. Before his meeting we again get two sides of the same coin. One side is ment to explain basic entertainment world concepts like how this kind of journalism works, what barter is but also - damage control - Aqua's full understanding of how indifferent Kana actually is against the leaks. That scene where she angerly shouts at her potential new haters and Aqua's stream of it to Miyako served as a plot device to tell the reader that Aqua calculated this into his plan too. He just knows she doesn't care and she'll be just fine. In fact he would've never come up with a plan where Kana becomes the center of it if there wouldn't be a gain and minimum harm to her. Both exterior as a public relations issue but also interior to her own psyche.
But... actually his plan is even better than this and this is actually mind blowing. It's my favorite scene in this mini-arc.
Now the actual meeting with the Journalist is an ingenious scene where Aka Akasaka blends both strands together: Aqua's plan but also his attention to damage control. Because even if Kana gains so much in the worst case scenario the perfectionist Aqua wants to get the cleanest outcome in case the barter fails. At the same time the means he uses to negotiate and the reaction he earns lead to his total victory and the total integretiy of Kana. He can't lose, it's literally impossible. Here is why:
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The Barter
The most obvious while also the most surface level and therefore the most false interpretation of Aqua's meeting with the reporter is that he tried to negotiate a less hatmful report but eventually fails and had no choice left then to offer a barter. But, this is wrong. Additionaly he also wasn't trying to guilt trip the reporter directly. It's just a method for a totally different purpose...
Aqua wants Ai's secret to get exposed, this is the most important thing for him now. It's the reason for this entire plot. After he figured the name of his father, he wants to move forward with Ai's wish. But the story about an idol who was killed a decade ago, that became a mother as a teenager, kept her children a secret plus the publication of her children's identity as minor high school students and their full name while they are also pretty famous: Now THIS is a hell of a story. You need to identify a journalist first who is actually willing to publish this, you need somebody who is immoral enough to withstand the viral public discussion that follows. Kana and Shima were basically his decoy to find such a journalist.
Aqua's goal at that meeting was to figure out if that reporter has the guts to do it. Aqua's questiosn regarding Kana's name and his arguments why it's wrong to publish her identiy was his nifty way to figure out if this reporter will actually publish the full stoy about Ai's secret after he heard it. There is no point to share the story with him before he isn't sure that that's the right guy for the job. Remember: The paparazzi in front of Shima's apartment was basically the only variable that wasn't in Aqua's full control. So he had to check the reporter out first.
Here are some excerpts:
In Aqua's head: \"Would he write 'Famous Idol Group Member' instead of 'Ai Hoshino' or 'Ruby Hoshino'? .. ah he wouldn't!. Very good\"
In Aqua's head: \"Lets check his moral compass... Very good, that's what I need\"
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It turned out a total victory for Aqua. There was basically no way for Kana to loose: If that reporter would hear out Aqua's arguments and therefore redact Kana's personal information then nothing at all happens while she still got her foot back into acting with an amazing new connection and if the reporter in fact wouldn't back down then he is the perfect candicate for barter in which case Aqua gets what he was after the whole time and again Kana is protected from the scandal and is back into acting with an amazing connection. It wasn't damage control afterall, because the way he designed his scheme was eliminating any chance for damage to begin with. It's just a wonderfully written plot. I'm lovin it!
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The Starry Eye
Last but not least we shall talk about the meaning behind Aqua's and Ruby's chat. And this scene basically serves again two functions. It contains very important information about Ruby's and Aqua's core personality but it was also important for Aqua to let Ruby know in advance who is to blame for the leaks.
https://preview.redd.it/pr1ofni2984b1.jpg?width=1017&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5945ed4858f1f974f4d257094629dfb67b652000
As you can see they both develope the white starigan when it's about helping their friends. To come back to that quote regarding Akane:

" Well, we will later see how the helping and selfless ambivalence of Gorou's soul will have a saying in that too."

Aqua's eye shines white because thinking about that Kana just became an idol for him while she actually wants to be an actor fills him with guilt. "She walked on this path because you asked her to" - And with his plot he made up for it. That panel is again evidence that he designed that plot to liberate her from her idol career and liberale her from himself so that she can go back to acting and find artistic fullfillment even if he's dead.
He knows that she became an obsolete B-Komachi member and don't want her to shrink further in a place where she shouldn't be anyway if not for his sake. As a member of B-Komachi she can literally be replaced by the manager's sister. As an actor she is a gift to a good director who knows how to make us of her. His white shining star is a hint to us that he only has her best interest in mind, at least her best interest as he sees it. Part of his self-sacrifial delusion is to deny his worth to his friends and that they actually don't want him to die obviously.
Aqua's "helper theme" runs like a golden thread through his separation for Akane's, his plot for Kana's and ultimately his family breakup for Ruby's sake, that follows after the exposure of Ai's secret. For that matter it's not a question of overprotectivness that he didn't tell Ruby about his DVD but because his DVD would calm her down. Aqua doesn't want this. The level of self-abnegation in his behaviour is literally insane.
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He wants to descend to hell, so he tries to establish for each of them happiness that is independend from his existence.

• If Kana is just an idol because of him, then she has to get back to acting because if he dies there is literally nothing for her left to do as an idol. So Aqua organized her the perfect pitch to get back to her forte.
• Akane is crazy in love for Aqua and would sacrifice herself for his sake so he had to hurt her so much that she wouldn't put herself in danger anymore but also doesn't come up with impulsive suicidal thoughts. If you think about that scene after the audition when Akane told Aqua that she'll stop his plan it's basically proof that he succeded in her alienation. This is the first time Akane would oppose him directly. That's her (by Aqua forced) character development. From "I'll kill him with you together, I don't care if you are in the wrong" to "Aqua is now unstoppable" to "I'll stop you no matter what" - Aqua's wild reaction after that was an calculated act to strengthen her opposition.
• Ruby feels a bond to Aqua due to their bond through Ai. He needs to hurt her with the ultimate betrayal, with the lie that he values another girl - in this case Kana - more than Ai. He acted with utter indifference and pragmatism to tilt Ruby beyond recovery.
• I mentioned it earlier but I'd like to repea that too: Aqua may have helped to find a replacement for Kana's role in B-Komachi so for that sake he also stabilized B-Komachi's group balance.

And he ends his dispute with with the words:
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"This is necessary. So you can live in a world ... even after I'm gone"

This quote goes for each of them. Akane, Kana and Ruby at the same time.
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Epilog
In the dawn of the movie, his plan to play the culprit and his goal to not be forgivin will from now on go hand in hand with any malicious outburst he might bark at his precious friends. There is not much for me left to say as we have basically returned to the current timeline of affairs. It is my vision for the plot to go into a dramatic exchange as predicted in PART IV und PART V. But there are too many uncertainties with the biggest of them all: Hikaru Kamiki. What's his next move? Is he already involved in the movie - Did he help Ruby to secure the role for the movie by killing Yura and manipulate Frill through text messages? It's very possible but also very speculative.
We'll for now stop this series. A little follow up to discuss Gorou's and Sarina's fundamental reason to be chosen to wield the heroe's sword might be written soon. This will discuss some possibities in Gorou's and Sarina's previous lifes and backgrounds. But for that I'd like first to wait how the plot with Marina unfolds. I have a suspicion but I need more info.
I teased you with that "fourth wall" topic. Well, lets postpone it for now. We will definitely look at it some time again. But generally it was just an interesting observation that the highly shared negativity towards Aqua is not a failed main character design by sloppy writting but an actual function of the story as it just mirrors his self-sacrificial delusion into provoking us to hate him.
Thus he is the least trustworthy narrator. In this regard I'm not so sure anymore if my study series really enhanced the enjoyment of Oshi No Ko lol. From the point of view that it's a necessary function to hate Aqua I kinda feel bad for my transformation! But no, that's just a joke. I think this character study was all in all a success!
We close our study with Aqua words:
https://preview.redd.it/rq6jh8tvh84b1.jpg?width=986&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=08c81da8313163724b5c7e08311e9134280bad7d
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Thanks for reading
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